"Dr. Roman, I am reporting to you on the results of my studies abroad."
After undergoing genetic enhancement, Gudako connected with Dr. Roman and Da Vinci, who were still in Chaldea, through Setsuna.
"Oh, Ritsuka Fujimaru? It's been a while…"
"We expect to pinpoint the Third Singularity soon… How have you been over there?"
On the holographic interface, Roman curiously examined Gudako.
Ever since she proposed the "Offline Master Mode" and slipped away to another world, their communications had become infrequent.
Only when a new Singularity was located would she and Setsuna be called back to deal with the issue.
"Great! I estimate we can clear the Third Singularity in just a day."
"We might not even need the Commander—I can handle it myself."
Gudako pounded her chest confidently.
"Oh?"
Da Vinci leaned in slightly, observing Ritsuka Fujimaru through the holographic interface.
She still looked like the same ordinary Chaldean Master—her delicate features carried the youthful charm of a girl, slightly innocent yet undeniably cute.
She didn't seem much different from their last meeting, except her skin appeared a bit smoother.
"What have you learned? That Earth of yours has absorbed powers from many different worlds—you must have picked up some advanced magic, right?"
Roman asked in a fatherly tone.
He knew that the Type-Moon magecraft system was somewhat insufficient for Gudako, and he hoped she had acquired some genuine "magic."
"Of course."
Gudako puffed out her chest.
"I have completely mastered the piloting techniques of Barbatos and learned over twenty types of enchantments to enhance its speed, durability, and strength."
"These enchantments are incredibly powerful—taught to me by a dragon girl… Uh, in terms of strength, she could be considered the chief deity of an entire world?"
"?"
Roman and Da Vinci both had question marks pop up over their heads.
However, recalling how Gudako had been obsessed with piloting a Gundam when she ran off, they found this revelation unsurprising.
"Additionally, Dr. Roman, after spending time with the Commander, the shipgirls, and others, I've realized that human strength has its limits."
"So, I became a Spirit."
A burst of white light flickered around Gudako as she switched into her Spirit Form.
Although it was only a standard form separated from a Spirit of Origin, it was still quite eye-catching.
"Hah??"
Roman stood frozen, taking a long moment to process Gudako's words.
The Type-Moon world had its own concepts of spirits, and his mind raced through all kinds of possibilities.
From the Lady of the Lake to the Fairy Knights' legends, even beings like Rusalka, the water nymph—he had no idea which kind Gudako had become.
"I acknowledged a Spirit of Origin as my mother, and she shared some of her power with me. If I ever run into an opponent I can't defeat, I can call for parental backup—she's pretty strong."
Ritsuka Fujimaru explained concisely.
"???"
Roman and Da Vinci's minds completely froze.
"Then what exactly is your relationship with Setsuna?"
Da Vinci asked again. She could sense that Gudako had some thoughts about Setsuna, but this girl was sometimes too chaotic.
"The Spirit of Origin calls him 'husband,' so technically, that makes him my dad, but I refuse to acknowledge it."
Gudako thought for a moment and threw them a logic puzzle.
"???"
"!!!"
The two from Chaldea were momentarily speechless.
"Oh, and I've undergone genetic ascension."
Gudako then demonstrated her newfound strength.
She planted her feet firmly in a martial stance and executed a few moves in the style of Bajiquan.
Her strikes were sharp and forceful, displaying the demeanor of a true fighter.
"The Commander said that even if I were to fistfight a Fifth Holy Grail War Servant or a reinforced 'People's Teacher,' I could knock them down."
"Plus, I have extreme durability. My internal organs, arms, and legs can all regenerate on their own—that's the effect of the planarian factor. Want me to cut off a hand and show you?"
As she spoke, Gudako pulled out a knife, preparing to chop off her hand to give Dr. Roman a firsthand demonstration.
"???"
Roman was utterly dumbfounded.
"Who the hell is the 'People's Teacher'?! No, wait—more importantly, what exactly is genetic ascension?!"
He had always considered himself well-versed in knowledge, whether in Chaldea or even the entire Type-Moon world.
But faced with the utterly unpredictable Ritsuka Fujimaru and the Setsuna from another world, Roman suddenly felt his expertise was no longer sufficient.
"Natural evolution has always been describable with one crude yet accurate word: failure. But now, we shall personally define success."
Gudako, her expression serious, began explaining genetic technology to her "father figure" Roman.
"..."
Listening to Ritsuka Fujimaru proudly report her achievements abroad, the two remaining in Chaldea had the most complex expressions imaginable.
It seemed… like a good thing.
At the very least, Gudako had grown incredibly strong. She had mastered numerous combat techniques—advancing, she could pilot a Gundam to crush enemies; retreating, she could transform into a Spirit to unleash magic.
And if all else failed—if her mobile suit was destroyed—she could still charge in as a genetically enhanced warrior for melee combat.
A true all-rounder.
Practically the perfect fusion of Saber, Caster, and Berserker.
Yet, when they thought about it more, something felt deeply unsettling.
"Do you seriously have no intention of learning any magecraft at all?!"
Roman sighed in regret. He had painstakingly compiled extensive Type-Moon magecraft materials and sent them to Setsuna, hoping Ritsuka Fujimaru would take the opportunity to study them.
"Trash-tier magecraft is no match for Gundams. Dragon girls and Spirits can teach me proper magic."
Gudako stubbornly retorted.
"..."
