Crossover Shipgirls: Building a Dimensional Empire from Scratch

A few more days passed.

The fleet finally arrived above the sun.

Below, the blazing star radiated intense light. From this distance, they could even see the violent activity of the corona.

It constantly ejected stellar material—majestic and awe-inspiring.

Even the massive fleet, which blotted out the sky back on Earth, looked utterly insignificant compared to the sun.

”Time to get to work, buri!”

The Color Bulins were full of energy, itching to go.

Clack—

As the airtight doors at the bottom of the starships opened, a wave of searing heat surged in.

Just 100,000 kilometers above the sun, temperatures had already surpassed 3,000°C.

The Bulins leapt out toward the sun below, deployed their riggings, and activated their personal Klein Fields.

Each of them was enveloped in a shimmering blue shield.

Though their shields weren’t as powerful as those of the shipgirls, they were more than sufficient to block the heat and solar wind.

”Be careful! Don’t fall in!”

The shipgirls waved worriedly at the Bulins.

Never in their wildest dreams did they imagine the construction Bulins from the harbor would one day build structures on the sun.

It was a testament to the Commander’s imagination—and the Bulins’ absurd capabilities.

”Watch closely, shipgirls! This is how you use a Bulin!”

Gudako randomly recalled a blond protagonist’s catchphrase.

Tens of thousands of Color Bulins floated in space, pulling out construction materials from their riggings and showcasing their legendary Bulin magic.

Their movements in zero gravity weren’t hindered in the slightest. At a dazzling pace, they began assembling the Starbase.

If they encountered any minor issues, they’d whip out their meow-meow hammers and beat the problem into submission.

Setsuna and the shipgirls were long accustomed to the Bulins’ green-skinned construction style, so they simply stayed inside the ships and watched.

When it came to Bulin business, outsiders had no say. If they said it was fine, it was fine.

The first phase was the base platform of the Starbase.

Thirty thousand special-type Color Bulins worked with unbelievable speed.

They were building so fast it was visible to the naked eye.

In half a day, an elliptical base platform over 300 kilometers in diameter hovered above the sun.

It was equipped with anti-gravity devices to prevent it from being pulled into the star.

Then, a massive Klein Field was deployed beneath the platform to shield it from solar wind and heat.

With the base in place,

The rest of the construction became far simpler.

The Bulins stacked countless shipping containers atop it and began hammering out the Starbase’s structures, just like they would back on Earth.

Three days later, the first completed section was the starship hangar.

One trip’s worth of supplies wasn’t enough to complete the whole base, but now that there was a landing site, the Bulin starships could make supply runs themselves.

The entire surface of the Starbase turned into a massive construction zone as Bulins steadily built the main complex, shipyards, and other modules.

...

”Incredible... absolutely incredible...”

After days of watching Bulins at work, Setsuna’s admiration only grew.

At this pace, the Starbase would be finished in two to three months.

And with no shortage of resources—minerals and alloys easily shipped in from other worlds—progress would only accelerate.

Such efficient construction was possible for two main reasons:

First, the absurdly powerful, willpower-driven abilities of the starship Bulins.

Second, the brilliant design provided by the loli engineers.

No one had expected that their past kindness would bear fruit so quickly.

With them leading the research division, the future looked brighter than ever.

Of course, much of the credit belonged to the shipgirls responsible for educating the lolis.

Without their tireless efforts in teaching, there wouldn’t be so many genius young scientists.

Inside the Eternal Snowfall, Setsuna had Belfast and Yat Sen prepare a lavish meal to treat Chen Hai, Hai Tien, and the other shipgirl instructors.

”Thank you all for your help. The construction of the Starbase is partly thanks to your efforts,” he said sincerely.

”In that case, you could say Chen Hai has disciples across the galaxy now, right? After all, the entire engineering division is made up of your students,” Yat Sen teased with a smile, glancing at the shipgirl seated beside Setsuna.

With her long black hair and red eyes, Chen Hai had a statuesque figure and fair skin, her mature allure unmistakably that of a carrier shipgirl.

