The story of the black silk female knight

"Alright, there's no one else here, Sister Friedeja."

Valensa then lifted one foot and gently tapped her shadow twice with the tip of her boot, as if knocking on a door.

"Hmm~~"

A soft, seductive moan followed, and a perfectly curved body, clad in a long dress and stockings, emerged from Valensa's shadow, appearing behind her. The body naturally wrapped around Valensa's slender waist and rested its chin on her shoulder, gazing together at the remains in the crystal coffin.

"...So? Sister Friedeja, did you notice anything?"

Seeing that the great witch behind her hadn't spoken for several minutes, but her hands were becoming increasingly restless, Valensa had no choice but to ask her.

"...He did indeed die from an attack by an authority, but I'm not entirely sure whether it was Qingyi's authority."

Friggia remained silent for a moment before replying:

“However, judging from your research records and results, even if this power is not the same as Qingyi’s power back then, it is very similar… Hmm, let’s wait until I see her with my own eyes before we talk about it.”

"Alright, let's enter the ice field tomorrow."

Valensa made a decision immediately, then thought for a moment and said:

"With Mr. Winston here, perhaps we don't need to risk venturing deep into the ice field right away. We can first follow the method the research team experimented with before, and have Mr. Winston lure that phantom in the ice out from the outer edge of the ice field to take a look?"

"That's definitely a safer approach... Okay."

Friggia readily agreed.

However, when Valensa revealed her plans the next morning and prepared to leave the cathedral with little Winston and enter the ice field, she was stopped by the rest of the research team.

They wanted to go along too.

Old Winston and Big Winston were worried about their youngest son and brother, saying that the three of them should always act together.

The research team was extremely curious about the secrets of the ghost and the two-dimensional girl. They were determined not to miss the opportunity to uncover the truth with Valensa, and even wanted to go deep into the ice field with her.

Even if Valencia gets angry and refuses this time, it won't work... She may be famous now, but she's still just an inner paladin of Farron and can't control America's clergy.

Valensa was furious about this, but she didn't know what to do. She could only contact America's very mysterious inner knight, [Moon Cluster], hoping that [Moon Cluster] could help suppress the research team's curiosity.

However, [Moon Cluster]'s reply to Valensa consisted of only a few words:

I want to go too.

Chapter 53 Game Characters Cannot Die

Are you going to [Moon Cluster] too?

When Valensa first saw the reply, she was naturally annoyed, but that annoyance quickly turned into curiosity.

Because this "moon cluster" is truly mysterious.

There are three human regimes on the continent of Frenoia that are recognized by the Church of the Sun, and naturally there are three inner temple knights.

Valensa herself is now the inner sanctum of the Farron, while the inner sanctum of the Four Islands Alliance is a priest from the Cathedral of Chuyun City on Mirror Island. Valensa has met him a few times; the priest has a kind face and temperament, and the two have always cooperated well... or rather, the priest has given Valensa a lot of support for her activities in the Four Islands Alliance.

Of course, the Church of the Sun is a very harmonious organization, with so few internal struggles and conflicts that they are almost negligible. The Moon Cluster has also consistently provided as much support as possible for Valensa's actions in America.

However, the Moon Cluster is too mysterious. TA and Valensa communicate entirely through letters, and they have never even used the Faith Circuit, let alone met in person.

Moreover, it wasn't just Valensa; many clergy members who had served in the American Church for decades had never seen the true face of the [Moon Cluster], and similarly received their commands through letters.

This naturally shrouded the [Moon Cluster] in mystery and various legends, and Valensa had long been very curious and wanted to meet the [Moon Cluster] in person.

Furthermore, a priest who can become a formal inner paladin is at least a Star Knight, so even if they join an exploration team, they won't be a burden, and will likely be of great help.

So after her initial annoyance, Valensa quickly replied to [Moon Cluster].

She didn't refuse [Moon Cluster]'s suggestion to go together, but she didn't agree directly either. Instead, she suggested that she meet with [Moon Cluster] first to discuss the specific details.

Therefore, Valensa could not immediately enter the ice field as originally planned; she had to wait for a reply from [Moon Cluster] and discuss the matter.

Fortunately, [Moon Cluster] was quite efficient. Less than half an hour after Valensa sent her reply, a very fat pigeon flew to her again, bringing [Moon Cluster]'s letter.

The letter was simple: [Moon Cluster] agreed to meet Valensa and arranged a time and place for the meeting.

It was noon, and the location was a well-known dessert shop in the Arant coastal area, where various small cakes, cookies, and ice cream were very popular with female customers.

