The story of the black silk female knight

"Okay, I understand. It's settled then..."

While Valensa was pondering how to phrase her conversation with the young adventurer to extract information about the Winged Falcon, Melina's conversation with several kingdom soldiers had ended.

Before leaving the Adventurers' Guild Hall, several kingdom soldiers who saw Valensa looked at her with amazement, and one of them even seemed to want to come up and chat with her.

However, they immediately noticed the insignia on Valensa's body that represented her noble status, suppressed their unrealistic thoughts, and left silently.

Huh, man.

Valensa, who had completely discerned the changes in the soldiers' mental states, curled her lip before walking towards Melina, who still maintained a serious expression:

"What happened, Melina?"

"Hey."

Melina rubbed her temples:

"If I ask Miss to temporarily refrain from taking on missions, would you agree?"

"Hey?"

Valensa paused, but didn't immediately refuse or agree; instead, she frowned.

"Why? Melina, you should know that I'm at a crucial stage right now... The War Academy's entrance exam is next month, and I really need money to prepare."

"I knew you wouldn't agree... Never mind."

Melina shook her head:

"Then please be extra careful during this time, Miss, even more so than before!"

"What happened?"

Valensa guessed:

"Could it be that besides the winged falcon on the northern cliff, other extremely dangerous monsters have appeared near Sergin Town?"

"It's not monsters, the enemy is more dangerous than monsters... it's the scattered wild beast tribe."

Melina finally gave the answer.

"The Wild Beast Clan?"

Valensa was somewhat convinced:

"Aren't they in the northern barren lands? Although they are constantly at war with the kingdom, they only wage war to seize food. After each breach of the defenses, they just grab some crops in the north and leave. How could they possibly go to a place like Sergin Town?"

If what I learned before is correct... I remember that the Beastmen are all heretics, and the longer they stay on the land blessed by the Sun Goddess, the weaker they become, even to the point of death... There's no reason for them to come here, is there?"

"No one knows the specific reason right now, and Wang Guojun is still investigating."

Melina shrugged:

"According to the intelligence provided by those soldiers, the Kingdom's army and the Wild Beast Clan recently engaged in another battle on the northern border."

During the battle, an elite force of the Wild Beasts broke through the defenses, but instead of seizing food, they deliberately continued to penetrate deeper into the enemy territory.

Although the church's paladins and the kingdom's elite soldiers quickly joined forces to launch a siege and successfully tore apart the elite beastman squad, they failed to annihilate them completely... Some beastman warriors successfully broke through and have already entered the kingdom's interior.

The Adventurers' Guild has now received the news and will issue a bounty, calling on all adventurers to join in the hunt for the lurking beastmen warriors. They must be eliminated as soon as possible.

"Elite warriors of the Beast Clan, huh..."

Valensa seemed thoughtful:

"I once heard my father say that a very small number of beastmen seem to be able to control demons. I wonder if the winged falcon that suddenly appeared in the north is related to the beastmen?"

"Whether there's a connection or not is none of your business, Miss!"

Melina suddenly glared, her expression turning stern. She didn't look like a maid advising her young mistress at all; she looked more like an older sister reprimanding her mischievous younger sister.

"Judging from your performance when you returned, Miss, you must have succeeded in the mission to subdue the Armored Bearmen, right? But you must not get too arrogant... The Winged Falcon and the Armored Bearmen are completely different concepts. If you go looking for trouble with the Winged Falcon now, you will only be heading towards death!"

"I know... Don't worry, Melina, I'm not the kind of stupid person who would do something reckless."

Valensa nodded solemnly, assuring everyone she wouldn't do anything reckless, before smiling and saying:

"However, I'll first gather information about the Winged Falcon to prepare for when I'm confident in making a move. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"...If it's just about gathering information, then of course there's no problem."

Melina glanced at the young adventurer in the corner of the hall and sighed softly:

“However, Miss, you’d better watch your words. He has just lost a loved one and is easily impulsive… Noble status only works for rational people, it’s not a panacea.”

"Yeah, I understand."

Valensa walked over to the young man, but didn't speak immediately. Instead, she sat down, stared at the blood-stained axe on the table in silence for a moment, as if in mourning, before softly speaking:

"Uncle Hand was chatting and laughing with me just two days ago, I never expected him to suddenly... Life is truly unpredictable."

"...Miss?"

The young man, who had been immersed in grief, seemed to only then notice Valensa. He rubbed his eyes, his voice trembling slightly:

“I often hear my uncle talk about you… He’s actually had a crush on you all along, and he even spent a lot of money to buy back the chair you once sat in…”

"!"

Valensa couldn't help but crease her forehead with two black lines, but she quickly suppressed them by adjusting her mindset.

She had always thought that Hand was just joking when he said he wanted to buy her worn black stockings at a high price. Turns out, that guy really is a pervert.

Tsk, men who have been single for a long time are really scary. He even made Valensa forget the words she had just thought of, and she didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"Ah, sorry sorry..."

Fortunately, the young adventurer seemed to realize that his words had been a bit abrupt, and his face flushed slightly.

"Young Miss, please don't misunderstand! Uncle isn't a bad person! He just..."

"Don't worry, I know."

Valensa then seized the opportunity and smiled as she continued the conversation:

"Uncle Hand just has some eccentric hobbies, but he's a good person... Speaking of which, you've only been an adventurer for a short time, haven't you? I don't think I've seen you much before?"

