"Commander, your breakfast. Please enjoy."
Another day passed aboard the Eternal Snowfall.
Belfast carried a tray and gracefully pushed open the door to the Commander's bedroom.
She placed two breakfasts on the table, then tapped the holographic interface, adjusting the internal simulated lighting to a soft glow resembling early morning.
—Under the effects of time-space distortion, there was naturally no true day or night. It was still midnight outside.
Thanks to the built-in simulation system, a small time loop could be constructed inside the starship.
"Morning, Belfast."
Setsuna was already awake, half-reclined on the bed, casually tapping the holographic interface.
Suddenly, he remembered a small loose end:
There were still unresolved matters in the Transformers world—like Sentinel Prime on the moon, the star harvester disguised as a pyramid, and so on.
That world's timeline was overly complex—easy to miss things.
Luckily, it wasn't urgent. Once the starship was built, he could return and handle everything at once.
"Mmm..."
Next to him was the still-groggy Kanae. She sleepily opened her eyes, gathered her neatly arranged black hair, and sat up.
The slipping blanket revealed a patch of snowy white. Embarrassed, she quickly covered herself.
"Good morning, Commander."
Kanae blushed and bowed her head shyly in greeting.
It felt like everything had just happened naturally.
The shipgirls had thoughtfully given her a full night of alone time with him, calling it a benefit for a first-timer or something.
Would there be more people in the future?... Kanae didn't quite understand.
"How do you feel?"
Setsuna pinched her cheek.
Kanae, having undergone gene enhancement, had physical abilities far beyond the average person.
"Mmm..."
"You were very gentle, Commander. Thank you..."
The girl wasn't used to such blunt questions. She first shook her head, then nodded.
Setsuna's level was far above hers—even with all her mental prep, she had still felt overwhelmed at first.
But as the eldest of the Butterfly Sisters, she indeed led the way.
Was she one of the few regular humans by the Commander's side? As for Esdeath?... That one was stronger than some Heroic Spirits—not a normal person at all.
"This is your new set of clothes. Please change into them shortly."
"We'll be taking your old garments and bedding for cleaning."
Belfast placed a uniform in front of Kanae and began gathering the scattered clothes from the floor.
Kanae panicked, sitting upright quickly.
"Ah—"
"It's okay! I can do it! I'll handle these chores from now on... I'll wash your clothes too..."
She wasn't yet used to the head maid's attentiveness.
She felt she should at least contribute something.
She couldn't fight like the shipgirls, Heroic Spirits, or dragon girls. She wasn't cut out for research like the Sirens or the lolis either.
So she decided to support the Commander like a wife would—doing housework and quietly standing by him.
"Stop—"
Setsuna called out to her.
"Don't be too polite. This is the head maid's job."
"Besides, the Angeloids are here to help too."
"Eh?..."
The girl meekly pulled back her hands.
"You used to sell yourself short too much. In my eyes, you're all equal."
"If anything comes up, just come to me."
Setsuna tapped her on the forehead.
He also knew that Kanae tended to be overly polite compared to the others.
Having witnessed so many extraordinary beings, she had naturally placed herself at a lower position.
But for his harem, he intended to treat everyone fairly.
At the very least, he couldn't be biased—after all, she had wholeheartedly given herself to him.
"Thank you, Commander..."
Kanae nestled against his chest, savoring the familiar warmth.
After being brought back from the Demon Slayer world for so long, thanks to a little accident caused by Gudako, Kanae had finally realized her dream.
Just a few days ago, it was something she wouldn't have dared to imagine.
Looking down, her eyes were filled with affection.
"Although my abilities are limited, I will do my best to be your wife."
"Commander, please take care of me."
Truly, she was a gentle Yamato Nadeshiko.
Setsuna sighed inwardly.
Sincerity touches the heart, regardless of strength or status.
Even if she was just an ordinary human girl, her willingness to offer her whole heart to him deserved not to be taken lightly.
"Commander, if you keep cuddling, breakfast will get cold—"
Only when the head maid reminded them did they hurriedly get up to wash and change.
...
In the bridge hall.
When Setsuna walked out with Kanae, the shipgirls and Spirits immediately understood what had happened, seeing the girl trailing behind him with love in her eyes.
