"You can't say it like that," Aoko shrugged. "As a spellcaster, I have a slightly better-than-average ability to see through illusion magic. Playing dumb in this situation just isn't my style, you know?"
After speaking, Aoko even made a Gojo's finger gesture toward Ranni, as a show of confidence in her abilities.
"Sigh..." Ranni said wearily, rubbing her forehead with one of her four hands. "Don't you understand the basics of etiquette at all? These are fundamental for nobles and respectable people."
"Unfortunately, I'm not a noble," Aoko replied casually. "Though my family was somewhat well-known in my world, so-called nobles were already outdated relics of a bygone era. Not exactly something to admire."
"...Then, are you trying to ask me for more compensation?" Ranni asked softly. "I admit that you've indeed provided me with crucial help, and truths I had never known... You certainly deserve a greater reward... So, what more do you want from me?"
"Hmm, can't it just be that I see you as a friend and don't want to part ways?" Aoko replied in a slightly exaggerated tone. But seeing Ranni's deadpan expression, she decided to get serious. "...If possible, then give me a Miniature Ranni that you made yourself, as a token of our friendship."
Upon hearing this, Ranni looked deeply at Aoko for a moment. But in those clear, deep-blue eyes, she saw no trace of deceit—this request was undoubtedly sincere.
"...Fine then," Ranni muttered as she turned her head. "I, witch Ranni, shall agree to your rude request."
With that, Ranni reached into her pocket with one hand and pulled out a small doll—meticulously carved to look exactly like her current form. A Miniature Ranni.
Aoko cheerfully accepted it and, unusually, didn't inspect the doll's various details in front of Ranni. Instead, she carefully placed it into the pouch at her waist.
Since the Ranni of this timeline had learned the truth about the Fingers who controlled all demigods and the Golden Order—and with her superiors all dead—she was in no rush to flee the Lands Between and seek her law among the stars.
Yet, instead of returning to the Royal Academy of Raya Lucaria where Rennala resided, she used Aoko's teleportation spell to go back with her to the magic tower in Caria Manor.
Just as Aoko had guessed, Ranni's Fingers had, before her departure to the Grand Cathedral of Manus Celes, secretly deployed their long-hidden Black Knife assassins to Caria Manor. These killers, imbued with a trace of Death Rune's power, launched a fierce attack on the strategist Seluvis and the warrior Blaidd.
However, Blaidd—who had been lying in ambush in the shadows near Seluvis—foiled their plan. The two long-time comrades fought back-to-back and repelled all enemies.
This included a shadow beast that bore a striking resemblance to Blaidd himself.
At first glance, Blaidd immediately understood its purpose. It was a backup unit created by the Fingers specifically to kill Princess Ranni in case Blaidd betrayed them.
After Blaidd fully pledged loyalty to Ranni and wore the Nox mirror helm that blocked the remote control, the Fingers activated this final contingency.
But no matter the timeline, the Fingers' final assassination attempt on Ranni always ended in failure. This nameless beast would inevitably fall.
Blaidd even declined his old friend's help and engaged the shadow beast—his symbolic brother—in a one-on-one duel, ultimately emerging victorious.
When Aoko and Ranni returned to the magic tower, they saw only corpses strewn across the open space in front of it and a few patches of black flames still burning—undoubtedly the god-slaying fire of the Death Rune.
After confirming that her two most loyal subordinates were unharmed, Ranni breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She now decided to take her two knights and head to the Royal Academy of Raya Lucaria, where her mother Rennala resided.
Before setting off to the stars, Ranni had resolved to use her power to aid her awakened mother and restore the glory of the Carian royal family—to reclaim the power that was rightfully hers.
— Scene Break —
After defeating Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, Messmer returned to Liurnia.
Veteran General Gaius handed Messmer the other half of the Dectus Medallion, which he had retrieved from a fortress in Caelid. With this, the Holy Crusade's entire army and massive siege engines could be transported directly to the Altus Plateau.
Though the Tarnished held only one Great Rune and was still unqualified to claim the title of Elden Lord, he was undeniably a major player on the Lands Between's grand chessboard. After sweeping through the surface and underground treasures of Caelid and Limgrave, he and Melina once again joined Messmer's expedition.
However, the Tarnished's current destination was not the royal capital—but the snowy mountains to its north.
After conversing with Sir Gideon Ofnir the All-Knowing, who still hid in the Roundtable Hold, Melina and the Tarnished learned that at least two Great Runes remained hidden somewhere in the northern snowfields. Perhaps within Miquella's Haligtree, or perhaps in some other unknown corner.
In any case, having learned that Messmer was Melina's biological brother, the Tarnished had no desire to become his enemy—at least not before they stood on opposite sides of the struggle for the throne.
To that end, the Tarnished even gave up pursuing the Great Rune held by the mysterious Blessed King, choosing instead to chase after the elusive, location-unknown Runes hidden in the snowy wilderness.
Aoko and Touko had little interest in the potential third siege of the royal capital. Just a few days after returning to Caria with Ranni, Aoko brought the Inverted Statue given to her by Ranni to the Carian Study Hall and found Touko, who was deep in academic discussion with Millicent.
As the ever-useful Touko, Aoko once again made what others would consider an outrageous and impossible request:
"Touko, if I give you Ranni's body—killed by the Death Rune—can you make her a new one, the same as the original?"
PS: I played the Elden Ring for the first time. bro Ranni and Melina is Top Tier Waifu!