Setsuna decided to conquer a few neighboring worlds before exploring entirely new ones.
Some of these worlds had already been unlocked when he first entered space. Keeping them on hold forever wouldn't be good.
Formidable had been extremely efficient with the Girls und Panzer world—it took her less than ten days to completely pacify it.
While waiting for his dimensional breakthrough skill's cooldown, another matter came to mind.
"Where's my Teigu?"
"How's the research institute doing with the Teigu analysis?!"
The 48 Teigu and countless Shingu brought back from the Akame ga Kill world had all been handed over to the research institute for analysis.
As part of the spoils from the inter-world war, the system even provided blueprints and manufacturing protocols.
Back then, a Bulin could handcraft a Murasame in under an hour. With that in mind, the progress from the little scientist girls seemed slow.
"They didn't report any problems or missing resources, did they?"
Setsuna flipped through the earlier reports from the loli scientists.
All of them were filled with optimistic phrases like "progressing smoothly" and "we've fully deciphered the principles behind Teigu production."
Occasionally there were field requests, where the girls would head to the Akame ga Kill world, escorted by universal angels and shipgirls, to hunt dangerous species for research.
Beep—
He connected to Akashi.
The green-haired, beast-eared mechanic girl appeared on the holographic interface.
"Commander? Need something, meow?"
"How's the Teigu research coming along?"
Setsuna asked.
"Hmm... we're about 87.475% done, meow. We were hoping to finish everything before updating you."
"But if Commander misses Akashi, you can always come visit, meow~ Akashi gets lonely being left here to research alone, meow—"
Akashi playfully pouted through the screen.
She was basically stuck in place, wrangling a team of lolis for constant research.
"Commander, they said they're almost done. Let's go take a look!"
Gudako nudged Setsuna, clearly impatient.
"I think some of the Teigu are even more powerful than Mystic Codes! Can I get a few of them?"
Bonk—
Setsuna flicked her forehead.
"Since coming over from Chaldea, you've piloted Gundams, turned into a Spirit, gone through genetic ascension, and even learned dragon magic from Tohru."
"Now you want to collect Teigu too, huh?!"
"..."
Kanae hesitated, then spoke softly:
"Commander, we'd like to take a look too, see if there's any equipment we can use."
"Otherwise, if we're too weak, we might drag you down in future expeditions..."
Realizing what she'd said, her face turned red and she quickly waved her hands.
"Um... but if it's too troublesome or uses up too many resources, then never mind..."
Unlike Gudako, Kanae had never asked the Commander for anything.
As a regular human surrounded by shipgirls, Spirits, Heroic Spirits, and dragon girls, the pressure was immense.
To get stronger, she could either learn new skills, upgrade equipment, or go through self-modification—genetic or mechanical ascension.
She and the others had already started gene enhancements and skill learning. The last route was better gear.
"Hmm..."
Setsuna considered for a moment.
"You're right. The shipgirls have undergone multiple retrofits. It's time for you to upgrade your equipment."
"Let's go check it out. See if there's anything useful for you."
...
...
They boarded a shuttle and flew to the Imperial Research Institute outside the capital.
After several expansions, the facility was now the size of a major city.
The Physics Institute, Engineering Division, and Life Sciences Department each occupied massive zones.
Every lab building and research field would make scientists on Earth drool with envy.
The number of little scientist girls working inside had also increased.
It seemed that a new batch of students had recently graduated and been assigned here.
With over three million lolis, their learning progress varied, but the majority had chosen the research path.
Once they all completed their studies, they would form a research team with both terrifying quantity and quality.
Setsuna, accompanied by his entourage and escorted by universal angels, arrived at the entrance to the engineering department.
Two beast-eared girls were already waiting there.
"Commander!"
"Onii-chan! Long time no see!"
Akashi and Fuse Midori leapt into his arms, rubbing their heads affectionately against him.
Setsuna gently pinched their beast ears, then their cheeks.
With Kayo Senju currently researching space tech at the Starbase, most of the operations here were handled by these two.
"How's the Teigu research coming along?"
Setsuna asked Fuse Midori.
She was now a top-level scientist, having even contributed to the Stellar Base design.
"Mhm! The blueprints you gave us were very detailed. Research has gone smoothly. We can replicate all the Teigu exactly as they were."
"With the Bulins' production capacity, we can mass-produce them. We've just been working on some enhanced versions too, so it's taken a bit more time."
