The story of the black silk female knight

After arranging for a carriage to take Valensa and her party back to the inn, Di Tangbu summoned the family's black-clad warriors to his office to inquire about the situation:

"How was it? Nothing went wrong at the game tonight, right?"

"This……"

The black-clad warrior hesitated slightly this time before nodding gently:

"I guess nothing serious happened, because it was all minor stuff... The brothers caught a dozen or so thieves who sneaked into the audience area to steal money from the guests, and they also executed a bastard who was hiding near the toilet and tried to assault a lone female guest... They were all small fry."

"Oh, I see... That's good then."

Teidou Ayumi seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief:

"It seems that 'that person' hasn't really caused trouble wherever she goes... but it's still quite absurd that two out of the three places she visited today had problems. So we can't let our guard down for the next few days. We must ensure that nothing major happens in Chuyun City before 'that person' leaves, understand?"

"Yes!"

. . . . .

For the next two weeks or so, Valensa and her group had a great time on Mirror Island.

During the day, they wandered around various famous attractions on Mirror Island.

Whether you're enjoying natural scenery, visiting man-made wonders, or experiencing local delicacies and various services, you can choose to explore these attractions.

In the evening, guests will be treated to various performances at the Imperial Palace.

Besides the beautiful women fighting on the first day, they also saw real bloody and violent underground boxing, elegant musical stage plays, and circuses with various dangerous monsters participating.

Behind Valensa and her friends' blast, however, was the fact that Ditang Bu and the hundreds of black-clad warriors of the Ditang family were almost exhausted.

Every morning or noon when Valensa and the others were having lunch at the hotel restaurant, Teidou Ayumu would either go over and chat with them himself or secretly keep an eye on them through his shikigami to get information on where Valensa and the others would go next, so that he could make preparations in advance.

All this hard work has been very rewarding... Although Di Tangbu was exhausted in the past two weeks, the achievements he made were almost equivalent to his previous year's efforts.

Various assassins who were preparing to kill their enemies because of love or blood feuds, madmen who wanted to take revenge on society and make a big news out of their failures in life, rebels who were dissatisfied with Queen Himiko's decrees and planned to cause trouble, cultists who were secretly contacting each other and preparing to sacrifice themselves for the great cause, and even a high-level mist demon girl who had just infiltrated human society, were all captured without causing any harm because of the advance arrangements made by Daidou Bu at various viewing points.

The Teitang family later reviewed the various schemes these people had planned and were surprised to find that at least three of them could potentially trigger a city-wide crisis with more than 10,000 casualties. Moreover, if they hadn't discovered them in advance, there was a high probability that the other side would have succeeded.

No... not necessarily.

The Di Tang family quickly realized that the time and place these people caused trouble were basically the tourist attractions where Valensa and her group were sightseeing.

Given Valencia's remarkable achievements in the past, even if those incidents were to erupt, she should be able to easily suppress them and minimize casualties... but they would be absolutely unavoidable.

What left many members of the Ditang family speechless was that, thanks to Ditang Bu's efforts over the past two weeks, the security in Chuyun City had visibly improved, and many citizens had written letters from the bottom of their hearts and put them into the bronze box in front of the Queen's statue to express their gratitude.

Queen Himika seemed quite pleased to see the letters of thanks. She not only formally praised the Teido family for their effective governance of Chuyun City, but also bestowed many rewards upon them.

Di Tangbu's status within the family also rose sharply... If he weren't just the current family head's nephew and not particularly talented in cultivation, he could probably have even tried to compete for the position of heir.

Risk and reward are directly proportional; those who put in the hard work will surely reap the rewards.

At first, Ditangbu regarded Valensa as a jinx who would bring great trouble, but later he regarded her as a golden opportunity to quickly gain merits... so much so that when he learned that Valensa and her group planned to leave Chuyun City for Sword Island, Ditangbu was quite reluctant to part with them.

However, there was really no way to persuade her to stay... Through these days of contact and casual conversation, he had roughly learned about Valensa's travel plans for the Four Islands Alliance.

Valensa and her friends actually explored all the interesting places on Mirror Island in about 10 days, and saw almost all the various performances.

The reason I stayed a few more days was to attend the trade fair hosted by the Imperial House tonight, and see if I could buy the core of the Human Acorn and the tentacles of the Night Jellyfish.

