HI3: I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

Enveloped in fox flames, the enormous Higokumaru used her four legs and five tails to tightly restrain the ten-meter-tall vengeful oiran, rendering it immobile.

Trapped, the oiran could only endure the burning agony of the fox flames. As the flames raged on, the resentment in its body gradually diminished, and its obsessive fixation began to slowly crumble.

Then... a beautiful form started to emerge...

The once-blue skin returned to normal, white hair turned black...

After about fifteen minutes, the vengeful oiran had transformed back into its most gorgeous state from life before collapsing onto the ground.

As the oiran's obsession dissipated, the other resentful spirits in the area also began to slowly return to their original forms...

"Higokumaru... has the ability to purify resentful spirits too..." Even Yae Sakura didn't know this.

"That's enough, Sakurako," Kikyō said hastily. "Tell Higokumaru to stop!"

"Okay, Higokumaru, you can stand down now," Yae Sakura promptly instructed.

"Yes, Big Sister!"

Higokumaru extinguished her flames and left the vengeful oiran's body, transforming into a small girl with fox ears.

"Big Sister, wasn't that amazing?" Higokumaru flew over to Yae Sakura, looking at Kikyō with pride.

"Amazing... but was it necessary to make such a big show? Now everyone in Bungo knows what happened here. And..." Yae Sakura looked at the temple, which had been built for burying prostitutes and was now completely destroyed by Higokumaru's fire.

"Heh heh, but it was so simple and direct..." Higokumaru didn't seem the least bit embarrassed.

Tsuki stood behind Kikyō, watching the tiny Higokumaru with fear. She couldn't believe that the little fox on the shrine maiden's back was actually a powerful monster.

But as she looked at the vengeful oiran before them, Tsuki felt not fear or terror, but a sense of sadness and pity.

Is this what a past-their-prime oiran looks like...?

It was even more pitiful than she imagined. From now on, Tsuki would have no attachment whatsoever to the position of oiran...

-

"Someone's coming quickly. It must be samurai and onmyouji... Kikyō, let's send them off now!"

Yae Sakura's fox ears twitched as she heard distant footsteps. There were quite a few people, and they were either samurai or onmyouji. To avoid any complications, it was best to deal with this quickly.

"Okay." Kikyō nodded and walked up to the oiran spirit and the surrounding souls of the geisha.

"Your obsessions have ended. I'll help you cross over to the other side!"

These souls had been buried hastily at Jōkan-ji Temple. They missed their past lives so much that they lingered here, becoming obsessed with the past.

Their spirits were trapped on this side, unable to leave. They turned into resentful ghosts, forever caught in false dreams.

Now that their obsessions and false dreams had been destroyed by fox fire, they had to face reality.

"The beautiful sights from the old pleasure district are still fresh in my mind," the orian said sadly as she sat on the ground. "In the blink of an eye, decades passed. In the end, we died without anyone caring."

Yae Sakura brought Tsuki over to Kikyō as she looked at these ghosts before them—poor souls all around.

"Oh..."

A sigh escaped...

The oiran nodded in agreement...

Just as Kikyō began to help the souls pass on, the local samurai and onmyouji finally arrived.

But... Higokumaru spat out fox fire onto the already destroyed Jōkan-ji Temple, making it impossible for either the samurai or the onmyouji to enter.

After the oiran and the other souls were fully helped to pass on, Yae Sakura took Kikyō and Tsukasa up onto Higokumaru and left Jōkan-ji Temple.

Mission: Help the Vengeful Oiran Pass On (Completed)

This was way more profitable than killing big monsters.

They earned 200 crystals alone, plus some progress towards their main quest. Even Higokumaru's actions counted as part of the mission.

-

"Tsuki..."

After leaving Jōkan-ji Temple, Yae Sakura and her two companions found a small town on the coast where they settled down for a while. Now, the three of them sat together drinking tea.

"Hmm, what is it, Lady Yae?"

"Do you know about Shiranui?" Tsuki gazed out the window at the twinkling lights below. This place felt like another world compared to those villages back home.

"Shiranui? Of course I do! You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone in all Kyushu who hasn't heard of her."

"What about Yoshinoya Bay?"

"Yoshinoya Bay... Yes, I'm familiar with that," Tsuki said as she knelt before Yae Sakura, cupping her teacup.

"You know..." Yae Sakura's face brightened.

"Yes, but if Lady Yae wants to see Shiranui, it might be best to wait a few more days. Her arrival isn't imminent yet."

"You even know when Shiranui will appear?" Yae Sakura felt like she had struck gold.

"Mm-hmm. Lady Yae, have you ever heard another story about Shiranui?"

"No..."

"It's a tale that's been passed down among the flower houses—a story from over a hundred years ago about a songstress named Shiranui."

Over a hundred years ago, there was no such thing as Bungo Province. This area belonged to a powerful group called Yoshiwara.

In Yoshinoya Bay, near the coast of Yoshiwara, lay Dokashima Island. No one lived on this small island; it held only one building: Rinjinkaku Pavilion, a famous place for entertainment in all of Yoshiwara.

The owner of the pavilion adopted an orphan girl from local fishermen. He named her Ari and trained her to be the top songstress at his establishment.

Ten years later, the little girl had grown into the most popular singer at Rinjinkaku Pavilion.

She could sing beautifully and dance gracefully, her flowing clothes adding to her charm...

Every night, when darkness fell over the sea, Ari would walk onto a stage that stood right on the water's surface.

In the distance, tiny lights twinkled like stars—these were fishing boats drawn by her reputation. As night deepened, more lights appeared until hundreds or even thousands filled the sky, creating a scene reminiscent of the legendary great yokai Shiranui. And so...Ari became known as "Songstress Shiranui."

But for Ari, Rinjinkaku Pavilion wasn't a place of freedom—it was just another cage around her heart.

Time passed numbly until one day, an inexperienced onmyouji stumbled into her life.

He was like a ray of light piercing through a dark room—blinding but full of warmth.

The onmyouji understood the helplessness in Ari's songs. He took her out to sea and showed her the vast world beyond her home.

In response, Ari danced to his music, moving with true freedom for the first time.

The night sea was dark and silent, but suddenly beams of fire appeared. At first, just a small one in the distance, then more and more until they covered the entire surface.

These weren't the lights from cruise ships, but flickering orange flames that rose and fell with Ari's movements, as if they were old friends who had been together for a long time.

Perhaps over the years, the songstress Shiranui had become one with the legend...