Crossover Shipgirls: Building a Dimensional Empire from Scratch

"…"

"So, the bronze medalist has been decided?!"

In the office, the shipgirls and Heroic Spirits looked thoughtfully at Yat Sen standing beside Setsuna.

It seemed only natural.

She had taken up the role of Setsuna's assistant and moved into the top-floor commander's quarters at the naval base.

While Yat Sen was still somewhat reserved and wouldn't join Setsuna alongside Taihou and Richelieu, she had her own approach.

Most of the time, she waited for Setsuna to have free time, then invited him to her ship or her quarters for a quiet evening together.

These enchanting nights didn't go unnoticed by the shipgirls—especially after Yat Sen openly declared her oath.

"Why do I feel like there's a pattern to the Commander's oath-bound ships…"

Formidable whispered to Belfast, glancing at the three oath-bound ships.

One carrier, one battleship, and one cruiser.

Following this trend, one couldn't help but wonder if Setsuna's next oath-bound ship might actually be a destroyer.

"That's unlikely. He treats the little shipgirls like daughters, doesn't he?"

The other shipgirls thought for a moment.

With Yukikaze, the Four Heavenly Kings, or the submarine shipgirls, Setsuna's demeanor was more like that of a doting father.

Hugs, lifts, and affectionate gestures.

As for anything beyond that, they hadn't noticed.

"Tch, what's so great about him? Why are all of you constantly paying attention to the Master?"

Jeanne Alter sat on the desk, swinging her legs in black-stockings, resting her head on one hand as she observed the shipgirls.

"Royal Maids must keep striving too!"

Belfast ignored the caustic Heroic Spirit and quietly encouraged herself.

"He's just a little skilled in combat, looks decent, knows a lot, can break through space to travel to other worlds, and has a touch of leadership charisma, right?"

Jeanne Alter dismissed him casually.

"I think you've already explained the appeal."

"Don't tell me you have feelings for him too…"

Jeanne d'Arc couldn't help but retort.

For someone as harsh as Jeanne Alter, who never spared anyone from her sharp tongue and rarely offered praise, her words about Setsuna were almost shocking.

"Ha? Who would want to be with a guy like that?"

Jeanne Alter clicked her tongue, planting her Dragon Witch battle flag into the ground.

"I'd rather let my Spirit Core explode, exhaust all my magical energy, and die in the Throne of Heroes than agree to something like that!"

"…"

The nearby Heroic Spirits looked on with astonishment.

"Are you deliberately raising a flag?!"

...

...

During the modification period of the Eternal Snowfall, Setsuna visited the aerospace base daily to check on the progress of his ship's transformation.

For the first time, he truly understood what the shipgirls must have felt.

As the Bulins continued their construction, he frequently experienced odd sensations in his body.

Converting a cruiser into a colossal starship battleship essentially meant building an entirely new vessel.

The internal layout required a complete redesign.

Since the ship could be integrated into his body as rigging equipment, there was no longer a need to consider crew accommodations or logistical needs. Any excess modules or components could be replaced with combat systems.

The Bulins methodically dismantled the Eternal Snowfall, layer by layer, until its core was exposed.

They then began installing reactors, bulkheads, internal control systems, and more in a step-by-step process.

Having already accumulated ample experience from the starship conversion of the shipgirls, Akashi and the Bulins approached the task with precision.

The only real difference was scaling everything up—building a bigger battleship, adding more main cannons, and including a carrier-sized enclosed hangar.

Under Setsuna's guiding principle of "miracles require boldness, bigger is better, and more is beautiful," the shipgirls often caught the Bulins working on bizarre additions.

"Why is the Commander's ship so enormous?! Is it an aircraft carrier or a battleship?!"

"What? An ultra-large-caliber axial positron siege cannon? What even is that?!"

"Why are axial main guns, torpedo launchers, carrier hangars, anti-submarine radars, and nuclear missile silos all being installed on the same ship? What on earth are you building?!"

Thanks to the large number of Bulins and their now advanced expertise, construction progressed swiftly.

Two weeks later, Akashi proudly led Setsuna to the aerospace base to announce the completion of the Eternal Snowfall's transformation.

Everyone raised their heads to look.

The once 600-meter cruiser had now become a massive starship approximately 3 kilometers long.

From the ground, the dark gray hull seemed to stretch endlessly into the horizon.

Its sides and lower hull were studded with a dense array of turrets, torpedo launchers, and missile bays.

For atmospheric combat, it was still equipped with a few hydrogen bombs.

After all, the naval base and dockyards had them in stock, and it would be a waste not to use them.

