While the shipgirls and Bulins were busy settling the little lolis, Setsuna brought Seitenshi and her two companions back to the administrative center.
He casually tossed a few access cards onto the table, then gestured toward a few buildings visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"There, you'll be staying there from now on—it's not far from the dormitory buildings."
"The street across from you houses Chaldea's Heroic Spirits. Next to them are the Spirits. Some of the shipgirls live at the naval base, while others stay in the city."
"If you need anything, you can contact me directly or ask them."
Seitenshi glanced around.
Everywhere she looked, the city was filled with adorable girls—it was practically an all-female kingdom.
The residence Setsuna assigned them was quite generous as well—a row of townhouses.
"May I ask how you plan to care for those children in the future? Is there anything I can do to help?"
Seitenshi asked.
She felt like she didn't really have much to offer here.
She had once been the supreme ruler of Tokyo, but now that world was gone, and she was just an ordinary girl.
When it came to combat ability or skills, Kisara Tendo was far more capable than she was.
"First, we'll get them settled—making sure they have food, shelter, and a stable life."
"As for education, I've already arranged to purchase textbooks from other worlds, and teachers will be brought in to teach them in the future."
"They'll go through elementary and middle school first. Higher education can wait."
Setsuna explained.
Most of the Cursed Children had spent their lives struggling to survive in the city—attending school was out of the question, and many of them were barely literate.
The naval base did have schools, but the curriculum wasn't well-suited for them.
These little lolis' academic foundation was even weaker than Kanna's.
Not to mention, the naval base simply didn't have the capacity to accommodate over three million students.
Fortunately, schools had already been built in advance, and textbooks could be imported from the Date A Live or Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid worlds.
They would start with literacy, arithmetic, and basic science.
Shipgirls or Bulins could serve as teachers—it would work just fine.
The little lolis were bright.
In the future, they could assist Akashi with research or take on other suitable jobs.
Some might even transition into Spirits—after all, he frequently replenished Mio's mana, and every so often, the Spirit of Origin would separate out some ordinary Spirit Crystals.
However, lolis who transformed into Spirits would remain forever young.
Whether that was a blessing or a curse… was hard to say.
"Wow, a loli-raising plan."
Gudako smacked her lips.
"Commander, you're definitely the world's biggest lolicon—you've practically monopolized over three million little lolis."
"Ritsuka, you jealous?"
Setsuna knocked Gudako on the head.
"I think your XP has changed. Are you planning to be Ark Royal's future cellmate?!"
Gudako clutched her head and threw out a sarcastic remark.
"Impossible. I've always liked them big—and fair-skinned. Do you even understand aircraft carriers?"
"..."
Seitenshi and Kisara Tendo stared at Gudako in amazement.
They realized that this man—who commanded a massive fleet and could wipe out an entire civilization in the blink of an eye—wasn't as cold or unapproachable as they had imagined.
There were even people who could joke with him so casually.
That realization allowed them to relax just a little.
But really, how could they not be on edge?
After living as ordinary humans for over a decade, they were suddenly taken away by an alien overlord—who then proceeded to turn Earth into a lava planet.
Anyone would be terrified, afraid that if they displeased him even slightly, he might bring total annihilation on them as well.
"You should all take a few days to rest and get familiar with your surroundings."
"In the future, you'll be helping take care of the children, and I'll have some work for you as well."
As Setsuna was about to send them off, another thought crossed his mind.
"Oh, right—Kisara Tendo, drop by in a few days. I'll have Bulin craft an artificial kidney for you."
"Huh?! How do you even know about that?!"
The long-haired girl in a sailor uniform jumped in surprise.
During her childhood, she had been attacked by the Tendo family and lost her kidney function.
To keep the pain as a constant reminder of her parents' deaths and the atrocities committed by the Tendo family, she had refused an artificial transplant.
Frequent dialysis treatments were the only thing keeping her alive.
But now, Kikunojou Tendo, along with the entire Tendo family, had been vaporized by a single blast from Setsuna.
In a way, her quest for revenge was already complete.
"…Well, thank you."
Kisara bowed respectfully.
"Mm. Besides you, I think we also need to start focusing on biotechnology. After all, those children are real, living humans…"
"Medical science will be crucial for the base in the future."
Setsuna thought for a moment.
"Oh, and we should probably deal with the Gastrea Virus too. Might as well throw in a G-virus while we're at it…"
…
Early Morning.
Although it was still quite early, the streets were already lively.
Groups of little lolis, led by Bulins and shipgirls, were touring the city.
There was no way to keep children still—especially when they had just arrived in a brand-new world. Each and every one of them was brimming with excitement.
Even though the lolis only outnumbered the Bulins by about two to one, the city felt at least ten times more bustling than before.
They chattered nonstop, following closely behind the smaller shipgirls.
Some were nervous, others were thrilled, as they listened to the shipgirls explain the city's history.
"This city was built entirely from scratch by the Commander! Just two years ago, it was nothing but ruins."
