After listening to Lloyd, Ranni's mind went blank for a while.
When she came back to herself, she was about to ask what exactly he meant and what was happening in Caelid—but before she could speak, a gut instinct stopped her. She bit back the words and forced them down, one syllable at a time.
Past experience, bloody and clear, warned her not to ask this man those kinds of questions. If she did, and the conversation started rolling, everything would go off the rails.
And honestly, with how confusing he always was, it'd be better to just go see for herself.
Normally, someone in Ranni's condition wouldn't be stepping outside at all—otherwise, she wouldn't have been hiding here all this time. But as mentioned before, with Lloyd regularly supplying her with souls, the problems of her slumber and soul wear were no longer a concern. On top of that, with the Moonlight Greatsword in hand, she was still a force to be reckoned with—even without Lloyd.
Now, based on what Lloyd had said, the Golden Order in Caelid had already collapsed, and the entire region was under Radahn's control. While it might not count as territory belonging to the Carian faction, Radahn's sister's status alone would be enough to keep the Red Lions from causing her trouble.
So after weighing everything—especially Lloyd's infamously troublesome way of speaking—Ranni decided to go and see for herself.
As for how to get there...
"Take me there."
She did have teleportation magic of her own, but with a ready-to-use portal standing right in front of her, there was no reason to go through the extra trouble.
Besides, it was about time for her regular soul supply anyway, so Ranni handed Lloyd a few extra Starlight Shards—payment for the soul supply and for taking her along.
With hands clasped together, the two of them appeared in a golden field.
Everywhere she looked, there was abundance.
Ranni gazed at the scenery in silence.
Even though Caelid was Radahn's domain and shouldn't pose any danger, she wasn't going to take unnecessary risks. She'd already asked Lloyd to avoid teleporting them into crowded places and had no plans to meet anyone else—she just wanted to take a look.
And now...
"You did all this?"
"Half and half," Lloyd answered truthfully. "The rest was done by Seriel."
"Who's that?"
"Malenia's consciousness."
"Oh, Malenia's consciousness..." Ranni nodded, then paused. Something was off.
"Wait. Whose consciousness did you say?"
"Malenia's."
Silence.
"...Forget it."
Ranni sighed.
She'd heard enough from him by now to start building a resistance to his outrageous statements. She'd even developed a coping strategy—don't react, don't ask, definitely don't engage.
After scanning the area—especially the massive, ruined Bloom of Abundance in the distance—Ranni pieced together what had happened. She could more or less confirm that Lloyd had been telling the truth.
Radahn, Caelid... yeah, he'd definitely done something to them.
By rights, now that she'd verified things, she should head back. If she needed more details, she could just have Blaidd report at the next projection meeting.
But now, staring at the golden abundance before her, something inside her—after hiding in that tower for who knew how long—just wanted to stay a little longer.
Even the most beautiful night sky grows tiresome after a while.
And compared to the warmth of this golden abundance, the cold, deep black of the void felt even more distant and empty.
It was a dangerous thought. Her identity alone made everything risky, even here in Caelid, even with the Golden Order shattered.
Whether as the Lunar Princess or the witch Ranni, her rational mind kept warning her: this was reckless. It was dangerous.
She should return. She shouldn't stay out too long. She would eventually betray everything—and she couldn't let herself trust others too much.
But...
Just as she turned to have that fool send her back, she suddenly realized something.
Coming out here with him had already been a massive risk.
Back in her sorcerer's tower, protected by her own laws and preparations, even if he turned hostile, she'd at least have a fighting chance—she might suffer serious losses, but she could still survive and escape.
But here... if that fool decided to act against her, with his abilities, she wouldn't be able to resist at all.
The very act of coming out with him went against all the rational instincts of a witch.
And yet here he was—clearly not trying anything, just standing there stupidly, waiting to take her home.
That was what tipped the scale for Ranni, who had been wavering until now.
How to put it...
In the words of the Full Moon Queen, Ranni had always been a little rebellious.
When she sent Ranni to Renna to learn frost magic, it wasn't just for the training. She'd also hoped it would serve as a warning—about the coldness of the Dark Moon.
