Honkai Impact 3rd: Don't Die For Me/ Book 3 Paradise

Chapter 5 Lessons

"I can be valuable. I have experience managing a village on my own. Even if you can't put me in her squad a lower position is fine. I can't just train every day."

Frederick considered Sakura's request. She had even brought a resume outlining all her methods of combat—the chants she used to cleanse "spirits" and so on. It was an impressive resume, one deserving of a team leader but if only Frederick could understand precisely what she meant by quelling spirits through festival. There were quite a few terms and dialect that was lost by distance. Though the world shared a language it was difficult to draw parallels between different dialects. At worst the dialects of the East and the West could be considered almost entirely different languages. This was of course mostly taking vocabulary into account.

"I'm aware of your strength but it's come to my understanding that you work alone, yes?"

Sakura shifted in her cushion. For some reason, she insisted on conducting this interview on the floor. For professionalism she said. Frederick complied he seemed to be quite the gentleman.

"Yes, but I've worked with Kallen and if my mother hadn't died I would've helped her in her duties."

"Hmm," Frederick pondered scratching his chin. He seemed to be in deep thought but he wasn't. The conclusion of the interview was reached long before Sakura reached out to him. There were enough reasons to reject her anyway. A foreign agent, new systems, and self-agency. Valkyries were trained to work as teams. Even the lowest-ranking Valkyrie had impeccable teamwork drilled into them when starting their training. "I'm sorry. I don't think I can accept you. Especially if you want to work alone."

"Why? Even a weak position is fine. I-"

"There are few valkyries that can forgo mingling with others. Most come from the Kaslana household. Our knights too. In this city, Kallen is currently the only one that can operate alone. If you can't reach her level of strength-"

"Working with others isn't that hard to learn. I'll climb like any other. Or perhaps I can scout for beasts. My techniques allow me to transcend sound. Besides there are several occupations I can substitute in place of becoming a Valkyrie."

Frederick stiffened as Sakura brought out a stack of parchment. He was busy enough as is. This special treatment for Sakura was not how he wanted to spend his precious minutes of rest.

"You don't have time to read all this but here's a list of jobs I can fit into."

Frederick's gaze softened as the carefully prepared table of contents fitted into his hands. He didn't know what to expect from Sakura, he kind of thought that she'd be like Kallen. In less than a minute he handed back the paper, shaking his head miserably.

"I'm sorry but I can't give you any of these jobs. The prerequisites are too demanding. Twenty years of work experience. Graduating from a top vocational school-"

"It's not about giving me a job is it?"

Sakura stared him eye to eye. They were both kneeling on cushions and Sakura's tall stature was something that Frederick couldn't look away from. She was of course shorter than him but her fox ears gave her a commanding presence.

'She's going to a fearsome mother.' Frederick thought. 'Wait how are they going to have children? No, that's not important. She knows anyways I can't hide it from her.'

"If you could choose something that doesn't endanger you I can consider it. You've done well organizing your options and I see you've quickly adapted to our dialect. Maybe a position managing the safety of others. Or maybe you can become my assistant and help me manage some of my paperwork."