The story of the black silk female knight

"Hi everyone, good morning! Did you sleep well last night?"

Without waiting for a reply, he naturally sat down next to Tia, put his arm around her shoulder, and laughed:

"How was it, honey? Did you get a lot out of your deep meditation last night?"

! !

The veins on Tia's forehead bulged, her eyes blazed with visible fury, and her teeth chattered like knives being sharpened, as if she were about to tear two pieces of flesh from Valensa at any moment.

What's going on?

Valensa was a little confused.

She didn't expect to be able to keep her going to find the Thousand Leaf Grass last night a secret, but this kind of thing had happened before. Tia usually just scolded and pinched a few times and that was it. Why was she so angry?

Could it be that my deep meditation last night failed? Is that why I'm in a bad mood?

Just as Valensa was trying to guess and prepare to cheer Tia up, Tia's anger quickly dissipated, turning into a pitiful and resentful expression:

"Where did you run off to last night? Do you know I suddenly had to pay the price in the middle of the night...?"

"cost?"

Valensa, who hadn't taken it seriously at first, suddenly became tense, as the price of some witch spells could be terrifying.

She quickly moved Tia's body so that she was facing her, carefully observing her while constantly feeling around with her hands, and holy light began to gather in her palms:

"What was the price? Are you alright, darling? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

"...I don't know how to describe that price."

Tia bit her lip tightly, her eyes reddened, and she covered her chest with one hand:

"Anyway, I was in a lot of pain here last night and really needed you... but you weren't here."

"what?"

Valensa was stunned, her heart immediately filled with guilt.

Thinking about my own pleasure with Cao Cao last night, and then thinking about Tia alone in her room enduring the unknown consequences...

"I'm so sorry, I ...!"

Valencia immediately admitted her mistake and apologized repeatedly.

If it weren't for the presence of Giru and Harry in the room, she would have liked to show her sincerity by taking off her clothes and sitting down.

"……snort!"

While Valensa looked down, Tia flashed a knowing look, then quickly concealed it, glancing sideways and asking irritably:

"Tell me honestly, what mischief did you get up to last night? How could you leave me behind..."

"Well..."

Valensa touched her two thumbs together, then smoothed the hair behind her ears before answering in a low, embarrassed voice:

"I ran off to play with Cao Cao."

"...What did you play?" Tia asked, still glancing sideways.

"It is...that is it."

Valensa swallowed hard.

"Let's chat, play games, and maybe get some special training in close combat skills..."

"Hmph, shameless idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot!"

Tia bit her lip again, feeling both angry and bitter.

"Did you have fun?"

"I...I'm sorry!"

Valensa was overwhelmed by guilt once again and hugged Tia tightly:

"This will never happen again... From now on, whenever you use witch spells, my dear, I will stay by your side. Even if I can't help you relieve your pain, I can give you warmth so that you won't be tormented by loneliness at the same time."

"Hmph... at least you have some conscience, you idiot."

Tia knew when to stop. First, she gently hugged Valensa and patted her back, then chuckled and pushed Valensa away while pointing to Melody and the others who were watching the drama unfold with expressions of schadenfreude.

"Don't let them laugh at us... We're going to visit Her Majesty Queen Himiko later, so we need to get ready quickly and not be impolite."

"Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say, my darling," Valensa said obediently.

Tia returned to normal and stopped asking about what happened last night, as if it were all in the past.

But in her heart...

Hmph, the price?

If I let Valensa stay with me after the war, how can you let me see that kind of stuff again? Are you going to send another woman out of nowhere and let that idiot do whatever he wants in front of me?

. . . . .

Half an hour later, the group, now fully prepared, met up with Chiba Rui at the nearest port to the ninja village. They boarded a ninja boat that was only 20 meters long, which Chiba Rui piloted herself. There was no one else on board.

Chiba Grass seemed to be very afraid of her second sister. Every time she met Chiba Rui, she would pull Valensa along and avoid talking to her if possible, and would hide far away whenever she had the chance.