Then Ranni began studying the Dark Moon.
In the Carian Royal Family, both Rennala and Rellana were hopeless romantics who deeply valued love. In contrast, Ranni stiffened her neck and declared, "The loneliness on the far side of night belongs to me alone."
And then there was the Empyrean who defied fate and took his own life during the Night of Black Knives...
It wasn't that she always had to go against what others said, but at least for now, seeing Lloyd so at ease, Ranni had no plans to return.
Why should even this fool be able to wander about freely, while she had to stay cooped up alone in that tower?
Was that fair?
Of course, no matter how indignant she felt inside, she still maintained her elegance on the surface.
"Will you walk with me?"
If being irrational meant choosing this, then so be it. Honestly, trying to remain rational around someone like him was the truly irrational choice.
Lloyd blinked.
"Didn't you say you just wanted to take a look and go back? Besides, it'd be bad if someone saw you."
"I just want to walk around."
Seeing how unusually determined Ranni was, Lloyd thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Sure. As long as you're not afraid of being seen."
Lloyd didn't mind—after all, not everyone was him.
Millicent and Melina had just fought a major battle and were currently recovering, and nothing urgent was happening elsewhere. So taking a stroll with this blue-skinned weirdo wasn't a big deal.
"…Are you thinking something rude right now?"
"No."
Casually brushing off Ranni's accusation, Lloyd began walking, strolling alongside the blue-skinned oddball as they wandered slowly through the swaying golden abundance.
"By the way, don't you get bored staying alone in that tower all the time?"
Lloyd plucked a fruit at random.
"No."
Ranni responded calmly.
Truthfully, it was boring—at first, she spent most of her time asleep. Later, with Lloyd's help, she didn't need to sleep anymore, which was nice… but staying in the same place for too long did get dull.
Renna's company had helped at first, but as her workload increased, Renna couldn't keep her company anymore.
And now...
"Want to try this?"
After biting into the fruit and finding it tasty, Lloyd picked another and offered it to Ranni.
Seeing Lloyd's puffed cheeks as he munched on the fruit, looking quite silly, Ranni was about to decline. But when she saw how insistent the fool was, she hesitated, then accepted.
Of course, unlike Lloyd, she didn't just bite into it straight away. She cleaned it with a bit of magic first, then took a small bite.
It really was good.
Technically, a doll's body shouldn't be able to taste anything.
But she was a Demigod doll—and considering how someone liked to sneak in their own modifications—it was no surprise that even she could taste a bit of flavor.
"It's pretty good."
Ranni nodded, then turned her gaze to Lloyd, who had stuffed his cheeks full of fruit.
"But why are you so obsessed with eating?"
It was something Ranni had been wanting to ask for a while.
Someone with his power—someone who had his own Law—should have some kind of belief or goal.
But from the moment they met, aside from his terrifying communication skills, the thing that left the deepest impression was how he'd always hand her shrimp as a greeting.
He didn't seem to have any goals. He just went where he was told, did what he was asked, and when idle, would squat by himself, pull out some shrimp, eat, and stare into space.
He looked out at the world around him.
But if you looked closely, you'd realize—there was nothing in his eyes.
Like an empty doll.
Even more like a doll than she was.
"Because your food tastes good," Lloyd said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"…You've never had any of it before?"
"No."
"Then what did you eat back where you came from?"
Lloyd thought for a bit.
"Grave-ash over rice, grass-and-shit patties, zombie jerky, roasted maggotfolk, latrine slugs…"
Ranni's expression grew increasingly disturbed, prompting Lloyd to pause and add, "Of course, I don't eat that stuff myself—I've just seen others who do."
No, the fact that anyone would want to eat that is already disturbing enough, isn't it?
"So what do you eat?"
"I eat better than they do."
Lloyd thought for a moment, then pulled out an Estus Flask, some Humanity, and a few mutated souls.
"I eat these."
At first, Ranni felt a bit relieved.
But once she saw exactly what he had pulled out, her expression shifted to horror.
