Things about the female knight in black stockings

Irene already knew this information, but after combining it with Valensa's latest reasoning, Irene had a new perspective:

"That pervert started committing crimes nine years ago, while Ms. Diana's works only truly became popular in high society seven years ago. The pervert's vicious hunt for Ms. Diana's clients also began after Ms. Diana's fame rose."

Ellie then shrugged at Valensa:

"In that case, Valencia, your speculation is no longer valid... Do we really need to investigate a period even earlier than nine years ago?"

"Of course it's necessary."

Valensa chuckled without hesitation.

"It's true that the killer started committing crimes against Ms. Diana's clients seven years ago, but when did you and Ellie discover this?"

"This……"

Ai Lei's expression changed slightly, and after thinking for a moment, she said:

"It was about 5 years ago... As you know, I'm a fan of bare legs, so at first I didn't pay much attention to the various stockings on the victim's legs. After checking and finding that there were no residues, I sealed them away as evidence."

Later, a sister in my team, who also loved wearing stockings, casually mentioned while we were investigating a case that the victim's stockings were very expensive. That's when I took it to heart and began to investigate the stockings themselves in detail.

The investigation revealed a shocking truth: over 60 victims from the previous two years had all worn the same brand of stockings, all made by Ms. Diana… Only then did I proactively seek Ms. Diana's cooperation in the investigation. Ms. Diana was deeply saddened upon learning of this, and less than a year later, unable to bear it any longer, she chose to leave.

"That's right."

Valensa shrugged:

"Even those works by Ms. Diana after she became famous, which had a distinct personal style, you only realized them belatedly, Sister Ai Lei... After all, you're a bare-legs person and generally don't have much interest in stockings, so it's not your fault."

But think about it, even if Ms. Dina is a genius, her works couldn't possibly be full of personal style from the beginning, right?

In fact, Ms. Diana's highly personal style of work only emerged after she became a household name... So what kind of products was Ms. Diana selling before that?

"You mean..."

Ellie understood immediately:

"The stockings that Ms. Diana made before she became famous were likely common styles with no distinctive features, which is why we didn't recognize them... In fact, the victims starting from nine years ago were likely all Ms. Diana's customers?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean, and it's easy to verify."

Valensa said:

“You have all those stockings, Sister Ellie. Just send them to Fran and let Ms. Diana examine them herself… Actually, I think I can do the examination.”

"Walk."

Without hesitation, Ereshkigal took Valensa back to the place where she stored the evidence.

Together, the two found all the belongings of the victims the killer had murdered in the first two years. At that time, the killer's crime rate was not particularly high, and there were only 16 victims in total over the two years.

Valensa carefully examined the 16 pairs of stockings, looking at them intently with her eyes, pulling on them to feel their elasticity and material, sniffing them lightly, and even taking off her own black stockings to put the victim's stockings on her legs to feel them herself.

Under Ellie's meaningful gaze, Valensa finally picked out 14 pairs of stockings from the 16 pairs and said confidently:

"As one of Ms. Diana's loyal customers and product promoters, I think these 14 pairs of stockings must be Ms. Diana's early works."

This proves my deduction was correct: the murderer definitely knew and secretly loved Ms. Diana before his first crime… Therefore, the investigation into Ms. Diana's interpersonal relationships can be traced back two years further.”

“…Okay, then let’s do as you say, Valencia.”

Ai Lei thought about it again and didn't raise any further objections.

The investigation continues.

Ai Lei's subordinates, under the guise of clearing out the lurking fog demons, continued to investigate various places in Mosantina City related to the clothing industry with the cooperation of the Merchant Alliance's law enforcement team.

Meanwhile, Valensa and Irene arrived at the place where Ms. Dina had been attending school for the past 12 years to 9 years.

"...Is this Ms. Dana's old school? It doesn't look like an all-girls school. Why are there so few boys?"

Not long after entering Ms. Dana's alma mater, Valensa clearly sensed that it was a place where women outnumbered men, yet it was distinctly different from the aristocratic women of Fran.

"Yes, this is not a girls' school, but it's actually pretty much the same as one."

Ai Lei shrugged and explained with a smile:

"In fact, about 20 years ago, this was an all-girls school. There were quite a few all-girls schools like this in America back then. It's just that later some people started advocating gender equality and saying that all-girls schools were sexist, and they even held a few big protests."

Since then, almost all girls' schools, in order to avoid criticism, have chosen to reform and become regular schools that also admit male students, but...

As she spoke, Ai Lei rummaged through her storage bag again and took out a sheet of paper:

“Look at the courses this school offers—nursing, home economics, flower arranging, makeup, sewing, cooking, etiquette… How many of these courses do you think are suitable for men?”

