Shua—
Inside the administrative center—
Setsuna projected a starmap before him, studying the nearby worlds they had yet to contact.
Some had been discovered the last time he expanded the map, but were left aside due to higher difficulty.
[Shokugeki no Soma]
[Neon Genesis Evangelion]
[Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World]
[Darling in the Franxx]
Adding in the two worlds already marked—Konosuba and Madoka Magica—
There were six untouched worlds left in total.
As for the Honkai world, strictly speaking, it was only partially explored.
The Saga of the Shattered Swords era had been handled, but both the Previous Era and Current Era still needed attention.
"Oh…"
"So this is your authority? Exploring other universes? The place we came from is really close, huh?"
Fu Hua leaned in with curiosity.
"Of course. We were neighbors right from the start."
Setsuna smiled as he answered.
Griseo sat quietly to one side, still holding her brush, sketching colors onto her canvas.
Every so often she turned her head, listening to Setsuna describe those strange worlds.
Meanwhile, the shipgirls and other companions were brimming with excitement, itching for action.
They awaited the Commander's decision on which world to conquer next—and who he would bring along.
"Hmm…"
Setsuna looked over the group.
"Alright, let's start with something easy."
"The Shokugeki no Soma world. Who wants to head over? Bring me back some chefs, and while you're at it, subjugate the world."
"This one's simple, so I won't go in person."
The Shokugeki world wasn't much different from an ordinary human society, with technology at about the pre-space era level.
As a gourmet battle series, its story centered on Totsuki Academy, an island nation's culinary school.
Its culinary arts stood among the best in the world, with brutal graduation standards. The director called it "99% are stepping stones to temper the 1%."
Anyone who graduated from Totsuki instantly became a world-famous chef.
The chefs there often cooked with full-blown special effects—dishes that made people's clothes burst off or flushed them bright red. The seasoning was wildly over the top.
Flashy, yes.
And the girls there were of decent quality too.
But Setsuna didn't feel the need to go personally. He could just send a team, bring the chefs over, and then turn that world into a vassal.
Like the Nekopara and Girls und Panzer worlds before.
The remaining ones, with gods involved, would need his personal touch.
"A cooking world?"
Belfast and Yat Sen tilted their heads.
"Commander, do you think our cooking isn't good enough?"
"No, no."
Setsuna pulled the head maid into his arms, straightening her silver hair.
"Your cooking is wonderful. But it would be good to experience the skills of chefs from another world."
"After all, that's their craft—they've been trained in cooking since childhood, with all sorts of unique techniques."
"You'll get to taste their work too."
"…"
The shipgirls and maids who usually cooked for the Commander suddenly burned with competitive spirit.
"I heard that at Totsuki Academy, food duels can decide anything?"
One shipgirl in a maid uniform, with bluish-gray hair and cat-ear accessories, raised her hand.
"Mhm."
Setsuna nodded.
"Over there, they uphold the principle of strength above all. At the academy, any matter can be decided by shokugeki—a culinary duel."
"Commander, send me! I'll conquer them with my cooking!"
Cheshire leapt into Setsuna's arms with enthusiasm, rubbing her cat-eared head against him.
The other Royal Maids all nodded firmly.
"As the Commander's maids, we will not lose to anyone in any field—even in cooking."
"Send us, Commander."
"???"
"Are you sure?"
To be fair, Setsuna never doubted the professionalism of the Royal Maid Corps.
They could perfectly take care of his daily needs—laundry, cooking, assisting with work, teaching little shipgirls, even sharing his bed.
The only thing… Setsuna had zero faith in Royal Navy cooking.
As for Royal cuisine, shipgirls from the Dragon Empery, Iris Libre, and Sardegna Empire all used the same word to describe it:
—Humor.
When the Ahoge King was starving, she would rather ask for instant noodles than trouble a Royal shipgirl for food.
"Trust me, darling~ I'll definitely finish the mission~"
Cheshire puffed her cheeks and looked up at him, pleading.
Her enormous assets pressed into Setsuna's chest, leaving him a little short of breath.
"Let us go, Commander. This is about proving the honor of Royal cuisine—and the Royal Maids."
Even Neptune squeezed in to voice her support.
"Aren't you just a cosplayer?"
Setsuna glanced at the fired-up Royal Maids, biting back his doubts.
He honestly didn't think Royal cuisine had any honor worth defending.
If Dragon Empery or Iris Libre shipgirls went up against Totsuki's students, maybe it would be a fair fight.
But Royals? Hard to tell if they'd impress—or embarrass themselves.
After thinking it over—
That world posed no real threat. Since the shipgirls wanted to have fun, he might as well let them. It would be good training.
"Fine, but you must complete the mission."
Setsuna gave a few reminders.
"Bring me the ones I want. If there's any problem, contact me."
"Understood!"
Cheshire tapped open a list on the holographic interface.
