Crossover Shipgirls: Building a Dimensional Empire from Scratch

”Oh...”

Setsuna and his group examined the summoned Nyaruko.

Cute, cheerful, and lively—completely at odds with the overwhelming chaos her summoning had caused moments ago.

”A-reh~”

”This really is Earth?! And you guys are...?”

Nyaruko leaned in close to Setsuna, sniffing lightly and giving him a curious up-and-down look.

”A human from Earth? Doesn’t seem like it... Or are you magicians? Wait, are there still magicians on Earth these days?”

”Summoning beings like us is actually quite dangerous, you know... But coming to Earth once in a while isn’t so bad either~”

From appearances alone, Setsuna was definitely human—but Nyaruko couldn’t find any record of his existence, nor any information about the girls with him.

”Where did you learn this summoning ritual? Who are you? Don’t tell me—you’re part of a smuggling syndicate sneaking onto Earth to traffic manga and video games across the universe?!”

”If that’s the case, then I can’t just overlook this, hohoho~”

”...”

It was hard to believe. After all the terrifying, sanity-draining phenomena that had just unfolded, the so-called Outer God he summoned turned out to be... a silver-haired, green-eyed girl accusing him of interstellar smuggling.

As expected, the Nyaruko world operated on its own brand of absurd logic.

”You’re Nyarlathotep?”

Formidable still looked incredulous.

”Mhm~”

The girl put her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest proudly, and declared:

”That’s me.”

”...”

Whoosh—

Formidable projected a holographic image of a grotesque, indescribable monster.

”But the book said Nyarlathotep looked like this! I thought the Cthulhu gods would have, you know, a more... eldritch aesthetic.”

”If you’d like, I can transform into that form.”

Nyaruko tilted her head, then gently patted Griseo’s head beside her.

”But it might scare the child and lower her sanity value.”

”Eek—”

Little Griseo shivered.

She was extremely sensitive to the colors of others’ presences.

Most shipgirls radiated warm hues that made her feel relaxed by instinct; the Commander had the color of the starry sky—vast and ethereal.

Aqua was the color of intellect—stay with her too long and your thinking patterns would grow strange.

But standing beside Nyaruko, Griseo felt countless indescribable colors swirl uncontrollably in her mind.

Twisting lights and shadows intertwined—massive, cloud-like shapes of flesh and eyes lurking within the mist...

Even imagining them made her sense the scent of decay and blood.

—What she perceived was Nyaruko’s true form.

So this is an Old God?!

Griseo felt that if she didn’t expel these colors soon, she herself might turn into something unrecognizable.

...

Ten minutes later.

Nyaruko followed Setsuna, utterly confused, as they boarded the shuttle and rose toward the massive starship hovering high above.

”When did you people build something like this?”

”The Cosmic Union’s database says Earth is still an undeveloped planet. Don’t tell me you’ve been secretly constructing megastructures?”

”If that’s true, your civilization level should have risen way higher... No, wait—that should’ve been detected by the Cosmic Union long ago...”

”Sit.”

Setsuna gestured for her to sit on the sofa opposite him.

He brought up a starmap and gave a brief self-introduction.

”First of all, we’re not natives of this Earth. We’re from the Starsea Empire. By your world’s classification, you could call us cosmic beings.”

”We arrived here through certain means.”

”Oh, you’re from another universe?”

The concept of a multiverse didn’t faze Nyaruko at all.

As an Outer God herself, she was well aware of the Cosmic Union and the IADB (Intergalactic Archive Database) frequently dealing with threats from beyond their own universe.

”Yes—but the distance and scale are beyond what you might imagine.”

Setsuna brought up a much larger starmap before her.

”Our universe is here, yours is here, and between us lie several other worlds...”

”Wow~!” Nyaruko’s eyes sparkled as her ahoge curved into an exclamation mark.

”So? Were you guys also attracted to Earth’s entertainment industry and came here for tourism? If you want to visit R’lyeh, I can take you there! Since you’re already here, it’d be a waste not to explore!”

She looked eager to get her hands on new games and manga.

Pfft—

Setsuna waved his hand and snapped his fingers.

”Let’s put Earth’s stuff aside for now. Simply put—I’m here to recruit people.”

”Interested in joining the Starsea Empire?”

”Huh? No way! Why would I go to some weird empire when Earth is so much fun? Even if you summoned me, I’m not some familiar you can order around—”

Before she could finish—

Thud—

Ikaros appeared, placing a large box in front of her.

”A gift from Master. Please, accept it.”

”!!!”

”This is!!!—”

Nyaruko’s ahoge stood straight up as she stared at the box.

”The entire Kamen Rider series, including the Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa eras,”

Setsuna leaned back casually on the sofa.

”From Kamen Rider Ichigo (1971) to Kamen Rider Geats and Kamen Rider Black Sun, plus spin-offs like Ryuki, Den-O, and Gaim.”

”All complete Blu-ray collector’s editions.”

He knew well that Nyaruko was obsessed with Earth’s entertainment—especially Kamen Rider and Gundam. She even had transformation powers similar to the Riders.