Valensa wanted to chat with Chiba Rui a bit more and find out more about Himika beforehand so she could be well-prepared for their upcoming meeting.

But Chiba Rui was a very loyal samurai. Her attitude in answering the questions wasn't impolite, but she avoided answering all the key questions. If pressed, she would simply remain silent and pretend to be mute.

No matter how skillful your words are, they won't be of much use to this kind of person. After several failed attempts, Valensa stopped wasting her energy.

After leaving Sword Island, the ninja ship sailed at full speed southwest. At first, everything was normal, but after half a day, its course became strange.

The sea was calm and still, but the ship kept rocking violently, as if it were in an unseen storm.

Moreover, the ninja ships no longer sail in a straight line; they often make sharp turns, sometimes even turning around on the spot, and sometimes circling around a point.

The entire voyage was completely erratic, making it seem as if the pilot had gone mad, but Chiba Rui's gaze remained clear throughout, and Valensa and the others were merely curious and did not say much.

Everyone knows that Jade Island is hidden by a very powerful maze. It would be strange if the ninja ships sailed straight to Jade Island without any trouble. The way it is now is actually normal.

Finally, after the ninja ship made another near 270-degree turn, as if entering a mirage, the scenery ahead changed dramatically, and an island appeared out of nowhere.

The situation on the island surprised Valensa and her companions greatly. They did not see the pavilions, towers, and magnificent palaces they had imagined. Instead, they saw only ruins everywhere, resembling a large-scale demolition site or a place that had experienced a natural disaster.

"No... this is not a natural disaster."

While others were still marveling at how different Jade Island was from the legends, Valensa noticed clues in the ruins and cracks in the ground:

"These buildings were all destroyed by sword energy, and the ground was also cleaved open by sword energy... What powerful and terrifying sword energy!"

Valensa immediately recalled the night she went hunting for night jellyfish, and the white-clad woman in palace attire who had terrified her.

Could it be her?

So she really came here to cause trouble for Himiko?

"It seems you've already thought of that."

Chiba Rui also looked at the ruins on the island with a very complicated expression:

“A fierce battle took place here yesterday, and many places are still not repaired... In short, this matter is extremely important, so important that Her Majesty the Queen, knowing it is somewhat impolite, insisted on seeing you immediately.”

"understood."

Valensa nodded seriously, and the others also put away their relaxed mood from the trip.

“...that...that one.”

Chiba, who had always been hesitant to speak to Chiba Rui, suddenly spoke up, her voice trembling slightly but still mustering her courage:

"Is...is Big Sister alright?"

"……snort."

Chiba Rui first glanced at her younger sister before coldly saying:

"Good people don't live long, but evil people live for a thousand years... I actually hope she died in battle yesterday, so that no one will compete with me for the position of head of the family and Her Majesty the Queen's favor."

"Uh."

Startled, Thousand-Leaf Grass shrank back behind Valensa, but then breathed a sigh of relief and murmured:

"It's good that you're alright... I'd rather you guys argued and scolded me every day than have to talk to you in the cemetery, facing your tombstones..."

"..."

Chiba Rui didn't say anything more, but increased the speed of the ninja ship, making a final sprint to land on the island.

Jade Island is the smallest of the four main islands in the Four Islands Alliance, just over 2 square kilometers. On the map, it is a perfectly round oval, like a beautifully carved piece of jade, hence its name.

After landing on the island, Chiba Rui remained silent and led the way quietly.

Valensa and her companions walked all the way to the center of Jade Island, where all they could see were ruins, trees that had been split in half, hills that had been cut in half, streams that had been blocked, and the corpses of rare birds and animals that lay everywhere. The few survivors were huddled in narrow places, trembling, clearly having just experienced great fear.

It's hard to imagine what this island has gone through... This is the home of one of the strongest beings on the continent of Frenoia, yet it's in such a terrible state.

The white-clad palace woman with her eyes and mouth positioned backwards is likely stronger than Valensa initially suspected.

Finally, we arrived at the center of Chino Island.

