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."