Fuse Midori's voice was still youthful, but it carried confidence and pride.
"Mass production? Do you even have enough Danger Beast materials for that?"
Esdeath asked, slightly surprised.
Many of the Danger Beasts used to create Teigu were extinct—they couldn't be found anywhere in the Akame ga Kill world anymore.
"Commander, come with me."
The two girls tugged on his coat and led the group deeper into the research facility.
The engineering and life sciences departments were connected internally.
After passing through a long corridor, they arrived at a zoo-like area.
It was enormous.
Inside massive glass domes, pools, and fenced enclosures were all sorts of bizarre creatures.
Some clearly bore signs of biotech modification—winged horses, giant crabs, lobsters, and so on, likely test subjects from the gene-ascension research.
Others were immediately recognized by Esdeath.
"Danger Beasts?!"
Dozens of transparent containment fields housed monsters standing over ten or even dozens of meters tall.
They were ferocious, aggressive, and unmistakably Danger Beasts from the Akame ga Kill world.
"Yep! We captured most of them from that world."
"As for the few extinct or unreachable ones, Sister Muroto and Purifier-chan used gene tech to reverse-engineer their components from existing Teigu, and cloned them."
"Now we have an unlimited supply of Danger Beast materials."
Fuse Midori scratched her head.
The combination of Siren girls and genius scholars was absurdly overpowered.
If Teigu were made from Danger Beast parts, then the reverse should also be true—extract the material from the Teigu, and recreate the beasts through biotech.
"Fascinating. This is the first time I've seen Danger Beasts bred in captivity like this..."
Esdeath's respect for Setsuna and his research team deepened further.
Nearby, Akame and Kurome were sweating nervously, terrified that the Danger Beasts might break containment.
"Don't worry. With Bulins and Angeloids on guard, they behave very well."
"Look—"
Fuse Midori pointed down.
Purple Bulins and Angeloids were patrolling the Danger Beast enclosures.
Whenever one got rowdy, a Bulin would immediately charge in with a wrench and lay down the law.
Despite being dozens of times their size, the monsters all cowered in corners, trembling.
Clearly, they'd been beaten into submission before—and had developed a conditioned fear of shipgirls.
After all, the instinct to avoid harm is a fundamental trait of living beings. No matter how fierce a species is, being confined in a cage and beaten regularly would leave some serious psychological scars.
"..."
Akame and Kurome had something to say but held back.
Thinking about it, Danger Beasts that could terrorize an entire region in their world were treated like housecats before universal angels and shipgirls.
After touring the breeding facility,
Fuse Midori and Akashi led Setsuna to view their latest research results.
Inside the engineering department's experimental building, thousands of loli scientists worked in labs, using various devices to analyze and deconstruct the Teigu.
"We divided the 48 Teigu and the many Shingu into 12 research groups."
"Our research focuses include enhancing Teigu performance, removing usage limitations and side effects, and enabling multi-Teigu compatibility."
Fuse Midori explained.
In the Akame ga Kill world, Teigu had many restrictions.
First, only users compatible with the Teigu's wavelength could wield them. It was said to require a certain 'fate' or affinity. If incompatible, the Teigu wouldn't function properly or might even harm the user.
Second, users couldn't simultaneously use multiple Teigu. Operating just one already required immense stamina and focus. Using more than one would place an overwhelming burden on both body and mind.
In addition, some Teigu came with severe risks and harmful side effects during use.
The institute's job, simply put, was to eliminate all of those negative traits and constraints.
To turn Teigu from rare, one-of-a-kind relics into mass-producible standard gear.
"No wonder it took longer than I expected."
Setsuna nodded slightly.
"So, we can now mass-distribute Teigu to others?"
"Yes."
Fuse Midori nodded, tapping on a holographic display.
"Following your directive, we prioritized the functional Teigu."
"Currently, we've completed improved versions of over thirty types, including Thousand-Mile Flight: Mastema, Water Dragon Possession: Black Marlin, and Almighty Five Sights: Spectator."
"Dimensional Formation: Shambhala is still in testing. It's a bit unstable, but usable..."
"If resources remain sufficient, most citizens in the capital will eventually be able to wield multiple Teigu."
Hiss—
Everyone exchanged glances.
Genetic ascension had already raised the average physical and mental capabilities of the population. Adding mass-produced Teigu would push combat power to a whole new level.
As expected, the poor evolve through mutation, the rich through technology.
And Commander Setsuna? He wanted both.
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