Chapter 258 - What If (6)

After finally prying the Mountain Lord off me, I set the bundle he had delivered on the floor of my hideout.

It was a little bulkier than I had expected, but I thought nothing of it. I might have ordered the stuff, but I wasn’t exactly an expert on it.

RUSTLE.

“...!”

But the instant I saw a clump of hair between the folds of the unwrapped cloth, I regretted my carelessness. The sight belonged in a cheap horror movie, and it made my breath catch.

“Oh... That scared me...”

Two seconds later, though, I managed to realize what it actually was.

This was a wig... right? It was a wig, wasn’t it? Strength slowly returned to my body, which had frozen without my permission, and I picked it up sheepishly. The hairs had been threaded individually into mesh rather than skin, so it did seem to be a wig.

God, that gave me a fright. Breathing a sigh of relief, I examined it closely.

The texture suggested real human hair rather than plant fibers or wool. It was a soft wheat color, without the gleam of gold, and an awkward length that fell past the shoulders but stopped short of the shoulder blades. Instead of broad waves, it had tight little curls that gave it a rather bushy look.

Overall, it was quite unremarkable. Ordinary, too.

But hadn’t I heard that real hair was expensive...?

I felt the wig from various angles. It was a little squashed, perhaps from being packed in the bundle. The strands slipping between my fingers really did seem to be human hair. They were drier than hair in the modern world, where shampoo and conditioner were everywhere, but still soft and silky.

... But seriously, why was this here? I hadn’t ordered a wig. I’d ordered hair dye.

Puzzled, I rummaged through the bundle some more. A rolled-up bamboo mat and several glass bottles of dye came tumbling out.

“...?”

The dye in the glass bottles seemed to be the hair dye I’d ordered. But what was this bamboo mat supposed to be?

I untied the cord holding it shut and checked its contents. A series of characters had been carved into it, slightly crooked but otherwise quite respectable. They weren’t the characters used in the Great Forest, but those of the outside world, which I could read—which the system could translate.

⌈(Opening omitted) ... While carrying out your request, I learned that ordinary dyes are not very effective, while magical dyes are expensive considering how briefly they last. With your coming journey in mind, benefactor, I therefore used the money you provided to procure something else. Of course, you may have wanted the dye for a different reason, so I have enclosed several bottles as well... (Middle omitted) ... You need not worry that purchasing the wig will cast suspicion upon us. A priestess suffering from hair loss was buying one, and there was a spare, which we obtained... (Remainder omitted)⌋

As I read, a quiet warmth began to fill my chest.

He could have simply bought what I asked for without a second thought, yet he’d considered my future needs and found a better alternative...? And he’d even prepared a suitable excuse in case someone caught wind of it—after all, someone could raise objections just because they’d bought a wig around this time?

This went beyond cleverness into wisdom. I was so touched I could almost cry. Truly moving.

“If I’d known...”

Another thought occurred to me as well.

I’d put a million gal in the pouch, thinking the dye might be expensive. Had I known things would turn out like this, I would have put in twice that amount. No, three times.

“Good thing I haven’t had much to spend money on...”

I’d paid for my own lodging, food, and other expenses over the past few months, but that hardly amounted to much. Compared with the sum I’d donated toward one city’s reconstruction, those were trivial expenses.

Meanwhile, the money I’d made selling Biryuho’s corpse and working in Bemurhen totaled an entirely different order of magnitude from what I’d spent.

Paying extra for the wig wouldn’t cause any trouble. I began considering how much more to give him.

“Would two million gal more or less cover it?”

I wanted to ask exactly how much it had cost, but there was no way the Great Chief would tell me. So I estimated the market price on my own. I could only hope the amount exceeded what he’d spent.

RUSTLE.

That settled the question of payment. I placed the wig on my head to see how I looked in it.

So they used clips to secure wigs here, too. Maybe because I’d worn them a few times for theater in college, I had little trouble putting it on. The clips inside the mesh clicked shut, firmly fastening it to my real hair.