Valensa inquired about these two precious ingredients with Ditangbu when she first arrived, and was told that Ditangbu currently did not have them in stock.

However, the Imperial Family hosts a trade fair in Chuyun City every month, where adventurers from all over the Four Islands Alliance can auction or trade some valuable items, among which Valensa might find something she wants.

The trade fair this month was tonight. Valensa and her companions had only strolled around the city during the day, sampling some local snacks they hadn't tried before. In the evening, they took a carriage arranged by Emperor and arrived at the trade fair.

Because some dangerous things often appear at the trade fair, for safety reasons, the Ditang family did not arrange for the trade fair to be held in Chuyun City, but in a manor outside the city.

There were many black-clad warriors guarding the area around the manor, and there were at least three Radiant-rank experts openly emitting their auras inside the trade fair. Anyone who wanted to bring dangerous goods to the trade fair had to register in advance.

With the organizer, Di Tangbu, leading the way, Valensa and her group had a smooth journey and soon arrived at a VIP room to sit down and listen to Di Tangbu give a general overview of the trade fair's proceedings.

The process is simple; the entire trade fair is divided into two phases.

The first stage is the auction stage, where auctions will be held simultaneously in four halls throughout the manor. The auction items are divided into four main categories: weapons and equipment, magical materials, food, and works of art.

All items participating in the auction are traded using gold coins, and can only be traded using gold coins... Sellers of these items generally need cash.

The entire auction lasted three hours, followed by free trading that continued until sunrise the next day.

Free trade is much freer, with the vast majority of transactions involving barter... even things like beauty, favors, and intelligence can be freely traded.

Regular participants in the auction need to go to the corresponding hall based on the item they want to buy, but VIPs have it much easier. They can monitor the situation in all four halls simultaneously from their private rooms via magical projection, and can place bids for items they want to buy at any time.

All items to be auctioned are registered in advance by the organizers. Valensa has already checked and found nothing she wanted. She can only place her hopes on the free trade after the auction.

However, there are some good items among the registered auction items.

During the three hours they spent chatting and drinking tea in the VIP room, Tia and Harry both bought some high-quality magical materials at reasonable prices, Melody bought a new rapier, and Gil bought some rare metals to further enhance his door panel greatsword.

Chiba was a local, so the auction items weren't anything special to her. Valensa spent a long time picking and choosing, and in the end, she only bought some specialty ingredients from the Four Islands Alliance.

After the auction concluded, everyone eagerly left the VIP room and began freely trading with suitable targets throughout the manor.

Valensa had specific items in mind when she attended this trade fair, so she had inquired with Daitangbu about several well-known adventurers who frequently sold products from Ruler Island. She had also used her perception abilities to locate those people in the manor and went straight to them as soon as the free trade began.

These famous adventurers all seemed to have done some bad things... They were quite panicked at first when they suddenly found themselves targeted by a powerful paladin.

Fortunately, none of them reacted excessively, and they were even more relieved after learning that Valensa had approached them only to make a deal.

The Church of the Sun also holds considerable prestige within the Four Islands Alliance... Although there aren't many churches here, and the Paladins' reputation among the common people isn't as high as that of the Demon Ninjas, the clergy's medical abilities remain unmatched, and anyone can be injured or fall ill.

Therefore, everyone likes doing business with high-ranking paladins, even if they lose a little money... The goodwill of the Church of the Sun is itself a kind of wealth.

Unfortunately, none of the adventurers approached by Valensa were able to meet her trade demands; none of them possessed acorn kernels.

However, faced with the soft questioning of the beautiful black-stockinged paladin, these adventurers readily provided the information.

There is indeed a forest on Chizhi Island where human acorn trees grow, and there are quite a few of them, producing a considerable amount of human acorns every year.

Acorns are a type of fruit about the size of a coconut, with a texture similar to cake. They are a staple food and were indeed used as such by many nobles and wealthy merchants.

But the most delicious and expensive part of the acorn is its kernel... Its kernel is generally the size of an adult woman's fist, with a hard shell like a walnut, and on the shell is a human face with a strange smile, which may even make a creepy laugh.

That laughter is a powerful form of mental attack. Without prior preparation, even a Lighthouse-level cultivator would faint instantly from the laughter and would most likely become a meal for the monsters in the forest. The remains left behind would then become nourishment for the Human Oak Tree.

