The story of the black silk female knight

"I wouldn't say I really like them, but I'd say they're all useful to me."

Valensa sighed:

"It has different effects in different situations, and I'm a little unsure how to choose."

"Then just don't choose it, right?"

Tia gave Valensa a strange look before speaking directly to the sales assistant:

"Check, we'll take all three shields."

?

Valensa paused for a moment before letting out a wry smile and a sigh.

Yes, I've been living a poor life in the countryside for three years and I've almost forgotten how aristocratic ladies shop.

Indecisiveness? It doesn't exist when it comes to money.

The three shields were quickly packed into flat wooden boxes by the sales assistant, and Tia paid directly without even trying to bargain.

"Is there anything else you want?"

After buying the shield, Tia smiled and looked at Valensa:

"This shop has quite a few high-quality equipment. Would you like to take a look at the weapons?"

"No need for now."

Valensa hesitated for a moment, then shook her head:

"You've already given me enough equipment lately. I shouldn't try to do too much at once. Let me get used to the equipment I have first."

"it is good."

Tia smiled, her eyes narrowed:

"Just let me know whenever you need new equipment, and we can come over on another day off, and I'll buy it for you."

"Hehe, Tia, you're so nice!~~"

Valensa quickly grabbed Tia's arm, and the two women left the equipment shop together and returned to the carriage.

"It's still early, the Adventurers' Guild hasn't closed yet, and even if we go to see Melina, it might disrupt her work..."

Tia took out her pocket watch and glanced at the time:

"How about... we go shopping at Nora's shopping mall again?"

"This……"

Valensa hesitated; she actually wanted to find an excuse to temporarily separate from Tia and go to the Dimensional Hardware Store in the capital.

"We don't seem to lack any daily necessities right now, do we?"

"...Who said we don't lack anything?"

Tia raised an eyebrow, clearly annoyed, and without any hesitation grabbed one of Valensa's black-stockinged legs and placed it on her own lap, then forcefully tore the stockings off.

stab.

Valensa's black pantyhose ripped instantly, leaving a large hole.

"have a look……"

Tia pointed with considerable disdain at the tear in the black stockings:

"You're still wearing such cheap black stockings of such poor quality. They tore before I even used them... Come on, I'll go buy you some better quality ones."

"Oh...is that really unnecessary?"

Valensa was somewhat speechless:

"This thing is a low-value consumable... I'm a female knight, and even the best quality black pantyhose can't be guaranteed not to be damaged in battle and training, unless it's a Noble Phantasm."

"But it can't be this flimsy."

Tia pursed her lips, then picked up Valensa's black-stockinged legs and gently smelled them before frowning again, her expression growing increasingly disgusted.

"It even smells of sweat... Your black stockings don't even have the function of keeping you smelling fresh? No, no, you absolutely can't wear these black stockings anymore, they don't suit you."

As she spoke, Tia lifted her white-stockinged foot and stretched it out in front of Valensa:

"Look, smell it... Doesn't this white silk stocking have absolutely no sweat smell? Instead, it has a very fresh milky scent, right? That's the effect of good material, huh, aren't you envious?"

"Well... alright, then I'll leave it to Tia."

Having said all that, Valensa knew that refusing again would clearly anger Tia, so she had no choice but to agree.

Tia hummed in satisfaction and was about to pull her foot back when she found that it wouldn't budge even after two attempts.

"...What do you want to do? Let go of me now~~"

When Valensa suddenly grabbed her white-stockinged foot and gave her a wicked smile, Tia panicked a little:

"We're outside! Don't do anything reckless!"

"It's alright, the carriage curtains will cover it, no one will see... Tia, didn't you say your white stockings are of very high quality? Let me check them out... Hehe~~"

"Huh? No... Ugh?~~"

The game of hooking threads and teasing feet has begun.

The carriage swayed more and more, and even the soft moans of a young girl could be heard coming from inside. The red-haired maid driving the carriage seemed not to hear it at all, her eyes only on the road ahead...

Chapter 23 Seeing things and missing people

It was already noon when we arrived at the Nora Chamber of Commerce shopping mall.

Valensa and Tia didn't rush to go shopping; instead, they planned to have lunch first.

As the largest commercial street in the royal capital of Fran, the Nora Chamber of Commerce's shopping mall is surrounded by many of the capital's well-known restaurants.

"These restaurants haven't changed much..."

Returning here after three years, Valensa remarked as she looked at the familiar storefronts.

"After all, you only spent three years in the countryside~~"

Tia shrugged:

"Most of these are century-old establishments... So, what do you want to eat?"

