331-340

Chapter 331 - Elsa's Fellatio. R-18

Hal's grim expression turned to a jovial one almost immediately while he remained cautious.

Not because of what she had called him as that was probably the easiest to explain of all the things she seemed to know.

"I would love to be hospitable but it's hard to get excited after your home is broken into" he said with a light smile.

Elsa grinned,

"That's good then, after all, this isn't your home" she said.

"A mere technicality" he retorted with a shrug after which a moment of silence passed between the two and they said nothing other than looking into each other's eyes.

Eventually, Hal cleared his throat,

"So, do you mind telling me why you're here?" He asked.

Elsa raise her brow quizzically,

"Is that not obvious?" She asked.

Hal shook his head,

"No, I don't think it is"

Elsa sighed,

"That's a shame then. I really thought the connection was mutual" she said with a melancholic expression.

"Connection?" Hal looked mildly confused even though he could already guess where she was going with this.

Elsa nodded,

"Yes, connection. When our eyes crossed, I felt something and I was under the impression that you felt it as well" she said and stood from the bed to place her hand on Hal's chest.

Somehow, she managed to turn him around so that he was backing the bed. He did not even notice when it happened as she managed to capture his undivided attention.

Then she began to apply pressure. Pressure that Hal knew even if he attempted to resist would not be able to on account of Elsa being so much more stronger than him.

She was at the late stage of the Cosmic Pagoda realm and looked to be close to the peak stage.

Hal's senses seemed to have been heightened as he did not, could not miss any detail of all of her subtle movements;

The way she seemed to beckon his attention. The way her hips swayed lightly and slowly as she continued pushing him to the bed.

He could tell what was happening and knew Elsa must be using some sort of technique to make herself even more appealing to him.

He was being seduced.

A part of him quite liked it and was ready to surrender to the feeling and let it all run its course while the other part wanted to take control of the situation.

Not to stop it, but to actually proceed with it, but with him at the reins of the whole thing.

No part of his mind thought to not sleep with this sexy lady before him.

An effect that Hal was convinced was simply another part of her ensnaring technique.

However, he would not be a Devil prince and a self-acclaimed perverted rogue who was always ready to indulge in the touch of women, if he also did not know how to control himself.

And in this case, regain control of himself.

Elsa pushed him down with her hands on his shoulders and he sat on the bed but now she noticed a change in his expression.

He was no longer staring at her with a lustful and glassy gaze but with a teasing one. The expression was reiterated by the slight smile on his face as he raised his hands and placed them on her hips.

Elsa's eyes widened but she was not averse to his touch. In fact, she loved it.

Which was what Hal had expected.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked in a lighthearted tone.

Elsa shrugged,

"What does it look like I'm doing? I want to eat you" she said.

Never before had Hal ever thought he would hear such proactive words from a stranger and it was why he remained skeptical.

Elsa continued,

"I told you I felt a connection when our eyes crossed and I always follow through with them when I feel such connections. It doesn't matter if you feel it as well or not" she said.

"So in other words, it does not matter if I give my consent or not. You're going to do it anyway." Hal said and tightened his grip on her hips.

Elsa grinned as she felt it and reveled in it,

"Exactly" she said.

"That's molestation and eventual rape you know" Hal said.

Elsa chuckled,

"Is it really? Even when you obviously want it as well?" She asked.

"I haven't said anything that points to me wanting it" Hal said with a light smile.

Elsa picked up on something in those words,

"You haven't explicitly said you don't want it either" she said with a smirk as though she dared him to say so...

Hal cocked his head,

"Touche"

... he didn't.

When Elsa pushed him back until he was lying on his back on the bed, he still had one more question to ask,

"I still don't know who you are exactly. Or why you are here. Or why you seem to know who I am" Hal said, obviously not buying the whole 'connection' theory.

Elsa set about to unbuckling his trousers and freeing his flaccid cock,

"How about I tell you after this? The anonymity makes it hot, don't you agree?" She asked and stretched her tongue for a tentative lick of his cock.

A tentative lick that had her shivering with pleasure.

She fought back the urge to widen her eyes while wondering how one lick could make her feel so good.

Hal on the other hand had yet to feel something he had not already felt in other fellatio sessions and was not quite ready to lose himself to pleasure,

"Why? Because you work for Svetlana Doxon?" He asked with his top half now propped on his elbows.

Elsa paused while she was dragging her beautiful and sensual tongue along the length of his cock but when she looked up at Hal, it was still with a casual expression,

"I'm surprised you didn't say mom" she said.

There was no surprise from Hal after those words as it would not be strange if Elsa knew Svetlana was his 'Mother'.

After all, while he was quite sure only a few would really know the Duchess had a son away from home, Elsa, if truly tasked with finding and interacting with him, should be a part of those few.

"Our relationship is not so close" he said and flopped back on the bed.

Elsa said nothing and went back to teasing his cock with her tongue and wondering for the life of her as to why it was making her feel so... giddy.

*Slurp* *Slurp* *Slurp*

*Fap* *Fap* *Fap*

Elsa stroked the organ until it stood straight up and imposing. Even then, her eyes just sparkled at the sight. There was no intimidation to be seen in her expression.

She was really loving it.

While she stroked his cock with one hand and licked the ridge beneath his cock head which was a place she had quickly noticed Hal was most sensitive, she reached downwards to his large and hefty balls which she grabbed and milked in an attempt to get his seed out faster.

Her insistence on a quick ejaculation was completely based on a sudden fixation and craving which had started the moment she tasted the little bit of precum that came out of his cock head.

She had not even been able to resist the urge to widen her eyes when she felt the burst of energy that little glob of semen contained. Not to mention the delicious taste that had her wanting more.

Her mouth went down the pole that was his rod and to his balls which she began to lick while her body still shivered with perverse pleasure.

She suckled one of the balls in her mouth and Hal groaned at the pleasure he felt from the act.

However, it was nothing compared to when she went back up the pole that was his cock and engulfed it into her mouth to constrict and suck on it hard.

The manner in which she sucked him off was so perfect and without any abrasions with her teeth.

And then she let it go past her mouth and make its way down her throat where the constricting got even tighter and brought Hal ever closer to climax.

Elsa's eyes were closed and there was a low humming that could be heard as she enjoyed her act with someone who could practically be considered a stranger.

Then again, as she had just said, the anonymity made it hot. Besides, Hal was not a total stranger...

He would have loved to reciprocate by having her turn her ass and pussy in his direction for some cunnilingus but Elsa seemed satisfied with this.

When she felt the tightening in his ball sack which she still held and massaged, she drew back and caught all of his seed in her mouth.

Despite the impressive volume, she caught it all and let nothing go to waste before she swallowed it and reveled in the burst of energy it gave her as well as a sudden increase in Libido.

Chapter 332 - I Was There.

Elsa suppressed whatever outburst of sexual drive she now had. This was how far she wished to go for now and she was trying her best not to be swayed by the perfection that was Hal's face, body, and even seed.

Hal on the other hand had quite enjoyed the session but would have loved for it to go further since this had not contributed to his essence reaping at all. He had not actually dual cultivated with Elsa.

Putting his now flaccid cock back into his pants and buckling up, Hal sat up and smiled at Elsa who was still doing her best to stop the flames of passion that were now rising within her.

She was sure she would have been able to quell it on a normal day but was only finding it mildly difficult today because of how unexpected and sudden it had been.

When she took a deep breath and opened her eyes which had been closed in concentration before, there was something in her gaze that told Hal she was seeing him in a new light.

Not just that, she looked like she was now more cautious around him.

Even with him detecting all this from her eyes, there was actually no tell in Elsa's actual expression which was still the same.

