The story of the black silk female knight

After conveying this message with a rather smug look in her eyes, Valensa quickly put all the fish on the ground into a bag, bowed to the fisherman again in a very ladylike manner, and went to find Tia and the others.

The old man fishing, however, only began muttering to himself almost half a minute after Valensa had left:

"Impossible... Absolutely impossible... How could these fish have such a hobby?"

"No, no, I absolutely can't tell anyone that I actually raised these fish... If people find out that my fish like to eat young girls' socks... I'll ruin my reputation!"

Chapter 19 Grilled Fish Without Fire

"Hey, you've already caught fish? So many?"

Tia was somewhat surprised to see Valensa return with the fish so quickly, but then jokingly teased her:

"Could it be that these fish, like some lecherous men, can't swim when they see your black stockings, and even jump out of the water one by one to offer themselves to you?"

"Hehe, of course! Who can resist the charm of my black stockings? A few little fish like me couldn't possibly resist them!"

Valensa wasn't shy at all from the teasing; instead, she proactively lifted her skirt, revealing her long, black-stockinged legs.

"Don't you think it's beautiful?"

"Yes, yes, yes... your black stockings are really beautiful."

Tia rolled her eyes at Valensa, annoyed.

"But I can't eat your black stockings no matter how pretty they are... Go make your grilled fish, I'm hungry."

"Hehe, just a moment, it'll be ready soon."

Valensa stopped arguing with Tia and started to seriously work on the fish, even calling on Melody, who also had a lot of experience in wilderness adventures, to help her.

Gut the fish, remove the internal organs and gills, scrape off the scales with a small stick like chopsticks, make a few cuts on the fish with a knife, and then marinate it with spices.

"Can it be baked after marinating?"

Melody, who was helping Valensa prepare the fish, asked curiously:

"This method seems no different from the grilled fish we usually eat... And what kind of fish did you catch? I don't think I've ever seen them before."

"I don't recognize this kind of fish either."

Valensa also shook her head:

"I caught it in that pond over there... This fish is actually quite fierce; it even tore my socks."

After saying that, the two women looked at Tia, waiting for this knowledgeable and talented girl to reveal the answer.

But even Tia remained silent this time.

She stared at the fish being marinated in cooking wine, ginger slices, and sea salt for a long time before saying, somewhat uncertainly:

"I don't recognize this fish either... Maybe it's a new species that our college developed?"

"Maybe... whatever, as long as it tastes good."

Valensa shrugged and shook her head at Melody, who was preparing to set up the barbecue grill:

"No, no need for that... Didn't I say I'd let you have some different grilled fish today?"

"...But even if they're different, grilled fish still needs to be grilled over a fire, right?"

Melody looked puzzled:

"Is there such a thing as grilled fish that doesn't need to be grilled over a fire?"

"Hehe, that's hard to say... Anyway, thanks for your help. Leave the rest to me. You can chat with Tia and Miterley for a while," Valensa said with a smile.

Okay, then I'll wait to eat!

Melody quickly left the cooking area, but kept looking around, seemingly curious about Valensa's method of grilling fish without grilling.

Valensa didn't hide anything; she took out a frying pan, added a lot of salad oil to it, and heated it over a fire.

When the oil reaches about 70-80% of its boiling point, remove the wok from the heat and pour the hot oil over the marinated fish. Wait a few minutes to allow the hot oil to cook the fish.

Next, take a stone plate, heat it slightly over a fire, sprinkle a layer of shredded onions and scallions on top, and then put the fish in.

Finally, put the wok back on the heat, add minced garlic, ginger powder, chili peppers, minced meat and mushroom sauce and stir-fry until cooked. Pour the mixture over the fish in the stone plate.

"Here, try this first."

Valensa placed the stone plate in front of the three women, who were already swallowing hard, and smiled:

"This is the kind of grilled fish I was talking about that doesn't involve direct grilling... I call it stone plate grilled fish. It's mainly cooked by deep-frying in hot oil, which makes the fish meat more tender. Using a heated stone plate as a container allows the flavors of the fish and sauce to meld more deeply, making the fish meat even more delicious... Hey, eat slowly, be careful not to get a fish bone stuck in your throat."

"It's alright. Everyone here is at the Pearl level, so it's not like they'd get stuck with a mere fishbone."

Melody continued eating the fish with nonchalant enthusiasm, glancing curiously at the other three fish still marinating:

"By the way, why didn't you finish cooking all the fish? These two might not be enough..."

"Because I'm planning to make you another kind of grilled fish...that's why I'm telling you to eat slowly. If you eat your fill now, you won't be able to eat later!"

Valensa giggled and winked at Melody before walking back to the fire.

This time, she still didn't put the fish directly on the fire to grill. Instead, she took out the heat-resistant, waterproof, and oil-resistant paper that she had gotten from Tia before.

Lay the paper flat and place the fish on it.

Take out a small bowl and mix oyster sauce, light soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger powder, minced garlic, etc. to make a sauce. Then use a brush to evenly coat the fish, including the inside of the fish belly after the internal organs have been removed.

Spread a layer of shredded scallions on the fish and stuff some pork belly into the fish's belly.

Wrap the prepared fish completely in paper and seal it tightly.

Finally, take a large tin box, put the fish wrapped in paper into the tin box, and bake it over a fire.

This is the second type of grilled fish Valencia is making tonight... paper-wrapped grilled fish.

Unlike stone-grilled fish that is deep-fried in oil, paper-wrapped grilled fish produces almost no oil smoke throughout the entire process, making the fish meat not greasy at all, and the paper also locks in the aroma of the fish.

