Six Months Later.

Throughout the journey, Aron dedicated as little time as possible to his official duties. Instead, he chose to spend the majority of his time with his wife and his friends, cherishing his friend's rare physical presence together in the past several years. He also enjoyed playing games with his younger brother and occasionally had a talk with his parents, who were still reveling in their renewed vigor like every old person following the empire-wide rejuvenation program."I will do so,"

Unfortunately, no matter how enjoyable a semi-vacation might be, it eventually has to come to an end. No matter how powerful he was, Aron wasn't exempt from this rule. His fleet arrived outside Proxima Centauri's heliosphere, emerging from FTL travel and releasing whatever they dragged throughout the journey to be dealt with by the heliosphere.

The fleet was currently at a full stop, as per Arons order. He wanted to test something.

Mhh. Aron mused with his eyes closed before opening them and stating, With this, I can say that the amount of mana in space outside star systems is constant. He had been testing this theory more than ten times throughout the journey, beginning outside the solar systems heliosphere and continuing randomly at various points, with the final test conducted outside Proxima Centauris heliosphere, leading him to this conclusion.

As he hovered outside the spaceship, Aron turned his body using his spacesuit until he was facing the Proxima star system, which appeared like any other star in the sky if viewed from Earth. He then turned to face the opposite direction, towards the solar system, which looked equally insignificant. "We really are nothing in the grand scheme of things," he said slowly before he started moving back toward his spaceship, which immediately activated its tractor beam to catch and pull him in.

After undergoing the decontamination processnecessary because, without a heliosphere to protect him, he had been directly exposed to everything the galaxy had to offer, with only his shield and spacesuit for protectionAron ordered, "Move out," as he removed his suit.

I cant wait to meet them, Rina said with excitement.

Although the Proximians had been fully revived and communication with their star system had been established, allowing for interaction between the two groups, the imperial family had yet to have an official meeting with their leadership.

They were planning to hold this meeting after their meeting with the tree folk, as the outcome of the discussion with the tree folk would influence the environment of their official encounter with the Proximian leadership.

Her excitement was understandable, given that almost everyone on Earth had interacted with the Proximians through VR and had found them quite likable. Despite knowing the essential aspects of being human, the Proximians possessed a uniqueness and purity that most of humanity had lost over time. This made them a respected and admired group.

Dont worry, you will soon, Aron said as he entered the room, his hair tousled from his spacesuit, earning a chuckle from Rina.

Dont you know, the closer something gets, the longer the wait becomes? she said, running her hand through his hair to smooth it into a more presentable fashion.

As they continued their pleasant conversation, the fleet began moving again, making its way toward the star system.

.

For the past six months, Lee Joon-ho had been feeling quite bored since their evacuation from the planet. With little to do but monitor mundane tasks in the control room, he had often felt sleepy. But all of that was now forgotten as both he and everyone in the control room had their mouths open in surprise at what they were currently seeing.

Holy mother, Lee exclaimed from the control room, finally breaking the silence. His reaction echoed the feelings of everyone in the room as they gazed at the breathtaking visualization of the star system.

Although they had been tracking the emperor's journey, the tracking data had only shown the fleet as a blob while in FTL, and most had been too busy working overtime on the planets evacuation to follow the live broadcast at the start of his journey.

Therefore, it came as quite a surprise to them to see that the emperor was arriving with a thousand ships as escortsessentially moving an entire countrys worth of protection for fewer than ten people.

He isnt messing around at all, someone in the room remarked as they watched the fleet move steadily within the star system, drawing closer to the planet with each passing moment.

..

At the same moment:

Looks like they are finally here, Birch said from within the timeless meadow as the fleet entered the star system, passing through the heliosphere.

He has quite an aura with him. Is this what they call the aura of leadership? Oak spoke, his voice deep and serious, a stark contrast to Birchs softer tone.

His words were met with agreement from everyone. Although they couldnt perfectly visualize Aron due to his relative size and distance, he appeared to be glowing compared to the other humans on the approaching fleet.

I dont think it has to do with his leadership or anything, Crabapple said, rubbing his invisible bearda trait he had adopted from the dwarves he had selected and created. Rayyan doesnt have anything close to resembling that.

As the three were conversing, Mangrove and Cypress remained silent, simply listening to the discussion. The three had grown accustomed to this dynamic, as it was a recurring occurrence within their space.

We should start preparing for his arrival since we promised to meet him personally, Birch said, immediately setting about constructing a massive palace for their meeting.

Since the guest was special, Birch knew she couldn't construct a palace during the meeting itself as she had done with Ayaka. She understood human etiquette better now and knew that preparing a grand setting in advance was the appropriate approach.

The others didnt interfere with her efforts but sent a root each, which swiftly grew into a tree next to Birchs, ready to be converted into their humanoid forms for the meeting.

These massive movements didnt go unnoticed by those watching the live stream, which had been showcasing different scenes of the star system, including the planet.

The changes attracted a great deal of attention, as this particular scene had previously only shown a humble tree. They made it clear to everyone that the meeting was approaching with each passing second.