Once my shadow finished its meal, my stomach immediately felt like it expanded. Not my literal stomach, but my shadow stomach, where I store any and everything I need. To make things even more interesting, the Epitaph window was still open and the name The Beast was crossed out and replaced with a new Epitaph called Charybdis and my signature also seemed to have been upgraded as well, also sharing the name Charybdis.

Looks like there’s a relation between my signature and Epitaph, interesting. The greedy presence is no longer here, so I think I should be waking up soon-.

I opened my eyes, I was in my bedroom in Garudora. How did I end up here? I’m supposed to be back in Minami for my training.

At that same moment, Marigold walked into the room and dropped the towels she was caring to rush to my side. She was teary eyed and gave me a hug, “Young Mistress, we-we were all so worried!” Marigold wasn’t making any sense, I was only asleep, or so I thought. It turned out I was in a coma for a solid week after I had my conversation with Uncle Aether.

Was that all, a dream? Jade and the other maids came to aid Marigold with my recovery. They were all full of tears of relief and joy as they smothered me with their embrace.

After the maid’s inspection, they advised me of my being in Garudora. Rubella explained that Lilac and Marigold took turns looking over me. They said that one of them would be there, praying for a full recovery.

I’m so grateful, although they were our parents’ subordinates, they were also my mother’s relatives; each of them chose to serve our family. When I asked them why, they simply smiled and said that my mother and father had a light about them. A light that shined so bright that they had no choice but to follow it.

Some time had passed and an escort had arrived to take me back to Minami. Being away for two weeks had the palace in shambles, everyone had thought the Curse of Lady Mammon had consumed my soul.

“Wait, the what-now?”

Ayo took a long winded sigh and shook her head, “honestly, Princess, you really are hopelessly clueless,” she snickered. I honestly had no idea what she was talking about. “Surely you remember me telling you the story of the first Empress of Minami?” Ayo inquired squinting her eyes.

I thought about it, was it one of those creepy stories she was telling while we were at sea? Ayo folded her arms and pouted. “I can’t believe you forgot my tale!” I didn’t know what to say, I honestly felt really bad. However, she did remind me of the curse and its origins.

She spoke of how when first Empress first became ruler of the country, the people thrived and things were prosperous. The Empress, unknowingly had an affliction that caused her signature to consume her soul. Once the Empress’ soul was consumed, the signature cursed the throne and the one who sits on it.

“But it looks like you broke the curse!” Ayo’s smile could light up an entire horizon. She looked like she’d been stressing herself out over this whole curse.

After a few hours of reassurance with the entire palace staff, I finally had some time alone. “First things first,” I closed my eyes and concentrated; when I opened my eyes, I saw it, the interface. “So it was real, does that mean, that thing was the curse?”

I looked at my Epitaphs tab and checked the titles. As I had thought, the title Charybdis had replaced the title, The Beast. I had a great deal of thought about the matter and I believe that I had come up with a fair conclusion. “I’m guessing that chasm nightmare was the curse at work and that thing was the result of Lady Mammon and her signature. The thing was persistent, and was trying wear me down over the years. It likely thought I was a threat from the jump…”

I had noticed something strange as I had the interface open, my thinking was a lot faster than it was before. A small text box appeared, it had said the ability that was currently in use was called “Thought Acceleration”. The skill was gained when my signature evolved into Charybdis. Essentially, I can perceive time faster than the average mage, and Uncle Aether then told me that most, if not all Demon Lords have this ability.

After I familiarized myself with my new signature, I met up with my uncle for an important lecture, “so you should have gained access to the LGIN, the Lesser God Interface Network,” he spoke with a informed tone. “All Demon Lords of this world are considered Lesser Gods as the Supreme/Patron Goddess, was and is Lady Tiamat.”

I did know that they were strong, but I didn’t know that they were considered gods. He then further explained just how important my role and position would be, “Although I am strong, I am nowhere near as powerful as you will become”.

It was weird, hearing the most powerful person in the empire call me superior. I didn’t know what to think of it, “Uncle Aether, since you’re technically a god, does that mean you have worshippers?” I asked. Where I’m from, gods were revered and deified by humans. I had wondered if the same applied in hTraé.

“Goodness no!” Uncle Aether exclaimed, “though our subordinates and the residents of our continents have a great deal of respect for us, it would be seen as heresy. The lesser gods serve as administrators of the world, we hold the fabric of reality together with our respective Aspects”.

His Aspect was that of Space, meaning he had complete dominion over spatial magic. My uncle was the real deal, he could do things that I could only ever dream of doing, and here he was telling me that I have what it takes to be his successor. It was a task that I couldn’t possibly refuse, I had figured that I could use this to my advantage seeing as I will become empress soon.

