Chapter 367: Has it started?
Idan activated the ability of the Sphere of Secret Concealment without removing the artifact from the vault. He covered a small area around himself, Arabel and Milla, hiding them from prying eyes.
The Sphere of Secret Concealment possessed Diamond quality and was linked to Idan, who had a Golden rank, it could hide everything that happened within the coverage area from any creatures below the Platinum rank.
However, the Sphere had one significant drawback.
Idan could use her power without removing the artifact from the vault, but he had no right to move too quickly and abruptly, otherwise the effect of concealment would disappear.
"How did you get to this point, Milla?" asked Idan, assuming Ethan's form.
Hearing the familiar voice, Milla froze in amazement and stared at Idan with wide-open eyes.
Idan, looking at the surprised Milla, took off his hood, revealing his face. Milla was even more amazed when she saw Ethan's familiar face.
"E... Ethan?" she said faintly.
Her attention was attracted by the slave's collar around his neck, and when she saw this, she experienced a new shock. Then, to Idan and Arabel's surprise, she started laughing hysterically.
However, her laughter soon turned to crying.
"They are… Did they catch you too?" she asked through tears.
Idan didn't answer, but his gaze became more complicated.
When Milla didn't get an answer, she turned her gaze to Arabel, who was standing next to Idan. In her current form, Arabel looked like a beauty with long black hair.
Over the past couple of days, Arabel and Idan have learned that in this Womskinner territory, the status of these female creatures is determined by the length of their hair. Almost all servants have short black hair, while those with status have long black hair.
This characteristic feature of Arabel did not go unnoticed by Milla, and her face contorted with anger.
The dark inscriptions on her body began to move.
Idan and Arabel had already encountered creatures from this world who had the same inscriptions, and they understood where everything was going.
Idan just sighed and shook his head, but Arabel took action, using her hair again before Milla could materialize the dark weapon.
Noticing Arabel's retaliatory actions, Milla was horrified and used a mental attack that outsiders loved to use, forgetting that such attacks do not work on women.
Arabel's hair quickly entangled Milla, who, unlike the other outsiders they encountered, possessed only a Golden Rank.
"Let go!" — Milla growled, struggling desperately as Arabel lifted her into the air.
"Shut up!" Arabel growled back. Then she looked at Idan, as if seeking his advice on how to deal with Milla.
Idan opened the Access Door with a wave of his hand, and when Arabel saw this, she simply threw Milla into the spatial storage.
As soon as she disappeared, Idan closed the Access Door and only then noticed that Arabel was looking at him with some strange expression.
"What?" asked Idan.
"After updating our spatial storage, for some reason we started putting everyone we meet there," Arabel shared her observations.
Idan froze, and then, remembering everyone they had already placed in this storage, he didn't know what to say. Arabel was right: almost everyone they talked to had already been placed there.
"It's just a coincidence," Idan said with a shrug. He believed it himself. He put everyone there for a reason, but because it was necessary.
"Sigh… Just make sure that we have enough time to return to our world before the spatial storage spits everyone out," Arabel said.
Idan nodded.
"Speaking of Milla, you don't think she's..." Arabel paused, as if doubting something.
"One of them?" — Idan asked directly, and Arabel nodded.
Idan looked away. They were still under the disguise of the Sphere of Secret Concealment.
"From the very beginning of all this, I had a strange feeling. I couldn't understand how Arslan and the others could have fallen into this trap," Idan said softly. "But now that I've seen Milla, it finally dawns on me that it's probably her doing."
Hearing his suggestion, Arabel's mood changed dramatically, and Idan immediately picked up on it.
"You saw for yourself just now that she's no different from the outsiders we've encountered. She even used a mental attack on you, just like them," Idan reminded her, and Arabel nodded.
That's what alerted her.
"We have been in this world for almost two days now, Belle, and you probably already realize that these creatures discovered our world not yesterday, but some time ago. And this is not their first «catch»," Idan continued.
"Most likely, Milla was one of those who was abducted much earlier. She, like Essora, was subdued and sent back to help these creatures kidnap their own kind," Idan suggested.
"And I'm afraid she's not the only one in this situation," he added worriedly.
Arabel nodded, agreeing with his words. After that, Milla's value increased significantly in her eyes. By interrogating her, they could gain a lot of important additional information about the actions of the creatures from this world.
"By the way, while we have time, do you want to enter the spatial storage and greet all our guests as the hostess of this place?" Idan suggested, and his words immediately caught Arabel's attention.
"Do you want to lock me in there?" Arabel asked instead, bending down slightly and looking at Idan with a smile on her face.
"Ahahaha, — Idan laughed, unable to resist her question.
"How can I do this? You have the same rights as me, and no matter how much I want to, I can't lock you in there against your will," Idan said, which brought a smile to Arabel's face.
"Okay," Arabel agreed, and opened the Access Door with a wave of her hand. However, before she could take a step and enter, she suddenly froze.
Then she glanced quickly at Idan.
"Has it started?" — Idan asked, and Arabel nodded in response.
"Yes, Erza started looking for me," Arabel confirmed.
"We expected this," Idan said as calmly as possible, but even he couldn't hide the note of concern in his voice.
"We still have some time, so you go greet the guests and calm them down. I will wait for Coco and as soon as she appears, I will immediately go to the portal," Idan replied, and Arabel, after a moment's hesitation, nodded and entered the Access Door.
It didn't really matter to her whether she stayed by his side or entered the spatial storage. As soon as she gets out of it, she will be next to Idan again. However, her stay inside the spatial storage slightly shortened the total time that living beings could stay there.
But since Arabel wasn't planning on spending all the time on her way to the portal inside the spatial storage, it didn't really matter.
Putting on a hood and changing his appearance again, Idan removed the Sphere of Secret Concealment and hurried to the exit from the central part of the city, trying not to attract the attention of local residents.
At the same time, he was waiting for the little fox to appear.