The story of the black silk female knight

It now seems that Chiba Grass was conscripted.

Valensa gloated over this, but had no intention of helping at all, and went back to her room to rest with Tia.

At 10 a.m. the following day, Valensa faced her third dueling match of the season in one of the three arenas in Arrant.

The organizers of this competition seem to have finally figured it out; instead of arranging those strange men as opponents for Valencia, they arranged a beautiful young girl for her.

With her long, black hair, sweet and lovely face, fair skin, and well-proportioned figure, she is a high-quality, naturally pure and innocent girl.

The only regret is that this beautiful girl doesn't seem to know how to dress herself. She's only wearing a dark green linen dress, a complete country girl outfit, which is a bit of a waste of her beauty.

Strangely, this beautiful village girl seemed to be quite popular. Some of the audience members even acted like idol fans like Valencia in her previous life, with headbands tied around their heads and signs in their hands, and many of them chanted the village girl's name in a rhythmic manner.

This made Valencia both curious and cautious.

This was her first time facing a beautiful girl as an opponent, and she didn't want to lose too badly. She was already prepared to use her fake god-like tricks to deliver a devastating combo to her opponent.

However, after the match started, before Valensa could even use the combination of "Updraft" and "Dress Burst" to launch a sneak attack, the village girl beauty had already ripped her clothes off herself.

The dark green, rustic linen dress burst into countless shreds, then coalesced again in a dazzling display of chaotic magic, transforming the village girl's appearance in mere seconds, much like a magical girl undergoing a transformation.

During this time, Valensa tried to attack and interrupt the transformation several times, but she did not make a move.

She was just too curious... Anyway, she didn't care about winning or losing; seeing the beautiful girl was more important.

The village girl beauty did not disappoint Valensa; after a series of dazzling transformation effects, she underwent a complete and dramatic change.

The dark green linen dress was transformed into a colorful tank top and mini skirt, and for a moment Valensa even felt as if she were seeing those Japanese idol girls from her past life again.

But this idol girl isn't just good at singing and dancing; she also has a harp that looks like a guitar, shining with magical light—it's a high-end magical weapon!

Ding Dong!

As the idol girl's fair fingers glided across the harp strings, sound waves transformed into invisible blades, slicing towards Valensa, who was somewhat captivated by her opponent's beauty.

Fortunately, Valensa had already cast a protective shield around herself, so the sonic attack had little effect. Instead, it brought Valensa, who was infatuated with beauty, back to her senses and made her start to fight seriously.

Valensa had heard of sonic spells before. Like Lefred's Word of Power spells, they were a rare type of spell. In Farron, only the most outstanding bards could use them. She didn't expect that America already had a battle idol.

In such matters, countries ruled by merchants do indeed develop faster than those ruled by nobles.

In actual combat, Valensa is not afraid of sonic spells.

Rarity doesn't necessarily equate to power. Sonic spells aren't weak, but they're not particularly strong either. Especially in terms of attack speed, they're severely limited by the speed of sound itself, making sonic blades quite ineffective against enemies capable of supersonic movement.

Unfortunately, this is a competition with multiple rules. Valensa can move at supersonic speeds, but not too much faster than the speed of sound, otherwise she could easily be judged to have used power beyond the limit and lose the competition.

1.2 times the speed of sound under normal conditions is the limit in a competition... While this speed allows Valensa to dodge the various sonic attacks of the idol girl, it also leaves her with little room to retaliate.

Moreover, the sonic blades that missed their target did not disappear; instead, they transformed into visible, shimmering musical notes under the power of magic, surrounding the idol girl and completely turning the arena into her stage.

These shimmering musical notes are not just special effects; like Melody's sword dance, they possess a powerful allure that evokes a strong urge to fall at the feet of this idol girl and become her devoted follower.

Valensa had barely exchanged a few blows with the idol girl when she was almost completely under her charm's influence. Her beautiful legs in black stockings felt weak, her body was slightly warm, and she had a strong urge to run to the idol girl's side with a silly grin and hug her.

Fortunately, Valensa is a paladin, and her charm resistance is much higher than that of normal people. In addition, she often trains with Melody as her opponent, and has become accustomed to this charm.

But the audience couldn't take it anymore. Their eyes turned into hearts. The audience who were initially quite optimistic about Valensa were now all fans of the idol girl, panting with their tongues out and chanting her name.

Valencia had a very tough match, but ultimately won.

Besides the fact that the attack speed of sonic spells is limited by the speed of sound, there is another very serious flaw.

Rhythm.

Currently, all users of sonic spells are engaged in music-related professions. They must follow the rhythm of the music when casting spells, otherwise the efficiency of the spells will be greatly reduced.

After overcoming a difficult initial period, Valensa quickly adapted to the rhythm of the idol girl's music. She could dodge the sonic blade attacks with graceful movements like a backup dancer, and seized the opportunity to end the performance with a holy light bullet at the height of the music's rhythm.

