Clarissa had roped me into the First Council of Governors since I was in town. It was set to last four days and would happen once every hundred days. This was the first one since the Empire of Purgatory had truly been born after the death of the Divine Empress.

The initial formation of the Imperial Government and appointment of governors didn’t count. There was a special building set aside just for this that wasn’t part of the Imperial Palace. A way to show that the governors had some independence from the Imperial government, but still part of it, since they had to come to the capital.

I had an elevated seat at the back. A comfortable chair draped with Purgatory’s flag. Clarissa sat in front of me along at a lower level with her directors on either side of her. There were assistants down below on another level. The governors and vice governors were at the same level as Clarissa with their assistants below.

Imperial soldiers lined the walls, and my protection detail was out in force also. I noted my protection detail got capes while other soldiers didn’t. A minor detail, but an important one. They normally didn’t wear capes, but Samantha had come up with the idea and I approved. It was to separate them as an elite force that answered only to me.

“All rise! Announcing Emperor Michael of the Empire of Purgatory. Slayer of the Divine Empress. Custodian of the Avatar. Successor of the United City States,” Captain Francis called out. Everyone grew silent as my protection detail swept in front of me. And then I entered. Everyone bowed slightly as I made my way down the main aisle and up to my throne.

I took my seat. “Thank you for attending, my governors. You may be seated,” I said and they all sat. “I hereby call the First Council of Governors to order. Supreme Governor Clarissa speaks on my behalf,” I said my scripted lines.

She rose up and bowed to me before turning towards the assembled people. “Thank you, Emperor Michael, for your continued trust in the Imperial Government. Today we will be confirming several temporary appointments to the position of governor. Going over the Imperial Budget. Then answering any questions of the Imperial Government,” Clarissa said and quickly got to work explaining each vote and moving things along.

Various temporary appointments were confirmed to their governorships without issue for the captured cities and the governors that had been killed. The first day was for Clarissa and her directors to get through any and all the business of the Imperial Government. Technically I could go before her, but I didn’t have anything.

My job was to just sit here and try and not look too bored. At least I had a table in front of me and a notebook I could doodle in and do math in. Make people think I am taking notes, while I was contemplating my passive income and just killing time, while I also kept working on my curse damage.

Clarissa was going through budget expenditures. While the governors had no power over the Imperial Government’s portion of the taxes, they were being shared to let people know how the points were being spent.

There were questions of course, about airships, and other expensive purchases that Clarissa had covered with me. How tough were the Null Skill walls compared to before? Was a cannon attack tested on them? Would cannons be available for sale from Purgatory at cost? Would we be selling level 4 crystals for other cities’ Training Halls?

Clarissa had the governors submit their questions ahead of time, so she was ready with answers for all of them. I held back a yawn. I probably shouldn’t have covered so much of this stuff with her before, but it was nice to be able to tune most of it out. My doodle skills were terrible as I tried to draw a dragon.

Once most of the questions were handled, food was brought in for lunch. Various groups formed to chat with each other in the Council Chamber. I had breakfast and wasn’t that hungry. I was determined to get abs one way or the other and didn’t want to get fat. So, I had been paying attention to what I was eating, since I had been stuffing my face recently.

It would be all too easy to turn into a tub of lard again. I didn’t know if that would happen, but if I wasn’t hungry, I wouldn’t force myself. It was torture, but I had talked to Captain Francis about this, and he had made changes to our meals in the wilderness to be more spartan.

The food was eventually taken away and the afternoon session started up. There were some remaining questions, but nothing too serious or that caught my attention. The next part were the petitions to the Imperial Government and indirectly me.

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That was one privilege the governors had. To address me directly and request things. I could refuse or agree. “The floor is now open to petitions of the Imperial Government,” Clarissa said. There was a bit of silence then one governor stood up.

The little label in front of their desk showed they were from The Abyss. A city to the Southwest next to a line of void zones. “Supreme Governor Clarissa, I would petition that an expedition be made to cross the void zones in an airship to ascertain our location and general standing in the Systemic Lands.”

