"Commander, you've gone and tricked a bunch of girls back from other worlds again!"
Amid the hazy steam.
Setsuna was surrounded by shipgirls.
As if it were routine, there were always shipgirls complaining that he hadn't come to the harbor for a long time and kept bringing girls back from other worlds.
Of course, the solution to this kind of situation was always extremely simple.
"I'll make time to come spend time with all of you."
With just one sentence, the chattering shipgirls immediately quieted down.
They knew the Commander always kept his word. With the combination of spacetime magic and the authority of the Herrscher of Dominance, it didn't matter how many there were.
"Commander, attending to your daily life is the duty of Royal maids. Please leave it to us."
The head maid, Sirius, and Dido voluntarily took on the task of helping Setsuna bathe.
Although he didn't really understand the strange etiquette of Royal maids, having everything in life—food, clothing, living, and even bathing—perfectly arranged felt incredibly comfortable.
So he simply let them handle it.
Rinsing, massaging, kneading.
Belfast had clearly trained specifically in this skill, but with a group of shipgirls eagerly pressing into him, Setsuna inevitably started having other thoughts.
"Commander, this is a hot spring. The other sisters are watching. Please endure for now. We will arrange accommodations for you shortly."
The head maid smiled lightly.
"It's fine, you know~! Doesn't the Commander know spacetime magic?"
Taihou tilted her head.
"But wouldn't it affect others…?"
"Or we could use cognition-blocking magic?"
"Ah? That's possible too?!"
Just as the noise grew lively.
Suddenly—
"Commander?"
A soft, ethereal voice interrupted everyone.
Looking up.
Griseo entered the hot spring wrapped in a towel, carefully stepping in with her delicate feet.
"Why are you here?"
Setsuna and the shipgirls were both surprised.
In his impression, Griseo mostly kept to herself. After returning from the Previous Era, she often went to find Aponia.
"I… I don't know…"
Griseo's voice sounded a little lost.
"I just wanted… to be with the Commander."
After hesitating for a moment, she moved closer to Setsuna.
Like before, she made a gesture asking to be held.
"Huh?"
Setsuna watched as the girl pressed her whole body against him, squeezing into his arms.
Normally, holding that quiet girl in her dress—just meeting her purple eyes was enough to melt anyone's heart.
But now, with Griseo wrapped in only a towel, it was a completely different matter.
Especially after Belfast had just stirred things up, the situation felt… strange.
Almost like it was tempting him to lose his humanity.
"Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Setsuna held her and touched her forehead. Naturally, everything was normal.
After undergoing super-transformation surgery and genetic ascension, it was impossible for her to get sick.
"No… I just feel… strange…"
Griseo said softly.
"As long as I stay near the Commander, I feel very safe…"
"And there are a lot of strange things in my head now."
As she spoke, she shifted slightly again.
"???"
"Strange things?"
Setsuna and the shipgirls exchanged glances.
It was their first time seeing Griseo express her emotions so proactively.
"Mm…"
Griseo nodded.
"Since just now, there have been pink, blue, warm colors here…"
"Everyone feels warm. Being here is very comfortable, but these colors all want to become part of the starry sky…"
"Huh?"
The shipgirls were completely confused.
"Pink? Blue? Starry sky? What does that mean?"
Belfast blinked, unable to understand Griseo's peculiar way of expression.
"It's… your colors, and the Commander's color…"
Griseo looked at the shipgirls, then at Setsuna.
"Ah?"
"…"
After thinking for a moment, Setsuna suddenly realized.
"…I get it."
"You've all dyed Griseo."
"???"
Setsuna laughed.
Griseo had a unique ability—everything in the world had a "color" in her eyes.
After spending a long time with someone, she would gradually be dyed by that person's color.
Whether it was demeanor, tone of speech, or behavior, she would slowly begin to imitate them.
Living in the harbor district with hundreds of shipgirls, it was only natural she had taken on their colors.
According to her, those were warm colors, along with pink hues that seemed to be bubbling with hearts.
Her behavior had also been influenced by the shipgirls.