"It's a pleasure to duel with you."

After the match, the idol girl reverted to her country girl self, showing no sign of unhappiness and greeting Valensa with a generous and sweet handshake:

"While it's truly a shame you had to stop the performance halfway through, your dance-like dodging was a sight to behold! I hope we'll have the chance to actually collaborate on a song and dance piece, rather than just using music for combat."

"Hmm, I hope so... Your singing is wonderful too, Miss Marlene."

Valensa did not refuse the idol girl's kindness, and shook hands with her with a smile before saying goodbye in a friendly manner.

After leaving the arena, Valensa, who was curious about the idol girl Marlene, even looked up information about her.

Marlene's initial country girl attire, while certainly for the sake of the show, wasn't entirely a publicity stunt.

Because a few years ago, Marlene was just an ordinary village girl who knew a little about singing and dancing and made a living on the streets of Arant with an ancestral harp.

It wasn't until a major business association recognized Marlene's looks and singing voice, signed her, and provided her with various forms of packaging and professional training that she became the popular idol she is today.

However, America's idol industry is far less mature than Valencia's in her previous life. There are no dedicated management companies yet, and idols only perform for their respective business associations. There are no purely commercial concerts.

"The idol industry..."

This gave Valensa another idea; perhaps this was another way to make money?

But she only had an idea. To realize such a highly commercial concept, she would need the help of a major business association. Perhaps she could mention it to Yashiro later.

But given Yashiro's business acumen, she should have thought of this long ago, right? Otherwise, why would she have made that request on the ship...?

On her way to America, Valensa accidentally scared Yashiro so much that he wet himself when she first tried out the [Evil Eye. Intimidation].

Later, in order to apologize to the angry Yashilo, Valensa had no choice but to sign three business contracts.

Those three business contracts can actually be considered one. Simply put, Valensa agreed to allow Yashilo to use Valensa's name and image in commercial promotions, and Valensa would also have to model for Yashilo's products when necessary.

Of course, these commercial promotions are also subject to restrictions; they must not dishonor the reputation of the nobility. Promotions of erotic clothing and adult toys are out of the question.

When Valencia signed these three business contracts, she didn't pay much attention to it because the concept of celebrity endorsements didn't exist in the world yet.

But now that I think about it, it seems like Yashiro was planning ahead and was considering entering the idol industry? And he even had his eye on the Sunflower Duchess, a noblewoman who already had quite a bit of fame in France...

Truly talented businesspeople, even without the knowledge and experience of a time traveler, possess enough talent to discover and seize business opportunities...

With a sigh in her heart, Valensa hugged Tia tighter in her arms and closed her eyes to sleep.

It was late at night, and Valensa and Tia planned to set off early the next morning to reach Mosantina before Valensa's fourth match.

First, I'll probe the great collector Erquin Rogins, and while I'm at it, I'll visit Alyssa Winggris to discuss the legendary psychopath and the Sin Angel.

However, plans don't always go as expected. The next morning, while Valensa and Tia were having breakfast, one of Yashiro's maids rushed over:

"My lords, something terrible has happened! Miss Chiba... she's been arrested by the Merchants' Alliance's enforcement team on suspicion of murder!"

Is Chiba Grass suspected of murder and arrested by the Chamber of Commerce's enforcement team?

Valensa and Tia exchanged bewildered glances and quickly pressed the maid for details.

"I'm sorry, I don't know the details either, sirs."

The maid gave a wry smile:

"Last night, Miss Chiba and the eldest young lady, just like the previous days, attended a banquet at the princess's place. After the banquet ended, it was already very late, so they simply went to sleep there."

Unexpectedly, the Business Federation's enforcement team came knocking on my door early this morning, saying that Ms. Chiba Grass had murdered a celebrity named America last night, and that the evidence was conclusive.

Neither the young lady nor the princess made any rash moves. Even Miss Chiba herself only wore a wry smile and did not offer much explanation before being taken away by the enforcement team.

This matter seems to have a significant impact. The young lady said she needs to accompany the princess to deal with the series of diplomatic issues that are bound to arise, and asked me to inform you both of this immediately.

"That's it..."

Valensa and Tia exchanged another glance, then Valensa stood up from the table:

"Come on, lead the way, let's go ask about the situation first."

"Yes."

The maid quickly led Valensa and Tia to the carriage parked by the roadside outside the hotel, while she herself sat in the driver's seat and drove at breakneck speed.

About twenty minutes later, the carriage stopped in front of a large manor. This was America's residence, which she used to entertain Elsers. It was very large, with thousands of servants and could accommodate hundreds of celebrities to hold banquets together.

In addition to the servants officially arranged by America, Elsers herself brought a maid team, a royal guard, and more than 100 Wave Knights. There were also many people who had good personal relationships with Elsers, such as Yashiro and Thousand Leaf Grass, who lived in the manor. Most of them were noblewomen from the Franco-François family.