"Hmm...So, Senior [Moon Cluster] is a girl too?"

Valensa raised an eyebrow at the meeting place in the letter, somewhat surprised:

"With such strong and powerful handwriting, I thought he would be a handsome and masculine man."

A few hours later, in a booth at that famous dessert shop, Valensa met [Moon Cluster], whom she had initially thought was a handsome older man.

"It was you? Could it really be you?"

Valensa was quite surprised to see the languid young woman in front of her, who was quickly and elegantly devouring her dessert.

Valensa recognized the girl... although they had only met once, she still remembered her.

When Thousand Leaf Grass first came to America, she was framed as a murderer by a high-ranking mist demon hidden in human society. At that time, Valensa went to a fringe organization that fanatically worshipped ancient vampire culture to investigate clues in order to help Thousand Leaf Grass clear her name.

That fringe organization, apart from not having a real evil god behind it, had an atmosphere and many of its behaviors that were similar to a cult... The Church of the Sun would naturally keep a close watch on that organization and had planted an inside agent within it.

The person who provided Valensa with the clue was an inside agent within the organization's church, a real vampire girl disguised as a vampire fanatic... When Valensa went to find her, she was still sleeping in her coffin, embracing a beautiful girl from a fringe organization.

And now, across from Valensa, feasting on all sorts of desserts, is that vampire girl.

She was actually the mysterious [Moon Cluster].

A Knight of the Inner Templars of America would actually infiltrate a fringe organization, openly indulging in eating, drinking, and having fun, and sleeping with all sorts of rebellious, silly, and pretty girls.

This is just too...enviable!

While thinking this in her heart, Valensa certainly couldn't say it aloud, but instead sighed again:

"It's really you?"

"Is it strange that I am [Moon Cluster]?"

The vampire girl swallowed the last bite of her ice cream, then licked the cream off her lips before smiling:

"Inner Templars should be hiding their identities as much as possible. Who would have thought that I, a vampire worshipper who is almost a cult member, would be an Inner Templar? It would be a mistake for you and Uncle Ara to make your identities known to almost everyone."

"I didn't want it to be like this, but there's nothing I can do... Who told me to be too outstanding?"

Valensa shrugged, seemingly resigned, and took a sip of her own iced milk tea.

"You know, I originally only held the title of honorary paladin, but Her Majesty the Goddess spoiled me so much that in no time my divine magic skills surpassed those of many real paladins... I can't keep a low profile even if I want to."

"Alright, alright, I already knew you were amazing, stop showing off."

The vampire girl rolled her eyes in annoyance before extending a hand to Valensa and introducing herself in a very serious manner:

“Seraha Windsor, a vampire, age kept secret, and also a member of the [Moon Cluster]... Actually, I told you my name when we last met, but you probably don't remember, right?”

"Actually, I do have some impression of it. After all, Seraya, you are very beautiful, and I can usually remember beautiful things."

Valensa smiled and extended her hand to gently shake Seraya's:

"I probably don't need to introduce myself, right? Who doesn't know the famous Sunflower Duchess these days? Even my measurements can probably be found in entertainment magazines."

"Because you're a legendary figure, so hot and beautiful, and have all sorts of romantic rumors with the newly appointed commander of the Allied Forces, it's normal for you to attract attention~~"

Seraya offered words of comfort with a hint of schadenfreude.

"Hey~~"

Valensa sighed and quickly started chatting with Seraya.

Neither of them were the type of businessmen or politicians who would beat around the bush and probe for a long time before discussing serious matters. After a few brief words, they got straight to the point.

Why would you want to come with me to venture deep into the ice fields?

Valensa asked very seriously.

Given Seraya's strength as a member of the Moon Cluster, venturing deep into the Ice Plains is no problem, but it's a bit strange that she would do this given her status and responsibilities. Valensa needs to find out the reason.

"Actually, it's quite simple; it's a rather cliché story."

Seraya continued eating her cake elegantly and quickly, but a hint of sadness crept into her eyes:

"It's just a personal grudge."

That was indeed a somewhat clichéd story.

Seraya is a vampire now, but she wasn't before.

Hundreds of years ago, Seraya was just an ordinary human girl with a not-so-wealthy but warm and happy family, with reliable parents, a gentle older sister, and a mischievous younger brother.

Until that day, a ghost infiltrated her town and suddenly attacked, destroying everything Seraya had ever had.

Her brother appeared before her eyes, transformed into an undead, and bit her to death. Her parents fought desperately to protect her against other transformed townspeople, but were ultimately outnumbered.