"As long as you're happy…"
Roman gave up trying to reason with her.
At this point, he figured as long as she could help Chaldea restore human order, she could do whatever she wanted.
Forget genetic ascension and Spirit transformation—if Gudako claimed she had turned into a shipgirl or a magical girl tomorrow, he wouldn't even be surprised.
...
Two days later.
All the ordinary humans at the base had undergone genetic ascension.—
In the Spirit squad led by Mio, several individuals who had been transformed from humans into Spirits also underwent some enhancements.
As for the Spirit of Origin herself and Tohka Yatogami, they were pure Spirits from the beginning and were not subject to genetic modification.
"Hmm…"
"Since the Black Bullet world has been dealt with and its technology fully utilized, we can start looking elsewhere."
Leaning back in his chair, Setsuna contemplated the two newly discovered worlds.
[Girls und Panzer]
[Nekopara]
Both of these worlds were more on the slice-of-life side, lacking particularly noteworthy technology or any especially troublesome enemies.
For the catgirl world, all that was needed was to bring back a few catgirls along with the corresponding catgirl-related technology.
As for the Girls und Panzer world… it would be interesting to relocate the major academies here. If those tank-driving students transitioned to piloting starships, that could be quite amusing.
Setsuna even considered replicating an academy ship. Neither mission seemed particularly difficult.
"Alright, for the Nekopara world, I'll have you all handle it—just bring back the catgirls as a new species for the base."
After some thought, he summoned a few shipgirls.
"I'm going to take some time to recover my mental energy and continue scouting the map to see if I can discover any valuable new worlds, so I won't be going personally."
Using his consciousness to explore the vast multiverse through the Hyperdimensional Star Map was a mentally exhausting process.
Each scan required a period of rest afterward, so it was best to be well-prepared in advance.
"Catgirls?!"
The shipgirls' expressions varied—they were extremely curious about this peculiar species.
While both were humanoid, shipgirls were born from steel and war machines, whereas catgirls were purely designed as pets for amusement.
Moreover, the technology that transformed ordinary cats into catgirls was intriguing. If they could acquire it and hand it over to Sumire Muroto and Purifier for research, they might even develop other types of beast-eared humanoids.
"Could we create a Beastgirl Safari Park? With servals, penguins, fennec foxes, and the like?!"
Gudako's imagination immediately ran wild.
"Japari Park, right? So you want to be a friend too?!"
Setsuna shot her a sideways glance.
After some discussion, a shipgirl dressed in a blue and black off-the-shoulder shrine maiden outfit, with a pair of beast-like ears on her head, stepped forward to accept the mission.
"Oh? In that case, allow me to take care of it."
She had long, silver-gray hair cascading down her back, and her white thigh-high stockings left just the right amount of exposed skin in the absolute territory.
Her figure was voluptuous yet perfectly balanced—not overly excessive—radiating the proud elegance of an aircraft carrier.
Behind her, several large, fluffy white tails swayed gently, exuding an irresistible urge to bury one's face in them.
"Hmm? Shinano?"
Setsuna glanced up, estimating her proportions—she might even surpass Taihou.
Universal gravitation, universal gravitation…Ahem…
"Alright."
"Select a few companions, head to the Nekopara world, retrieve the catgirls and their technology, then return via teleportation anchor."
"Commander, are there any special considerations?"
Shinano asked, her voice carrying a lazy yet gentle tone, making it incredibly soothing to the ears.
"Hmm… The catgirl world doesn't have any enemies either. Use the spiritron computation device to select an optimal time for landing—just bring back Chocola, Vanilla, Azuki, and the others."
"Pick up some extra cats along the way."
Setsuna pondered for a moment.
Nekopara was a typical pre-space-age civilization, lacking any supernatural forces.
However, those special catgirls were still worth collecting.
"Understood. I will gather my Sakura Empire fleet members shortly and ensure the mission's success."
The great fox agreed.
...
A few hours later.
Nekopara world.
Swish—
As space distorted, a temporal passage opened in midair.
More than a dozen starships suddenly appeared in the skies above the city.
Leading the fleet was Shinano's deep-blue-and-white warship, followed closely by several slightly smaller aerospace carriers.
The First, Second, and Fifth Carrier Divisions had all joined her on this expedition.
The sight of the fleet tearing through the skies caused immediate commotion among the city's inhabitants.
Some scattered in panic, others froze for a moment before pulling out their phones to take pictures for social media, while some simply stared blankly at the sky, unable to process what was happening.
For pre-space-age civilizations, the first sighting of a starship often resulted in shock and awe.
"Everyone, follow my command—begin scanning this world's conditions…"
Shinano spoke in a slow, ethereal tone.
Meanwhile, aboard a black-and-red aircraft carrier, inside the command tower, a shipgirl with a wild glint in her eyes, gripping a massive odachi, suddenly slammed her hand onto the main control panel.
"Oi, what's the point of all this hassle? It's just a few catgirls. Watch as I wipe them out with a single White Dragon Strike!"
"There are so many of us here—why don't we just conquer this world while we're at it?!"
"Eh?"
Shinano hesitated for a moment, visibly uncertain.
"That doesn't seem to be part of this mission's objectives. If world conquest is necessary, someone else should be assigned to it later…"
"...Think about it."
Hakuryuu attempted to persuade her, appealing to both reason and emotion:
"We're already here…"
"Wouldn't it be a nice surprise for the Commander?..."
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