The story of the black silk female knight

Valensa carefully examined the color of the sausage, smelled it, and only after confirming that there was nothing wrong with it did she take a big bite and break it off.

She was indeed quite hungry.

"No need to rush... I'm a succubus, I won't steal your food. Just eat slowly."

Seeing this, Lika covered her mouth and laughed, then picked up milk and scallion buns from the food cart and handed them to Valensa.

Valensa didn't stand on ceremony and wolfed down her food.

After eating her fill, Valensa patted her belly and prepared to get up:

"Can I go now? I still have class today. I'm the top student, I can't just skip class."

"Don't worry, I've already contacted the War Academy and asked for leave for you."

Lika, however, pushed Valensa back onto the bed:

"So you'll just stay here with me today... Actually, I've wanted to have a good talk with you for a while, but I've been a bit busy lately, so I've been putting it off until now."

"Uh...you've been wanting to find me for a while now?"

Valensa was a little surprised. She thought the succubus just hadn't had enough fun with her yet, but now it seemed she had something serious to do.

"Yes, I've been wanting to find you for a long time... This is also one of the main tasks I was assigned to your Kingdom of Fran from the Continent of Gods."

Lika smiled:

"Also, you don't need to use honorifics when addressing me, just call me Sister Rika."

"Uh... okay then, Rika-nee~~"

Valensa certainly wouldn't refuse such a change of address that could bring her closer to the big shot, and she immediately called out to him in a very obedient tone.

"Haha."

Lika then gently rubbed Valensa's cheek, her expression turning serious:

“I haven’t been to the continent of Frenoia for many years. The last time I came, the patriarch of your Baldr family was your grandfather… Have you heard anything about your family and the Church of the Sun from your father?”

"No, my father never mentioned anything about it to me."

Valensa first shook her head, then tentatively asked:

"However, I've heard some news from other sources, and I have some guesses myself... It seems that our Badr family has a very close relationship with the Church of the Sun? Like, in cahoots?"

"They're all in cahoots... Well, that's not entirely wrong, but it's not entirely accurate either."

Lika shook her finger:

"To be precise, all the heads of the Badr family throughout history have been secret members of our church... I have worked with three heads of the Badr family, including your grandfather."

So how old are you this year?

The words lingered on Valensa's lips for a few moments, but she managed to swallow them back.

In any world, it is very impolite to casually inquire about a woman's age, especially since Rika is a Star-level succubus with a lifespan of at least a thousand years.

Valensa remained focused on her own family matters:

"Have all the heads of our family been secret members of the church? What positions did they hold?"

"Well..."

Lika hesitated for a moment, then her expression became even more serious:

“I can tell you everything, but once you hear all this, it means you are willing to inherit this responsibility passed down through generations of the Badr family. Are you prepared for that?”

"Does this position grant high authority? Can it access secrets that are blocked by the church?"

Valensa thought for a moment and then asked in return.

This kind of responsibility passed down through generations sounds complicated, but to investigate the truth of that year, one must rely on the power of the Church of the Sun or find clues within the church. Valensa was quite tempted.

"High level of privileges."

Lika didn't hide anything about this issue:

"Even higher than my authority... As long as you can successfully inherit that position, you can even order me to cooperate with your actions in the future."

"so smart?"

Valensa was even more surprised, then nodded decisively:

“Go ahead and say it, Sister Rika. I’m prepared for this.”

"Well...to be honest, I really hope you can inherit this position smoothly, after all, I've always had a good relationship with your Badr family."

Lika laughed:

"However, I only have the right to nominate and recommend. Whether you can be officially appointed depends on your performance and the judgment of the headquarters of the Divine Favor Continent."

"Does the church headquarters on the Divine Continent still need to make a judgment? What exactly is this position?"

Valensa became even more curious.

"This position is called the Inner Templar Knight, which is directly under the jurisdiction of the Grand Master of the Holy Knights. There is usually only one such person in each national-level human government, and they wield great power when necessary."

Lika explained earnestly:

"The Inner Temple Knights do not interfere in the daily affairs of the Church, but when it comes to critical moments, paladin captains like myself and those high priests must unconditionally cooperate with the Inner Temple Knights."

"This...this is too amazing!"

Valensa's surprise was genuine.

The captain of the Holy Knights and the High Priest of the Church of the Sun are both powerful figures above the Star-level, and are definitely big shots in the church.

Valensa had previously guessed that her father might be a high-ranking informant for the church, but it turned out that he was likely the highest-ranking member of the Church of the Sun in the Kingdom of Fran.

"So what exactly are the Inner Temple Knights responsible for?"

After her initial surprise, Valensa couldn't wait to ask again.

"The responsibilities of the Inner Temple Knights... um."

This time, Lika didn't answer directly, but instead asked Valensa a question:

"Do you know what responsibilities we paladins bear, or what work we have to do, besides upholding the majesty of Her Majesty the Sun Goddess?"

"The work of a paladin..."

Valensa thought for a moment, then answered by counting on her fingers:

"Help the followers of Her Majesty the Goddess fight against natural disasters, defeat powerful monsters that threaten human settlements, capture or kill vicious criminals, and eradicate various cult members?"

"Well, that's about it... In short, apart from not interfering in the country's internal affairs, many of the tasks of the army, the guard, and the adventurers fall under the responsibilities of us paladins."