When Valensa and Tia arrived, the news of the Thousand Leaf Grass had already spread throughout the manor. Many noblewomen, who were clearly just getting up, gathered in twos and threes, whispering among themselves.

Valensa was quite famous in the aristocratic social circles of the capital city of Fran, and Tia was a genius girl known to all the nobles in the capital. When the two of them appeared together, they immediately attracted everyone's attention. Many people took the initiative to come up and greet them, saying good morning and telling them about what happened last night.

These people didn't know much either, but they knew a little more than the maid.

The two most important points are:

First, Chiba did have a motive to kill. She had some conflict with the deceased at yesterday's banquet, but was eventually persuaded to stop by Yashiro.

Secondly, the so-called conclusive evidence from the Business Alliance enforcement team is that they summoned the soul of the deceased overnight using necromancy, and the deceased himself identified Thousand Leaf Grass as the murderer.

In short, the situation sounds terrible and troublesome.

But Valensa found it hard to believe that the Thousand Leaf Grass could kill.

If you count the time, Valensa and Thousand Leaf Grass have known each other for almost a year and a half, so they know each other quite well.

Although Chiba often acts like a brat and seems quite deserving of a beating, she actually knows her limits.

For example, when the two first met, Valensa bullied Thousand Leaf Grass once, and when Thousand Leaf Grass fought Valensa, she only used paralyzing poison and itchy poison, without using those more potent toxins.

Back then, Valensa's strength was nothing like it is now. Thousand Leaf Grass could have easily defeated Valensa by simply applying a deadly poison to her short blade, but she didn't do that. Instead, she took various pranks to retaliate... After a few playful fights, they've long since become very good friends.

Based on Valensa's understanding of Thousand Leaf Grass, if someone offended Thousand Leaf Grass at the dinner party, Thousand Leaf Grass would sneak up and poison that person that very night, retaliating by causing them to vomit, have diarrhea, or experience numbness and itching all over their body, but would never kill that person.

Thousand-leaf Grass must have been framed.

No further evidence was needed; Valensa made this judgment based on intuition alone.

Thousand Leaf Grass's repeated calls of "Big Sister" weren't for nothing. Now that she's in trouble, Valensa won't ignore her, for both emotional and practical reasons.

After exchanging pleasantries with several groups of noblewomen, Valensa and Tia finally met Elserse. The princess was clearly troubled by the murder that had occurred the previous night, her brow furrowed in worry.

I didn't see Yashiro.

"You two have finally arrived!"

Upon seeing Valensa and Tia, Elseris visibly relaxed slightly, but her resentment only intensified.

"I told you to come and keep me company sooner, but you wouldn't... Look, now look what's happened!"

"If something goes wrong, we'll figure out a solution. We're here to help, aren't we?"

Valensa quickly reassured Elserse and then began to ask about the situation.

She didn't rush to ask about the details of last night, but instead inquired about the current situation:

"Will this matter significantly affect your mission? What are America's plans? What will happen if Cao Cao can't clear his name?"

“My mission will definitely be affected. After all, Thousand Leaf Grass is your and Tia’s friend, so she is my friend too.”

Elsers sighed:

"Fortunately, although the deceased came from a top family in America, he was not a direct member of the family, but a member of a collateral branch. His death will not make things irreversible."

Even more fortunately, although the deceased died last night, his body was very well preserved and his soul was not harmed in any way. There is a high probability that he can be resurrected or transformed into an undead creature... The deceased's family is making preparations for this.

America didn't make things difficult for me. As long as I sincerely apologize, the matter will probably be over.

As for Chiba Kusa... she is, after all, a member of the Chiba family. Even if America can convict her, she probably won't do anything to her. Instead, she'll send her back to the Four Islands Alliance and demand compensation from the Chiba family.

In other words, if Chiba Grass's crime cannot be cleared, she definitely won't be able to return to the War Academy to continue her studies, and will likely be forced into marriage by her two older sisters.

"...Cao Cao definitely doesn't want to get married, and I don't want her to get married either."

Valensa ignored the somewhat strange look in Tia's eyes and said firmly:

"I will find a way to prove her innocence!"

"Huh? Prove her innocence?"

Elsers was quite surprised:

"How can we prove it? The evidence from the Business Alliance Enforcement Team is quite substantial. In addition to the deceased's own identification by his soul, they also found many traces of Thousand Leaf Grass at the deceased's residence, all left last night."

"...Did Cao Cao really go to see the deceased last night?"

Valensa frowned.

"Yes... She went last night. Gina, Yashiro, Lanzhi, and some maids and guards all know about it."

Elsers shrugged helplessly.

"After the banquet last night, Qianyecao told us herself that she was going to teach that bastard a lesson."