Lucian now felt that everything had become absurd.
Was this really the Lands Between he was familiar with?
Although the Lands Between had always been a massive royal family drama, most of the time it at least stayed within the bounds of "normal".
After all, power struggles and battles over succession within a royal family—who cared about ethics? No matter how they fought, it could all be considered normal.
But this sudden spike in LGBTQ elements made Lucian feel his mental defenses cracking.
Was this some kind of political correctness from somewhere?
Wait… Ranni's blue-skinned doll body wouldn't be related to this too, would it…?
No, no, no—this was probably just Miyazaki's personal tastes.
He had originally thought Mohg was the only lunatic like that.
But now it turned out Miquella was just as outrageous.
Radahn had inexplicably been targeted by a "femboy".
And now he'd been taken away to some unknown place in the Lands Between where no one could find him.
Just imagining it made Lucian feel a chill down his spine.
And according to what Millicent had seen in her dream, Miquella was the one who approached Radahn.
Though… it seemed Radahn had agreed as well… probably?
In Lucian's original world, things like this were already commonplace.
But for it to appear in the Lands Between—and to so suddenly shatter his understanding of so many characters, was truly excessive.
Seeing that Lucian, like herself, had fallen into profound shock after learning all this, Ranni felt a strange sense of comfort.
See?
This was the normal reaction, wasn't it?
These revelations were simply too outrageous—anyone would find them hard to accept.
Ranni spoke softly:
"Anyway—"
But Lucian interrupted her:
"Wait… let me think…"
Seeing that Lucian was still submerged in the shock of it all, Ranni wasn't surprised.
These revelations were far too absurd; anyone would need time to process them.
She gently shook her head and thoughtfully gave Lucian ample time to regain his composure.
It wasn't that Lucian lacked mental resilience—he was evaluating how these two revelations would affect everything he knew about the Lands Between.
Although Ranni lived in this world, Lucian dared say that his grasp of the Lands Between's deeper truths far exceeded hers.
After all, he was a player—he held an overwhelming advantage when it came to lore and overarching narrative.
So he couldn't just treat this as gossip, sigh about moral decay, and move on.
When these new revelations overlapped with the information he already knew, they allowed him to infer many things.
Lucian pulled himself out of his initial shock and began to analyze carefully.
Thinking it through, Miquella approaching Radahn wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
In the Lands Between, the most important things were the Elden Ring, the Laws, and the god–lord system that upheld them.
This god–lord system did not inherently involve romantic affection, it was simply two roles.
In some cases, the two could even despise each other and still fulfill those roles.
Of course, if given a choice, anyone would prefer to walk alongside someone they liked.
Lucian didn't know whether Miquella harbored personal feelings toward Radahn.
But even setting that aside, Radahn was undeniably an outstanding candidate among the demigods.
Godwyn the Golden was the most orthodox of the Golden demigods and immensely powerful.
Within the god–lord framework, he might even have taken the dominant position, firmly anchoring the world to the pure Golden Order.
However, the Golden Order was powerless against Malenia's affliction.
Miquella had no choice but to pursue an entirely different Law.
In that case, his half-brother Radahn was an excellent choice.
Radahn was equally powerful, and as a general he ruled over the vast lands of Caelid, commanding the Redmane Army.
At the same time, everything in the game made it clear that Radahn was a righteous and loyal elder brother—someone with deep bonds and a strong sense of honor.
Moreover, by joining forces with Radahn, Miquella would also gain the support of Radahn's siblings by marriage, allowing the two families to stand together against the Golden royal lineage.
Seen this way, Miquella choosing Radahn truly was a sound decision.
Back when Lucian experienced Millicent's dream, he had already learned that Miquella intended to become a god.
He had even made a pact with Radahn, asking him to become the "Promised Consort".
But Lucian had already defeated Radahn at the time, so he hadn't thought much of it.
After all, if the Promised Consort was dead, how could Miquella possibly succeed?
Yet now, through Ranni, Lucian learned the truth—
Miquella had directly set his sights on Radahn's soul.
Taking advantage of Lucian defeating Radahn, Miquella seized Radahn's soul and brought it away, intending to fulfill their pact.
Since Miquella had once again acted openly in the world, Lucian could now be certain:
Miquella had never been confined to Mohg's Mohgwyn Dynasty.
He was completely free.
Although Lucian didn't know how Mohg had originally abducted Miquella, the fact that Miquella had repeatedly acted throughout the Lands Between was deeply unsettling.
This meant Lucian needed to revise everything he believed about Miquella's whereabouts.
If Miquella had been free to move ever since his abduction, then that was terrifying.
The span of time was immense—Miquella could have done far too many things.