"Erina Nakiri, Alice Nakiri, Hisako Arato, Momo Akanegakubo, Megumi Tadokoro… Not a single one will be missing, darling, don't worry!"
As Commander, most of the time all he had to do was give the order.
The details of execution were left to his subordinates. He only needed to care about results.
...
A few hours later—
[Spacetime Channel Constructed]
[Constantinople → Shokugeki no Soma]
With a spatial distortion—
A silver-white starship led the way.
More than a dozen vessels broke through the clouds, appearing above the Shokugeki world.
At the front was none other than the Royal Head Maid, Belfast.
Behind her followed Cheshire, Hermione, Sheffield, Sirius, Dido, and the rest of the Royal Maids.
Also tagging along for some reason were the ojou-sama Neptune, plus Aurora, Unicorn, and other support units.
Shua—
Belfast activated the scanning device, quickly locking onto a massive school below.
Its grounds were enormous, practically the size of a small city, complete with a resort area.
Students in uniforms bustled about.
Some of the buildings looked like research labs, but in fact housed bizarre culinary research clubs.
Inside, they worked on everything from regional cooking to hotpot to molecular gastronomy.
Sniff sniff—
Cheshire twitched her nose.
"I think I smell spices."
"This place is huge… but all we need to handle is this academy, right?"
Neptune twirled her hair as she asked:
"So, Belfast, how are we completing the objective?"
"It's rare for the Commander to leave a conquest mission entirely to us…"
"…"
The head maid paused, recalling how the Commander had handled worlds before.
"Split up. First squad, stay in orbit and follow standard procedure—deploy Angeloids and Sophons to contact this world's leaders."
"This universe must also be incorporated into the Empire's domain."
"Second squad, come with me. We're going to meet the chefs."
...
Totsuki Academy.
In a quiet, refined Japanese-style residence—
A girl in a chef's uniform, with golden hair cascading down and purple eyes, sat in the courtyard, looking down from above at two rows of kneeling chefs.
Her figure was stunning, her features beautiful, with an air of haughty elegance befitting a young lady.
"Erina-sama, please… taste."
One of the young chefs below presented a bowl of soup with both hands.
"Mm…"
Erina took a delicate sip.
She closed her eyes, savoring the flavor.
Below, the chefs stared nervously at the young girl.
Nakiri Erina.
A first-year high school student at Totsuki Academy, granddaughter of the director, and the tenth seat of the "Elite Ten Council."
She possessed the legendary God's Tongue—a genius palate capable of identifying the origin of salt while blindfolded.
From a young age, she had supervised famous restaurants, her words capable of determining the future of an establishment.
Thus, the quality of any dish rested solely on the judgment of the God's Tongue.
Among the gathered were chefs from culinary conglomerates and head chefs from restaurants afar—all traveling to Totsuki just to have their cooking judged by her.
"…"
After a moment of tasting—
She suddenly stood up.
Pa—!
She slapped the bowl directly into the chef's face.
"Awful! This soup is terrible!"
"The taste is like quietly meditating under a waterfall… only to be suddenly struck in the head by a falling gramophone."
"Gramophone?!"
The chefs looked on, confused.
"I deeply apologize, Erina-sama!"
The chef who had been struck rolled across the ground, ignoring the food dripping from his head, and quickly kowtowed.
Then came the next chef.
Erina took a sip, closed her eyes.
Pa—!
She slammed the bowl onto his head.
"Disgusting!!"
In just over ten minutes, some dishes were judged with nothing more than a lick of her tongue—and all were sentenced to death.
Every chef present had a bowl smashed onto their head without exception.
"Utterly revolting!"
"To dare bring such slop before me—ridiculous."
She stood, her tone dripping with disdain.
"Especially that oyster porridge at the end. Its taste was like bathing with a lowland gorilla."
"To present such a thing is an insult to my palate."
"!!!"
The chefs below trembled, unable to comprehend her bizarre metaphors.
"Go."
With a wave of her hand, her attendants ushered them out.
"Honestly…"
Erina brushed her hair aside, instructing the servants to clean up the mess.
She was just about to head inside when—
From the corner of her eye, she noticed something strange in the sky.
A black dot was rapidly approaching from the horizon.
It swelled in her vision.
Then, within seconds, a massive shadow pierced through the thick clouds above.
Emerging from the sea of clouds was a massive silver-white space cruiser.
Its curves were sleek and elegant—if not for the rows of turrets and missile launchers lining its sides and underside, it could have been mistaken for a work of art.
"What… is that?"
Erina rubbed her eyes, thinking it a hallucination.
"Strange… was it someone undercooking mushrooms? Or using poisonous fungi? Did I miss it? Impossible!"
She patted her face.
The illusion did not fade.
Then—
A small shuttle descended from above.
The head maid landed gracefully in front of her, eyes calmly appraising her.
Erina had always been confident in her own looks. But facing Belfast, she felt an inexplicable pressure.
