The story of the black silk female knight

It turns out that when a beautiful young woman takes the initiative to strike up a conversation, and it doesn't involve matters of principle, very few people can resist.

The two ninjas at the door of the cabin were definitely well-trained, but in the end they still couldn't resist Valensa... Valensa started the conversation with food, and then the three of them chatted quietly while eating snacks and drinking juice.

Valensa spoke in the same style she used when bragging to adventurers in taverns, recounting some amusing anecdotes from her time in Fran and America.

At first, these topics mainly revolved around food, but since most of the high-quality and delicious ingredients came from powerful monsters, the conversation naturally shifted towards fighting monsters, and then gradually led to the topic of how to prevent monsters from entering human settlements and harming people.

Valensa spoke with a hint of boastfulness about the mechanisms of the Fran Guard's night patrols and the paladins' rapid response plans, saying that even in small border villages in Fran, residents could sleep soundly.

The numerous conversations about food had already lulled the two ninjas into a false sense of security, and anyone would feel a competitive urge to outdo a beautiful girl when she's showing off... The two ninjas finally fell for it.

Although they withheld some crucial information, the snippets of information, combined with Valensa's own reasoning and speculation, were enough for her to figure out what she wanted to know.

The ninja village has some kind of defense mechanism—most likely a large-scale, permanent ninjutsu similar to a magical barrier—that can protect the village from any attacks by demons.

Even if a Rank 1 demon sneaks into the village to attack civilians, it will definitely be discovered and then face an encirclement and annihilation by elite ninjas.

In reality, Rank 1 monsters rarely enter human settlements to attack humans... because Rank 1 monsters possess considerable intelligence. Aren't the safe and harmless deer and rabbits in the wild tastier than two-legged creatures? Why would they bother going to two-legged creature settlements to get beaten up?

This world is not like Valencia's previous life on Earth, where humans have driven wild animals to the brink of extinction, forcing many wild animals to enter human villages in search of food.

On the contrary, the resources in the wild are quite abundant in this world, so neither monsters nor wild beasts need to venture into human settlements.

The real primary target of the guards and paladins patrolling at night is actually human criminals themselves.

At least in Fran, the idea of ​​monsters entering villages and eating people is basically just a legend.

But this makes Valencia's overheard conversation all the more thought-provoking.

The single desperate cry for help, followed by the sound of insects chewing, likely indicates that a young boy in the ninja village was attacked by inhuman beings, and most likely has been completely devoured, leaving no trace of his body.

Based on the information revealed by these two ninja brothers, it is known that the ninja village has very comprehensive defense and protection measures, and it is absolutely impossible for the villagers to be attacked by monsters within the village.

The two things contradict each other.

If those two ninja guys at the door weren't just bragging... then there's only one possibility.

There's likely a problem within the ninja village's management. The fact that the boy was seemingly harmed by a monster but didn't cause any commotion suggests that he received help from the village's management.

In other words, there are spies with ulterior motives in the current ninja village, and they are most likely plotting some kind of conspiracy.

This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment thought Valensa had just overheard, but rather a conjecture she'd had for over two weeks.

The reason was the assassination of the second-in-command of the Sailian tribe.

Himika is certainly not the only powerful human woman skilled in dark and necromancy, but only the Four Islands Alliance possesses the strength to mobilize nearly a hundred elite ninjas at the same time.

Valensa didn't know how the Four Islands Alliance officials and the Seren clan investigated the matter afterward, but she felt that tracing the origins of those hundred ninjas from the Sword Island Ninja Village would surely lead to some discoveries.

However, since this matter was outside her authority, Valensa only analyzed it herself and did not meddle in other people's business.

However, it seems that Valensa's own speculation and analysis are on the right track... There are indeed some problems hidden in this ninja village.

This is truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly.

Himika is suspected of gathering elite troops on Jade Island to prepare for a powerful enemy, while some scheming individuals in the ninja village are also causing trouble at the same time... Tsk, I really hope I don't get involved in any more trouble.

Having obtained the information she wanted, Valensa naturally had no more interest in rambling on with the two ninjas.

After saying "I'm sleepy," she decisively got up, patted her skirt, and went inside and upstairs, leaving the two ninja guys who were chatting excitedly looking at each other in bewilderment.

Were we... fooled by a bad woman?

. . . . .

The next morning, Ziye returned to the house to act as a tour guide.

Valensa made no mention of what had happened the night before, acting as if she knew nothing. She chatted and laughed with everyone while eating breakfast, and then began touring the village.

The Ninja Village is a military area, so there aren't really any tourist attractions... The really interesting traps, mechanisms, and training grounds aren't open to the public.

So the group's morning tour mainly consisted of seeing where Qianyecao lived and played as a child, listening to Ziye tell some of Qianyecao's embarrassing stories, and seeing Qianyecao's shy demeanor.

