The story of the black silk female knight

This is not the reaction that should occur when one is poisoned by spring; it is completely cold poison!

Hiss.

With that in mind, Valensa did not hesitate and tore off the white silk on Tia's bitten leg to examine the wound carefully.

Sure enough, the bleeding at the wound had not only stopped long ago, but white frost had even formed on it.

It's definitely cold poison.

But how is this possible?

The type of venom in each of the rainbow three-headed serpent's heads is completely fixed; there has never been a record in the Adventurers' Guild of a mismatch between the serpent's head color and its venom.

unless……

Thinking of the pit in the previous trial room, Valensa had an idea. She picked up the green snake head that she had just thrown away and rubbed it vigorously.

Sure enough, after she rubbed it a few times, a layer of green powder fell off the surface of the snake's head, revealing its true color inside—cyan.

"grass!"

Valensa, unable to maintain her ladylike demeanor any longer, swore:

"Who the hell designed this trial? They actually used paint to change the color of the rainbow three-headed serpent's head to trick people? That's so unethical!"

"So...so I was poisoned by cold poison?"

Tia was still conscious at this point, and after realizing what had happened, she gave a bitter smile:

"Look...it seems I have to stop here..."

The poison of spring is the least harmful, and the poison of numbness can be naturally cured by lying on the ground for a few hours.

The only poison that can induce a state of hibernation is the cold poison. If the poisoned person and their teammates do not have an antidote, they will most likely lose the qualification to continue participating in the assessment.

"No! Tia! Don't fall asleep!"

When Valensa saw that Tia seemed to want to close her eyes, she was terrified and rushed to Tia's side, calling her name and patting her cheeks.

"I...I don't want to sleep either."

Tia's body grew increasingly cold, each breath she exhaled turning into white mist, which even condensed into frost upon contact with Valensa's armor.

"But I'm so cold...so cold...so sleepy...uh."

"Hang in there! You can do it, Tia!"

Valensa was so anxious that tears were almost in her eyes:

"Aren't you the genius girl from the capital? Aren't you the best candidate this year? Didn't you come all the way to the fourth episode to help me? I haven't even collapsed yet, how can you fall asleep?"

"Don't...don't make it sound like I'm about to die, you idiot."

Tia then smiled and even comforted Valensa:

"It's alright, I'll just temporarily enter a state of suspended animation, like hibernation. Once I get out, I'll find a priest to treat me and I'll be fine."

"It's just that I probably won't be able to be with you during your first year at the War Academy... I'll have to wait until next year to ask for your continued support, senior~~"

"Don't call me that! I'm not your senior! Besides, you're clearly two months older than me!"

Valensa bit her tongue hard, using the pain to keep herself calm amidst the chaos.

"...I will absolutely not let you be eliminated, Tia, never!"

There was never a trace of compromise or hesitation in his deep blue eyes:

"It's just a mere cold poison! I'll figure out a way to deal with it!"

As Valensa spoke, she rolled up her sleeves and fumbled to find her veins.

He picked up the now motionless green snake head, pried open its mouth, and plunged its fangs into his own blood vessels.

"...What are you doing? You idiot...cough cough cough."

Having witnessed all of this, Tia immediately sat up as if in a final burst of energy, coughing up puffs of white smoke while angrily scolding:

"We finally made it to the third level, and you're giving up because of me? Valencia, when did you become so fragile? If I die, are you going to commit suicide with me?"

"I would never commit suicide for you."

Valensa shook her head without hesitation, and then chuckled softly the instant Tia's face turned extremely pale:

"Because I'm a knight and you're a spellcaster... If you really died, I would have died first to protect you, so why would I need to commit suicide for love?"

"...What an idiot..."

Tia's face flushed red again, even though she was freezing cold.

"And Tia, have you forgotten something?"

Feeling the cold poison also beginning to flare up within her own body, Valensa focused all her mental energy on strengthening her immune system to create antibodies, while simultaneously laughing heartily at Tia:

"I poisoned myself not because I wanted to give up... On the contrary, I will overcome the cold poison and continue to pass all the tests with you!"

"Uh...you're...deliberately poisoning yourself to make your body develop antibodies?"

Tia finally understood Valensa's intention. The cold had made her usually sharp mind a little sluggish.

"But……"

Even though she understood Valensa's intentions, Tia was still somewhat pessimistic:

"Didn't Asashi say that there's a dangerous energy in your blood? Even if you successfully generate antibodies in your body, how will you share them with me?"

Chapter 146: Detoxification

The rainbow three-headed serpent's cold poison at most forces people into hibernation; as long as a priest treats them, their lives are not in danger.

But Valensa's blood is different.

According to Asashi, if there wasn't a priest nearby who could provide immediate treatment, receiving Valensa's blood would almost certainly mean certain death.

'Don't kill me!'

Tia didn't finish her sentence, but her eyes clearly conveyed the meaning.

"……Do not worry."

Valensa took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly.

