A few days later.
"All units, take note. Organize supplies and prepare for return—"
As the order was transmitted to the various detached fleets, the expeditionary force at Disboard carried out its final assembly and settlement procedures.
Sophon and the Angeloids had completely taken over this world, rebuilding a full administrative system with their abundant experience.
Each race had selected several representatives to accompany them.
Think Nirvalen, Sheraha, and other leaders of the Elves and Demonia obediently followed behind Setsuna as they boarded the ship.
Even now, they still believed themselves to be hostages, bearing a deep psychological shadow from the overwhelming might of the Starsea Empire.
"Mm... For the survival of my race, no matter how much humiliation I must endure, I will bear it..."
Think continuously encouraged herself.
"..."
The shipgirls were too lazy to correct them. Whatever. Once they returned, they would understand naturally.
A large group of Seiren arrived as well, soaking in the water pools inside the starship cabins, filled with anticipation for another world.
"Commander, remember to come help us~ Otherwise the Seiren will go extinct in the future."
"After we get back, let's do happy things together. It'll really be very happy~~"
"Our race can only give birth to females. So in the future, will our entire race's reproduction depend on you, Commander...?"
"...If you keep making noise, I'll freeze you into ice blocks."
Esdeath cast a cold glance over.
The mermaid girls shivered and immediately fell silent.
"..."
Shiro and Schwi stayed completely at Setsuna's side.
One was fulfilling her mission of "observing the Commander" and "exploring what the heart is." The other simply lacked any ability to take care of herself.
Aside from her astonishing talent in calculation, deduction, and games, Shiro's daily life skills were practically nonexistent.
On the starship, Setsuna suspected that without the Angeloids and shipgirls taking care of her, she might somehow live a Stone Age lifestyle in an interstellar era.
Most of her day was spent either dragging him into games or chess matches, occasionally reading.
With her incredible memory, she needed very little time to master whatever knowledge she desired, leaving countless little girls envious.
"Well then, goodbye, everyone~"
Once everything was ready, Couronne Dola leaned against the porthole, bidding farewell to the humans below.
"Live well here. I'll come visit when I have time."
As one of the few humans selected to enter the capital of the Starsea Empire, Couronne felt both honored and uneasy.
The humans below were even more reluctant to part.
"Lord God, are you leaving us...?"
"From now on, Disboard will no longer have war, nor conflict and slaughter between races. Everything will return to the right track."
"Live here in peace and tranquility."
Setsuna smiled as he gazed toward the distant sky.
"Sophon will lead you to a better life. In the future, you will head toward space and travel even farther."
"Oh..."
Having only just escaped endless wars, humanity's technological level had been little better than that of natives in other worlds.
Hearing about such a grand future plan, every pair of eyes was filled with boundless hope and curiosity.
"Thank you, Lord God!—"
Once again, the crowd prostrated themselves toward Eternal Snowfall, kneeling for a long time.
For the One True God who had ended war and granted humanity a peaceful life, everyone felt heartfelt gratitude.
Hum—
The starships activated their anti-gravity modules, rising one after another.
Under the watchful eyes of all races in Disboard, they passed through the transfer anchor. After a flash of dazzling light, they vanished from their original position.
...
Shu—
After a brief distortion of spacetime and weightlessness, a different, resplendent galaxy unfolded before them.
Countless tiers more advanced and prosperous than Disboard. Even in outer space, thriving space routes could be seen everywhere.
From Mercury onward, every planet was covered in flourishing architectural complexes. Once-barren planetary surfaces were now entirely blanketed by the marks of interstellar civilization.
Without holographic map positioning, it would even be difficult to recognize the original planets.
"!!!"
Gazing at the magnificent Starbases and the megastructures that enveloped the Sun itself, everyone was struck speechless.
No amount of holographic projections or images in data files could compare to witnessing it with their own eyes.
"Question: What are those sheet-like structures covering the Sun?"
"Question: Why are the buildings on these planets completely different from one another? Supplement: Just how vast is the territory of the Starsea Empire?..."
"Another question—"
Holou once again demonstrated her nature as the God of Doubt, launching dozens of questions at Setsuna and the shipgirls in rapid succession.
From the structure and design principles of Galactic Wonder to why a Bulin could hammer out a mining station right before her eyes using nothing but a so-called Meow-Meow Hammer (Ultra Rainbow Hammer).
The former questions could barely be answered by the Research Division with blueprints. The latter belonged to one of the unsolved mysteries of the Starsea Empire.
No matter how Holou sought proof, she received no answer.
"Question: How are you able to create things that completely defy common sense using an item called the Meow-Meow Hammer? Is it magic?"
Holou found a Bulin acting as a foreman and asked curiously.
"Burin just uses Super Meow-Meow No.1 and goes burin-burin, and it's done!"
