"Ah, I really want to go fight in a new world, Commander—"
On their return trip from outer space, the most frequent topic of discussion among the shipgirls was which world to spar in next.
Having received new ship bodies and upgraded equipment, they felt an overwhelming surge of energy.
"Purifier dear, why don't you come down and spar with us?"
"Sirens are so strong; taking a few supergravity cannons and corrosion torpedoes should be no problem, right?"
A silver-haired, golden-eyed shipgirl in a black bodysuit spoke while attempting to toss a certain big-eyed moe out of the bridge.
The Siren girl in a sailor uniform clung tightly to Setsuna's leg, refusing to let go.
"Hey! Commander, control Ägir!!!"
"No matter how tough my ship body is, I can't withstand the attacks of over a dozen of you! And what the heck is a corrosion torpedo?! Our experimental facility's equipment is really hard to repair, you know?!"
"If you've got the guts, wait until I finish my upgrades before challenging me one-on-one!"
"Huh?"
Ägir raised an eyebrow.
"One-on-one? You want the Iron Blood fleet to duel you alone?"
"Can you at least show some martial virtue?"
Purifier angrily rebuked Ägir, the Iron Blood shipgirl, for lacking honor, attempting to trick and ambush an old Siren several hundred years her senior.
Setsuna sat at the main console, watching the shipgirls bicker with amusement. Casually opening the star map, he scanned a few of their previously discovered neighboring worlds.
"If you want a fight, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. At least wait until the other shipgirls finish their upgrades. Some of them are still using second-generation ship bodies."
"It won't take long anyway, right?"
He spoke lightly, soothing the eager shipgirls.
"I don't mind, but there are many things to take care of besides combat. Hmm, I haven't even finished today's reports yet..."
"How about we research artificial intelligence technology a bit more, Commander? As our cities grow, the workload will only increase..."
His secretary ship, Richelieu, was more concerned with the management of their base.
"Hmm..."
Setsuna continued scanning the nearby worlds on the star map.
Of the five neighboring worlds they had encountered upon landing, most had already been dealt with—Azur Lane and Demon Slayer had been fully assimilated.
Helping Chaldea restore human order was a long-term task, and he could only wait for news from Dr. Roman.
As for Honkai... that would have to wait until they mastered large-scale time-jumping technology.
From the newly discovered worlds, Black Bullet, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, Nekopara, and Arpeggio of Blue Steel had all been handled—some were turned into vassal states, while others had become resource mining sites.
The remaining ones they had yet to contact were Goblin Slayer, Overlord, Transformers, Girls und Panzer, Heaven's Lost Property, and Akame ga Kill.
"Oh—"
The shipgirls and Heroic Spirits accompanying him gathered around, discussing the situations in the other worlds.
"Before we knew it, we've conquered so many worlds..."
Richelieu seemed a bit dazed as she observed the map.
"Commander, where are we heading next?"
"Hmm, Performer, do these worlds have Rome?"
"Wherever my beloved goes, I'll follow~~~"
The shipgirls, Heroic Spirits, and Spirits chattered noisily around him. Some dreamed of reaching for the stars and the vast sea, others simply wanted to stay by Setsuna's side, while some harbored strange and peculiar wishes.
"Ahem..."
Setsuna cleared his throat and pulled a few of his pledged shipgirls closer.
Tapping on the star map, he made his decision.
"I plan to completely conquer the Overlord and Akame ga Kill worlds. That will give you plenty of opportunities to showcase your abilities..."
"The Transformers and Goblin Slayer worlds, huh... These two are a bit complicated. We need to pick the right time to step in. Or we could have Lucoa cast a concealment spell on you all, and go hunt goblins for stress relief?"
The Goblin Slayer world had high-ranking gods, but Setsuna had acquired a magic spell some time ago specifically designed to steal power from them.
If they had nothing better to do, they could drop by and give the local adventurers a taste of technological shock.
"..."
"Commander, I find those creatures utterly repulsive. I'm afraid I might lose control and set the entire planet on fire with orbital bombardment."
Belfast pursed her lips in distaste.
"Agreed."
Setsuna nodded. The Goblin Slayer world really did have a twisted sense of aesthetics.
"As for the remaining ones... The Girls und Panzer world can be handled easily. Just move over Miho Nishizumi and a few schools, and that should be enough. Academy ships are interesting—pre-space-age natives shouldn't pose much of a challenge."
"Heaven's Lost Property? While everyone else is undergoing upgrades, we could go grab a few artificial angels, right?!"
"Tsk, I miss Ikaros already."
...
A few days later.
