"Commander, good morning. Please enjoy your breakfast."
"And Eris, we've prepared your portion as well. We hope it suits your taste."
Several days and nights later, in the early morning.
While Setsuna was still half-asleep and wandering in a daze, the head maid Belfast led the Royal Maids into the room, their steps elegant as they pushed the door open.
They briskly drew the curtains and began cleaning.
"The Commander truly has boundless energy."
The Royal Maids worked with meticulous precision, never overlooking even the smallest speck of dirt. As a result, Belfast discovered that her workload today was particularly heavy.
Not only did the bedsheets and blankets need replacing, but the dining table, the sink, the bathtub, and even the windowsills required careful scrubbing—to erase every trace left behind by Setsuna.
"Master, I'm almost jealous of Eris."
Sirius clicked her tongue.
Eris could be considered the greatest winner of this game world. She had effortlessly won an enormous number of chips.
As a result, she monopolized Setsuna's time for the longest period—practically the equivalent of a private honeymoon.
Fortunately, the goddess of luck herself was quite generous and did not mind occasionally sharing the Commander with others. If it had been Taihou or Akagi, the rest probably wouldn't have been able to get within a single step.
"Mm..."
Eris sat up in bed, tidied her hair, and casually pulled on a piece of clothing to cover her fair shoulders.
"Mm... I might be the first goddess to violate the rules of the Heaven... I guess I can't go back anymore."
The silver-haired goddess curled into herself, hugging her knees.
"In our world, goddesses aren't allowed to fall in love with people from other worlds. Otherwise, they lose their divine powers..."
"Back then, Miss Er wanted Aqua and the other goddesses to take me as a role model... I think I may have set a bad example..."
Seeing the remnants of last night's battlefield in the room, Eris wished she could bury her head in the blanket.
It was far too embarrassing. Among the goddesses, she had once been the most proper one. And yet she was the first to break the taboo.
"You haven't gotten weaker, though?"
Setsuna reached out and gently stroked Eris's head.
"Maybe it's because my divine power now comes from the Starsea Empire, so it isn't governed by the Heaven's rules?"
Eris pondered for a moment.
When they had first arrived in the Starsea Empire, the goddesses had faced the threat of vanishing after their original source of divine power was cut off.
However, after Setsuna ordered the construction of temples in the capital and across the vassal worlds, the number of believers increased dozens—if not hundreds—of times compared to before. Their power naturally rose with the tide.
"Besides, most of the goddesses are basically working in the Starsea Empire now. The other worlds over there have turned into monster-farming dungeons anyway. What difference does it make?"
Setsuna stood up and yawned.
"Take a look at my Starsea Empire. Doesn't it look far more magnificent than your empty Heaven?"
"..."
Eris wanted to complain that Setsuna had probably been infected by those game-addicted little shipgirls.
But after thinking about it, she had to admit—compared to the empty and desolate Heaven, the Starsea Empire truly was far grander.
...
After tidying up.
Setsuna strolled downstairs leisurely, planning to wander around the capital again.
To see who the lucky winners of the day would be.
"Will it be Shiro? Or the Witch of Vanity? No, Pandora didn't manage to defeat Mio..."
"Eris, leave some room for the others. Don't go too far."
Click—
However, the moment he stepped outside.
He was surrounded.
Akame, Kurome, Yukikaze, Taihou, Kanae, and a group of girls crowded around him, chattering noisily.
"Commander, I challenge you to a duel!!"
"I challenge you to a game duel! I'll use myself as the wager. If I lose, I'll give myself to you—ehehe..."
"That's allowed by the rules, right? There's no problem, right? Commander, hurry and duel with Taihou. Whether I turn you into mine or you turn me into yours is fine~~"
"What is going on???"
Setsuna was stunned.
"We got a bit of inspiration from Kiana."
Akame blinked mischievously.
"The list of challengers doesn't just include shipgirls, Spirits, Heroic Spirits, and so on... Commander, you're on the list too."
"Using ourselves as wagers to challenge you gives the highest return with the lowest risk."
Thanks to the grand experiment conducted by Bronya and Kiana.
Everyone realized that this PvP competitive system had a loophole.
If the goal was to win a date with the Commander, then instead of competing internally against each other, it was better to wager oneself directly to challenge him.
If they won, they would gain a huge pile of chips and the Commander himself. If they lost, at worst they would simply give themselves to Setsuna.
No matter what, they wouldn't lose.
Although in theory Setsuna could leave the loser aside, everyone knew he wasn't that kind of person. He was remarkably broad-minded.
He would even use time distortion magic to ensure he spent time with everyone.