Regarding this phenomenon, a researcher from the Sage's Tower once conducted a study. That researcher suspected that the Human Oak was not simply a plant, but rather that the Human Acorn was a life form with its own soul and consciousness.

Unfortunately, most of the research findings were inferences and speculations, lacking solid data support, and the results were ultimately not accepted... Acorns are still regarded as a type of plant fruit food.

The pulp could be a staple food that was very popular among nobles and wealthy merchants, while the pit, although very dangerous, was even more delicious.

Acorn kernels, processed by professional chefs, can have a mixed texture of walnuts, pork floss, and chicken breast, plus a touch of natural saltiness, making them a top-tier dessert... Even royalty and nobility would only serve them to guests at major celebrations.

The only known habitat for Human Oak is Ruler Island... so every year, many adventurers go to the island to collect it during the season when Human Oaks ripen.

The adventurers at the trade fair were all seasoned acorn gatherers, and in previous years they had managed to sell some acorns during these months.

This year, however, these adventurers arrived at Ruler Island well in advance to watch the acorns ripen, but someone beat them to it... They didn't even know who had stolen their target.

Fortunately, the island of Ruler is rich in natural resources. Valuable ingredients and materials are not limited to human acorns. Although these adventurers were annoyed that the human acorns were being monopolized, they didn't care much and just made money from other sources.

The speaker has no intention and the listener has the intention.

All the acorns on Ruler Island this year have been monopolized by a certain person or force, and many marine creatures and monsters in the southern waters of Ruler Island have also left their familiar waters... Could there be a connection between these two events? Or is it related to the assassination of the second-in-command of the Seren clan?

Considering that the high-level fog demons have been moving more and more frequently in the past two years... could it be that the fog demons are preparing to do something big?

Valensa's brow furrowed more and more as she thought about it.

To fight the Mist Demon, the Demon Ninja is the real expert.

With Queen Himiko and the three starter families protecting the Four Islands Alliance, it shouldn't be Valensa's place as a paladin of Farron... But the human acorn core and the tentacles of the Night Jellyfish are both special products of the Four Islands Alliance, and Valensa is determined to obtain them.

Once the Fog Demon really starts a large-scale war with the Four Islands Alliance, these luxuries of ingredients will become extremely difficult to obtain or purchase.

It seems I have to go to Ruler Island to try my luck... Maybe there are still undiscovered Human Oaks on the island. If all else fails, I can investigate where all the Human Oaks went this year and then think of other solutions.

Having made up her mind, Valensa changed her target and tried to find information about the tentacles of the Night Jellyfish.

Regarding this, there's nothing I can do to help Valensa... because the Night Jellyfish's activity range is the entire area surrounding the Four Islands Alliance, and there's no fixed time or place of appearance. Whether you can find it or successfully hunt it depends entirely on luck.

More importantly, most adult Night Jellyfish possess Moon-level strength, making them invincible even to ordinary adventurers who discover them, and they dare not even approach them.

However, the Night Jellyfish has a unique characteristic: it is considered an artist among marine creatures, as it loves to float above the sea surface and sing, sometimes for several days at a time.

In other words, if anyone has witnessed the Night Jellyfish in the past few days, it should still be possible to get there now.

So Valensa went to the trade fair to ask people who had just returned from the sea for eyewitness reports on the Nightshade Jellyfish... Of course, it would be even better if she could buy the tentacles of the Nightshade Jellyfish directly.

However, the ingredients from Moon-level monsters are indeed not so easy to buy directly.

Fortunately, perseverance pays off. After actively engaging in conversations with thirty or forty people, Valensa finally obtained eyewitness information about the Night Jellyfish.

The man was a rather disheveled and unkempt middle-aged man. Valensa hadn't intended to talk to him, but as she passed by, she smelled the sea... There was a high probability that this man had just returned from the sea and hadn't even had time to shower before attending the trade fair.

With a "let's give it a try" attitude, Valensa chatted with him for a bit.

Unexpectedly, the man was initially terrified and even tried to run away... but he was captured by a black-clad samurai from the Teido family who happened to be patrolling nearby.

After a brief interrogation, it was discovered that the man was actually a pirate, but a relatively conscientious one who had repented.