For example, Chiba Kusa is clearly a demon ninja, but when she was a child she was very afraid of the dark and ghosts. She was even scared to the point of wetting the bed by a harmless ghost when she was five years old.

For example, when Chiba was in the Ninja Academy, she was initially at the bottom of her class with very poor grades and was often ridiculed by her classmates.

So before she reached the required age, she secretly began to practice her family's secret ninjutsu, and then used those ninjutsu to beat up her classmates who mocked her. She even did something like hanging little girls in skirts upside down from trees.

In short, he had the demeanor of a mischievous child, but his childhood was quite happy.

It wasn't until the previous head of the family died in battle, and Chiba's two older sisters turned against each other in a power struggle for the position, that she suddenly became silent and withdrawn.

He stopped paying attention to the noise and commotion of his peers and became silent and withdrawn. He spent his days practicing ninjutsu except for eating and sleeping, which led to the outstanding anti-demon ninja Chiba Kusa he is today.

Ziye's voice was still gentle when she told stories, which was very pleasant to listen to and made people feel happy.

What she said was probably all true... Apart from being shy about her embarrassing past, Chiba showed no other reaction.

But Valensa had a rather strange feeling.

Zi Ye's words seemed to imply that Qian Ye Cao was not happy in the village and that it would be best to take her away from here so that she could laugh happily like she did when she was a child.

Objectively speaking, these points are not wrong.

Moreover, given Zi Ye's status and the bond she shared with Qian Ye Cao who watched her grow up, it seems logical for her to make such a suggestion.

But Valensa's intuition, honed through numerous experiences, made her feel that something was amiss.

There are no further clues at the moment, so let's remain vigilant and continue to observe.

After visiting the place where Chiba lived as a child and hearing about her dark history, it was almost noon.

Ziye naturally led Valensa and the others to a meal, but instead of going to a restaurant open to the public in the ninja village like last night, they returned to their residence.

It must have been something Valensa said to the two ninja guys late last night that made the difference. She mentioned that she wanted to try some ninja-themed food, and she didn't expect her wish to be fulfilled so quickly.

Compared to the ninjas in Valensa's previous works, the ninjas in this world actually have it easier in some ways.

Since the emergence of human civilization, the continent of Frenoia has never experienced a large-scale civil war between human groups. The ninjas' main enemies are the Mist Demons and other monsters.

This means that ninjas did not need to have strict intelligence control when fighting in the wild. They could set up camp, make fires and cook, and did not need to eat dry rations and sleep on tree branches.

However, in order to pursue efficiency and save storage space, ninjas could not carry a large amount of food with them like a certain female knight. Their food was mainly high in sugar and calories, which could quickly replenish the body's consumption and even have a certain buff effect.

These kinds of foods are usually high-density meatballs made from the meat of various monsters, with at most some vegetable bits mixed in.

In short, efficiency is the top priority, while taste and flavor are secondary considerations.

Such ninja rations naturally wouldn't taste good... Valensa and the others frowned after tasting them.

The meatballs were hard and difficult to chew, and had almost no flavor... They were really hard to swallow.

"This is so awful!"

After barely managing to eat half a meatball, Valensa finally couldn't hold back and complained to Purple Leaf.

"It is indeed hard to eat directly, but this is not the correct way to eat it... or rather, we ninjas only eat directly like this in emergency situations."

At this moment, Thousand Leaf Grass revealed a knowing smile and even gave Purple Leaf a high five in celebration, seemingly very happy to finally see Valensa suffer a setback.

But soon, Chiba realized that not only Valensa, but also Tia and Melody seemed to want to beat her up, so she quickly put on a sweet smile:

"Actually, this is how we usually eat these meatballs when we're outdoors..."

As Qianyecao spoke, she took the bowl from Ziye's hand. The bowl contained half a bowl of water that had just boiled and was not yet fully finished boiling.

After soaking the meatballs in boiling water for less than half a minute, the meatballs completely disperse and absorb the water, turning into a full bowl of meat porridge.

"You eat it by soaking it in boiling water? It really does look a lot like compressed biscuits... Ugh."

Before Qianyecao could continue her demonstration, Valensa scooped a spoonful of meat porridge into her mouth and tasted it, but she still couldn't swallow it.

"But it still tastes awful! It has absolutely no flavor."

"So we still need to add seasoning... It's clearly because you're too impatient, big sister."

Qianyecao gave Valensa a grin and then took out a small bottle of sauce, poured almost half of it into a bowl, and stirred it well with a spoon.

"Now everyone can have another taste."

Everyone then began to scoop out the meat porridge with their spoons to taste it, and almost all of them had their eyes light up and gave a thumbs up without hesitation.

The meatballs, which were originally hard to swallow, actually tasted quite good after being soaked in boiling water and mixed with a special sauce... It can't compare to high-end cuisine, but it's on par with street food.

