The Red Crystal Kingdom
Quick Meeting

After entering the meeting room, King Endan and Queen Sofia sat in the chair and observed the higher-ups who were waiting for the start of the meeting carefully.

Across from the two of them, there was one elongated table and seven parallel seats already occupied by the six members of the Seven Elders.

A dwarf man as big as a dragonfly wearing a long-sleeved red shirt and white trousers appeared to float – kites beside Queen Sofia. His dragonfly wings were packing fast. The golden light shimmered weakly from his body. It was Hikin, a Pixi.

Istandi who is located at the end has been sitting neatly and ready since the King and the Queen entered the Meeting Room. He observed the two of them while watching Hikin and his golden light.

Next to Stephen, sat Hita. He served as Marine Section Officer. He was wearing an office ash – uniform. The short-haired woman is preparing the – file used for the report while occasionally fixing her glasses.

Rowan who was sitting next to Hita was crossing her arms and looked at the sky – sky in the meeting room. I can't wait to start the meeting this time. Next to the Soldier, Rena was writing something on a piece of paper while occasionally fixing her ponytail hair.

Gurin served as the Financial Officer. Like Hita, he is also checking the – files that will be reported in this meeting.

Next to Gurin, sit Faraq. The man served as the person in charge of Inter-regional Relations. He was circulating his gaze around the meeting room while drowning in daydreams.

Sofia looked at all the higher-ups who had come. When the Queen's gaze was fixed on the empty chair, her brows furrowed. “Hikin, have you told Kamasa about this meeting?”

“Already, Queen...” Hikin said in a squeaking voice. “I did not find him around palace”

“Have you reached it through Relationship Ball?” Sofia tidied up the red dress she was wearing.

Hikin. “Kamasa Lord Relationship Ball is also unattainable.”

After Endan listened to the conversation between Sofia and Hikin, he decided to ask the higher-ups directly.

“Do any of you know about the existence of Kamasa?” The king raised his voice.

Some of the higher-ups were stunned. There's no answer. A moment later, Faraq replied quietly, “He left me permission that he was visiting the kingdom of Oslar for three weeks, Sire.”

“Since when?”

“Since the fourth earthquake, Sire.”

Sofia said slowly, “Baginda, even as a Palace Advisor, Kamasa is rarely in the palace late – this. I remember that you told him to make a career with Faraq so that his knowledge of Namaril becomes more extensive.”

Endan nodded. Sofia's right. He rarely even needed Kamasa's advice on the efforts of the palace government. This time it's different. He needs Kamasa. But he rarely communicated with him at the beginning of this disaster, even the thing he talked about was not about this disaster.

Endan still felt a little curious about Kamasa's need for the Kingdom of Oslar. Maybe he is negotiating or trying to solve this problem.

“Does this include duty sharing with you, Faraq?” ask the King.

Faraq. “No, Sire. Mr. Kamasa went to Oslar on his own initiative.”

Endan nodded. Maybe the problem we will discuss in this meeting. His condition is precarious. He should immediately start the meeting he planned. “Hikin, let's start the meeting!”

“Good.” Hikin snapped his finger. A black paper and pen instantly appeared and airs beside him. The Pixi whistled, ordering the two tools to be ready to write down notes.

The higher-ups began to pay close attention.

-    -

"You have understood the purpose of this meeting" Endan began. "We are in a precarious state. We must act immediately. But before, I would like to hear about the development of the condition of this kingdom from your reports."

The King faces towards Hita. "Please report on developments in the marine sector, Hita!"

Hita holds her report file.  “Baginda, this periodic earthquake may happen in about a minute, but many ships are shipwrecked because of it. Due to the earthquake, three Bosses reported that several crew members drowned while they were doing activities in the middle of the sea."

"It's very strange" said Endan. His view leads to Rena. "Does the Witch of the Palace have any information about the earthquake at sea?"

"Baginda," said Rena, "in discussion with the Elemental Witches, we draw the conclusion that the vibrations in the sea are still considered harmless. Hita and I have also agreed that marine activities will be carried out as usual."

"Is that true, Hita?" ask Endan.

"That's right, Sire," replied Hita, the woman opened the file on the table for a moment. Moments later, he added, "Another thing to worry about is that, Ubida, the higher-ups of the Kingdom of Igardias are not aware of this either. Their representatives reported that some of their crew members were also killed while trading around the Kastala sea.

I fear that, if this continues to drag on and this periodic earthquake is not immediately resolved, then the entire kingdom in Namaril will be reluctant to do business with us."

King Endan was silent for a moment. He spread his gaze throughout the higher-ups. Afterwards, he said, "Thank you for the report, Hita."

"Samely, Sire" said Hita.

Endan slid both of his palms.  "Rowan, next report!"

Rowan placed both of her hands on the table. "I've assigned a line of soldiers to help the people. They were also the main ambush in the citizen rallies that took place today, aided by several Magicians sent by Senior Highness Rena.

“In addition, I also assign Soldiers to serve to protect the citizens who are victims of this disaster. Together with Istandi, I have also forced residents to commute their activities and evacuate themselves on certain sites that have been provided to maintain their safety.”