When the fleet returned to the base, everyone gathered in the administrative center's screening hall, watching the big screen with rapt attention.
Displayed on it was the target world for this operation:
[Heaven's Lost Property]
Before Setsuna had crossed over, this anime had already been around for quite some time. Surprisingly, in this pre-space-age native world, they had managed to dig up some records about it.
This saved Setsuna a lot of trouble.
All they had to do was watch the anime together—everything they needed to know about the world was right there.
However, as they continued watching, the expressions of the shipgirls, Heroic Spirits, and Spirits gradually became… odd.
"T-Take off your clothes..."
"Panties!! The panties are exploding!!!!"
"Heroic Panties!!"
"Pervert!!!—"
On the screen, panties fluttered through the air, accompanied by the shrieks of embarrassed girls.
The usually serious Richelieu and Yat Sen both lowered their heads, massaging their temples.
This anime was constantly jumping back and forth between borderline and mainstream content.
Especially the protagonist, Tomoki Sakurai… whose gentlemanly behavior was, well, quite questionable.
Even though the Azur Lane shipgirls were used to wearing casual attire around the base—some of their outfits weren't that different from Ikaros'—it was one thing in private and another to see it publicly displayed on a giant screen.
They still felt a little embarrassed showing off their figures like that.
"Children shouldn't watch this."
Bismarck reached out and covered Z23's eyes.
"If we go by service age, I'm over 300 years old!"
Z23 protested.
"You still can't watch it!"
Nagato attempted to assert her flagship authority, ordering the smaller shipgirls like Yukikaze and Yuudachi to look away.
"But I don't think she's worse than Taihou, though?"
"Miss Priestess, don't you also sneak into the Commander's bedroom all the time? What do you two do in there…?"
Yukikaze tilted her head curiously.
"!!!"
Nagato's face turned crimson. She covered her own face, unable to respond.
"Commander-sama, if you just give the order, Taihou can be just like the artificial angels in there—completely obedient to her master~~~"
Taihou leaned in with a sultry gaze. Her short red kimono wasn't all that different from Ikaros' outfit.
She took Setsuna's hand and pressed it against her chest.
"Doesn't Taihou's body feel amazing? Better than those angels, right?"
"～Only the Commander is allowed to touch~"
"..."
"Has the Commander been neglecting you lately, Taihou?!"
Richelieu, exasperated, pulled Taihou away, preventing any further inappropriate behavior in broad daylight.
Meanwhile, within the elf squad, Nia Honjo was huffing excitedly as she spread out her manuscript paper, her pen moving furiously. A sudden surge of inspiration had exploded in her mind.
An angel, obedient only to its master, with perfect measurements of 88-57-85, willing to strip at a single command—an "entertainment-use universal angel!"
This was the ultimate theme for an erotic manga!
Origami Tobiichi, flushed red, fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat as she watched.
Kurumi Tokisaki, on the other hand, remained composed. She had already been through similar experiences before. She simply licked her lips lightly, her gaze toward Setsuna filled with deep intrigue.
"Setsuna, you truly are greedy, aren't you? ...Hmm, and to think you just got me to say yes…"
"So, this is the type you like, Master?"
Artoria glanced between the screen, where Ikaros' performance was unfolding, and herself.
All she had was Excalibur.
If only she had been given a few more years to mature before pulling the sword from the stone…
...
The atmosphere became a chaotic mix of crimson embarrassment and mischievous energy.
Before long, the short anime had finished playing.
Setsuna clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"This is our next target world. Any thoughts?"
...
An eerie silence fell over the room.
"So, you've taken a liking to Ikaros, Nymph, and Astraea? Planning to bring them back to the base to expand your grand crystal palace?"
Gudako raised her hand to ask.
Smack!
Setsuna delivered a swift chop to her head.
"Correct, now get out."
"Hey! That was uncalled for?!"
Gudako grumbled, rubbing her head.
"Of course. I've always been honest about my desires."
Setsuna muttered under his breath. If anyone understood him, it was Gudako.
Clearing his throat, he addressed the room.
"Besides those three artificial angels, there are some other things in the Heaven's Lost Property world that interest me even more…"
"In the anime, they were mostly treated as background elements, but the manga and deeper lore make them quite fascinating…"
He gestured to Richelieu, who distributed carefully compiled documents to everyone.
The documents detailed supplementary information about the world of Heaven's Lost Property, including the origins of the artificial angels and the existence of Synapse.
"The civilization that created Ikaros and the other artificial angels—Synapse—is an advanced technological power beyond imagination."
"They are the main faction we'll be engaging with in this operation."
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