Clack—
Under the guidance of Purifier and Observer, the Arbiter fleet descended upon the Azur Lane Port.
Over a thousand warships formed a perfect square formation, hovering neatly over the nearby sea.
Semi-autonomous Executors stood guard along the perimeter.
After retracting their ship hulls, the Arbiters slowly landed on the ground.
Only then did the shipgirls realize that what had looked like a massive army moments ago was, in truth, mostly unmanned vessels. The actual number of operators was merely thirteen.
Twelve of them were Siren Arbiters—each uniquely dressed, all mature and elegant women older than the Experimentals, with the exception of Temperance.
Their beauty was otherworldly, matching the mythical image of the enchanting Sirens said to seduce sailors in ancient lore.
Each bore ship-rigging resembling various marine creatures.
Another figure sat within a jellyfish-like hull—pale-skinned, holding a small doll-like girl in her arms.
Her appearance bore a faint resemblance to Navigator TB and Compiler.
This was Dreamweaver—Observer Zero, the core of the Siren Fleet, controller of the entire Siren system.
Thus, within the Azur Lane Port, the Siren Army and the shipgirls achieved a historic reunion at last.
Of course, the touching emotional scene one might expect never materialized.
The Arbiters were more curious than sentimental, glancing around the area with intrigue.
The shipgirls, along with the vacationing lolis, Heroic Spirits, and other residents of the port, were equally fascinated by the legendary "Arbiters."
After hearing Commander, Observer, and Purifier mention them so many times, they could finally see them in person.
And indeed, the Arbiters looked as extraordinary as rumored—some of their hull designs were quite exaggerated, equipped with technology resembling interstellar weapon systems.
Had the shipgirls encountered them before their interstellar refits, they might have believed the Arbiters capable of wiping out the entire port alone.
"Hey hey hey~"
Observer was the first to break the silence.
"Welcome to the Starsea Empire!"
"The Commander is currently busy overseeing the construction of the wonders. How about I give you a tour first, and then we'll go meet him?"
"...That's acceptable."
The Arbiters were deeply curious about the so-called leader mentioned in the Experimentals' reports.
But since they had arrived in a completely new universe, it was only natural to first familiarize themselves with their surroundings.
—Even if they were still a bit salty about being treated like beggars earlier.
"...Follow me."
Led by the two Siren Experimentals, a small sightseeing group formed, with several shipgirls accompanying them.
"This place used to be a testing site," Observer explained as they walked. "After the Commander arrived, this universe collapsed, and out of all the laboratories, only this one remained intact."
She reported the situation to her superiors while guiding them through the port.
"At first, we thought something had gone wrong, but after a while, we realized it was connected to the Commander."
"Perhaps his spatial breach destabilized the surrounding parallel universes?"
"..."
Dreamweaver said nothing, quietly nodding as she followed.
"At first, we thought he was just an ordinary human who accidentally stumbled into our world through some dimensional rift, but guess what? He started creating all kinds of interesting things..."
"Like photon gatling guns, or orbital propulsion units! The shipgirls kept bringing those over for us to experiment with—ugh, classic Experimentals. We don't just conduct experiments on others, we become the experiments."
"Some of his inventions were ridiculously useless, others surprisingly effective. Later, he even summoned some dragon girls and Heroic Spirits from another world to assist him—and they actually fought us for a while."
"After thinking it over, since we couldn't contact you at the time, we figured we might as well tag along with the Commander into another universe and see what came of it."
The two Sirens gave the Arbiters a concise summary of the events following their disappearance and how they eventually joined the Starsea Empire.
"A rational decision," Temperance remarked coolly.
"Otherwise, it would've taken us much longer to re-establish contact."
"Anyway," Observer continued, "after the Commander unified the testing grounds, this place became a resort of the Starsea Empire—designated Sub-Universe No.1."
"The capital is on the other side. We'll use a teleportation anchor to head there."
Observer led the newly arrived Sirens around the port, pointing out various installations and sights along the way.
This place was a leisure and vacation zone—not much to see here.
If they wanted to truly impress the "natives," they would have to head to the Imperial Capital.
"Sub-Universe No.1?... You have parallel-universe traversal technology as well?"
Empress keenly caught the keyword.
"Nope. Ours is a bit more advanced than yours—true multiversal traversal. We can freely move through the grand multiverse itself."
"We've met Angels, Cybertronians, Trisolarans, Horsegirls, Klaxosaurs... you'll see for yourself soon enough."
Shuaa—
The group passed through the teleportation anchor.
The world before them shrank to a single point, then expanded infinitely.
When their vision cleared, they were standing in the heart of Constantinople Square.
"!!!"
Like all newcomers before them, the Arbiters were utterly stunned by the overwhelming splendor and grandeur of the interstellar metropolis.
Across all testing grounds and parallel universes they had traversed, not a single city could compare to the Starsea Empire's capital.
Before their eyes stretched main avenues wide enough for starships to take off and land.
Anti-gravity structures floated in intricate layers on both sides and above, their streamlined designs exuding elegance and futuristic beauty.
Starships and shuttles flowed like rivers of silver light between towering structures.
The city teemed with life—most of the Starsea Empire's citizens lived here. Teams of Angeloids patrolled gracefully in the skies, adding a dreamlike atmosphere.
Over the Golden Horn, a Bulin fleet was preparing for departure.
"Burin!! We're heading to the Starbase to work on the Dyson Swarm, burin! Make sure everyone brings their gear and materials, burin!!!"
Boom—
Hundreds of colorful Bulin ships accelerated from the sea, soaring into the sky.
They left behind a dazzling rainbow trail before vanishing in a flash of white light.
"Ah..."
Empress, Lovers, and several other Arbiters stood frozen, momentarily speechless.
Dreamweaver, nestled in her jellyfish-like rigging, lifted her pale face and gazed toward where the Bulin fleet had vanished.
"Faster... than light..." she murmured softly.
"This capital was literally built from nothing," Observer said with a hint of pride.
"When we first arrived, it was barely habitable. It took a long time to expand it into this interstellar metropolis."
She handed the Arbiters a tablet.
It was the standard briefing device given to all newcomers joining the Starsea Empire, containing the Empire's history, overview, and general conduct guidelines.
"Most of the Commander's companions from other worlds live here. A few scientists stay on the moon for research."
"So if you see other races, don't be too surprised."
"..."
The Arbiters found the Empire's diversity almost overwhelming.
Along the way, they saw not only Bulins, lolis, and Angeloids everywhere, but also Catgirls, Horsegirls, Spirits, and various species they couldn't even name.
Even the shipgirls themselves had multiple subspecies.
Outside one store, two shipgirls were waiting in line.
Both were Musashi.
One was a violet-haired, golden-eyed fox woman. The other was a sun-tanned, mature beauty.
"They're... both shipgirls?!" Empress could sense their similar energies—but with subtle differences.
"Yep," Observer said nonchalantly, pointing toward a nearby white-haired loli. "And that one behind them? Also Musashi—the Arpeggio Musashi."
"Oh, looks like the three Musashis are having a lunch meet-up today."
"See over there? That's Azure Yukikaze, Arpeggio Yukikaze, and Kancolle Yukikaze. Want them to escort you on a sea tour?"
"???"
"What???"
The Arbiters were dumbfounded.
One battleship could produce three different shipgirls?! Weren't they supposed to be the singular embodiment of a ship's spirit?
Split personalities?!
"Don't act so shocked," Observer chuckled. "Commander says we might even find a fourth type someday..."
"..."
"...Wait, hold on—three Yukikazes as an escort? Are you trying to murder your superior officers?!"
Empress glared suspiciously, certain that Observer was up to no good.
"I didn't! I'm loyal to the Starsea Empire and the Commander! I'd never betray them."
The little loli spoke with conviction.
Leading the group, she brought everyone to a nearby restaurant.
With a serious face, she placed nine copper coins on the counter and waved toward Cheshire.
"Two bowls of coolant, and one order of Staring at the Stars."
"Got it~!"
The cat-eared girl's eyes sparkled—customers voluntarily coming in was always good news.
Soon, she served up an enormous pie topped with a fish head.
"Come, eat—!"
Observer pushed the bizarre-looking fish-head pie toward the Arbiters and waved magnanimously.
"My treat. No charge."
She wore the self-satisfied grin of someone showing off their success in front of their once-superior, now-broke relatives—clearly enjoying herself.
Purifier muttered under her breath, "Meals are already free in the Starsea Empire... and why this? Isn't Kobayashi Rindou or Nene Kunikida's restaurant open nearby...?"
Before she could finish, Observer's tentacle came down with a thwap!
"Too much talking!"
"???"
...
At the Starbase...
The Eternal Snowfall hovered steadily in orbit around the sun.
Below it, tens of thousands of Bulins were constructing the Dyson Swarm's structural framework, tirelessly working in coordinated units.
They frequently came and went between the Juggernaut's hangar bays.
During the early stages of construction, to improve efficiency, Setsuna had temporarily repurposed the Eternal Snowfall as the main operations platform for the project.
The ship's onboard factories assisted the Bulins with smelting tasks while serving as a convenient transfer hub.
Of course, the main reason was that he wanted to personally witness the construction process of a Galactic Wonder.
"Not bad, not bad..."
Setsuna nodded in satisfaction as he reviewed the holographic interface's data readouts.
The colorful Bulins worked with flawless coordination, and progress visibly increased every day.
Suddenly—
"Commander, there's a message from the port. The Arbiters have arrived."
Yat Sen approached and opened a report.
"Observer, Purifier, and several shipgirls received them. They just finished having lunch together in the capital."
"Oh?"
Setsuna's eyes lit up with interest.
"That was quick. How are they? Did everyone come? No misunderstandings, I hope?"
"None," Yat Sen replied, shaking her head.
"They seem eager to meet you soon—and they're particularly fascinated by our starship refit technology."
"Not surprising."
Setsuna took a sip of tea.
"It's natural for shipgirls to long for the stars."
"...Though," Yat Sen hesitated for a moment, "based on the reports, it seems they might be more interested in getting refitted first—so they can go beat up the Experimentals afterward."
"Hm?"
—
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