Weren't these things even more absurd than what he just mentioned?
She didn't know how much of what he said was true, or what he meant by "our place," but judging by the things he just showed her, it was clear—it definitely wasn't any kind of good place.
"No wonder you're so into eating…"
Ranni nodded, feeling like she understood Lloyd just a little more.
"Not really."
To her surprise, Lloyd shook his head.
"I can't actually taste anything."
"…What?"
Lloyd paused, then pulled out the Estus Flask and poured the magma-like liquid into his mouth. He glanced at Ranni.
"If I really had taste buds, this stuff would've burned them to a crisp."
"But in reality, to me, it's just tasteless water."
Ranni blinked. "Then why do you…"
Lloyd thought for a moment.
"You could say I created a system that simulates human taste. As long as I eat something, the system gives me a description—whether it's sweet or salty, spicy or bitter, gross or delicious…"
He paused, then shook his head.
"I can't taste a thing myself, but those descriptions are enough for me."
With that, he stuffed another fruit into his mouth, looked at Ranni, and gave her a carefree smile.
"And besides, if even you say it's delicious, then it must be. That's way better than any description."
Silence.
Ranni glanced at the fruit in her hand again and, for some reason, it didn't seem quite as appetizing anymore.
But after a moment, she took a small bite, then looked back at Lloyd.
"It is good."
"Glad to hear it."
...
As they chatted, the two wandered into a golden field.
Maybe it was the abundance in the land, but the grass here grew tall—almost up to their waists.
Still, the scenery was undeniably beautiful.
Endless golden grass stretched to the horizon, dotted with towering trees budding with fresh shoots. In the distance, misty fog blurred phantom cliffs, and the blessings scattered after the spread of abundance were laid bare before them.
A gentle breeze stirred the field, making the grass ripple like waves in a golden sea.
And the two standing in the midst of it all… kept walking and feeding.
Not just snacking on fruit and treats—they were also going through the soul supply process.
Usually, out of pride, Ranni would make Lloyd condense the souls into orbs and hand them over, so she could absorb them herself, even if that meant some loss.
But this time, maybe too caught up in the view, when Lloyd brought a soul near her mouth, she didn't react—she just accepted and absorbed it.
And so they continued, feeding and strolling. As they went deeper, the grass grew taller.
Lloyd managed just fine, but Ranni's small doll-like body started to struggle.
After a moment's thought, Lloyd held out his hand.
"Want to ride like last time?"
Ranni almost refused—after all, she wasn't some barbarian. She could easily float above the ground.
But thinking back to the emotional trauma of their earlier conversations, the ridiculous poses from their previous battle, and the fact that no one else was around...
After a brief pause, she looked up seriously.
"Fine—but I'm sitting on your shoulders."
It didn't change much functionally, but at least it gave her a little revenge.
Why did this guy always get so bold?
Lloyd was about to refuse, but as he glanced at her four arms, a strange thought crossed his mind. He swallowed his words.
Wait—if she really sits on my shoulders and can hold four weapons at once… then in future dungeons, if I can summon her to fight alongside me… could I give her four bleed weapons?
With that, Lloyd nodded.
"Alright."
He crouched down, let Ranni climb onto his shoulders, and stood up.
Perfect. Now they were synced. Next step—see if she could actually wield four blood-infused blades...
But just as Lloyd was imagining the possibilities, before he could act on the idea—
A streak of light appeared in the sky and quickly grew larger.
In the blink of an eye, it crashed to the ground right in front of him.
Thanks to a last-minute pull on the gravity sorcery, it landed smoothly without damaging the surroundings, settling gently in the grass.
Then the fallen meteor lifted its head and spoke to the red figure perched on its shoulder.
"See? I told you the scenery here would be amazing."
The red figure stayed silent for a few seconds, then pointed straight ahead.
Radahn blinked, turned around...
And saw Lloyd holding a curved sword, as if he was about to hand it over to someone.
And riding on Lloyd's shoulders was Ranni, desperately pressing down her enormous hat to avoid being recognized.
Then—
A strange, heavy silence settled over them.
...
[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]
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