Crossover Shipgirls: Building a Dimensional Empire from Scratch

Belfast prided herself on her unparalleled ability to train maids.

Even starting from scratch, she could turn anyone into a proper Royal Maid in no time.

But dealing with a dragon? That was a whole new challenge, even for the head maid.

At dawn, long before the sun rose, Belfast assembled the Royal Maids in the main hall.

Dido, Sirius, Hermione, Sheffield, Newcastle, and—somehow—Cheshire, who had sneaked in with her cat-eared headpiece, all stood in neat rows.

Hands clasped in front of them, backs straight, they awaited their assignments.

At the very end of the line stood Tohru, wearing a freshly tailored maid uniform. She looked around curiously, her tail swishing under the skirt, clearly unable to stay still.

Next to her, Cheshire was studying the dragon maid with interest.

While Cheshire's cat-ear accessory was fake, Tohru's dragon horns and tail were very real.

"Completing all tasks before the master notices is a fundamental skill of a Royal Maid," Belfast announced firmly.

"There are 1 hour and 16 minutes before the Commander wakes up. During this time, we must clean the administrative center and naval base thoroughly. Understood?"

The maids nodded in unison.

"Sirius and Dido, prepare breakfast. Sheffield and Hermione, organize the work documents the Commander left in his office yesterday."

"Tohru, you and Cheshire will come with me. I will personally guide you."

After delegating tasks, Belfast handed Tohru and Cheshire each a broom.

"We'll start with the basics: cleaning. First, ensure the room is spotless…"

As Belfast demonstrated the proper cleaning techniques, Tohru's eyes lit up.

"I know this one!" she exclaimed.

Buzz—

Tohru extended her hand, summoning a complex magic circle in front of her.

Boom—

A brilliant white light filled the room.

In an instant, the entire space was immaculately clean—spotless floors, crystal-clear windows as transparent as air.

However, it wasn't just the dust that was gone. Every piece of furniture and every wall hanging had also vanished without a trace.

"???"

Belfast and Cheshire stared at the now-barren room, utterly dumbfounded.

"Where's the furniture?!"

"Disintegration Magic! It removes all matter within its range. Impressive, right?" Tohru said, hands on her hips, brimming with pride.

"That furniture was just made by the Bulins yesterday!!!" Belfast shouted, her voice trembling with a mix of disbelief and exasperation.

"Is this what you call cleaning?! How am I supposed to explain this to the Commander?!"

The head maid was on the verge of a breakdown.

Tohru, noticing Belfast's reaction, extended her hand again.

Swish—

With another flash of light, the room returned to its original state, furniture and decorations perfectly restored.

"Restoration spell."

"It can restore things too?!" Cheshire gasped, astonished.

"You've got some serious skills, don't you?!"

"…"

Belfast's understanding of dragons shifted.

Shipgirls, as a blend of science and a touch of magic, could still be reasoned with. But dragons? They were purely magical beings—science held no sway over them.

"Let me teach you how to do laundry," Belfast said, handing Tohru one of Setsuna's uniforms.

"For different types of fabrics, you'll need to use different detergents. Fragile materials require—"

Crunch, crunch, crunch—

Before Belfast could finish, Tohru stuffed the uniform into her mouth and began chewing. After a few moments, she pulled it out, completely drenched in dragon saliva.

"What are you doing now?!" Belfast's pupils dilated in shock as she stared at the saliva-soaked garment.

"This is saliva that only dissolves dirt. Dragon saliva is antibacterial—lots of adventurers would kill to get some," Tohru explained proudly.

"It's said to have a blessing effect too. Want some? I could give you a ton or two…"

"A ton?! What would I even do with that?!" Belfast felt like she was about to break.

It was becoming clear that Tohru had zero grasp of societal norms. Having lived for 50,000 years in a world of swords and magic, her interactions with humans had been limited to mages and dragon slayers—essentially enemies.

She had never experienced normal society.

Could this dragon girl really become a maid?!

But with the task entrusted to her by the Commander, Belfast resolved to mold Tohru into a proper Royal Maid, at least up to Sirius's standard.

Clinging to a sliver of hope, Belfast asked, "Can you cook?"

"No problem! I brought lots of local specialties from my world!"

Tohru pulled out a large sack from under her skirt.

Belfast and Cheshire peeked inside, only to find indescribable and squirming ingredients.

"Are you sure this stuff is edible?"

"Of course! It's way better than your Stargazy Pie! Doesn't the Commander complain about Royal Navy cuisine all the time?"

Tohru grabbed a dark green, slimy object and popped it into her mouth, chewing enthusiastically.

"You've got a point!" Cheshire exclaimed, slapping her forehead.

"Maybe these things just look weird. Let's give her a shot."

...

One hour later.

After freshening up, Setsuna yawned and made his way into the office.

Tohru followed Belfast, carrying a tray with a look of eager anticipation.

"You made this?" Setsuna asked, glancing at the combination of Royal Navy cooking and Tohru's additions. A bad feeling began to creep up on him.

"Commander-sama~~ This is a breakfast made with all of Tohru's love~~" Tohru chirped as she wiggled over, placing the tray on his desk.

