Now that Ranni had finally appeared before him and had even taken the initiative to ask for his help, Lucian was at last able to relax.
At least now he didn't need to worry about her side of things.
If Ranni insisted on pursuing her revenge against the Two Fingers alone, there was no guarantee she would succeed.
After abandoning her flesh, her strength had inevitably diminished.
If she still possessed the power she had in life, she would have carved a path through the Two Fingers' servants long ago. By now, the Two Fingers themselves might already be dead.
But reality was far less generous.
The current Ranni had to proceed carefully even when facing the Baleful Shadow.
Granted, being a sorcerer softened the impact of losing her original body somewhat.
Even so, taking on the entire force behind the Two Fingers by herself was asking a lot.
Faced with Ranni's "non-negotiable" request, Lucian readily agreed.
"Alright, alright. I'll go deal with this thing called the Baleful Shadow for you."
Ranni blinked and waited for Lucian to ask about it.
She had already made up her mind.
Once he asked, she would deliberately tell only half the story.
Earlier, Lucian had clearly suspected she was listening, yet he'd still kept speaking in that frustrating way, stopping halfway through to lure her out.
Now it was her turn to get a little revenge.
However, after staring at each other for a while, she realized Lucian wasn't asking any questions at all.
Unable to sit still any longer, Ranni finally spoke first.
"Hm. Art thou not curious as to what this Baleful Shadow may be?"
Lucian looked puzzled and shook his head.
"There's no need."
"Just tell me where it is. I'll go kill it."
Petite Ranni stared at him in disbelief.
"Thou hast no wish to know what it is?"
"Once, thy curiosity knew no bounds!"
Lucian shrugged.
He could more or less guess what she was trying to do.
Since she wanted him to ask, he decided not to.
Might as well tease her a little longer.
With a casual expression, he replied,
"I'm not curious."
"I get curious about plenty of things, but enemies aren't one of them."
"I've fought too many enemies already. If I had to learn every one of their life stories, it'd be exhausting."
"As long as I know they're an enemy, that's enough."
"Then I kill them."
To be fair, Lucian genuinely wasn't curious.
Mainly because he already knew exactly what the Baleful Shadow was.
Such was the confidence granted by being a player.
Never underestimate his information network.
Petite Ranni gritted her teeth.
Once again, she'd somehow ended up on the losing side of the exchange.
"Nay. Thou dost mistake the matter."
"The Baleful Shadow is no common foe."
"It differeth greatly from the enemies thou hast faced afore—"
Lucian chuckled.
"But it's still an enemy, isn't it?"
"If it's an enemy, that's all I need to know."
Petite Ranni clenched her tiny fists and stomped on his palm.
"Nay. Thou must ask!"
Seeing he'd teased her enough, Lucian finally relented.
"Very well then. Lady Ranni, would you kindly tell me what the Baleful Shadow is?"
Only then did Petite Ranni nod in satisfaction.
"The Baleful Shadows are servants of the Two Fingers."
"They were fashioned through a power unique to them."
"They are of the same kind as Blaidd."
"His kin, if thou wilt."
"But unlike Blaidd, they possess no will of their own."
"They exist only to carry out the Two Fingers' command."
"And they are not easily slain."
Lucian nodded with exaggerated seriousness.
"Ohh, I see."
"Sounds pretty impressive."
Petite Ranni nodded as well, causing the oversized witch's hat atop her head to sway.
"Of course."
"Those are among the greatest weapons wielded by the Two Fingers."
"And they stand as the greatest impediment upon my path."
"Even Maliketh is a Shadowbound Beast… and his strength is nothing short of dreadful."
"If Celes were to pour all its power into the making of a single shadow, then even should it fall short of Maliketh, it would still become a most fearsome adversary…"
That immediately caught Lucian's interest.
Maliketh, Queen Marika's shadowbound beast, was obviously far stronger than Blaidd or an ordinary Baleful Shadow.
Still, if the Two Fingers had truly poured all their power into protecting themselves, then this particular Baleful Shadow would undoubtedly be much stronger than normal.
If its strength could even begin to approach Maliketh's level...
Now that would be interesting.
Perhaps he'd finally get a satisfying fight.
At this point, Lucian was genuinely looking forward to the upcoming battle.
