Ashen Valkyrie.
That was the name of the game I'd transmigrated into.
Genre: collectible mobile gacha. The kind they call a weeb gacha game.
The worldbuilding was a touch on the generic side.
Humanity on the brink of extinction, the Erosion Species as humanity's enemy.
Humanity creates Valkyries — biological weapons forged to fight the Erosion Species.
And the player, stepping into the shoes of a rookie Commander assigned to a frontier city, fights alongside the Valkyries against the Erosion Species… that was the setup.
*There'd probably be a dozen similar games if you went looking….*
Honestly, I didn't know the details all that well myself.
I'd only dabbled in it around launch, got bored, and quit.
My knowledge capped out somewhere around the early second chapter.
Why on earth had I transmigrated into this game? Quite the mystery.
Still, I did remember the popular characters.
This game had a surprisingly active fan community, as it turned out.
I'd been on the receiving end of a few NTR doujins, after all.
A Commander getting his Valkyrie stolen by some lowlife — that was pretty good stuff….
"…Hm? Oh, wait a second…."
Lost in my reminiscing, I startled at a sensation from below.
Just a nightgown and a pair of underwear, so the reaction was rather conspicuous.
I really should restrain myself from lewd thoughts when dressed like this….
Anyway. Back to the original topic.
The Leila I'd transmigrated into was a minor character in Ashen Valkyrie.
And not just any minor character — she was a death flag character who died an early, violent death.
So knowing that, what was the best course of action for me?
I mulled it over for a moment, then arrived at this conclusion.
"The obvious answer is to follow the original story as closely as possible, right?"
As far as I could tell, there was no real way to avoid Leila's death.
The moment she was dispatched to the city under the player's command, her death was already half-sealed.
Refuse to go because I don't want to?
Valkyries were essentially tools created for humanity's sake.
Once ordered to go, there was no such thing as the right to refuse.
*And even if I didn't go, that would cause its own set of problems.*
It felt like a dead end no matter how I looked at it.
Leila was a B-rank Valkyrie, considered quite capable.
Her death would prompt headquarters to dispatch an investigation team.
Which would lead them to discover an Erosion Species on the verge of becoming a catastrophic monster.
If I didn't die… humanity would probably be doomed, wouldn't it?
"If I'm fated to die either way, then dying happily is the best option!"
In the end, what mattered to me right now was this.
My death could deliver despair to the Commander.
It had clearly been traumatic enough that he suffered nightmares about it in the story.
Watching him writhe in that anguish would be my final gift.
But there was one fatal flaw in this plan.
"Hmm, but if things play out exactly like the original… I won't get to see the protagonist's suffering face."
The problem was one of perspective.
Think about it. Leila sends the Commander to the rear to keep him safe, then stays behind alone on the front line.
The Commander returns leading reinforcements, only to find Leila in a wretched, ruined state.
Yes. That sequence of events is wonderful in its own right.
Watching someone you depended on reduced to a mere lump of meat.
What kind of agonized expression would he make? Just imagining it made my heart race.
But if that's how it went, I obviously couldn't see the Commander's face.
What good was him suffering in front of my corpse? That would be like cooking a feast and handing it to the dog.
"In that case… I'm allowed to arrange things a little differently."
So here was the brilliant plan I'd devised.
Train hard enough to hold on until the Commander returns!
Endure the bloody battle against the Erosion Species until I'm barely clinging to life.
Then die in agony, calling out his name right before his eyes…!
"That's it, that's the one…! I really am a genius, aren't I?"
All right. Now that I had a plan, there was no time to be idle.
Nothing would change if I just sat around.
To get what I wanted, I had to act.
I stripped off the nightgown, changed into fresh underwear, and opened the wardrobe.
Hanging in plain sight was exactly what I was looking for — a uniform.
The Combat Suit, they called it, the one that drew out a Valkyrie's power.
It had the overall look of a high-end school uniform.
"Perfect. A face that looks completely uninterested in anything lewd. I'm an absolute beauty…."
I slipped into the uniform and gazed at my reflection in the mirror with quiet admiration.
