I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Time seemed to stand still for a moment.

"Alright... everyone in the game club, don't be nervous."

Amamiya smiled and waved to them, indicating that they shouldn't be so nervous.

"...Sensei?! Were you just imitating Yuka the Demon King's voice?"

After a brief silence, Momoi, realizing what had happened, naturally felt a surge of resentment.

"Sorry, sorry... I heard Momoi's overly lively voice so early in the morning, so I couldn't help but tease her a little."

"Alright, that concludes the 'teasing' segment... Let's get right to today's 'exploration' segment."

After clearing his throat with a fist to his lips, Amamiya began announcing today's 'exploration mission'.

"Today's main task is to go to Elidu and obtain information about the Demon King, and then..."

"...Explore the Demon King's Castle."

Chapter Nineteen: A Divine Assist from Sister Ju

As the salon door of the tavern was pushed open, the first sound that reached Amamiya and his group was not the usual 'welcome message,' but rather...

After the dizziness from the black and red light subsided, the world before my eyes changed—

It's no longer a noisy pub; it's more like an area that resembles a 'personal study'.

The vines of ivy have woven into bookshelves, and the natural and magical atmosphere seems to fill this small study at all times.

A ray of warm yellow light shone in from the window and landed on the desk under the windowsill, giving the already yellow parchment a warm and mysterious hue.

"welcome……"

"I've been waiting for you for a long time."

The 'elf girl' sitting at her desk, writing with a quill pen in hand, seemed to sense the group pushing open the door. She slowly got up, turned her head, and gave everyone a pure and elegant smile, but one that seemed to carry a hint of arrogance.

The disease that had afflicted her seemed to have been completely banished.

Therefore, she seemed to have changed into a black Lolita-style witch dress that perfectly showcased her mature elegance.

Her 'noble demeanor' and the princess braid of her long, white, curly hair, like an elf's, formed a stark contrast to her sickly appearance when I last saw her, which seemed like she was 'doomed to die'.

The contrast was so stark that even Amamiya and his group felt a sense of incongruity, as if they were 'completely different people'.

Momoi opened her mouth, and it took her a while to see the beauty mark at the corner of the other's eye, confirming the relationship between the 'elf girl' in front of her and the great sage in the wheelchair in her memory.

She called out tentatively, without much certainty, "Ah... Great Sage?!"

"Yes, as you can see... under the healing of the 'panacea', I have been freed from the curse and have once again become a beautiful and omniscient young scholar in my prime."

Himari smiled at Momoi, who had a 'see a ghost' look on her face, and then glanced at Amamiya, Sofia, and the four members of the game club.

After her calm gaze lingered briefly on Sophia, the 'kindness' in Himari's eyes, which had already been somewhat difficult to conceal, seemed to become even more apparent.

She maintained her 'elegance' and picked up the 'parchment' she had just finished writing on from her desk, handing it to Amamiya.

"Take a look... This is information about the 'Demon King' and his weaknesses that I prepared especially for you."

Amamiya took the parchment and began to examine the distorted, blurry, self-contained 'shadow script,' which was probably only understandable to him in the whole world.

It was supposed to be information about the Demon King's weaknesses... but in reality, it was just some basic information about Rion from another world.

It even included the 'token' for entering the Demon King's castle...

In the real world, this is essentially Himari conducting a 'hacking' investigation and social engineering summary of Rion's recent actions, and compiling these movements into an easy-to-understand action record.

As for the 'token' for entering the Demon King's castle, it was naturally found by Himari, which corresponds to a code vulnerability in the fortress city of Elidu in the real world.

"how?"

Noticing that Amamiya's movements were gradually slowing down, Himari in the shadows spoke again, her tone carrying a smug sense of entitlement: "Regarding the Demon King... could this become the most crucial weapon to defeat him?"

"Indeed...very useful."

Amamiya had to admit that having a 'hacker' (in a technological or magical sense) on the team could greatly reduce various unnecessary energy expenditures.

The vulnerability in the 'Demon King's Castle' that Shadowy Sunny found, as well as the vulnerability in permissions, when mapped to the real world, is a 'permission card with the highest authority'.

It can be said that... with it, most meaningless running around, such as looking for keys, obtaining permissions, etc., can be completely eliminated.

"Heh... In that case, you should prepare to depart immediately and head towards the Demon King's castle..."

Smiling smugly and confidently, Shadowy Sunburst urged him on in a tone of subtle expectation.

Amamiya knew very well where Himari's 'sense of anticipation' came from.

—The shadow of the other world and the character in the real world correspond to each other in terms of their 'thoughts' and 'behavior'.

If a disease exists in the shadow of another world and is cured... then it will affect the corresponding person in the real world.

Similarly, if people in the real world develop a strong interest in something, this 'interest' will be reflected in an equivalent desire for that thing, which in turn will affect the various behaviors of the shadow in the other world.

In the real world, Himari is very interested in the changes brought about by 'repentance' and looks forward to seeing how a similar effect would affect Rion, and what kind of mental changes it would cause in Rion—this expectation and desire reflects and influences her shadow in the other world.

"Even without you saying so, we will deal with the 'Demon King' as soon as possible..."

After carefully putting away the parchment containing the 'Demon King's Castle Token', Amamiya continued earnestly, "Starting today, we will begin our exploration of the 'Demon King's Castle'... However, before that, we need to go back and make some preparations."

...Actually, the real reason for going back is that the 'Impression Space' cannot lead directly to the palace.