"There really aren't many courses suitable for men to learn."

Valensa suddenly realized, and looked around at the students on campus.

The male-to-female ratio among these students is more than 1:10, and even close to 1:20.

The boys who occasionally appeared among the groups of girls were almost all slender with fair skin, delicate features, and feminine lines.

Compared to Miss Meng, whose body was modified by a magic potion, there will definitely be a lot of differences, but they are both effeminate men who can walk down the street in a dress without looking out of place.

Valensa even saw a student who was wearing a cute maid outfit, had a sweet smile, but had a noticeable Adam's apple.

Ai Lei clearly saw the student too, chuckled, and continued to explain:

"Actually, there were many so-called girls' schools here back then, which were all similar to this school. The real owners behind the scenes were those upper-class families."

The vast majority of outstanding students graduating from these girls' schools would become maids in high-society families or secretaries to senior managers in large business associations.

The upper classes use this method to continuously absorb outstanding women from the lower classes.

It was precisely because some people realized this that they continuously organized protests in an attempt to break the upper class's monopoly on outstanding women.

As for the result... well, it was somewhat useful, but almost useless.

All-girls schools are rare these days, but it's perfectly normal for women of exceptional looks or talent to aspire to enter high society.

"Because people are ambitious and have pursuits, and power and wealth are the primary pursuits of the vast majority of people, regardless of gender."

Valensa simply shrugged at this.

In her past life, unlike many keyboard warriors who like to stand on moral high ground and point fingers at so-called gold diggers, she believed that pursuing wealth in an economic society is human nature. Earning money with talent and earning money with beauty are not inherently superior or inferior; achieving one's goal is what matters most.

Of course, people like Ms. Dana, who could easily rely on their beauty but choose to rely on their talent, always leave a deep impression and even become legendary figures.

At this school, Ms. Diana is undoubtedly a legend.

All the senior teachers at the school were impressed by Ms. Dana, and the sewing class became the most popular course in the school because of her. Even among this year's freshmen, there are many who admire Ms. Dana and want to replicate her success.

In this situation, it would be easy to inquire about Ms. Diana's school days.

Valensa and Arena learned a great deal about Ms. Dana's student days from several long-time teachers at the school, who had worked there for more than 12 years.

Unfortunately, there are still no obvious clues about the suspect.

According to the veteran teachers, the male-to-female ratio at this school was even more extreme 10 years ago, with only one boy in a class of dozens of students.

A single green leaf amidst a sea of ​​flowers—no matter how inconspicuous or socially awkward these boys may be, they are bound to attract the attention of their classmates and teachers, because they are rare finds in school.

The older teachers still remember the male students who were in the same class as Ms. Diana 10 years ago.

One person's impression may not be very deep, but if a dozen people each recall a little, it is enough to piece together the general image of those male students.

Unfortunately, there was no one who bore a strong resemblance to Anesse, and many of those male students still work in Mosantina, making the investigation relatively easy.

After obtaining information about the male students who were in the same cohort as Ms. Dana from the older teachers, Ereshkigal immediately used divine communication to inform her subordinates, who then began the investigation.

Many of these paladins had worked with Ereshkigal for years and were very skilled at investigations. They sent back feedback in less than an hour.

Ms. Diana's male classmates from back then are not suspects.

"That's strange..."

Valensa's face flushed slightly as her confident reasoning failed to uncover any clues.

Undeterred, she asked the veteran teachers again:

"Please think about this carefully, everyone. Did Ms. Dana have any other suitors back then? It might not have been her male classmates, but perhaps male teachers or male school workers?"

"impossible!"

An elderly teacher immediately shook his head and replied:

“This place used to be a girls’ school… Not only were there no boys among the students, but all the teachers and staff were also women.”

More than ten years ago, although the school was nominally changed from an all-girls school to a regular school, the number of male students was very small, and there were no male teachers or male school staff at all.

"Yes, yes."

Another veteran teacher quickly chimed in, then recalled for a moment before saying:

“I remember that the first batch of male security personnel recruited by our school was 5 years ago. By then, Xiao Dana had already graduated for several years, so it was impossible for them to have any interaction.”

"However, if the two paladins are only investigating little Diana's suitors, then there were indeed quite a few back then."

Another veteran teacher joined the conversation, smiling as he said:

"How should I put it back then, little Diana... Although she was very pretty, she was a bit frivolous and arrogant, much like the bad boys in romance novels, and she was very popular among the girls."