Uncle Aether decided that I would undergo an intense training course for spatial magic. If I had to explain the training lightly, it involved me expand my ‘stomach’ to be able to fit a small castle. I’ll spare you the painful experience, and say that I have in fact reached the maximum capacity of my stomach. I’d estimate it being about four times that of the designated goal.

I wasn’t just limited to that, I also needed to understand how to manipulate the space around me and between locations. My uncle taught me a concept of folding the space between two different locations, this was the fundamental principle of the spell ‘Gate’. He’d already given Myrlin access to use the spell after he began studying with Lady Hypnos; this is called a “Co-Signing”, as long as the original mage is still alive, the Co-Signing mage will have access to the signature. However, since I’m inherently a spatial mage, I will have to master it without the use of a Co-Sign, I’ll have to make it my own.

It was tough and tricky to figure out, but I visualized the space as a piece of paper and folded the distance between. It took me a lot of trial and error, but I was ultimately able to open gates all of my own, only to places that I’ve been though. The space between is familiar and easier to manipulate, and of course, if I’m going be an administrator of the world, then this skill is essential.

After I was able to understand spatial magic a bit more, Uncle Aether told me that I would have to learn government policies and understand the economy of Minami. Since we’re in a mountainous region, we rely heavily upon our coal mines and oil reserves. Us and the Armed Federation of Albadorph are the two largest exporters for mining goods in hTraé, but for different reasons. Albadorph has an emphasis on smithing and rare ores for enchanting. We have an extreme supply chain of coal and it was my responsibility to ensure we maintain friendly relations with all nations in hTraé.

I would have been completely lost had it not been for the head of the merchant guild, Guild Master Ifenlakanemitsu Babataro; his name means ‘Father’s golden shield of light,’ and he definitely lived up to the name. “Hohoho!! Young Mistress, the coal Minami produces is some of the finest you’ll find in all of ShanGriLa!” Babataro bolstered, he was extremely wealthy and had a great deal of influence in the merchant world. He was a robust older businessman that was very popular amongst the more mature palace maids. Every day I would see him flirting with one maid in particular, Chinamiku, she was one of the maids that had taken me home when I was out for a week. I didn’t want to pry in their affairs, I just found it interesting that people will always be people, no matter the circumstances.

“Young Mistress, commerce is the way of the game,” Babataro explained. “It is essential that a leader is able to negotiate and barter deals”. Babataro knew so much about this subject, I even considered taking up apprenticeship with him to further my understanding. That was until he met his untimely demise; Babataro was an elder man after all.

Chinamiku asked if she could lead the funeral ceremony, as Crown Princess, the only thing I could do was oblige and grant her request. It was a depressing day in Minami, the streets were filled with mourning dragonmen all dressed in crimson and royal purple kimonos. It was the first funeral I’d ever been to since I’d reincarnated, and I was in for a major surprise. On Earth, in the Gulf Coast of Mexico, there is a port city by the name of New Orleans, and whenever there is a funeral there, they have a march. Something similar happens in Minami. The streets were filled with the residents and as we marched to the burial site, there hadn’t been a word. Once he was buried however, Chinamiku directed everyone to celebrate Babataro’s life with food and drinks and plenty of music.

Babataro had been in charge of the merchant’s guild for well over five hundred years. under his watch, he saw the rise of Minami’s economy and maintained it the wealth using his friendly barter method. He would reach out to all the nations in hTraé and speak highly not only about the goods that we offered, but also the potential good that it could do for which ever country he was speaking with. It wasn’t hard to understand why Uncle Aether trusted him; the man had literally the best reputation when it came down to selling and buying.

Babataro once sat me down to teach me the importance of commerce, “commerce is my life, it is my love, Young Mistress”. Babataro explained it in a way that reminded me of the old men back in Memphis that always had the hidden sauce and knew what was up. “Like take this gold coin here,” he pulled out a dazzling gold ShanGriLarian coin. “This love I have for this one coin, matches that of my love for Lady Tiamat”! They said money was the root of all evil, and whoever said that, must not have met the kind and gentle soul that was Babataro.

Although my time with him was short, I did manage to meet the one that would take up his role as Merchant Guild Master, his son, Babamaru. Much like his father, he was a well-versed in bargaining and trade, as well as some knowledge on the politics of the merchant world. “My father taught me everything I know, it’ll be like he never left Minami”, he’d exclaim.

I figured a transition of power would be inevitable, considering how old my uncle is. It was like his cabinet was outdated, but I would have a much easier time with a fresh set of staff working with me that at least know the ropes. I already had the future commander of the Imperial Guard, and now I can add the future Merchant Guild Master to that list.