To access the temple, you still need to enter the corresponding keywords in the real world.

After leaving behind the shadowy Himari, Amamiya led the four members of the game club back to the real world for the time being.

The parchment that Himari obtained from the other world transformed into a USB flash drive containing some kind of information in the real world.

After casually threading the USB drive onto her keychain, Amamiya heard a sigh of relief from beside her.

"Next, we really are going to explore the legendary 'Demon King's Castle'..."

Only after the meeting with the 'Great Sage' ended, and before she could even speak, Momoi excitedly began to 'rub her hands together'.

Wow... This kind of true 'heroic adventure epic' is really inspiring!

Compared to Momoi's novelty and excitement, Midori appeared very calm, even overly mature.

Back in the game development department's activity room, she began to look around the room, thinking about what she could use.

"Sensei, what do we need to prepare?"

"No need for any 'special preparations'..."

"Everyone, come with me."

After leading the three members of the game club to the seminar's activity area—near the seminar headquarters building—Amamiya activated the Isekai APP again.

Next, you need to enter the keywords for the hall.

After opening the [Otherworld App], Amamiya pondered for a while while looking at the page for entering 'location'.

First, there is the [goal].

"Rine Tsunei, who is the president of the seminar."

'Om—'

'Target successfully identified.'

very good……

Rather, it's more accurate to say that it was indeed the case.

Next up are the "base" and "cognitive distortion".

"Rine, who is the president of the seminar, has mistaken the fortress city of Elido for the Demon King's castle."

The otherworld app experienced a brief loading lag, followed by a buzzing sound indicating successful recognition.

'The infiltration route to the palace has been confirmed. Navigation is being prepared for you...'

Should we proceed to the temple immediately?

"Proceed to the palace."

What does Rion's palace look like in Chapter Twenty?

What will Tsukigami Rion's 'hall' look like?

Previously... from a high place in the other world 'Elidoo', Amamiya had already roughly seen... the Demon King's castle, shrouded in dark clouds, with rolling thunder and an ominous black aura...

From a distance, it looked like a hellish scene, composed of molten lava and scorched earth.

Up close...

"Ugh...it's so hot..."

Ignoring Momoi's immediate, boisterous exclamations about the surroundings, Amamiya composed herself and used her [Third Eye] to observe the 'Demon King's Castle' up close.

From a distance, the Demon King's Castle looks like a steel fortress; up close, it has a unique quality that comes from the intersection and fusion of magic and technology—a civilization that has developed technology in the magical world and achieved certain results.

Upon closer inspection, the Demon King's Castle has the standard 'castle' shape of a fantasy world... However, the castle is not built with the bricks and tiles of a medieval castle, but rather with almost a single piece of silver-gray metal that is shiny and even gleams with some kind of magical rune light.

Sturdy and beautiful, it even possesses a near-future level of magical science fiction aesthetics in the fantasy world of the otherworld.

Immediately afterwards...

Amamiya felt a scorching heat wave hit her face, carrying a suffocating smell mixed with a hint of sulfur in the air, instantly making her feel parched and sweaty.

Just like Momoi's sentiment... it's really hot here.

The cracked floor was paved with sand and gravel and some kind of brick, but the gaps between the bricks were not made of common concrete or other casting adhesives... In the cracks of the cracked floor, there flowed streaks of scorching red.

"Even the ground is flowing with lava..."

Immediately using the developer's weapon, she cast the Silent Huntress's [Ghost Form] on herself, transforming her body into a semi-transparent, floating 'green ghost' to immunize herself against the scalding green from the floor. With lingering fear, she lowered her head slightly to look at the 'scorched earth' beneath her feet.

Before coming to the 'Demon King's Castle', she had already prepared herself for the extremely harsh environment...

She was aware of how harsh the land of the Demon King's castle could be, but she didn't expect it to be this harsh.

If you stepped barefoot on the floor like that, your soles would definitely get roasted very quickly...

Wearing even slightly thicker clothing would be considered an absolute 'sin' and 'torture' here...

"It's so hot...!"

Momoi, who really couldn't help but want to jump up and down, thought hard about what skill she could use to help herself relieve her condition.

Perhaps driven by desperation, Momoi suddenly remembered a job skill that might be suitable for the current situation. She quickly raised her shield and transformed it into a two-handed shield covered in frost, which looked like a solid ice shield.

"Northern Barbarian Warrior Skill... Frostblood!"

After giving herself a buff, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"here……"

"It truly lives up to its name as the Demon King's Castle... Just getting in requires enduring terrain damage..."

Once things stabilized, Momoi started her incessant ranting again—when she saw the Demon King's castle standing atop lava while playing the game, she didn't think much of it...

After experiencing it firsthand and visiting the 'Demon King's Castle,' Momoi's perception of that 'city on lava' completely changed.

So why would the Demon King build a castle in such a dangerous place?

Doesn't the Demon King find this place very hot?

Is she Yiqi [Liu|Yishan? ?貳.er〨 Is she out of her mind?

"Ugh... Alice feels a little hot too..."

"Senior Sophia, are you one too?"

Sophia, whose mask displayed the word "HOT," calmly asked Alice, who was frowning, about the topic while she was tying up her long hair to prevent it from being burned by the lava that reached the ground. Alice nodded.

Having acquired the human 'mind', they possess a clearer sense of many things...

Then they will have to bear some of the costs that humanity must also bear.

"Jok... let's start exploring the palace as soon as possible. It's so hot in here... we'll get dehydrated soon if this keeps up, won't we?"