Hum...
The instant Setsuna agreed to this strange game rule,
The space of the entire world shifted once more.
Whoosh—
"Hm?"
Every girl suddenly discovered that a stack of tangible objects had condensed into her hands, resembling paper vouchers.
Printed on them were the stakes they had discussed earlier.
For example: "Date with the Commander (5 people)," "Dinner with the Commander (10 people)," "Make a wish to the Commander (1 time)," and other oddly specific phrases.
"This is...?"
They quickly understood.
Setsuna had used divine power to create a world similar to No Game No Life. These were the "stakes" they had agreed upon.
Only after being acknowledged by the Chief God could a game be formally established.
This was the manifestation of the divine power of the Suniaster's master. No matter how absurd the idea, it would be expressed in the form of rules.
"Oh? Interesting."
Setsuna rested his chin in his hand, watching the spectacle unfold. He had not interfered. This was the automatic manifestation of the game's rules.
"Whoa..."
"Commander usage vouchers?!"
Everyone once again marveled at this rule-level power—absurd, yet strangely reasonable.
With these vouchers, one could literally redeem the listed item from the Commander. For example, "Date with the Commander (5 people)" meant five people dating together.
If someone managed to collect five identical vouchers, they could even combine them into a single solo voucher and monopolize him.
"It really is like a game world..."
Cecilia counted the vouchers in her hand. There were roughly twenty or thirty, with varying denominations.
Items like "Dinner with the Commander (10 people)" were clearly lower in value. Everyone had plenty of those.
After all, Setsuna often invited everyone to meals together. There was nothing rare about that.
Meanwhile, single-person vouchers such as "Alone Time with the Commander" were extremely scarce, obviously more precious. Higher-tier rewards like "Two-Person Vacation (Day)" even required multiple vouchers to synthesize.
After all, opportunities to spend extended time alone with Setsuna were rare. He was quite egalitarian.
Everyone received the same initial set of vouchers. Under the rules of this world, all were equal.
Whether it was Taihou and Mio, who were always by Setsuna's side, or newcomers like Shiro and Jibril who had just arrived in the Starsea Empire, the starting point was identical.
Each day, everyone would also generate a few small-denomination vouchers, symbolizing that everyone had the right to date the Commander.
But if someone wanted to monopolize more time, they would have to win it from others.
"Oh, so this game is about winning as many vouchers as possible, and then I can make Big Brother Commander stay with me the whole time?"
Shiro immediately grasped the rules.
"This is so interesting!!!"
"What happens if someone doesn't follow the rules?"
The ever-troublesome nanomachines boldly raised the question.
"For example, what if I join a date between the Commander and someone else without using a voucher? Or secretly sneak into his bedroom? The Commander wouldn't actually kick me out, right? ..."
"..."
"Rules established by a god are absolute. Everyone in this world must obey them."
Holou answered calmly.
"You cannot perform any action that violates the rules. Otherwise, you may be expelled from this world, or forcibly restrained."
"Tch..."
Thinking back to the absolute authority Setsuna's decree had over the world of Disboard not long ago, Grey wisely shut her mouth.
The only ones who might qualify as lawbreakers were Nyarko, Shub, and a few other Cthulhu girls—but their moral standards were unexpectedly high.
If someone truly lost all their vouchers every day, they would probably have no choice but to watch pitifully as the Commander dated others and acted lovey-dovey.
"Only by following the rules does the game have meaning."
Richelieu cleared her throat and looked toward Setsuna.
"Commander, let me confirm once more. You acknowledge all these vouchers, correct?"
"Mm."
Setsuna nodded. He found this competitive format rather interesting and was curious who would ultimately win.
As a team-building and entertainment activity, it was excellent.
"No matter who holds the vouchers, I will honor them."
"Then let's play!"
...
"Oooooohhhh—"
With the Creator God's approval, within this divine power–forged vacation world, everyone erupted with excitement.
It was their first time truly participating in a world governed by games.
To win as many vouchers as possible, everyone began carefully planning their next move.
"Chaldea, assemble!!!"
Gudako was the first to gather all the Heroic Spirits together.
"We all came from Chaldea. Let's not fight among ourselves first. We unite and challenge others, win vouchers from them."
"Any objections?"
"Hm...?"
The Heroic Spirits glanced at one another.
