Faced with Ranni's question, Melina remained remarkably calm, merely blinking once.
"Miss Ranni isn't exactly a stranger, is she? There's nothing to be surprised about."
"Although I am admittedly a little surprised that you would appear at a time and place like this..."
Melina looked at Miniature Ranni and blinked again before continuing,
"And... in this particular form."
Miniature Ranni lowered her head and looked at her doll body, gritting her teeth.
Damn it. She hadn't wanted anyone to see her in this embarrassing state in the first place, and yet she had actually ended up in such an unavoidable situation...
It was all Lucian's fault for jinxing her just now!
Saying things like, "You wouldn't want anyone to see you looking like this, would you?"
Miniature Ranni coughed twice before continuing.
"Ahem. Mine appearance… is of no consequence."
"But I must say, ought thou not be at least somewhat more wary at a time such as this?"
"This is hardly a matter of whether or not we know one another…"
Although Ranni herself knew very little about emotions such as "love," this was obviously not a normal reaction, was it?
They were already partners, yet she had still come knocking on their door. She admitted that this part was indeed her fault.
But when it came to love, she had no intention of backing down.
Someone had once said that when it came to one's own relationship, one should be the one to protect it.
Ranni had originally been prepared to have an open and honorable contest with Melina, to determine the winner and loser.
After all, the worst possible outcome would simply be that she suffered a humiliating defeat and left.
If she had become intoxicated by her own fantasies of love, then she deserved whatever result came from that.
But... who could have expected Melina's reaction to be so calm?
It was as though Ranni had thrown a punch straight into cotton.
She had already had this feeling during their previous encounters, but sure enough, Melina's emotions were somewhat... detached.
The corners of Melina's lips rose almost imperceptibly.
"Hmm... because I can feel it."
"Lucian's love for me hasn't changed. Isn't that enough?"
"So even if there is one more person to share that love with, I don't mind."
Melina had actually noticed something strange about Lucian a long time ago.
Especially recently, as she gradually came to understand the emotion known as love, that strange quality had become even more apparent.
In normal relationships between people, various emotions gradually developed through continued contact.
She had been the same. It was only through that precious journey that she had gradually learned what love was.
But Lucian was different.
From the very first time he met her, as well as certain other people, Lucian would display emotions that were anything but ordinary.
It was strange.
They should have been meeting for the first time, yet Lucian already seemed to possess a particular set of feelings toward them.
It had nothing to do with gender, beauty, or ugliness.
It was as though he had known them long ago.
And among those various emotions, without exception, there was always a strange sadness contained within them.
A feeling called "regret."
It was almost as though, as long as he saw them living happily, Lucian himself would feel relieved.
With emotions like these, along with those inexplicably buried regrets and unfulfilled wishes deep within his heart...
Melina felt that Lucian needed to make those wishes a reality.
So she wanted to help Lucian fulfill his wishes, even if that meant sharing his love.
As she spoke, Melina used the tip of her shoe to push the door completely open and walked into the room.
She came to the table and placed the scrolls and books she had been carrying in her arms on top of it.
The branches and leaves that had been trailing behind her all the way in followed close behind. They carried various heavy stone tablets filled with knowledge, and even gravestones, into the room before slowly disappearing into the floor.
Listening to Melina's words, the corners of Miniature Ranni's lips couldn't help but twitch.
"What...?"
She and Lucian hadn't even confirmed their relationship yet.
So why was Melina talking as though the three of them were already going to become a couple?
And when Lucian saw the various scrolls and stone tablets containing precious sorceries and incantations being piled up on the floor, he felt an indescribable sense of guilt.
Melina was being this considerate toward him, yet he had been secretly meeting Ranni behind her back...
He really ought to wake up in the middle of the night and slap himself across the face.
Although Lucian and Miniature Ranni really hadn't done anything just now, and that doll body wasn't capable of doing anything anyway...
He did indeed have feelings for Ranni.
Lucian looked at Melina and began to explain everything that had happened from beginning to end.
"When I returned to the Lands Between and was searching for a way to treat you, I also helped Ranni deal with a few problems."
"She left this body behind so that it would be more convenient for her to contact me."
"As for why Ranni came here this time, it's because the plan she's been working on all this time has finally made some progress."
Melina raised her head, looking somewhat surprised.
She already knew what Ranni wanted to accomplish. She had followed Lucian all this way, after all.
"Is it about the Two Fingers?"
Miniature Ranni nodded, admitting it.
"Yes."
"We have at last located that fellow. We may move against him whenever we please."
"Yet… I cannot help but wonder whether the one who feigns itself the Greater Will might make another move of its own."