"...Actually, this is only my third time here."

The young adventurer gave a wry smile:

"My name is Tucker. I used to stay at home learning to farm from my father. But after someone told me I had some talent for swordsmanship, I impulsively decided to become an adventurer. I thought with my uncle guiding me, I would be able to pick it up quickly, but I never expected..."

"Oh, what a pity about Uncle Hand."

Valensa expressed her condolences again for Hand's death before changing the subject:

"By the way, would you mind telling me in detail what happened to you today? Uncle Hand, as a veteran adventurer, has done a lot for Sergin Town. We can't let him die in vain."

"...Could it be that you, young lady, want to hunt down that strange bird to avenge your uncle? No way! Absolutely not!"

Unexpectedly, Tucker suddenly became agitated and covered his head with one hand in fear.

“That strange bird is terrifying… We’ll all die… We never want to see anyone die like Uncle…”

Chapter 17 The Explosive Power of the Blade Falcon

At a time like this, shouldn't they be hoping someone will help their uncle get revenge?

This young man is calmer and kinder than I imagined.

Valensa was somewhat surprised and immediately changed her original prepared statement.

She sat up straight, her arms resting slightly on the table, her face serious.

“Tucker, you’re absolutely right. We can’t let any more people become victims… so the information you can provide is extremely important.”

"Hey?"

Tucker was stunned, his expression first showing confusion, then gradually hardening as he made up his mind:

“I understand, young lady. Please feel free to ask whatever you want to know... If I can use my experience to reduce danger for others, then I can be considered a qualified adventurer, right?”

"of course."

Valensa nodded, her expression very serious:

"The term 'adventurer' originally refers to someone who dares to explore and summarizes their own experiences to help others avoid detours... Let me briefly tell you about your and Uncle Hand's experience today."

"What happened to my uncle and me today..."

Tucker's eyes glazed over for a moment:

"Actually, it's nothing... Just like a few days ago, my uncle accepted a quest to hunt down a Lesser Demon Leopard and planned to help me, a newbie, gain experience."

Based on my uncle's past experience, the Lesser Demon Panther usually frequents the area north of town, so we went there together that afternoon to look for our target, but... sigh.

"And then they were attacked by the Winged Falcon?"

Valensa interjected at the opportune moment, asking a question in return, and began to guide Tucker to recall the details:

"Were you all focused on searching for the Lesser Demon Panther at the time? Did your uncle, as a Pearl-level warrior, not notice the Winged Falcon's attack at all? Or did the attack happen so fast that even if he noticed, it would be too late?"

"...This matter is actually my fault."

Tucker's expression began to show pain:

"At the time, my uncle was bending over, carefully searching for the tracks of the monstrous leopard. I was bored and my mind wandered around. As a result, I happened to see a large bird on the cliff several hundred meters away."

I was quite curious at the time, so I asked my uncle what kind of bird it was... Unexpectedly, my uncle's expression changed immediately, and he pulled me into a place with more trees, shouting to run.

I naturally wouldn't resist my uncle, and quickly followed him to escape, but unexpectedly the strange bird still moved.

I didn't see what happened at all; I only heard it scream. The sound clearly came from the other side of the cliff, but we had already been attacked...

My uncle pushed me away at the crucial moment. I only lost an arm, but my uncle was cut in half and his body was taken away by the strange bird...

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't discovered that strange bird, we might not have been attacked."

"No, quite the opposite... If you hadn't discovered that winged falcon beforehand, you and your uncle would have become its food."

Valensa shook her head and said seriously:

"Judging from the fact that it attacked you immediately as soon as you started to escape, it must have locked onto you a long time ago and wanted to wait for you to get closer before launching an attack. You didn't make a mistake; on the contrary, you managed to survive."

"...In that case, if I could have discovered that strange bird sooner..."

Tucker couldn't continue speaking.

Because he knew very well that there were no "what ifs" in this world.

"You just said... the whistling sound of the Winged Falcon you heard was clearly still on the other side of the cliff, but it's actually already right next to you, right?"

Valensa paused for a few seconds before pressing for details:

"Did you notice... when the Winged Falcon attacked you, there was a very loud explosion? Like thunder or the explosion of fire-attribute magic crystal powder?"

"A popping sound..."

Tucker frowned and thought for a moment:

“Miss, I had completely forgotten about it if you hadn’t mentioned it… There really is such a sound. I haven’t seen fire-attribute magic crystal powder explode, so I’m not sure, but it feels a bit like fireworks, only much louder.”

"Is that really the case..."

Valensa looked very unwell.

She remained silent for a long while before letting out a long sigh, standing up, and smoothing her clothes, which had become wrinkled from sitting.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Tucker... The information you provided is very important, both for defeating the Winged Falcon and for avoiding its harm."

"It's good that it can be used..."

Tucker's expression eased somewhat, but his eyes still looked incredibly forlorn after seeing his uncle's belongings.

"……How about this."

Looking at Tucker's one remaining arm, Valensa thought for a moment and said:

"If you're going to have a tough time in the future, I can ask Melina to help you find a job in the guild. What do you think?"

"...Thank you for your kindness, Miss, but it's not necessary."

Tucker hesitated for a moment before gently shaking his head, his eyes resolute.

"I plan to follow in my uncle's footsteps and continue to be an adventurer... I know it will be very difficult after losing an arm, but I still want to give it a try!"