Leaving Idan and Ned, who followed his master, Arabel and the others began to look around and assess the consequences of what had happened.
Ned put out the fire, preventing the village from completely burning down, and saved several mortals. However, when the girls began to examine them, they realized that although the mortals looked alive, they were actually dead inside, having turned into soulless living shells.
The portal was still open, and everyone was afraid that someone might come out of it at any moment. Therefore, they were constantly on guard, keeping their eyes on the portal.
After checking the waiting area for reinforcements, the brother and sister also found a comfortable place and decided to talk.
"So you just recently returned from another world?" asked Arslan in surprise. Although Idan had mentioned something , but now that he heard it from his older sister, he was amazed.
"Yes," Arabel nodded, satisfied with her brother's reaction. "After teleporting, we found ourselves in a space separate from Junonia, but connected to it. It took us more than two months to find a way out and come back."
Arslan listened attentively to his sister's story without interrupting.
"Two months?" he repeated, puzzled.
"Yeah. We only stayed there for two months, and can you imagine how surprised we were when we found out that more than one year and nine months had passed in our world?" asked Arabel enthusiastically. "It was especially difficult for me to accept that you, little brother, have become more than a year older than me!"
"What? Arslan was perplexed by his sister's words. "Have I gotten older?"
"Yes, little brother, you've not only gotten older, but you've also managed to have a son!" Arabel replied with a slight hint of displeasure in her voice. Arslan couldn't figure out what exactly upset her: the fact that he got older, or the fact that he had a son earlier than her.
Arabel briefly described what had happened to them in Limbo and the people they had met during that time, without mentioning the System. Both understood that it was better not to disclose information about the System to anyone, so neither of them raised the subject.
"Have you met Irene yet?" asked Arslan.
"Yes, at first we met at a restaurant, but then I was at her house and saw your son," Arabel confirmed with a smile, recalling the meeting with Irene and her nephew. "He was so small and so much like you."
Suddenly, her gaze changed, and Arslan sighed, realizing where everything was going.
"Sister..." he began, but Arabel interrupted him.
"Not now. We'll talk about it later," she said.
Not only was she interested in this issue, but also Idan, who wanted to find out if Arslan was cheating on his older sister, Irene.
"Good," Arslan agreed, noticing where his sister was looking as she said this.
"So you're his girlfriend and fiancee now?" Arslan decided to ask, changing the subject.
Arabel, hearing her brother's question, turned and, looking into his eyes, nodded. There was no reason for her to hide it from her brother.
To Arslan's surprise, he did not notice any embarrassment or awkwardness in his sister's behavior, which he expected to see. Instead, all he saw was a firm nod.
"Sister, you understand that the family..." Arslan began, but Arabel interrupted him again.
"Little brother, do you really think that I... no, "we" care about our family's opinion?" she asked with sincere seriousness.
Arslan, amazed by his sister's firmness and sincerity, did not know what to answer. Then, remembering the strength his sister and future brother-in-law had demonstrated, he realized that Arabel and Idan didn't need anyone's approval to be together.
And realizing this, Arslan felt sincere joy for his sister. It was obvious that Arabel liked Idan, and remembering Idan's passionate words to Erza, Arslan was once again convinced that these two, unlike him and Irene, had already gone much further.
The siblings' conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Idan and Ned. Ned, who was following Idan in the guise of a dark fox, attracted the attention of the girls from the Red Fox Guild. They were curious to find out what kind of beast it was and how it was related to Idan, seeing how the beast was following him.
"Dan?" called Arabel.
"We need to talk," Idan replied.
Arslan, as before, was surprised to hear his sister address Idan with such an affectionate name. But then he just smiled, finding their behavior funny and sweet.
"Okay, — Arabel said, getting up, but her brother beat her to it.
"I won't interrupt," Arslan said and walked away, leaving the couple alone for their conversation.
"Reinforcements will arrive soon, — Idan began. "Before leaving, I notified the Awakened and Military Association, briefly telling them about the situation with the outsiders, the causes of the beast wave, and the location of this village."
Arabel nodded, listening intently to his words.
"Regarding the task, I have not yet made a final decision. We have a little more than three days. Therefore, before making a choice, I want to take advantage of this time," said Idan after a little reflection. "I plan to go to Limbo."
"In Limbo? But why?" — Arabel wondered, startled by Idan's sudden decision.
"I want to ask and convince Geminia to do what she has already done for you," Idan replied. "I need more time than three days."
Looking into Idan's serious eyes, Arabel realized that he had already made up his mind. Not wanting to resist, she just nodded.
"We have only recently returned, and our ability has not yet recovered," Arabel reminded.
"Yes, I've already thought about it and asked the System if it was possible to speed up the rollback time. As I expected, if we want to reduce the recovery time of the ability, we need to pay with System Points."
"How much?" asked Arabel.
"About 2,000 System Points," Idan replied honestly.
"What? 2000 System Points?" Arabel almost fell over when she heard that amount and cursed. "This is too much!"
"Don't worry. I'm not going to use them. I'll just wait for the ability to recover by itself. If Geminia agrees, then the time she has provided should be enough," Idan said with a smile, seeing Arabel's shock at the cost of System Points needed to speed up the rollback of the ability.
"But why do you need time?" asked Arabel, although she was already beginning to guess what Idan was up to.
"The very presence of Erza already says that the other world is a dangerous place. It would be foolish to go there with our current Golden-ranked strength. Therefore, before deciding whether to go there or not, I want to try to unlock and get a second bloodline," Idan replied.
"As I thought!" Arabel exclaimed in her mind when she heard his words. Immediately, she began to imagine what kind of bloodline Idan wanted, and at the same time imagined what he would look like in his new form. Finally, a slight blush appeared on her face.