The seductive lady patted her stomach with the content of someone who just is a nice meal,

"Ah, that was satisfying. Who would have thought you would taste so good?" she said with a hint of teasing. Even though she was being honest.

Hal sighed,

"I'm one of a kind. Now can we get to matters you seemed so interested in ignoring before?" He said.

Elsa smiled at him,

"Well, I am sure you can guess it all by now. I was employed by the Duchess of Doxon." She said.

Hal narrowed his eyes on mild confusion,

"To find me?" He asked.

Elsa sighed,

"Kind of. You see, she never actually thought you were missing. I was told exactly where you would be; Sapphire city, and it was where I went to first upon arrival and why I only arrived just in time for the auction.

Needless to say, you were not there. That was when it became my job to find you.

However, you are so easy to find that merely showing up for a job was enough."

Hal's confusion remained,

"So if you were not to search for me, what are you here for?" He asked.

Elsa chuckled and grabbed his chin to turn his head this way and that as though inspecting his looks,

"I was expecting your question to be how I knew it was you when I saw you?" She said.

It was understandable why she would say that since for all Hal knew, his mother had not seen him since he was an infant and should not have a thorough idea of what he looks like.

Hal shrugged,

"I guessed my eyes were a quick giveaway" he said.

Elsa nodded,

"True. Blue eyes are already rare, beautiful sapphire blue eyes like yours are even rarer and are a tell for the Doxon Bloodline. However, I knew exactly what you looked like. I never needed to make a guess" she said and withdrew a portrait from her spatial ring.

A full-sized portrait of him.

However, the portrait was not exactly just a painting, there was something very life-like about it. In fact, it almost looked as though it was moving or at the very least, shimmering.

Without a prompt, Hal took the portrait and spread his Astral perception to it and detected a heavy use of Astral energy which he could also see was mapping out the portrait.

It was making additions to the painting in it. It was... growing.

The complexity of the runes used in the making of the portrait quite easily blew Hal's mind.

"What is that?" He asked.

There was a look in Elsa's eyes as she observed the painting that was almost intimate. But not intimate with the painting exactly. But more like intimate with the artist.

"It's a portrait that was drawn on the day of your birth. I was... there when It was painted. It was etched with runes to allow the painting of you which at the time was an infant to follow certain growth patterns and age as you would.

Obviously, it is not exactly accurate but the resemblance is clear as day. It was the Duchess' way of watching you grow from afar"

Hal had to admit that the resemblance was clear and had it not been for his Devil Bloodline which deviated from those growth patterns and further refined his looks, he was quite sure it would have been a perfect image.

He eyed Elsa who was looking quite collected and undisturbed.

It was that collected expression of hers that sparked Hal's suspicions as she was now sounding serious as opposed to the jovial manner she had been speaking before.

Clearly, she was trying to hide how she was really reacting at the moment and Hal knew she would only be doing so if she had a personal connection to the events.

A thought process that was further reiterated by the fact that she just mentioned having been present at the time of this portrait's creation and most probably present at his birth as well.

"So, what is the story here?" He asked.

Elsa looked up at him, a little bit confused,

"Story?"

Hal nodded,

"Between you and Svetlana" he clarified.

Elsa shook her head,

"There's no story. She hired me for a job." She said with an attempt at a shrug.

Hal had already stood up from the bed by this time and was eyeing her intensely,

"Oh come on. I know I can't force you to tell me, but I believe I deserve to know what is between you and that woman who birthed me" he said.

Elsa sighed,

"I maintain that there is no story there and even if there was, you are right, you can't force me to tell you and should not even try to get it out of me... If there was anything to tell that is.

As for deserving to be told, I won't deny that you do deserve some answers but this is not one of them" she said and Hal gave a casual shrug.

"Okay, fine. Why don't you now tell me why exactly you are..." Hal began before he paused and looked down at the portrait in his hands and his eyes widened in understanding,

"Ah, I see. You're her forerunner. Your job is to go ahead of her and lay down the groundwork. Show me that she never really forgot about me. That sending me to live with Gregory in Salmon city was not her way of tossing me out of her life.

Lay down the groundwork so she can eventually make an appearance and establish our almost non-existent mother-son relationship." He said and passed the portrait back to Elsa who received it carefully and put it back into her spatial ring.

While she did so, a smile crept on her face as Hal had been right on point with his words.

However, there was something about his time when he said those things. It was controlled, it was calm, it was deductive and it was not emotional. It was not pained and was nothing like how she expected him to react.

Especially since she could tell it was not that he was actually okay with Svetlana's actions.

"That's smart of you..." She began but Hal interrupted as he was not yet done,

"But that is not all, is it? I am willing to bet you were also hired to watch me. Mostly from a distance. If I am right about that, then you really are terrible at your job, since Gavin nearly killed me today and you were nowhere to be found."

Chapter 333 - She Knows...

Elsa shook her head with a smile,

"My job description is not to protect you. Watching you is very much on the table by virtue of interpretation.

I can't tell you exactly why I am here though."

If she expected Hal to pester her for answers after what she just said, then she was sorely mistaken as the blue-eyed handsome devil merely nodded with understanding,

"I understand." Was all he said.

He had his own theories on why Elsa was here and felt it was most likely to source for information to eventually pass on to the one who had hired her.

He had to admit that it caused him to pause and wrack his brain for a reason for this behavior from the Duchess.

After all, she had ignored his existence all this while, why was she actually sending someone to watch him now. What was the big game-changer?

It was then that it clicked in his mind,

'She must now know I can cultivate' he thought.

This meant that long before Elsa, someone else sent by this mother of his had sourced for information about him.

It was why he was now worth finding out about.

Why she sent this sexy Elsa to dog his steps.

Seeing how anticlimactic his reaction was, Elsa admitted to herself that she was a tad bit disappointed and also decided it was about time she left.

"So soon?" Hal asked with a hint of teasing in his tone.

Elsa played along and sighed with melancholy,

"Afraid so. Sticking by your side will only bring you unwanted attention and watching you from the shadows will make me a borderline stalker so I feel it best to give you some space." She said and stood up from the bed.

She stepped closer to Hal and stared into his eyes before she grinned,

"It won't be long before we meet again Hal and by then maybe you'll be paying me back for the Blowjob" she said.

Hal stepped back a little to bow to her,

"It would be my honor" he said and even though Elsa knew he was messing with her, she liked the gesture all the same.

She took one last look at him and vanished.

At first, Hal thought she had manipulated space just like the Dane patroness but shook his head at the unlikely thought. Elsa had just been incredibly fast. Much faster than his eyes or senses child possibly follow.

Once she was gone, he slumped back on the bed with a sigh while he thought to Svetlana and her roundabout means which were only proving annoying to him.

If she was serious about anything, she should have at least made a direct attempt at communication with him.

"Oh well, let's think happy thoughts. Like how I'll finally be leaving Black lagoon and heading back to the Silva Duchy capital"

...

The next morning...

Hal made his way to the Sheik's residence, not to see the Sheik but to see Lucile who he was guessing would be leaving the city that day as well.

At the gate, he met new guards and was more than a little surprised that the Sheik had managed to recruit men already. Especially since all the past guards were dead.

Were trepidation and a healthy dose of love for survival really that lacking?

To make matters, when he arrived, the guards were discussing how this new job if theirs was heaven-sent.

Apparently, they had been eyeing something this cushy for a while and could not believe their luck that they finally got it.

"It's good those guys rebelled, they freed up job vacancies for us. And as the Sheik's guards no less" one of them said.

"I know right. I mean, he's still a piece of shit who doesn't really care about the common man but working for him is very lucrative." The other one said.

Although Hal had expected Wade to eventually pull this off, it was quite surprising that it was this easy.

