The Effect of Changing Hair Color
Yesterday, after my nap, I practiced earth magic with Dad.
I told him about the walls the teachers had made in the training yard, so he taught me how to do it. Dad even showed me how to make a pitfall together with an earth wall.
“Now, ya wouldn’t be needin’ a pitfall in practice at the trainin’ yard, but it’s mighty handy fer stoppin’ enemies in their tracks.
If ya use the dirt from the pitfall to add onto the wall, ya can make it taller, and havin’ the pit in front makes it harder fer ‘em to get over.
When ya gotta grab some shut-eye in a dangerous spot, dig a pitfall and slap a wall in front of a cave or somethin’—makes a right fine temporary shelter, it does.”
I see—he’d said before that using materials close at hand makes the spell stronger. Recycling the pitfall’s dirt really makes sense.
Turns out, I didn’t need to infuse the soil with mana like I’d done last time when making an earth wall. But Dad said after trying it a few times, he noticed that soil infused with mana is easier to control.
So, I decided to practice by lightly infusing just about the size of a single furrow in a field.
“Same deal as with that Water spell, y’know. Just like gatherin’ up the water round ya, try thinkin’ of pullin’ along the dirt that ain’t infused too, and ya oughta be fine.”
Oh! Right, the dirt around the mana-soaked soil is still dirt. If I drag it along with the infused part, it should move together.
“Earth Wall!”
With the chant, three log-sized walls of dirt popped up one after another. I hadn’t thought about the height, so all three came out the same size. But looks like I can manage multiple at once!
Dad praised me for a job well done, and I flattened the ground again. Then I practiced raising walls of different heights, flattening, and repeating.
The next morning, Dad did up my hair in a half-up style and clipped on the barrette.
“Dad, should I wear this even when I go to the schoolhouse?”
“Reckon so, lil’ miss. Best fer everyone to get used to seein’ ya with this color. Safer fer ya that way, too.”
He explained that since adventurers and merchants could show up anytime, the fact that I hadn’t met anyone from outside the village yet was probably just by chance.
So yeah—my flashy pink hair really oughta stay hidden.
“Wha—!? Vio, your head’s different!”
“Vio? You look like another kid! I nearly didn’t recognize you.”
“Oh my, and your hairstyle’s different too, you look so ladylike and cute. Your pink hair was rare and adorable, but matching Alke’s color suits you nicely as well.”
On the way to school, the black cat brothers ran into me and were completely shocked.
Mrs. Lilium, who was holding a droopy black cat in one hand as usual, gave me a compliment too. Thanks!
“Vio, that pink was real cute. Why’d you stop wearing it?”
“Mm, they said it’s rare, so kidnappers might come after me. So I have to keep it a secret.”
I wasn’t sure how much to explain, but just saying it was dangerous seemed enough.
But Ren’s tail shot straight up like a bottle brush and froze in place.
“Mr. Alke…?”
“We’ll go over the details at the village assembly this weekend.”
“Vio, are you really okay?”
“You mean… you already went through something scary like that?”
“Ah, no, it’s just that there’s that risk. I’m fine right now, really! Thanks for worrying about me. This is just a precaution, okay?”
His tail and ears drooped down with a plop, way too expressive—I had no idea how to handle it.
While I tried to calm Ren down, Mrs. Lilium and Dad were talking quietly. In the end, I walked to school with the black cat brothers. Even when they hissed, they looked more like kittens than anything scary.
At the schoolhouse entrance, the three sheep sisters were also surprised, but once Dad explained, “Y’all best get real cozy with that new color ‘fore them outsiders come traipsin’ through,” they accepted it.
“Okay, I’ll be back later!”
“Alrighty, off you go! I’ll have a good ol’ chat with the teachers, and they’ll get the whole class up to speed right proper!.”
I waved goodbye to Dad and went down the steps with everyone.
Even though folks were surprised, hearing good things about having the same hair color as Dad made me really happy.
“As you can all see, Vio’s hair color has turned brown thanks to a magic tool.
Her original hair color was very rare, as I’m sure you all noticed.
Humans tend to have more variation in hair colors than beastkin, but even so, an unusual color can be considered highly valuable. That makes it something kidnappers might target.
Think of rare monsters, rare plants, or valuable magic tools. Adventurers get sent on quests to obtain those things.
As for magic tools or weapons—those can be found in dungeons. But what about folks who can’t enter dungeons, or who know someone has such a treasure and think they can steal it?”
“Like bandits, right?”
“Exactly. Some people make a living from such crimes. A few years back, it was common for beastkin children to be kidnapped too. Especially in their early years, when they transform easily and are at their cutest—they’d be stolen and kept as pets by humans. Even now, in towns and villages near border gates, there are warnings.”
Just like Dad had said, Mr. Paul gave an explanation at the start of class.
It sounded more serious than I expected, but since the others already knew from home that beastkin children were sometimes kidnapped, they all took it seriously.
Thanks to that, everyone switched into “let’s protect Vio” mode.
It was a little embarrassing, but very reassuring too.
What do you think about this chapter?