Seraya narrowly escaped everything in that disaster, but she didn't escape completely—by the time the paladins arrived, Seraya was already severely injured and beginning to turn into an undead. The paladins who were on the mission at the time had no healing magic to save her, and it was too late to send her to a place where she could be saved.

Fortunately, although there was no powerful healer among the paladins, there was a strong vampire paladin who was also America's inner paladin at the time.

The vampire paladin, not wanting to watch Seraya become an undead and be purified, decided to give her a few drops of his own essence blood and perform the vampire's first embrace of humanity transformation ritual on her.

The paladin's idea was to fight poison with poison... Since Seraya's transformation into an undead was irreversible, he decided to turn her into a vampire first.

The vampire paladin succeeded; Seraya became her descendant and, through her efforts, took over the position of Inner Templar Knight after Seraya's term expired and she was transferred.

However, Seraya has never forgotten the collapse of her happy family when she was human. For hundreds of years, she has been deeply troubled by the Netherworld, and even secretly used her own money to hire some Radiant Adventurers to explore the Ice Plains, hoping to completely uncover the secrets of the Netherworld.

Unfortunately, all those adventurers failed... Some cautiously turned back before reaching the depths of the ice field, while others remained there forever and never returned.

In Seraya's eyes, what Valensa was about to do was actually similar to what those adventurers who had ventured deep into the ice plains had done before.

But Valensa was different from those adventurers; she was the famous Sunflower Duchess, a woman who had been creating miracles since her debut.

If it were her, maybe it really would work.

So Seraya was going. She wanted to witness the secrets of the Ice Plains and the Underworld being revealed, and she wanted to contribute to the process, even if it meant never returning.

After listening, Valensa hesitated for a moment, but still agreed to accompany Seraya.

However, she had a condition: Seraya had to use her power as the [Moon Cluster] to restrict the research team from acting recklessly... They could only participate in the first contact with the phantom in the ice, and they had to return after venturing deeper into the ice field.

Those below the Radiant Rank are forbidden from entering the depths of the Ice Plains... That's not courage, that's suicide.

Seraya agreed.

Back at the cathedral, the two told each other about their decision.

The research team members, many of whom were very curious, were extremely dissatisfied with not being able to participate in the most important explorations deep into the ice sheet.

But the arm can't go over the thigh, and faced with Seraya giving orders in her capacity as [Moon Cluster], they could only obey.

We entered the ice field a day later than planned, but we had some unexpected help, which was still pretty good.

During their journey around the ice field, Valensa didn't have much to worry about.

In recent years, the research team has visited the ice field with the Winston father and sons many times and has long since developed a very familiar process.

They even developed a large snowmobile powered by magic crystals. The slightly warm cabin was as comfortable as a hotel room, a completely different world from the icy and snowy outside.

Unlike the previous time when she was cautious and struggled to move forward, this time, on the outskirts of the ice field, Valensa spent most of her time in the snowmobile eating hot pot and chatting, and also praying to the sun goddess with the sisters and brothers in the church.

There was nothing Valensa could do; it wasn't that she was lazy, but there was nothing she could do even if she tried.

According to the research team's findings, Winston is only a half-ghost, and it seems that he cannot be discovered by the two-dimensional girl as soon as he enters the ice field. He must go deeper than 174 kilometers and stay for more than 90 hours to lure the two-dimensional girl out.

Until then, we can only wait patiently.

It was noon on the fifth day after entering the ice field.

"She's here! She's here!"

Valensa, who was resting with her eyes closed, suddenly heard a slightly excited voice beside her.

She quickly opened her eyes, stood up, and looked toward the area where Winston and his two sons were being used as bait.

Sure enough, it was that anime girl in military uniform. She was still traversing the ice, rapidly approaching Winston and his two sons.

The experienced Winston father and his two sons remained calm and collected. They threw specially made ink-ball bombs to blacken the ice surface for cover while slowly retreating according to the planned route, allowing the research team to fully collect data from the observation measures they had already set up.

"...How is it, Sister Frigia?"

Valensa didn't make any rash moves. She kept her distance and observed from the shadows for a while before gently tapping her own shadow with the tip of her boot and asking.

In the presence of clergy from other churches, Frieda disliked showing herself, so she spoke only from the shadows, a voice that only Valensa could hear:

“She really does look exactly like Qingyi back then, and she uses the same powers... If I hadn’t witnessed Qingyi’s death with my own eyes, I would definitely have thought that she was Qingyi.”

"So, is she or isn't she?"