In fact, without making mention of Gavin and the past guards, these new guards would still readily accept the job.

With no interest in being involved in their talks or even interrupting them for that matter, Hal turned invisible and walked past them undetected.

As it turned out, he did not need to choose to either visit Lucile or Wade, even though the choice in such a situation was clear, the two were in the same location with one other fellow.

Runemaster Fenrir was on his knees and shaking with fear.

After Hal left the temple grounds, Wade remembered the treacherous runemaster who was bound to realize soon that his insurance, Gavin was dead and attempt a quick getaway.

So he personally hunted the runemaster down and had him locked up in the residence where it would be impossible for thee Runemaster to escape with the use of Astral sense and then brought him out this morning just as Lucile came over after he called for her.

Both he and Lucile were seated and eyeing the shivering Fenrir when Hal arrived.

"Why so grim? You still have your seat and from what I observed at the gate, recruiting new guards is going well. Don't tell me Fenrir is the cause of this atmosphere." Hal said with a mild chuckle.

His arrival seemed to be the final nail in the coffin of Fenrir's descent into intense fear for his chances at survival.

He allowed himself a glance back at Hal and his eyes bulged while his whole body seized up.

Hal noticed the reaction and merely smiled at this older man while tipping an invisible hat at him.

It was not just him who noticed the reaction, the other two did as well and wondered what it was about Hal that terrified the older man so much.

"What do you plan to do with him?" Hal asked while taking an empty seat beside Lucile.

Wade sighed,

"Well, I can't exactly kill him. At least not in a way it can be traced back to me. He is still a Runemaster and if word of his death got to Rune castle, even though that seems unlikely, it could spell trouble. They care for their own.

Holding a Runemaster token makes Fenrir one of their own." He said and was doing a good job not deferring to Hal and treating him like he normally would.

If there was something Lucile found suspicious, it would be that their disagreement in regards to her was not coming up, and since she saw that as a plus, she did not really care.

"If you can't kill him, why is he afraid?" Hal asked and was obviously referring to how Fenrir was before his arrival.

A nasty smile spread over Wade's face,

"Well, I said it would be troublesome if his death was linked to me but if I could make sure that it wasn't, I could kill him. Poison is top on my list of murder weapons." He said.

Hal nodded in appreciation of the tactic. Especially since he had poisoned a runemaster himself.

In fact, he considered poisoning Fenrir with Astral energy in which case, it would be untraceable to anyone and blamed entirely on Fenrir for not being careful enough when harnessing the energy that should not be held in the body.

However, he felt that it would be unnecessary and mostly directed at aiding Wade's vindictiveness.

He had a better idea...

"Come with me" he told Fenrir as he stood from his seat.

As though the words commanded every part of his body, Fenrir stood from the ground as though in a trance.

"I'll take care of this" Hal said to Wade and walked out of the Hall with Fenrir...

... leaving Wade to give Lucile some news.

Chapter 334 - Paladin...

Out of the hall and in the corridors where Hal projected noise-canceling runes to keep whatever he discussed with Fenrir between them and them alone, the older runemaster fell before him immediately and bowed deeply while taking measure to actually hit his head against the ground a few times.

Hal smiled slightly as he watched this display but said nothing.

Fenrir did not think to attempt to use his status as a Runemaster with a token from the Rune castle to intimidate him. It was why he had been so silent when they were in the hall.

He was smart and rational enough to know that someone of Hal's talents would most probably have more value with the Rune castle than him. And he was centuries younger than him.

He understood that even if they did decide to pursue responsibility and punish Hal for his death, it would not make a difference as he would be dead already.

And finally, he understood that there was something about Hal that was not just dangerous and dark, but also very authoritative. Proven by how he was able to make his body move by a single pseudo-order.

"What's with the over-the-top show of submission?" Hal asked with a smirk.

Fenrir looked up at him,

"Please don't kill me" he said and was actually surprised by the stability of his own voice.

Hal narrowed his eyes and there were quite a few things he thought to say to Fenrir, ranging from how treacherous he was to how he had a hand in the attempt on his life but he found it unnecessary to say any of those things.

His eyes turned nightmarish dark and he slammed his palm against Fenrir's shoulder and branded him with the Devil mark.

"Arrrrggghhhhh" Fenrir yelled all through the process but the sound was canceled out by Hal's rune.

Normally, branding with the Devil mark was a painless and mostly ensnaring process but Hal kicked things up a notch for Fenrir and made sure it was painful.

When it was complete, Fenrir was caught off guard by the sudden cessation of pain. Almost as though he had not felt it in the first place.

Like it was an illusion.

And then came the flooding of information about the mark and the abilities that came along with it which he had not been given permission to use, the implication of being marked by Hal as well as the potential benefits.

"You will stay by Wade's side and the two of you will hold down the fort here. I once acknowledged your wish to simply live the rest of your life comfortably, however, after what you have done, you have lost that right.

I will give you an Astral sense refining technique and you are to refine your Astral sense dedicatedly. You will also cultivate like your life depends on it.

You are not allowed to live the life of ease you wanted. That is your punishment."

With that, Hal deactivated the noise-canceling rune and walked away from the corridor, leaving Fenrir on his knees and his head bowed.

The runemaster took a deep breath and registered that it was impossible for him to even attempt to disobey Hal's orders and he would forever regret his choices.

It was a curious thing.

Hal just gave him an edict with which he would someday become great, an opportunity some really craved but never got, and yet he saw it as a great ordeal.

Something that filled him with regret.

And yet...

...it did not matter if he wanted it or not as that was the order of his life from that moment on.

...

Back in the Hall...

Almost immediately Hal left, Wade told Lucile he would be an investor.

Rather than be satisfied and excited, Lucile frowned instead,

"Why?" She asked skeptically.

Wade looked confused,

"Why what?" He asked.

"Why have you changed your mind?" She clarified.

There was no way in hell Lucile would simply accept Wade's sudden change of heart without an explosive and clear reason why.

For one thing, although she really wanted an investor, she was not yet so desperate that she could not take the time to find other capable men.

Besides, even if she was that desperate, she would simply make use of her superior strength to subdue Wade and make him do her bidding. A feat that would be even easier than normal on account of Wade's defense being more susceptible to attack now.

Wade took a deep breath and decided he might as well tell her, especially since Hal had not said he wished his involvement to remain anonymous,

"It was Hal, He convinced me." He told her.

Lucile's brow flew up in surprise,

"Hal? What did he do?" She asked with disbelief obvious in her tone.

Wade shrugged as best he could while holding back a tirade in his mind on how she was really underestimating Hal and had no idea what a Devil he was,

"He made mentions of some things that just made sense to me. We really solidified our friendship after you left the home grounds. In fact, I don't want to be named part of your business or receive the profits." He said.

"You don't?" Lucile said and Wade nodded,

"No, I don't. Hal will be the one to receive the profits. If there is ever a time your investor is to make an appearance, it should also be him."

Lucile did not believe it one bit that all this was a result of the solidifying of their friendship in her absence. She was an experienced and strong enough expert to know when actions are motivated by fear and a healthy dose of fear. The kind of fear that could double for respect.

This just reiterated to her that there was something more to Hal than meets the eye but she already knew that when he took care of two hundred mutated guards seemingly all on his own.

It was while she was pondering this that Hal walked back unto the hall with a bright smile on his beyond handsome face,

"Where's Fenrir?" Wade asked and there was an undertone to it that told Hal he was hoping to hear the runemaster was dead.

"He's in the corridor processing some things and accepting a new order of life" Hal said out loud before informing Wade of what would now be a sort of partnership between the two in the process of which Fenrir would still mostly defer to the Sheik.

The results of this information were the widening of Wade's eyes while Lucile walked over to Hal and grabbed his elbow,

"I need to speak to you" she said and released his arm to lead the way out of the hall.