And outsiders knew almost nothing of his movements.
Even Lucian, armed with foreknowledge of the story, had believed Miquella remained within the Mohgwyn Dynasty.
If not for the information revealed by his follower Freya, and what Ranni had told him, Miquella would have remained completely hidden in the shadows.
Lucian recalled the contents of Millicent's dream once more.
When Miquella shared that information with Malenia, he had said:
"Malenia, I have already found the Promised Consort."
"As long as I can become a god, he will honor the pact and become my king."
If Miquella had now come to retrieve Radahn…
Did that mean Miquella had already become a god?
No.
That wasn't right.
Miquella could not possibly have already become a god.
Which meant that, at the very least, he had already discovered a method to achieve godhood.
It was likely that for some reason, he had yet to complete the process—otherwise, he would have emerged long ago.
The matter of becoming a god had always been something Lucian couldn't fully grasp.
In the base game, the process and requirements for godhood were barely mentioned at all.
Did one need to undergo some special ritual beforehand to become a god?
Or was it simply enough to become the vessel of the Elden Ring?
At present, Miquella had no access to the Elden Ring.
As such, Lucian couldn't determine whether Miquella required an entirely separate path to godhood, or whether he was merely constrained by his inability to approach the Elden Ring for the time being.
Lucian silently raised Miquella's threat level yet again.
Miquella was simply too dangerous.
It wasn't just his methods—more than anything, it was that a normal person could never truly understand what this man was thinking.
Miquella had initially studied Golden Order Fundamentalism alongside his father, Radagon.
Later, when that path failed to cure Malenia's affliction, he abandoned Fundamentalism and turned toward the Haligtree and unalloyed gold.
And yet, this same man—who appeared to care so deeply for Malenia—had allowed his beloved sister to fight her Promised Consort, Radahn, and even released the Scarlet Rot.
It made no sense.
No matter how Lucian thought about it, he couldn't understand why Miquella would do such a thing.
Lucian raised a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose.
And it wasn't just Miquella—there was also that counterfeit Greater Will…
Lucian let out a quiet sigh, committing all these matters and details to memory, intending to analyze them slowly once he returned.
Trying to fully unravel everything right now was simply unrealistic.
Seeing that Lucian had finally steadied himself, Ranni spoke again:
"In any case… I have imparted unto thee all that I know. Henceforth, tread with greater care."
She paused briefly.
"And yet… though the affair betwixt my brother Radahn and Miquella is, indeed, most thought-provoking… it bears no weight upon the continuance of our accord."
"Thou need'st not entangle thyself therein. I shall see to the matter alone."
"Take this as mine own counsel—exercise utmost caution, where Miquella is concerned."
Lucian nodded.
Then he asked Ranni;
"Do you have any idea where Miquella might be? Even a guess would help."
Any additional information would give him a better chance of preparing.
Unfortunately, Ranni shook her head.
"Nothing lingers. No sign, no remnant."
The Lands Between were vast. With so little information, it was impossible to pinpoint Miquella's location.
If even Ranni had no leads, Lucian could only set the matter aside for now.
After all, one cannot guard against a thief every night.
Life had to go on as usual—remaining alert was enough.
Besides, it was unlikely he would encounter Miquella anytime soon.
With that settled, it was time to focus on the matters at hand.
Lucian turned his gaze toward Ranni.
"Ranni, do you happen to have a map of the interior of the Academy of Raya Lucaria?"
After all, the Academy had once been under the control of the Carian royal family.
Exploring such a complex place without a map would be troublesome.
Ranni shot Lucian a glance.
Really—of all things, he had to bring that up.
She had no idea where such things had been thrown ages ago.
"I possess it not."
"With thy strength, there is none within the Academy who might bar thy path."
"A map, then… is of little consequence to thee, is it not?"
Lucian thought about it—and she wasn't wrong.
Worst case, he could always grab a couple of sorcerers and force them to lead the way.
After bidding Ranni farewell, Lucian teleported away once more—
Only after he left did Ranni finally relax.
The doll's body leaned back against the chair, preparing to return to her dormant state.
"The Fingerslayer Blade is at last within mine grasp…now may the true preparations begin."
Her thoughts suddenly drifted back to what had happened earlier, when she had been padding the chair.
"Honestly… another moment longer, and my guise would have been laid bare."
Ranni lifted the book in her hands, intending to place it aside—
Only to realize that something about the text looked wrong.
She had been holding it upside down.
Ranni stared at the inverted book, frozen in place.
A moment later, an indignant cry echoed through the tower:
"Ahhhh!"
"Curse thee, Lucian… how darest thou heap such disgrace upon a witch!"