Before that, however, there was something else he wanted to know.
With a curious expression, he asked,
"This Celes... is that the name of the Two Fingers?"
The name felt strangely familiar.
The inexplicable sense of recognition bothered him.
By all rights, he should never have heard the name of a Two Fingers before.
After thinking for a moment, he finally remembered where the familiarity came from.
The Cathedral of Manus Celes.
The name matched exactly.
In the game, the Two Fingers ultimately hid within a cavern beneath the Cathedral of Manus Celes.
There, Ranni finally slew them with the Fingerslayer Blade.
Ranni nodded.
"Yes… the Two Fingers do bear names."
"Celes is the name of the Two Fingers with whom I share a mutual curse."
"That particular Two Fingers is deeply entwined with the Carian Royal Family."
"There are not many Two Fingers remaining active within the Lands Between…"
"Yet neither are they so few that only one or two exist alone."
"The Two Fingers are peculiar beings."
"They are granted power by the Greater Will, and possess an unsettling measure of intellect."
"They act almost as envoys… choosing which factions they would guide, or abandon."
"Some stand openly, beneath the light of Grace."
"Others remain concealed… moving in silence behind the scenes."
"Celes belongs to the latter."
Combining her explanation with everything he knew from the game, Lucian nodded thoughtfully.
The only question was whether Celes had hidden beneath the cathedral all along, or had only retreated there at the very end.
Lucian suspected the latter.
After all, the cathedral stood upon the Moonlight Altar, one of the most important locations connected to the Carian Royal Family.
And its very name bore such an obvious connection to the Two Fingers.
If Ranni had searched the area directly, she would likely have found them almost immediately.
Ranni let out a long breath.
Regardless, with Lucian's help, the matter of the Baleful Shadow was essentially no longer a concern.
There was something reassuring about his strength.
Whenever he became involved, it felt as though any problem would somehow be resolved.
Thinking back on it, she had spoken quite a lot today.
Ranni lifted her head and looked at Lucian.
"…This guise does make me feel somewhat at ease."
"I have spoken more than I intended…"
"Mm. From this day onward, do not seek me so often."
Faced with Petite Ranni's words, Lucian blinked.
Then he raised his hand and lifted her up, holding her directly in front of his face.
The sudden movement startled Ranni. She nearly lost her footing and had to grab onto one of Lucian's fingers to steady herself.
"Ah! What is it thou art about?"
It couldn't be helped.
This body had originally been nothing more than a doll.
When Ranni created it, she had never intended for it to carry any significant power.
Even if she could channel a little of her strength into it while observing through it, that couldn't change the fact that the body itself was incredibly fragile.
If physical strength alone were considered, she probably couldn't even fend off a curious squirrel. At best, she could only try to scare it away with frost.
Looking at the fragile Petite Ranni standing in his palm, Lucian smiled.
Ranni usually maintained an image of calm composure and icy indifference.
Seeing her act like this was a rare sight.
Realizing she'd lost her composure yet again, Ranni felt a little embarrassed.
She shot Lucian a vicious glare.
To make The Witch Ranni lose her dignity again and again was unforgivable!
Ranni raised a hand and scattered another cloud of frost across Lucian's face.
Though calling it a punishment would be a stretch.
It felt more like playful retaliation.
Lucian brushed away the frost. A thin layer of white ice had formed on his hair and eyebrows.
Looking at Petite Ranni, he grinned.
You're already in my hand, and you're still acting this arrogant?
Eat my One Thousand Years of Death-Friendly Edition!
Lucian extended a finger from his free hand and poked Petite Ranni directly in the forehead.
With her frail little body, she had absolutely no way to resist his bullying.
The poke sent her plopping back onto her rear in the center of his palm.
Sitting there blankly for a moment, Petite Ranni finally reacted.
How infuriating!
Taking advantage of her inability to fight back just to tease her like this!
What about her dignity?!
Ranni crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head away in a huff, deliberately refusing to acknowledge him.
Lucian immediately reached out again and poked her cheek this time.
Ranni quickly raised all four arms and desperately pushed against his finger.
Lucian barely used any force, simply watching as she struggled with all her might to move it.
He had to admit.
This version of Ranni was unbelievably adorable.
The figurine had literally come to life.