Hal followed right behind her while she headed to the residence gardens.

Once they were there, Lucile was silent and merely gazed off into the distance.

Hal was in no hurry and simply waited for her to collect her thoughts.

Eventually, the feline eyed lady sighed and turned to face him with a light smile,

"Why did you do it?" She asked.

Hal shrugged and opted to be direct,

"I remember how you threw a fit when I got that fan for someone else other than you" he said with a slight smile.

Lucile shook her head,

"I didn't throw a fit and I remember telling you I did not need you getting me anything as I can carry my own weight." She said.

"Well, obviously I did not listen even though it might have looked like I did" Hal said.

There was a pause and then Lucile smiled,

"Thank you" she said in a clear voice.

Hal smiled back at her,

"You're welcome. It was nothing really. However, I will like to know what the whole investment is about.

I believe I've earned that" he said.

"I work for a powerful family in the Silva Duchy capital or more accurately I used to work for them. Although work is a loose term as I was mostly a caretaker for their business.

I was practically adopted into the family by the one I call master and had worked for the family for centuries. I enjoyed doing my job and I had actually been able to form connections through it. Connections that kept me well informed.

But that all stopped when a disagreement arose between my master and me and the family.

It was not so huge that they went to war against us, which was fortunate as we could not possibly win, but they did decide to pull out their support. They stopped sponsoring us. They said we were no longer needed.

They even gave us control of the business to prove they were serious. Control they knew was useless since we could not sponsor ourselves. What we have is far from enough.

But I did not want to let it go and to keep it active, I need an investor. Someone who would fork out a large number of blue gems to instill in the business which I now plan to build the way I choose."

"What's the name of the business?" Hal asked.

Lucile smiled fondly as she thought to it,

"Paladin Trade Union."

Chapter 335 - Sly Ehrlich.

As something she was passionate about, Lucile soon went deep into an explanation as to what the Trade union was all about and Hal felt it was quite similar to what Wade was doing here, except that hers was legitimate and was not only rooted in auction.

Paladin Trade union which only gained the right to be called that through its branches all about the major cities of the Silva Duchy only held auctions on particular days and occasions. The items to be auctioned were also the cream of the crop.

On other days, there were stalls rented out to small-time traders and permanent stalls for runemasters who wished to sell their crafts and Alchemists who wished to sell their pills.

When the family that used to be in control of the Trade union pulled out their support, they also pulled out all profits that the business had made thus far. According to them, it was theirs as it had been made before the change in ownership.

Also, they took control of most of the union's assets.

Had that not being the case, Lucile would have still been able to make use of the union's illustrious name to hold an auction that would call out those with valuable items to sell.

However, in a situation where the only thing they actually still owned by virtue of the change in ownership was the union's headquarters in the capital and all profits earned in any other building other than that would still be shared with the family that once owned it, she could not do so.

She needed to acquire the union's assets and then negotiate deals with their resident Alchemists and Runemasters and it did not come cheap.

Now that she could pump blue gems back into the union, she could work on getting it back on its feet and even fulfill her wishes to have branches in other Duchys and not just in the Silva Duchy.

It was through the union's branches that she was able to garner information all round and why she had been confident that Hal's 'Klint family' did not really exist in the capital.

Lucile moved closer to him and placed a hand in his chest,

"I appreciate your input, but don't think that's all it takes to woo me" she said.

Hal chuckled,

"Who said I was even trying to?" He said and lowered his face the inches with which he was taller than her until their lips were only an inch apart.

Then he stopped and waited for Lucile to travel the rest of the distance which he was sure she would eventually do.

Her lips were soft and warm and the taste of it had Hal quite giddy but it was nothing compared to how Lucile felt as the feline-eyed beauty shivered from the pleasure she felt from making contact with his lips.

She raised her arms and wound them around Hal's back to pull him, if possible, even closer to her and even harder into that kiss.

Hal in turn wrapped his arms around her and loved how her pillowy large breasts pressed against his muscular chest while he could feel the hardness of her nipple which told of her arousal.

And just like that, the two delved into a full make-out session that had them forgetting about their environs and only focussing on each other.

...

Passionate as the kiss, Hal still felt it was not yet time to push for the real deal and preferred to leave things as is.

Much as Lucile enjoyed the kiss, there was still a bit of confusion as she was not entirely sure if she had readily given herself into that kiss because she wanted to or because of how joyous she was at that moment.

Whatever it was, Hal was quite ready to let her sort it out. He was not in any rush. On the contrary, he felt it was about time he returned to the capital and reported back to the Princess through Ehrlich.

The communication talisman he had received from Ehrlich had been alerting him all day and was a further message of insistence on how it was time to leave.

Lucile planned to remain in Black lagoon for a while longer so that she could fine-tune the details of Wade's substantial investment and could not possibly return to the capital with Hal.

As for those who had come to Black lagoon for the auction and not offered assistance in Wade's time of need, they had mostly left the city as soon as they could.

Some did go to the residence to offer apologies but a majority of them felt there was no need since the Sheik himself must understand their thinking and decision not to interfere between him and his rebellious advisor.

And they were actually right.

Much as Wade was displeased by their apathy, he still understood their reasoning. At least they had remained neutral and not offered to assist Gavin either.

Besides, even if he was upset, showing it would have had the opposite effect and just alienate the same people who were responsible for his wealth.

If he could not smile and act like it all had never happened, how would he be able to call them when next he planned to have an auction. After all, Hal had not said he could not still trade and had not given him an alternate means of earning.

Especially since all his share of profit in Lucile's trade union would go directly to Hal who did not look like he was interested in sharing.

Anyway,

Hal did not need or want any escorts and found his way to one of the teleportation circles in Black Lagoon which now worked on account of Gavin's lockdown protocol being deactivated.

The circle was in a hut-like housing and lacked the presence of attending Runemasters with holographic screens for two reasons;

First, Residing Runemasters were a scarce commodity in Black lagoon, and Second, what would be the point of inviting people to trade in the black market site when their locations as well as where they traveled from was being tracked.

While the Sheik usually knew the names of all those who came to attend his auction, there was still the need to retain a semblance of anonymity.

Hal sighed and shook his head at how this was a double-edged sword in the sense that it made them open to infiltration from the very same people they wanted to be trusted by.

He was about to step into the circle when he received another alert from the communication talisman and decided he might as well not ignore it this time,

"Damn it, Ehrlich, you are persistent. I'll give you that" he said once the talisman was out of his inventory.

There was an annoyed silence at first before Ehrlich spoke out of the talisman slowly,

"Why haven't you been picking up your talisman?" He asked.

"I was busy, because, unlike you Ehrlich, I actually have a social life. A small one but a social life all the same." Hal said in a casual tone.

Ehrlich growled but when he spoke, he surprisingly calm,

"Your mission is already complete and in case you don't know what happens next, let me spell it out for you;

You have to return to your station and report to your supervisor which is me or you stand to lose all your gained merit and Gems." He said and Hal could almost hear the sly smile on his face through the talisman.

His eyes narrowed,

"How would I have known that when you never told me?" he said with a hint of annoyance.

"Well, I just did. I hope you don't take too long" Ehrlich said.

Hal sneered,

"I won't. In fact, I'm already at the Teleportation circle." With that he disconnected and slotted in the blue gems.

Since the teleportation circle was of a high rank and the distance between Black lagoon and the capital was not as much as that of Kirsten city and the capital, Hal estimated his journey would take half an hour as opposed to the three hours of the Kirsten-capital journey.

With that thought in mind, he activated the circle and stepped into the void.

Chapter 336 - Is It Still Surprising?

