WE TRIED TLS
Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer
Chapter 258 | If (6)
After barely managing to shake off the Mountain Lord, I placed the bundle I’d been given onto the floor of my hideout.
It was a bit bigger than I’d expected, but I let that slide. After all, I may have ordered it, but I wasn’t exactly an expert on this item.
Swish.
“…!”
But the instant I saw a clump of hair through the cloth, I immediately regretted my lax attitude. My breath hitched for no reason as I was confronted with this sight straight out of some low-budget horror movie.
“Ah… that scared me…”
About two seconds later, I was able to grasp what was before me.
This was a wig… right? It had to be one, right? Strength slowly returned to my body, which had frozen up on instinct, before my hand picked it up awkwardly. Judging by how the strands were finely implanted into a mesh rather than leather, it was definitely a wig.
Ah, that seriously scared me. I exhaled in relief and examined it more closely.
The hair wasn’t made from plant fiber or wool but instead seemed to be made from actual hair. It didn’t gleam like gold but had a soft wheat-like color. Its length just barely passed the shoulders but stopped before reaching my shoulder blades. Instead of large curls, it had small, unruly waves that gave it a slightly puffy appearance.
Overall, it gave off a plain, average vibe.
But I’d heard that real hair wigs were supposed to be extremely expensive…?
I touched the slightly tangled wig, perhaps due to having been bundled up. No matter how much I fiddled with it, the strands sliding through my fingers seemed to be real hair. While it felt rougher than modern hair treated with shampoo and conditioner, it was still soft and silky.
…Still, why was this here? I hadn’t ordered a wig, but hair dye, right?
Puzzled, I rummaged through the bundle more. Roll roll roll. A few bamboo rolls and glass bottles containing dye came rolling out.
“…?”
The dye in the glass bottles appeared to match what I’d ordered, but what was with those bamboo rolls?
I untied the string around it and checked inside. Despite the slightly crooked handwriting, letters had been rather neatly engraved inside them. The characters weren’t of the Great Forest, but those used on the outside that I could read—or rather, that the System could interpret for me.
⌈(Excerpt) …During the process of fulfilling your request, we discovered that ordinary dyes aren’t particularly effective, and Arcane dyes are too expensive compared to their durability. Thus, considering our benefactor’s upcoming journey, we used the money you gave us to procure something better. Of course, it might not have been what you were trying to use it for, so we included a few bottles of dye just in case… (Omitted) ...You also needn’t worry about any suspicion arising from the wig purchase. It was a spare left over from a bald priest who bought one for himself… (Omitted)⌋
As I read the text, a soft warmth filled my chest.
He could’ve just purchased precisely what I’d asked for without thinking, but instead, he’d carefully considered my future and situation and prepared something even better…? He even prepared an excuse in case someone got suspicious about this wig purchase—he might get questioned for buying a wig at this time.
He was so smart that I almost felt like crying at the wisdom of his actions. I was genuinely moved.
“If I’d known…”
With that, another thought appeared in my mind.
I’d stuffed a million Gal into the pouch, thinking it might be enough to cover the cost of the dye, but if I’d known things would turn out like that, I would’ve given him two or three times as much.
“At least I haven’t spent much money lately…”
Though I’d been covering my accommodation fees, food costs, and other living expenses over the past few months, they were negligible compared to the amount I’d donated to the reconstruction of that city.
In contrast, the sum I’d earned from selling the Skyflow Tiger’s corpse and fulfilling requests in Bemurchen was on a completely different scale from what I’d spent.
Even if I were to add the cost of the wig now, it would be no problem. I began calculating how much I owed him.
“Two million Gal should be enough, right?”
Honestly, I really wanted to ask exactly how much it had cost, but there was no way the Warchief would tell me, so I just estimated its market price. I could only hope this was close to the amount the Warchief had actually spent.
Rustle.
With that, my thoughts on the wig’s cost came to an end. I placed it on my head to check how I looked while wearing it.