"Uh…"
The head maid rubbed her temples.
"Because we all like the Commander, after being dyed, Griseo also likes the Commander?"
"This ability… is quite strange…"
The other shipgirls also looked at Griseo curiously.
"No, that's not it…"
Griseo raised her head.
"Liking and disliking have nothing to do with colors! It's just… before, I…"
"Oh, so it just made you a bit braver?"
Setsuna smiled and rubbed her head.
Fortunately, most shipgirls were lawful good in personality. Even if they influenced Griseo, it wouldn't cause problems.
"Mm… probably."
Griseo puffed her cheeks and stayed silent for a moment.
"Actually… there's something else."
"I want to thank the Commander."
"Aponia, Elysia, Mobius… they don't recognize me now."
"But everyone is together. I'm very happy."
She spoke simply, but Setsuna understood.
After bringing back her companions from the Previous Era, the last burden in Griseo's heart had finally been lifted.
Even though the timeline changes meant they were no longer familiar with her, the fact that everyone was alive and the tragedy had been rewritten—that was what mattered most.
Griseo leaned against Setsuna's chest, feeling something she had never experienced before.
As if as long as she relied on him, anything could be resolved.
"It's fine. As long as you can all live well here."
Setsuna pinched her cheek.
"… "
"Commander, you're thinking strange things."
Griseo suddenly looked up and said.
"That's unavoidable."
Setsuna answered succinctly.
Holding Griseo while surrounded by shipgirls—if he had no reaction at all, that would be a problem.
"Commander, do you like Griseo?"
Griseo asked again.
"Of course."
"Mmm…"
Griseo stood on tiptoe in the hot spring and gently kissed Setsuna.
Her lips carried a faint fragrance from the hot spring.
"Wow—"
The shipgirls nearby were stunned. They hadn't expected her to be so bold.
"Um… maybe it would be better if I used my grown-up form?"
Griseo looked at Setsuna with bright, watery eyes, feeling a bit small compared to all the older shipgirls.
"Mm…"
Setsuna thought for a moment.
"You can turn into your older form first, then change back later. I like both."
"… "
Griseo pondered for a moment, then lifted her foot and lightly stepped on Setsuna under the water.
"Commander, hentai!"
...
Morning.
Sunlight filtered down from the dome of the harbor district, spilling across the bedroom floor.
"Mmm…"
Griseo drowsily opened her eyes and rubbed against Setsuna's chest.
Her body felt weak, lacking strength, her voice soft and ethereal.
"Commander, good morning."
"Morning."
Setsuna pinched Griseo's cheek.
The one lying in his arms now was her grown-up form—her figure among the most impressive of all the girls.
A pair of soft curves pressed against his arm, warm and yielding, making it hard not to glance a few extra times.
"Commander, hentai!"
Griseo puffed her cheeks and poked him again.
She turned over and got out of bed, rummaging for her clothes.
"Hm?"
She suddenly realized that since she had been in her smaller form yesterday, she hadn't brought clothes for her grown-up form.
With a soft poof, she used magic to switch back.
Griseo pulled out a pair of white stockings from the wardrobe and slipped them onto her small, fair feet, like two little scoops of vanilla ice cream swaying before Setsuna's eyes.
She then put on her dress and tidied her slightly messy hair. Setsuna helped tie it into two long twin tails.
Putting on her beret and blue hair accessories, she returned to her usual quiet and adorable self.
"So cute."
Setsuna couldn't help but rub her head.
"Mm… the Commander's color is very warm, like… like a father…"
Griseo puffed her cheeks as she spoke.
"And Aponia is like a mother… so that means…"
She suddenly shook her head, realizing the ethical implications.
"Ah, no no, I'll treat Aponia separately."
"?"
"Did Kiana corrupt you?"
Setsuna felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Now Griseo was used to calling Aponia 'Mom,' while her relationship with Blanca felt less close.
After washing up and getting ready,
The two left together.
"Oh?"
They ran into Grey—currently controlling nanomachines—and Elysia, who had been looking for him.