This should be the palace where Queen Himika originally lived, but it is now in ruins. However, there are several wooden houses and pavilions next to the ruins, which should have been temporarily built using wood-style ninjutsu.

Valensa sensed for a moment and found that there were many people meditating and regulating their breathing in the cabin. Everyone was a powerful expert at the Radiant Rank, and everyone was seriously injured. Some were even still bedridden and did not have the strength to regulate their breathing and heal themselves. They could only rely on alchemical potions to keep their lives alive and slowly recover.

Inside the largest wooden pavilion, tables, chairs, and tea had already been set up.

It was a black-haired, black-eyed girl wearing a black kimono embroidered with gold cherry blossom patterns. She looked to be only in elementary school age and resembled the statue in Chuyun City, except that her age didn't match.

The difference between the large lotus and the small lotus.

She was sitting in the main seat, holding a cup of tea and gesturing to Valensa from afar. Behind her stood another beautiful female demon ninja with blue hair and green eyes, who should be Chiba Shin, the eldest sister of the Chiba family... Her bust size was also the largest among the three sisters, almost a B cup.

The black-haired girl in a kimono who looks to be only in elementary school age must be Himika, the Queen of Demons, to be served like a maid by the eldest sister of the Chiba family.

Is it also because of yesterday's battle?

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

While secretly guessing what was going on, he knew he had to maintain proper etiquette.

Valensa and Tia soon entered the wooden pavilion and exchanged pleasantries with Himiko according to the etiquette of nobles meeting for the first time.

Meanwhile, Melody and the others, accompanied by Chiba Rui, went to another pavilion to rest for the time being.

Fortunately, as rumored, the Demon Queen Himika disliked roundabout social niceties. After a few simple words, she readily invited Valensa and Tia to sit down for tea and got straight to the point:

"You two must be very curious about why I am like this now, right? Well, to be honest, I'm already very lucky to have survived... Yesterday, a powerful enemy came and I was seriously injured. In order to recover my consciousness as soon as possible and not fall into a deep sleep, I had no choice but to temporarily transform myself into a juvenile form."

"The formidable enemy Your Majesty speaks of is..."

Valensa briefly described her experience hunting night jellyfish that night.

"That's right, it's that person... So you were the one who initially got this information? It seems I owe you two lives... If it weren't for your information that allowed me to prepare in advance, I would have had no chance of surviving yesterday's battle."

Himika nodded, then sighed before asking:

"Speaking of which, the large-scale miracle that occurred on Chizhi Island yesterday must be related to the two of you, right? In fact, it was that miracle that scared away the powerful enemy here, allowing us to barely save our lives. One of the main purposes of my invitation to the two of you today is to thank you in person for this."

"Your Majesty is too kind. I was only doing my duty yesterday."

There are some things that need to be said about Himika, the ruler of the Four Islands Alliance.

Before Himiko could press further, Valensa recounted how the Sinful Angel had been hiding on Ruler Island for the past year, plotting various schemes, and how he had finally been killed yesterday.

"So it was that girl... I'd heard of her, but I always thought she just messed around with those insignificant little cults. I never imagined she had such ambitions, even daring to assassinate a big shot from the Seren clan and frame me? She's got guts... Good riddance!"

Himiko cheered loudly, quite pleased with the fate of the Sinful Angel, and even toasted Valensa with tea instead of wine to celebrate.

After finishing discussing the Island of Rulers and the Sinful Angel, Valensa seized the opportunity to ask, before Himiko brought up any other topics:

"By the way, Your Majesty, who exactly is that strange woman with her eyes and mouth reversed? Since she came to Jade Island to seek revenge, Your Majesty should know her, right?"

"..."

Himika remained silent for a while, then drank three cups of tea in one go before nodding.

“Of course I know her… The second reason I invited you two here is to talk to you about this matter. I need to use your connections to facilitate full cooperation between the Four Islands Alliance, the Kingdom of Fran, the America Merchant Alliance, the Sage's Tower, and the Witch Forest. Otherwise, all that awaits us are slavery and death.”

"so serious?"

Valensa frowned, quite surprised: