"Oh Lady Lucile, I lost sight of you for a second, please come closer as well" the Sheik added, and after an eye roll hidden away from him, Lucile walked over to his side much to the admiration of the men on the scene.

Hal chuckled to himself and followed after her, picking a filled wine glass from a servant's tray on the way.

Soon he was with the Sheik who began to point and introduce the important fellows on the scene after Hal mentioned that he was not exactly sure who all these people were.

It did not raise a red flag as the majority of those on the scene were not from the Silva Duchy capital and those who were from there while wealthy, were not well known enough to be household names.

The Sheik started with the two who had been his guests besides Lucile,

"This are the Gaug brothers and they are a major power in the Cruz county where together they run a mercenary guild.

If you ever have any task needed to be done, whether shady or orthodox, they are the right ones to go for"

Hal raised his brow,

"Oh, is that so? I was under the impression that people as distinguished as them would send emissaries" Hal said further playing on how clueless he was supposed to be on this issue.

The Sheik laughed boisterously while his advisor, Gavin sighed with a bit of impatience.

Clearly, there was something the Sheik should be attending to.

"Hahaha, oh Master Hal, you really do amuse me. No one sends a representative for my auction. If you want something so badly and possibly illegally, you come by yourself or not at all.

Think of it as a personal edict of mine"

"Ah, I see" Hal said with 'sudden understanding' while noting that Lucile was watching him closely with her eyes narrowed. Clearly, his acts were not fooling her one bit.

That all those who were here were leaders of their various organizations or families was something Hal had already discerned even though he had not known it was practically a rule.

The Sheik must wield even more power than he had previously guessed.

For the first since he had arrived, mostly because the Sheik had not really been open with his pressure,

Hal used Grimoire to assess his cultivation which turned out to be at the peak stage of the Cosmic Aurora realm and actually close to the early stage of the Cosmic Pagoda realm.

His advisor, Gavin, was at the late stage of the Cosmic Aurora realm.

Seeing as he was already inspecting those close by, Hal assessed the Gaug brothers who were both at the Late stage of the Cosmic Aurora realm as well.

The surprising of them all turned out to be Lucile who was at the Early stage stage of the Cosmic Pagoda realm and white close to the mid-stage. Based on her prgress, she was even stronger than Emily!

Of course, that was in terms of cultivation and when it came to battle prowess, Hal was willing to bet on Emily to be victorious but the fact that Lucile was so strong spoke volumes.

Also, while he had not known the Sheik's cultivation, he was quite certain Lucile knew that he was weaker than her and the Sheik must have been aware as well.

It took away any possibility that she needed his help or at least she did not need his help in terms of anything that required strength.

Anyway, The Sheik continued,

"So why not get in and meet people. This is the perfect opportunity for you to form connections."

Hal smiled,

"Actually my lord, I wanted to inquire something from you."

"Oh really? Go ahead" the Sheik allowed as the Gaug brothers went off to mingle but Lucile stayed behind looking bored as usual and using the Sheik as the reason she needed to be there.

Hal however knew she just wanted to hear his question. He didn't mind and asked anyways,

"So, there is something in particular that I wish to purchase at the auction but j don't really know much about it or how available it is. All I have heard so far have been rumors.

Apparently, it is a body strengthening technique with the tendency to create monsters."

Even before Hal was done, the Sheik was nodding in understanding of what Hal was here for and he did not seem to find the question out of place which was a relief for Hal who after he started had begun to worry that he should have been more subtle.

"You are speaking of the main event of tomorrow's auction. The mutating technique. Ah yes, it is understandable that you have only heard of rumors. They were spread for the sole reason of getting prospective buyers here." The Sheik said with a proud smile.

Hal wondered how the Sheik would feel if he ever found out his rumor-spreading actions were what brought the scrutiny of the Princess and by extension (possibly, since he suspected Tanya was going solo) the imperial family.

Then again, he was the one who was sent and was not exactly posing a threat so maybe he wouldn't have cared either way.

"In fact, that is what this party is actually really about. To finally give the potential buyers the chance to see the mutating technique in action. If you are really serious about purchasing it, then I hope you have a lot of Blue gems because, after tonight, the price will skyrocket."

With that, the Sheik burst into laughter while he thought of the profit he was bound to make from the sale while Gavin went over to give an announcement.

As Hal watched Gavin began, he had to admit what a nice business tactic it all was and he was not really a sympathetic fellow and could not care less about the lives of some random fellows as long as those close to him were not hurt.

That said, it was his mission to find the supplier and maybe, just maybe, he might complete it tonight when the supplier comes for the demonstration.

The advisor stepped on top of the platform and the Sheik moved to an area of importance a few meters away from where it was clear to all who looked up that he was the one running the show.

Seeing that the Sheik was no longer in closer proximity, Hal took many quick steps backward until he was by Lucile's side.

"Why didn't tell me you were here for the mutating technique?" Hal asked.

Lucile frowned,

"First, I don't see why I should tell you anything. And second, I don't know what you are talking about." She said.

Hal nodded with a sigh,

"Of course you don't. Of all those on the scene, I am sure you are the only one who genuinely does not care about that mutating technique or any purchase whatsoever but you are not a supplier either."

Lucile looked him in the eye for a few seconds before she narrowed her feline eyes,

"What makes you so sure?" She asked

Hal shrugged,

"Just a gut feeling" he said.

Lucile took a deep breath,

"Alright kid, I'll bite. You obviously are not here to bid for that technique but you still ask for it anyway. You could be an elaborate window shopper but I doubt that. You are after something, I just don't know what it is yet."

"You sound so sure" Hal said with a smile.

Lucile gave a shrug of her own and Hal did not miss the trembling of her breasts,

"Just a gut feeling" she repeated his own line.

Hal chuckled. All through their conversation, Gavin was already giving his announcement but Hal only caught a few words.

Lucile had his total attention and she really intrigued him especially with those feline amber eyes of hers which made it seem like she might be a Dystopian but he could also detect beyond all doubt that she was completely human.

"Do you want me to tell you what I am here for?" Hal asked. "All you need to do is ask"

"If you tell me, I'll just tell the Sheik" Lucile said and focused on the stage where Gavin's announcements continued.

Hal grinned,

"You won't" he said.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Is it not obvious? The Sheik is smitten for you and you are smitten for me. It's an imperfect love triangle"