BXBX NOVEL Chapter 341 - Shrewd Man.
Hal left the Alchemist organization building with Arya and Karmen only to board his carriage which had been kept well at the building and ride to the residence the alchemist organization provided for them.
While they rode along with Arya in control of the carriage's movement as she was the one who had actually been told of the residence's location, Hal decided he would be going over to Dane Territory.
The inhabitants might not be pleased to see him but he was not going for them but for his woman so he saw no reason to care.
Other than the fact that they could kill him of course.
The carriage stopped in front of the residence which turned out to be a large mansion that was even bigger than the one Melinda had had in Sapphire city.
To go even further, the branch head had provided them with help in form of those who would take care of his carriage and any future rides, those who would prepare palatable meals rich in cultivation resource, and those who would overall just keep the place tidy.
He had to admit it was quite generous and he and Arya knew it was the combination of them both that had done this.
However, Hal was not exactly satisfied with the help and there was something about how they looked at him that pointed to the fact that cleaning was not all they were here for.
Add in the fact that the weakest of them all was at the peak stage of the cosmic Armament realm and the strongest, which was a lady that was clearly in charge and had her back turned to them, was at the Peak stage of the Cosmic phenomenon realm and you start to see a spying pattern.
They were here to keep an eye on him.
Hal sneered secretly.
It turns out the branch head was not as gullible and easygoing as he seemed. He was also quite the shrewd man.
Arya was, however, not surprised.
'Master, he became branch head and is at the Semi-saint realm. Surely he can't really be a patsy no matter how much he behaves like one' she told him telepathically.
Choosing not to opt for vocals since they were not truly alone.
Hal nodded,
'You are right. But the question is, why did he so readily believe my far-fetched tale if he is obviously intelligent.' He asked.
One of the main reasons he had opted for long details as opposed to what he had told Grimoire, was so he could gauge just how much he could actually get away with.
He was constantly monitoring Toto with his Devil senses and knew since the man was not actively trying to hide his emotions, that at the very least, he saw no reason not to believe Hal.
'He wanted to believe you. That's most likely it. You are his golden ticket and a potential asset with which his branch will be victorious at the convention. Since you had not really gone out of your way to show hostility, he will believe whatever you say and keep trying to pull you to his side.
That said, it is clear that he remains cautious.'
Hal narrowed his eyes,
'Is it just me or is he a bit contradicting?' Hal asked and Arya gave a non-committal shrug.
At that time, the strongest, whose clothes were also different from the uniform of the rest of the staff turned around to face them with what looked like a clipboard in hand.
She brushed her brown hair out of her face and as it was Hal's nature, he eyed her from head to toe. Quick enough to be taken as a mere cursory glance and detailed enough to get an adequate knowledge of what he could not look at outright without seeming like a pervert.
However, while he had tempered his haze so it was not particularly regarded as perverse, mostly because it was second nature for him to now observe and appreciate female looks and not that he was actually interested in the lady, her gaze on him was anything but polite.
"Hi, I'm Sasha, and I..."
She had actually been looking at her clipboard and only looked up mid introduction but could not help but pause.
She eyed Hal from head to toe and back again after which she looked him over once again before looking up and only staring at his face.
Her mouth actually gaped as she looked at him and although Hal felt quite gratified, he was a little annoyed that she was not actually able to control her reactions and simply give him and those with him her complete introductory details.
However, with Sasha, the poor lady could not be blamed. She was not exactly young in terms of age and had seen a lot of men in her life but Hal's face and body that looked to have reached perfection easily took the cake.
That said, she cleared her throat and tried to rein in her reactions to at the very least not make a fool of herself.
"My name is Sasha and I am sort of a caretaker. It is understood that you are very busy and as such cannot be bothered with domestic affairs so I will be in charge of it and do it in your stead.
I would like for you not to hold back at all and tell me what exactly you wish was available to make your living here even more comfortable.
Arya stepped forward,
"I'm Nadia and this the young man is my apprentice Hal and the lady is his personal guard Karmen. We appreciate your help." She said with a neutral expression devoid of any form of familiarity which was understandable as they were both still strangers to one another.
While Arya had indeed been told of this residence before Hal's return, she had never actually been there. The same went for Karmen.
This was the first they were seeing of Sasha and her of them.
Sasha allowed herself one more look of Hal's form when she addressed him personally,
"I have heard of Alchemist Hal and know he's the newest genius of the Silva Duchy now that he is a Rank 4 Alchemist" she said with a bright smile.
Hal returned her smile,
"'Genius' is a bit of a stretch. I only barely made it"
"I never thought you would be modest." Sasha said and this time she actually managed to sound normal and not like a fangirl.
Hal chuckled,
"Trust me, I am not modest. Far from it actually" he told her.
Sasha then turned back to Arya,
"Would you like to meet the staff?" She asked but Arya shook her head,
"There's no need. I think it's better we don't do something as fake as actually acting like we care about people we've never met before today.
We'd rather just get settled in" she said.
Maybe it was a bit of an oversight since these people would be responsible for their wellbeing, but she felt the less they knew of the spying help and they of them, the better.
Maintaining a distance was what she felt was best for the time being.
Sasha nodded in understanding and offered to lead their way inside but Arya assured her they would be alright on their own so Sasha went back to work but not before sneaking a couple of glances at Hal.
Once inside the mansion, Karmen wanted to take a quick tour and insisted Arya come along as though she had formed a connection with the green-eyed Alchemist capable of Devil spells.
Hal smiled fondly at the sight but did not stay in the mansion long as he had someone he needed to visit and he would rather not keep her waiting for too long.
...
Dane Residence...
Hal received no obstructions when he was at the gate. In fact, the guards practically ignored him when they saw who it was. He had never actually expected them to not allow him entry in the first place so it was not that surprising.
It was surprising though that some of those he met along the way, and somehow recognized him, gave him thumbs up as though he had accomplished something huge.
Which to be fair was true as he had defeated Hugh in a duel and was very close to Melinda. Two pieces of information that had spread around the territory really fast.
'Wierd' he thought.
Since when were they this welcoming.
Thanks to Karmen and Arya, Hal knew exactly where to go if he wanted to arrive at Melinda's part of the residence and he was thoroughly impressed by the size.
With one short-ranged teleportation circle that was the norm in large residences such as this in the Nexus world and could be activated with cosmic energy alone, he was a stone throw away from her courtyard.
She was right there waiting for him and wasted no time dashing into his embrace and smacking her lips with his.
Clearly, three days was much too long a time to be apart.