Crossover Shipgirls: Building a Dimensional Empire from Scratch

Clang—

The Aurora touched down on an open field outside Constantinople, its silver-white hatch slowly opening.

”Come, take a look at your new home.”

At Setsuna’s and the shipgirls’ beckoning, the Horse Girls poked their heads out and cautiously stepped off the ship.

It was their first time riding a starship, crossing between worlds, and arriving at another Earth in a different universe. Many were visibly nervous.

”This is the trainer’s home? It’s huge?!”

Special Week, braver than most, hopped down with Tokai Teio, landing beside Setsuna.

Before them lay a bustling capital.

The city was neatly divided along a central axis into multiple districts, with wide streets broad enough for small spacecraft to land.

Little girls in uniforms went to school or played, shipgirls patrolled, Bulin sold wares in busy marketplaces, and every so often an Angeloid glided through the sky.

With their white wings and sleek, high-tech combat uniforms, they looked almost like a dream.

Interstellar-era architecture was clean and futuristic. From where they stood, they could see the towering administrative center rising skyward in the heart of the city.

Its floor area rivaled the entire academy; moving within required small shuttles. Sunlight glared brightly off its glass walls.

”Whoa...”

The Horse Girls felt overwhelmed, eyes darting everywhere.

For them, all of this was new.

Most of their lives had been spent between the academy and the racetrack. Few had ever wandered a big city—let alone the capital of an interstellar empire.

”That’s huge! And that too! What’s flying up there?!”

Words couldn’t capture their shock. They stammered out bits of awe.

Special Week and Silence Suzuka instinctively clung to Setsuna’s sleeves, sticking close so as not to get lost.

In a city this vast, a wrong turn could mean wandering for hours.

”Trainer... your home is way too big... ugh...”

Special Week thought even her first trip from Hokkaido to Tokyo hadn’t been this intimidating.

Constantinople, expanded many times over, was a hundred times larger than Tokyo.

”From now on, call me Commander. ’Trainer’ sounds a bit strange.”

Setsuna thought for a moment.

The Azure shipgirls called him Commander, the Kancolle shipgirls called him Admiral, the Servants called him Master—all with some dignity.

’Trainer,’ though, always carried the air of a ranch hand.

He pointed toward the sun.

”And this is only part of the Starsea Empire. On the sun, we have our Starbase. On the moon, a research center under construction.”

”If there’s a chance, I’ll take you there.”

”Huh?!”

The Horse Girls jumped.

”Live on the sun? C-C-Commander, you’re joking, right?!”

”You’ll see when we go.”

Setsuna ruffled Special Week’s hair, giving her horse ears a gentle rub.

Beast-ear girls had an unbeatable feel.

”Yah—”

The Horse Girl let out a sweet yelp.

He led them around the capital, stopping to grab armfuls of carrots from Bulin’s stall.

These premium carrots, bred through genetic cultivation, had the Horse Girls singing their praises.

”In the capital, everyone takes what they need and contributes what they can. If you need anything, just ask an Angeloid or Bulin. There’s no currency here.”

”Take what you want.”

Hearing this, Special Week nearly choked.

”Nothing costs money?! Commander, food, clothes, housing—everything is free?!”

”That’s right.”

The shipgirls and dragon girls were long accustomed to such a life, and nodded matter-of-factly.

”Ehh—”

”Take what you need, give what you can... but aside from running, we don’t have many other skills...” Silence Suzuka and Tokai Teio thought aloud.

Horse Girls lacked the combat capabilities of shipgirls, dragon girls, or Servants. Other than following the Commander on campaigns across worlds, they would occasionally visit the Goblin Slayer world to farm resources and bring back materials.

They couldn’t hope to learn Bulin’s mystical tricks, nor could they dive into research like the little black-haired loli scientists.

Their only real talent was running fast.

Which... might make them well-suited for food delivery and courier work.

A little awkward.

”Horse racing’s part of the tertiary industry. You could also debut as idols.” Setsuna mused.

With the Empire’s resources, keeping a few mascot-like performers wasn’t a problem.

Every race ended with a victor’s stage performance; watching a few cute Horse Girls sing and dance was quite a treat.

After a tour of the capital, Setsuna led the Horse Girls to the academy district.

