“Emperor Michael,” Captain Francis greeted me in the morning.

“Captain Francis, another fun day,” I replied as I looked at myself in a body mirror, making sure my appearance was good.

“You mentioned I could speak to you if there is an issue. There is an issue,” he said.

“Alright, sitting room or my office?” I asked.

“Here is fine,” he replied. I nodded at that, and we both sat at a nearby table. “The assassination, I think it was a poor choice,” he said. I nodded at that.

“Poor for what reason?” I asked.

“You sacrificed a person,” he said. “While I get that sacrifices need to be made occasionally, I dislike how it was done,” he told me. Everyone had opinions on how I should do things. But unlike others Captain Francis knew where a lot of the bodies were buried, both figuratively and literally.

I nodded slowly at him. “And what would be your suggestion on how to handle things?” I asked.

“Speak with them, and send them on their way,” he replied. I shook my head at that and let out a sigh.

“It was cruel, deceptive, and very vile. To use a human being as a fake suicide bomber in order to kill political dissidents. But it was also necessary. What do you think unites the Purgatory Empire?” I asked him.

“You,” he finally said.

“Me. Fear of my power. But fear only goes so far. The Divine Empress spent her time stopping on ants, and she eventually fell down. She lost sight of what was important. Stability, and progression forward. Have you studied Earth history?” I asked him.

“A bit,” he said and I smiled at that.

“A vast number of wars before the renaissance were based on religion, or used religion as a pretext. You can’t have a discussion with religious people. Since it isn’t a question about facts, but about morals and beliefs. You can’t win or even come to a conclusion about such a discussion. If they had left with me rejecting things, then it would boil up slowly are surely,” I replied.

“You killed them to stop future conflicts, so you don’t have to deal with them,” he said.

“Yes. It is also why I founded my own church. People need a moral center. America had it right centuries ago, separating the church and the state, but the problem is people came to believe the government provided their moral compass. I am not naïve enough to think that my government won’t have issues. I envision a vast human Empire one day. For that we need to be unified,” I replied.

“I see. I understand, I just dislike that it was done,” he said.

“It was necessary. The Earth religions will be painted as extreme and uncompromising. I expect their recent support to crumble. Then this problem will come up in another five years to a decade as more people arrive. Was there anything else?” I asked him.

“No Emperor Michael. Thank you for hearing my concerns, I will speak to any of the soldiers that have issues,” he told me, and I nodded at this.

“A nation is different than a person. At its core, a nation must have an identity. I am trying to create that to unify the people beyond fear, but it isn’t simple or easy. Now we have celebrations to attend,” I replied.

“Yes, the first agenda item is the community breakfast. Several people have been invited to the Imperial Palace to have breakfast with you. Representatives from various cities that aren’t part of the governors’ power blocs, mostly businesspeople. The day will be spent going about the festival that has set up, checking the various goods for sale. The evening is dinner with a group of four governors.”

“Ah yes. That was something I agreed to, wasn’t it?” I asked.

“Indeed. Anything else?” I asked.

“Just deploying nine people for your security detail. Mainly to stop the crowds. Another five will be on overwatch, when you are outside the Imperial Palace,” Captain Francis told me.

“Time for breakfast,” I said and I left my section of the Imperial Palace. Samantha was waiting outside to greet me.

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“Good morning Emperor Michael. There are several main things that the people meeting you are concerned about,” she said.

“Go on.” I waved a hand to indicate she should get on with it.

“There is concern about safety along the major roads. And they are looking for support for specific products. Possibly pitching you ideas to invest in,” she replied.

“Doesn’t Clarissa handle this stuff?” I asked.

“She has someone else handle it, and these are the successful businesspeople. Their wealth and power is threatening to encroach on the realm of governors, and they want assurances as well.”

“How?” I asked.

“Food products mostly. Also, we have a patent system for specific products that aren’t food. Specifically engineered options. Anything that has to be assembled. They get a five year patent for whatever they create excluding national security. There is probably going to be something brought up about that.”

“Not my area of concern. That is all Clarissa,” I replied.

“It is, but they want to present their case to you.” I nodded at this. I arrived at the private dining area.