So when Diana was in school, I really didn't remember any male suitors. On the contrary, girls wrote her love letters every day. I even saw girls confessing their love to her in the woods or on the rooftop several times.

However… Little Diana rejected all of these offers. While she wasn't exactly a loner, she wasn't as sociable as most girls. She devoted most of her time to studying, often working alone in the tailor's room researching and improving the proportions of raw materials for silk fabrics—she was very diligent.

"Talent, hard work, and a bit of luck—that's why Ms. Dana became a top figure in America's fashion world."

Valensa sighed, still unwilling to give up, and asked again:

"What about outside of school? Did Ms. Diana have any friends outside of school when she was in school?"

"nor."

However, the veteran teachers once again gave Valensa a disappointing answer:

“We are a fully enclosed boarding school. Students are not allowed to leave the school during the day. They can only leave the school for two days each month, and they must explain the purpose of leaving the school in advance and return to the school before dinner on the same day. Otherwise, they will be severely criticized and their parents will be notified.”

Under these regulations, it is difficult for students to make friends with people from other schools. Even when they go out to play on weekends, they are always with friends from within the school.

Xiao Dana does often go shopping with friends on her days off, but she almost always goes to department stores to look at the latest clothing styles, or browses raw material markets such as paint, thread, and fabric markets. There's never been any mention of her associating with people outside of school.

Valensa was very disappointed that she couldn't get any useful clues from the old teachers who had worked at the school when Dana was in school, despite thinking about many questions.

But what those veteran teachers said made sense.

This is a school that remains almost entirely under closed management, with girls outnumbering boys by about 20 times. In such an environment, any boy who had a crush on Ms. Diana back then would have been extremely conspicuous.

But the fact is that there is no such boy in the school, and Ms. Diana's male classmates from back then have been investigated by the paladins under Ereshkigal, and all of them can be ruled out as suspects.

The new clue she had finally come up with had run its course, leaving Valensa somewhat disheartened.

After a morning of visiting and gathering information at the school, it was lunchtime. The school leaders tactfully invited the two paladins to stay for lunch, and Valensa and Ereshkigal did not refuse.

Valensa seemed to vent her frustration from the unsuccessful investigation on food, devouring several plates of meat before she realized what was happening and managed to control her appetite when Ereshkigal stomped on her foot under the table.

With the awakening of her evil god bloodline, Valensa had already learned a shocking truth through testing.

Her appetite seemed to have no limit... Although a normal human's appetite is enough to eliminate hunger, she never seemed to feel full no matter how much she ate, and even felt hungrier the more she ate.

Normally, Valensa would consciously control her appetite during meals, ensuring that she didn't eat much more than the average person. However, she was feeling a bit down at lunchtime today, so she ate a couple more bites.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Valensa pretended to be full after the meal, saying she wanted to take Ellie for a walk around the school and declined the accompaniment of school staff.

Two figures who were clearly high-ranking paladins wandering around the school naturally attracted a lot of attention. At first, the students were quite shy, but after a bold girl stepped forward and successfully asked for a blessing, many girls curiously surrounded Valensa and Ereshkigal, asking them why the two high-ranking paladins had come to the school since morning.

Valensa naturally used the same excuse as when searching for the lurking Mist Demon, and once again used the storytelling skills she had honed while bragging to adventurers in the tavern to vividly recount her battle with the Mist Demon girl in Arland, eliciting gasps of amazement from the female students.

While telling the story, Valensa remained hopeful and tried to find clues among the students.

Unfortunately, this school is a three-year program, and Ms. Dana graduated nine years ago. The time gap is too long, and even the students who are supposedly the most well-informed know nothing about it.

Valensa was quite disappointed, but not too surprised. After telling the story, she taught the students a few self-protection tips when encountering danger, and then said goodbye and left.

The students wisely dispersed without delay, laughing and joking as they went to class or to do their independent training.

"I didn't realize you were such a good storyteller, Valencia... Could it be that you used to use this method to pick up girls in taverns before?"

After the two of them were left, Ereshkigal and Valensa strolled slowly toward the school gate, with Ereshkigal teasing Valensa as they walked.

"Hmph, do those girls in the tavern need stories to fool them? I only need to show a little that I am rich and a nobleman, and they come to me on their own... These stories are actually more effective at fooling the young ladies at noble banquets."

Since there was no one else around, Valensa stopped pretending and even boasted about her romantic encounters with a hint of bragging.

"……Um?"

Just as Valencia was talking about the wild party she was having at the home of a noblewoman in Clare, she suddenly saw a dark shadow fly into the school and head towards the student dormitory at a slow speed.