This educational system had been developed after retrieving the little black-haired loli, covering everything from kindergarten and primary school to middle and high school, universities, and even advanced magical and technological research labs.

In addition to the lolis, Demon Slayer Corps members and the Night Raid squad also studied here.

”You’ll be staying temporarily at the Imperial Academy. Chen Hai, arrange dorms and class schedules for them.”

”Eh? We have to take classes here too?” Tokai Teio craned her neck.

Rather than a school building, the academy was a sprawling complex stretching to the horizon.

The Imperial Academy dwarfed Tracen Academy many times over—a true higher education hub for countless worlds.

”Yes, the Starsea Empire has compulsory education. You’ll need to learn local common knowledge, as well as basic astronomy and biology.”

”So... cultural studies? Got it, Commander.” Silence Suzuka nodded.

”We had some at Tracen too, so it should be fine.” As an honors student, she was confident in both academics and athletics.

”Can I just start from university? I’ve never been! What do your universities teach? How do they compare to Waseda or Kyoto University?” Tokai Teio wagged her tail, firing off questions.

”Uh, no. Our compulsory education is fundamentally different from Tracen’s,” Chen Hai replied, hand on her chin.

”I’ve seen Tracen’s courses and materials... let’s just say they’re very... innocent.”

”To decide your grade level and starting curriculum, we’ll need to hold an entrance exam.”

”?”

The Horse Girls blinked.

It sounded a lot like human schools sorting students into advanced or regular classes through exams.

”No problem!” Grass Wonder and Tokai Teio declared confidently.

”Whether arts or sciences—bring it on!!!”

...

An hour later.

Imperial Academy, large lecture hall.

The Horse Girls stared at their exam papers, questioning reality.

”Orbital mechanics? High-energy physics? Starship combat theory?!”

”What is all this?!”

Some had even prepared cheat sheets, only to realize they were useless—

Because they couldn’t even read the questions.

Hai Tien was unfazed.

”The Starsea Empire is an interstellar civilization. Every member is expected to master the relevant fundamentals.”

”Hmm... seems the middle school curriculum is too hard for you. Let’s start with simpler material—primary school level.”

”...”

Special Week’s eyes brimmed with tears.

”Am I going to have to be classmates with little kids? Ugh... so embarrassing...”

”Ah, no, not exactly,” Haten shook her head.

”Even among lolis, there are differences.”

”There are ones younger than you already working on building interstellar fortresses at the Starbase.”

”???”

...

A week passed.

Since visiting the Horse Girl world, shipgirls had gradually brought back more Horse Girls—some from Tracen Academy, others from abroad.

All were settled into the academy dorms, enjoying the interstellar-era student life.

8:00 a.m.

Imperial Academy, dormitory district, Horse Girl dorm building.

Riiing—

The alarm went off.

”Oh no, we’re going to be late!!”

”It’s our first day of school!!”

Special Week and Oguri Cap tumbled out of bed, hastily making their beds before rushing to wash up and change clothes.

They brushed out their hair and smoothed the fur on their tails.

The academy dorms were double rooms; only after graduation would they be assigned larger homes.

The Horse Girls didn’t mind the so-called ”false advertising” from the Tracen chairwoman—even the dorms here were leagues better than Tracen’s.

All the furniture and equipment were smart-controlled. Any wall could display a holographic interface at a touch, allowing them to summon an Angeloid for assistance.

They were still getting used to such high-tech living.

Once they were presentable, they grabbed a few carrots from the kitchen, munched them down, shouldered their schoolbags, and darted toward the classroom building.

Along the way, they passed plenty of young lolis, little shipgirls, and other Horse Girls heading to class.

Different majors had different teaching buildings.

”We’re assigned to Year 1 Class 2... in Building 12, Room A-3...”

”Uh, we’re really going to be in class with little kids, aren’t we...”

Special Week and Oguri Cap followed the academy’s guide posts, heading toward one of the main buildings.

They said that, but in their hearts they knew most of these ”little lolis” were far more capable than them—some barely ten years old yet already undertaking major research projects for the interstellar empire.

After winding through the maze-like halls, they finally reached their classroom.

