Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

Two things Hal noted in that voice;

It was authoritative and it was feminine.

He turned around to see the one who had spoken was a lady with moderate assets and a lithe physique, dressed in martial attire and her stare looked ready and capable of boring a hole into the Runemaster named Arlet.

Then she turned to look at Hal and Hal saw her gasp audibly.

While he was narcissistic enough to admit his looks could easily cause such a reaction from her, he could also kind of see familiarity in her eyes.

It was like she knew him.

But that was impossible.

The lady worked to compose herself and flashed Hal a bright smile, 

"I\'m sorry If he has been causing you trouble. I come here often to check up on him so he does not scam travelers.

Who might you be, sir?" The lady asked and stretched her hand to him in greeting.

Hal smiled lightly and took her hand while lowering his head to kiss it like a gentleman he definitely was not. He then raised his head, 

"My name is Hal" he told her. 

"No last name?" The question seemed casual and would probably have fooled Hal if he had not already been suspecting her.

He shook his head and released her hand,

"No" he said.

The lady nodded, 

"Okay. Eva Noren. Captain of Kirsten city guards"

Hal nodded appreciatively at her introduction.

"You must think I am too slight but I assure you I am quite capable" Eva said with a light smile.

"I never doubted it" Hal said in a sincere voice as he already knew her cultivation was at the mid-stage of the Cosmic Phenomenon realm. 

And even if he did not know, he was knowledgeable enough to know that In the Nexus world, physique could be very misleading. Especially on females.

Eva then faced Arlet who was looking quite uncomfortable, 

"How many times do I need to warn you? You are giving the Barony a bad name. This is your last strike, I think it\'s high time you be relieved of your post. There are many more ready to replace you." She said.

Arlet\'s head snapped up, 

"He had no coordinates. There is no way to ascertain where he came from" He said.

Hal sighed in an exasperated manner but said nothing.

He was looking at Eva out of the corner of his eye and observed her reaction once she heard he did not have coordinates.

Her eyes widened and she was thoughtful for a second before she cleared her throat and spoke again in a clear tone of voice, 

"Be that as it may. Asking to be paid was not the answer and for that, I believe you deserve a beating along with relieving you of your post." She said.

Hal raised his hand, 

"Since he will be beaten anyway..." He said then moved closer to Arlet who had stepped back once Eva arrived and...

*Bam*

... Swung his fist to punch the Runemaster\'s lights out.

"What was that for?" Eva said after taking a deep breath.

Hal shrugged, 

"He annoyed me."

Eva shook her head, 

"That was impulsive. Arlet might be an idiot but he has friends. Runemaster friends and it is never advisable to get on a Runemaster\'s bad side."

Hal nodded in agreement, 

"True that" he said.

Eva\'s eyes narrowed as she evaluated Hal as strange before she turned to walk out of the building with Hal following close behind.

Once out of the building, Hal smiled and picked her hand to kiss it again, 

"Thank you for interfering. If you hadn\'t, I might have eventually given in and paid him."

Eva tried to smile, 

"Don\'t mention it. Just doing my job."

Hal chuckled, 

"You\'re the captain. I doubt saving civilians who don\'t live in the city is your Job." He said.

"You\'re from the Barony. That is enough to make it my job." She said and this time she managed to smile.

"How did you know I was from the Barony?" Hal asked with his smile still present.

At that time, men dressed in martial uniforms just like Eva\'s were making their way towards them.

Eva shrugged naturally, 

"Lucky guess. 

On second thoughts, I should have delegated. So why don\'t you pay me back by accompanying me." She said and withdrew an envelope from her spatial ring which Hal knew was not a luxury a simple guard could have access to.

He opened the envelope and in it was an invitation to a Party or otherwise Formal gathering the Baron was having the next day.

"What do you think about being my plus one?" Eva asked in an uncertain voice as she wondered if she was not coming on too strong. 

She was hoping Hal took it as interest in him which she had to admit she was not faking. 

His long black hair, blue eyes, and perfect face made for a very attractive prospect but she needed to remain focused.

The truth was that Hal was quite impressed with her actions and did not feel she was coming on too strong.

However, he could also detect an ulterior motive and much as he probably should have just continued on his way, he wished to know why she seemed to recognize him.

"Sure why not? But we will have to continue this later because I am feeling a little tired and would like to just lodge into an inn right now."

Eva smiled just as their guards finally joined them but stayed a few distances away and watched them, 

"No problem. You can lodge into Dan hotel. I assure you it is best in the city" Eva said.

"A hotel?" 

"Yes, it\'s much better than an inn. Drove them out of business within a week" she informed.

"I see." Hal nodded.

\'I see advancement is everywhere\'

Eva procured a carriage to take him to the Hotel and she even offered to pay for his room which he declined as there was no point pretending to be poor if he could afford a Blue gem to power the Teleportation circle.

Once inside the room which was incredibly furnished and truly had so many luxuries, he bolted the door shut and even added a Rune (lock) for extra security before he opened up the portal to the Harem space and joined the ladies.

"So when are we leaving?" Melinda asked.

Hal sighed, 

"Well, after tomorrow." He replied.

"Why wait that long?" Emily asked.

Hal cleared his throat, 

"There\'s been a development. One I feel it is very important I see to as soon as possible. Don\'t worry, I, WE will be fine."

...

The office of the Captain of the Kirsten guards...

Eva had only just returned to her office as the only reason she had been outside and right on time to find Hal with Arlet was that she was making her rounds in that part of the city.

While meeting Hal was a coincidence, it was a welcome one...

"Captain, who was that young man?" Asked the good-looking guard in front of Eva.

"None of your concern, Henrik" she said and the Henrik nodded and left the office.

Once she was alone, she withdrew a communication talisman from her spatial ring and activated it,

"What is It, Eva?" Asked the voice that sounded out of the talisman.

"Sister, I saw him. The one with the blue eyes" she said to the talisman.

There was silence as the one on the other side of the communication thought on this bit of information, 

Finally, she asked,

"Are you sure?"

Eva rummaged through her drawer and pulled out a painting and it was a painting of Hal. The painting while still gorgeous, looked less attractive than the real deal but the resemblance could not be denied, 

"Yes, sister. I am absolutely sure."