He was originally just an ordinary fisherman on Mirror Island, but he felt that fishing couldn't make him a lot of money, so he dreamed every day of getting rich overnight, enjoying life, and playing with beautiful women.

So he was scammed by the job advertisement... thinking he had found a good job, only to find out after boarding the ship that he was going to be a pirate, and it was too late to get off.

Fortunately, although he loved to daydream, he wasn't a bad person at heart. The pirates didn't dare to attack the large merchant ship with its elite guards and powerful experts; they only bullied the fishermen.

After being forced to participate in two brutal raids with the pirates, he finally couldn't take it anymore. He seized an opportunity to steal a treasure from the pirate captain and jumped into the sea to escape, swimming all the way back to Mirror Island.

He learned about the trade fair from the pirates' conversation and decided to try his luck with the pirate captain's treasure, hoping to make some money to send to Fran, or offer up the treasure to gain protection, since the pirates would definitely not let him go.

Just two nights before they jumped ship and ran away, their pirate ship had seen a jellyfish floating on the sea surface singing to the moon in the distance, and he remembered it very clearly... These statements also passed the lie detector test.

So the rest is simple: the pirate leader's treasure was taken by the Imperial Family... They will use this treasure to connect with the pirate leader, locate the pirate gang, and send people to wipe them out.

Valensa obtained the approximate location of the Night Jellyfish's appearance and prepared to try her luck.

Adult Night Jellyfish are mostly Moon-level monsters, and Valensa would most likely be unable to defeat them head-on.

However, she didn't need the corpse of the Night Jellyfish; just one tentacle would suffice.

Valensa felt she could manage to sneak up on the Night Jellyfish, slash it with a sword, and then escape with the tentacles.

But this is still very dangerous, and she can only protect herself. She has no time to take care of others, so she has to act alone.

Valensa quickly found Tia, who was trading magical materials with someone else. She left Moon Kiss with Tia and took a golden magic card, making a double preparation to teleport away as soon as she got the Night Jellyfish Tentacle.

However, just as Valensa was about to say goodbye to Di Tangbu again and leave, she suddenly heard a commotion in one of the houses in the manor, along with screams from many guests.

problem occurs?

Valensa glanced curiously in that direction and saw that the Imperial Family seemed to have been prepared, deploying a large number of black-clad warriors and medical personnel carrying stretchers.

Considering the good hospitality the Heavenly Emperor's family had provided, and given that she was a paladin, Valensa didn't rush to find the Night Jellyfish. Instead, she headed towards the source of the commotion to see if there was anything she could do to help.

Putting everything else aside, Valensa is already a Radiant Paladin. Even if healing magic isn't her specialty, her healing abilities are far superior to those of ordinary healers... With her around, those who would otherwise be certain to die might survive.

Upon entering the hall where the incident occurred, Valensa immediately noticed the bloodstains on the carpet. A well-dressed man lay there, his life hanging in the balance, a dagger stuck in his back.

Not far from the fallen man, there was a girl who had been subdued by the black-clad warriors... The girl had a pretty face and a good figure, but her eyes were extremely crazed, and she looked at the man lying in a pool of blood with a face full of the satisfaction of avenging her great enemy.

...This girl looks somewhat familiar.

Valensa frowned and glanced at the girl, but couldn't remember who she was for a moment, so she stopped looking and strode towards the man in the pool of blood.

Two healers have already tried to use water-based magic to revive the man, but it seems to be having little effect. The man's complexion is getting worse and worse, and his life force is weakening.

"Make way, let me handle this, I am a paladin."

Although there is likely a story behind this assassination attempt, it happened on the territory of the Ditang family, and the Ditang family has been treating Valensa very well for the past two weeks, so she decided to lend a hand.

Paladin reputation was still useful; the two healers who were squatting next to the victim hesitated only slightly before standing up to make room for Valensa.

But just as they were about to get up, they suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded... and fell to the ground before they could even stand up straight.

"...Everyone be careful, the murder weapon may be cursed, stay away from here!"

One of the healers immediately made a judgment, attempting to lift the curse with an alchemical potion while warning the others.

...No, it's not a curse.

While the therapist loudly warned those around them, Valensa stared intently at the dagger still embedded in the victim's back, her eyes filled with the delightful surprise of discovering something unexpected.

The blade of that dagger was actually bluish-green and even had a built-in fluorescent glow!