”Ah, welcome, new students~”

”You’re the Horse Girls the Commander mentioned, right? Get along well with everyone~”

Standing at the podium was a black-haired beauty in a naval uniform and black tights.

”I’m Azuma, your instructor for this term. Pleased to meet you.”

Her voice was soft and pleasant. She guided Special Week and Oguri Cap to their seats.

”...”

Special Week glanced around. Something about her classmates felt... unusual.

In front of her sat an adorable little loli in a pink dress with gradient purple twin-tails—and dragon horns atop her head.

She had a chubby, doll-like face.

”Hi, I’m Kanna. Commander and Lady Tohru told me to study here.”

The little dragon girl introduced herself cheerfully.

”Oh, you’re so cute! How old are you?” Special Week and Oguri Cap were instantly smitten.

”Thirteen thousand years old! And you?” Kanna pouted.

”Eh???”

Turning around, Special Week spotted two cat-eared maids behind her, tails swishing lazily.

”Hi~ I’m Chocola, and this is Vanilla~”

”We’re training in the maid corps, but the head maid told us to brush up on cultural studies. Are you a catgirl too?...”

Chocola tilted her head curiously.

”Hmm, no... your ears and tail aren’t like ours...”

”???”

Special Week realized the Imperial Academy was home to an incredible diversity of races.

With a bit of renovation, it could double as a zoo.

Besides the catgirls and dragon girl, several small Sakura Empire beast-eared shipgirls were seated nearby.

They looked more like preschoolers—yet somehow they were in the same grade as her.

Special Week suspected either she was too weak—or they were simply too strong.

In the back row, two older black-haired girls in uniform were arguing.

”Akame, you failed your cultural studies again.”

”But we use swords and magic! Why do we have to learn starship piloting theory?!”

”...”

After a round of chatter, Azuma signaled for quiet before beginning the lesson.

”Today we’ll study starship theory. In the Starsea Empire, everyone should know how to pilot a small spacecraft. This afternoon, you’ll all head to the Starship Academy for hands-on training~”

...

”So, the Horse Girl world operation is now complete.” In the administrative center, Setsuna crossed the task off his list.

Every named Horse Girl had been relocated to the capital. Follow-up governance in that world was left to other shipgirls and Angeloids.

When it came to sustainable resource extraction, the Starsea Empire had plenty of experience.

”Yat Sen, when you have time, arrange for regular sports events and horse races in the capital.”

”Understood.” The black-haired shipgirl in a qipao nodded, then added:

”Commander, what about genetic enhancement for the Horse Girls? Many have expressed interest in Genetic Ascension, but considering their profession, I think using blunt-force enhancement methods might not be suitable.”

”...”

Setsuna pondered.

Using genetic enhancement in sports was a delicate matter.

Compared to doping, gene tech was civilized and harmless, but it still turned competition into a test of technology rather than individual ability.

Even an unknown rookie could, post-enhancement, easily surpass stars like Special Week, Grass Wonder, or Tokai Teio.

”To prevent injuries during competition, enhancing their physical fitness and recovery abilities is necessary.”

”As for superpower factor enhancement...”

He thought for a moment.

”We’ll make it voluntary, and divide competitions by enhancement level.”

”Standard-enhanced Horse Girls race against other standard-enhanced; superpower-enhanced race against other supers.”

”That way, their training effort isn’t wasted, and it’s relatively fair.”

”Hmm...” Yat Sen considered. ”Tiered competition... yes, that’s a good idea.”

The first batch already numbered in the hundreds; even split into three or four divisions, there would be more than enough for multiple simultaneous events.

”Also, we shouldn’t limit Horse Girls to running alone—treat them like catgirls or normal lolis. Let them freely choose their future paths. If they want to fly ships or study magic, they can.”

Setsuna was already planning their future development.

Loving to run didn’t mean running was all they could do.

If humans could do it, Horse Girls could too.

”Tch, magic?” Gudako imagined a herd of Horse Girls casting spells.

”Magic Horse Girls? Buffing themselves mid-race?!”

”Or we could have no-rules track events—where you can use magic to sabotage rivals, like an item race in a kart game?!”

Thwack—

Setsuna karate-chopped her.

”Keep your weird ideas to yourself, thanks!”

—

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