"What about team training, Rowan?" Endan opened his hand. "As far as I'm concerned, you're very intense in terms of strengthening the troops."

"I'm still teaming up, Sire, too" Rowan continued. "After all, I also suspect that this includes a conspiracy to bring you down."

"That's my worst assumption, Sire."

"Well," Endan thought for a moment, then said, "I'll accommodate your assumptions, Rowan. But we wouldn't be so bad to think about this. Thanks for the report."

"Samely, Sire."

"The temple?"

"Si-prepared, Sire," said Istandi while stammering with bricks due to his shock. He immediately collected his file, then reported, "I have gathered information about the condition of the people living in the palace settlement, Your Majesty.

"The patrol I did with Mr. Rowan produced a collection of reports that there were still people doing work in between the earthquake. As announced by the Supreme Court of Rena, this shock occurs every two days. Most likely they concluded that they could work and move as usual in between the gaps of disaster."

Rena added, "The bi-day period we announce is not necessarily consistent, Sire."

"That's right," Stephen continued. "In addition, because of that, some residents also defected by still doing work activities that have been announced to be dispensed with.

"Additionally, the protests that citizens are protesting today are, in my estimation, because citizens are dissatisfied with their lives and want you to act immediately.

"When Mr. Rowan and I were on patrol yesterday, I even stole hearing that the king's decision was absurd. They said that some activities should be done outdoors, such as teaching and learning activities.

"That's what I'm doing to ensure the safety of the people. Because of this undecided earthquake, we cannot be sure which building debris will fall on their heads" Endan explained.  "In addition, evacuation sites are not effective places to do teaching and learning activities."

Stephen nodded. "Maybe that's all I can say right now, Sire."

"Alright, Istandi," said Endan. "I want to ascertain the condition and situation first before making any further decisions. Thanks for the report."

"Samely, Sire."

"Gurin, report immediately about the palace treasury!"

Gurin began to report, "The financial part of the kingdom is still stable, Sire. Even before this bizarre disaster occurred, we can confirm that we still have abundant resources.

“I'm worried. If the situation is like this, even if at all, the results of the marine sector being the main focus of the Kingdom of Kastala will be reduced, because the government money will also come out to finance people affected by the disaster.

"In addition, it has been two weeks of this earthquake. While the uncertainty of periodic earthquakes that occur will make the financial sector uncertain and tend to shrink.”

"I understand, Gurin. The policy to become a financial part will take a significant hit because of this. However, for now, we can still withdraw taxes from people from the upper class who live around the settlement of Kastala. Didn't we?"

"It's been announced, Sire, but we're having problems with execution because the rich people in the settlements around the palace feel they're being taken advantage of."

"That's right, Sire," Rowan said. "Together with Istanbul, I have also patrolled and announced the withdrawal of additional taxes to the citizens. But people from the upper middle class choose not to evacuate, but to flee to another island, Sire."

“Alright, Gurin," Endan let out a long sigh. Thanks for the report."

"Samely, Sire."

"Rena, what's the crucial thing about this disaster that you want to tell us?"

Rena placed both her hands on the table. "Baginda, I've listened to previous reports.

“The Witch's Palace Society concluded that the magnitude or level of vibration that occurs when an earthquake occurs is not so large that some parts of the area are affected by large magnitudes and some of them are not that large and cause some people are forcing themselves to work.

“Settlement - other settlements on Kastala Island also felt the earthquake. However, it is not as severe as the settlements around Kastala Palace. This is because the epicenter is here.

“In addition, Hospitals, Evacuation Sites, and other important sites are still sturdy because they are built using special earthquake-resistant and shock-resistant materials. So, until now, these places are still not affected by this earthquake.

“Although, if this earthquake continues to occur, what I fear is the destruction of these places, Your Majesty. Even the Earth Element Witch and Water Element had no knowledge of this.”

King Endan held his chin while looking at the entire Highness. Queen Sofia watched each report closely. He noticed the indignation reflected in the face of the King.

King Endan set his sights on Faraq. "Next report, Interregional Relations"

Faraq fixed his sitting position. "The kingdoms of Igardias, Rimasti, Oslar, and Enmar have been visited by me to convey this, Your Majesty. With Kamasa's acceleration magic, I was able to travel around Amaril's world in a fast tempo.

“The conclusion that I can convey to you through my journey during this strange earthquake is that other kingdoms are not burdened by providing assistance in the form of basic needs by sea, by sea, as reported by the Hita Board, experiencing various problems.

"In addition to Mr. Rowan assuming that someone wants to bring you down, I have an assumption that Witches outside the Kingdom of Kastala are the perpetrators of this disaster of uncertainty."

"Magic is not the main origin of this disaster, Faraq," Rena said. "We agreed with that."

"You can say that, Rena," Faraq grinned. He glanced at the Witch. "Can't deny that there are some magic that even Witches can't come to, even the association you guys put up is nil, right?"

Rena just looked at Faraq annoyed. "Yes, but—"

“You must hear Faraq's explanation first, Rena,” cut Endan. "Did Kamasa know this, Faraq?"

"The times are not in line with me in this," said Faraq, "but he will leave a solution to restore this earthquake to me."

Endan looked at Faraq with a serious look with curiosity. "All right, say it!"