"..."
Setsuna felt that this was absolutely outrageous.
Beep—
[Both sides' wagers are equivalent. Match established.]
[The challenged party, please select the game content.]
The system prompt sounded. Clearly, such duel requests were perfectly within the rules.
"Master, you're not thinking of backing out, are you? Mm... You do have the authority to modify the rules. Surely you wouldn't use it in a situation like this?"
Jeanne Alter's gaze carried a hint of provocation.
"Commander, we also want a chance..."
Akame said sincerely.
Seeing all sorts of extraordinary figures showing off their abilities, their small team—who had arrived in the Starsea Empire early on—naturally had their own thoughts.
"...I have an absolutely brilliant suggestion."
Grey raised her hand.
"If we're going to party, let's go all the way. Commander, since you're so good at throwing parties, let's compete in that."
"Who goes first—with you or with your people. Whoever finishes first loses and must agree to the winner's request..."
"???"
Thud—
Setsuna knocked Grey on the head with a hand chop, making her squat down and clutch her head.
"Where do you even come up with these terrible ideas?!"
Then he cleared his throat and looked at the eager faces before him.
"Fine. Let's fight. This is exhilarating!!!"
...
Time in the Theater of Domination passed in a blur.
When sunlight once again filtered through the curtains and spilled into the room.
"Commander, the time barrier has expired!!! And could you stabilize this space a little?!"
Grey pushed the door open.
"Did you get drained dry or something? Some of the constructed objects in this world have turned into mosaics. Is your control precision off?"
When the Herrscher of Reason couldn't focus, the things he created tended to become bizarre.
Grey discovered that at the boundaries of this world, the things Setsuna shaped could only be described as utterly arbitrary.
"As if. I'm just a mere mortal? My spirits are excellent."
Setsuna stood up and draped his clothes over his shoulders.
"Oh? Still talking tough? Then can you try walking without holding onto the wall?!"
"Belfast, don't support him. Let's see if he can even walk in a straight line!"
Grey narrowed her eyes.
Glancing back.
Akame and Kurome were squeezed together. The two sisters rarely got along and were constantly competing, openly and secretly.
Even last night had been no exception.
They had repeatedly asked Setsuna that soul-searching question: "Between me and my sister, who is better?"
The result was that both of them collapsed together in a heap, with Kurome still mumbling in her sleep.
Kanae, Kanao, Esdeath, and the others were sprawled in all directions as well. Only the shipgirls, Spirits, and other extraordinary species with stronger physiques were slowly getting up.
As for the true culprit behind draining Setsuna dry, Nyaruko was still dozing on the pillow. Her ahoge curled rhythmically with her breathing—absurdly adorable.
"Mm... Commander, good morning..."
Origami Tobiichi sat up, rubbed her eyes, then shook her head.
"No, that's not right. At a time like this, the proper greeting should be 'Yesterday was amazing,' right?"
"..."
Black lines seemed to fall across Setsuna's forehead.
A beautiful day began with Master Origami's peculiar greeting.
Shff—
After the Angeloids finished cleaning up the aftermath and everyone had breakfast.
They gathered together.
With a wave of his hand.
Crack—
The scene before them shattered like glass.
The space-time of the two worlds overlapped, producing a brief sensation of disorientation.
In the blink of an eye.
The picturesque vacation world transformed back into the magnificent and resplendent capital.
The morning sun had just risen from the horizon, gilding everything in the city with a layer of gold.
The Angeloids and some of the Bulins had already begun working. Various aircraft occasionally streaked overhead.
"Oh..."
Everyone still looked slightly dazed.
The experience was entirely different from the Eternal Snowfall. It felt like waking from a dream in another world.
From Earth's frame of reference, only a single night had passed. But inside the Theater of Domination, they had partied for a full two months.
—As for Setsuna himself, his subjective time had been even longer. He had used small-scale time distortions many times to extend the party.
Eating, sleeping, soaking in hot springs, playing around... and various other activities.
If not for the slight weakness in his legs, he might have thought it was a collective hallucination.
"Ahem. The vacation is over."
Setsuna steadied himself and reminded the girls to focus.
"Eh..."
Taihou and the others were still reluctant to part. Akame, Silence Suzuka, Eris, and the newly promoted ones had autumnal longing in their eyes.
"The first season has officially concluded! Let the Commander adjust the balance of the rules a bit, and we'll do it again next time?"
Grey scratched her head.
Setsuna returned to the Administrative Center and sat in his familiar seat, projecting the Hyperdimensional Star Map.
"Farm resources, advance technology, and prepare to beat people up again. Mm."