"That's massive! This is way larger than my hull!"

Richelieu gazed up at the Eternal Snowfall, momentarily rendered speechless.

As a representative of large-caliber battleships in the fleet, her own hull was only about a kilometer long.

"In terms of ship classification, the Eternal Snowfall should be considered a supercharged version of an interstellar battleship. I call it the 'Super Battleship' meow!"

Akashi enthusiastically introduced the ship to everyone.

"Not only is its hull three times the size of an ordinary battleship, but the weapons it carries are also tripled—no, perhaps even more!"

Setsuna took stock of the arsenal. The sheer number of secondary guns, missiles, and torpedo launchers was beyond count.

There were ten positron siege cannons on board, all with the same specifications as Richelieu's main gun.

Midship, there was even an axial main cannon almost as long as the ship itself.

Due to its massive size, it couldn't be mounted on a turret and was instead fixed along the keel, aligned with the ship's forward trajectory for synchronized firing.

"It's beyond the specs of a siege cannon. I think calling it a 'Land-Sinking Cannon' would be more appropriate, Commander," Akashi said, twitching her ears.

"Based on our calculations, when powered by the two cores at maximum capacity, this main cannon can shear off a section of a continent, permanently altering a planet's geography."

"The high-energy beams are extremely effective at breaking through shields and armor. Unless the opponent is ridiculously strong, very few could withstand it."

"However, its destructive range isn't particularly wide. If you're looking to wipe out enemies on a large scale, I'd recommend using explosive weapons for faster results."

"..."

The starship carried a bewildering array of weaponry, and Akashi spent over ten minutes just introducing them.

In general, energy weapons handled precision strikes and armor penetration, while explosives and kinetic weapons were used for large-scale destruction.

The Eternal Snowfall also carried over 300 carrier-based aircraft for mobile operations.

No matter the situation, there was always a suitable weapon to deploy.

Setsuna was very satisfied.

He finally had the means for ultra-long-range, large-scale strikes and could now personally traverse the vastness of space.

"Wait a second!"

Nero, Jeanne Alter, and Artoria stared at the ship's main cannon in shock, their jaws practically on the floor.

"Cut off a section of a continent?! This thing could be classified as an Anti-Country Noble Phantasm!"

"Uh... if the enemy doesn't have any countermeasures against space battleships, I think the Commander could destroy an entire planet without much trouble," Akashi mused.

"After all, the hydrogen bomb stockpile alone is enough to plow the surface of a planet several times over, meow."

"..."

The shipgirls exchanged glances.

"Why do I feel like the Commander is becoming terrifying..."

When they first met, Setsuna was just an ordinary person—stack a hundred of him together, and they still wouldn't be a match for a single small shipgirl.

After getting the Gundam, his strength increased a bit, allowing him to hold his own against a cruiser.

But now, with the dual-core Wisdom Cubes, he had leaped to become the largest and most heavily armed warship in the entire fleet.

"This is just the beginning. Once we install the Moonlight Butterfly system on the Gundam and the Eternal Snowfall, then it'll be complete," Akashi remarked, hinting at even greater potential.

Click, click, click—

As the hatch opened, Setsuna led the shipgirls on a tour of the starship's interior.

Compared to the original Eternal Snowfall, the internal space had expanded considerably.

The design aesthetic was also colder and more futuristic.

Given that this was essentially a single-pilot starship controlled by mental synchronization, there was no longer a need for hundreds of Bulins to operate it.

As a result, the primary control console was highly simplified.

Almost everything was displayed on holographic screens showing detailed information about the ship's various modules.

"When we deploy, can we all just stay inside the Commander's ship?"

"The Eternal Snowfall is way stronger than any of our hulls," Yukikaze asked as she inspected the space.

"Of course, the Eternal Snowfall is the flagship of the entire alliance," Setsuna replied.

"Though the interior isn't overly spacious, it can still accommodate a few hundred shipgirls."

He glanced around at the layout and nodded.

"Plus, we can implement advanced rigging shipgirl tactics. At first glance, it looks like just one ship. But in combat, everyone can jump out and project their hulls, instantly forming an entire fleet."

"..."

Heroic Spirits, dragons, and ordinary humans alike were all stunned by such cutting-edge tactical thinking.

After a long silence, Artoria finally spoke.

"Master, I used to think that a commander was more like a strategist, someone who stayed in the rear to issue orders..."

"Times have changed," Setsuna said, patting the King of Knights on the shoulder.

"The Commander is the hardest-hitting and most indomitable force in the fleet. That's just common sense."

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