Only then did Melina look at Lucian with a faintly reproachful expression.
Make another move...
That meant they had already encountered it once, didn't it?
Lucian had never told her anything about encountering the mastermind behind the scenes.
Even though he had promised her that he could tell her anything, that he didn't have to face things on his own.
Who knew how many other things Lucian was secretly keeping from her?
Melina shook her head and pointed toward the various objects containing all kinds of knowledge.
"Anyway, I've brought over the sorceries and incantations."
"Against an enemy like that, you need to be more prepared, don't you?"
Miniature Ranni gritted her teeth, feeling extremely conflicted about whether she should stay or not.
Now that her secret visit to Lucian had been discovered, and her doll body had been exposed as well, she honestly felt like running away.
But if she ran now, she had the strange feeling that it would be like admitting defeat.
Miniature Ranni turned her head toward the pile of scrolls, and her eyes suddenly lit up.
There were sorcery scrolls from the Carian royal family.
This was precisely the field she excelled in.
Since Lucian wanted to learn sorcery, he would certainly need someone to guide him.
And now she had a perfectly legitimate reason that meant she absolutely had to stay here.
Miniature Ranni floated over to a scroll and pushed it aside, then stood directly on top of it to examine it.
The scroll bore an unmistakable Carian crest. It had clearly been passed down from the Carian royal family.
The sorcery recorded on it was known as "Glintblade Trio".
Ranni naturally knew the origins and effects of this sorcery by heart.
It was one of the ancient sorceries of the Carian royal family.
It was also the prototype of the Glintblade Phalanx-type sorceries, sharing the same fundamental principles as Glintblade Phalanx.
It allowed the caster to create a magic sigil above their head, from which three glintblades would appear after a delay before flying toward the enemy.
It also had a slight connection, in a certain sense, to the Three Sisters towers.
The only difference between it and Glintblade Phalanx was that one could summon only a single glintblade, while the other could directly summon three.
Because it was an ancient prototype, very few people used it anymore.
After all, the Carian Glintblade Phalanx that had been continuously developed and refined over the years was far more effective than either of these two prototype sorceries.
It could not only form several glintblades at once, but could also have them follow alongside the caster as they moved, accurately locking onto their targets.
Looking at this ancient relic of a sorcery, Miniature Ranni gently shook her head and continued on to the next one.
Melina and Lucian also each picked up a portion of the materials and began looking through them.
What surprised Lucian was that he found quite a few death-related sorceries here as well.
For example, there was "Ancient Death Rancor," engraved upon the gravestone he was holding.
This was a sorcery once cast by those who served Death.
It could summon a large number of relentless vengeful spirits that pursued their targets without rest. It was said that they were ancient remnants of Death's flame, dredged up by Deathbirds from the spiritflame.
Although this was not a sorcery unique to the Land of Shadow, Lucian had indeed never learned it before.
As one of the highest-tier death sorceries, Ancient Death Rancor was by no means weak.
It automatically tracked and sought out targets, had excellent damage output, and, most importantly, could be mindlessly spammed.
In the game, it was useful not only against all kinds of enemies that loved reading inputs, but was practically a dedicated anti-Malenia weapon as well.
And if Lucian had to name its greatest strength, he would say that it could also be spammed endlessly in PvP.
The moment those poor, lovable little knights in the arena saw a sky full of vengeful spirits blotting out their vision, they would probably lose their appetite on the spot.
All in all, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the strength of Ancient Death Rancor.
Lucian set it aside, marking it as one of the sorceries he planned to learn next.
Death sorceries and incantations were both excellent spells.
Especially now that, through his analysis, he had already learned how to mass-produce Guardian Spirits.
As long as he gave them an order, Lucian could turn his Guardian Spirits into self-propelled artillery platforms, consuming his FP to cast the corresponding spells.
Thanks to the characteristics of the Guardian Spirits, these spells would not occupy Lucian's own casting circuits and could instead be released in addition to his normal spells.
Of course, Guardian Spirits could only cast death sorceries related to vengeful spirits.
Just as Lucian was thinking about this, Melina raised two stone tablets and spoke to him.
"These two contain two special techniques."
"Thorn Sorcery, and... the Impenetrable Thorns."
When he heard the name of the first technique, Lucian did not think much of it, assuming it was merely an ordinary thorn spell.
Thorn sorceries weren't particularly powerful, so he wasn't very interested.
But when he heard the name of the second technique, Lucian was immediately startled and turned to Melina.
"The Impenetrable Thorns..."
"Is that the Impenetrable Thorns from the Erdtree?"