Compared to the previous instance where she was exhaling white mist, Valensa's breathing has now returned to normal, and the air she exhales is quite warm.

Clearly, thanks to the mental exertion she undertook at any cost, her immune system had successfully generated antibodies against the cold poison.

Next, all we need to do is find a way to share these antibodies with Tia, and we'll be all set.

“I really can’t control the energy in my blood… In fact, if it weren’t for Asaki, I wouldn’t even know that I had that kind of energy in my blood.”

Having fully recovered from the effects of the cold poison, Valensa was even more confident:

"But sharing antibodies with you isn't just about blood transfusions... When you used your secret technique to help me kill the Oily Dragon, didn't I replenish your strength in another way?"

"Huh? You mean..."

Tia's face flushed instantly, and she stole a glance at Valensa's breastplate, unconsciously smacking her lips twice:

"Then...that method? But aren't the antibodies against the cold poison in your blood? Can they be shared with me through that method?"

"Normally, of course, it's not possible, but..."

Bang.

As Valensa spoke, she removed her breastplate and began unbuttoning her shirt.

"Didn't I say that my secret technique allows me to control my own body? If I can generate antibodies in my blood in such a short time, then it's normal for me to convert those antibodies into something that can be absorbed through digestion, right?"

This is my last bit of spiritual power, Tia.

Valensa spoke lightly, but in reality, her emotional well-being had already been depleted when she was generating antibodies, and the current transformation had severely overdrawn her resources.

Her head ached terribly. The Tia in front of her kept changing from four to six, and her mental state was likely even weaker than Tia's, who was being tormented by the cold poison.

But she still pretended to be nonchalant and pulled Tia into her arms:

"Here, have some hot water to warm yourself up. You won't feel cold anymore after you drink it..."

Valensa's tense nerves only relaxed after confirming that the antibody had been successfully inhaled by Tia.

She could no longer hold on; her head sank, and she lost consciousness.

. . . . .

When I woke up, I didn't know how many hours had passed.

Valensa breathed a sigh of relief when she opened her eyes and saw Tia's vibrant body.

She turned her head slightly and found herself lying on a robe, with Tia's soft, slightly fragrant white silk legs behind her head.

Tia sat on the ground, dozing with her head against the cave wall, with three cards floating around her, presumably some kind of warning device.

Perhaps startled by the friction of Valensa's hair as she turned her head, Tia quickly opened her eyes, her crimson eyes meeting her azure eyes.

Joy, worry, and finally, anger.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot..."

Tia grabbed Valensa's face directly:

"Aren't you being too reckless? It's not a big deal that I'm starting school a year late, since the kingdom's forced marriage laws don't apply to me... But what about you? What if you fail too..."

"It's okay if I fail~~"

Valensa took Tia's hand that was pinching her cheek and gently rubbed it:

"Don't forget I'm still a gold-level member of the Culinary Association. If I fail the assessment, I'll come to your house and be your cook, using you as my guinea pig every day."

"Hmph, I don't want you!"

Tia pouted coquettishly, but didn't pull her hand away:

"How are you feeling? You overdid it again, didn't you? Don't do that again. No matter what kind of secret technique you used, repeatedly overdrawing yourself like this is not a good thing... You don't feel it now, but it might be a very bad situation in the future."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Valensa nodded obediently before attempting to sit up.

"How long have I been unconscious? The feeling of exhaustion is mostly gone now, but it will probably take some time to fully recover... We won't be able to continue the trial for the time being."

"Then take a good rest. Anyway, there's still plenty of time."

Tia quickly helped Valensa up:

“You were unconscious for about seven or eight hours, right? I took the opportunity to check this cave. Apart from the arcane fluctuations from where we came from, there was nothing else... It’s quite a good place to rest.”

"That's alright... um."

With Tia's help, Valensa quickly stood up.

She shook her still somewhat dizzy head, looked around, and her gaze quickly fell on the corpse of the rainbow three-headed serpent. A thought struck her:

"Speaking of which... Tia, you must be hungry, right? After all, you don't have a maid to take care of you right now. If I don't cook for you, will you be able to get something to eat by yourself?"

"...You're just trying to make fun of me because I'm feeling a little better, aren't you?"

Tia suddenly became annoyed, and the hand that was supporting Valensa turned into a sharp pinch on her waist:

"Who do you think you are? I may not know anything about cooking, but do you think I wouldn't know to store some food in my magical storage item beforehand? I don't know anything about it..."

Gu~~~~

"……Hungry."

Completely unprepared for her stomach to betray her at this moment, Tia was speechless, only feeling so embarrassed that steam was rising from her head like a boiling kettle.

"Haha~~"

Valensa smiled gently, and quickly comforted Tia before she could become angry and stomp on her:

"If we count the time, we've been in the trial maze for more than ten hours, and we've already passed two really tough trials. Our physical strength has been depleted quite a bit, so it's normal to be hungry."

But... since you have food with you, Tia, why don't you eat some first?

"……snort."

Tia still lifted her white-stockinged little foot and stepped on Valensa's boots: