I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

With Natsuki leading the way, Yae Sakura didn't have to worry about which direction to go. After all, she was in an ancient world completely foreign to her—one deep within the mountains at that.

Carrying Natsuki on her back slowed Yae down somewhat. But since she'd often carried her little sister before, it wasn't too different now, even though Natsuki was slightly smaller than her sibling had been.

The only thing Yae noticed was... how light Natsuki felt, as if she barely weighed anything.

Of course... this probably wasn't because Natsuki really was so light; it must've been due to the Valkyrie body Yae currently possessed!

After all, with a max-level SSS-rank Valkyrie physique, carrying a girl who weighed less than a hundred pounds was no big deal.

A few hours later...

"Lady Yae, why don't we take a break?" Natsuki suggested from where she sat on Yae's back. By now, she trusted this beautiful half-demon miko implicitly—if Yae wanted to harm her, she could've done so long ago.

Yet instead, Yae had carried her for such a long time.

"All right!"

Yae found a suitable spot nearby and carefully set Natsuki down.

It must be because of the Gyakushin Miko's body. After carrying Natsuki for hours, Yae Sakura didn't feel even a little tired. This added to her understanding of what an SSS-rank Gyakushin Miko could do.

But... even now, Yae Sakura wasn't sure how powerful she was in this world.

If she tried to compare it to video games, it was hard to say. But if she thought about it like Honkai Impact 3...

In that game, an S-rank Valkyrie could fight against a Herrscher who wanted to destroy human civilization. So what would an SSS-rank Valkyrie be able to do?

Yae Sakura couldn't even imagine it.

After all, Cecilia—the S-rank Mother in law—could face off against Sirin.

So an SSS-rank Valkyrie should have no problem taking on the Herrscher of Finality, right?

(TL Note: Hmmmm...)

Yae Sakura wasn't completely sure about that. When she became "Yae Sakura"... it seemed like she'd just been dropped into someone else's role. Even though she knew how to use skills and sword techniques from the memories in her head, they weren't things she'd practiced herself. She still needed to get used to them bit by bit.

Still, even without being fully comfortable with everything, shouldn't she be able to handle some big monsters in this world? At least, that's what she hoped.

She wouldn't know for sure until she actually fought something.

-

By now, it was evening. Strangely, even with Natsuki on her back, Yae Sakura hadn't encountered a single monster.

Shouldn't these creatures find Natsuki tempting? Even if she isn't as appealing as Tang Seng's flesh, she's still pretty good.

(TL Note: a reference to the famous legend in Journey to the West, where demons seek to eat Tang Seng's flesh for immortality)

As Yae Sakura pondered this, suddenly there came a loud rumbling noise.

It sounded like an empty stomach grumbling.

Yae Sakura turned around to see Natsuki clutching her belly, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"You're hungry?"

"I..." Natsuki looked at Yae Sakura, wanting to say she wasn't hungry, but... the words wouldn't come out.

She really was hungry.

"Let's look for something to eat nearby! It'll be dark soon, so we need to find a place to stay for the night." Yae Sakura stood up and glanced at the sky. Nightfall was approaching quickly; continuing their journey now wouldn't be wise.

"Okay."

Yae Sakura continued carrying Natsuki on her back when her fox ears twitched slightly. She immediately heard a small animal's voice.

Quickly running over with Natsuki still on her back, she jumped onto a large tree, stood on a branch, broke off another one... and threw it directly into some bushes about knee-high.

A series of shrill cries erupted.

Yae Sakura jumped down and picked up the branch... which had stabbed right through a black rabbit's body.

"This will be our dinner tonight!"

The rabbit in front of them was quite big, enough for both of them to eat their fill.

Next, Yae Sakura took Natsuki to a small stream and started preparing the rabbit.

At that moment, Yae realized her fox ears were incredibly useful. Most of the time she could ignore unimportant sounds, but when needed, they let her hear even faint noises from far away.

Like the rustling of rabbits or the flow of water.

It was practically a godsend for surviving in the wilderness!

After finishing with the rabbit, they unexpectedly found several palm-sized fish in the creek. With these... Yae quickly used her keen hearing to find a suitable place to stay for a while.

A dry cave.

Inside the cave, they built a fire and cooked the rabbit and fish meat.

Yae tried a bit of it but couldn't eat more. Compared to what she'd eaten before, this tasted only like raw animal flesh—definitely hard to swallow.

Of course... The main reason was probably that Yae wasn't hungry yet. If she were starving, maybe everything would taste good?

Just think about Bear Grylls—if he had no food... he'd probably eat anything.

"Lord Yae, aren't you going to eat?" Natsuki held some grilled meat, looking hesitantly at Yae Sakura.

"You can have it all! I'm not hungry."

"Oh..."

Natsuki took a few bites of her food, gazing at Yae Sakura before her. Without realizing it, she found herself becoming somewhat entranced.

Despite being a woman and even a half-demon like Yae, Natsuki felt an unprecedented sense of security just being near her. It was stronger than what she'd ever felt with any samurai or even her own father.

She thought back to how Yae had fought those monsters earlier...

If only she could stay by my side all the time, she mused, I wouldn't have to be afraid of any monsters again.

"Lord Yae..." With this thought, Natsuki looked up at Yae Sakura.

"Hm?"

"When we get back to my home, would you... stay there and protect me?"

"Stay?" Yae Sakura looked at her in surprise. "But I'm a half-demon! Are you sure that doesn't bother you?"

"It doesn't bother me at all. You're a good person, Lord Yae!"

A good person?

The first time someone had called her that in her entire life—and it came from a child no less!

"No!" But Yae still refused.

"Why not?" Natsuki couldn't understand.

"You might not care, but what about your father and others? They might feel differently." Besides... Yae could never stay somewhere just because of one person.

Putting aside the fact that Yae Sakura was now female, even if she were male, it would be impossible for her to fall in love with anyone.

I'm leaving this world eventually; I can't let attachments hold me back. So... regardless of whether someone is a guy or girl, they'll only ever be a friend at most.

There's no way I'd stay in any world just because of one person.

"You're right..." Hearing Yae Sakura's words, Natsuki calmed down. Considering my father's temper, it might not be so bad if she turned out human.

But if she turned out to be half-demon...