The story of the black silk female knight

The two first put up a "Temporarily Closed" sign at Ms. Diana's shop before slowly comforting her as she became emotionally distraught.

In the end, Valensa and Tia did not return the stockings they had already bought, but they assured Ms. Dana that they would take good care of themselves and wear long skirts when necessary.

Seeing that Valensa and Tia finally took her advice to heart, and considering that these two were not the delicate girls they were, but rather quite capable, Ms. Dana calmed down.

Seeing this, Valencia pressed for more details about the psychopathic killer.

From any perspective, Valensa felt she should do everything in her power to find and kill this deranged killer.

“I’ve never seen that guy in person… but I have received letters from him, letters he wrote to me as a fan of mine.”

Recalling the past, Ms. Diana still seemed a little scared; her body trembled slightly as if she were very cold, and her arms involuntarily hugged her shoulders.

"On the surface, the letter seemed fine, praising my skills, but I noticed something amiss in some of the details."

As you probably know, I often choose more expensive materials to make stockings. Although stockings made this way can still be torn violently, they are much better than ordinary stockings in terms of corrosion resistance, colorfastness, and heat resistance.

That deranged serial killer was a complete bastard. The victims who fell into his hands were left with nothing but a pair of rotting legs that he discarded... There was no information on the legs that identified the victims, except that they would be wearing stockings that he bought from my store.

My stockings are all woven with magic. In the short time after they are made, they often retain some of my magic, which can remind me when I made them and which customer I sold them to.

The paladins and the guards used this method to confirm the identities of many victims from me... I also learned that the bastard's existence was not just a legend, and that he had been keeping a close eye on me, always targeting my clients.

Knowing this, the paladins and guards even used bait tactics... They had the beautiful female paladins and female guards wear short skirts and stockings that I made myself, and deliberately wander around outside every night to lure that bastard into their trap.

The result was a crushing defeat... The Church of the Sun fared better; that bastard didn't attack the paladin who used herself as bait. Perhaps that bastard didn't dare to provoke the Church of the Sun, but it's more likely that the paladin who used herself as bait was too strong.

But the female security guard was in a much worse situation... Not only did she die in the line of duty, suffering the same fate as the other victims, but the entire security team that was protecting her also vanished without a trace, and it is highly likely that they are dead.

It was after this incident that I finally decided to leave America and come to Fran with the merchant ship to reopen my shop… At first, I was worried that that bastard might come along, but so far, nothing like that tragedy has happened in Fran, so that bastard should still be in America.”

"That's it..."

Valensa had already imagined how twisted and depraved that legendary serial killer was, so when listening to Ms. Dana recount the past, she wasn't really affected by anger, but instead calmly analyzed the clues.

The first thing we need to determine is the approximate strength of that psychopathic killer.

"What was the strength of the paladin who used herself as bait during America's Church of the Sun's baiting operation?" Valensa asked.

"Starlight".

Chapter 21 Detective Valencia

Would a Star-level strength be enough to make that perverted serial killer back down?

This means that the perverted killer's strength is most likely below the Radiant Rank... even if it is, it would definitely not be stronger than the Star Radiant Rank.

Valensa made a rough judgment in her mind and then continued to press Ms. Dina for details about the contents of the fan letter from the psychopathic killer.

This was clearly a painful memory for Ms. Diana, but she gritted her teeth and persevered, trying her best to recall the contents of the letter.

"He really likes your work... you could even say he's obsessed with it."

Listening to Ms. Diana's description, Valensa gently rubbed her chin with her index finger and thumb, and after a rapid thought, she made a new judgment:

"Given his madness and paranoia, and his obsession with your work, he should have followed you to Fran to continue committing crimes, but he stayed in America instead."

"Yes."

Ms. Diana also agreed with Valensa's assessment:

“When I first arrived in Frankfurt, I was really afraid that he would come with me.”

“But he didn’t come, and it’s not that he didn’t want to come, but that he couldn’t come.”