“…Really.”

Valensa ate several spoonfuls in a row, complaining to the herb while she ate:

"If that's the case, why didn't you tell us the correct way to eat it from the beginning, Cao Cao?"

"It took us ninjas a long time to discover this way of eating... especially the special sauce, which has been improved by countless predecessors."

Chiba first acknowledged the contributions of her predecessors, then revealed a mischievous grin:

"As for why I didn't say it at the beginning... it's because during my ninja training, I was forced to eat these meatballs raw many times... We're all good friends, how could I not let you experience the suffering I went through?"

"Cao Cao, you really need to be taught a lesson!"

Valensa immediately pounced on her in dissatisfaction. This time, Tia and Melody joined in as well. The two of them held down Chiba's hands and feet, while the other one tickled Chiba's waist and soles of her feet and even forced a meatball into Chiba's mouth... In short, it was quite a commotion.

"...You all have such a good relationship."

Zi Ye watched all this, tilting her head, a strange smile flashing in her eyes.

After lunch, as agreed the night before, Ziye led Valensa and her group to the ninja academy to observe the young ninjas' training.

There's no tree climbing or wading... The training methods of the little ninjas in Valensa's previous life's anime are completely ineffective here.

Ninjas are actually considered warrior-type professions. Apart from special bloodline ninjas like Chiba, most ninjas can only gather and use ninjutsu energy on their own when they reach the Pearl level.

Before this, ninjas fought in a similar way to warriors, relying entirely on weapons, equipment, physical strength, and skills, only with a more unique style.

Therefore, most of the training courses for the young ninjas are not very interesting. They are just physical training such as obstacle courses and frog jumps, and there are very few combat skills... Perhaps they are not old enough. After all, the ninja academy only allows Valensa and the others to visit students from grades 1 to 4. Real combat skills are likely to be systematically trained in higher grades.

Thinking back to the sounds of clashing blades and gears that she heard while she couldn't sleep last night, Valensa figured that most of the senior ninja students must be night school students.

However, the training of the young ninjas was not all boring; one particular activity was very interesting and captivating to everyone who watched it.

It's infiltration training.

Junior ninjas who haven't reached the Pearl level can't use ninjutsu energy, so they naturally can't completely eliminate their own forms.

Therefore, their training mainly focuses on eliminating negative energy and merging with nature.

The training ground is a large square pit, somewhat like the kind of pit in a zoo where wild animals are kept. Inside the pit are artificial mountains, streams, and trees to simulate a natural environment. The shallowest part of the pit is more than 3 meters deep, and it is difficult for children to climb out without tools.

The training method for the young ninjas was to have more than ten people enter the pit at the same time, and then each of them would find a place to hide and not move.

After the preparation time is over, the instructors in charge of training will use ninjutsu to open all the iron cages on both sides of the pit, allowing a large number of animals to enter the pit.

In the pit where the lower grades... that is, the first and second grade ninjas are training, there are no animals that pose a danger, just pigeons and wild cats.

The little ninjas' task is simple: to blend into nature as much as possible and make the wary animals recognize them as part of nature.

The cat used the little ninjas as cat trees, and the pigeons used them as branches, landing on them without worry.

Whoever has the most animals crawling on them without being startled will receive praise from the instructor and the envious or admiring glances of their classmates.

Conversely, they would be criticized, ridiculed by their classmates, and forced to stay after school for extra lessons.

By the time the young ninjas reached the third and fourth grades, their stealth training became much more dangerous... The animals the instructors put into the pits were no longer wild cats and pigeons, but various poisonous insects and snakes.

The young ninjas must use their ability to eliminate their aura and blend into nature so that poisonous insects and snakes will mistake them for rocks and trees, otherwise they will really be bitten by the poisonous insects and snakes.

Of course, the instructors would rescue the losers in time, but they would not help the defeated ninjas alleviate their pain in any way, and even stopped Valensa from using divine magic to heal them.

Chapter 62 is about elves!

The young ninjas who were bitten by poisonous insects and snakes because of their failed infiltration looked to be in great pain. Valensa naturally wanted to use her divine magic to help heal them, but was dissuaded by the instructor.

"This is also part of the cultivation process, Your Excellency."

Ziye, who was following the group as their tour guide, also explained at the same time:

"Only by making children remember the pain of failure now will they not die from negligence when they actually carry out missions in the future."

Moreover, these poisonous insects and snakes are specially bred by the ninja village. Their toxicity is not fatal; on the contrary, it allows people to gradually adapt to the toxicity and improve their resistance to poison... This is also an essential part of the training process.

"Which child raised in a ninja village hasn't been bitten by poisonous insects and snakes during infiltration training? I was bitten many times during my childhood training, and the Third Miss was no exception."

“Yes, big sister, this is quite normal in the ninja village,” Chibako chimed in.