Elysia glanced at Setsuna, then at Griseo, then at the private room behind them, immediately understanding most of the situation.
Grey, on the other hand, was full of admiration.
"Commander, you might be a bit of a lolicon, huh?"
"If the other Flame-Chasers had found out earlier, they'd have come knocking on your door."
Thud!—
Setsuna knocked her on the head.
"First, last night she was in her grown-up form."
"Second, even if the Flame-Chasers came at me together, they couldn't win. In the future, I'll bring them all over for a party."
"???"
Elysia's expression nearly shattered.
She couldn't understand how the man in front of her could say something so outrageous so casually.
"Nope~"
Griseo blinked mischievously and tugged at Setsuna's sleeve.
"Yesterday, the Commander also asked me to become like this."
"He said it's easier to carry me when I'm small… mm…"
"!?"
Setsuna realized that after getting familiar with him, Griseo had started to become a bit mischievous.
Clap clap clap clap—
Grey applauded enthusiastically.
"As expected of the Commander I picked. Truly a hentai. I knew that biological modification technology would be used for questionable purposes sooner or later."
"Ababa…"
Elysia's brain overloaded on the spot.
The Starsea Empire's lifestyle was far too wild. She couldn't understand it.
From now on, she would never tease the Commander again. He was terrifying.
...
After finishing their rest,
Setsuna returned to the administrative center.
Griseo sat on his lap. After experiencing certain things, a girl would often develop a peculiar sense of attachment.
The surrounding shipgirls, dragon girls, and Spirits cast knowing looks.
Swish—
Yat Sen projected a holographic interface in front of Setsuna.
"Commander, these are the recent tasks."
"Additionally, Chaldea has sent a message. They've located the Seventh Singularity."
"Oh?"
Setsuna glanced over the routine work and handed it off to Sophon.
He connected to Chaldea's communication.
Dr. Roman's familiar projection appeared.
"Oh? That was quick this time?"
"Yes. After resolving the Sixth Singularity, we immediately began locating the final one."
"Miss Grey mentioned you were busy last night, so we didn't disturb you."
"…Busy?"
Griseo gave a noncommittal look.
Swish—
The data was quickly transmitted.
"This time, we're dealing with the Seventh Singularity—the final one. The time period is 2655 BC."
The Seventh Singularity: Absolute Demonic Front—Babylonia.
Also the most difficult singularity so far. After resolving it, they could head to the Grand Temple of Time to face Goetia.
"Oh, quite a few familiar faces here."
Setsuna skimmed through the information, while Gudako, the Lion King, and others gathered around.
They were very interested in matters concerning their own world.
2655 BC, Mesopotamia.
Originally ruled by Gilgamesh. Due to historical distortions, the Goddess of Vengeance, the Goddess of Venus, and the Goddess of the Underworld had formed an alliance.
They agreed that whoever destroyed Uruk and obtained the Holy Grail from Gilgamesh would rule the world.
At this time, Gilgamesh was in his wise king state—completely different from his later erratic self.
"Uh… Gorgon, the Goddess of Vengeance—is she one of the Gorgon sisters? Should we bring Euryale along?"
Gudako pondered.
"And Quetzalcoatl? Isn't she basically Kukulkan? Another version of Lucoa from a different world?"
"Should we let them spar a bit?"
Both shared the same name as the dragon girl in the library, as feathered serpent deities from South American mythology.
Of course, in this world, the South American gods had arrived on Earth 65 million years ago with a meteor, later manifesting by possessing humans.
"The three goddesses aren't the main issue. The real problem is Tiamat."
Setsuna thought for a moment.
Tiamat—the primordial goddess of Mesopotamian mythology, one of the Seven Evils of Humanity, embodying the principle of return.
Through the collapse of human order and the power of the Holy Grail, she had returned to this world and, driven by instinct, began eradicating humanity.
She was the final boss of the Seventh Singularity.
Whether Heroic Spirits or Beasts, he intended to bring them all back.
"The restoration of human order is right ahead. Assemble the expedition team—let's go!"
—
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