Valensa's eyes lit up, and she said confidently:

"This shows that his living conditions are not good. At the very least, he does not have a decent job and no one can vouch for him. He cannot pass the cross-border verification between the two countries."

Just like Valencia needed a visa to travel abroad in her previous life, the movement of people between Fran and America also requires cross-border verification.

There are not only exit checks, but also entry checks. Both checks must be passed before one can travel between the two countries.

The requirements for this type of cross-border verification are actually not very high, and can be roughly divided into three points:

First, those crossing the border must have a respectable job… While it's called respectable, the requirements are actually quite low; even working as a hostess in a brothel is acceptable. This requirement is mainly to prevent unemployed troublemakers from embarrassing themselves abroad. Ordinary people with jobs can pass this requirement.

Second, those crossing the border need a valid reason... This is even simpler; doing business, traveling, or visiting relatives and friends are all acceptable. However, businesspeople will need to provide relevant documents and tax records to prove they are not smuggling.

Third, cross-border travelers need to have no criminal record... This is easy to understand; people with bad records are not welcome anywhere.

The legendary serial killer who committed crimes in America, despite being utterly wicked, was never caught by the Holy Knights or the Guard, so he had no criminal record, which fulfills the third condition for cross-border application.

The second condition for cross-border applications is practically nonexistent for individuals. As long as the first and third conditions are met, you can simply fill in "tourism" as the purpose of the cross-border application and it will be approved.

So what ultimately prevented the psychopathic killer from coming to Frankfurt was probably his failure to meet the first requirement for cross-border immigrants... He didn't have a job that could pass the review, and his income was very unstable, so his financial situation was not good.

A normal human being, even a psychopathic killer, will try to collect as many things as possible when faced with something they like... They will only consider discarding it after use if they absolutely cannot collect it.

In this world, there are actually many ways to preserve the legs of those victims, still wearing stockings, for the deranged killer to enjoy at his leisure, but he did not do so. Instead, he discarded them after the legs of those corpses began to rot.

From the letters the psychopath wrote to Ms. Dana, it's easy to see that the psychopath really liked those legs, like the most ardent collector facing the finest work of art... Normally, he would absolutely not be willing to let those legs rot and then discard them.

This shows that the psychopathic killer was not financially well-off and could not afford to collect things, so he could only keep committing crimes to satisfy his perverse desires.

Furthermore, the letter the psychopath wrote to Ms. Dana used many terms and descriptions that would only be used by professional female fashion designers... This suggests that the psychopath may have been engaged in related work or had studied related knowledge.

By piecing together all these deductions and clues, the range of possibilities for the psychopathic killer's identity was suddenly narrowed down considerably.

Low-paying and unstable jobs are likely to involve women's clothing or provide opportunities to learn about women's clothing.

"...Valenza, you are truly amazing. No wonder you have achieved what many people can only dream of at such a young age."

After listening to Valensa's analysis, Ms. Dana became visibly excited and looked very expectant.

"With your analysis and reasoning, can we...?"

"Yes, once I arrive in America, I will share this information with the paladin in charge of this case at the Church of the Sun."

Valensa did not disappoint Ms. Dana, nodding earnestly:

"This kind of bastard must be found and killed as soon as possible! We can't let innocent girls become victims of his perverted desires anymore!"

. . . . .

After Valensa and Tia learned about the Americana serial killer by chance from Ms. Dana, their remaining purchases went smoothly.

On the sixth day after the New Year, Princess Elses's delegation officially set sail from the port of the capital of Fran towards America.

Such a large-scale diplomatic mission naturally involved a large delegation, with thousands of French officials of all ranks.

Most of these administrative staff are not just talkative administrative officers, but highly professional business officers. After the important figures have agreed on the general cooperation plan, the finalization and execution of the details are all handled by these administrative staff.

Of course, every bureaucratic system has its share of people who are just there to fill positions, and Fran is no exception... Among these thousands of officials, nearly a hundred are people with connections who are basically relatives and family members of Fran nobles, and they want to use their positions as officials to travel to America.