"The Vanguard Fleet spent a long time constructing the capital. When we first founded the nation, we had only about 300 people, counting the Bulins…"
"And now, the population has grown by over ten thousand times?!"
Yukikaze, hands on her hips, proudly led the group, giving the little lolis a lesson in history.
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask the great Yukikaze-sama! I, Yukikaze-sama, will answer them all properly, nanoda~~"
"If we run into any enemies, the great Yukikaze-sama will protect you all! …Uh, the other shipgirls told me not to say that, but you all won't mind, right?"
"Waaah—Yukikaze-samaaa!"
The little lolis gazed at her with admiration in their eyes.
In the fleet, destroyers were usually treated as children by the larger shipgirls and the Commander, often just there to be doted on.
But now, in front of actual little lolis, Yukikaze suddenly felt like a senior.
"Yukikaze-sama, how old are you?"
Enju Aihara curiously leaned forward and asked.
She thought that this shipgirl with cat-like ears didn't look much older than herself but seemed unexpectedly mature.
"Me? Uh… This world's calendar is in the year 2262, so if I go by my birth year…"
Yukikaze scratched her head and thought for a moment.
"Probably about 120 years old?!"
Enju Aihara: "???"
"It's no big deal. Look, she's 14,000."
Yukikaze pointed at Kanna, who was passing by.
The little dragon girl was buying ice cream, holding one in each hand, taking alternating licks—an incredibly adorable sight.
When she noticed Yukikaze and the little lolis, she cheerfully ran over to greet them.
"Wow! You have a tail too? And horns?! Are you a Cursed Child as well?"
"A snake-type? Or maybe a lizard-type? Hmm… I can't really tell…"
Midori Fuse tilted her head, inspecting Kanna closely.
"No, I'm a dragon."
Kanna spread her wings and flapped them twice, sending a gust of wind through the street.
"Eh?—"
The little lolis felt increasingly lost in this strange world.
There were spaceships, magical Spirits… and now dragons?
So weird.
…
Before long.
During his routine inspection, Setsuna ran into a large crowd of little lolis.
"Commander!"
Most of the Black Bullet lolis hadn't seen him before, but when they heard the shipgirls greeting him, they all swarmed toward him.
For a moment, the city came to a complete standstill—like a massive idol meet-and-greet event.
"Onii-chan! Onii-chan!!"
"The spaceship-flying big brother!!"
"Onii-chan!!! Are you the ruler of this city, Onii-chan?!"
"Thank you, Onii-chan!!"
Surrounded by dragon loli, destroyer lolis, and a swarm of Black Bullet lolis, Setsuna couldn't help but smile with an almost motherly expression.
Questioning Ark Royal → Understanding Ark Royal → Becoming Ark Royal.jpg
"How are the dorms and meals?"
"Do you need anything else? If you're missing anything, you can ask Bulin—she'll make it for you."
"For now, just take a few days to rest and get used to the city."
He ruffled Midori Fuse's hair.
Glancing around, he noticed Enju Aihara, Hotaru Kouro, Tina, and several other well-known Black Bullet lolis standing in the group.
The little lolis nodded enthusiastically.
"The dorms are huge! And so is the cafeteria!! Bulin's cooking is delicious!!!"
"There's yogurt and snacks at night too!"
"And those little Manjuus are adorable! Um, are they your pets? They seem really smart…"
Talking about their new lives, the lolis' eyes sparkled with excitement.
The shadows of their past had completely disappeared, replaced by hope for the future.
The days of hunger, tattered clothing, and constant abuse were finally over.
Here, everyone liked them and even went out of their way to take special care of them.
When the little lolis learned that the Commander had led a fleet across worlds to rescue them, they were overwhelmed with emotion.
At this moment, in their hearts, Setsuna was their one and only hero.
Especially when standing beside him, they felt an indescribable sense of comfort and security.
"I'm going to marry Onii-chan when I grow up!"
The precocious little devil, Enju Aihara, clung to Setsuna's clothes and declared.
"I want to too!!"
"I want to marry Onii-chan too!!!"
"We all want to marry Onii-chan!!!"
The other little lolis eagerly squeezed forward.
Even if they didn't fully understand what those words meant, they still chirped along excitedly.
For a moment, the scene became highly incriminating.
Even if Richelieu, who was accompanying them, wanted to intervene, she couldn't bring herself to shoo away the passionate little lolis—she could only do her best to maintain some semblance of order.
From a distance, Taihou bit down on her handkerchief, watching with an expression full of envy, jealousy, and resentment:
"Wow, the Commander is truly a sinful man…"
"..."
Thirty minutes later.
Setsuna finally managed to extract himself from the swarm of little lolis.
It felt like he had been to paradise.
But as he gazed at these adorable girls, another thought suddenly came to mind.
"Speaking of which, I remember Purifier captured some Gastrea creatures earlier. What did she do with them?"
"She didn't actually eat them all, did she?! We still need to study the virus…"
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