HI3: I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

As Yae Sakura, now further aligned with Kallen, continued to articulate their plans and sought the villagers' input, it became clear that even if disagreement arose, neither Sakura nor Kallen would be swayed.

The villagers faced a stark choice: either wait to starve or continue sacrificing others to appease the nonexistent fox spirit. However, with the previous ritual disrupted, simply resuming sacrifices wouldn't quell the supposed fox spirit's anger. Moreover, the village's only two remaining miko were off-limits to them.

-

However, the situation did not turn out as complicated as imagined. Upon learning that this spiritual entity named Kallen could bring rain, the villagers agreed to the arrangement. Even though they would have to hand over a portion of their harvest, as long as they wouldn't starve, they reluctantly assented.

For the most part, there was no opposition.

Without any objections, the decision was made: Yae Sakura would inherit the Shrine and become the Manager of Yae Village.

The rain... would soon fall!

-

After the matter had been settled and the villagers began to disperse on their own, Sakura turned to look at Kallen standing beside her. Suddenly being entrusted with the shrine and managing the village...felt like an enormously heavy burden to Yae Sakura.

Even if, as Kallen had explained, she wouldn't really need to worry about anything—aside from a few necessary tasks—all she would have to do is wait for the villagers to hand over their harvests.

But Yae Sakura still felt the weight of responsibility. Taking over the shrine meant she couldn't just leave everything to chance. Even if these villagers no longer inspired fondness in her...

"All right, don't fret over the rest. You still have me here..." Kallen patted Yae Sakura's head, thinking of ancient times when...even those in their early teens could become remarkably accomplished leaders.

After all, in this world, one was considered an adult at thirteen. In just about two years, Yae Sakura would come of age herself.

"Then... about the rain, Kallen ... is it really okay?" Yae Sakura now fully believed that Kallen was indeed a divine being, and one who protected her and her sister.

Bringing someone back from the dead was effortless for this Godly Being, so a mere rain shouldn't be a problem. Still, Yae couldn't shake off her worries.

If it meant too much strain, Yae would rather abandon this village and leave altogether.

"Of course... don't fret!"

True rainfall wasn't within Kallen's powers...

However, conjuring an artificial downpour was well within reach. As a Valkyrie wielding control over ice elements and armed with a weaponry arsenal comprising over 80% of the Honkai World's armaments, creating rain wasn't an issue.

There was no cost or sacrifice required, which formed the core of Kallen's confidence.

Apart from a Valkyrie's divine might, her most potent advantage was undoubtedly the rows of weapons, Stigmata, and items stocked in her repository.

-

Kallen didn't dawdle after promising the rain.

She swiftly found her desired weapons in the warehouse—massive cannons with attributes of icy frost and raging flames.

Ascending to the mountain's peak overlooking Yae Village, Kallen materialized two colossal cannons in her hands: Frost Rain and Ice Roar.

"Frigid essence, ascend!"

"Freeze!"

Empowered by Kallen's affinity for ice, the inherent skills of both weapons surged towards the sky.

Vast amounts of icy essence coalesced above, absorbing every nearby water molecule. Even the drifting clouds were encased in ice, transforming into unimaginably large blocks that began their descent.

Just as they were about to crash to the ground, the two ice-elemental cannons vanished from Kallen's hands.

A colossal cannon, reminiscent of a samurai's Heelmet, materialized in Kallen's hands once more. It was the 5-star giant cannon, Flint Sanada...

The Flint Sanada, born from the tumultuous era of ancient Japan's civil wars, held a storied past. After a mysterious white-haired stranger slew the Honkai Beast known as "Fire Devourer" in the far reaches of the East, the renowned bladesmith Nagamitsu honed its scales into this formidable flintlock cannon. He then bestowed it upon a dear friend.

This extraordinary weapon was a giant cannon bearing immense power, forged from the elemental essence of flame.

"Flame... Guided Missile!" In an instant, Kallen unleashed the potent blast towards the plummeting icy cloud.

Moments later, Kallen retracted her giant cannon, reached for her crow mask, and firmly placed it upon her face.

Her body transformed into a wraith-like shadow, materializing directly in mid-air.

With a flourish of her arms, an enormous crow's shadow took shape above Kallen's head.

"Elemental... Transmutation..."

-

An unannounced deluge descended from the sky, its scope confined to the entire village of Yae. Regardless of its strangeness, this torrential rain arrived just in time to save the crops in Yae village.

As for everywhere else?

No one spared a thought for how other places fared...

Though this downpour was undeniably peculiar, it... regardless of its origin, was a life-saving rain. Clearly, that unexpectedly appearing "Godly Being" had indeed fulfilled its promise.

Regarding what Yae Sakura had initially said, no one dared to utter another word.

From this moment on, alongside the fox spirit they had traditionally revered, Yae village gained another divine presence.

Unlike the elusive, invisible fox spirit, this was a Godly Being truly manifest before their eyes. As for the Yae Sakura sisters accompanying this deity, the villagers ceased whispering behind their backs.

-

Over a month had passed. On this day... natural rain fell outside the shrine. Whether by chance or not, ever since Kallen's last artificial rain, the great drought seemed to have vanished.

The weather across Shinano returned to normal, with no further shortage of rainfall.

Today's rain was just... ordinary rain...

Kallen sat at the window, watching the rain outside...

She felt a sense of limitation in her powers. Though she possessed great strength, capable of effortlessly freezing an entire mountain, transforming ice into water... she found surprisingly challenging.

If not for the collision of ice and fire during her last attempt, which produced enough water vapor, the rain might not have materialized at all.

She felt her powers were too specialized. Shee could effortlessly turn water into ice, but reversing the process proved to be exponentially more difficult.

While this had its drawbacks, focusing on a single element allowed her to harness its destructive potential more effectively. In essence, mastering one skill to perfection often yields better results than spreading oneself too thin across multiple abilities.

-

"Kallen, Kallen! I made rice balls! Want one?"

As Kallen pondered, the child version of Yae Sakura walked in with an enormous rice ball in her little hand—a lump of sticky rice nearly as big as a grown-up's head.

One wondered if Sakura does it on purpose, but her rice balls were always colossal.

"I want it!" Despite its size, Kallen couldn't help but crave it. She'd tried this combo before—sticky rice with pickles—and it was truly outstanding. Especially since those pickles were personally brined by the young girl herself.