Just like it had the other times he had made use of a teleportation circle, the journey seemed almost instantaneous and he was once again inside the building that housed the teleportation circle.

An attendant stepped up to him but Hal did not wait for him to speak before he said,

"I won't be stating my name"

The attendant nodded and with a flash of the scroll in his hands, Hal's image was taken.

Then he moved out of Hal's way so that he could leave the building.

Once outside, Hal contacted Karmen and Arya so that they knew he was back.

Through the communication, he knew the Alchemist organization was now showing tendencies of moving their search outside of the vast Silva Duchy capital to and look for him in the Duchy at large.

At first, Hal found it a little curious that they were going to all this means just for him but it did not take long for him to find his answer which was all about him now being a rank four alchemist.

The alchemist organization branch in the Silva duchy was not searching for him as a charity case but to secure their chance at actually coming out in top in the Alchemist convention.

"Damn it!" Hal swore.

He was not sure exactly how he should feel about the interest the Alchemist organization seemed to now be having in him. It would make it hard to keep a low profile and also be a sure-fire way for him to get idiots who would consider themselves his rival.

All the same, he needed to go over to the Alchemist organization and let them know he was fine. He felt it was better he did so personally as opposed to having Karmen or even Arya do it.

He was still thinking about this when a carriage stopped right in front of him. The door opened and Ehrlich's voice called out,

"Get in" he said.

Hal smiled and shook his head but he still got in and was seated in front of Ehrlich in the carriage as it trudged off towards a location, the buff man had not yet divulged.

For minutes after Hal got into the carriage, Ehrlich did not say anything and Hal decided he might as well be the one to begin a conversation or more accurately...

"Where are we going?"

... ask for information.

Ehrlich had been looking out the window since Hal entered the carriage and only now did he actually face Hal and sighed,

"The princess wishes to speak to you" he said.

"The princess? I thought she returned to the imperial city" Hal said and Ehrlich sneered,

"Don't delude yourself into believing you know her highness' whereabouts" he said.

Hal simply shrugged,

"I wasn't deluding myself. I only said that because it was where she said she would be when I last spoke to her. And if I remember correctly, you were there when she said it."

Ehrlich snorted,

"Well, she returned to listen to your report first hand. Something about how it was actually you who received valuable information directly from Beldar and hearing it from me sounds off"

The last part of those words was said through gritted teeth.

Hal, however, could not really be bothered to care about how Ehrlich felt as he chuckled,

"Ah yes, that sounds about right."

...

Dane Residence...

Isabella's Study...

Isabella Dane was seated behind her desk with Devon in front of her while she activated her communication talisman which had just alerted her and interrupted the conversation between mother and Son which had just started,

"He's here" a voice said out of the talisman.

"Are you certain?" Isabella asked.

"Yes, Patroness, I am sure. He came through a teleportation circle"

"Good work" Isabella said and deactivated the talisman before the one on the other side of the connection could say another word.

Devon's eyes were narrowed as his mother put the communication talisman into her spatial ring,

"Mother, what was that about?" He asked.

Isabella looked up at him with a slight smile on her beautiful face,

"I had someone be on the lookout for that Hal boy" she said.

"Why?" Devon was incredulous.

He already knew Hal was 'missing' and that he had been taken from the Alchemist organization building. In fact, it could be argued that he knew right about the time his mother was informed.

He had his own way of sourcing out information and was hardly ever truly in the dark.

His silence was not because he was In the dark but because he just didn't give a crap.

"Because after much consideration, I have decided that my assessment might have been a tad bit rushed. We should allow a little bit of leeway." Isabella said with a sigh.

Devon's eyes widened,

"You can't be serious" he said.

"I assure you that I am" she replied.

Devon sat forward in his chair while he gripped the arms tightly,

"Mother, this makes no sense." He said.

Isabella chuckled lightly,

"And why is that? Where he is from? You can be rest assured that I have had his former home investigated and from all I have gathered, he truly did grow up there and was born to a local man and an unknown woman.

And yet, he has come this far already. He has potential and maybe it's high time we stop ignoring that." She said.

"Well, I will not have it" Devon insisted.

"And why not?" She asked him.

Devon frowned,

"Simple, I don't like him. That should be enough" he said.

Isabella shrugged,

"Well, you should work on that issue on a personal level" she told him.

For a while Devon was silent and eventually, he took a deep breath,

"I don't have a say in this decision?" He asked tentatively.

Isabella smiled lightly,

"Of course you have a say. This is my decision and not yours. You are still free to do whatever you want. You can be staunchly against it if that's what pleases you.

Just know that it will not change my decision to reevaluate their relationship in a positive light." She said.

Devon narrowed his eyes at his mother. He was quite sure she was planning something and this was just another part of a grand scheme. In fact, he could already see a part of the scheme and could see he was a major pawn in it...

... Needless to say, he did not like it.

That said, he was ready to embrace it to some extent,

"I am allowed to make my own consensus. And my own decision regarding this matter?" He asked in a calm voice.

Isabella grinned as she could see her ploy was successful,

"I wouldn't have it any other way"

...

Rose Petal Restaurant...

Upon arrival, Ehrlich exited the carriage and led the way into the restaurant and the backroom where Hal had had his previous meeting with Tanya, who after Hal observed the absence of the Elder, he also observed, despite the veil covering the lower part of his face, that she looked grim upon their arrival.

Hal did not understand why she looked that way and did not feel the need to let that stop him from smiling amicably at her as he took his seat in front of her.

Ehrlich who remained on his feet since he entered, frowned at Hal's action and with his perception spread, Hal noticed but easily chose to ignore it.

"So, your highness, what's with the long face?" He asked Tanya with a grin.

Tanya in turn narrowed her brows at him,

"It turns out our continent was infiltrated and in a fairly easy manner from what I have been told and that the only one capable of giving us information on the holes in the continent's security was killed by you.

With all this, is it still surprising that I am grim?"

Chapter 337 - How?

The first thing Hal did when Tanya said those words, was to turn around and look at Ehrlich and sure enough, he was grinning.

Hal shook his head and sighed,

"What do you want me to say? Apologize for killing him? Because I won't" he said.

Tanya shook her head,

"No I don't want you to apologize for killing him" she said and the grin was immediately wiped off Ehrlich's face,

"Y-y-you don't?" He asked in disbelief while Hal allowed a smile to play on his lips.

Tanya shook her head,

"No, I don't. Would I have preferred the supplier be captured alive and well enough to tell us how he made it into the empire? Absolutely, but I also understand how things don't always go according to plan.

In fact, I believe you deserve more commendation" she said to Hal.

"You do?" Ehrlich asked and once again, there was incredulity coloring his words.

Hal shook his head secretly while he lamented on Ehrlich's lack of ability to think adequately ahead.

At least enough to not be in this kind of situation.

Tanya looked over at him,

"Are you hard of hearing Ehrlich?" She asked in a cold voice and the buff man stood straight immediately before bowing,

"I'm sorry, Princess" he said and she turned away from him and back to Hal who had now adopted the poise of a sage who seemed untroubled by the storms and the topsy turvy manner of the world.

"As I was saying, you were at a severe disadvantage most especially since your opponent had a strengthening technique to boost his strength which already surpassed yours.

It proved that I was not wrong about you" she said.

Ehrlich frowned in annoyance.

When he had given his report, it had not come to his mind at all to embellish his words to the princess as that was borderline lying and something he would never dare to do.

Mostly because he was sure she would be able to tell which was an assumption that stemmed from the fact that she had been able to tell whenever he was dishonest before.

No matter how flawless he tried to be.

When it referred to this mission, he saw no reason to embellish as everything already spoke for itself since Hal jumped the gun to kill Beldar.