After a while, Ranni finally managed to shove his finger aside and let out a small breath.
Nobody had ever teased her like this before.
Originally, she thought having her carefully maintained image shattered would make her angry.
Yet strangely enough...
It actually felt rather nice.
Occasionally fooling around like this was unexpectedly fun.
Her mood felt much lighter than before.
Even so, she still put on a fierce expression and glared at Lucian.
"In truth, thou art the worst of men. My composure hath been undone by thy hand."
"Forget all that passed but now, and see that thou rememberest it not."
Looking at her, Lucian asked,
"Isn't this your real self?"
"What's so bad about it?"
"No one is forcing you to maintain that mature, composed image all the time."
Ranni pressed her lips together and remained silent.
She was no longer the carefree Lunar Princess she once had been.
Back then, she could play with Blaidd like an older sister teasing her younger brother.
She could wander freely through the forests behind Caria Manor.
Those carefree childhood days had been happy ones.
She would never deny that happiness simply because she now walked through darkness.
She treasured those memories.
But she would never stop moving forward because of them.
Nor would she ever regret choosing this path.
The moment she rejected the Two Fingers and rejected the fate of an Empyrean, only Witch Ranni remained within the Lands Between.
That had been her choice.
And because it was her choice, there were things she had to abandon.
Otherwise, she would never be able to continue forward.
The Two Fingers would never simply let her go.
And besides, she herself was hardly innocent.
She had long since stained her hands with countless sins.
Those simple days could never return.
They existed now only as memories.
Ranni brushed at her skirt and straightened her clothing.
"There is no such thing as a 'truer self.'"
"I have ever been as I am."
"The distant self and the unguarded self are alike mine own."
"Though… I find that, upon occasion, to lower one's guard is not altogether unwelcome."
She looked up at Lucian.
It was time to say goodbye again.
But how should she say it this time?
Ah, right.
At times like this, all you need to do is smile.
And so, for the first time in who knew how many years, Ranni smiled from the bottom of her heart.
Wearing that gentle smile, she spoke softly to Lucian.
"Very well."
"I must needs prepare myself to set forth once more."
"There yet remain many troublesome servants of the Two Fingers to be dealt with."
"One by one… I shall see them undone."
After saying that, Petite Ranni sat down, seemingly preparing to withdraw her consciousness.
Lucian stopped her.
"One last question."
"Where is your real body right now?"
Ranni gave him a strange look.
"Upon the Divine Tower of Liurnia, of course."
"Didst thou not already set foot there?"
Her answer left Lucian momentarily confused.
"That's not the body I meant..."
At that, Ranni laughed.
The expression on her face clearly said she'd gotten him.
"Fufu… 'twas but a jest."
"There yet remain matters that only I may bring to pass myself."
"Thus can I not speak of it yet. I crave thy pardon."
"But when the hour is ripe… I shall surely call for thee."
Still smiling, Petite Ranni glanced at him.
"Let us leave it at that, for the present."
"I shall likewise keep watch over matters from mine own side."
"So… see that thou dost not pry into that which is not meet for thee, in my absence."
With that final warning, Petite Ranni lowered her head.
The presence within the doll vanished.
Lucian scratched his hair.
To be fair, seeing under the skirt wasn't exactly a life-or-death necessity.
He'd already achieved his goal of coaxing Ranni out.
Still, she'd left a little too quickly.
There were plenty of things he still wanted to discuss with her.
Miquella.
The Cursemark of Death.
And several other matters.
But since she'd already gone, those conversations would have to wait.
With Petite Ranni in his possession, contacting her again wouldn't be difficult.
Lucian stood and resumed his journey deeper along the main channel of the Ainsel River.
Some time later, Asimi suddenly stirred within him.
The core of Asimi writhed inside Lucian's body, as though sensing something.
Soon, she seemed to confirm her suspicions and spoke.
'My lord... may I say something?'
Lucian nodded.
'Of course. What's wrong?'
Asimi continued sensing the surroundings as she replied.
'My lord, I hear the sound of running water.'
'It's not ordinary water.'
'That sound comes from my homeland.'
'It is the river of the Eternal City.'
'There must be another Eternal City nearby.'
'My lord...'
'Let us go to the Eternal City.'