In many people's eyes, Tia is just another example of a young lady who, as an official, infiltrated the delegation to America for a visit.

Tia didn't care. She openly followed Elserse around as the princess's military advisor, and naturally invited Valensa, as well as Yashiro and Lanzhi, who were originally on the Nora Merchant Guild's cargo ship.

Thus, the royal family's entertainment area on the highest deck of the Franco royal navy flagship was completely transformed into the private domain of three well-known Franco royal couples: Elsers and Gina, Valensa and Tia, and Yashilo and Lanzhi.

Chapter 22 Fleet

Valensa didn't know how many warships the French Navy had. She only knew that the flagship Elsers used on this mission was a super-large warship of the sea fortress class, a main warship with a displacement of over 10 tons, similar in size to the aircraft carrier in her previous life.

The Seravina.

However, the Seravina does not have the concept of displacement, and even most warships and cargo ships powered by magic do not have the concept of displacement.

Because when these ships are built, materials with good magical conductivity are selected, and the materials are solidified with an earth-based spell that can greatly reduce the effects of gravity.

Ships built in this way, even if they look similar to the large ships with a displacement of over 10 tons that Valensa lived in the past, often actually weigh only a few dozen tons.

This increased shipbuilding cost is a necessary evil for humanity... In fact, from a physics perspective, this design of a large but light ship is not good, as it makes the ship more like a balloon floating on water, making it easier for the wind and waves to capsize it.

Therefore, humanity needs to incur even greater costs to create magical barriers that can withstand wind and waves.

But there's nothing we can do about it, because there are just too many dangers in the deep sea. Even fully armed warships often sink due to monster attacks, let alone merchant ships carrying cargo.

To ensure safe navigation, merchant ships from Franco and America would choose to sail 300 to 500 meters close to the coast when traveling to and from the shore.

Being close to the shore gives the crew more options in case of danger. Furthermore, the waters near the coast are mostly shallow, insufficient to support the movement of large marine creatures.

However, shallow waters also prevent large ships of tens of thousands of tons from passing through. That's why humans try to reduce the weight of ships as much as possible during shipbuilding, making the draft as shallow as possible, so that they can navigate in relatively safe shallow sea areas.

The more than twenty Franzian warships that traveled to America with the Seravina all used this technology. Each of these ships, which looked like warships weighing tens of thousands of tons, probably weighed less than an overloaded truck.

Valensa was quite interested in these warships. She had been reincarnated into this world for almost 20 years and had never seen a naval battle in this world before.

These warships, of course, do not deploy naval cannons and missile launchers. Instead, they are equipped with magic towers of various sizes and a large, heavy crossbow that can rotate like a tank turret.

Those magic towers naturally ensured the warship's combat power, and were evenly distributed in every corner of the deck of each warship to ensure that any enemy discovered from any direction could be dealt with immediately.

The smallest of these magic towers is only three to five meters tall and can be controlled by a Pearl-level mage. Most of them are skilled at firing low-level attack spells in rapid succession, equivalent to the close-in weapon system of a technologically advanced warship.

The largest magic towers are more than ten times taller and often require multiple lighthouse-level mages or one radiant-rank mage to operate. They are also capable of both offense and defense.

It can unleash legendary spells with extremely destructive power, generate magical barriers to protect the entire ship, and greatly increase the ship's speed in a short period of time. It can even abandon the ship and take the naval officers and soldiers on board to escape using teleportation when necessary.

Generally speaking, the Franco Navy's warships are primarily powered by magic... Whatever Valensa's previous life's naval fleet could do with science, the Franco Navy could also do with magic. And there are many things that science cannot do, magic can accomplish.

But just as Valencia, as a half-goddess, was born almost immune to evil magic, there are also many monsters in nature that are born with extremely high magic resistance.

Faced with such a high magic resistance, a superior spell that can wipe out a village in one go is probably not as effective as a boulder launched by a catapult.