Melina looked at the stone tablets twice before shaking her head.
"Unfortunately, no."
"Although they are also called the Impenetrable Thorns, these are thorns that originate from the Scadutree."
"The Scadutree and the Erdtree were once intertwined, symbiotic trees, so it isn't surprising that they possess the same power."
Melina looked over the tablet a little further, learning more about this unique technique that seemed to be both a sorcery and an incantation.
"Hmm... this is a sorcery cast by people who, despite their devotion, ultimately fell into despair and abandoned their prayers."
"If it is successfully cast, it seems that the Impenetrable Thorns growing from the Scadutree can be formed directly from the ground."
Lucian took the two stone tablets from her and began examining them.
What was recorded at the beginning of the tablet was not knowledge, but a desperate final message:
We have been abandoned. We have been forsaken...
Ah, the crooked Scadutree is collapsing, sending out a message of pain:
"Reject everything. Harm everything, we have been abandoned."
As for the other stone tablet containing Thorn Sorcery, it likewise carried similar words.
Lucian rested a finger against his chin, deep in thought.
The Scadutree...
The Land of Shadow had been sealed away and completely abandoned, and the Scadutree had likewise been unable to escape that fate.
The Shadow Tree that had once bestowed grace and blessings upon the people had collapsed from within after realizing that it had been abandoned, scattering fragments of itself throughout the Land of Shadow.
And as it collapsed, the power possessed by the Shadow Tree had likewise transformed into the Scadutree's blessing, indiscriminately bestowing itself upon every living being within the Land of Shadow at the time.
According to Messmer, that thing also possessed an avatar and a will of its own.
But after going mad, it was nothing more than a deranged plant.
Without the ability to shed its dew and bestow blessings, the Shadow Tree was no longer needed, so no one paid any attention to it.
However...
Miquella might possibly go to the location of the Scadutree's avatar.
Unfortunately, Messmer did not know much about the Scadutree either. He had no idea what use the now-mad Scadutree and its avatar might still have.
One had to admit, Miquella's ability to gather intelligence was genuinely impressive. Even Lucian couldn't help admiring him.
He had pretended to have been kidnapped by Mohg in order to escape, and had then remained hidden, operating from the shadows ever since.
Even with the Land of Shadow sealed away, he had still managed to uncover the truth hidden within it, as well as the passage leading into it.
The Golden Order had clearly locked down all the information so tightly that it had been reduced to nothing more than history.
Yet somehow, Miquella had managed to find out where all that information was hidden, digging up Marika's entire past.
And he hadn't merely uncovered the hidden truth.
Miquella had even figured out the requirements for the ritual of becoming a god, the power of the Scadutree, and all sorts of other secrets.
Even if he had begun planning everything before the Shattering, being able to accomplish this much was still terrifying.
By comparison, a certain witch lady whose plans had barely progressed at all since the Shattering suddenly seemed far too laid-back.
Miniature Ranni, standing on top of a scroll, seemed to sense something. She frowned suspiciously.
She had the strange feeling that someone was muttering about her behind her back again...
Hmm?
Why did she say again?
Ranni raised her head and looked toward Lucian.
Unfortunately, Lucian was currently studying the Impenetrable Thorns and did not respond.
Just by looking at the portions of the spell engraved upon the stone tablet, Lucian could already sense how powerful this sorcery was.
After all, its source of power was the Scadutree itself, unlike the other thorn sorceries.
He definitely had to learn the Impenetrable Thorns later.
It might prove extremely useful.
As for the other technique, Thorn Sorcery...
Lucian genuinely couldn't figure out what use this sorcery had.
Aside from summoning a pile of thorns onto one's own body, it seemed completely useless.
But after thinking about it, Lucian quickly came up with a combination that could make use of it:
Put on the Briar Set, which dealt damage whenever you dodge rolled into the enemies, cast this sorcery on yourself, and then use the Lightning Ram to roll straight into people...
All right.
It seemed the only real purpose of this sorcery was to serve as a toy.
At this moment, Miniature Ranni, having finished looking through almost all of the Carian sorcery scrolls, shook her head and turned toward Lucian.
"As I expected, there are no particularly useful Carian sorceries here."
"But that matters little."
"If thou wouldst learn sorcery… then I shall simply teach thee myself."
Having said that, Miniature Ranni crossed all four of her arms over her chest and proudly raised her chin.
"Thou hast likely not yet learned Comet, have thee?"
"I can teach it to thee later, if thou wishest. It is the strongest sorcery that an ordinary sorcerer might wield."
"And besides… shouldst thou wish to learn my Dark Moon, it is not as though I would refuse to teach thee."