"Then, it's decided. Our first target is Black Bullet's world."
After gathering most of the key members and reviewing the conditions of the newly discovered worlds, everyone unanimously agreed to prioritize the conquest of the Black Bullet world.
The other two worlds weren't as urgent.
In Girls und Panzer, while Miho Nishizumi's school was constantly facing the threat of closure, it wasn't a large-scale humanitarian crisis. Even if Setsuna didn't intervene, the goddess of war Nishizumi could probably handle it herself.
As for Nekopara, it was a peaceful slice-of-life world. At most, Setsuna just needed to visit it at some point to bring back the technology for creating catgirls.
But in Black Bullet, the Cursed Children were suffering.
In the administrative center, the flagship representatives of the major fleets, several Siren, Heroic Spirits, Spirits, and Tohru all gathered together to discuss their strategy and approach.
"This world doesn't have a 'world mission' or anything… but based on the actual situation, I have two primary objectives."
Setsuna cleared his throat and spoke firmly:
"First, rescue every last Cursed Child and bring them back."
"Second, ensure that the perpetrators get the punishment they deserve."
"Does anyone have objections?"
A moment of silence filled the room.
Everyone shook their heads.
"None."
After fully understanding the situation, neither the shipgirls nor the Heroic Spirits could comprehend why children were treated so horribly in that world.
These girls were born infected with the Gastrea Virus, which gave them unique abilities, but instead of being treated as heroes for fighting against the Gastrea, they were met with discrimination and abuse.
The Cursed Children were exploited as tools of war. Without them, humanity would have already been wiped out—yet they were abandoned and mistreated, forced to live in sewers and slums, hunted like pests.
The shipgirls all agreed:
The ruling class and human society in that world had to be mentally ill.
If not for the Cursed Children, their world would have already been overrun. Yet they chose to persecute them instead.
Fine.
Since their world didn't want them, they'd all be taken back to Constantinople.
The Commander, shipgirls, and Bulins were more than willing to give them a real home.
"We will handle these two matters separately."
"First, how do we safely transport the Cursed Children here and ensure their well-being?"
Richelieu spoke calmly, keeping the discussion organized and efficient.
As Setsuna's secretary ship, she always worked with precision.
"The rescue of the children is our top priority in this operation."
"Thanks to the Commander's foresight, our city's infrastructure can currently support between 20 to 30 million people."
"Our food and medical supply reserves are well-stocked."
"Moreover, we have established trade routes with the Dragon Maid and Date A Live worlds. If additional resources are needed, we can import them immediately."
"However, the challenge is transporting millions of children across dimensions."
Richelieu handed a detailed report to Setsuna.
Evacuating millions across worlds was no small task.
Right now, even with all the Bulins and shipgirls, their combined population was still smaller than the number of Cursed Children in Black Bullet's world.
Fortunately, most of the shipgirls had already undergone starship modifications, granting them interstellar mobility.
Additionally, some Bulins had been upgraded with propulsion engines, allowing them to assist in transporting evacuees.
If everyone mobilized, their transport capacity should be sufficient.
"Hmm..."
"Alright. Notify Akashi later, mobilize the Bulins and Manjuus, and have them clean up the dormitories and living areas."
Setsuna thought for a moment. This was nothing more than a matter of manpower.
From the moment he first accessed the Hyperdimensional Star Map, he had faintly noticed the Black Bullet world, so he had been making preparations ever since.
Now, with all necessary living facilities in place, accommodating millions of little girls was no problem at all.
In fact, it would also bring in a massive influx of high-quality population.
"We'll bring along some Executor-class Sirens to help," Observer and Purifier suddenly raised their hands.
The two advanced Sirens clicked their tongues in disdain.
"Tch, the humans in that world are disgusting. Even when we fought against destroyers, we'd still hold back a little."
"But there are actually people who bully little lolis?!"
"Did you really hold back when fighting me?!"
Yukikaze strongly objected to this statement.
"Alright, thanks."
Setsuna nodded toward the two Sirens.
"Now, for the second issue—what do we do with the Black Bullet world after evacuating the Cursed Children?"
Richelieu paused for a moment before continuing.
"I propose a few options."
"First, we could turn them into a vassal state, similar to what we did with the Demon Slayer world. They would provide us with resources and raw materials. However, for stability, we'd need to eliminate all the Gastrea on Earth."
"Second, we could leave them alone. Without the Cursed Children, humanity's combat strength would collapse, and they would either go extinct within a short period or be forced into hiding."
"Third, we carry out an extermination-level attack on them."
Richelieu maintained absolute professionalism, listing every viable course of action without any personal emotion.
She also analyzed the pros and cons of each.
Option one would give them another resource-producing world, but they would have to clean up the Gastrea threat.
Apart from some genetic research related to the Gastrea Virus, the Black Bullet world had no particularly valuable technology and was only at a pre-spaceflight level overall.
Options two and three were simply for the satisfaction of the enraged shipgirls and Heroic Spirits.
"What do you all think?"
Richelieu looked at Setsuna and the rest.
"333333!!!"
A massive group of Heroic Spirits and shipgirls immediately raised their hands, shouting in unison.