It seemed they used pins to secure wigs here as well. Thanks to my experience wearing wigs a few times for theater in college, I had no trouble putting it on. The pins inside the net locked the wig securely to my real hair with a soft click.
“…Hmm.”
Did it look okay? It didn’t stand out, right?
I stared at the image of myself, now suddenly a guy with light brown hair, and examined the difference. Maybe it was because the contrast with my previous gray and black hair was so striking, or because I’d relaxed my expression, but I looked completely different. Still, the eyepatch, the scar at the corner of my mouth, and the unchanged color of my eyebrows made me worry that anyone who paid close attention would notice something off about my appearance.
“The brows are one thing, but what should I do about my eyes…?”
I could deal with my eyebrows and eyelashes using dye. It would’ve been another matter were a whole head of hair, but just those wouldn’t require much dye, and even if they ended up a bit patchy, it wouldn’t be too noticeable.
However, my eyes were a different story. Hair and eye color were among the most prominent characteristics of someone’s appearance to others.
“The eyepatch and my odd eyes are both too conspicuous.”
If I took off the eyepatch, I’d reveal my heterochromia, but if I kept it on, I’d still draw attention. Contrary to many people’s misunderstandings, my right eye wasn’t actually blind, so… I could do something as silly as switch the eyepatch to my left eye…
But how far could that really get me? The best option was still to change my eye color somehow.
Tracing my fingers over the scar at my mouth, I started wondering if there were any items that could do that. It was fun creating this design when I was setting up my character, but now that I had to conceal my identity, all these characteristics were just a pain.
Both my eyes and the scar. How could I conceal them in a way that would impress anyone?
“…Should I just add more scars?”
I wasn’t very good at makeup, so it might be better just to layer some burn scars over it or something.
The problem was that if I were caught in that state, it’d be even more troublesome running away with that. Besides, I’d never seen a single scar remain on this body so far.
“…”
In the end, was I just going to have to live every day with this constant anxiety gnawing at my mind? Even in a world without CCTV, hiding your identity was this hard, so how did people in the modern world pretend to be someone else after committing crimes?
I briefly rubbed my face, overwhelmed by the problems at every turn. The joy of finally being able to hide my Demonic Energy had completely vanished, replaced again by my mounting despair.
“…First, let’s get a left eyepatch and some new clothes.”
Still, one thing was certain. With every hill I climbed, I’d be able to gather information just a little more easily.
I tried incredibly hard to hold on to that hopeful vision of my future.
* * *
WE TRIED TLS
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【Of all things, how could only one item out of the entire batch go missing?!】
【…I have no excuses.】
【Instead of saying what anyone could, give me a proper excuse! A proper excuse, I say!!】
Ekua silently watched the commotion caused by him and the Mountain Lord offering to procure a wig for their benefactor.
【How many supplies were brought from outside, and how many people were assigned to guard them, and yet how could only a wig disappear?!】
【We truly have no idea what happened. Honestly.】
【If the escort team doesn’t know, who would? Huh?!】
The bald priest was shouting in disappointment, and the warrior captain in charge of escorting the goods was sweating under the pressure.
Well, it wasn’t necessarily an unpleasant sight to behold. The bald priest was someone who’d stubbornly clung to his power even after Ekua became Warchief, and the warrior captain was one of the priest’s loyal collaborators and confidants.
【Now, now. Let’s just calm down.】
Of course, he felt just a little… just a tiny bit of pity for him.
It wasn’t like the wig had vanished because the warrior captain lacked skill, after all.
He’d simply encountered an opponent he couldn’t do anything about. The one who’d stolen the wig was none other than the Mountain Lord itself. “Memememe! I’ll do it! Let me do it! I’ve always dreamed of doing this!” That was how it had volunteered.
So no matter who’d been in charge of the escort, the wig would’ve gone missing all the same. Well, it had been Ekua himself who’d deliberately assigned this warrior to the escort mission despite knowing what would happen, though.
