Crossover Shipgirls: Building a Dimensional Empire from Scratch

"Tsk tsk tsk, so your dad is the leader of the Chaos Faction?"

After hearing Tohru's story, Belfast, Implacable, and the Heroic Spirits couldn't help but marvel.

In her original world, there were dragons, magic, countless humans, and even gods.

It was a textbook medieval fantasy world.

In that world, the Chaos Faction and the Harmony Faction were locked in a perpetual war. Tohru, in her rebellion, had tried to challenge a god from the opposing side, only to be struck down by a holy sword. Severely wounded, she had fled to this world in desperation.

Had Setsuna not removed the massive sword embedded in her, she would have soon perished from her injuries.

"You don't look like someone who'd cause destruction. You're actually quite adorable," Belfast said as she noticed the chilly night air in the suburbs. Tohru, dressed rather scantily, received a warm coat draped over her shoulders by the maid.

"I don't need it. I can use magic."

Tohru tried to refuse but found she couldn't out-argue Belfast.

"So, are you basically a runaway rebel girl?" Jeanne Alter zeroed in on the key point.

"You don't get along with your dad back in your world, nor with the Harmony Faction. All you ever do is wreak havoc, and then you ended up provoking a powerful enemy and nearly got killed?"

"…"

"Well, that sounds harsh, but… it's kind of true," Tohru admitted, hanging her head.

"How do you know this so well?!"

"Uh… because I was kind of like that too?…" Jeanne Alter thought for a moment, feeling an odd sense of kinship with the dragon.

Both of them shared an insatiable desire for destruction and an intense dislike for those on the side of order or harmony.

Of course, Jeanne Alter had now tempered herself thanks to Setsuna and the shipgirls keeping her in check.

"So, Miss Dragon, why don't you join us?"

"I've never seen an actual dragon before—well, the Ironblood's rigging doesn't count. It might be nice to have a few more fantastical creatures in the capital," Implacable said as she crouched beside Tohru, stroking her head like an older sister.

"Hmm…"

Tohru sat on the ground, propping her head up with her hands, glancing at Setsuna, then at the shipgirls, and finally at the Heroic Spirits.

She didn't immediately accept the invitation but instead observed the team with caution.

As a dragon, she'd always looked down on humans. In her world, dragons often clashed fiercely with adventurers.

To her, humans were nothing more than ants—weak, insignificant creatures.

But the people in front of her didn't seem like traditional humans.

"Are you a holy knight? And was the one who blocked my dragonfire a mage?" she asked after some thought, using her own experience to make assumptions.

"These are Heroic Spirits, and those two are shipgirls," Setsuna explained.

"As for me... I think I'm a Gundam with shipgirl lineage."

Setsuna pondered for a moment. His current mechanical body was that of a Gundam, while his internal power system was fueled by Wisdom Cube, making him something of a hybrid.

"???"

Tohru tilted her head in confusion, her expression full of question marks.

"Uh, we're from another world."

"Different worlds have different laws, and naturally, they also have different forms of life."

Setsuna switched to a more straightforward explanation.

"Oh…"

Tohru nodded in understanding.

"You're from another world? You also have the ability to cross dimensions? But I don't sense any magic from you."

She sniffed around Setsuna, confirming he didn't smell like a mage.

"My authority is a little more advanced than yours…"

With a wave of his hand, Setsuna projected the Hyperdimensional Star Map in front of them.

Swish—

"Whoa?! What is this?! It's incredible!"

Tohru leaned in closer, examining the clusters of world bubbles displayed on the map.

"This is where we are right now," Setsuna pointed to a specific bubble—the Dragon Maid world.

"No matter how you travel across dimensions—whether living in human society or battling humans and the Harmony Faction in your world—you're still confined within this bubble."

He then marked the location of his own world.

Although the two worlds didn't appear far apart on the star map, the distances between universes in the multiverse were impossible to quantify.

"Hmm…"

Tohru squinted, trying to glean some insight from the map.

A few minutes later, she stood up, stretched out her hand, and concentrated all her energy into casting a spatial magic spell.

She attempted to open a portal to another world, as she'd done countless times before.

Zzzzz—

The space around her emitted strained sounds of compression but remained unmoving. Nothing happened.

Tohru strained for a while longer, then finally plopped down onto the ground, rubbing her head in frustration.

"Nope, it's too far. I can't sense your world at all."

"I can't open a portal to where you come from."

"If you could hop across the multiverse at will, that'd be something else entirely…"

Setsuna chuckled, amused by her determination.

"Do you think multiverse travel is that simple?"

"You don't have a Hyperdimensional Star Map. Open a portal today and you might stumble into a demon god, fly into the face of the Herrscher of Finality tomorrow, or crash into the Three-Body civilization's backyard the day after. Traveling across the multiverse isn't as easy as it sounds."

Setsuna explained with a smirk.

Earlier, he had worried about the possibility of magic-god-level beings enforcing interdimensional justice against him.

But he soon realized his concern was unnecessary. Unless someone declared an interdimensional war, they couldn't cross over in the first place.

Setsuna casually pointed to a few worlds on the map, explaining their cultures and peculiarities to Tohru.

"The world is so big?!"

The dragon girl's expression was one of disbelief.

She prided herself on being well-traveled and considered human knowledge as simplistic as a child's.

However, the concept of a multiverse was far too advanced, even for her.

Imagine someone suddenly descending from the sky to inform you that not only does your universe exist, but countless strange and wonderful places beyond it do too.

Places like a world with shipgirls who transform into battleships, a Holy Grail capable of granting any wish, or Cybertron, home to a race of living machines.

Anyone would be left bewildered.

"But if I go to your world… does that mean I won't be able to return home?" Tohru asked hesitantly.

In her current situation, she could freely travel between her home and the human world. But if she arrived in Setsuna's universe, her spatial magic might no longer work.

"That's easy."

Setsuna pulled out a Dimensional Anchor.

"This is a teleportation anchor. It allows you to jump between nodes. Place one in this world, and you—or your friends—can come and go as you please."

"Oh, and if you get bored, you could visit the Demon Slayer world to help me collect taxes, or head to Chaldea to clear singularities and join the Holy Grail War or something."

"As for the port area, the Sirens there are a bit dangerous. It's better to wait until our Sundial Array and starships are fully operational before heading over."

"…"

Artoria couldn't help but imagine her Master, accompanied by a horde of shipgirls, dragon girls, and Gundams, crashing a Holy Grail War.

A battle between seven Servants? He could easily enter with seven entire species in tow!

"Oh…"

"A teleportation gate?" Tohru marveled as she held the Dimensional Anchor, her expression increasingly astonished.

"Human sages in my world have similar tools, but this is the first time I've seen one capable of crossing worlds."

Since the moment they met, Setsuna had been showing her one fascinating thing after another.

From the spaceship in the sky to the Gundam he could summon at will, and now the map of the multiverse…

In less than an hour, she had encountered more novel concepts than she had in the past several years.

Dragons, with their long lifespans, often found themselves bored over the endless passage of time.

But right now, Tohru thought Setsuna was the most interesting human she had ever met.

Although he seemed a bit odd and often spoke incomprehensible things, he was undeniably intriguing!!!

With the issue of traveling between worlds resolved, she had no more worries.

"Alright, I'll go and check out your place."

"How should I address you? Setsuna-kun? Mr. Setsuna? Your Majesty? …Uh, no, no, that's way too cringy…" Tohru tilted her head, pondering.

"The shipgirls call me Commander, the Heroic Spirits from Chaldea call me Master, and Gudako calls me Boss. Take your pick," Setsuna shrugged.

"You're the head of that spaceship, right? How about I call you Captain?"

She glanced up at the starship floating midair, recalling her encounters with human fleets where their leaders were often addressed as Captain.

"…"

Setsuna was momentarily at a loss for words.

"It's called the Eternal Snowfall, not Hyperion. Just call me Commander, okay?"

"Whatever. Commander it is," Tohru replied casually, hugging the Dimensional Anchor. With a swift motion, she opened a dimensional portal.

On the other side of the portal lay a completely unfamiliar landscape.

"I think it's better to place this anchor at my home. If we leave it here, a lot of humans might come to gawk."

"Plus, it would be inconvenient for us to travel back and forth."

"Fair enough."

Setsuna nodded in agreement.

After all, the Dimensional Anchor's teleportation required confirmation from the main node, so there was no risk of random creatures barging through. Once resources allowed, they could even begin exploring Tohru's home world.

"In that case, Commander, give me a moment. I'll head home to grab some local specialties and see if any of my friends want to come along."

Tohru reverted to her dragon form and happily disappeared through the portal.

"…"

Belfast watched her leave, somewhat stunned.

"Commander, are dragons really that easy to deal with?"

"I thought we'd end up fighting such a mythical creature," Artoria and Jeanne d'Arc chimed in, nodding in agreement.

"This is just an experienced middle-aged man using his knowledge and status to lure an innocent young girl," Jeanne Alter quipped with a faint smirk.

Whack—

Setsuna gave her a flick on the head.

"Innocent young girl?! Do you know how old Tohru is?!"

"She's older than all of our ages combined—by nearly a hundredfold!"

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