The way he saw it, him falling unconscious through the whole thing was mild compared to Hal's actions.

Alas, Tanya did not see it that way which was made more obvious by her next words,

"Ehrlich on the other hand is a different case altogether since he was unconscious while you were fighting for your life. I understand that it became a kill or be killed situation and that is why I believe you deserve commendation.

Also, you kept Beldar's body intact and his technique was undamaged as well. Both of which, after careful research, could prove useful against Dystopia.

Ultimately, you did good." She told Hal with a smile that was noticeable even behind the veil,

Hal cleared his throat and raised his eyes to look up at the ceiling,

"A good deed is its own reward" he said.

Tanya nodded,

"I'm glad you think so." She said and Hal's head came down so he could look at her,

"I still want the actual reward though" he said with a selfish grin.

Tanya nodded,

"Of course" she said and with a flick of her wrist, she retrieved a token from her Spatial ring which she passed to Hal.

Hal inspected the token which was glowing white with 1000 M.P written on it which he took to mean 1000 merit points.

"That's a merit token and it is divided into three color grades; white, Blue, and Green with white the lowest and green the highest.

It will take 500,000 merit points to reach the blue grade and 1,000,000 merit points to reach the green grade. However, the highest level of merit which if you remember was mentioned to you in our last meeting only starts after 2,000,000 merit points.

This mission of yours was only meant to be reconnaissance assuming Ehrlich did his job since as you already know, without you, he would have still found the supplier and so it was only meant to be worth 200 merit points. 500 if I was really impressed which I was.

However, defeating Beldar and getting his body and technique to be undamaged got you an extra 500." She explained.

Hal was so shocked by her explanation of Merit points and what he had earned from the mission, that he did not register that she just glossed over Ehrlich's input of being the one who actually brought the body and technique to her.

'I only earned five hundred? How many missions to earn the highest level of merit points? 4000?' He said with incredulity coloring his mind voice.

'I thought you didn't care about merit points?' Grimoire said with a sneer.

'I don't. It's just that I realize it can't be too bad to have the continent owing me favors. Especially with there been the possibility that I go rogue.'

Tanya gestured to the token,

"Once you imprint it, all merit points you earn, not just from me, will be recorded on it" she told him and Hal imprinted the token before sending It into his inventory and looking expectantly at the princess who sighed,

"You really do love money" she said, a tad bit disappointed that he had not shown this level of interest with the merit token.

"Who doesn't?" Was Hal's reply when she tossed him a spatial pouch which upon reception, he inspected with Astral perception and saw it contained 350,000 Blue gems!

"It's just a little over half of all the Blue gems Beldar had with him. You helped get It so you get half. It probably won't be a regular occurrence but at least for now enjoy it" Tanya said and Hal nodded with a controlled expression while he worked to keep his reactions contained within himself.

That amount of Blue gems was a lot and had he lost control of himself to show how excited he was with getting it, it would have been understandable. Mostly because he was already known to be from a small city and hence would be looking to gain any amount of wealth he could.

Remaining cool, however, was what Hal felt was most reasonable for the situation.

"Nice, but I do have a suggestion" He said as he passed the spatial pouch into his inventory under the pretense of keeping it inside the spatial ring on his finger,

"What is it?" Tanya asked.

Hal pointed to Ehrlich,

"Next time you want me to go on a mission, don't have Ehrlich kidnap me." He said knowing it was her plan to begin with.

Tanya smiled lightly,

"Noted"

Hal stood up and was about to leave when he turned back to make one last mention,

"One more thing, I hope you will be glad to hear that the copy of Beldar's technique that was sold at the auction has been destroyed"

Tanya raised a brow,

"Is that so? That's good then." She said and Hal observed her for a while to see if she planned to make any additions to his merit points but left once it was clear that she was not.

Once Hal was out of the room, Ehrlich fell on his knees and hit his head on the ground with a thud while he spoke with remorse,

"Forgive my incompetence"

Ehrlich could not believe he had been so stupid not to even realize that no matter how forward Hal's actions had been, it was still nothing compared to his obvious incompetence.

Of course, he had apologized for said incompetence when he had given his report, but clearly, the princess was still very much upset about it.

Tanya looked at him on the ground and sighed. However, it was not a benevolent sigh but one done in annoyance and contemplation.

Eventually, she waved her hand and a gentle force lifted Ehrlich upright while she addressed,

"Incompetent as you were, you were still useful" she said.

Ehrlich's eyes widened slightly,

"I was?" He asked as he could not see how that could be.

Tanya smiled lightly,

"Of course you were. You allowed Hal to step up and gave him the opportunity to showcase just what he is capable of."

This was just the kind of situation where it could be said that all things happen for a reason.

Now Tanya's grin behind the veil was obvious,

"As per your testimony, without the technique, Beldar was at the peak stage of the Cosmic Phenomenon realm and Hal who is now at the mid-stage of the same realm, an advancement speed that remains baffling, was able to defeat and kill him even with the activation of the technique which let him contend with you who is at the Early stage of the Cosmic Aurora realm.

In fact, from your testimony, Beldar was actually once victorious and that was with you making use of my weaponized semi-saint pressure. So...

How exactly did Hal do it...?"

Chapter 338 - Did You Say...?

There was clear curiosity in Tanya's voice as she made her assessment and continued to wonder.

As for Ehrlich, once Tanya had made this assessment and wondered aloud, he also thought to how it had been quite peculiar for Hal to come out on top.

"Would you like me to find out?" Ehrlich asked tentatively.

Tanya seemed to have been pulled back from her thoughts by his voice and recomposed herself and keep her mystery-loving instincts in check while she addressed Ehrlich and shook her head,

"There's no need. Not for now at least. There's no need to worry about something that still works so far."

With that, she went silent and returned to her thoughts while Ehrlich eyed her with a frown. Knowing full well, that the princess was not really ready to let this go.

She just did not want to rock the boat that was Hal's potential helpfulness and preferred to, for the time being, let things run their course.

...

Meanwhile, once out of Rose petal restaurant, Hal boarded a carriage while thinking back to his Carriage, the golden chariot which he had left at the Alchemist organization.

He also thought about the merit points system and how it looked to be intent on making him work his butt off if he even entertained the thoughts for the highest level of merits.

It was while he was having this thought that he reasoned that his merit points awarding were actually quite accurate. If not far too generous.

Sure, he defeated Beldar, but that was not exactly a really noteworthy accomplishment and had not even been part of his mission in the first place.

Beldar had been a small fry in the grand scheme of things and although if given time, he might amass enough to be a nuisance, before the great men and women in the Haron continent, that was all he was going to be...

A nuisance...

The only ones who could actually consider this as something noteworthy were people on Hal's power level which to be fair was actually low and only worthy to really be a part of the royal academy as a student in times of both age and strength.

He was not trying to bring himself down or downplay what he had achieved because he would never do that and still deemed what he had done as impressive, he was just looking at it in the grand scheme of things.

He was no longer in Sapphire city but now exploring the Continent at large.

He was now out of that bubble of mediocrity and needed to see the bigger picture.

Which was that in a city like the Duchy capital which was crawling with Cosmic Pagoda experts who he could not even attempt to stand against, he was no more than a small fry.

And that was with him not even counting the semi-saints and the patron saints of many powerful families.

As proven from this initiation mission of his, there were only so many ways he was useful.

'Oh well, we might as well just go with the flow and simply work hard to grow stronger as soon as we can.' He thought.

'That was always the plan' Grimoire commented very aware that while Hal would never admit to it, both vocally and mentally, the reason he now cared about merit points was because he had had the time to think and see its potential usefulness.

In a case where Isabella picked a powerful expert to wed Melinda and even went as far as making use of her impressive strength to keep Melinda away from him and incapable of making an escape, the points might be his only way of calling for reinforcement.