She wore a sleeveless, form-fitting black qipao and sheer black stockings, adding a touch of elegance and seduction.

”Hmm... you’re not wrong,” Chen Hai replied with a chuckle, swirling her wine glass.

”Seeing them help the Commander makes me happy too.”

”Though I must say, teaching them was exhausting. Those kids are insatiably curious—chasing you down with questions every day...”

”I barely had time for myself—barely saw you all year, Commander.”

As she spoke, her gaze lingered meaningfully on Setsuna, her smile laced with subtle implication.

”You should get a bit more free time soon. The mass deployment of the universal angels means they can handle lectures for the lolis.”

”Once the top-tier genius lolis graduate, the rest of the teaching can be left to the universal angels, along with the Seitenshi and Miori Shiba.”

Setsuna voiced his thoughts.

Teaching genius students was a challenge even for seasoned instructors like Chen Hai and Hai Tien. Once they were trained, ordinary students could be left in the hands of the Angels.

Pfft—

Chen Hai laughed.

”Commander, you really know how to express gratitude. Are you painting me a rosy future now? Telling me it’ll all get better?”

”Uh...”

Setsuna realized Chen Hai might be teasing him.

”Then what would you like? Just tell me—as long as it’s within my power, I’ll do it.”

He waved generously.

”I can fetch some collectibles from another world—porcelain? Jade? Paintings? Which do you prefer?”

In his memory, Chen Hai was a shipgirl with elegant taste and a fondness for antiques.

For a shipgirl so dedicated to teaching the lolis, Setsuna was ready to grant any request.

”A gift from the Commander, hmm...? Sounds appealing...”

Chen Hai leaned in slightly, resting her chin in her hand, studying Setsuna with an inscrutable smile.

”...”

Setsuna wasn’t sure where to look.

Look down, and the fair skin exposed by her low-cut dress filled his view—not polite.

Look up, and her direct gaze was unreadable, laced with something dangerous.

”But... I feel like your sincerity is lacking.”

Chen Hai leaned back, responding with apparent disinterest.

She crossed her left leg over her right and sipped her wine gracefully.

Her posture elegant and poised, she turned down Setsuna’s offer as casually as if brushing lint from her sleeve.

”Do you really think, Commander, that I can be appeased with random trinkets from another world?”

She added teasingly.

Even Yat Sen nodded in agreement.

”Commander, Chen Hai works hard every day. If you’re going to thank her, put your heart into it.”

”Huh? Then do you have a different wish in mind?”

Setsuna began to ponder.

”Hmm...”

Chen Hai glanced around at the shipgirls seated at the table.

The ones who usually dined with Setsuna were mostly his oath-bound shipgirls.

Kurumi and Tohru were also present.

That dragon girl had clearly only recently confirmed her relationship with him and was always finding excuses to stay close.

”If I hadn’t been so busy... would I have been one of them too?”

”What?”

Setsuna didn’t quite catch that.

”Commander, do you have any idea how popular you are among the other shipgirls?”

”Many of them are envious of your oath-bound ones—being able to stay on the Eternal Snowfall every day.”

Chen Hai suddenly shifted the topic, poking Setsuna’s cheek.

She wore black silk gloves, and the sensation was soft and unique.

”Uh, I guess I do?…”

Setsuna responded uncertainly. It was only natural for a Commander to be popular with his shipgirls.

Let alone one who led them to the stars, venturing into world after world.

”Exactly.”

Chen Hai stood up and wrapped her arm around his neck.

”Commander, do you know what the best gift is for a shipgirl?”

”Hm?”

Before Setsuna could answer, a wave of surprised exclamations and teasing from the other shipgirls rang out.

Chen Hai leaned down and kissed him.

”It’s you.”

…

Several seconds later, she gently rose, her silky hair brushing his face and making it itch slightly.

Her lips left behind the soft taste of red wine.

…

Just as Setsuna was still savoring the moment,

Chen Hai pressed a gloved finger against his lips, smiling sweetly.

”I’d like to invite you to stay at my place for a few days. Is that okay?”

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