An old man was sitting in a luxurious room. He was writing something on lists of paper and after he finished a paper a servant took and hanged the paper to dry it.

“It was a long time ago…” The old man nostalgically murmured seemingly to himself, yet it was a story all of the servants who worked with him have heard more than once.

“Can Your Majesty tell me the story?” This servant was yet to hear the story but his colleagues told him that it is better to let the old man tell whatever he wanted.

“If you insist, boy. I wonder if you were born after the Coalition war?” The servant nodded.

“Then, listen carefully to what this old man tells you…” The emperor told the story of a certain goddess, whom he met one day. A story which is a good end for the empire only because of a pure coincidence, and a couple of well-placed words.

The majority of the story the emperor heard from the goddess’ followers but he still decided to believe them.

He has a lot of time to tell this story to the people who work when he is busy with writing. Ever since the need to maintain and control a large army became unnecessary the emperor had some time for himself which is why after the war this old man decided to dedicate some of his free time to writing books. He wrote many books and stories but now he was finishing his Magnum Opus – his memoirs.

He lives in the most peaceful of times, yet he is one of the few who saw the age of wars with his own eyes. The war left many scars on the political map of the continent and one of the few untouched pieces is his empire which avoided damage. Many opposed Fuji, even more were not obeying her orders. The Gru empire was one of the few nations which sworn their loyalty and continued serving without any incidents. Every time he remembers that, he has an unstoppable drive to tell everyone the story, not his, but his benefactor’s.

The emperor was telling the story with both passion and nostalgia. All of the servants who listened to him before remember the attention they gave to the emperor’s speech. Not because he is their sovereign but because they were so captivated.

The story approached its end and reluctantly the emperor had to finish it.

The next day the emperor entered his carriage and headed to the Celestial palace. He was invited to meet the goddess. They might not be the best friends but they still have good relations.

The closer he was to the destination, the more planes he saw flying around. Mostly they are so-called Reppu which are used in the celestial flight academy. Since the need of military power has diminished IJN Fuji became a floating flight academy where the bravest of people try to master the art of flying.

Soon his carriage passed a large gate which was the entrance into the continent’s capital city. The city itself is of no great importance because it is just an accommodation for the people who work in the palace, the true center of power.

Inside the palace’s second level, where the main palace is located, the emperor saw many young people. Most of these people were not nobles, they were royal heirs. All of the royal families have two duties: they must have their successors acknowledged by Fuji, and pay a small tax of 1 platinum coin per year. Of course the tax is small only for the goddess, whose greed still is rivaled only by her sloth.

While the emperor was looking at the royal children he was approached by a white-haired maiden.

“You Majesty, Franz Linden von Gru, the goddess is waiting for your arrival.” He knew this maiden for a long time, right after the war ended three maids arrived at his palace.

“Let’s not keep her waiting then.” He smiled and let the girl lead him.

His legs hurt after climbing to the third level but he knew that this is an honor for him. Only a handful of people were able to even see Fuji’s house.

When he entered a small paper house he was lead straight to the host.

“Hello, it’s been a long time since we met last time.” The emperor smiled after he saw the vixen.

One day she said that she can use even more powerful magic after she gets her seventh tail. It took her several years to obtain her seventh tail but it was worth it. However, right after he saw what the magic itself is meant for…

Now he got used to her appearance. He sat in an armchair and looked at the young girl. She is a bit higher than when they met the first time, and now she has her woman pride at least distinguishable under the silk.

“You still like to point out that I changed myself…” She sighed.

“The request you made is fulfilled. I found the culprit and made sure he will not slip away from your punishment.” Right after the emperor said that small tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

“Then I guess we owe each other nothing. I am happy to hear that.” She wiped the tears.

They had a small conversation and after the emperor left Fuji started thinking.

[I guess the life is not so bad after all. Not for the a*hole who killed Rin but he doesn’t matter.]

The time has stopped and after she blinked she found herself in a white room.

“You look like you are enjoying yourself.” She faced the god after a long time but she had only one question.

“Why did you summon me?”

“Because, if you remember, I offered you a chance to try something else when you are satisfied. What do you think about trying something else? Something entirely new?”

“I guess… why not? After I finish one last thing…”

“Of course, whenever you are ready.”

With this she returned to her home.

She only needs to finish one last thing, she needs to punish the one who killed her friend. Not that she ever accepted her own guilt.