This is where those large, heavy crossbows, which resemble turrets, come in handy.

This heavy crossbow can be said to be the pinnacle of mechanical creation of Eve's human civilization. Although it is large and heavy and can only be used on warships or fortresses, its power is also quite amazing. It can penetrate several meters thick city walls with physical damage alone, which is stronger than the full-force attack of an ordinary lighthouse-level warrior.

This heavy crossbow is extremely effective against monsters with high magic resistance. Even Radiant-rank monsters will usually back down when faced with a barrage of fire from multiple heavy crossbows on a warship.

Of course, there are indeed super ocean monsters that can completely ignore the firepower of warships, but those monsters are generally enormous and only live in the deep sea. Sailing in the shallow waters along the coastline, there's no need to consider the threat of such monsters.

The dangers that might occur in the shallow waters are nothing compared to the French naval fleet led by the Seravina, making this an extremely safe voyage.

Therefore, many merchants wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune by shipping, and in the end, the number of merchant ships in the entire fleet even exceeded the number of warships.

Valensa wasn't too familiar with the other merchant ships; she only knew that the Nora Merchant Guild had brought three cargo ships with them. Each ship was over 10,000 tons, and besides a few dozen crew members, every available space on board was filled with cargo.

A cargo ship in the tens of thousands of tons seems incomparable to the giant cargo ships in Valensa's previous life, which could carry more than 300,000 tons of cargo, but that's not actually the case.

Because in this magical world, there exists a civilian technology that would make most technologically advanced humans envious to the point of tears.

Space storage technology.

These cargo boxes on the ships, which look like they're only about 1 cubic meter each, are actually storage containers with much larger actual capacity.

If all the cargo carried by the merchant ships in this fleet were unloaded and piled up together, it would likely be the size of a city.

After transporting such a large batch of goods from Frankfurt to America, they were sold at dozens of times the price, and then cargo ships filled with America's specialties were sent back to Frankfurt to be sold at dozens of times the price again...

Valensa only did a rough calculation of the potential gains Yashiro might make on this trip, and was so shocked by the enormous number that she felt dizzy.

That's the amount she earns every year, even if she works until she retires, she can't earn that much.

No wonder Yashiro dared to use such an extremely extravagant skill as the Million Gold Coin Fist; the wealth of this young lady from the Nora Merchant Guild is simply terrifying.

"You're going to make a fortune this time, Yashiro."

Valensa grew increasingly jealous and couldn't resist picking up the juice next to her and taking a big gulp.

"Because this is a rare opportunity."

Yashilo leaned back lazily in the recliner:

“Without a fleet escort, sea transport is still very risky... Many times, it's considered lucky if half of the goods are still there when they arrive at their destination. There are quite a few merchants who lose everything because of the loss of all their goods... Even my family's merchant guild has encountered many such maritime disasters.”

Chapter 23 Girls in swimsuits on the deck

Whether attacked by sea monsters, fog demons, or extreme weather, ships that never returned to port for any of these reasons are collectively referred to as having suffered a maritime disaster.

Every year, dozens of merchant ships from Frankfurt are lost at sea, and residents of various port cities often hear news of another shipwreck belonging to a certain merchant guild.

Fortunately, with the existence of magical items like teleportation scrolls, most shipwrecked crew members can be teleported back to town in time to save their lives, with only the ship and cargo being lost.

Even so, the nearly 50% shipwreck rate of merchant fleets at sea under normal circumstances is enough to overwhelm many merchant guilds. Even some large merchant guilds, only one level below the Nora Merchant Guild in size, may go bankrupt due to a series of unfortunate shipwrecks.

Such a good opportunity to ride along with the escort fleet of the diplomatic corps is something that happens only once every few decades in the entire history of France.

Even Yashiro, who had long since come to regard money purely as numbers, couldn't help but feel a little excited and had some ideas after estimating the potential gains this time.

She turned around and looked at the four people playing cards on the other side: