Chapter 370: Okay, everyone, listen up
For the first time since the spatial storage was upgraded, Arabel used the Access Door to enter inside.
The experience of the transition was similar to that experienced when teleporting between worlds.
She was still worried that Erza had already discovered her disappearance and started looking for her. As a result, Arabel even forgot to change her appearance.
Once inside, Arabel stopped and looked around. The first thing that caught her eye was the lighting. When she used her Soul Force to look inside every time, she always saw the same painting and lighting.
But now, upon entering by herself, Arabel discovered that the interior of the spatial storage had its own unique lighting.
High in the sky, in the distance, shone something resembling the sun, but with a more neutral shade, devoid of the warm warmth of the sun. The light that fell on Arabel looked more artificial than natural.
As she looked around curiously, a small amount of sudden information about the spatial storage rushed into her mind.
"Ugh!" — Arabel felt a sharp pain in her head from this information and clutched at it.
As soon as she processed the information, the sharp pain disappeared, replaced by a more dull sensation.
"Amazing!" exclaimed Arabel, attracting the attention of the guests, whom they had already let inside.
Ignoring them, Arabel, seeing the mess in the vault, decided to use the new knowledge she had just gained.
Using her authority, she divided the spatial storage into two levels. The lower level became a place to store all their belongings with Idan, and the second, located above, was designated for living beings.
However, Arabel did not stop there. She decided to use the second level for other purposes, which she did not even know about until she received information. Her eyes shone with the realization of how wonderful their spatial storage turned out to be.
In addition, the information that this space would continue to develop further encouraged her even more.
The awakened ones, Essora and her younger brother, the two bonded guards of the Trading House, and Milla were extremely surprised by the sudden change in the surrounding environment.
All the numerous objects that they had seen and could not reach had disappeared, freeing up additional space.
Arabel, pleased with the new surroundings, stepped forward, carefully examining the guests.
Apart from Milena, there were only sixteen Awakened ones. Four of them were girls.
Arabel remembered that there were many more of them initially.
From what she knew, half of the girls were taken away immediately after their capture, the so-called "purity check". Milla was among those who were taken away, but when Arabel saw her standing a little apart from the others, she came to the conclusion that in this way the outsiders simply took their spy out of the game.
In addition, she remembered how, on the orders of the Outsider leader, some awakened ones were killed when she tried to save her brother at the portal.
Arabel realized that the four remaining girls were so-called pure girls, just like Milena. However, after their capture, Erza only took Milena, leaving the rest with the guys to sell them at the upcoming auction.
Now all four girls were taking care of Milena, being away from the guys.
The awakened boys, Arabel noticed, were divided into three groups. The leaders of these groups were the two guild leaders and one young guy who was staring at her intently.
Apart from the awakened ones, Essora was with her younger brother.
Two bound guards of the Trading House were sitting a little to one side of them.
Milla was completely alone at the other end of the space, and in the very center lay the naked heir of the Territory of the Dark Beasts, who darkened Arabel's mood with his presence.
So that the heir would not bother her eyes, Arabel came closer and, summoning a bunch of unnecessary things that they had accumulated, threw them at him, hiding them from view.
Satisfied with the result, she nodded her head.
Everyone present was closely watching her actions.
The two Guild leaders had some suspicions about Arabel's identity, but both remained silent.
Arabel decided to start by talking to the awakened ones.
"How is she?" — Arabel asked, coming up to the girls and looking at Milena.
The girls hesitated, a little afraid of Arabel because of her appearance.
"Ah!" exclaimed Arabel, realizing that she had not changed her appearance and looked like a representative of the world of Darkness to everyone.
"I forgot to change my appearance," she said, and then took on the appearance of Isabella White.
Arabel could just take off her Ghost Mask in front of everyone. The last time she tried to save these awakened ones, most of them had already seen her true appearance, so there was no point in hiding it anymore.
However, Arabel did not want others to see her true identity.
When her appearance suddenly transformed, and even the mysterious inscriptions on her body disappeared, everyone present was amazed.