Tia, Melody, and Mitelai, who were already almost full, quickly regained their appetite and devoured the paper-wrapped grilled fish until only the bones remained.

Valensa cooked five fish tonight. Now there's only half a stone-grilled fish left, while the two paper-wrapped grilled fish are still whole.

She hesitated for a moment, not in a hurry to eat it herself, but instead took a paper-wrapped grilled fish and handed it to the old man from the Air Force who was fishing.

"Come, sir... It's fate that we met. Please try my grilled fish."

"Hmm...not bad, the young lady knows how to respect the elderly."

The old fisherman didn't stand on ceremony at all, and took out his fork to start eating.

"Ok?"

After only a few bites, the old fisherman's eyes lit up, and his gaze towards Valensa was filled with even more surprise:

"You're really something, young lady... Are you a freshman majoring in culinary arts in the Logistics Department this year?"

"No, actually I'm from the elite unit~~"

Valensa smiled shyly:

"The elite troops have to face all sorts of situations, so they need to know a little bit about everything."

"Oh right...that makes sense, after all, it's right next to your elite female dormitory...sigh, look at my memory, getting old makes me forget things easily."

The old man patted his head and continued eating his fish.

"Anyway... thank you for the fish, little girl... it was delicious, I really liked it."

"Please enjoy your meal, sir. I'll go back to keep my friend company now."

Valensa bowed politely to the old fisherman before returning to Tia's side, where the girls spent a wonderful time eating, drinking, chatting, and laughing.

Chapter 20: Let's go on a date on our day off?

"Shall we go? I'll take you back to your dorm?"

After enjoying a delicious grilled fish meal, Melody and Miterai went back to their rooms to rest, while Valensa struck a pose as if she were a knight escorting a princess to Tia.

"...Idiot, I'm not a little girl anymore. Do I need you to take me back to my dorm?"

Tia blushed and snorted, but did not refuse.

The two walked and talked, reminiscing about the fun they had in the capital when they were young. The journey, which should have taken more than ten minutes, seemed to pass in just one or two minutes.

"that……"

Upon arriving at the villa in front of the girls' dormitory of the command department, Tia hesitated before asking:

"Are you free this day off? How about we go to the capital together? I promised to give you a new shield... Of course, if you see any other equipment you like, I can buy it for you too."

"Hehe, Tia, you're so good to me... Let me make this clear first, I don't have any money. If you insist on paying me back later, I'll have to repay the debt with my body~~"

Valensa teased Tia a couple of times as usual, until she was stomped on by the expected white-stockinged feet, at which point she smiled and nodded.

"Don't worry... Tia asked me out, and even if I'm not free, I'll find a way to be free... But I might have to go to the Adventurers' Guild to see Melina first, is that alright?"

“Of course it’s okay… Melina is like an older sister to you, right? I only had a brief encounter with her last time, we didn’t really chat.”

Tia paused for a moment after speaking:

"How about this, we'll go shopping for you during the day and buy you some equipment, then we'll invite Melina out for dinner after she gets off work in the evening, okay?"

"No problem, Tia, you can arrange it."

Valensa nodded.

"Okay, it's settled then... Goodnight."

"Good night."

After watching Tia walk into the dormitory, Valensa turned and left.

But instead of rushing back to her room to shower and rest, she went to the basement of the dormitory building.

It's time to practice that spiked sword move that the old man Dotalok taught me during the day.

It was clearly inappropriate for Valensa to go to the meditation room to practice her sword skills, so she chose the training room instead.

As expected, the training room was empty at this time. The room, which was less than 300 square meters, contained only a large rock in the center and various training weapons on shelves around the perimeter.

The large rock is about two meters long, wide, and high. Its surface is covered with dense scars, clearly left by students during the recruitment process.

Tonight, more traces of Valencia's actions will surely appear on the stone.

The principle of the spiked sword seems simple: it involves controlling the speed through the two-stage force exertion of the muscles.

But in actual practice, it's a completely different story... This move requires a high degree of control over the body, and it's likely to be even more difficult to learn than condensing sword energy.

During the afternoon's practical training session, Valensa saw the boy, a descendant of the sword saint, trying to master the move but failing to grasp the essentials and unable to even get to the basics.

However, Valensa wasn't worried at all.

In these kinds of challenges that involve one's own abilities, one can always trust in the magical power of the mind.

brush.

Valensa drew her alloy longsword and, without amplifying her strength or using any sword techniques, thrust it with all her might at the large rock.

puff.

The sword tip pierced through the stone with a sound, and about half of the sword blade was embedded in the rock.

"About half a meter... This rock is quite hard. If it were an ordinary rock in the wild, I should be able to pierce it with my sword, leaving only the hilt exposed."

After muttering something to herself, Valensa drew her sword and took a deep breath.

The basic thrusting effect has been demonstrated; now it's time to make a comparison using a spiked sword.

Still don't know the power generation techniques for nailing a bayonet?

It's okay, Valensa believes she can do it herself, and that mental power will take care of everything else.

However, the more mental energy is used, the faster it is consumed, so this sword move cannot be activated with mental energy every time in the future.

First, use mental power to forcefully control your body to activate the spiked sword. Then, while activating it, use mental power to enhance your memory and remember the feeling of exerting force. After that, practice repeatedly according to that feeling until you can skillfully activate the spiked sword without consuming mental power.

This is the spiked sword training plan that Valensa devised for herself.

Now, you'll experience the feel of the spiked sword and test its power.

At the same time, it strengthens memory and body control, causing the water in the heart pool to decrease by more than one-third at once.