"I support challenging other races first. After that, we can settle things among ourselves."
Even the usually chaotic Jeanne Alter agreed to the proposal.
After all, coming from the same world gave them a sense of solidarity.
"There are many shipgirls. Perhaps we should consider targeting them first?"
"Who here is good at games? Chess, card games, video games—anything works."
"Those who aren't good at games can hand their vouchers to the strongest players. After we win, we distribute the gains proportionally."
The Chaldea Heroic Spirits quickly began integrating their "combat power," selecting the most skilled players as representatives to fight on Chaldea's behalf.
"Heroic Spirits with Luck Rank A, step forward!!!"
"Teacher? You're a Lancer, you know that, right? Have some self-awareness. Please don't become a charity machine, thank you..."
The other races were in similar situations.
"Mm..."
Within the Night Raid squad's base,
Akame, Kurome, and the other ordinary human girls were urgently discussing strategy.
Under normal circumstances, their strength was qualitatively inferior to those transcendent beings.
But in a game world, victory was determined purely by skill. In a sense, everyone had been pulled onto the same starting line.
The traditional hierarchy of strength had been overturned. Ordinary humans could now challenge those at higher tiers.
"Let's not fight among ourselves first. We need to win vouchers from others. The shipgirls have the largest population. They're our priority."
"By the way, that little girl named Shiro seems incredibly skilled at games. Should we try recruiting her? ..."
After thinking it through, Night Raid, the Demon Slayer Corps, and others realized that they had spent most of their time training their bodies. Their gaming skills were far inferior.
Coincidentally, Shiro was also an ordinary human. If they could recruit her, they could overturn the heavens and easily counterattack the other races.
"..."
Within the shipgirl base, the flagships of the major fleets gathered together.
"Heh, looks like quite a few people have their eyes on us, huh? ..."
Taihou lazily propped her head up with one hand while idly counting her vouchers with the other.
"Tsk. They didn't even give me more? I was clearly the Commander's first..."
"It's only natural that we're being targeted. We have the largest numbers."
Enterprise replied calmly.
The Azure Lane shipgirls, the Arpeggio shipgirls, and the Kancolle shipgirls all gathered together. Their combined numbers were enough to rival several other teams put together.
"What's foreseeable is that we'll face the most challenges. That's both a risk and an opportunity."
"All fleets should unite for now. Once everything settles, we'll decide the outcome among ourselves."
"No problem."
The shipgirls quickly reached a consensus.
"If it's board games, I have some confidence. I can represent the fleet."
Chen Hai spoke unhurriedly.
"In my spare time, I've played against Artoria, Esdeath, and Tohru. None of them were my match."
"And Nagashima, it's time for you to repay the fleet!!"
Essex dragged Nagashima forward.
"You squat in the port playing games all day. You should at least have some skill, right?"
"Eh—"
"Laffey, Ayanami, Z23, and the Four Kongōs do it too!!!—"
Nagashima protested loudly.
"Let them come with me. Mm, we're actually pretty good at team-based PvP games..."
There were plenty of gaming experts in the other factions. Even the most skilled little shipgirls couldn't guarantee victory in every match.
"Mm..."
Nagato and Musashi exchanged glances, then looked toward the Yamato from Arpeggio and the Yamato from Kancolle.
The few of them immediately understood one another.
"In the end, games are decided by luck and skill. If someone's luck reaches a certain level, they'll be unstoppable, right?"
"Coincidentally, we have the perfect candidates."
No sooner had the words fallen than—
"Yukikaze-sama—nanoda!!!"
A white-haired beast-eared little shipgirl in a sailor uniform jumped out.
Beside her stood two other destroyer shipgirls. Judging from their hull numbers, they were essentially the same ship.
Azure Yukikaze, Arpeggio Yukikaze, and Kancolle Yukikaze.
"It's just playing games, right? Leave it to Lady Yukikaze!!"
"Ohhh—"
Under normal circumstances, the mere sight of three Yukikazes moving together would make the other shipgirls' legs go weak.
That incomprehensible level of good fortune was perfectly suited to a world where victory was decided by games.
"We promise not to deploy Yukikaze first... but given the circumstances, for the sake of the Commander's usage rights, we can't hold back."
"Go! The honor of the port is in your hands!!"
"Whether the Commander lives in the port for the rest of the year depends on you!!"
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