“Governor Francis, your request is heard, but at this time, the Imperial Government is focusing on consolidation of power and the economy. We will not be financing any attempts at exploration at this time. Nor will any attempts be authorized outside of foot travel,” Clarissa said.

“However you are welcome to bring this topic up at a later date. It is under consideration. But we must ensure our safety and prosperity first, before reaching out,” she explained.

“Thank you,” Governor Francis replied and sat down.

“Are there any other petitions of the Imperial Government?” Clarissa asked. An older woman stood up.

“Supreme Governor Clarissa, I would like to petition for the use of crystal drugs. I have uncovered one black market in my city of Normandy. There may be others. Such information will not be contained. And legalization was allowed before with the processor government to the Empire of Purgatory. I ask that they be legalized by the governors.” Oh, this was a bit interesting.

“Thank you for bringing such an important topic to my attention. At this time, we are not prepared to legalize crystal drugs.” I was surprised at that. Why was Clarissa doing that? I picked up a small mallet and rang a small bell on my desk. A soft chime went throughout the chamber.

It was basically the polite way of saying shut the hell up, I am going to speak. I set down the tiny mallet as Clarissa turned towards me. “Why is legalization off the table at this time?” I asked Clarissa as everyone listened to what was being said intently.

“Emperor Michael, there are long term consequences of drug use. While providing a sense of euphoria, there is mental corruption, slight curse damage, throughout the user including the brain. It is the policy of this government to avoid curse damage based on classified topic ‘m’.”

That meant meta-points. “That is only speculation, but your point is well taken. Give me a moment to think on how to address this petition myself,” I replied. We had gone back and forth on meta-points, but we needed people with them as a force multiplier. Any risk of weakening the overall pool would not be tolerated.

I looked at all the governors before speaking, who were staring intently at me. “Classified topic ‘m’ is the highest concern of both myself and the Imperial Government. Anyone speaking of it is to be sequestered immediately and brought to the Imperial Capital as per protocols already in place.”

“What can be shared is that is only speculation due to the limited knowledge of classified topic ‘m’ that outside system interactions play a negative role in its occurrence. Therefor, drugs may be legalized, but anyone using them shall be informed that there are long term health consequences of both the physical and mental variety. No government sponsored team or anyone working for the Imperial Government or the governors, the governors themselves, shall be allowed to use drugs.”

“Use will be considered a form of corruption, subject to the death penalty. No advertising shall be allowed for drugs. And they shall only be allowed in designated buildings. Any use outside of them is subject to death.”

“The only exception are life potions authorized and certified by the Director of Research or their representative. I will soon be releasing a small booklet on the dangers of curse damage. But this information should be spread about the populace. As for pricing the drugs, that is left to the individual cities.”

“Supreme Governor Clarissa, is there a bounty for news on classified topic ‘m’?” I asked.

“Not at this time,” she replied.

“While the details are considered one of the greatest secrets of the Systemic Lands and not to be spread, any city or governor that has or reports a subject of classified topic ‘m’ even if they do not know what it is, shall be awarded one hundred million points by me personally. If the person in question comes to the Imperial Capital peacefully,” I replied. There were gasps at such a large amount.

“May I speak Emperor Michael?” the old woman who had spoken up before asked again.

“Go ahead,” I gestured at her.

“What signs should we look for and what can well tell people?” Those were good questions.

“Clear the chamber of everyone but the directors and governors,” I ordered. “Including all the soldiers,” I ordered. Everyone left. The walls were extra thick and there were two doors on the chamber to contain information if I wanted it to be. People filed out and I gave a nod at Captain Francis as he left as well.

The doors were shut. “The following words are associated with classified topic ‘m’. They are not to be spread. Knowledge of classified topic ‘m’ limits its occurrence. It is absolutely imperative that this does not happen,” I explained. There were nods at this and people looked nervous.

“The following words are associated with classified topic ‘m’ and are not to be spread.” These were the same words that Clarissa’s auditors were meant to look for. “Death. Cube. Gold. That is it. Anyone who is the subject of classified topic ‘m’ is to be treated with the utmost respect.”