Crossover Shipgirls: Building a Dimensional Empire from Scratch

Richelieu slumped onto the seat beside her, panting heavily as though she had just been through an intense workout.

It was hard to imagine that the once dignified and aloof Cardinal could look so disheveled.

Her expression toward Setsuna grew increasingly complicated.

Everything about her had been laid bare—her past, and even the little secrets hidden in her heart.

She could only lower her head and play with her golden hair.

"Are you really okay?" Setsuna asked with concern.

"I'm fine… Just a bit embarrassed… Let me rest for a moment…" Richelieu regretted how decisively she had agreed to his request.

"Commander, try using my Wisdom Core!!" Taihou couldn't wait any longer.

With the experience from last time, Setsuna was much more cautious when touching Taihou's Wisdom Core.

He did his best to control his strength.

Then, a series of images flashed before his eyes.

"Commander, Commander, what did you see?" Taihou asked eagerly, circling him.

"Hmm… Hmm…" Setsuna closed his eyes, savoring the experience.

"You got blown up by the Bluegill. No wonder you're so afraid of her."

"Ehh?! Ehh?!" Taihou's face turned green.

Then, she reached out her hand, looking thoughtful.

"That's strange. I feel like there's something else mixed into my Wisdom Core…"

"It seems like it's the power of the Commander's Wisdom Cube?"

"Really?!" A royal carrier with pale golden twin tails looked over curiously.

"It's possible, burin, after all, the resonance of Wisdom Cubes is bidirectional." Specialized Bulin pondered.

"And since the Commander can project magic, maybe it could strengthen your Wisdom Cores?"

"Is that so?" Formidable thought for a moment before ordering with a tone befitting a noble lady:

"Let me try too, but don't use too much force!…"

"?"

"Why does that request sound so weird?" Setsuna scratched his head.

"Is this like giving blessings to you all?!"

...

...

After the dismantling of the ship's hulls, the Bulins began reconstructing the shipgirls' vessels.

They installed reactors, thrusters, decks, weapons systems, and more from scratch.

This process was akin to building an entirely new starship. Even with the incredible efficiency of the Specialized Bulin-class, it would still take some time.

So, everyone returned to wait patiently.

On the way back, Richelieu followed closely behind Setsuna, her face flushed and head lowered.

The pride she once exuded was nowhere to be seen.

"You're not as untouchable as you seem after all."

Setsuna patted Richelieu's shoulder, feeling great after witnessing her adorable side today.

He could sense some of the thoughts in Richelieu's heart.

As the flagship and a Cardinal, she carried a slightly awkward emotional burden.

She wanted to take a step forward, like Taihou, but couldn't let go of her pride.

As a result, their interactions became this push-and-pull dynamic—aloof on the surface, but burning passionately underneath.

She needed a little push—or perhaps he should take the lead.

"Richelieu, would you be willing to stay by my side from now on?" Setsuna asked.

"!!!"

"Ah…"

Caught off guard by the sudden straightforwardness, Richelieu froze for a moment.

She looked around, ensuring no other shipgirls were nearby, and then hesitantly nodded.

"I… would."

"But right now… it might not be possible."

"Huh?"

Setsuna gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean by 'not possible right now'?!"

"…"

Richelieu clutched at Setsuna's sleeve, her tone carrying a hint of grievance:

"My… my ship's hull is undergoing reconstruction. My body is very weak right now…"

"So, um… we'll have to wait until my reconstruction is complete…"

She was, of course, aware of Setsuna and Taihou's relationship.

However, with her hull entirely dismantled, a shipgirl couldn't summon her rigging or enter combat.

She felt as if she were no different from an ordinary girl in her current state.

"Oh, is that what you meant? Then should I be gentle?" Setsuna teased.

"Can't you wait a few days?!" Richelieu pinched his arm lightly, her voice soft with reproach.

"…"

Setsuna couldn't help but chuckle.

He used to worry about being crushed by the superhuman strength of shipgirls. Now, the tables had turned.

...

A Few Days Later

In the office of the administrative center, Setsuna opened the Hyperdimensional Star Map, studying the nearby neighbors.

