As the sun began to sink below the horizon, Idan, standing on top of a small stone cliff, enjoyed the beautiful view in front of him.
During the day, he managed to get far south of the capital. His goal was to reach the southern border of the Federation, where there are many wild and dangerous beasts.
After enjoying the beauty of nature and the evening sunset, Idan opened the Access Portal and returned back to the Kingdom.
Inside the Kingdom, as well as outside, there was an atmosphere of evening peace.
Idan, seeing no one on the lawn in front of the house and on the terrace, took a step in the direction of the house. However, before he could cross the threshold, Arabel ran out to meet him and, without hesitation, took him in her arms.
Idan was surprised at first, but then, smiling, hugged her back.
"Have you missed me yet?" he asked.
Arabel, burying her face in his chest, did not answer, but nodded in the affirmative.
They stood with their arms around each other for a while, and then looked into each other’s eyes.
"Ahem." Suddenly, Idan heard a cough behind him, and when he turned around and saw who it was, he froze in surprise.
Then Idan abruptly turned around and looked at the one he was hugging, and then back again.
"What the hell is this?"
The one standing behind him was Arabel, who was looking at him with a dangerous expression while he hugged another Arabel, who was smiling slyly.
"Bera!" — Idan exclaimed in his mind as he finally realized what was going on.
Arabel was enjoying Idan’s reaction and wanted to see if he could figure out which one was which.
However, contrary to her expectations, Idan quickly recovered. He looked at Arabel, whom he was hugging, ignoring the one who was standing behind, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Did you think I wouldn’t know which one of you was which?" asked Idan. And without waiting for an answer, he gently kissed the Arabel he was hugging.
Arabel, who was in his arms, blushed, but readily returned his kiss.
When they broke away from each other, Arabel opened her eyes and looked into Idan’s eyes.
"How did you guess?" she asked. "Even Geminia couldn’t tell which one of us was the real one after using the Avatar ability."
"It was easy," Idan replied. "We may not have been dating for that long, but it was enough time to understand your character."
"You would never let another girl hug me so long and tightly. Even your own avatar," Idan added with a smile.
"Hehe," — Arabel didn’t refute Idan’s words. She knew herself well, and she knew he was right.
Arabel cancelled the avatar’s ability, and Bera regained control of her body. Curiously observing the relationship between her mistress and her partner, she felt strange feelings that she had never experienced before.
Arabel, who was hugging Idan at that moment, felt Bera’s emotions through the contract and, looking at her, grinned. But soon her gaze became firm.
"Don’t you dare, he’s mine!" she sent a message to Bera, scaring her.
Yes, Arabel had sensed the jealousy Bera felt when looking at her and Idan.
"Belle, be careful using the avatar’s ability," Idan warned.
"Yes, I’m aware of the risks," Arabel nodded. "But Geminia, after watching us, insisted that I use this ability more often and observe its effect on Bera."
"However, be careful not to harm Bera," Idan added.
"Okay," — Arabel nodded.
After letting Bera go, Idan and Arabel did not enter the house, but stayed on the terrace to chat in private.
Idan sat down on a chair, and Arabel settled into his lap without further ado.
Idan hugged her with a smile, glad for this opportunity. They both enjoyed the feeling of their bloodlines influencing each other. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⁂𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⁂𝓷𝓮𝓽
"Is Irene back yet?" asked Idan.
"She came, but after spending some time with her son, she returned back to the capital," Arabel replied.
"Everything went great with Milena," Arabel replied with a smile and enthusiastically told how events unfolded after their breakup.
"Did you meet my mom?" Idan surprised.
"Yes, but I didn’t introduce myself or give my name," Arabel hurriedly added, a little embarrassed.
"Phew..." gasped Idan. "After tomorrow’s meeting, I will reveal myself and talk to her."
"We also need to talk to Irene and Arslan and enlist their support in order to complete the second chain task of the System. I think it’s time for us to share some of our secrets with them," Idan added.
"I totally agree," Arabel agreed, who was also thinking about it and was just about to discuss it with him.
She then talked about her meeting with the three new subordinates who had arrived today and about the inspection of the building Hailey had bought.
Idan was pleasantly surprised when he learned about the arrival of Nico and the rest of the guys, along with two girls from their group. He did not mind that such brave awakened ones, who did not run away, but decided to defend the city from the wave of Beasts, joined their guild.
"You’re right, we should thank Hailey for her diligence," Idan supported Arabel’s decision to reward her first loyal follower.
"Hailey expressed a desire to join you in hunting beasts," Arabel recalled Hailey’s words at breakfast.
"Not now," — Idan replied. "I need time to get to the southern border, and it will be easier for me alone."
"Dan, why didn’t you take a plane to get to the border right away, but decided to go on your own?" asked Arabel.
"Nothing special, Belle, I just wanted to," Idan did not hide it.
Yes, he could have taken a plane and reached the border in a day, but he didn’t want to rush it.
They’ve been running around a lot lately, trying to complete tasks or solve important cases.
Idan wanted to walk to the border at his own pace, slowly, and along the way hunt the beasts that he would meet on the way.
"If you want, you can join me from time to time," Idan said with a smile.
"We could finally figure out which one of us can fly faster," he suggested, and Arabel’s eyes lit up with anticipation.
"It’s agreed, as soon as I have free time, I’ll write to you through the Lovers’ Plate," she agreed.
Arabel then talked about Milena’s successful transformation into a Light-Dark Valkyrie.
"A Light-Dark Valkyrie?" wondered Idan. To be honest, he didn’t expect Milena to turn into just such a Valkyrie. He was expecting to see some other option he had never seen before.