You sneaked into my simulation world and started spamming the panel?

"Look, these star-like grasses covering the ground are the tears shed by the witch."

"They flowed desperately backwards into the night sky, just as she futilely tried to reverse time time again and again..."

Lotte swayed her head slightly to the bard's song and stuffed the last bite of apple pie into her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Lord Isolde, for making you come to a place like this."

"It doesn’t matter."

Isolde wiped the cream from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief and was about to get up and leave when she suddenly froze in mid-air.

She looked down at her feet and felt something furry rubbing against her.

“Lotte,” Isolde said softly, “come and help me.”

"What's up?"

Lotte moved closer to Isolde and found a gray and white kitten rubbing against Isolde's leg, looking very affectionate towards her.

Lott crouched down and picked up the kitten, gently rubbing its head. "It's all dirty; it looks like it's been abandoned."

She only breathed a sigh of relief and sat down after the kitten left Isolde's side.

"Is Lord Isolde afraid of cats?"

"No, I just didn't know my own strength; I was afraid I'd accidentally break it..."

As soon as Lotte released the kitten, it pounced on Isolde's legs, rolled over, and gently patted Isolde's boots with its paws.

"It seems to like you."

"Monsters usually worship the strong. I am stronger than it, that's all."

Despite saying that, Isolde didn't kick the cat away immediately, but let it roll around next to her boot.

Isolde kept looking down at it, its icy blue eyes seemingly stroking its downy fur.

Lotte picked it up and held it in mid-air. "Lord Isolde, shall we take it back? Having a pet will prove that we have been living in Orlandis for a long time, so that others will not easily become suspicious."

"But I don't know how to raise them."

"It's okay, I can."

The cat was held aloft, its paws outstretched towards Isolde. Its pink paws were slightly open, making one want to gently touch them.

Isolde looked away. "I don't care."

Are you going to carry it back?

"No."

This outing ended with finding a kitten.

Putting aside the unpleasantness of the statue being destroyed, Lotte was still quite satisfied with the outing.

He finally learned that the timeline of the predicted world was two hundred years in the real world.

The city of Orlandis, where they were located, was a city belonging to the Elandor Empire. It was located at the northernmost edge of the human border and was far away from Maple Town.

For the next three weeks, Lott and Isolde stayed in the hotel.

Lotte's panel is constantly changing.

Every night, Isolde would read and study with Lothar, and his knowledge and analytical skills continued to improve.

The room the two lived in also changed a lot. Lott would occasionally ask Isolde to buy some green plants and paintings, so that the temporary room would at least not be monotonous and gradually become a comfortable home to live in.

The kitten that Isolde found was still very attached to her, and it would wrap itself around her feet every time she came back.

At first, Isolde was reluctant to approach it, but as time went on, Lotte would occasionally find Isolde secretly crouching beside the kitten, watching it roll around on the ground.

One by one, statues of Isolde were toppled throughout the city, and her traces were erased from the entire city.

The only place where the two stayed remained unaffected, still preserving traces of Isolde's life, and these traces are becoming increasingly rich.

Until that day comes.

A month passed quickly.

More and more guards were deployed on the streets. All ten members of Ellandor's "Cataclysmic" team had gathered here, staying on the outskirts to protect the city's safety.

As night fell, accompanied by lightning and strong winds, a torrential downpour began.

The kitten hid in the corner; it seemed very afraid of lightning.

Isolde, who was still reading in the distance, noticed the shivering kitten. She hesitated for a moment, then walked to the corner and gently patted its head.

"Meow~"

The kitten clung tightly to Isolde's wrist, gently nibbling at her fingertips with its teeth.

Just then, Lotte pushed open the door and looked around before finding Isolde crouching in the corner. "Lord Isolde, the carriage has arrived. We should set off."

"Ah."

Isolde stood up and looked out the window at the castle.

In this life, she will infiltrate the castle's underground passages to find the location of the magic circle and completely change the future.

The two changed their clothes and pretended to be a noble couple.

The kitten at her feet kept rubbing against Isolde's legs, seemingly unwilling for her to leave.

“Lotte, come with me into the underground passage. We'll go find the location of the magic circle.”

"clear."

The warm yellow light shone throughout the room, keeping the wind and rain out.

Isolde glanced back at the room, then put her arm around Lotte's arm, preparing to go downstairs with him.

"By the way, Lord Isolde, do you have any magical items like self-destruct rings?"

Isolde stopped in her tracks, staring at the shadows of the two figures on the ground, remaining silent for a long time.

"Ah."

Lott continued to explain, "What if—I mean, what if—we didn't find the magic circle in time, but the ceremony was about to begin? What if, in a situation where there wasn't enough time, I rushed into the banquet hall with the self-destruct ring and detonated the magic circle that was undergoing the Mechanical Ink Ritual? What would happen to the magic circle underground then?"

Isolde stood still for a moment before saying, "The magic circle will be affected, producing reactions such as high temperature, bright light, and explosion."

These are all facts from "Los Wesson's Basic Arcane Arts".

Lotte reached out to Isolde, "Lord Isolde, could you give me the self-destruct ring? In the worst-case scenario, I'll rush into the banquet hall and self-destruct, which will cause the underground magic circle to malfunction, making it easy for you to find it."