The shipgirls were undergoing starship transformations, the Bulins were repairing wonders, and Gudako was learning how to pilot a Gundam.

Everyone seemed to have a bright future ahead.

Taking advantage of this downtime, it seemed like a good opportunity to visit other worlds.

"Hmm… With the shipgirls undergoing modifications, we should avoid overly powerful worlds. We're not suited for large-scale battles right now…"

"Let's look for a world that's a bit easier to handle."

His gaze settled on a recently discovered neighbor.

[Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid (Pre-Space Age)]

A world set in a modern society where only a small number of mages existed, most of whom hid among human society and rarely appeared.

There was a magical world connected to this one, containing relatively powerful supernatural forces.

Comparison of Strengths:

• Technological Level: Slightly Superior.

• Military Strength: Slightly Superior.

• Economic Power: Like a God.

"…"

Of course, Setsuna had seen this show. It told the story of a programmer meeting a dragon maid from another world.

Kanna was so cute it was almost lethal.

Since it was a slice-of-life anime, there weren't any major bosses to fight. All he had to do was go and recruit the dragon girls.

A round trip wouldn't take too much time.

Before long, he summoned his heroic spirits and shipgirls.

"I'm planning to head to another world to bring back some dragon girls."

"?"

After hearing the general situation of the world, everyone had different reactions.

The fascinating part about the world of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid was that it actually contained two or even more worlds.

One was Kobayashi's world, a proper human society.

The other was the fantasy world where Tohru came from, filled with dragons, elves, heroes, magic, and all sorts of chaotic elements.

Although the dragons there were very powerful and capable of traveling between worlds, it seemed they were confined to their own universe.

They probably didn't have the ability to break through dimensions and cause trouble here.

"Do we need to subjugate the entire world like we did with Demon Slayer?" Richelieu asked.

"Most of our manpower is tied up in modifications right now. Let's handle the dragons first and think about the rest later," Setsuna considered.

Real dragons! The compendium of civilized species could gain a significant addition!

Not only did he want to pilot Gundams and command carriers, but he also wanted to become a dragon knight.

"Hmm…"

Richelieu thought for a moment.

"The Vanguard Fleet shipgirls, along with many others from the dock, are undergoing modifications. We don't have much combat strength right now, so we can't accompany you, Commander."

"We're not going to fight, so we don't need too many people," Setsuna waved his hand.

"I can!"

A cold voice came from the side.

Jeanne Alter was sitting on the nearby table, legs crossed, watching them playfully.

"Dragons? Master, take me. I can handle it easily."

"You?!"

Richelieu frowned as she looked at this Heroic Spirit.

Her impression of Jeanne Alter was mostly negative: getting ganged up on by shipgirls at the singularity, attempting to eat a chick back at the capital only to get beaten up again, and losing a sparring match where she was chased around by carrier-based aircraft.

"Tch, don't forget, I can be the Dragon Witch."

Jeanne Alter placed her banner into the ground with a firm motion.

Unlike Jeanne d'Arc's white banner adorned with fleur-de-lis, her banner depicted a black dragon.

"Oh?"

Setsuna stared at Jeanne Alter for a long moment.

In the Type-Moon world, she did indeed possess an EX-rank skill: Dragon Witch.

She naturally had draconic powers and a unique charisma that allowed her to command dragons.

By waving her banner, she could dominate lower-tier dragon species.

Her ability to control the demonic dragon Fafnir during battles at the singularity was a result of this skill.

However, whether Dragon Witch could function across dimensions was… debatable.

Setsuna was skeptical.

"Hey, Master, what's with that expression? Are you looking down on me?!" Jeanne Alter pouted in frustration.

"I'm afraid you can't beat Tohru," Setsuna said bluntly.

"Impossible! There's no dragon I can't tame. If I can't handle the stupid dragons in that world, I'll… I'll…"

Jeanne Alter was furious and on the verge of swearing an oath.

"You'll become the Commander's plush toy?" a shipgirl dressed in a split-back nun outfit with golden hair tilted her head and chimed in.

"…?"

"What's a plush toy?!"

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