Essora, watching Arabel's transformation, immediately remembered the mask Erza had removed from Idan's face. She quickly compared the facts and realized that this girl also had a similar mask.
Milla, who was standing to the side and watching Arabel intently, was also surprised. When she was forcibly brought to this place and discovered the presence of the Awakened Ones, she had already begun to suspect that Ethan was not enslaved by this woman.
Now that Milla saw that the same woman had changed her appearance, she was convinced of her guess: she did not belong to the creatures of Darkness and was not a local resident.
At that moment, she remembered the words Ethan had told her earlier in Rumbus City. He mentioned that he has a fiancee who is coming to town soon. At the same time, she remembered that the same girl had followed Ethan to the Awakened Association building, where he was being questioned about Kraus' disappearance.
"So this is Ethan's fiancee?" murmured Milla, looking at Arabel.
"So how is she?" — Arabel asked again, changing her appearance.
"We don't know," one of the girls replied, adding, "It's very difficult for us to figure out exactly what's going on without the help of the System."
"Hmm..." — Arabel mused, her gaze falling on the slave collars that Idan had not yet removed from their necks.
"System, how can I remove these collars?" she asked the System.
Instead of answering, a System window appeared in front of her, offering to purchase the basic "lock-picking" ability for System Points.
"Lock picking?" Arabel said in her mind, reading the name of the ability that the System offered. Then she turned her gaze back to the slave collars adorning the necks of the awakened, and, returning to the System window, decided not to acquire this ability yet.
"Let them wait," she told herself. "In any case, they won't be of any use right now."
Most of the awakened ones were men, and Arabel understood that they were vulnerable to the mental abilities of the creatures of darkness in this Womskinner Territory.
After making a decision, Arabel used her Soul Force to carefully check Milena's condition.
Despite the terrible condition of her body, Milena's breathing was even, and her heart was beating steadily, which indicated that she was not in pain or suffering from being unconscious at the moment.
After a thorough check, Arabel sighed as she looked at Milena. She couldn't say for sure if the girl would be okay when she came to her senses. The dark energy has already had a significant effect on her body, and without outside help, her recovery seems unlikely.
"Keep an eye on her," Arabel said to the girls, and they nodded in agreement.
"Okay, everyone, listen up, — Arabel said, addressing all the awakened ones. "Now you are in a special space and you are our guests. Therefore, I ask you to be obedient and just wait."
Then she took out a parchment and showed it to everyone present.
"I also ask you to sign this Soul Contract," Arabel said, to the surprise of all the awakened ones.
"The terms of the agreement are as follows: firstly, in case of rescue, none of you should disclose information about this special space to anyone. Even the slightest hint of his existence is unacceptable," Arabel said firmly.
"Secondly, if you are asked how you escaped and who saved you, you should mention the following names: Ethan Goldwing and Isabella White," Arabel continued. "Under no circumstances should you mention or even hint at the following two names: Idan Fein and Arabel Morgan."
Most of the awakened ones froze in surprise, staring at Arabel after hearing these two names that seemed very familiar to them.
The awakened girls, unlike the boys, immediately recognized these two names. They remembered the event about two years ago very well. Their gaze, directed at Arabel, immediately became more agitated.
The two guild leaders took Arabel's words more calmly. They, like some of the awakened ones present, had already heard Idan tell Erza his name. As for Arabel, they had seen her true appearance and could see her resemblance to Arslan. They were sure that she also belonged to the Morgan family.
Seeing the stares of everyone present, Arabel sighed and said:
"As you have already understood, my name is Arabel Morgan, I am the older sister of Arslan Morgan. And the guy who let you in here is Idan Fein. And yes, he's Irene Fein's younger brother."
Then, looking at the surprised awakened ones, Arabel decided to clarify the situation.:
"I also want to clarify that Idan Fein is my boyfriend and fiance. Therefore, bear it in mind and don't even dare to think about anything!"
After saying that, Arabel cast a cold glance at all the guys and, in particular, at Milla, who stared at her in shock.