Lika nodded:

"Work such as fighting natural disasters and exterminating monsters is basically handled by us ordinary paladins. The responsibility of the inner paladins, on the other hand, is to deal with people... to be precise, those in the upper class."

"Targeting the upper class? Nobles and wealthy merchants?"

Valensa frowned:

"Why? Doesn't the Church of the Sun not interfere in politics?"

"It has nothing to do with politics; we are just doing our duty."

Lika shrugged:

"Human ambition is often proportional to power and wealth... Did you know that many cults are actually supported by nobles, and there have even been cases where nobles wanted to sacrifice everyone in their own territory to summon evil gods?"

Chapter 64 The Work of the Inner Temple Knights

"Cults are often supported by the upper class, such as nobles and wealthy merchants... indeed."

Valensa nodded thoughtfully:

"Even fanatical cultists need various daily necessities such as food and clothing, and it is difficult for them to obtain these through legitimate channels. Stealing or robbing is easy to be discovered... Therefore, the fact that they can remain hidden for a long time must mean that someone is supporting them."

But ordinary paladins could also deal with these cult protectors, right? The guards should be more than willing to cooperate with sinners like this who have violated both the kingdom's laws and the church's canon.

“That’s true in theory… but the most cunning thing about the upper class is that they often use the laws and rules that should be punishing them to protect themselves.”

Lika shrugged helplessly:

"With the premise that the church does not interfere in the internal affairs of the country, it is difficult to really take action against those nobles unless we have solid evidence... If we take a slightly tougher stance, they will clamor and question whether we want to interfere in secular power."

The guards are often bribed by the nobles with small favors and are unwilling to cooperate with our investigations. They may even protect the nobles... unless there is conclusive evidence.

But decisive evidence isn't so easy to obtain. Those cult members are prone to self-destruction and self-sacrifice; capturing them alive is extremely difficult.

"So that's how the Inner Temple Knights came about?" Valensa asked with a smile.

"Yes, that's why the Inner Temple Knights came into being."

Lika nodded:

"You should have guessed it by now, right? That's right, the inner paladins are basically like your father. On the surface, they are not members of the church, but rather one of the great nobles of their respective countries."

The infighting among nobles would prevent the church from finding fault with their internal affairs, and they could also use various means to secretly gather intelligence.

Afterwards, as long as it is revealed in the struggle that one of the nobles has a connection with the cult, we paladins can openly intervene and cooperate with the inner temple knights to wipe out the target in one fell swoop.

This was the most important task of the Knights of the Temple: to monitor the powerful and influential in various countries for the Church, and to promptly identify or eliminate those who acted as protectors of cults and perpetrators of crimes against humanity.

"That's true..."

Valensa's expression suddenly became somewhat complicated.

Tia had previously guessed from her father's conversations with others that the Badr family might be traitors planted by the church among the nobles, and it turned out to be true.

If even Tia could guess those things from just a few words, then the royal family and the core figures of the kingdom, such as the Britannia family, who have more information, must have known about it long ago, right?

that……

"Could it be that the reason our family is in trouble is because the French royal family is behind it all? Is it because my father's identity has been exposed?" Valensa asked, speculating.

"No, probably not."

Lika shook her head:

"The identity of the Inner Temple Knights is basically known to the rulers and core leaders of every country... Although it is not explicitly stated, everyone has always tacitly understood it."

The main duty of the inner paladins was indeed to monitor the nobles, but they posed little threat to the highest-ranking royals and nobles, and had a mutually beneficial relationship with them.

Because those at the very top control the most resources and interests; what they need is not further advancement, but rather to maintain the existing order.

The nobles who support cults, or are cults themselves, are mostly small and medium-sized nobles. Their ambition makes them dissatisfied with the existing distribution of benefits and they want to continue to climb up the social ladder, eliminating the nobles at the top and replacing them.

These people are a major problem for both vested interests and those who maintain order, and they are happy to have someone like the Inner Templars to help them eliminate potential threats.

The reason I returned to Frankish was because the Frankish royal family hinted to the Church that they hoped the Church would select new Knights of the Temple as soon as possible.

"So, Sister Rika, you're here to select a new Inner Templar Knight?"

Valensa blinked:

"So, you chose me because of my relationship with our family?"

"more or less."

Lika smiled and gently rubbed Valensa's face again:

"The Church still takes care of its own people... As long as you haven't explicitly said you're giving up, you're the first choice for the new Inner Templar Knight... The reason they sent me here is because they took into account my relationship with your family."

Therefore, one of my most important tasks is to train you into a qualified new Inner Templar Knight.

"How can I become a new Inner Templar Knight?"

Valensa frowned slightly:

"Since a Knight of the Inner Temple must also be a nobleman... does that mean I have to go back to the Baldr family and try to seize the position of head of the family?"

"This is indeed one way, but you don't have to do it if you don't like it."

Lika smiled:

"Aren't you already the chief of the elite corps at the War Academy? This is a very good start. If you can make some more contributions in the fight against the wild beasts, you can definitely earn a new title on your own."

This is also a good way for you to prove your abilities to the church leadership... just like the Radiant Swordsman who founded your Baldr family.”

"Uh... Could it be that you, Sister Lika, know our family's ancestor?"

So how old are you anyway?! You actually expect me to call you "sister"... tsk.