HI3: I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

At Maple Village, near the sacred tree:

"Sakura-sama, your tea is ready!"

Tsuki presented the freshly brewed tea to Yae Sakura.

Yae Sakura accepted the cup, took a sip, and her eyes lit up in surprise as she looked back at Tsuki. "Remarkable! Your skill truly shines; this infusion makes even the most ordinary teas seem extraordinary."

As expected of an oiran—a courtesan of exceptional beauty and talent—even if other factors played into her abilities, her craftsmanship far surpassed that of most people. It wasn't just tea either; Tsuki excelled in Go, dance, song, and all manner of refined arts—her mastery knew no bounds.

Only someone immensely wealthy and influential could afford to have an oiran serve them as a personal attendant.

"I'm glad you enjoy it, Sakura-sama," Seeing Yae Sakura pleased, Tsuki let out a slight sigh of relief. Thank goodness I'm not just another pretty face, she thought. Though her life now fell short of its former opulence, she found herself freer and safer than before—an unexpected silver lining after losing everything.

"What happened to Kikyō?" Yae Sakura asked, observing Kaede practicing her gun technique nearby. "I haven't seen her all day."

"Kikyō-sama went to assist neighboring villages," Tsuki explained. "Apparently, their headman passed away, and they need someone for the memorial rites."

"I see..." There was little else to say on the matter.

-

It had been over half a month since returning from Kyushu. Yae Sakura had managed to form something of a friendship with Shiranui before their brief overnight stay together ended in separation.

In truth, Yae Sakura wanted Shiranui to become Kikyō's spiritual familiar. After all, she couldn't remain in this world for long. If Shiranui were by Kikyō's side as her spiritual familiar, it would undoubtedly ensure greater safety for the miko.

Having spent considerable time with Kikyō, Yae Sakura genuinely considered her a close friend. The kind-hearted yet not entirely naive miko was someone who, after prolonged interaction, was hard not to grow fond of.

However, freedom-loving Shiranui could never be bound as another's spiritual familiar, so that option had to be relinquished.

As friends, at least they might support each other when needed—a simple notion, indeed.

During these past two weeks back in Maple Village, Yae Sakura made another visit to Princess Seiki—the dragon princess whom she'd released on her previous journey.

Thanks to distinctive landmarks, locating her didn't take long. When Yae Sakura found Princess Seiki at Dōjō-ji Temple, she discovered the once-destroyed temple had been rebuilt anew by the dragon princess herself.

After engaging in a brief contest of wills with this formidable adversary, Yae Sakura marked off yet another task completion milestone. She then returned to Maple Village where she remained contentedly, simultaneously gathering information about other great yokai in the area.

And indeed, she did manage to hear news of several such powerful creatures...

-

Kaede panted as she approached Yae Sakura with her twin pistols in hand, "I've completed one thousand shots. Hit every fixed target dead center, missed thirty-seven moving targets."

Her hair was drenched in sweat, exhaustion plain on her face—a stark contrast to just moments ago when she had been focused intently on her marksmanship practice. Now, all that remained were the echoes of gunfire lingering in the air and the empty shells scattered across the ground—a testament to her relentless training regimen.

This was understandable; she had run ten kilometers before even starting her marksmanship practice today. If not for the residual spiritual energy within her, she likely wouldn't have persevered through it all.

"Very good," Yae Sakura nodded with satisfaction. "I can see you've made significant progress since last time. Keep up the excellent work. Maintain this perfect hit rate on moving targets, and I'll equip you with Stigmata." In truth, Kaede could be considered more of a disciple than just a student under Yae Sakura's tutelage now.

Yae was genuinely delighted by Kaede's innate talent for marksmanship.

Despite focusing primarily on physical training and gunnery skills, Kaede never neglected her miko cultivation—especially the refinement of her spiritual power. Though naturally gifted with only minimal spiritual aptitude, she still managed to cultivate what little she possessed.

Although Kaede lacked natural talent for spiritual energy, she could still develop it through hard work.

An idea had taken root in Yae Sakura's mind: she wanted Kaede to experiment with imbuing bullets with her spiritual energy. If successful, ordinary firearms could potentially harm ethereal beings—a feat currently requiring laser-based weaponry exclusively.

After all, Valkyries like Kiana and Kallen weren't merely skilled with guns and their unique form of martial arts; they harbored extraordinary powers deep within them as well.

However... Yae Sakura simply hadn't unlocked that information yet; once she revealed one of them, perhaps everything would become clear.

"Stigmata!" Kaede exclaimed. "Are those like the patterns on Kikyō-sama and Sakura-sama's backs?" As girls who had occasionally bathed together, Kaede was aware of their Stigma marks.

In this world, these game-inspired Stigmata were no longer exclusive to Valkyries alone. They could be equipped by anyone now—though still called Stigmata, they functioned more as unique pieces of gear in reality.

"Mm-hmm," Yae replied softly. "So you must strive even harder." In her inventory, Yae possessed numerous low-ranked Stigmata. To her, equipping Kaede with second or third-tier items was hardly significant.

Only those five-star ranked equipment and Stigmata remained off-limits, never to be casually bestowed upon others.

"I will definitely keep pushing myself! I'm heading back to practice now." Despite feeling slightly weary earlier, Kaede suddenly found herself reinvigorated with determination.

"Don't overexert yourself though," Yae cautioned as she watched Kaede leave. "Balance is key."

"Understood!" Kaede responded before departing.

"Big Sister, I caught an absolutely enormous fish!"

As Yae Sakura continued sipping her tea, Higokumaru—the young maiden with animal ears—suddenly burst in, bearing a massive catch on her shoulders.

"My goodness! That large? Has it achieved sentience or something?"

Yae Sakura gazed at the fish, which was indeed nearly as big as a refrigerator.

"See this beauty, Big Sister?" Higokumaru exclaimed excitedly, presenting the colossal fish before Yae Sakura. "Isn't she impressive? And there's no demonic aura about her; just a unique spiritual energy that makes her perfectly safe to eat."

Higokumaru had a particular fondness for fried tofu, but grilled fish and meat ranked second in her heart.

"Let's have fish for dinner today!" Yae decided spontaneously. However, given its size, she wondered if the flesh might be too tough.

Just as Yae pondered how to handle such a behemoth of a fish, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in her mind:

"Lady Yae, are you there?" The gentle yet urgent tone carried traces of fear and anxiety.

"Natsuki?" Yae Sakura froze momentarily. Wasn't private communication supposed to be one-way from my end? How could Natsuki initiate contact like this?

"Oh thank heavens, Lady Yae, I finally reached you," Natsuki sighed in relief upon hearing Yae's response. Her voice instantly softened, as if finding solace in their connection once more. "Lady Yae, please help me... save me..."

"What's wrong? What happened?" Allowing herself no time to dwell on why Natsuki could now reach out to her, Yae asked anxiously, concern overriding any confusion.

Though she merely considered Natsuki a regular friend, having known each other for some time, Yae wouldn't abandon someone who needed her assistance when able to provide support.

"What's wrong with Big Sister?" Higokumaru, standing beside Yae Sakura, looked at her peculiar reaction with confusion written all over her face.

"Don't worry about me for now," Yae Sakura instructed directly. "First, release that large fish properly. Then teleport back here; we have somewhere else to be." With these words hanging in the air, she stood up and headed towards her room while simultaneously reaching out to Natsuki far away. "Natsuki, give me a detailed account of what happened."

"Takekawa Kuma has transformed into a yokai," Natsuki replied gravely. "He killed my father and seized control of Yuhara Castle..."