The kind of face that would probably blush just from holding a man's hand.
On a whim, I lifted the hem of the skirt — the thrill of transgression was extraordinary.
Of course, if I'd worn something like this in my original body, I'd have been sick to my stomach.
But a beautiful girl truly is invincible. I could have changed in and out of it all day.
After checking my appearance, I folded my arms and thought for a moment.
From here on, I'd have to perform as the real Leila.
I tried to recall what kind of personality she'd had in the original story.
*Leila was the diligent, composed class-representative type. She used formal speech with everyone, had a slightly strict side to her…. Right. I'll be careful not to slip into casual speech.*
With Leila's image firmly in mind, I began to brainwash myself.
I am a diligent, composed class representative. Diligent and composed….
Once I'd settled into the role well enough, I finally stepped out of the room.
The outside was, as expected, an utterly unfamiliar space.
The overall aesthetic was distinctly futuristic.
It felt less like a military facility and more like a university campus.
I made my way down the corridor, carefully taking in my surroundings.
"Oh, Leila-senpai!"
"Yes. Hello."
"Good morning, Leila!"
"Good morning."
"Leila. I was hoping to ask you a small favor…."
"What kind of favor?"
Everyone I passed stopped to speak to me.
Valkyries, facility staff, civilians — all sorts.
Leila really was well-liked. It was almost surprising.
Since I was playing Leila right now, I had to keep up appearances.
I returned each greeting with a gentle smile.
Of course, I had absolutely no idea who any of them were. Who are you people, exactly.
"Phew… I'm exhausted…."
About an hour of that later.
I sank into a chair in a quiet lounge and took a moment to rest.
In my previous life, I'd gone out of my way to avoid getting tangled up with people.
It already felt like I'd exchanged more greetings than I had in the past two weeks combined.
Fortunately, it didn't seem like anyone had noticed I was a fake Leila.
All it took was smiling and pretending to listen — and everyone fell for it.
Easy. Being a beautiful girl really does lower the difficulty of life. I was almost enjoying it.
*Still, I can tell one thing. This isn't the city where the Commander is stationed.*
The city under the player's command was practically a desolate slum.
Located far from the heart of human civilization, out on the frontier.
The whole place had a lifeless, gloomy atmosphere hanging over it.
By contrast, the place I'd just been wandering through was brimming with energy.
Everyone had smiles on their faces, and the general standard of living seemed quite high.
In other words, this was still before Leila had been dispatched.
This was probably the city where Valkyrie central headquarters was located.
*Then I still have time.*
That was fortunate for me in more ways than one.
I hadn't even gotten used to my own body yet.
For a perfect death, I needed to get comfortable first.
I pulled out the terminal I'd found on the desk alongside my ID.
It worked more or less like a smartphone, and helpfully enough, I could check my schedule on it.
Today happened to be a day off with nothing on the agenda.
In that case, I decided to pay a visit to the training facilities.
"So this is the training facility…."
The training facility was larger than I'd expected.
The ceiling was several meters high. The walls were so far away they were barely visible.
And despite it being a day off, everyone seemed remarkably dedicated.
Here and there, Valkyries could be seen putting their bodies through their paces.
On top of that, I could faintly hear the sound of gunfire from somewhere nearby.
There must have been a shooting range attached. Now that was interesting.
*Guns… I want to try shooting one.*
Still, checking my physical capabilities came first.
After wandering around for a bit, I found the changing room and swapped into workout clothes.
Then I loosened up and began testing what this body could do.
The results were, as expected, well beyond common sense.
*A 100-kilogram dumbbell feels about right…. Just how strong am I?*
Valkyries were biological weapons built to fight the Erosion Species.
More precisely, they were artificial humans — human beings as a base, with all manner of modifications layered on top.
Their physical strength far surpassed anything an ordinary human could achieve.
And it wasn't just raw strength.
Their running speed was closer to that of a four-legged animal.
Their durability — they'd probably walk away from being hit by a truck without a scratch.
On top of all that, every individual Valkyrie possessed a unique ability bordering on the supernatural.