The shadows began to spread beneath the white hair, gradually covering Isolde's entire face.

She slowly released Lotte's arm and took off the self-destruct ring from her right hand.

This ring was a prop she left for herself to commit suicide during her long period of recollection.

The rings were exchanged in the dimly lit room, moving from Isolde's hand to Loth's.

"Thank you. Let's set off then."

Chapter 27 I'll cover the rear and refresh the panel!

Tonight, Orlandis will begin enforcing a curfew.

The only carriages on the streets were those invited to the castle, their wheels drowned out by the heavy rain.

The ten calamities stood far outside the castle, and without the emperor's order, they could not approach Orantis even a step.

Like many nights before, after returning home, I would enjoy a steaming hot cream stew, take a relaxing bath, and unwind from the day's fatigue.

Tonight, the life force of half the city's population will be brought to the castle through a sacrificial ceremony, nourishing the arriving nobles and the emperor.

The castle is bustling tonight, and the battle beneath it is fierce.

"Lord Isolde, which way should we go?!"

According to Isolde, the magic circle that drives the sacrificial ritual is set up underground, and the castle's underground passages are like a complex labyrinth.

After the two slipped into the banquet hall, they went straight to the underground.

The stuffy, damp air, the faint torches hanging on the walls, and the guards that occasionally dart out—all these factors combined to cause the omnipotent Lord Isolde to get lost.

Isolde looked at the passage on the right: "Go this way."

"We just passed by here!"

"Then let's go the other way."

Time was running out; the sacrificial ceremony was to begin in 20 minutes, but they couldn't even find their way.

Their appearance also attracted the attention of the garrison. Isolde led the way, while Lotte brought up the rear to block the pursuing garrison.

A guard wielding a spear charged toward Lot with a shout. He gripped the spear tightly, pulled back his elbow to gather strength, and thrust it violently toward Lot's upper body.

Lotte activated the Oath, and the white light emanating from the sword was dazzling in the dim cave.

The longsword was raised from below, and the power amplification from the oath changed the direction of the spear, causing it to deflect into the air and miss Lot.

The inability to quickly and continuously activate [Oath] prevented Lot from seizing the opponent's weakness in time, allowing the opponent to adjust their position and raise their spear to stab Lot again.

A blue light flashed from the tip of the spear, and then three identical blue streaks appeared in Lot's eyes at the same time.

A sudden sharp pain shot through his left shoulder, and Lott immediately felt that his left arm had completely lost its strength and he couldn't lift it at all.

Looking down, he saw three gaping, bloody gashes gushing blood, causing Lott to tremble in pain.

At this moment, the blue talent [Mist Silk] was activated, and the magic power, like precise threads, quickly stitched up Lotte's wounds, preventing further deterioration.

Thanks to this talent, Lot's pain lessened considerably. He shouted and activated [Oath Keeper], slashing horizontally at the guard.

The sword easily tore through the man's armor, sliced ​​through his skin, and finally got stuck in the gap between his bones.

Blood began to gush out, the dripping sound extremely jarring in the narrow passage.

The man stared wide-eyed at Lotte in disbelief, then slowly knelt down and collapsed to the ground.

Lott leaned against the wall, took out a life potion from his pouch, and drank it down.

He couldn't help but complain, "How did it turn into a turn-based battle..."

Lot could only rely on [Oath of Protection] to attack at this moment, as he felt that ordinary sword swings could not penetrate the opponent's armor. Once [Oath of Protection] needed to be charged up, he could only passively defend.

"I wish I could learn Valgard's swordsmanship."

He checked the skills on the panel: [Valgard Swordsmanship (Unlearned): 3%]

Unfortunately, progress has only increased by 2% this month.

At this rate, it will take Lotte at least a year to master this swordsmanship.

"Lotte, I've found the way."

Isolde behind him had also dealt with the guards, and Lotte immediately turned around and followed Isolde's steps.

This time, Isolde really found something good.

An iron gate appeared at the end of the passage; by all accounts, it looked like an important entrance.

“We’ve basically explored all the underground passages,” Lott said, catching his breath. “This is the only place we haven’t been.”

Isolde was about to go inside when Lotte called out to her, "The entrance here is too narrow. If the enemy blocks it, we'll be trapped inside. I'll guard this place. You go in."

"it is good."

Isolde didn't hesitate; she simply shoved the door open with her shoulder and rushed inside.

Meanwhile, the pursuers behind Lotte caught up, forming a small team of four, and launched an attack on Lotte.

After Lotte used his oath to block the attack of the leftmost garrison, the garrison on the right raised their swords and slashed at Lotte's shoulder, causing Lotte to cry out in pain.

Lotte gripped the sword tightly in his hand, and subconsciously swung his arm straight behind him, slashing at the man.

To Lott's surprise, his seemingly ordinary sword strike knocked the defender to the ground, who even clutched his abdomen in pain.

"Ok?"

Lotte blinked, looked at the people on the ground, and then at the other guards around him.

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Lotte didn't understand why the opponent was so weak, and that he could inflict damage on the opponent without using [Oath].