Hoh—
Setsuna observed the situation below with great interest.
From the very beginning, the general trend of forming alliances had already taken shape.
Quite a few small groups handed their vouchers over to the person most skilled at games, appointing them as their representative in battle.
Both sides negotiated in advance, agreeing to divide the winnings according to a set ratio.
It looked very similar to how the various races competed in No Game No Life.
—Though the stakes were a bit strange.
There were also some who planned to fight alone, such as a certain nanomachine.
"Mm-hm~"
Jibril, who was staying by Setsuna's side, pondered for a moment before deciding to find a target to warm up on. Her gaze settled on Schwi.
"Scrap metal… oh no, Schwi, I challenge you to a duel."
"I'll wager six date vouchers. According to the rules, you can choose the game—chess, word chains, or anything else."
She took out a stack of vouchers and projected a holographic interface in front of her.
"…"
"No! I refuse."
Schwi shook her head.
"Analysis: Probability of victory against Jibril—0%."
"Calculating optimal choice…"
Swish—
She pulled out all of her vouchers and handed them to Setsuna.
"After converting all vouchers into date time, Commander should accompany Schwi for two days and twelve hours. I request immediate redemption."
"Oh?"
Setsuna was slightly surprised.
"You're not planning to participate in the game?"
"Correct."
Schwi nodded.
"Through simulation, outcomes of Schwi's matches against others form a chaotic model. Stable victory cannot be ensured."
"Optimal solution: Before suffering any losses, immediately redeem existing vouchers in exchange for the opportunity to observe Commander at close range and understand the concept of 'heart.'"
"All vouchers obtained each day thereafter will also be redeemed immediately."
"Very smart."
Setsuna rubbed Schwi's head and accepted the vouchers.
"Alright. From now on, whatever you want to do, just tell me. As long as it's not too excessive, I'll grant it."
"…"
"They all possess hearts. Schwi will remain by Commander's side to observe you and the other companions."
"Okay."
Setsuna agreed without hesitation.
At the same time, another crowd of girls squeezed in front of him.
"Commander, I'd like to redeem my vouchers directly as well."
Erina Nakiri took the lead, and the chefs of Totsuki gathered around in unison.
A few Horse Girls also squeezed into the crowd.
They all felt that wagering the hard-earned opportunity was too risky. It was more reasonable to use it directly.
The requests everyone made were wildly varied.
"Commander, since you can create things using the Herrscher of Reason's authority, could you help me craft a new ingredient?"
Rindou Kobayashi's eyes sparkled.
"I want something that smells like jasmine, has the texture of chimera meat, tastes slightly sour and spicy at first bite, leaves a sweet aftertaste, and develops entirely different flavors depending on whether it's grilled, fried, or stewed."
"Can you create that for me?"
"???"
Setsuna was stunned.
"What kind of insane client request is that?! It'd be easier if you asked me to build you a planet-destroying battleship!"
After thinking it over, he still agreed.
"Fine. You'll experiment with me when the time comes. I'll do my best…"
Special Week, Silence Suzuka, and the other Horse Girls had much simpler wishes.
"Commander, run with us~"
"Ah… there's a nice track over there. Could you exercise with us?"
"Of course."
Setsuna rubbed Special Week's ears and tail, agreeing to each of their small requests.
Compared to the squads that ventured out on expeditions, these girls were much more laid-back and had little interest in fierce competition.
"Tch…"
Jibril was utterly unconvinced.
"Gamble big, win big."
"Master, I'm going hunting for other targets. When the time comes, I'll make you accompany me alone for an entire month—ehehe~!"
Whoosh—
She spread her wings and shot downward, skimming across the ground as she searched for suitable opponents.
The Flügel were not only overwhelmingly powerful in combat, but also highly capable in analysis. She could quickly grasp standard game types. Jibril had absolute confidence in herself.
"…"
Aside from those content with what they had, there were also many ambitious girls dreaming of winning a week—or even a month—of exclusive Commander time through the game.
Quite a few teams had already begun intense duels.
Take down the weakest first, then deal with the strong—that was everyone's consensus.
And someone who was not only terrible at games but also readily accepted challenges… several people instantly thought of the same target.
"Lady Aqua, would you be interested in playing a round with me?"
Lana and Antilene were the first to approach the useless goddess.
Lana's combat strength was far inferior to the Guardians of the Great Tomb, but in terms of intellect, she was indeed one of the few clever minds on the Overlord team.
