In front of Caria Manor.
Here, there was still no sign of human life.
The vast city had long since fallen into ruin, but many of the main structures, like the city walls and watchtowers, were relatively well-preserved.
After all, it had never been successfully stormed and breached. The damage came simply from the passage of time, with wooden parts rotting due to lack of maintenance, causing some structures to collapse.
But generally speaking, if someone were sent to clean it up and make repairs, within a few months, this place could become a prosperous city again.
Unfortunately...
The area north of here is the Land of Scarlet Rot...
So, still, no one was willing to live here. Even the Carian royalty and nobility had no intention of redeveloping this place; it could be considered a completely abandoned town.
Ultimately, calling it a town might be a misnomer; it was more like a massive military base.
The war was fought right outside the walls, and logistics, training, and supplies were all produced and handled here.
Behind the town, on the gentler slopes, lived the ordinary residents who produced common goods.
Naturally, there were no monsters here, nor any mages attacking.
It could be said that anything appearing in the game wouldn't be found here.
If anyone did appear, they would be either daring wanderers, Tarnished who happened to arrive here,
Or evil individuals seeking refuge.
For example, mages who studied evil or dark magic.
Like Sorceress Sellen in the game.
After Melina summoned a Site of Grace and planted it nearby, Kaito could use it to teleport away or from elsewhere back here.
Kaito also took Melina and the Fire Keeper to wander around inside.
Occasionally, dialogue with Melina would trigger, where she would recount some obscure story or another.
From Melina's perspective, she was interpreting.
But in reality, she was also telling Kaito about these events.
Looking at her, Kaito finally couldn't help but ask.
(A/N: The following storyline is all original, as no detailed plot or setting information about the Snow Witch Renna, including Melina's true identity, etc., could be found. Everything will perhaps only be known when DLC is released? In short, to prevent future contradictions, this is an original creation.)
"Melina, regarding the ring you gave me that can summon Torrent, I have a question."
"The Snow Witch Renna is Torrent's master. What was your relationship with her? Why did she entrust Torrent to you after she died?"
Asked this question by Kaito, Melina was slightly startled.
Then she fell silent.
For a time, the three of them sat quietly by the fire in the house.
Kaito waited, while the Fire Keeper busied herself preparing food for dinner.
Not until tomorrow would they head to the back of the town to find Ranni's Rise.
Also, there was Renna's Rise.
But in the game, you needed to complete prerequisite quests and trigger conditions to enter.
And inside, players could obtain Renna's Snow Witch set, as well as the 'marriage ring'.
That ring, the one you put on Ranni's finger after becoming her consort!
"My Lord, is this matter truly that important?"
After a long silence, feeling Kaito's persistent gaze, Melina couldn't help but ask in return.
"Yes, it's very important."
"This concerns not only you but also Ranni. As you know, my coming to see Ranni this time is not just because she sent me an invitation. Something will definitely happen between us that we don't know about yet. So before that, I'm very curious about Ranni's teacher, and your relationship with the Snow Witch Renna."
Some netizens had once suggested that Ranni and Melina were sisters, because both kept one eye closed.
But that was later disproven. However, the Snow Witch Renna seemed closely related to both of them.
So, regarding her, she remained a mystery from start to finish.
Previously, Kaito had indeed forgotten. Now that he was here and remembered, he had to get to the bottom of it first.
Only by knowing the Snow Witch Renna's true identity could he better advance the subsequent plot.
"...She was my teacher too," Melina finally revealed the answer.
'The Snow Witch Renna was not only Ranni's teacher but also Melina's teacher???'
'Really?'
"Just your teacher?"
"Yes, just my teacher."
Melina nodded seriously in answer, seemingly not lying.
Or rather, at this point, there was no need for her to lie.
"How did you meet her? You know, she was also Ranni's teacher."
"I'm not entirely sure either. When I was young, my mother... abandoned me, left me. While I was begging and surviving alone in the Lands Between, many things happened. Eventually, in the Royal Capital, I met the aged Snow Witch Renna."
"I see... and then?"
"Hmm... Regarding my teacher, the Snow Witch Renna, she was a very mysterious witch (sorceress). Her deeds were known to few, and she had already existed for many, many years."
Melina began to recall, recounting what happened back then.
However, matters like being abandoned by her mother as a child, and the things she encountered afterwards, were glossed over; she was unwilling to say more.
There were definitely omissions here.
But regarding the Snow Witch Renna, there was no need to hide as much.
Of course, it would be best not to ask, as this still involved other matters.
"She was a very mysterious, very powerful witch. Having lived so long, when I met her, she was already aged."
"When she met me, she took pity on me and took me as her apprentice..."
"If anything, I could be considered Ranni's senior apprentice sister."
'Something like that actually happened?'
Kaito was slightly surprised.
Since the game didn't provide a complete explanation, and DLC hadn't been released, he couldn't exactly run back to his original world, grab Miyazaki by the collar, and demand the lore, could he?
Even if he did, what he forced out might not be the truth.
It could be some first draft, second draft, third draft, final draft... Who knows what the story really is? You'd have to wait for the final choice.
It was best to let him create without any external interference, then get the final version to know the real story.
Well, talking about it now was useless.