“... Hmm.”

Did it look okay? Could anyone tell?

Now abruptly transformed into a brown-haired male character, I studied how different I looked. Whether it was because the gray-and-black combination had been so striking or because I’d relaxed my expression, I did give a very different impression. Though with the eyepatch, the scar by my mouth, and the eyebrows whose color I hadn’t yet changed, anyone who looked closely would probably recognize me at once.

“Never mind the eyebrows. Can’t I do something about my eyes...?”

I could use dye to do something about my eyebrows and lashes. Unlike an entire head of hair, they wouldn’t need much, and even if the result was a little patchy, it wouldn’t be very noticeable.

My eyes, however, were another matter. Hair color, eye color, and disabilities were especially conspicuous identifying features.

“An eyepatch and mismatched eyes both stand out far too much.”

If I took the patch off, my eyes were different colors; if I left it on, it drew attention. At least, contrary to what people thought, my right eye wasn’t completely blind... I could take advantage of that and play a little trick by moving the patch from my right eye to my left...

But how far would such a flimsy bit of misdirection get me? Changing my eye color was still the best solution.

Wondering whether there was an item that could do that, I ran my fingers over the scar by my mouth. Designing the character had been fun, but now that I needed to hide my identity, it was a tremendous nuisance.

My eyes, the scar by my mouth... How could I hide them well enough to deserve a pat on the back?

“... Should I add more scars?”

I wasn’t very good at applying makeup, so powder wasn’t much of an option. Maybe covering it with something like a burn scar would work better.

The problems were that being discovered like that would make going on the run even harder, and that I’d never once seen this body develop a new scar.

“...”

Was I going to have to live with this anxiety everywhere I went? Hiding my identity was this hard even in a world without CCTV. How did criminals in the modern world have the nerve to pretend to be someone else?

With one obstacle after another looming ahead, I rubbed my face. The joy of finally being able to hide my demonic energy had vanished, replaced by helplessness once more.

“... First, let’s buy a left eyepatch and some clothes.”

Still, one thing was certain. Each obstacle I overcame would make it easier to gather information.

I did my best to picture that hopeful future.

* * *

【“How does it make any sense to lose just one item out of all those goods?!”】

【“... I have no excuse.”】

【“Then give me a proper explanation instead of something anyone could say! An explanation!”】

Ekua watched the commotion that had resulted from his and the Mountain Lord’s decision to obtain a wig for their benefactor.

【“With all those supplies purchased outside and all those people assigned to guard them, how could the wig alone go missing?!”】

【“We have no idea either. Truly.”】

【“If the escorts don’t know, who does? Well?!”】

The bald priestess was shouting at the top of her lungs, unable to contain her disappointment, while the warrior chief who had led the supply escort stood cornered, drenched in cold sweat.

It wasn’t an unpleasant sight. Even after Ekua became Great Chief, that bald priestess had made trouble at every turn, unwilling to surrender her power. The warrior chief in charge of the escort was her faithful ally and subordinate.

【“Now, now. Please calm down.”】

Of course, he did feel a little... just a tiny bit sorry.

After all, it wasn’t as though the warrior chief had lost the wig because he lacked ability.

He was simply up against the wrong opponent. The one sent from our side to steal the wig was none other than the Mountain Lord—"Me! Me, me, me, me! I'll do it! Let me do it! Come on, that's my lifelong dream, ain't it?"

Whoever had been assigned to the escort would certainly have lost that wig. Though, of course, Ekua himself had appointed this warrior chief to lead it, knowing exactly what would happen.

【“All the other goods are untouched, yet the wig vanished without a trace. Surely there must be a reason. Perhaps the forest abhors things made from shorn human hair...”】

【“How does that make any sense?! You might as well say it abhors all outside goods!”】

【“But the other goods didn’t disappear.”】

Who told her to buy a wig now, anyway? If she had stuck to her usual refrain—no contact with outsiders, the forest would be angered, absolutely not—and bought nothing, she wouldn’t have suffered this loss.