【There must be a reason why only the wig vanished while all the other supplies arrived safely. Maybe the forest just rejected it, since it was made from people’s hair…】
【How does that make any sense?! You might as well say the forest rejects everything that comes from outside!】
【But none of the other goods disappeared.】
Who’d told him to buy a wig at a time like this? If he’d just stuck to his usual rants of not trading with the outside since the forest would be angry and it had to be absolutely forbidden, he wouldn’t have been in this kind of trouble.
【Th-then maybe the escort team stole it!? Shouldn’t we investigate them?!】
【…That’s slander!】
【Hmm… It’s not entirely impossible…】
At this point, Ekua couldn’t help but think this whole incident might be the forest’s blessing. After all, they were able to aid their benefactor, sow discord among the conservative faction, as well as cause them substantial financial loss—he’d heard this priest had spent an outrageous amount on that thing—with just a single wig. If that wasn’t the forest’s blessing, what was?
> [Warchief! Something terrible has happened!!]
【…Mountain Lord?】
At that moment, while the meeting—it was closer to an interrogation—was still ongoing, the Mountain Lord poked its head in. Hearing the word “terrible” from the Mountain Lord’s mouth sent the priests into quite a panic. They instantly forgot about the wig incident.
【Sir Mountain Lord, if you would allow us to…!】
> [Ah, just the Warchief. I only need the Warchief to come.]
【Why only the Warchief?! Let us help too!!】
> [If I say no, I mean no. Or do you think you have a say, Priest?]
In just a few words, the Mountain Lord silenced them again. Thus, the Warchief cheerfully left the meeting and followed him out. On the way out, Ekua noticed that the bald priest and the warrior captain were just about ready to pull each other’s hair—ah, well not exactly, since one of them had nothing to grab on to, so maybe it’s be better to say they were ready to grab each other by the collar—and that sight somehow put him in an even better mood.
【Why did you call me?】
> [The Knight says he’s leaving. What are we going to do?]
Given that the Mountain Lord had gone out of its way to speak to him separately from the priests, Ekua had expected it to be related to the Black Thunder Snake… So, the time had come.
Ekua fell into thought, pondering over what he could do. Unfortunately, they had no more excuses to hold him back.
“I don’t know what more we can use to keep him here. It seems we’ve run out of excuses to make him stay.”
Ekua couldn’t claim to understand the Demon Knight’s circumstances. However, he at least knew one thing: the moment he left the Great Forest, he’d no longer be able to rest peacefully. That’s why he’d wanted him to remain here for as long as possible…
> [In the end, we’ll have to let him go…]
“There’s nothing we can do. All we can do is pray that the road ahead of him is smooth.”
Ekua bowed his head, using a different language just in case someone was listening in on their conversation.
He hadn’t even been able to have a proper conversation with the man, and now he had to send him off. Aside from the fact that they had no more legitimate reasons to hold him back, he couldn’t help but feel disheartened. After all, he truly wanted to keep him here if possible.
> [Even if I pray, it’s not like my wish will be granted…]
“That’s true.”
The Mountain Lord grumbled about prayer, lowering its head. It said that because, despite being the central figure of the Great Forest’s faith, it wasn’t as if it possessed some manner of Divine authority.
While the Mountain Lord sulked, his head lowered, Ekua raised his in contrast.
> [Then maybe, Ancestor…?]
> [I can’t grant prayers either. The Creator might be able to.]
Right at that moment, the Land Turtle, who’d recently recovered enough power to swim through the air on its own, joined in. Neither of them knew when it had arrived.
> [Well, that guy wouldn’t grant a prayer even if they had the power to, though…]
> [Huh?]
“…The Creator?”
However, that wasn’t the most important thing. It was what the Land Turtle had said.
Both the Mountain Lord and Ekua turned their heads. Creator. That was a word you only ever heard in the doctrine of the Temple that was gaining power outside the forest.
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