Elegant, poised, composed.
The shipgirl's flawless features and flowing silver hair left her dazed for a moment.
"Ah, greetings, Erina Nakiri. The Commander often mentions you."
"You certainly look the part of a proper young lady, don't you?"
The head maid smiled warmly at her.
"Ah? May I ask who you are?…"
Erina was startled.
Her eyes flicked between the maids behind Belfast, and the starships drifting in and out of the clouds above.
"We come from another world, here to bring this universe into the Commander's rule and the Empire's domain."
"But don't worry—we mean you no harm."
Belfast extended her hand, still smiling:
"Your culinary skills deserve a greater stage. This small academy cannot contain your talent."
"The Commander admires your ability. Come with us, won't you?"
...
A few minutes later—
At the Nakiri estate.
Erina sat dumbfounded as the shipgirls explained the Starsea Empire and otherworldly civilizations to her.
She had only ever been a chef.
Now, after receiving this torrent of information, her head was spinning.
"You… want to bring all of Totsuki under the Starsea Empire's rule?"
"This… this is ridiculous…"
She rubbed her temples.
All her life, aside from essential academics and etiquette, she had been immersed in cooking.
Now suddenly, aliens with starships appeared—it was beyond her comprehension.
"Not exactly."
Dido corrected her.
"It's the entire world and universe—including this country and the United Nations."
"From now on, everyone will follow the Commander's will."
"???"
Erina's pupils trembled.
"It must be that mushroom soup the chef made earlier. I'm hallucinating."
"Hisako… write that chef's name down…"
She muttered as she massaged her forehead.
"No, no, Lady Erina. Please accept reality."
The head maid was already used to the reactions of natives.
She patiently waited at her side until Erina calmed down a little.
"We plan to visit Totsuki's headmaster next, and then other chefs the Commander is interested in."
"Come aboard—I'll explain everything slowly. It would be rude to keep the Commander waiting."
Belfast gestured invitingly.
Almost without thinking, Erina followed her onto the ship.
Interstellar empire, starships, Angeloids…
The Royal Maids proudly introduced it all.
Like every native witnessing a galactic civilization for the first time, she was overwhelmed by its sheer might.
"In the Starsea Empire, your talents can shine brighter."
The head maid coaxed gently.
"We can provide better ingredients, advanced equipment, and a stage greater than Totsuki Academy…"
"…"
Bombarded with so much information, Erina's mind simply froze.
She couldn't respond.
After a long pause, she finally managed to whisper:
"Sorry… let me… think about it."
"No problem, no rush. We'll meet the others in the meantime."
Belfast waved.
The starship rose and headed off.
"Next target—Momo Akanegakubo? A pastry chef? Perfect…"
She glanced at the Sophon data.
"The Royal Fleet would benefit greatly from her skills. Let's go have a chat."
...
A few days later—
In the capital city.
After sending off the Royal Maid expeditionary team, Setsuna returned to his usual duties.
Training the new MANTIS with Fu Hua, converting more Honkai Beasts to feed Chiyou, and playing at his "Honkai Beast raising program."
He also considered which world to conquer next—once his skill cooldown ended, he could depart.
"Hmm, Belfast and the others have been gone six or seven days now. Should be fine, right?"
At the administrative center, Formidable suddenly voiced her concern.
As a fellow Royal shipgirl, she was worried about the head maid.
"Relax. The Shokugeki world has no supernatural powers. Humanity's strongest weapon there is nuclear bombs, and they can't even scratch a starship's paint."
"What danger could there be?"
Setsuna was confident. Belfast was always meticulous, and the shipgirls dispatched held overwhelming superiority. There was no reason anything could go wrong.
Still… it was taking a bit longer than expected.
Zzz—Zzz—
Suddenly, the head maid's transmission came through.
"Commander, the conquest of the Shokugeki world is nearly complete. Most nations surrendered without resistance."
"But there was a minor complication at Totsuki Academy."
"Oh?"
Setsuna raised a brow.
"Don't tell me they have superhumans trying to fistfight starships?"
"No. Totsuki is already under our control. We're selecting personnel for return."
Belfast shook her head.
"But Rindo Kobayashi, Alice Nakiri, Momo Akanegakubo, Nene Kinokuni, and others made a request. They wish to witness the culinary achievements of interstellar civilization."
"They'd like to test themselves against us in a cook-off—a 'shokugeki,' as they call it."
"…"
"What a peculiar wish."
The shipgirls glanced at one another.
Recruits from other worlds had all come with unique desires—some wanted to save someone across time, others simply sought strength, still others craved advanced technology or magic.
But this was the first time anyone asked for a cooking exchange.
Still, considering they were chefs, it made sense.
"Interesting."
Setsuna chuckled.
"Approved."
"Do we have any good chefs here? Magic cooks would do. Prepare something to amaze them."
—
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