Chapter 445: Duke of Fire and Duchess of Ice
"I am a member of this guild and I am known as the Duke of Light Ignis, and my companion is the Duchess of Darkness Elsa," Idan introduced himself again, which caused the surrounding people to exclaim in amazement.
"And our loyalty belongs only to our King and Queen."
The devotion with which Idan uttered these words made a deep impression on those around him. His voice was so firm and loud that all the reporters heard him clearly.
"Yes, our loyalty belongs to ourselves," — Arabel nodded with slight pride, agreeing with Idan's words. All this time, she did not take her eyes off Aliya, carefully watching her every move. Aliya felt that gaze on her and did not dare to do anything.
"Duke of Light Ignis? Duchess of Darkness Elsa?" thought Hailey, trying not to show her surprise. "So, they decided to name their guild - Kingdom? And declared themselves King and Queen?"
Although it seemed a little childish to her, the more Hailey thought about it, the more she began to like it. She already knew that the King and Queen were the true identities of Idan and Arabel, and now they were both pretending to be core members of their yet-to-be-formed guild.
"If I join their Guild, will I get the title of duchess?" thought Hailey, plunging into her fantasies. "What title will I have? The Dragon Duchess?"
"Not bad, not bad. I like it," she nodded to herself, getting more and more carried away with the idea.
"The Kingdom? The King and Queen?" To say that Jonathan was surprised is an understatement. In his years of working for the Association, he had never heard of such a Guild.
"And what is the purpose of this Guild of yours?" asked Jonathan.
Idan did not immediately answer Jonathan's question, glancing at the crowd again. This time, after taking a closer look, he noticed a familiar figure in the distance standing by the SUV. Noticing his gaze, the figure waved his hand.
"Arslan", Idan thought of the man's name. Arabel's younger brother.
A black cat was sitting next to Arslan, staring at him intently. Upon seeing the cat, the smile on Idan's face froze and disappeared. For a moment, he thought of Ned and instinctively looked into his First Star, which by this time had almost recovered.
After recovering, he needed to nourish Ned's soul fragment with soul crystals. Idan still didn't know how many crystals and time it would take to restore Ned's soul, but the very prospect of saving him was already pleasing him.
Idan gathered his thoughts and turned his gaze to Jonathan.
"Our guild's goal is simple: to survive and become stronger in this rapidly changing world, uncover the mystery of Disasters, and find a way to save this world."
"Ooooh!" the crowd exclaimed enthusiastically.
When the noise subsided, Jonathan looked at Idan with a thoughtful expression.
"Mr. Ignis, can you prove that you are indeed an awakened one? Not with words, but with your actions?"
"Of course," Idan said, seeing no problem with that.
Everyone awakened at this stage of the world's growth could already suppress the characteristic waves of the Systems. But they could also use these waves to prove their strength and prove to others that they are the same as all other System Hosts.
As soon as Idan gave his consent, the System emitted characteristic waves corresponding to a Rare System, which were picked up by all the awakened without exception.
"He really is an Awakened One," they began to repeat one after another, confirming that Mr. Ignis is the same as them.
Without waiting for Jonathan or any of the representatives of the Association to speak to her, Arabel also released the waves of the System, confirming her membership in the awakened.
And with that, all suspicions that they were representatives of another world immediately disappeared.
For a moment, Jonathan's face lit up with joy, but soon he began to look somewhat guilty when his gaze landed on Idan.
"Is something wrong?" asked Idan.
"Mr. Ignis and Miss Elsa, I'm sorry, but we can't let you through. Please follow us to the Association," Jonathan said.
"Hmm, these are the real requirements," Idan said through their mental link. "They didn't want to let us go from the very beginning."
"All these questions and the confirmation that we are awakened were just a formality," Arabel agreed. "But why would they want us?"
"Well, it's obvious, Belle. It's enough to remember where we came from and what happened there more than two weeks ago." It was enough for Idan to say these words so that Arabel immediately understood what he was getting at.
In a city located on the very border of the North of the Federation, two strangers suddenly appear, arousing suspicion. In a city where a wave of beasts recently attacked and an event related to the abduction of the awakened by representatives of another world, in which Ethan Goldwing and Isabella White played a key role.
And then the two arrive in the capital, accompanied by a group of Red Foxes who were directly involved in those events.
Anyone with common sense would have suspected the connection between these two and Ethan and Isabella.
The Association was supposed to learn the names of Ethan and Isabella from the words of the saved Awakened Ones. If Irene and the others were able to hide the true identities of Idan and Arabel, then only those two names should have been made public.
However, Arabel and Idan did not rule out the possibility that their real identities were also revealed and that they were hiding under these names.
The Association's original purpose was probably to interrogate them and get information about Ethan and Isabella.
However, after Irene contacted Felicia, there were even more reasons to capture Ignis and Elsa. After all, it was Irene and the rest of the Guilds who kept the few outsiders that the Association desired.
"Haha, so they're looking for us? You mean Ethan and Isabella?" asked Arabel.
"That's the only thing that comes to my mind so far," Idan replied and, without waiting for further developments, decided to act.
"Mr. Jonathan, you must be well aware of where we come from?" asked Idan bluntly.
"We came from the northern city of Rumbus, where about two weeks ago there was a terrible attack by a wave of Beasts and a mysterious abduction of Awakened Ones involving outsiders," Idan continued.
Jonathan's face took on a serious expression. The events in the North were kept secret, and only a few people knew about them.
"The reason we went to Rumbus before coming to the capital is because that's where the other two members of our Guild went on a mission," Idan said, staring intently into Jonathan's eyes.
"And you should know the names of these two, Mr. Jonathan," Idan continued. "These two are Duke of Fire Ethan and Duchess of Ice Isabella. You should know them as Ethan Goldwing and Isabella White."
The names given by Idan blew up the crowd.