Kurumi leaned in beside her and whispered teasingly:
"Now you know how amazing the Commander is, right?"
"Ah..."
Kanae couldn't handle the most wicked Spirit at all and blushed instantly.
A burst of soft laughter followed from the others.
They were all close, and conversations in private were quite unfiltered—no one minded.
"Commander, be careful not to make any little ones—"
"Taihou looks pretty tired these days taking care of Taihou-chan."
Chen Hai tapped the table with a knowing smile as she looked at the two.
"Ah?!"
Setsuna and Kanae froze at the same time.
He remembered the system's notification from before:
In principle, offspring couldn't be produced between different species.
So with shipgirls, dragon girls, Heroic Spirits, and Spirits, it was perfectly safe.
Taihou-chan had been created using Wisdom Cube technology.
The problem was—Kanae was human, and even with genetic ascension, she was still a true human.
Same with Esdeath.
And there might be more human girls in the future.
He wasn't planning to be a dad yet. All the little lolis and mini shipgirls in the capital were his daughters.
"Get someone to swing by the Dragon Maid or Date A Live world later. I need to buy some stuff."
Setsuna cleared his throat.
"Eh? Buy stuff? Isn't there any in the capital?"
Kanae was confused.
"Why would there be—I've never needed it before..."
Setsuna took note of this life-or-death matter.
After a bit of chatting, he suddenly realized someone was missing.
"Where's Gudako?"
"Her?"
The Jeanne sisters sighed.
"She ran off. Used flight magic on herself last night and jumped ship."
That girl could banter and crack dirty jokes like no one else, but when it came to real action, she was even more timid than a regular girl.
Jeanne Alter nearly wanted to disown her—such disgrace, get out of Chaldea!
"Tsk."
Setsuna wasn't too surprised.
With his vast experience handling countless shipgirls, subduing Gudako wouldn't be hard.
He'd have her obedient in no time.
...
Chaldea Outpost.
Several Heroic Spirits were gathered in a room, killing time.
"Dinner—oh wait, late-night snack prepared by the shipgirls is ready!"
Artoria excitedly pushed the door open, placing a few fragrant large bags on the table.
Nero and Stheno perked up immediately.
They didn't have the appetite of the King of Knights, but the shipgirls' and angeloids' cooking was truly excellent. Plus, Heroic Spirits didn't gain weight—midnight snacks were no problem.
"Mm, looks good."
Nero peeked inside. It seemed to be the work of Iris Libre shipgirls.
There were seared foie gras, beef stew, scallops, mushroom soup, crepes, and even two bottles of red wine.
They quickly opened the containers and began eating.
"Eh? What's with her?"
Artoria noticed Gudako sitting off to the side.
She looked dazed, sitting cross-legged backwards on the 243 couch, rhythmically bumping her head against the wall.
Thump-thump-thump
"What are you doing?! If you're bored, go fight someone!"
"Don't disrupt my writing of the law codes, okay?!"
Came the protest from the adjacent room, from the Goddess of Justice.
"No clue. She seems to have escaped from the Eternal Snowfall. She's been like that ever since."
Stheno shrugged.
"Huh?!"
The King of Knights leaned closer. Gudako was still muttering under her breath.
"Why did I run... Why did I run... Why did I..."
"I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot..."
"???"
Artoria reached out and felt Gudako's forehead.
Vital signs: normal. Mana: normal.
Strange.
"Encountered some hardship?" the King of Knights asked kindly.
"The Commander invited me to a party, but I ran."
Gudako continued knocking her head.
"???"
"A party? The Commander's holding a banquet on the Eternal Snowfall?"
"Why weren't we invited..."
Artoria glanced outside at the starship hovering over the sea.
Thinking of all the potential food at the party, she felt a pang of regret.
"There's even meat and..."
"?!"
"Ahem, ahem—"
Gudako nearly choked the Heroic Spirits to death with her slip of the tongue.
"So you got dumped?"
Stheno wiped the spilled drink from the table, coming to a sudden realization.
"No!"
"I was the one who rejected the Commander!!!"
Gudako protested.
She truly believed that was the truth.
"Then why'd you reject him?"
Stheno looked even more curious.
"..."
"Because I'm... never mind, don't ask anymore, it's rude."
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