"I propose hooking them up to the power grid and using them for bioelectricity!"
Gudako directly proposed an extinction policy.
"We have Wisdom Cubes as an energy source. We have more power than we could ever use. Why go through the trouble...?"
Akashi twitched her ears.
"Then turn them into canned food! Make them into apples!"
Gudako shifted her suggestion to a devouring-hive strategy.
"???"
"You really are Evil of Humanity, aren't you?!"
Jeanne Alter realized that compared to Gudako, she was still too lawful and far too kind.
"Hmm... I also agree with the third option."
Setsuna pondered for a moment.
"There will be more and more Bulins in the future. We're not that short on manpower."
"Besides, the thought of making them pay tribute disgusts me..."
Hearing the commander's confirmation, everyone immediately launched into a heated discussion on how to deal with that world.
The meeting attendees split into two factions—the radicals, led by Tohru, Harbin, and Jeanne Alter, and the conservatives, led by Yat Sen, Formidable, Jeanne d'Arc, and Mio.
The radicals advocated deploying fleets for indiscriminate orbital bombardment or using magic to cleanse the surface.
The conservatives, however, felt the radicals were being too restrained.
It was well known that the more gentle a person is, the more terrifying they are when angered.
Both sides exchanged arguments for a while before turning back to Setsuna.
"Commander, what's your decision?"
Setsuna thought for a moment and kept his response brief and direct:
"Free fire."
With the plan finalized, the shipgirls dispersed to make their preparations.
Setsuna leaned back in his chair and casually pulled up the Star Map, wanting to check more detailed information about the Black Bullet world.
[Black Bullet (Pre-Space Age)]
A world set in a modern society, plagued by Gastrea, which are genetically engineered monsters. Their combat strength slightly exceeds that of pre-space age technology.
There is no existence of supernatural powers.
Comparative Strength:
• Technological Level: Like a Ant.
• Military Strength: Like a Ant.
• Economic Power: Like a God.
"..."
Probably because his own faction lacked any real economic activities, the system saw everyone else as "like gods" in economic power.
But Setsuna didn't care about that.
He opened the diplomacy interface, wanting to see who he could contact.
Zzzzt—Zzzzt—
After a brief static flicker, a young girl appeared on the screen.
She had fair skin, an elegant appearance, and shoulder-length light blue hair.
She was dressed in a white ceremonial gown and was seated at a desk handling paperwork.
"Ah?!"
The sudden activation of a holographic interface startled her, making her instinctively lean back in shock.
She almost tipped over her chair.
"Oh, Seitenshi? Hello, hello."
Setsuna examined the dignified-looking girl on the other end of the call.
She was the ruler of the Tokyo Area, the Third Generation Seitenshi.
A highly popular figure among the people, she aspired to improve the living conditions of the Cursed Children.
Unfortunately, Seitenshi had no real power.
Additionally, as she was still a student, she lacked the necessary experience and abilities, making her more of a symbolic figurehead than an actual ruler.
The proposed new law to improve the treatment of the Cursed Children faced obstacles at every turn, and she was powerless against the societal abuses inflicted on the little girls.
"Th-This… What is this?!"
"P-P-Please… May I ask who you are?!"
Seitenshi stared wide-eyed at the screen displaying Setsuna.
She glanced around, suspecting a prank, but found herself alone in her office.
"My name is Setsuna, from another world. This is an interdimensional communication technology."
"We're here to rescue the Cursed Children. We should arrive in a few days, so I thought I'd give you a heads-up."
Setsuna replied.
"Eh?"
Seitenshi was utterly confused.
For a young lady unfamiliar with supernatural forces, the concept of multiverse was far beyond her comprehension.
However, she quickly caught on to the most important part of Setsuna's statement.
"The Cursed Children? You know about them?"
"Of course. I'm bringing them to a new world to live in. Their dormitories have already been arranged."
Setsuna stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of his administrative building, tilted the holographic interface, and projected the grand metropolis behind him.
"Oh..."
Seitenshi gazed at the scene, completely captivated.
Even as the ruler of Tokyo Area, she had never seen a city of such scale and magnificence.
"Are you the leader of another nation? Did you hear about our situation and come to help us?"
The pure-hearted young lady speculated.
"May I ask where you are now? Hmm… Judging by the geography… The Eurasian crossroads? Istanbul?!"
"It's Constantinople."
Setsuna corrected her.
Perhaps due to her lack of historical knowledge, Seitenshi still mistook Setsuna for a foreigner from across the ocean.
Seeing no reason to explain further, Setsuna played along.
"You plan to save those Cursed Children? Take them all away?"
"Is there anything I can do to help? Should I notify the other rulers? Perhaps arrange immigration procedures or handle diplomatic channels…?"
Seitenshi asked.
"No need."
Setsuna shook his head.
He had no intention of negotiating with the world leaders of Black Bullet.
"Just stay put. If possible, bring along Kisara Tendo and Miori Shiba so I can conveniently pack them up as well."
"Eh?"
Seitenshi froze.
"I have to go too?"
"Of course. Unless you'd rather get hit with a hydrogen bomb, positron blaster cannons, Excalibur, or Ain Soph Aur?"
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