At the center of the tray was a mound of multicolored, oddly textured roasted meat, glistening with an unsettling sheen of scales. Surrounding it were garnishes resembling tentacles and eyeballs, the mere sight of which seemed to drain sanity points.

Setsuna had tasted cuisines from across the eight culinary traditions of his homeland and believed in the diversity of flavors. But now, he realized Tohru had invented an entirely new cuisine: Eldritch Fusion.

Peering under the table, he noticed a conspicuous gap beneath Tohru's maid uniform—her tail was missing.

"…"

"I knew it."

After a moment of contemplation, he decided to test his body's resilience. He stabbed a fork into one of the side dishes and took a bite.

"How is it? How is it?!" Tohru leaned in excitedly.

"…"

Setsuna's eyes fluttered shut as he slumped back in his chair.

"Damn… I think I just heard the whispers of an Old God."

...

With Tohru training in the Royal Maid Team, Lucoa lounging in the library, and Kanna attending school with the destroyers, the dragon girls were officially settled in.

After surviving the Eldritch Fusion breakfast, Setsuna turned his attention back to the development of his city.

In the naval base's office, Setsuna immersed himself in tackling the backlog of tasks accumulated during his absence.

As the leader of a rapidly advancing civilization, every day brought a myriad of odd and critical decisions. Even after only a few days away, a mountain of reports and requests had piled up on his desk.

There were also pending shipgirl modification proposals he hadn't had time to review.

"Construction of the Sundial Array is 55% complete… Bulins have requested to conduct energy-charging experiments with Wisdom Cubes… approved."

"Akashi has applied for additional research funding and resources for building a Spiritron Calculation Engine… uh, fine."

"The next expansion phase for the airbase, and the stellar base construction plans… ugh, what a headache…"

Lost in thought, he diligently signed off on documents.

Before he knew it, night had fallen. Most of the shipgirls had returned to port for rest, leaving only Richelieu, his secretary ship, to accompany him.

"What's wrong? You seem a bit distracted," Setsuna said, tapping Richelieu lightly on the shoulder.

Since his return, he'd noticed Richelieu acting distant. She spoke less, sometimes ignoring him altogether.

"Dragon girls are adorable, aren't they?" Richelieu said, standing behind him. She reached out and poked his cheek.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Kanna is pretty cute, I'll admit," Setsuna replied with a nod.

"Who said I was talking about the little dragon girl?! I meant Tohru and Lucoa!" Richelieu grumbled, her hand pinching Setsuna's cheek harder.

"When you were showing them around the capital yesterday, your eyes were practically glued to them!"

"Can you blame me? It's physics," Setsuna replied innocently.

"According to the law of universal gravitation, the greater the mass, the greater the attraction."

Setsuna reasoned that no one could maintain a straight line of sight when Lucoa was around.

After all, everyone was a dragon, or rather, a Dragon:

 • Kanna was an A-tier dragon.

 • Tohru was D.

 • Lucoa? Lucoa was a dragon whose sheer "mass" warped one's vision.

Her tank top and shorts didn't help matters, either. Walking down the street, her attention-grabbing rate would easily hit 100%.

"Ridiculous logic," Richelieu huffed, giving him another pinch.

"Answer me: do you prefer shipgirls or dragon girls?"

"And when you went to the Dragon Maid world, weren't you having a grand time? Shopping, fine dining, even Artoria said she wants to go with you again next time."

"You left me here to work overtime, alone. Hmph…"

Setsuna paused, taken aback.

So that was it—Richelieu, the proud and dignified flagship of Iris Libre, was sulking like a little girl after a few days of separation.

Despite her usual regal demeanor, she had a softer, more vulnerable side in private.

Without a word, Setsuna reached into his Gundam's storage space and pulled out several meticulously wrapped gift boxes, placing them on the desk.

"Who said I forgot about you? These are gifts I bought just for you in that world."

"Hmm?" Richelieu blinked in surprise and carefully opened one of the boxes.

Inside was a pure white, high-end evening gown.

The smooth, lustrous fabric was clearly made of the finest silk. The gown's edges were intricately trimmed with golden thread, adorned with elegant patterns that radiated luxury and sophistication.

A gleaming ruby was embedded at the neckline, and embroidered roses adorned the waist.

Even without knowledge of human society, Richelieu could tell from the craftsmanship that this was a top-tier luxury item.

It was evident that Setsuna had put thought into choosing it for her.

The golden-white color scheme, fleur-de-lis motifs, and subtle red accents made the gown feel tailor-made for her, perfectly complementing her identity as the flagship of Iris Libre.

"This gown… it couldn't have been easy to find," Richelieu said hesitantly.

"Oh, I went through seven or eight malls in Ginza. Most didn't meet my standards, but this one felt perfect for you," Setsuna replied with a smile.

"Ah… thank you," Richelieu murmured, her cheeks instantly flushing.

She recalled her earlier childish behavior and felt a pang of embarrassment.

Her Commander hadn't forgotten her; in fact, he had been thoughtful enough to prepare such a heartfelt gift.

Gently tugging on Setsuna's sleeve, Richelieu hesitated before softly saying, "Commander, could you come with me for a moment?"

"I… I have something I want to give you, too."

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