“Announcing, Emperor Michael,” Samantha went in first and announced me. Three men and two women stood up.

“Please, sit. I am glad we could have breakfast togeather. Sorry for my slight delay. Just dealing with some of the drama from yesterday,” I said.

“Not a problem. I am glad you are okay,” one of the men said with a mustache. I took my seat as food was brought out.

“I am told you have things you wanted to bring to my attention?” I asked as a servant poured a cup full of freshly squeezed chilled orange juice.

“Indeed. I heard you like getting right to the issue. We are concerned about the talk of inter-city taxes. We all operate multi-city businesses and there are rumors that the governors want to tax trade. In addition there is not enough protection on the roads,” the mustached man said. I nodded at this.

“The taxes are remaining where they are. This is in consultation with Supreme Governor Clarissa. No change is planned at this time, nor are there plans for plans. Developing the economy is important. As for trade, cities are to patrol their roads, and protect tax shipments. But I can see things falling through the cracks.”

“We are expanding the Imperial military. And trouble areas are quickly found. So, I don’t see there being too much concern. If you go off road, that is another thing entirely,” I replied.

“There are also rumors of war,” one of the women asked as she buttered some toast. “Is there going to be a war and anything we should be aware of?”

“Seal the room,” I told Samantha standing behind me. She nodded and the nearby servants were escorted out and the doors closed. “There is a job crisis as I am sure many of you are aware of?” They all nodded at this. These people weren’t sitting here since they were stupid.

“It is also confirmed we are about a half to a third of the Systemic Lands and there are rumors of inhuman intelligences, which are not monsters out there. We will be gearing up to move the Empire into a defensive posture, while encouraging people to go out and take cities of the opposing nations,” I explained. There were several frowns at this, while two of the people kept poker faces.

I buttered some toast and tossed a few pieces of bacon on top. Completely unhealthy, but that was what restorations and grinding were for.

“I…I don’t get it,” the woman who had asked earlier said.

“He means, that people are going to be kicked out into the enemy nations to get rid of them and fight. Basically creating a wild west, where anyone can take over a city,” a gaunt looking man said with a slight British accent.

“That is basically correct,” I replied with a nod.

“Armor will be a big deal. Using plates is definitely the best,” the second woman said.

“You and your combination plate armor. It is much more expensive,” a man groaned.

“Only for the initial price, but upkeep it is much better. Just replace the damaged plate. It concentrates the enchantment to a smaller area. You can get level 4 protection using level 3 enchantments,” she said.

“But you have gaps. Sure, you can enchant the clothing as well, but it is less solid, than one main piece,” mustache man said.

“Is the government accepting any contracts at this time?” plate armor woman asked.

“That falls under Clarissa’s approval. But once things open up, well, people will need to be supplied. This is in the far future, a year or two out,” I explained.

“Well, crafting crystals are in high demand. I heard a rumor, that you arrived back with a sizable amount of level 5 base crafting crystals. Will they be on the open market?” Mustache man asked.

“There will be limited auctions for a portion. The Imperial Government will be purchasing the bulk at the set prices. However, there are a lot of crafting crystals. A few custom sets of equipment,” I replied.

“We need more supply on crafting crystals,” the first woman said.

“Then offer more points. The market will set the prices, as I am sure you are all aware. While the government encourages people to get crafting crystals. People need stats to fight higher level monsters,” I said.

“They need equipment. I have several people, looking for funding if you are interested in sponsoring some level 4 teams?” the second plate armor woman asked me.

“Not at this time. I can only support government sanctioned teams and my own team,” I said and then began to eat my heart attack sandwich. The discussion continued with the occasional question about level 5 and 6 monsters and zones.

I merely said they were hard and changed the topic of conversation to something else. That information was kept in my pocket to trade with grinders once they got that far. This was to ensure the Imperial Government had a monopoly on high level grinding.

Also, some monsters were easier than others. Knowing the easiest monsters, their habits, and special abilities took me a long time. If this information was shared, then it would come with a huge price tag. Once people could grind level 5 zones, they wouldn’t want to poke each one. I could just give them a zone, and they would have to pay a higher share of the crystals they got from that area, or at least a large fee.