"Doubt: Please provide a detailed explanation. Also, what does burin mean?"
"Burin means burin wants to burin a bit. Then anything can be fixed~"
"Confusion: Is that your special language?"
"Do you have anything you want Bulin to build for you, burin...?"
The Bulin quickly hammered out a delicate model spaceship with the Meow-Meow Hammer, stuffed it into Holou's hands, then returned to directing other Bulins.
"This is for you, burin! A souvenir from the Starsea Empire! Bulin has work to do now, burin bye-bye burin~~"
"..."
She couldn't understand.
Holou despaired. No answers could be found.
She looked pitifully toward Setsuna.
"Try reducing the frequency of your questions and doubts within the Starsea Empire. Restrain your curiosity a little. Otherwise, I'm afraid you might spiral again one day."
Setsuna rubbed Holou's head.
"Some questions won't yield answers no matter how deeply you dig. Especially for Cthulhu-type girls—you might even lose sanity."
"Doubt: I am an Old Deus. Can I also be mentally affected?"
Holou remained enthusiastic.
"...Forget it. As long as you're happy. You'll understand after you get hit a few times."
Before long,
the fleet broke through the atmosphere and descended into the capital's landing base.
"Oh..."
The natives were once again dazzled by the interstellar metropolis.
Groups of little girls and shipgirls surrounded Setsuna.
"Commander, Commander, you were gone for so long this time~"
"You brought back so many big sisters again? Are they Angeloids? Eh, no..."
The most eye-catching presence stepping off the ship was the Flügel legion.
Their elegant appearances, paired with the angelic wings at their lower backs, naturally reminded people of the Angeloids seen everywhere in the capital.
However, the Flügel were biological beings, far more lively and animated. They raised their heads to observe the formations of angels flying overhead.
"Eh? Are there others of our kind here?"
"No, that's not right. The Commander said these Angeloids are, strictly speaking, actually the same kind as those scrap-iron—oh no, the Ex-Machina?"
Jibril suddenly felt a strange competitive spirit.
They looked so alike, both born as weapons of war. Sooner or later, they would have to determine a victor.
"Yat Sen, arrange personnel to settle the various races."
"Have the Bulins construct an underwater city beneath Golden Horn Bay. We have new Seiren here—yes, similar to mermaids."
"Research Division, head to the Moon for handover first. You'll have new assignments shortly."
Setsuna issued orders in an orderly fashion.
Everyone immediately became busy.
Anyone fortunate enough to be invited by the Commander to the homeland of the Starsea Empire could be considered an honored guest—entirely different from the treatment of natives in vassal worlds.
They would be provided housing, given tours of the capital. Combat personnel would be integrated into or assigned to new operational squads.
"..."
Within the crowd, several goddesses such as Eris stared at Setsuna for a long while, sensing a powerful magical aura emanating from him.
"Commander, you brought back a lot of girls. You've grown much stronger as well."
"That's your greatest gain from this trip, isn't it?"
...
"Huh? The Commander became a god?!"
A little later.
In the administrative center, Setsuna briefly recounted his experiences and gains in the world of No Game No Life to the companions stationed there.
Quite a few girls were stunned.
It took them a long moment to recover. Conquering a world and establishing a harmonious multi-racial vassal universe was routine operation for the imperial fleet.
Since that world possessed the Suniaster, which governed everything, there was no way Setsuna would let it go.
Shua—
He unfolded his rigging and projected a regular dodecahedral crystal.
"In theory, yes. In Disboard, the Suniaster grants the authority of the One True God. All universal laws there are under my control."
"Every word I speak becomes a decree upon the world. All beings must obey unconditionally. Changing and reshaping reality takes only a single thought."
"Oh..."
Shipgirls, Heroic Spirits, and the girls from the magic academy gathered around, observing the Suniaster.
Whether from the technological side or the magical side, all could sense the immense power contained within it.
"If I had the Suniaster, could I cast Explosion two hundred times a day?"
Megumin popped up and asked.
"With your ability? I think at least five hundred."
Yunyun squeezed her aside.
"Shoo, shoo. This is the core of a god. A god, you know? Like me. Got it?"
Aqua reached out to touch it, only to receive a sharp flick on the forehead from Observer's tentacle.
"Before you even ask, no. There's only one Suniaster. It's indivisible. And the Commander definitely won't hand it over for you to play with."
"Eh?!..."
During previous expeditions, the Starsea Empire had encountered plenty of gods, strong and weak alike.
The strong ones included outer god legions led by Nyarlathotep and Shub-Niggurath, along with several dragon girls. They were considered high-end combat power.
The weaker ones, such as the goddesses from Konosuba or the god eliminated not long ago in the Goblin Slayer world, were generally not suited for battle. Someone like Aqua even lowered the overall dignity and average intelligence of gods.
But a god with administrative authority over an entire world was something they had never seen before.
