Once Hal was outside the Baron's residence he stopped and looked up at the night sky littered with twinkling stars and the silver moon and sighed deeply.

He had come here with Eva's carriage and did not expect her to be coming out to order him to be taken back anytime soon, so he considered walking back to the Hotel.

The distance was not too far for him to traverse and he quite preferred the option to have to ask one of the Carriage men to take him back.

Even if he could make use of Eva's name.

He was still thinking about this when a carriage stopped right in front of him and the one Lady Penelope thrust her head out of the window,

"Want a ride?" She asked him with a smile.

Hal grinned and shrugged,

"I'm not averse to that" he said just as the carriage doors opened and he stepped inside to sit opposite Penelope and beside her guard.

The guard glared at him so Hal decided to make use of it as the perfect excuse.

He shifted seats and sat beside Penelope instead.

The guard's eyes and he made to protest but Hal raised one hand to signal him to be quiet.

It was so sudden that the guard was caught by surprise and actually kept quiet at which point Hal made himself comfortable in the seat and even went as far as placing his arm behind Penelope.

He did not touch her of course.

He simply let it lay there.

However, it was a bold act that only served to increase the guard's ire,

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked in a menacing tone as the carriage finally pulled out of the Baron's residence and towards the Hotel.

Hal looked confused as though he could not understand why the guard was behaving in such an abrupt and frankly rude manner.

He looked so clueless that it made the guard sick.

"That's enough. I invited him inside and I have not complained about his arm placement so it's none of your business. Now, do be quiet." Penelope said.

"I apologize my lady"

The guard bowed, looking rebuked.

Hal shook his head and sighed,

"Good help is so hard to find these days" he said and the guard visibly swelled in anger.

Penelope chuckled lightly in amusement before her expression became serious once again,

"So, do you mind telling me what the whole thing with them taking you away was all about?" She asked.

Hal sighed again and put his hands into his clothes but once again, it was a cover to actually retrieve something from his inventory.

In this case, it was to retrieve the Jade token he had with him.

"It was about this" he said and just as he had suspected, once it was out, understanding colored Penelope's expression.

Clearly, she knew what it was.

"Of course. Now I understand. I'm guessing the sisters were taxed with keeping an eye out for you which must mean you received the token from Princess Tanya" she summed up.

Hal was impressed,

"Does that mean Tanya is the only one who gives this Tokens?" He asked.

"'PRINCESS Tanya. You need to be careful to always add her title. Anyway, no. Of course not.

All Elders and dignified fellows at the Royal Academy can give out Jade Tokens.

They usually have a specific number of Jade tokens they receive and whoever it is that gives you the Token is the one you study and serve under should you succeed to become a green-robed student." Penelope explained.

While she was clearly learned about all this, Hal could detect a yearning in her voice. A yearning that did not make it seem as though she attended the Royal Academy.

And sure enough,

"I did not attend the Academy of course. I was never talented enough. I was, however, quite obsessed with it when I was still young enough to attend." She confided.

Hal nodded,

"Okay then, do you know anything about the second use of the Token? Something about Espionage." Hal inquired.

Lady Penelope frowned lightly,

"A use other than for attending the Royal Academy selection? I don't know anything about it." She said and Hal could tell that she was not lying.

Which either meant the sisters had lied to him or more likely, the issue of the Token's other use was much too sensitive a matter for an outsider like Penelope to know.

Hal found himself getting more curious about the whole thing and was now quite interested in finding it all out.

The carriage stopped in front of the Hotel and he alighted before holding his hand for Penelope to grab and assist her down.

Penelope smiled at him,

"I will be leaving the city tomorrow, how about following me to to the county?" She said. It was clear that she enjoyed Hal's company and did not wish to be away from him just yet.

Hal smiled in return,

"Tempting but I have my own plans. Don't worry, at some point, I believe we will see each other again" he told her.

"I hope it's sooner rather than later" The lady said and walked away into the Hotel.

Hal followed soon after and headed straight for his room.

Once inside, he locked the door as he had done before and sat cross-legged to refine the essence he had gotten from the sisters.

The refinement did not take long but while it was going on and his whole attention was on it, a portal to the Harem space opened, and out of it came Melinda who surveyed the room with her light gold eyes before laying on the bed.

As soon as Hal was done, he opened his eyes and smiled when he saw Melinda there with her head on one hand and the other lying on her body which was facing him,

Her clothing was a very flimsy nightwear and Hal loved how it clung to her figure and especially emphasized her ample bust.

"Did you grow bored?" He asked and stood up from the bed to begin taking off the clothes he had on.

Melinda sat up and shrugged,

"Not exactly" she said.

While Ten days had actually passed in the Harem space, the time had been completely dedicated to her cultivation and it was far from being a measure of time that counted as too much for a cultivator of their caliber.

That said, it was Hal himself who had once said that all work and no play was not his way.

They needed some alone time.

Hal chuckled when she made use of his words while he stripped right in front of her to change into something more comfortable.

"Wait, don't wear anything. Come to bed just like that." She said and stood from the bed as well.

It was like she did not believe he would really be able to hold herself back from putting on clothes which Hal felt was a notion that did not really make any sense.

Melinda grabbed his hand and pulled him against her.

Hal smiled and leaned forward to capture her lips before tearing off the flimsy nightwear she had on.

He reached to her breasts and grabbed one of them and kneaded it, drawing a moan from her lips which he sealed off with another kiss.

Then he used his other arm to lift her and place her on the bed.

Needless to say, it did not stop there and the duo spent the whole night exploring each other's bodies like it was the very first time.