【“Th-then couldn’t the escorts have stolen it?! Shouldn’t we investigate everyone in the escort party?!”】

【“... That is slander!”】

【“Hmm... It is certainly not impossible...”】

For that reason, Ekua wondered whether this incident was proof of the forest’s protection. Indeed, a single wig had helped his benefactor, sown division among the conservatives, and even inflicted financial damage—apparently, she’d spent a substantial part of her fortune on it. If this wasn’t the forest’s blessing, what was?

[“Great Chief! We’ve got a problem!”]

【“... Mountain Lord?”】

While the meeting—or rather, interrogation—continued, the Mountain Lord poked his head in. Hearing the words “a problem” from the Mountain Lord himself sent the priestesses into a panic before anyone else. The case of the vanished wig apparently left their minds in an instant.

【“Mountain Lord, we shall...!”】

[“Oh, no, not that. Just the Great Chief needs to come.”]

【“Mountain Lord, why take only the Great Chief? Let us come too!”】

[“If I say no, I mean no. Or do you think you’re someone special? Is a priestess talking back to me?”]

A few words from the Mountain Lord were enough to make the priestesses shrink back. The Great Chief postponed the meeting until tomorrow and followed him with a spring in his step. As he left, he saw the bald priestess and warrior chief looking ready to tear each other’s hair out—ah, since one of them wouldn’t be able to do that, perhaps he should say grab each other by the collar—and it rather improved his mood.

【“What did you wish to see me about?”】

[“Sir Knight says he’s leaving. What are we going to do?”]

Since the Mountain Lord had kept all the priestesses away, Ekua had expected this to concern Black Thunder Snake... but was it time already?

He pondered the man who tried to leave at every opportunity. Unfortunately, this time there was no excuse to hold him back.

“I don’t know what we could use to keep him here any longer. It seems we have exhausted our reasons for making him stay.”

He couldn’t claim to understand the Demon Knight’s circumstances well. But he did know that the moment the man stepped outside the Great Forest, he would no longer be able to rest easy. That was why Ekua had wanted to let him stay here as long as possible...

[“So we really have to let him go...”]

“We have no choice. All we can do is pray that his path will be smooth.”

Having switched languages as a precaution against eavesdroppers, Ekua lowered his head.

He hadn’t even had a proper conversation with the man, and already they had to send him off. Having no grounds to stop him didn’t make Ekua any less upset. If he could keep him here, he certainly wanted to.

[“Even if you pray, I can’t grant it...”]

“That’s true.”

The Mountain Lord grumbled at the mention of prayer. Although he was the center of the Great Forest’s faith, he had no such divine authority.

He lowered his head dejectedly, while Ekua raised his.

[“Then maybe Ancestor...?”]

[“I can’t answer prayers either. The Creator might.”]

Then, hold on. Yukkwi joined the conversation. Having regained some strength over the past few days, he could now swim through the air under his own power. Neither knew when he had approached.

[“Though even with that ability, the Creator isn’t one to grant them...”]

[“Huh?”]

“... The Creator?”

But what mattered now wasn’t Yukkwi’s sudden arrival. It was what he had said.

The Mountain Lord and Ekua looked up. The Creator. That was a term found only in the teachings of the Temple, which held sway in the outside world.

Is It a Problem if the Protagonist Is Obsessed with Staying in Character? (Serialized Edition)

Author │ Hae Inseol

Publisher │ Kim Juhyeong

Published by │ J-ple Media Co., Ltd.

Marketing │ Han Jaehyeok

Address │ Suite 204, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daeryung Post Tower 1)

Email │ [email protected]

Website │ http://blog.naver.com/jayplemedia1

ⓒ Hae Inseol 2022

※ This work is published by J-ple Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder. No part of its contents may be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author. Violations may result in criminal and civil liability.