Letting go of Bertha's hand, Hal repeated the gesture to Julie who tried her best not to act as smitten as her mother was acting but once Hal touched her, her heart went off and beat so fast she feared it was going to burst right out of her chest.
Hal let go of her hand and now he faced the Mayor who was still smiling proudly. Looking completely clueless about the undressing look his wife was giving Hal.
"I trust you are enjoying yourself. The meal will be ready soon and well can adjourn to the dining hall for the highlight of the feast." He said to Hal.
Hal smiled lightly,
"Yes, this had all been quite nice this far"
Then he looked over at the young man next to the mayor who was assessing him but trying (and failing) to be subtle about it.
Felix saw Hal had caught his look and so he quickly smiled uncomfortably and looked away and his eyes fell on Rita who upon noticing his look smiled sweetly at him.
However, when Felix saw that smile, he shivered because he could sense a deadly quality to it and so he took his eyes away and not wanting to risk it with any of those in this exotic party, he contented himself with staring at his feet.
Eventually, the meal was served and Hal and his ladies as well as the Mayor and other really notable members of the city who could actually dine at the same table with him, adjourned to the dining hall.
Hal had to admit with a nod of his head that it was quite a spread. The meals were actually herbs that would surely boast a subtle but definite increase in cultivation while also solidifying their foundation.
Of course, still being a bottom-feeder city, there were also Natured Beasts that had been killed and prepared for savoring of flavor only since they were much too weak to have an effect on the bodies of most of the adults at the table who were at the Cosmic Phenomenon Realm.
Only those at the Cosmic Armament Realm could really enjoy its delights.
The Mayor attempted to make small talk,
"Mr. Hal, if I may ask, where are you actually from? One of our neighboring cities perhaps?" He asked with an interested smile.
Hal shrugged,
"I don't feel like saying" he said with his own smile.
The mayor took a quick look around, mostly to ascertain that no one was making fun of his failed attempt at getting information from this stranger.
And then he cleared his throat,
"But surely, you must be quite popular around this parts if you go about taking on difficult bounties such as the defeating of Red Beard's band." The mayor tried again with a smile.
Once again, Hal shrugged while he subtly used his Astral sense to assess his meal before he ate it,
"Not really. Red Beard was my first bounty and I only took it cause I saw the poster in Dell's gate city. I don't make it a habit or career dealing with bounties." He said.
The mayor smiled lightly,
"So surely, you are not averse to me employing your expertise for the city are you?" He asked.
Hal actually looked at him this time while his ladies chuckled,
"How did you get from all I have told you to offering me a job?" He asked with his eyebrow raised.
The mayor seemed pleased with himself,
"Well, you said you are not a bounty hunter. You taking the bounty at Dell city was only by chance so why not stay in Dell city and lend us your strength. We will surely pay you well, that is of course after we pay you an appropriate monetary reward for stopping a potential threat to the city" he said with a bright smile.
There was a brief moment of silence...
And then,
"HAHAHAHAHAHA"
Hal burst into laughter along with his ladies.
The Mayor's face blanked and he wondered what he had said that was so funny and then Karmen pointed at him while still laughing,
"You, my good sir, are a dumbass" she said.
As this was a dinner party, there were actually no guards in the hall but the notable men who sat at the dinner table looked at Karmen and the rest of Hal's merry party with outrage.
However, neither of them was the first to show that outrage verbally,
"How can you talk to my Father that way. He is the mayor of this city" Julie said and stood to he feet.
Hal looked over her form with a scoff while Karmen eyed her with a dangerous grin and an evident tinge of red in her eyes,
"Oh? He's the mayor? I had no idea" she said sarcastically and then Hal cut in,
"Karmen can say whatever she wants. Do you know why? Because she is with me. That alone puts her above all of you"
Julie gasped and seemed to have been struck dumb without an answer to Hal's domineering, yet calm words.
She looked over at her mother who was sipping a wine rich in cultivation resources,
"Mother, are you not going to say something? She insulted your husband" Julie said with a point toward a Karmen who licked her lips at the sight as though imagining the blood she could reap if she cut it off.
"Honey, you are making a scene" Bertha said.
Julie gasped once again as she could not believe how her mother was reacting to the recent events.
"Julie, your mother is right. You are making a scene."
"Father..." She attempted to protest.
"Sit down..." The Mayor said firmly and Julie sat down, disgruntled.
Then with a forced smile, the Mayor looked over at Karmen,
"What, might I ask, makes me a Dumbass?" He asked.
"The mere fact that you even think in that deluded mind of yours that you can somehow employ my Master's services is dumb." Karmen said not the least bit concerned with the looks she was getting,
Hal smiled.
She was perfect for delivering those words. Karmen was never really tactful and Hal knew she took pride in that.
The mayor raised a brow while Doug, the merchant did not particularly like how things seemed to be going so far,
"Oh, is your Master that great?" The mayor asked.
"You tell me. We are only five but took down Red Beard's band of bandits who already numbered at the very least, a thousand. If we could do that, why would we settle for working with you?" She asked and the words got a lot of those present thinking but that did not include the Mayor and Doug.
Ever since Doug's return, the two had brainstormed on the eradication of the bandit band.
First off, none of the merchants had actually witnessed the actual defeat of Red Beard and his band of bandits and that was all because Hal had kept them locked away under a Dome of Astral energy and so it stood to reason that the five of them had not actually done the actual slaughtering.
Once the merchants could not see anything, Hal and the ladies must have called for reinforcements that had been lying in wait.
What they saw after the Dome was taken away was merely the aftermath of a well-planned ambush...
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