Of course, he would rather not do that... but if left with no other choice, he saw it as a perfectly viable option. He would never allow anyone to take Melinda away from him.

Of course, there was another option which referred to Doxon forces, namely his estranged mother who he still did not yet feel quite right about meeting.

The carriage stopped in front of the Alchemist organization building and waiting for him right at the door was Arya and Karmen who could barely contain their joy upon seeing him even though they had been informed prior that he was not really in any danger.

Then again, he had been on a mission and technically was still in danger.

Anyway,

He alighted from the carriage but before he found even take a step towards the two, there were already guards in front of him,

"Alchemist Hal, we are so glad to see you are well. Please come with us" the one leading them said.

Hal sighed and mentally rolled his eyes,

"Sure, why not" he said and they formed formations around him and led the way into the building.

Hal felt this was incredibly unnecessary, especially since these men were merely using him to show that they had been useful in his search which they had not.

A point that should be further reiterated by how he had come here on his own two feet. Figuratively of course since he had actually arrived in a carriage.

When he and his improvised entourage passed the two ladies by the door, Hal gestured at the guards and rolled his eyes in exasperation, earning a giggle from Karmen who hurried to follow him inside.

Soon, the guards led him to the meeting room that had once been used by the Alchemist masters or more accurately, they led him to the door of the room and waited until he had walked through to disperse with many of them mentioning their names to see if he could put in a good word.

"Of course I will" Hal said generously before adding "Not" under his breath.

Being cultivators as well, the guards all heard it and their expressions froze. Remaining that way until Hal was past the door and could no longer see them.

They had been annoying and he had no intentions of humoring them.

Why should he be bothered to put in a good word for them? That he had no intentions of being overly arrogant and overbearing did not mean all tom, dick and harry could somehow get him to grant favors.

Inside the room, Hal only met the Branch head and Alchemist Glenn who had tested him during his ranking tests.

"Hal- I mean, Alchemist Hal, I am so glad to see you well. Please do take a seat" the branch head said and Hal had only just taken a seat when Arya made her presence known at the door and upon invitation, she entered with Karmen.

Karmen's entry raised the branch head's brow but he did not comment as she had come with Alchemist Nadia and obviously had a connection with Hal himself.

Hal on the other hand, knew what this sit-down meeting was most likely about, and sure enough...

"It was such a terrible thing that you were abducted in the Alchemist organization. And we have gone to so much trouble... which we have gone to with joy mind you... to show how sorry we are to your Alchemy master, Alchemist Nadia.

We also planned to extend our search for you outside of the Duchy capital and we are glad to see that there was no reason to do so as you are now back in good health.

However, we would still like to know what exactly happened and who exactly is responsible for this heinous act of kidnapping an Alchemist in the Alchemist organization" the Branch head.

Hal could detect a sort of change in the Branch head's voice which pointed to this conversation not being out of courtesy to Arya who was well known, as it had been when he had been here before,

This time, the branch head was addressing him directly and only occasionally making mention of Arya as more of an afterthought because he now saw Hal as personally valuable.

Not because of his master but his own personal ability.

Hal did not really give a damn but decided to play along. There was no need for those not close to him to know how apathetic he really was to all these proceedings.

Besides, getting on the good side of this sort of important individuals was one of the reasons why he had gone through with becoming a certified Alchemist in the first place.

"Well, it's kind of a long story. You see Branch head— I'm sorry, that feels and sounds so impersonal. Could I call you by your name?" Hal asked.

It was his way of bridging any gap that still remained between him and the older and more powerful man.

Glenn looked surprised that Hal would actually be so bold.

However, the branch head while finding it peculiar was not against it,

"Of course you can" he told Hal.

Hal nodded,

"What is it?" He asked.

"Toto" replied the branch head.

Hal smiled,

"You see, Toto... Wait..." He paused as he was hit with a sudden realization.

"...did you just say, Toto?"

Chapter 339 - Tall Tale.

The branch head nodded,

"Yes, Toto" he said.

"Oh, and is that like a family name?" Hal asked.

"No, it's mine. I never really had a family. I was raised and mentored by the previous branch head" Toto said more than a little confused by Hal's reactions.

'Is it weird that when I hear that name, I immediately think of yellow brick roads, talking scarecrows, a cowardly lion, a girl with pigtails and Ruby slippers?' Hal thought with a hint of jest.

'It is. It very much is' Grimoire said and did not bother hiding that it was mocking him.

'Good to know' Hal told it and returned his attention to Branch head Toto to begin the tale of his kidnapping which contrary to what he had said was not actually that long.

Or at least, what he planned to tell them was not that long.

He had done quick reasoning and realized it would not bode well to lie outright to the Alchemist organization. Because for one, purchasing goods in black lagoon while frowned upon for the reason that there were usually illegal objects for sale, was ironically not illegal.

In fact, in cases of particularly rare alchemical ingredients which happen to be for sale in the Black lagoon, they covertly sent Alchemists to obtain them.

As such, Hal suspected that at some point he would come in contact with Alchemists who had been guests at the Sheik's auction and would most likely recognize him as the runemaster who the Sheik had vocally advertised.

Also, he could be recognized as the one who won the rare gem flower in a bidding war against the one who eventually attacked Beldar the Dystopian.

No, it wouldn't do to lie outright.

Bending the truth was more than good enough.

So he began,

"I was kidnapped by a lunatic, a maniac if you will. After I was knocked unconscious, I woke up in an underground basement where my abductor told me what he wanted of me.

Apparently, he had not targeted me particularly. I just happened to be the first Alchemist he saw and hence was taken. He needed a powerful alchemist to refine him a pill of such obscure and ancient uses, my young brain could not comprehend.

Which was what I told him, I said 'Sir, my head is much too small for all this information and I am a mere apprentice who has only just passed his test'.

The maniac did not turn to me but his subordinates who had been present for the abduction in this building growled at me.

However, I refused to be intimidated. The rowdy country bumpkin in me was yelling to be free and that, in turn, gave my courage as I continued,

'I speak only the truth. I am not the one you are to be looking for',

This time, the maniac turned towards me and sneered and said,

'Is that so? Then who am I to be looking for?'

... in his voice that was incredibly annoying but I bit my tongue so I would not comment on it.

Eventually, I said,

'The one you need is the Silva Duchy Alchemist organization Branch head...'"

At this point, Toto's eyes widened,

"What, you mentioned my name?" There was something about his tone that told Hal his tale was getting to him.

"Relax, Toto, there is nothing for you to worry about. In fact, it is more of a compliment to you that you happened to be the most impressionable person I could think of at that moment.

Anyway, the maniac did not believe me and proceeded to have me refine the pills he needed and it was then I saw a way I'm which I could somehow escape.

Since there was no way I could actually be successful in the refining of the pill he asked for, I proceeded knowing it would eventually explode. By the time it did, I had attempted to protect myself with cosmic energy but I cannot actually be sure if that was effective because the explosion caused me to blackout.

Needless to say, I was quite annoyed that I had been rendered unconscious for the second time in two days and this time by my own hand.

Anyway, when I woke up, I was alone in the room and no one was there with me. I walked out of the basement and I saw that where I had been kept was actually a hideout deep in the woods and everyone there had been massacred.

No one had survived. Not even the maniac"

'No one would possibly believe this' Grimoire said.

Alas,

"Really? All of them were dead?" Toto asked and leaned closer. He was absolutely captivated by the tale.

Hal nodded and said in a grim voice,

"All of them." He affirmed.

Toto gasped quite like he was being told a suspenseful tale. Even Hal had not expected to get this reaction, not to speak of Arya and Karmen who were now looking at the Branch head with new eyes.

