HI3: I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

Thinking about the quest rewards, Rozaliya hastily opened the quest interface, scanned her completed tasks, and immediately claimed her rewards.

Quest Reward Obtained:

80 CrystalsValkyrie Rank +51,000,000 Gold500 Skill PointsMonthly Pass x1Mechanical Experience Chip x100 (Purple)Special Ability Experience Chip x100 (Purple)Biological Experience Chip x100 (Purple)Quantum Experience Chip x100 (Purple)

Rozaliya and Liliya promptly leveled up once more, each gaining 5 additional levels.

Rozaliya reached level 76, while Liliya reached level 75.

Just a few more levels until they hit level 80.

"Monthly pass, my dear monthly pass," Rozaliya mused, her face lighting up as she gazed at the monthly pass in her inventory. "Another one in hand." She had completely tuned out everything else, her eyes fixed solely on the precious passes.

A single monthly pass equaled... 900 crystals?

Why did it feel so inadequate? Was something off? Rozaliya scratched her head in bewilderment.

-

"All right, let's go find the princess now..." Liliya's expression reverted to her signature 'tsundere' look, and she hastily tugged at Rozaliya.

At that moment, Liliya's only thought was to find the princess so they could both get some much-needed sleep.

"Oh, right! The princess is still waiting for us to save her. I almost forgot!" Rozaliya came back to her senses upon hearing this reminder.

The dragon's lair wasn't terribly large, yet it was by no means small. When Rosaliya and Liliya finally found the so-called princess, they discovered... that this royal Highness was actually lounging in a cage, munching on some unknown fruit as if nothing was amiss.

Two lizardfolk attended to her from the side. The princess showed not the slightest hint of panic one might expect from being captured by a dragon.

Upon emerging before the colossal cage, Rosaliya and Liliya exclaimed, "We're truly overjoyed to see the princess unharmed!"

"Who's there?"

Their sudden appearance startled the princess and the two lizardfolk.

However, when the lizardfolk saw who had appeared before them, they froze momentarily. Without stopping to consider why these two women would be present, they swiftly grabbed their weapons and lunged at the intruders.

Rosaliya and Liliya drew their respective great swords, each claiming one of the lizardfolk. In an instant, both combatants lay dead at their feet.

"Ah..." The sight of the lizardfolk's gruesome demise frightened the princess within the cage anew.

"Are you alright?" Rozaliya asked, wiping her sword clean. She held it in her tail and walked over to the cage, where she studied the princess of the Cronis Eagle Kingdom.

The princess had beautiful long golden hair, and her facial features were those of a highborn individual—very pretty... except that her face was currently filthy, likely not washed for many days. Her clothes also appeared incredibly dirty, and there seemed to be a foul odor emanating from them.

A most unpleasant scent...

Though the princess appeared quite composed, one could imagine she must actually be feeling quite uncomfortable!

As Rozaliya briefly examined her, she noted that the princess didn't seem to have any injuries. With lizardfolk attending to her, it seemed the dragon had likely captured her simply to satisfy its collecting hobby.

At least for now; who knew what might happen in the future?

"Are you demi-humans?" the princess asked, looking with some fear at the two girls before her, unsure of how they had managed to enter this place.

After all, this was the depths of the dragon's lair, the very home of the mighty dragon.

The princess had initially held out hope for a heroic rescuer, but after more than a month, her expectations had fizzled. Then, out of nowhere, two dwarf girls appeared. Were they the dragon's latest captives?

Yet that didn't seem right, as they swiftly dispatched the dragon's servants.

"Indeed, we've come to save you," declared Rozaliya, holding aloft the dragon's fang. "The beast is slain; you're free to go now." She approached the cage.

With her small hands clasping two iron bars, Rozaliya exerted all her might, bending them aside to create a gap wide enough for a human to pass through.

"Come out, Princess. It's safe now."

Rozaliya offered her tiny hand with a reassuring smile.

"Ah... oh," the princess finally snapped back to her senses. Grasping Rozaliya's hand, she stepped cautiously through the opening.

It seemed incredible that such young girls could slay a dragon. Yet, the dragon's fangs in their possession were undeniably real, and here they were, having clearly succeeded...

-

By the time Liliya and Rozaliya emerged from the dragon's lair with the third princess, it was already the dead of night.

However, the first light of dawn still lay some hours away. Initially, Rozaliya and Liliya had planned to rest for the night within the cave itself, setting off again at daylight.

After all, Liliya's eyes were already drooping with exhaustion.

But the princess, who hadn't bathed in over a month, couldn't bear even a second of filth.

Reluctantly acknowledging that such a royal guest could likely fetch them a substantial sum of Originium, Rozaliya and Liliya had no choice but to venture out in search of water.

The volcanic area was surprisingly abundant with natural springs, and the trio quickly located a small stream.

Rozaliya handed the princess a set of her own spare clothes and told her to wash them herself.

-

"Third Princess, are you done washing?"

Rozaliya had lit a small fire by the creek and was holding Liliya, who had fallen asleep in her embrace, lost in thought.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Rozaliya turned to see...

The blonde princess, now cleaned up, approached barefoot.

"Thank you for letting me use your clothes..." The princess looked at Rozaliya sincerely, expressing her heartfelt gratitude.

"It's no problem..." Rozaliya gazed up at the approaching blonde princess. After washing herself, she indeed looked as beautiful as Rozaliya had imagined.

"Is she asleep?" The princess crouched down across from Rozaliya, looking at Lilia nestled in her arms.

"Yes, let's rest for a few hours before taking you back."

"Okay, thank you... Um, my name is Dalisaya... You can call me by name if you want." The princess—Dalisaya hesitated briefly before introducing herself.

"I'm Rozaliya, and this is my sister... Liliya," Rozaliya replied politely.

"Are you adventurers among the demi-humans? Or heroes? You're only teenagers, right? Yet you've already become such powerful dragon slayers, that's incredible!"

Dalisaya gazed at Rozaliya with admiration, practically turning into a little stalker girl.

"Oh... it's really not that big of a deal..." seeing Dalisaya's starry-eyed gaze, Rozaliya responded humbly.