The room fell silent, the officials glancing at each other, Elio waiting patiently.
"The High-king is right!" said a bald man clad in a dark blue gown, rising to his feet.
Everyone turned to look at him.
He bowed slightly before continuing, "Your Grace, I'm Lord Ahtred of Banbarg, a fortress in the Nornia, Warden of the South. Everyone one here knows those abominations wreaked havoc in my lands first, forcing people to flee either north or east into Stardret Kingdom.
"Now what the South needs is not just a king who is of Crescent descent, but a king who can bring peace again."
He turned to look at his fellow officials and resumed his speech as he swiped his eyes across their faces.
"If we refuse King Elio Stardret as our king so he can help us get rid of these monsters, soon they will spread across the whole of Crescent and we will be forced to flee into Stardret, where he will end as our king anyway."
Some started nodding their heads, and Elio smiled at Lord Ahtred for such convincing words.
But the man wasn't done talking.
"People of Stardret are kind. They will welcome us with open arms and help us like they have been doing during these troubled times. He will accept to be our king.
"However, what use will it be then? Ending up his people when we no longer have a kingdom to call home? It will be a pity."
Lord Ahtred strolled toward Elio, bent on his right knee and grabbed Elio's right hand and kissed his ring.
Elio had not noticed that he wore such a ring, big and beautiful and definitely expensive since it bore a huge ruby gemstone.
"My King," said Lord Ahtred. "I want prosperity. I know you can deliver it so I pledge my allegiance to you. The South is yours."
He proceeded to kiss Elio's ring once again.
Elio didn't know what to do, so he just tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Then the South shall prosper again."
Everyone cheered.
Now, it was clear that the officials were convinced of accepting Elio as their king. All that remained was to plan for the war against the Blue Monsters.
After everyone offered his loyalty, sword or allegiance to him, Elio rose to his feet and said while pacing around the table they sat on.
"So, now we know these monsters can die by fire. We know we have to capture them for that to happen, and we know it's not that easy. If they were a few, I could assist with the weapon Niemoth gave me. But there are so many of them, so we know we need an army to attack. What else do we know?"
"Sunlight is poison to them," said General Maldor, rising to his feet. "So, they attack only at night. They are usually not more than eleven, but mostly nine or seven. With a hundred men, we can lay an ambush for them and capture them all.
"However, I suspect they have a large colony where they come from because all villages across our entire western coast had been attacked more than a hundred times, and sometimes villages so far apart would be attacked during the same night at the same time.
"That's why I believe that capturing those 9 or 11 might anger their entire colony and if they choose to attack for revenge and come in thousands or even hundreds, then we won't survive."
The room became lively again, officials clapping and cheering for him as he sat down.
Before Elio could say anything, another man who introduced himself as Versei, Master of the Coin, stood up and resumed General Maldor's speech.
"My King, I hope you take this as an innocent opinion, not a way to dispute with you."
The man paused, staring at Elio as if to get a response from him.
He didn't, so he decided to resume.
"Based on what General Maldor said, these monsters are not to be angered. An attack from their entire colony is something that can leave this entire island in shambles, let alone just the Crescent Kingdom. That's why I propose we not poke them. We can find other alternatives but fighting them seems like summoning danger upon ourselves."
'Interesting!'
A murmur erupted throughout the officials, but Elio just walked toward the man, his face expressionless.
"And what are those alternatives?" he asked. "Do you have an idea in mind perhaps?"
The man didn't say anything.
"Ah, thought so! There's no other alternatives. The bastards can't talk so we can discuss a truce with them. What else can we do except attack?"
Standing behind him, Elio grabbed his shoulders and forced him to sit, saying, "We already know those things are a danger. What we don't know is, how can we fight them? And that's what we want to know. We don't need ideas that make us pessimistic, but those that make us optimistic.
"Can we build a huge trap that can capture 11 Blues at the same time? Of course we can. Can we then make more of those traps? Of course we can. What kind of traps would those be? What do we need to make them? Those are the ideas that I want."
He let the silence hang in the air as he walked back to his chair, then sat down, reclined in it and stared at them, his gaze demanding answers.
'If I had enough PPP,' he thought. 'I would buy a bomb or some acid or some big gun that fires fire. But I don't. Even if I did, those bastards are fast and almost invincible. I wouldn't want to be on the front line lest I want to die when this life is my dreams coming true.'
Some of the officials were staring on the table, others on the ceiling, General Maldor at the hilt of his sword, Lord Ahtred at Elio's ring.
It seemed like his words had awoken their imaginations but they weren't coming so fast.
That's why he rose to his feet and said, "Think about it. Make plans and consult people who are not here but who you know can provide great ideas. We will meet in the evening to hear what you have gathered."
With this, he walked out of the hall, and images of Mareen filled his mind as he headed toward his chambers.
It was time for lunch, and who knows. Maybe another round.
'I hope she won't ask me for more ice-creams again?'