"My goodness, is that him? No man can possibly look that good" said a beautiful mature woman in the party hall of the Dell city Mayor's estate.

And she was definitely dressed to impress. Her clothes were fairly voluminous and flashy to show off her status but, as pertinent of the Doxon Duchy customs, she had parts of her body exposed.

​​

This included her flat tummy and beautiful legs.

"Mother, you are hyperventilating, calm down" said the young lady beside the woman and she was dressed similarly although her gown was less flashy but just as exposing.

"I'm sorry Julie, I can't help it. I heard from the merchant that he was good looking but they seem to have downplayed his looks a lot" the woman said licking her lips.

She was not actually lascivious by nature, she just found that she could hardly stop her reactions.

Even as she cautioned her mother, the truth was that Julie could understand why her mother was acting this way.

She could certainly feel the blue-eyed young man having an effect on her even though he was across the room.

Not only did he stand out, the ladies with him, who he referred to as travel companions and acted as though their whole existence revolved around him, were attention gripping as well.

"Well, you have to help it. Felix is looking over here and I fear he sees his mother-in-law salivating after another man in a party her husband was throwing in said man's honor... Even if he is indeed gorgeous beyond words." Julie said while she waved at her husband, Felix who was trying his best to converse with the mayor, her father.

It was not that that the Mayor was making a conscious decision to ignore Felix's attempts at starting a conversation, it was that one of the merchants who had witnessed the slaughter of Red Beard's band of bandits, or at least seen the aftermath, had his undivided attention.

At least that was what Julie thought.

Meanwhile...

Hal was mostly ignoring all the looks he got, that went from admiring to fearful for both his reported prowess as well as his physical attributes while he conversed with his ladies,

When he had announced that he had killed Red Beard, the guards let him by with a sort of reverence, and without even asking for any actual proof of his claim, they let him and the ladies into the estate while they sent a message ahead

Then Hal met with the Mayor who stole a few gazes at the ladies with Hal before ordering for the preparation of this feast in his honor and invited all the merchants as well as every influential family in the city.

"We can take them." Rita was saying. She was a staunch advocator for them going for a frontal assault in their aim to rob the Mayor's estate.

And while Hal felt that her annoyance of how a lot of the men present stared unabashedly at her when they thought she was not looking was influencing her decision-making process, he agreed with her up to a point.

If they were to use the Silva Duchy for a case study, Hal knew that the mayor could not suddenly summon reinforcement that would possess a higher cultivation base than himself since the Barony hardly ever paid attention to cities.

However, capable as their party was, they were still outnumbered and Hal would much rather prefer he did not make use of his beasts in a situation where there would be survivors to spread the tale of Devil Beasts.

If he was going to make use of his beasts, then he would also have to make sure that everyone who saw them and was not part of his party died with that knowledge.

Lillian took a look around and her eyes fell on the mayor who was in deep conversation with the vocal merchant,

"The Mayor" she suddenly said and Hal smiled,

"Very good. The Mayor. He's the perfect mix of stealthy and all-out. We get him and the way is clear."

Just then, the Mayor took a break from his conversation to look over at Hal and called to him,

"Mr. Hal, why don't you come up and meet my family... Please bring the ladies along with you." He said.

Hal smiled lightly and moved towards the Mayor to especially greet the two lovely ladies that were dressed to showcase that their status was above all others.

...

Minutes before the Mayor called to Hal,

"I think the best thing would be to find a way to bring him over to our side. I'm sorry my lord, but I fear I might have downplayed what I witnessed in the bandit camp, if I didn't, then you should already identify this young man as a fearful character" said the vocal merchant.

The Mayor nodded,

"Believe me, Doug, I do see him as fearful and he surely deserves commendation" the mayor said.

"That he does my lord. Red Beard had such plans and while I am absolutely confident in your prowess and eventual victory over him, he would still have kept up his attack long enough to damage the city.

This young man's deeds as well as the deeds of the ladies with him have saved us from all that. I suggest a monetary reward" Doug said

"A huge one" said Felix hoping this would finally be his way into this conversation.

The Mayor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was what he disliked about Felix: his inability to see that his input was far from needed and he should know better than to interrupt his conversations.

Especially conversations of such obvious importance.

The Mayor ignored Felix's input,

"The easiest ways would have been to introduce him to the fine young ladies of this city. But it's clear from the ladies who 'travel' with him that such might not be that enticing to him.

Also, my daughter is already married... *sigh* he would have made a wonderful son-in-law, but... I guess, sometimes, you get what you get"

Felix blinked.

There was no mistaking it, that was an insult.

He was a little annoyed. After all, he was at the mid-stage of the Cosmic Armament realm which was good enough for someone of his age in this city... However, how could he compete with Hal who was younger than him and yet a whole realm above him in cultivation?

Even his battle prowess, from what had been heard was on a whole other level.

The mayor did not seem to have noticed Felix's sudden look of discomfort as he decided to call Hal over and introduce him to his family.

He watched Hal smile ever so slightly and then begin his graceful walk towards the mayor,

"Mayor" Hal said as a sign of acknowledgment but did not bow or even make any respectful gesture.

The mayor decided to let it be.

"Mr. Hal, meet my wife Bertha and my daughter Julie" he introduced the two ladies who moved closer.

'He looks even hotter up close' Bertha thought as she and her daughter curtsied.

"It's so nice to meet you" Hal said and took Bertha's right hand and kissed the back of it.

"Oh, such a gentleman" Bertha giggled and then blushed while the Mayor looked over her beautiful form with pride.

However, his wife only had eyes for the Blue-eyed Devil who was holding her hand...