"Hmm... this one will do."

Valensa's gaze swept back and forth between the restaurants several times before finally settling on one.

"This one? I think it's..."

Tia's expression changed slightly, and she secretly observed Valensa a few more times. Confirming that Valensa's eyes held only nostalgia and not much sadness, she continued softly:

"Is this Elena's favorite restaurant? You used to bring her here all the time... Your favorite restaurant is the one across the street, right?"

"Hmm, Tia, you have such a good memory... Or is it that you only remember everything about me so clearly?"

Valensa teased Tia with a laugh, then suddenly became serious before Tia could become embarrassed or annoyed:

"Then you should remember... I chose this restaurant, not because it's Elena's favorite... but because it's where we first met~~"

"……Why?"

Tia was stunned for a moment, then her face turned even redder:

"You mean...that incident? Ugh...that's such a dark history from back then, how do you remember it so clearly? Don't remember it, forget it now!"

"Haha... How could I forget something so interesting? Impossible."

Valensa smiled:

"We were only seven years old back then, weren't we? I was having a meal here with Elena when a little playboy started harassing me... Hmph."

Unfortunately, I immediately recognized you as a woman disguised as a man, so I decided to play along and tease you instead. I didn't expect you to blush and become shy after just a few moments.

"Hmph! Who would have thought that you would be so shameless at such a young age!"

Tia gritted her teeth in anger:

"Shouldn't a normal noble lady act shy when approached like that? But you suddenly threw yourself into my arms, and even wanted to... You scared me to death."

"You were the one who flirted with me first!"

Valensa's eyes darted around as she spoke:

"How about we reminisce a bit later? Tia, tease me like you did back then..."

"And then you think you can just shamelessly bully me, huh? You wish!"

Tia immediately blushed and refused, even pinching Valensa:

"Don't forget this is still Elena's favorite restaurant! Now that Elena's life is hanging in the balance, you, her older sister, want to shamelessly linger here... Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

"……Too."

Valensa's smile vanished instantly, replaced by a melancholy expression.

"I wonder how Elena is doing now... She hasn't eaten at her favorite restaurant in three years. Will she cry and throw a tantrum like before?"

"what……"

Realizing she had brought up the wrong topic, Tia felt a pang of regret and quickly took Valensa's hand.

"I'm sorry, I reminded you of something sad again..."

"It's okay... Anyway, running away from this isn't the solution."

Valensa took a deep breath, composed herself, and smiled again:

"One day, I will figure that out... and then let those who deserve rest in peace rest in peace, and those who deserve to pay the price."

"Yes, I will do my best to help you."

After that, the two women stopped dwelling on the past and went into the restaurant together. Under the guidance of the waiter, they found a relatively quiet place to sit down.

Valensa picked up the menu. It was the same familiar page and dishes, but her adorable little sister who used to call her "Big Sister" was gone...

"These are the ones I want."

Shaking her head to banish the sadness from her mind once more, Valensa quickly selected her dishes and handed the menu back to the waiting waiter.

"Wait a moment, you two."

The waiter respectfully took the menu and left, but Tia frowned again.

She was somewhat worried that Valensa, ever since returning to the capital, had been constantly reminded of the past by the sight of familiar objects and had become increasingly eager to uncover the truth about what happened back then.

But that matter was clearly very complicated. Tia had investigated it over the past three years, and even went to her father's study many times to peek at top-secret documents, but she found no clues.

Given Valencia's current strength, rushing to investigate that matter would likely be very dangerous.

"It's okay~~"

Valensa clearly sensed Tia's worry, grabbed Tia's hand that was resting on the table, and even used her toes to nudge Tia's white stockings under the table.

"Of course I know that the truth of that matter is not simple, so I never thought of taking it all at once... but planned to start from other places and work slowly."

"Should we start from somewhere else...?"

Tia hesitated for a moment:

"This shouldn't be a problem. You already have an idea?"

"Ah."

As Valencia nodded, the waiter had already brought the food on a cart.

She didn't rush to speak. Instead, after all the dishes were served, she wrapped a palm-sized piece of roasted meat in a larger lettuce leaf and ate it in large bites before letting out a long sigh.

"The taste hasn't changed at all... Elena's favorite vegetable-wrapped roast meat."

"Don't worry, after we rescue Elena, I'll come with you and bring her here to eat."

Tia quickly offered Valensa another word of comfort, and then secretly peeked out from under the table with her white-stockinged foot, gently rubbing it against Valensa's black-stockinged calf:

"So? Where do you plan to start your investigation?"

“Um… I plan to start tracing my mother’s bloodline.”