For the Starsea Empire, obtaining such things was effortless.

”!!”

Nyaruko’s eyes shone like twin stars as she eagerly flipped through the cases.

Before long, she noticed something even more shocking.

”Wait—some of these are still airing! How do you already have the complete sets?!”

”Are these fakes? ...No, they’re real???”

The Starsea Empire’s timeline, along with its vassal worlds, ran slightly ahead of Nyaruko’s universe.

That meant the late-Heisei and Reiwa series were future content here—works that hadn’t yet been released in her world.

But everything about them—the art, the design, the details—was genuine and unmistakably authentic.

”H-how did you get these?!”

Nyaruko stared at Setsuna as if she were looking at a god.

”Earth’s entertainment industry can’t even reach one ten-thousandth of the Starsea Empire’s level.”

Setsuna smiled faintly.

Beyond its unmatched military and technological might, the Empire also dominated culturally. With over a dozen vassal worlds, its artistic output—both in quantity and quality—completely overshadowed anything Earth could produce.

Cultural creation depended on fertile soil, and the Starsea Empire was an artist’s paradise. Dozens of worlds cross-pollinated ideas, birthing works far beyond the imagination of a single planet’s natives.

”Every manga, movie, and anime you’ve ever seen on Earth—I can get you the complete collection.”

”Past, present, and future.”

He gestured toward the side, and the Angeloids brought in several more crates.

”Oh, Naruto Shippuden is still mid-broadcast here? Want me to give you the full series? Forget Boruto though—it’s not even good enough for firewood.”

”And here—these are the latest hits in the capital: Elden Ring and its new DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree. Want to try them?”

”Oooohhhhhh—!”

Nyaruko’s pupils sparkled as she gazed at the endless treasures before her, completely entranced.

”O God of Entertainment!!!”

”You must be the God of Joy, descended from another universe!!!”

Nyaruko’s worldview was utterly reshaped.

Once, the universal truth of her cosmos was that Earth’s entertainment industry reigned supreme across the stars.

Because of this, even though Earth’s natives were a weak, pre-space-age civilization, the Cosmic Union still enforced strict protection policies over the solar system.

Higher civilizations were forbidden from interfering with Earth; only a limited number of tourists were allowed to visit the undersea R’lyeh entertainment city, provided they avoided contact with humans.

She had once been addicted to Earth’s entertainment products—but now, standing before Setsuna, Nyaruko felt like an ordinary mortal gazing upon an Elder God.

Before her stood the God of Entertainment Himself—one who transcended all universes and all civilizations!

Compared to the Starsea Empire, Earth’s entire entertainment industry was utterly insignificant.

”Well? Want to come to the Starsea Empire and see for yourself?” Setsuna tilted his chin and asked casually.

”I... I... of course!” Nyaruko nodded rapidly, then suddenly froze as if remembering something.

”Wait a minute! I have to report this! The Starsea Empire’s existence is of immense importance to the entire universe!”

Beep—

She pulled out her phone, turned her back, and whispered furtively into it.

”Moshi moshi, this is Nyarlathotep. Yes, yes, I was just summoned by an unknown alien civilization. They claim to be from another universe and have currently landed on Earth.”

”No, everything’s fine! They show no hostility! Their entertainment industry is on par with—no, far beyond Earth’s! I recommend placing them under special protection!”

”...I’m sending some data now...”

”Me? I’m fine! Totally fine! Absolutely no problem!!!”

”...”

It sounded like she was giving a mission report. Belfast and Formidable exchanged amused looks.

”Wait, do Outer Gods actually have bosses? Who’s Nyarlathotep’s superior supposed to be? And what’s with that phone? It works across galaxies?!”

”Don’t overthink the Cthulhu stuff,” Setsuna said. ”They use idealistic power—logic doesn’t apply.”

A few minutes later, Nyaruko straightened her clothes, sat back down before Setsuna, cleared her throat, and spoke solemnly.

”Ahem. Let me reintroduce myself.”

”Hello, I’m Nyarlathotep, member of the Space Defense Agency.”

”In order to safeguard the Starsea Empire’s entertainment industry, I’ve been assigned to protect an individual known as Setsuna—the Commander.”

”My mission is to defend him from interstellar criminal organizations and to prevent the Starsea Empire from being targeted by higher civilizations.”

”???”

Setsuna, the shipgirls, and the dragon girls all stared blankly.

This was the first time anyone had ever claimed to be protecting the Starsea Empire.

So she basically just labeled us as another batch of primitives?!

”This universe is a dangerous place,” Nyaruko said, raising a finger as her ahoge stood proudly.

”Galactic crime syndicates often engage in illegal activities—trafficking forbidden substances, smuggling across galaxies, trading sentient beings...”

”For a newly emerged civilization like the Starsea Empire, with such a booming entertainment industry, it’s only natural that various powers would start keeping an eye on you.”

”But don’t worry! I’ve already submitted a request for your protection.”

Patting her chest confidently, she gave a big thumbs-up.

”In short, from now on, Setsuna will have my personal protection—twenty-four-seven!”

”As for the duration... I’ve applied for an initial period of 18 million years. If that’s not enough, we can always extend it later, ehehe~”

”???”

After Lucoa’s 2,000-year stay in the Starsea Empire and Grey’s 5,000-year pledge of loyalty, Setsuna had now acquired a new, even more outrageous companion.

Someone planning to protect him for eighteen million years.

Apparently, Outer Gods had an even more distorted sense of time than dragon girls or nanomachines.

”Hehe~ Don’t worry! I’ll guard you around the clock—from dawn to dusk, from day to night~”

Nyaruko leaned closer and closer to Setsuna, her emerald eyes shining with admiration and devotion.

At first, she’d just thought he looked pretty handsome—but after he presented her with that pile of otherworldly entertainment treasures...

Nyaruko could barely contain herself—she wanted to follow Setsuna back to the Starsea Empire immediately and spend the next few million years holed up there, binging every game, anime, and manga in existence.

”Ah, pink hearts are floating out.”

Griseo blinked innocently.

In her perception, it looked as though some indescribable horror had just latched itself onto the Commander. The sight was... a little unsettling.

”Wait—hold up! That escalated way too fast!”

Tohru and Belfast both sweatdropped, black lines appearing across their foreheads.

It was hard to believe someone could be swayed this much by entertainment products.

This world really wasn’t normal, the head maid thought to herself once again.

”Besides, the Commander doesn’t need anyone’s protection. And even if he did, I’d be the one responsible for that.”

The dragon girl pouted.

”Oh? You disagree? Want to settle this with a fight?”

Nyaruko pulled a crowbar out from under her four-dimensional skirt, resting it casually on her shoulder as she eyed Tohru.

”So... you’re not human either, huh? A dragon? Interesting...”

”Who’s afraid of who?!” Tohru snarled, baring her teeth.

”Stop.”

”If you two want to spar, do it back at the training grounds. Don’t wreck my ship.”

Setsuna quickly intervened before a Dragon-vs-Old-God war could break out inside the starship.

He reached out to pat Nyaruko’s head.

”Alright, you can stay with us for now. Did your superiors say anything else?”

”Hmm...” Nyaruko tilted her head, thinking.

”The Cosmic Union wants to know more about the Starsea Empire—like your homeworld, level of civilization, technology grade, and so on...”

”According to standard procedure, if you’re a recognized interstellar civilization, many nations will want to sign trade or tourism agreements with you.”

”After all, your entertainment industry far surpasses Earth’s! The Solar System can’t meet intergalactic demand—just getting a ticket to R’lyeh Resort requires a lottery!”

Then she waved her hands hastily.

”Ah, but don’t worry! The Cosmic Union harbors no hostility. Our goal is to maintain universal order and properly manage all intelligent life.”

”Any civilization that provokes war without reason will face the strictest sanctions. Sometimes, Lord Yog-Sothoth or Shub-Niggurath themselves even intervene—so things are mostly peaceful!”

”You know who they are, right?...”

”...”

Of course Setsuna did. The other two of the Cthulhu Trinity—Masters of Time and Space, and the Black Goat of the Woods.

He hadn’t expected that in Nyaruko’s universe, the Old Gods had become moral paragons—maintaining order and protecting underdeveloped civilizations.

”Commander, looks like we’re attracting quite a bit of attention. What’s next?” Belfast asked, glancing at her mission list.

”Our remaining targets include Kuuko, Luhigiston, Koin... some are human, others are also Outer Gods.”

”Should we summon them again using a magic circle? I can assist,” Lucoa offered.

”Hmm...”

Setsuna pondered for a moment.

He wasn’t particularly interested in extensive diplomatic contact with this universe’s civilizations—recruiting a few girls was easy enough.

A single ritual per person would do, and ordinary humans could be handled by Belfast and Formidable without issue.

But he felt it would be a waste to leave this world without doing something bigger.

”Right...” After a brief silence, inspiration struck.

”In this world, conquering the universe through force isn’t realistic—or worth the effort.”

”For one, most of them are pretty friendly. For another, we’d not only have to fight the Outer Gods but also deal with countless strange alien races. The cost would far outweigh the gain.”

”So instead, we’ll use another method to—well, let’s say harvest the aliens sustainably.”

”What?” Formidable and Belfast exchanged puzzled looks.

”Cultural victory!!!”

Setsuna cleared his throat dramatically.

”We’ll model it after R’lyeh and establish a Starsea Empire Entertainment City—an interstellar resort where we’ll export our entertainment products to the locals.”

”And since the aliens here are starved for good games, we’ll bring in Akashi to set up a full suite of advanced gacha systems for them.”

”We’ll launch live-stream idol performances, short video platforms, virtual influencer networks—you name it! As for currency...”

”We’ll take minerals, rare resources, magic tomes, or technological blueprints. If not, barter for interesting artifacts works too—and maybe we’ll even pick up a few more Cthulhu girls along the way...”

”Let’s show these backwater aliens what true modern hedonistic entertainment looks like!!!”

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