HI3: I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

"Is there any more of this originium? I'm willing to pay a high price—20,000 gold! Even 30,000 is fine..." Rozaliya tucked away the originium, her gaze fixed covetously on Amiya.

This originium is essentially crystal form! she realized.

Even if each piece cost tens of thousands of gold, Rozaliya glanced at her overflowing treasury of over a hundred million gold coins. She'd take as much as she could get her hands on.

"Um... Is this originium that important to you, Lord Hero?" Amiya observed Rozaliya's excitement.

"Yes, with enough originium, my power could instantly multiply several times over." In the System store, experience chips and character fragments could be directly purchased with crystals.

"If I could convert enough originium to crystals, I could instantly max out my potential! No more need for tedious quests."

"I see. But I'm very sorry," Amiya hesitated before continuing, "Even the originium I possess is limited, and I certainly wouldn't use it to trade for gold."

"There are no veins of pure Originium in this world," Eyjafjalla explained patiently, although she still wasn't sure what Rosaliya needed the stones for. "Only very occasionally can they be found in veins of Magicite."

The world of Eudora had a type of energy vein called "Magicite". It contained a rich energy that could be used like fossil fuels or electricity on Earth.

Originium, on the other hand, could be thought of as the essence or "mother" stone to Magicite. It was extremely rare and could not be mass produced.

Every single piece of Originium was roughly equivalent to thousands of ordinary Magicite in terms of energy content, and moreover, its energy was far purer. As such, only a handful of people in all the realm possessed even a single piece of Originium.

"I see..." Rosaliya replied, her spirits deflating...

She had thought she'd struck gold, but alas, it seemed like just a drop in the bucket...

"But if the Hero truly needs Originium, I happen to have five pieces here," Eyjafjalla said, taking out the five pieces and offering them to Rosaliya. "Please consider them a gift from me to you, mighty Hero!"

"Thank you so much!" Five pieces of Originium are equivalent to 150 crystals! Rosaliya gratefully accepted the offer without hesitation.

"It's no trouble at all. I'm delighted to be of help to the Hero," Eyjafjalla said with a genuine smile, gazing at Rosaliya.

After spending some time at the royal palace, night began to fall.

Rozaliya and her companions didn't rush to leave. Instead, they decided to stay overnight in the palace and depart together the next day.

When they arrived, it had been four of them; now there were two more, making a total of six.

Neither Rozaliya nor Liliya could have anticipated acquiring four followers so quickly.

A vanguard, a bodyguard, a mage, and an assassin-assistant—the only ones missing were a tank (TM) and a healer. With those additions, their party would be perfectly balanced.

-

The six of them first rented a dragon carriage in the capital.

It was a type of earth dragon unique to this world, or one could say it resembled a dinosaur.

These dragons had far better endurance and speed than horses, making the dragon carriages more popular than horse-drawn ones— if it didn't cost so much.

At a dragon carriage's speed, they would reach the border in less than half a day.

Rozaliya and Liliya sat inside the enclosure, with Skyfire and Cellinia guarding them from either side. Savage and Platinum drove the earth dragon outside the carriage.

"Rozaliya-dono, do you require Origin Stone urgently?" Skyfire, the cat-eared girl, observed Cellinia closely taking care of Rozaliya and Liliya.

Feeling that she also needed to contribute something, as she was now a follower of the Hero, Skyfire realized that she must be more affectionate towards her. To gain the trust of the Hero Lord, otherwise... she might be abandoned.

Skyfire didn't want to be discarded by the Hero, especially since it was her own kind... a demi-human Hero.

The opportunity to follow the Hero had been secured by her teacher for her, so she couldn't let down his expectations. Skyfire knew that if it wasn't for the kingdom's needs, her teacher would have gladly followed these two demi-human Hero Lords himself.

"I suppose we could use some..." Rozaliya held Lilia close as the uneven road caused the dragon carriage to sway gently. The rhythmic motion had Lilia drifting off to sleep.

"I have two pieces of originium here, given to me by my teacher. Please, Lady Rozaliya, accept these!" Skyfire produced two pieces of originium from her person and offered them to Rozaliya.

"Huh? I can't take these; since your teacher gave them to you, you should keep them!" Rozaliya shook her head immediately upon hearing this. Although she desired crystals, she couldn't bring herself to snatch something dear to someone else.

"Originium doesn't benefit me much. I already possess my own magic wand, and these crystals can't amplify my power. It would be better if Lady Rozaliya used them to enhance her strength. I'm sure my teacher wouldn't object."

"Lady Rozaliya, this is Skyfire's heartfelt gesture. Please accept it!" Cellinia, standing beside Rozaliya, chimed in persuasively.

"Well... then I'll keep them here for now!" After a moment of hesitation, Rozaliya acquiesced, her usual principles taking a backseat.

The allure of sixty crystals was simply too potent.

As he saw Rozaliya accept the originium, Skyfire's tension eased slightly. At least the Hero didn't dislike her... yet.

"Lady Rozaliya, Lady Liliya, we've reached our destination."

After hours of travel, the dragon carriage came to a halt. Platinum poked his head inside and respectfully addressed the twins.

"We're finally here! Liliya, wake up, it's time to get off," Rozaliya said, her backside sore from sitting so long. Though her head might be stubborn, her rear certainly couldn't take much more!

"Rozaliya, carry me down," Liliya mumbled, not even bothering to open her eyes.

"You lazy bum! Fine, I guess I'll have to carry you!"

Rozaliya, resigned, hoisted Liliya onto her back and descended from the carriage.

-

Rozaliya and Liliya set their bags down by the side of the train, joining the other four. Only then did they realize they were the shortest girls in their group! Crap...

Liliya and Rozaliya were barely over four feet and a half, while even the shortest among the four was nearly five.

A slight wave of frustration washed over them, but they quickly steadied their spirits as they admired the four new members' outfits.

After a moment's contemplation, Rozaliya unsheathed a blade of pure red from within her inventory and offered it to Cellinia.

"Cellinia, you mentioned your prowess with the sword before! This 'Demon Blade Muramasa' was once my trusted weapon; now, I entrust it to you!"

Rozaliya retrieved the three-star katana, Demon Blade Muramasa, from her inventory and handed it to Cellinia.

(TL Note: Otherwise known as Muramasa Bloodlust in the game.)