It wasn't an exaggeration to call them a different kind of life form wearing a human shape.
*Well, the Erosion Species are monsters that even these Valkyries struggle to handle.*
The astonishing thing was that even these monstrous Valkyries were swept aside like ants before the Erosion Species.
What kind of creatures was humanity even fighting?
It made sense that they'd been pushed to the brink of extinction.
"Phew…. It moves better than I expected. Maybe the body remembers on its own."
Having worked up a decent sweat, I looked down at my hands.
I'd just run through a light sparring session with one of the combat dummies stationed nearby.
My body had moved freely and exactly as I'd intended, without a single hitch.
It felt less like my mind was directing my body and more like my body already knew what to do.
At this rate, I didn't need to worry about dying some pathetic, meaningless death.
That aside — I was a little tired, so I'd take a breather.
I grabbed the towel I'd brought, wiped the sweat from my face, and dropped to the floor.
And at that moment, an irritable voice came from behind me.
"Hey, useless princess. I don't think this is the kind of place you belong."
"…Arishia?"
I turned around to find, of all things, a familiar face.
More precisely, one of the characters who appeared in Ashen Valkyrie.
A petite beauty with hair the color of blazing fire.
Her name was Arishia. An A-rank Valkyrie who wielded a massive axe.
Young, but a prodigy whose exceptional skill had earned her recognition….
For reasons I couldn't quite place, she was actively hostile toward me in real time.
*Were we on bad terms? No, wait — I didn't even know Leila and she knew each other in the first place.*
Without knowing the circumstances, it was hard to say anything.
I forced an awkward smile while internally breaking into a cold sweat.
Arishia stepped toward me with purpose.
She looked down at me with an expression of undisguised displeasure.
"Shouldn't a precious lady like you be off in some office making coffee for the higher-ups? What are you doing here? It's not like you ever train."
Ah. Oh. I see how it is.
Now I understood why she was showing hostility.
Arishia was a rebel who pursued nothing but strength.
She had a deep dislike for anyone weak or in the way.
The type of character who'd tell you to get lost if you were going to drag her down.
Leila, by contrast, wasn't particularly strong in terms of raw ability.
But she was the type who earned trust through her personality and leadership.
So from Arishia's perspective, Leila was someone who acted important without the strength to back it up — exactly the kind of person she couldn't stand.
*Well, Leila does lack talent, to be fair.*
Though Leila had a bit of a grievance here, too.
She was one of the hardest-working Valkyries around, by any measure.
She simply had no natural gift for combat. That was all.
Even reaching B-rank had required drawing out every last drop of her potential.
Leila had found other ways to be useful beyond fighting, and it was through that effort that she'd earned the upper echelons' trust — nothing more.
So Arishia's attitude right now was nothing but childish petulance.
Pointless and unhelpful in every conceivable way.
*So this is what Arishia was like before she got her act together.*
What a tiresome little brat….
I kept the smile on my face while quietly feeling annoyed on the inside.
I had a rather twisted personality, after all. When someone showed me malice, I wanted to return it in kind.
And then, a good idea occurred to me.
Beneath all that bluster, Arishia was actually soft-hearted.
Classic tough exterior, gentle interior. A tsundere, you might say.
Which meant that if I handled her trauma carefully, there might be room to wrap her around my finger.
Eventually, Arishia would come to look up to Leila like an older sister.
And if I died right in front of her when that happened… oh, my… *yes*….
*This is entirely Arishia's fault.*
She's a bad girl who goes around dismissing other people's hard work without a second thought.
So she deserves to be targeted by a bad adult like me. Consider it punishment.
I smiled darkly to myself and rose to my feet.
"Arishia, does it bother you that I'm here in the training facility?"
"Obviously! If someone like you — someone who only pretends to try — hangs around the training facility, it'll rub off on everyone else!"
"Hmm…. In that case, let's settle this."
"Hah?"
"One-on-one sparring. The loser grants the winner one wish — whatever they want. How does that sound?"
With her competitive streak, there was no way she could turn down an offer like that.