He couldn't go back anyway, and even if he could, he couldn't do anything about it.
"So, because your teacher was near death, she entrusted Torrent to you?"
"Mm, that's correct. Actually, she taught me for a while, then disappeared. Many years later, she suddenly appeared before me again. At that time, I had already been chosen to become a Maiden, waiting for the arrival of my Lord."
Melina thought for a moment, then revealed the final outcome.
"So, among all the Maidens, why were you the only one without a 'Lord'? And why did you choose me?"
"...I don't know either. After all the other Maidens had their respective 'Lords', I still wandered the Lands Between, waiting for my 'Lord' to appear. But he never came. Not until you appeared. Your strength was evident to me, so I chose you. My Lord..."
"I see..."
Kaito slowly nodded, looking at the ring on his finger, lost in thought.
He was still fixated on the Snow Witch Renna's true identity.
He increasingly felt this woman's identity was anything but simple.
He even had a feeling she was like a player moving pieces, with Melina and Ranni as her pawns?
'If I were the Snow Witch Renna, having lived for many years, setting aside my level of power, if I could see a glimmer of the future.'
'Not through clairvoyance, but through vision and perspective... then I would know that the world ruled by the Golden Order was nothing but an endless cycle, gradually declining. Or perhaps, a strongest Elden Lord would emerge in the future to manage this world more reasonably and perfectly?'
'Or perhaps, abandon the world ruled by the Golden Order and create a brand new world of law?'
'But unable to be certain, I would choose the mysterious Melina, and choose the daughter of the Full Moon Queen, Ranni?'
'Let them each choose a path, then guide them, or let them compete through other means, to determine the most suitable path.'
'Ugh…'
The more Kaito thought about it, the more he felt this way.
If the Snow Witch Renna was such a woman, even if she wasn't the most powerful, she could still be considered a powerful thinker, a politician. Her vision and perspective saw through the present and glimpsed the future, but someone needed to walk the path to know which was good and which was bad.
He looked up at Melina.
Melina, stared at like this, didn't know what to say or do. With Kaito remaining silent, she simply bowed her head quietly.
"I have another question. Regarding the Snow Witch Renna, her origin, or the earliest known reports, like the time of her famous deeds, when was that?"
"For example, was it before the Shattering, or after the Shattering? Or was it before the Golden Order completely ruled this world, back when the Ancient Dragons still reigned supreme?"
Kaito needed to determine the timeline of the Snow Witch Renna's existence.
The more information he had, the more confident he would be in his assumptions.
If it wasn't what he imagined, he would adjust his thoughts and finally determine her true identity.
At worst, she was just a thinker, a politician, or simply a powerful witch who could see the future.
Either way, it wouldn't be a major problem.
"...That was after the Golden Order began ruling this world."
"Oh? Was it after Marika became Queen, or before?"
"...It was after Marika became Queen, I believe. I'm not entirely sure of the specifics."
Melina answered after a brief moment of thought.
She wasn't hiding this.
The Snow Witch Renna's deeds, the time she became famous and known to many, did indeed occur after Queen Marika's birth.
That was also the earliest period of the Golden Order's rule, before the various wars broke out.
Queen Marika wasn't even married yet at that time.
"I see."
Kaito narrowed his eyes slightly.
He felt he might have guessed something, but wasn't entirely sure.
But if his suspicion was true, then the Snow Witch Renna was truly somewhat 'crazy'.
This 'craziness' referred to her audacious actions, her knowledge of the future, or rather, her preparations made in advance to prevent various things that might happen in the future.
Commonly known as 'keeping a card up one's sleeve'.
It was like if Kaito was about to ascend the throne as Emperor, currently still a Crown Prince.
But Kaito felt something might happen in the future. So, he quietly contacted some generals and civil officials, won them over, or even others.
After he ascended the throne, they would do nothing, just business as usual.
But if various problems arose after becoming Emperor, or even if he died, then the card he kept before ascending – those generals and officials – would come into play.
They would immediately step in to swiftly put one of Kaito's sons on the throne.
Or, take him away for safekeeping, waiting for the right moment.
What the Snow Witch Renna did was this method.
No, to be precise, it wasn't the Snow Witch Renna.
But Queen Marika!
Kaito's guess was that the Snow Witch Renna was actually a disguised identity of Queen Marika, or one of them!
Thinking about her future deeds, shattering the Elden Ring, choosing the Tarnished... Kaito increasingly felt there was a connection between the two!
What's more, Marika, who is also Radagon, would it not be more reasonable for her to care for her daughter Ranni, even letting her forge another path?
The path she wanted to walk, the choice she wanted to make, might not succeed, so let Ranni walk it.
Hence, there is the normal ending, and the Age of Stars ending!
If this were true, then Queen Marika was truly remarkable!!
She foresaw what might happen in the future, so she disguised herself early on, traveled, and appeared before the world.
At least, this person needed to exist first. Then, when something needed to be done in the future, people would believe in her!
As for Melina...
Does her mother's identity even need to be guessed?
Open any forum, most people speculate that Melina's mother is Queen Marika.
All signs point to it.
But because no DLC has been released, and due to other factors, it's still somewhat difficult to confirm.