"Do you know who killed them?" He asked.

Hal shook his head,

"That, my good sir, remains a mystery. However, I do give a theory, Would you like to hear it?" He asked.

Toto nodded and Hal sighed,

"I suspect it was someone they had offended. Clearly, it had not been my explosion that killed them. In fact, they must have easily defended themselves and remained unscathed by the explosion.

They must have left me there once it was clear that I was out cold.

Maybe they decided to go up and were ambushed. The good news is that whoever it was, did not decide or know to check in the basement. At which point I truly might not have survived" Hal said with a shake of his head.

Toto nodded,

"Yes, that is good news but that explains just one day of your disappearance. Through our contacts at the Teleportation Building and for the purpose of the capital-wide search we had for you, I know you only just arrived.

Where have you been for the last two days?"

Hal sighed,

"Well, Toto, that is a different take on his own and I will not really go into it that much because it is a tad bit personal but I will point out that I had no idea, as I was cut off from my close ones, that you were searching for him.

I did not believe I was important enough.

Once I was free from my abductors and had completely turned their hideout to rubble. Completely making it impossible to find, I wandered around for a while and heard of an auction of exotic items at Black lagoon and decided to pay it a visit." Hal said.

"Black Lagoon, the black market site?" Toto said and Hal nodded,

"Oh yes, the very same. I was seen by so many there attending the auction"

If Grimoire had a head, it would be shaking it at the moment because Hal's tale was getting wilder and wilder the longer it went on. The reason, it could easily tell was because Hal was enjoying lying through his teeth way too much and did not want to go for something simple.

He could have simply said he had no recollection of what happened after he was kidnapped and simply woke up somewhere with no one nearby and then wandered to Black lagoon and participated in the auction. While it was not a perfect story, it was still good enough.

That was what it told Hal but he shook his head mentally,

'No, that's too drab. My story should have a hint of flair. A lot of action and a lot of suspense' He said.

'The story you told has none of that!' Grimoire retorted.

Hal snorted,

'You're just a hater'

Toto sighed,

"I am glad to see that you were able to return to the capital in good health, more so because of how important you now are to the Silva Duchy branch."

Chapter 340 - Potential Asset.

"I am?" Hal asked with his eyes wide.

When Karmen and Arya had first told him through their telepathic link that the Alchemist Organization was searching for him, Hal had not really cared all that much and was not averse to them wasting their time if they so wished.

The way he saw it, they were doing it as a courtesy to his 'Alchemy master' Nadia and for that reason, he did not see why he should give it any further thought.

But now that the Branch head had spoken to him so amicably end even allowed him to call him by his name which he was sure was not exactly a normal occurrence, he began to suspect there was something else at play.

'What could have caused the change' he thought and his eyes finally fell for the second time since he had entered this room, on Glenn who had been his examiner during the tests.

He nearly smacked himself as he saw what it was that had been right in front of him and yet he had missed.

This was obviously about his alchemy rank, for which by the way, he had still not being given his token so far.

Toto looked surprised that Hal would even ask such a question,

"Of course you are. With you as a second rank four Alchemist leading our young alchemists alongside the genius Adeline Silva, we have a much better chance at bringing the branch a lot of glory.

That you are important to us is an understatement."

Hal placed a hand over his face and could not believe he had gotten himself into this, especially considering his continuous disinterest in Alchemy,

"About that, Toto, I don't think I'll be participating" Hal said.

Toto paused and his face blanked,

"You won't? Why not?" He asked and this time he turned to Arya who could not help but smile.

"Don't look at me. You haven't actually addressed me since you began to speak to my apprentice which must mean you are confident of your success. By all means, carry on" she said with a gesture.

Karmen had leaned forward and had her hands on the side of her face with her elbows on her right as she watched it all like it was all an exciting play.

And to be fair, it had all the elements of one. From Hal's far-fetched story to how pale the Branch head now looked as he seemed to realize his mistake.

It was true.

He had completely neglected the master and was focused on the apprentice. This had been so wrong of him.

"I am sorry, Alchemist Nadia. Would you like to chime in?" He asked and had already said it before he realized how wrong it sounded.

However, Arya was not upset. In fact, as Hal was actually HER master, she knew this was his conversation and it was much better she remains completely in the background. At least for now.

Toto's sudden look towards her direction told her that he was planning to bring her into the conversation which she would very much prefer to not be a part of.

Turning it around that he had slighted her was her way of justifying not giving her input and allow Hal to do as he wished.

'Good work' Hal told her telepathically.

'Thank you for the praise' Arya replied with a mental smile. Even though she was smiling at the situation on the outside already.

Toto looked a tad bit dejected as he turned back towards Hal whose hand was no longer on his face, and then asked once again,

"Why not?"

Hal shrugged,

"It seems like a really high profile event" he said with a slight frown.

"That's because it is. What's your point?" Toto asked.

"Well, I like to keep a low profile. I usually love peace and quiet. I am not born for the hassle of an alchemist convention"

Hal was not about to let Toto rope him into this event and had no interest in being a part of it. Becoming a certified Alchemist was simply meant to be a means to an end. He wanted to have their backing but he had no interest in doing something for them.

If there was some sort of Runemastering convention, that would be a different story.

'Come to think of it, there is definitely a Runemastering convention or at the very least something of that nature but I probably have to become certified and be issued a token first.' He thought and then his eyes brightened,

The princess. She was the key.

When next he had a conversation with her, he would ask if she could offer him some shortcuts to becoming a certified Runemaster without months or even possibly years of study

After all, she was obviously a certified Runemaster. And a powerful one at that.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand.

Toto was frowning,

"The hassle? But Hal, you obviously wish to become great, so how exactly do you think you can be great when you avoid these hassles?

Winning aside, simply participating in the convention gives you a stage to showcase yourself.

Obviously, not everyone can win since there will ultimately be only one winner, but at least, if you are good enough, you can begin to receive the recognition of Alchemist who actually have a hand in governing the continent as a whole.

And by that, I mean those who serve in the Emperor's court.

In fact, busy as the Emperor is, you have the chance, which should you win, becomes a certainty that you will meet him and other members of the imperial family."

Hal was a little tempted to ask what effect meeting the emperor would actually have on him but decided he might as well pretend to respect imperial authority.

Also, as for meeting members of the imperial family, he already met two so far and that was without going out of his way to actually have a meeting with them.

The two were obviously Tanya and Arya.

Hal felt Arya still counts even if she ran away from home since she still obviously has imperial blood running through her veins and even shared their green eyes which he was now sure was a bloodline trait.

He just did not see what the big deal was.

If anything, it would be better he not meet such powerful individuals on the Continent as he was paranoid enough to feel it was like taking one step closer to the exposure of his Devil bloodline.

Toto could see that all that he had just said barely had an impact on Hal whose expression remained the same so he decided, maybe speaking of the rewards would succeed where promises of fortuitous meetings had failed.

However once again, talks of high-grade cultivation techniques and high-grade skills were still not doing the job.

And how could it?

With the Primordial Cosmic Art, what other cultivation technique could Hal possibly need.

As for skills, as long as he had currency, he could get those as well.

The idea of getting it for free was intriguing though but not enough to make him want to participate.

Eventually, Toto sighed and decided, since the convention was not for another seven months, he could work on wearing the blue-eyed young man down ahead of it.

"Oh well, I at least implore you to give it a lot of thought. It remains a wonderful opportunity to let the continent know what you are capable of. I will have guards escort you back to your residence. You must be tired after your journey." He said.

Hal raised a brow,

"Residence?" He asked

Toto nodded with a natural expression,

"Of course. We can't after all just let Alchemist Nadia and her apprentice who also happens to be an asset stay in a hotel now can we?"