As her brain tried to make sense of that Tanya considered herself She was a veterinary school drop out who had started cutting hair to pay her way through school When the stress became too much she stopped attending classes but not stopped cutting hair to pay for them
To her surprise Dinesh seemed much more interested in the hair cutting than she would believe
Although it seems stupid no one who was here really cut hair before the System came Dinesh said And most of the people who did are in Franksburg I think we can get you set up pretty easily
And so he did It just all happened so quickly
Day 1 A green skinned man tried to eat her
Day 2 She was moved around like a refugee
Day 3 She told Dinesh she can cut hair
Day 4 He showed her to her new sop if she wants it
Day 5 She spent the entire day cutting hair
And holy fuck she was exhausted
After the middle aged man finished belting on his sword and left the shop Tanya looked around There was a pile of money and assorted gifts she had gotten from people on the table which she went to One of them was a bottle of liquor given to her by a local brewer or something which she numbly cracked open on the wooden table She took a long swig
Two sweet for a beer too smooth and oddly light for actual liquor It seemed to be strawberry wine but it was light and fresh and tasted like spring The sweetness was reserved too something that tasted natural rather than artificial corn syrup or something
She took another long sip smiling She looked around at her strange new temporary home This wasn’t so bad was it
It was only after the door opened and the bell rung softly that Tanya realized she hadn’t put up the closed sign
Chapter 478
Setting the bottle down on the table Tanya turned to regard the man who walked into her shop The first thing she noticed about him was his feet they were bare
The man scratched his head awkwardly H hello I uh just want my hair shorn off
Sighing to herself inwardly Tanya nodded and smiled Better be positive about it Of course please have a seat Ah
There she stumbled Very quickly she had been told that they didn’t really have US money anymore Instead they used a local currency This seemed fanciful to Tanya and she distrusted it Although it was silly in a way she much preferred the gifts that people seemed very willing to give her in exchange for the haircuts
I Tanya searched around for the words The man’s face was darkening for some reason which caused her anxiety to spike making the words even more slippery Um I would it be okay to pa to pay in goods I’m new here so I don’t
The man frowned tilting his head to the side His eyes were sharp and emerald and quite beautiful New
Yes She stammered To t town I uh was in the border place that just opened up
Oh Oh That’s fine I can pay in goods The man said blinking His strange coldness faded away as swiftly as it came That made Tanya anxious about him in a different way It wasn’t an enjoyable prospect to be in an enclosed space with a man who experienced such rapid emotional changes but she would accept it for now
She pointed to the seat Sit How much do you want off ’
All of it Well most of it The man said sheepishly His hair was almost to his shoulders thick and black Tanya sighed in jealousy shaking her head at her own mousy brown curls
I haven’t gotten a haircut in a long time The man admitted It just hasn’t seemed important
mm Tanya hummed at that It was probably true After all if there were monsters around there was no doubt that dealing with those were more important than getting a haircut But it seemed the town they were in right now was a bit weird but it was safe enough Tanya had only seen a few places and that was when she was too shellshocked to notice much so she had a timid curiosity about the place
They lapsed into silence as Tanya began cutting the man’s hair It was surprisingly difficult Tanya frowned at the hair This was literally the toughest hair she had ever encountered Not impossible with the magically sharp sheers Dinesh had provided for her but very very difficult
So Tanya said hoping to fill the heavy silence What do you do
What do I do She could feel the man frown
Like your job Or did you get a Class from the Village I really don’t know much about Tanya trailed off It abruptly struck her how strange these past several days had been She couldn’t find words to articulate all the things she didn’t know or understand what happened In so many ways she just wanted to ignore the changes and pretend nothing had happened
But every time she thought about that she remembered the crooked yellow teeth in that monster’s smile
Oh Um The man seemed to think about that He thought very hard about it for almost 20 seconds taking enough time that Tanya began to sweat Immediately she remembered that this man was barefoot
Cursing herself for bringing it up Tanya cast her mind around looking for a good transition Unemployment still exists dummy ’ she reprimanded herself It was a good reminder that without Dinesh she would be whisked off to some city miles away
Well I believe I’m going to become a sorta Scout Explorer type The man said finally Tanya’s expression brightened feeding off his positivity
Exploring That sounds amazing I’ve always enjoyed nature Are you excited to be gone
Again the temperature in the room seemed to shift abruptly downwards as the man frowned well no I would prefer to remain But I don’t believe I can in good conscience
When Dinesh opened the door almost exactly after the man had finished Tanya wanted to do a dance of relief A familiar presence was just what she needed with this moody man
To her surprise when Dinesh entered he abruptly straightened and saluted the man Ghosthound Sir I didn’t expect
The man waved his hand laughing Don’t worry about it I wouldn’t have minded if you are avoiding me it’s asking a lot
Dinesh shook his head very quickly No it’s truly nothing I too enjoy Neveah’s company The issue was simply tying up loose ends here with the relocation of the people from the border areas If you wish I will come with you
Tanya looked between the two men As it turned out the barefoot man and Dinesh knew each other And based on how they were acting the barefoot man was in the superior position
Her hands began to shake slightly as she continued to cut away his hair
The barefoot man was very still while she cut his hair Well hopefully it doesn’t come to that
There was a moment of awkward silence before Dinesh spoke again Oh yes Mrs Hamilton told me to inform you that they have secured the mine and Thorn will be returning shortly
Now the man smiled and when he did so the whole room became several degrees warmer Perfect
The two continued to make small talk about topics that Tanya didn’t really understand but she was happy to have them speak Although she wasn’t included the sound of voices in the backdrop was what she wanted It used to be the View playing on TV now it was these two strange men
Luckily neither of them had a sword
She also noticed that her Hair Cutting Skill was increasing very very very quickly More quickly than it had all day Before this man had come she was at Level 8 and she was now already at Level 15 Dinesh had told her that it would improve more quickly when she attempted more difficult things maybe it was simply because of how hard his hair was
After about an hour she finally finished and the man stood and went to the mirror to inspect it Where his hair had framed his face and veiled his eyes before now it was cut short just a few centimeters of dark hair sticking out of his scalp It revealed high gaunt cheekbones and a strong jaw But most of all it cut away everything in his face that hid his eyes They burned and flashed like fat in a fire bright and sharp
When the man turned to thank her she couldn’t even reply the force of will behind those eyes caused something primal in her to shrivel up and refuse to move In this man Tanya found herself trusting completely and also giving up completely Before him there was no resistance and that strange submission caused her hands to tremble so hard her bones popped