(EP-121.2) Hunting #1
121 – Monster Hunt #1
Seeing the two women snarling at each other, I had an uneasy feeling for the time when I would eventually reveal the truth.
If possible, I should announce it during their pregnancy. Because, at that point, there was no more turning back.
Someday, they shall fall at my feet and work hard for the revival of the Angmar Family!
Plots were brewing in my mind.
"Hey, what are you giggling about? Huh?"
Elga suddenly smacked me on the head.
An ugly shriek escaped my mouth. Meanwhile, Mirna protectively hugged me and shielded me from Elga's further attacks.
"What are you hitting him for? He'll have lumps on his head!"
Of course, Elga just snickered without paying much attention to it. But Mirna's next words shook Elga.
"Blood, there's blood!"
"…What? I didn't hit you that hard, did I?"
Elga seemed extremely flustered at Mirna's words that blood was coming out of my head. Trembling uncontrollably, Elga swiftly took me away from Mirna's embrace.
And so, Elga peered closely at the top of my head.
She was checking through my hair and was really hands on, trying to find any problem. Then her brows suddenly wrinkled.
"What, this is not blood. It's just red hair."
I was actually more surprised by this.
"What? What did you just say?"
"Your hair, it's got some red. It's just the roots, though."
I was startled and quickly got away from Elga and Mirna.
"Excuse me-. I have some business to attend to."
"What? Where are you going? We agreed to have breakfast together!"
"I packed lunch. And, I need to attend the Ancient Dead Language lecture-."
Elga and Mirna shouted something behind me, but I couldn't stop moving my legs.
Skipping my first lecture, I went straight to the infirmary.
Just in time for work, I saw a woman in a white gown with long red hair tied back.
Her languid eyes behind the intelligent glasses and healthy bright red lips were exquisite.
"Oh my, who is this? Come on in."
Kalira, the spy, assassin, and nurse that I planted in Ark.
The Young Miss of the fallen Skull Family welcomed me and opened the door to the infirmary.
"What brings you here? Are you here as a patient? Or, as my employer?"
I sat in front of Kalira's examination table and urgently asked.
"Can a person's hair color change?"
"Can hair color change? What do you mean? Please explain slowly. You should calm down first. You're sweating…."
Her words made me realize that I was overly agitated. So I took a deep breath and calmed myself down.
At the same time, I felt the distractions leaving my mind.
"So, now tell me. What happened?"
Kalira Skull put her cool palm on my forehead, "No fever," and asked a question.
Hearing this, I said to her.
"It's not actually bad, but there's a weird thing going on. Look at my hair."
I showed Kalira my hair, which made her mutter, "Um-?". Then Kalira started to chuckle.
"Your brown hair has some reds on it. It's cute, just like the autumn leaves in a field."
"Exactly. My hair is turning red. Do you know anything?"
The assassin Kalira was knowledgeable in human anatomy and medicine.
So when I asked her what was going on, she paused for a moment as if lost in thought and asked me a few questions.
"You didn't eat anything special, did you? For example, you didn't ingest precious substances such as an elixir or ginseng that could change your constitution?" ʀÂ𝐍𝐎ᛒÊS̈
An elixir that could change the constitution.
"If there is anything I can remember, it would be the antidote."
"Ah, the antidote that I gave you when we first met."
Seemingly recalling our first meeting, "Huhu-. How time flies," she said with a chuckle.
She looked bewitching, which made my lower abdomen twitch, but that was not important right now.
"Did this happen because of the antidote I took back then?"
"There is a chance. Hair color is easily affected by magic. Perhaps the magic circuit that had been damaged by the poison was restored and is now affecting your hair…?"
"It's possible. It's not uncommon for young Mages to experience changes in hair color during puberty. As magic flows through their bodies, they may manifest inherited traits from their parents."
Hearing her explanation, I nodded in agreement.
I think I'd heard something similar before.
Like one's hair suddenly turning curly after entering puberty due to hormonal changes.
"It's only a little, but the red looks nice. There aren't many red hairs like mine in Angmar…. Perhaps your mother or father had red hair. Or maybe even a more distant ancestor."
It was probably my father's side.
The brown hair was most likely from my Nymph mother.
To think that I was showing the traits of my nonexistent parents just right now.
Meanwhile, unaware of my concerns, Kalira comforted me.
"It may look a little strange now but that's only because it's only the roots that's red. Don't worry, it'll normalise into all red with time. Then it won't be strange."
But that was not comforting to me at all. If anything, it just created more tension.
A Mage with rare red hair and had a fast progress on magic.
It was no different from advertising myself as a descendant of the Demon King.
"If you really don't want the red, I can dye the roots."
"Great. As expected of Miss Kalira, very quick-witted."
"Well, you have to be if you want to survive in the underworld-. Alright, please sit here."
Kalira then wrapped a tablecloth around my neck like a makeshift bib.
Then she pulled out various tools and quickly mixed up a dye that matched my dark brown hair color. She dyed my hair with quick, efficient strokes.
The dye felt itchy and was really threatening a sneeze out of me.
"How long will the dye last?"
"Um, about a month, I think? Your roots will continue to grow red."
In the end, it sounded like my hair would all turn red someday. I guessed there was a limit to what could be covered by dyeing it.
It felt like I was just taking my time leisurely before, but now, the hourglass was turned upside down and the sand was falling fast.
Which is why before my identity got revealed, I needed to win over all the Young Ladies of the big families as soon as possible. I needed to step it up!
I didn't have much contact with Belhawk, and Aira was too high ranked of a mage like me to deal with….
Meanwhile, Kalira continued to paint my hair as I was lost in thought.
"By the way, I have something to report to Theo-nim. Last time, you told me to investigate that strange party."
"Ah, I did. Did you find anything about the man called Guide?"
"Yes, this is what I heard from the priestess of that party."
Kalira proceeded to narrate a fairly long story.
Even I was quite surprised upon hearing this revelation.