"To be precise, no matter how outrageous the order, once it comes from the Commander's mouth, it becomes a rule that everyone must follow."
Grey spoke casually.
"For example, if the Commander declared that everyone in the Starsea Empire has the obligation to sleep with him, then you would all have to—"
"???"
The girls froze.
Asuka instantly turned red. "Th-That kind of thing... should at least be voluntary!! That's way too strange, isn't it?!"
Nyarlathotep and a few other Cthulhu-type girls were indifferent. They were outside the law anyway, and Nyarlathotep personally had no objections. Usually she was the one draining Setsuna.
Led by Taihou, a group of shipgirls looked overjoyed.
"There's such a good thing?!"
"Commander, give the order. I will execute it at 300%."
"!?"
"What does 300% mean?"
Cecilia asked, confused but impressed.
"It means if Commander-sama wants it once, I can do it three times~"
Taihou answered matter-of-factly.
"Ah???"
"Ahem. The Suniaster is for managing Disboard. It's installed on Eternal Snowfall now. It functions similarly to a Herrscher core or the Allspark, supplying me with energy and authority."
Setsuna cut off the increasingly wild train of thought.
"Are you going to keep installing more and more strange things onto Eternal Snowfall in the future..."
The shipgirls couldn't help but feel that, relying on his absurd adaptability, Setsuna simply stuffed whatever he acquired into his hull. The empire's flagship might one day become something unimaginable.
After satisfying everyone's curiosity about the Suniaster,
Setsuna began arranging the next steps.
"First, for our companions who came from Disboard to the capital. Each race has sent representatives."
"Dwarves to the Engineering Department. Think Nirvalen, take the Elves to the magic academy. Your spell systems have collection and application value."
"As for Couronne... you and Nonna will probably need to study here for a while. Learn about the interstellar era and undergo genetic ascension procedures."
"After that, how you develop in the capital is up to personal preference."
Each race had its own traits, and Setsuna assigned them accordingly.
The biodiversity of the capital grew richer once again.
"As for the Flügel..."
Finally, he looked at Jibril, Azril, and the other Flügel girls.
"The Starsea Empire will establish a new Flügel legion, parallel to the Angeloid forces. You will focus solely on external warfare and accompany the imperial fleet on expeditions."
"Research Division and Life Sciences Division will enhance Flügel genetics and equipment according to imperial standards."
Angeloids were the empire's foundational combat units. Besides orbital drops and atmospheric warfare, they also maintained order. There were household types, engineering types, research types, and more.
The Flügel, however, were pure combat machines. Someone like Jibril, who looked a bit airheaded in daily life, could do little besides fight and stir up trouble.
"Understood—"
Observer and the others reviewed the data.
The Flügel had dominated Disboard with ease, crushing races like the Elves and Dwarves into silence.
But from a broader interstellar perspective, their combat capabilities had many flaws.
Setting aside the fact that after unleashing Heavenly Smite they all reverted to loli form, even their destructive power and defensive capabilities were somewhat lacking by interstellar standards.
A single Heavenly Smite could destroy an Elven city, roughly equivalent to a high-yield erosion missile. Using Jibril as a benchmark, their durability could withstand a hydrogen bomb.
Hydrogen bombs had been obsolete in the Starsea Empire for years. Even little shipgirls could treat them as bath toys.
"Alright, alright, come with me. You definitely need some equipment upgrades. Hmm, though modifying the genes of an otherworldly species is a first..."
Observer waved her tentacles, beckoning the Flügel away.
"Hm?!"
As a battle race that enjoyed hunting heads in their spare time, the Flügel had no objection to becoming stronger. They were easily led off by the departments.
"The Ex-Machina's False Epigraphy and their ability to materialize armaments through computation are worth studying. We can model a shared armament system after theirs and construct an imperial arsenal."
Setsuna continued.
"With Lösen and False Epigraphy, anyone could access different abilities and weapons as needed."
This concept had already been proposed in Disboard. Now, back in the Starsea Empire, it could finally be implemented.
There were many talented individuals in the empire. If all abilities could be unified and made accessible to every individual when necessary, overall strength would rise significantly.
"I want to use Noble Phantasms, magic, and Eternal Snowfall!!!—"
A group of research lolis brimmed with enthusiasm. Even ordinary individuals like Akame and Iris fell into excited fantasies.
"Mm..."
After arranging the tasks,
Shua—
Setsuna projected a hyperdimensional star map before him. The universe of No Game No Life had now been incorporated into the Starsea Empire.
The previous batch of discovered universes had been stronger, and the rewards from conquering them were correspondingly greater. The Cthulhu legions and the Suniaster were prime examples.
He was already beginning to look forward to challenging the remaining worlds.
"But before that... perhaps a little reserved project?"
"After conquering so many worlds, what's wrong with enjoying myself a bit?!..."