"Eh?"
Aqua looked brilliantly foolish.
"We're betting vouchers?"
"Of course. As long as you gather enough vouchers, not only can you date the Commander, you can also make various requests of him…"
"Lady Aqua, don't you want to strive for more? I've heard the Commander agrees to any reasonable request… For example, establishing the Axis Cult as the state religion of the Starsea Empire…?"
Lana coaxed her step by step, quickly leading Aqua into the trap.
"Hm?"
"Let's do it! Don't blame me when you lose later!"
Aqua was brimming with confidence.
"Mm… let's keep it simple. How about Old Maid?"
The Golden Princess and the useless goddess sat down to face each other.
Ten minutes later.
"Eh? Eh?!"
"Why did I lose again—ehhh?!…"
Lana effortlessly cleaned Aqua out.
"Too cruel. Bullying a fool."
Antilene couldn't help but comment.
Aqua's thoughts were written all over her face. Not to mention the scheming Lana—even Anri could probably handle her with ease.
"Phew—Lady Aqua, what a splendid duel. You nearly won several times."
Lana let out a relieved sigh, stood up, and respectfully escorted the useless goddess back.
She even gave her some snacks on the way.
"Ah… these are desserts just made by the Bulin. Please accept them. If you're free tomorrow, let's play again. You truly are a formidable opponent."
"Hmph—"
Aqua's face showed pride mixed with dissatisfaction.
"Just wait, I'll definitely beat you next time—"
Aqua felt she was only a tiny bit behind Lana. She had almost won every time. Full of indignation, she walked away.
"?"
"No, beating her was obviously easy. Why pretend it was hard?"
Antilene didn't understand and quietly asked Lana.
"Fool. If she loses too miserably, she won't play with us anymore."
Lana blinked slyly.
"She has to feel like she has a chance to win. That way she'll keep coming back to compete. Sometimes we even need to deliberately lose a round or two."
"Mm… as the Commander would say, this should be called sustainable exploitation?"
"As long as we can steadily take down Aqua every day and casually win a bit from others, we'll soon gather enough for an exclusive holiday with Commander-sama, ah…"
"Wow, so devious!!"
Antilene was impressed.
"In this game to compete for the Commander's usage rights, I won't show mercy… Speaking of which, Antilene, how about we go all in for a round?"
"The winner can immediately enjoy a two-person holiday with the Commander, you know?"
"Hey?!—"
...
"Mm… then according to the rules, I'll spend these next few days with you first."
In a settlement on the outskirts of the city, Setsuna looked at the girls before him with interest.
"Trainer-sama, please take care of us!"
"Why are you calling him Trainer? It's Commander, Commander!!"
"Eh, I'm used to it…"
They all had ears atop their heads and tails swaying behind them—every one of them was a Horse Girl.
They had absolutely no talent for competitive games. Whether in skill or luck, they were nowhere near the level of Shiro or Yukikaze.
Rather than becoming walking charity machines and losing all their vouchers, the Horse Girls decided it was better to spend them directly.
So they pooled their vouchers together, effectively booking all of Setsuna's time for the next few days.
"Commander… thinking about it, we really have to thank this rule."
"If not for this opportunity, it would've been hard for us to spend time alone with you."
Silence Suzuka brushed her chestnut hair aside, her tail swaying gently as she spoke.
Horse girls were neither combat personnel nor researchers. In the capital, their daily routine mostly consisted of physical training and running practice.
Naturally, compared to the expedition squads or the little girls of the Research Division, they had far fewer chances to see Setsuna.
This time, thanks to the game's rules, they had finally managed to snatch him away from the shipgirls, Heroic Spirits, dragon girls, and the others.
"Exactly! Commander, you hardly ever come see us~"
Special Week puffed out her cheeks.
"Even if we can't fight, can't build spaceships, and can't use magic… but, but…"
"?"
"Why are you making us sound like freeloading good-for-nothings?!"
Tokai Teio's face darkened.
"Well… compared to everyone else, we really do kind of just eat and hang around in the capital. I feel a little embarrassed eating so many carrots every day…"
"We can still run and dance for the Commander to watch!"
Special Week finally squeezed out a defense, making Setsuna laugh.
"That's fine. For the next few days, I'll only accompany you. Whatever you want to do, as long as it's reasonable, I'll satisfy it."
