The first stop of the tour was the Demon Slayer world.
This was also the first world that had been conquered.
The starship landed in Tokyo.
After unifying this world, the island nation was merged into the East Asia Administrative District under centralized governance.
Looking down, the city was orderly and well-organized.
Based on the timeline, this place should only be in the early 20th century—many countries were still backward agricultural states with tribal societies.
With technological support from the suzerain, it now looked no different from a 21st-century pre-space civilization.
Perhaps even more advanced.
Railways, airports, and other infrastructure were fully developed. On the outskirts of the city were dedicated starship landing sites.
At the port, the Bulin fleet was loading cargo.
Scattered Angeloids patrolled the streets and skies, maintaining order and security.
"I can hardly recognize this place..."
Kanae and the accompanying Demon Slayer squad rubbed their eyes.
In just a few years, their hometown had completely changed.
No shogunate, no demons—this was now merely a vassal under the Starsea Empire.
Upon hearing the roar of the starship engines, the people of the city looked up in awe at the sky-covering Eternal Snowfall.
Their eyes were filled with envy and reverence.
"Whoa, look at those natives' faces—they're like peasants in ancient times seeing the emperor's procession."
Gudako suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of pride.
As a member of the suzerain, she naturally stood a level above them.
Coming to a vassal state meant receiving nothing but adoration and worship.
"You're just bluffing—they're scared stiff and you don't even know why."
Richelieu chuckled and scolded her lightly.
After the landing.
The receiving shipgirls and local dignitaries had been waiting for some time.
A red carpet extended from the starship's hatch all the way down.
Hundreds of Angeloids stood on either side, holding swords and shields, half-spread wings giving them a solemn and sacred air.
Flanking them were tens of thousands of onlookers, cheering and holding flowers—whether spontaneous or staged, it was hard to tell.
—Gudako suspected most were actors.
The atmosphere was grand and ceremonial, even more so than greeting a national leader.
As they disembarked, a tidal wave of cheers erupted, nearly overwhelming Kanae and the others.
"Whoa—Commander, this is a bit much..."
Kanae whispered to Setsuna. It was her first time receiving such honors.
"As leader of the suzerain, this is expected. Grand ceremony helps maintain authority."
Chen Hai gently explained.
The group followed Setsuna down from the starship.
"Commander."
The stationed shipgirls came forward to greet them.
Currently, the Demon Slayer world was managed by Hood, Duke of York, and several other Royal Navy shipgirls.
They wore matching black-and-red uniforms, exuding an intimidating aura.
Behind them stood several nervous officials in formal attire—administrative leaders from various districts.
Though all older than Setsuna, they couldn't help but feel intimidated.
They had witnessed his overwhelming power firsthand years ago.
Back then, Setsuna had led his fleet to decisively conquer the world, crushing all resistance.
Many nations had challenged him, only to be swiftly defeated by his naval superiority.
Now, in front of a sky-darkening starship, they didn't even dare to think of resisting.
"Hmm..."
Setsuna swept his gaze over them.
From their eyes, he read many emotions:
Respect, awe, curiosity—and a trace of nervous fear.
Not bad. This was the proper attitude one should have toward their suzerain.
...
After the welcome ceremony...
The shipgirls knew the Commander didn't plan to chat with the locals, so no banquet was arranged.
They skipped straight to inspecting work progress.
"Commander, this is our recent report."
In the administrative building, Hood briefed Setsuna on the governance of the Demon Slayer world.
"All nations here have now been brought to pre-space era standards. We've shared part of our agricultural, industrial, and civilian technologies."
"Here are the detailed statistics."
The shipgirls were meticulous. All data was summarized clearly and comprehensively.
Setsuna reviewed it.
Resources such as minerals, lumber, fishery products, and crops had seen a huge boost since world unification, thanks to advanced technologies.
The principle of "sustainable resource exploitation" was well-implemented.
In turn, the tribute flowing to them grew increasingly substantial.
"Any uprisings? Demands for independence or the like?"
Gudako asked curiously.
"There've been minor disturbances, but nothing like a full rebellion."
Hood replied with a smile.
"The Commander once said that the basic logic of managing a vassal state is maintaining grassroots stability."
"The common folk are easy to satisfy—we brought them hospitals, schools, railways, modern medicine… To them, the Commander is a divine savior from the stars."
"As for the elites… heh, there's no place for nobility here. No large landlords or capitalists either."
The vassal states were pure resource providers. There was no need to preserve unproductive parasites.
Economists once claimed 20% of people owned over 80% of wealth; in modern times, that gap is even wider.
And power was always in the hands of a few.
Setsuna had simply used a violent divine descent to destroy the old order and redistribute wealth and authority.
Uprising among the elite was expected—Angeloids would handle it.
As long as the majority—the commoners—were content, the governance of the entire vassal world remained stable.
"Hmm... At this pace, this world could soon begin harvesting cosmic resources too."
Setsuna nodded with satisfaction.
Owning a vassal world wasn't just about having tribute-paying states.
With rising tech levels, they could explore their own space, yielding even more resources from the cosmos.
The stronger the vassal, the more he could extract.
The only key was managing the power disparity.
Just like in games: if a vassal is too weak, they yield nothing.
If too strong, they rebel frequently.
"We've demilitarized the world entirely. All naval, land, and air forces have been disbanded. Only small-scale security forces remain."
"In addition, Angeloids conduct full-time surveillance to ensure no issues arise."
"And all shared tech is strictly civilian—nothing from our ports or military industry."
Hood continued her report.
After Setsuna entrusted her with this vassal world, she managed everything with exemplary order.
"Well done."
Setsuna patted Hood's shoulder.
"Thank you, Commander."
The blonde-haired, blue-eyed shipgirl lowered her head, pleased with the praise.
"As expected of a British shipgirl—you've got a knack for handling colonies."
Gudako offered sincere praise.
"...Please don't compare me to that old Britain. I'm part of the Royal Fleet now and have nothing to do with that past."
"Besides, all this was taught to me by the Commander. Thank you."
"Eh?!"
Gudako looked at Setsuna as if seeing a ghost.
"Commander, why are you so good at this?!"
"Don't make a fuss. Annexing countries is a prerequisite for Paradox Interactive players. Watch and learn."
Setsuna knocked her on the head.
"Then can I manage a world too? Give me a fiefdom?"
Gudako tugged on Setsuna's sleeve.
She was excited by the idea of acting like a queen in front of the natives.
"A fiefdom?! Trying to split the empire?!"
The accompanying shipgirls burst into laughter.
"...Alright."
Setsuna thought for a few seconds and agreed.
"I appoint you Governor of Chaldea—commander of Singularities and Lostbelts, with honors equivalent to a Grand Minister."
"???"
"Why does that title sound so ominous?!"
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