He had brought the Horse Girls to the capital mostly to add a bit of interspecies charm. After all, watching beast-eared beauties train and run was quite pleasing to the eye.
He never expected to send them out to fight or handle high-difficulty work.
"Yay! We haven't seen the Commander in so long!!—"
A group of chattering Horse Girls immediately surrounded him.
"Commander, Commander, run training with me, okay?"
"Me, me! Commander, watch a movie with me~"
"I want to ride a spaceship and go sightseeing…"
They began making wishes all at once.
"Why don't you coordinate first? Or decide an order? No need to rush."
Setsuna answered with a smile.
"Mm…"
"In that case, how about a race?"
Tokai Teio tilted her head.
"First, second, and third place get to date the Commander first. The rest follow in order after that. How about it?"
"…No problem!!"
Soon, the Horse Girls escorted Setsuna to the track and field grounds.
They each took their positions on the lanes, warming up and preparing.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1—Bang!"
At the sound of the starting gun, more than a dozen Horse Girls shot forward like arrows released from a bow.
Setsuna didn't know much about horse racing. He only felt that the sight of them running across the track carried a youthful, vibrant beauty.
Their movements were graceful yet powerful. Their tails streamed behind them in the wind. The cheers of the watching Horse Girls rose and fell in waves.
"By the way, you didn't undergo genetic enhancement?"
Setsuna asked casually.
Their speed was indeed much faster than before, but not to an outrageous degree.
By the standards of the Starsea Empire, individuals like Kanae or Akame, who had undergone genetic ascension and super-transformation surgery, could easily break several—or even dozens of—times the speed of sound in ground assaults.
"No. They only received basic physical enhancements."
Yayoi Akikawa, the chairwoman of Tracen Academy, replied.
"We considered letting them freely choose whether to undergo genetic ascension for fairness, then dividing races by enhancement level."
"But the vast majority refused. Perhaps they feel that using external means to achieve unbelievable results goes against the spirit of sports?"
"After all, horse racing is an entertainment industry and also a way to train their physical strength and willpower. If everyone could catch up to airplanes with a single step, the activity would lose its meaning."
"I see…"
Setsuna nodded slightly.
Indeed, if advanced technology were introduced, racing would ultimately become a contest of biotechnology.
Not everything had to pursue maximum efficiency. Just as in chess, no one could defeat a super AI.
But if everyone implanted chips into their brains and turned chess into a pure contest of computational power, the activity would become meaningless.
"Still, we're very grateful to you."
Yayoi Akikawa lightly waved her folding fan.
"No matter what, the Horse Girls' bodies are much better now. Even if they're injured during training, they recover in a day or two."
"They no longer have to fear leaving the track. They can run freely."
Due to the intense physical demands, Horse Girls used to be plagued by injuries. A leg injury once meant the end of their racing career.
With advanced medical technology, they no longer had to worry about such accidents.
"Mm… that's good."
Setsuna nodded in approval of her management.
Beep—
Before long, the race results were decided.
With the Commander watching, every Horse Girl had sprinted with all her might.
A teal-green figure was the first to cross the finish line.
"Commander, Commander, I won! Did you see?…"
Silence Suzuka was usually quiet and gentle, but her voice now carried a hint of barely suppressed excitement.
Breathing lightly, she greeted Setsuna.
"I did."
Setsuna walked over, patted her head, and handed her a drink.
"That was a beautiful run."
"Thank you for the praise."
Her tail swayed. Her ears twitched. A faint blush rose on her face.
Soon, two more Horse Girls dashed across the finish line and crashed into Setsuna's arms.
"Commander, I won too—ehehe…"
"You promised to go on a date with us!—"
"Mm."
Setsuna pinched Special Week's and Oguri Cap's cheeks.
"Alright. Whatever you want to do, just tell me."
"Food!"
Oguri Cap answered without hesitation.
"I heard the Totsuki chefs are amazing, but it's hard to get a reservation. I haven't tried it yet…"
"I want the Commander to play with me~"
Special Week sounded adorably silly.
Silence Suzuka was the gentlest of all.
"As long as I can stay with you a little longer, I'm satisfied."
"Mm…"
Suddenly, Setsuna realized something peculiar.
His harem already included shipgirls, Heroic Spirits, Spirits, even ancient gods. Adding a few Horse Girls didn't seem like a problem.
But looking at the sheer number of Horse Girls in the base… from now on, he would probably have to personally handle all of them.
"Hm? What does that make me—a stud?…"