“Oh, Gods! Wow! This is like the best grilled chicken I’ve ever tasted!” Charlie said, biting into his piece of grilled chicken with a watering mouth.

Yuu, who heard it, went into a bragging mode, and proudly exclaimed, “Masterfully seasoned with seven exquisite spices, grilled to perfection over the perfect campfire—The ultimate grilled chicken! It’s the definitive food for a camp night out.”

“Seven spices? You must’ve splurged,” Charlie said, still chewing. “I never knew that the Royal Merchant traveled to the great sea forest too. They usually travel to the South, instead of the North after visiting all the royal capitals.”

“Royal Merchant, what? No, I was kidding. It was only salt and pepper. The ratio is secret, though.” Yuu picked up his piece of grilled chicken without biting on it. “Either way, what do you want to say again?”

“Oh, right—” Charlie quickly finished the chicken piece in his hands before telling his story. “I assume you haven’t heard of this because you came from beyond the Great Border Wall, but half a year ago, the whole Three Kingdoms celebrated when High Saint Yumeko X received a prophecy from the Great Goddess Lumina, foretelling the arrival of a hero from another world to fight against the rising power of the Demon King.”

“I see. A hero from another world is coming, but how is that related to what you want from me? You don’t actually think I’m that hero or anything, do you?” Yuu said, deflecting. He was that hero. He just quickly figured that if his identity as the hero were revealed, word would spread like wildfire, bringing countless problems his way and putting his freedom at risk.

"However, that’s only what the public knows," Charlie continued, sidestepping Yuu’s question. "What they didn’t know is that separate, more personal prophecies were given to the candidates for the hero’s companions. These prophecies detailed the hero’s appearance, along with the exact time and location of the small village where the hero was supposed to descend."

“No way…”

“Problem was, just yesterday’s morning, when the candidates gathered in the small village to wait for the hero’s descent—a sudden, massive mana explosion erupted in the Great Sea Forest, presumably from the direction of the Demon King’s Castle.”

"Ah… is that why those knights and soldiers were heading out in waves to the Great Sea Forest? To look for the hero?"

“Yes and no. They’re scouting parties sent by the nearby lords. Officially, their job is to verify what happened with the Demon King and his army after the explosion. Finding the hero is more of an added bonus. Although, I doubt they’d find anything, even if they were actually trying.”

“Why?”

“Stop being coy. Silver hair. Red eyes. Very fit body, especially compared to the average body type of those from beyond the wall. I know you’re the hero the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“I see. You must be one of those hero’s companion candidates.”

“Yes. Let me reintroduce myself, my name is Charles Pappardelle, the seventh prince of… Delle… Kingdom…”

Shit… The sleeping herbs worked on him, but still… shit…

Yuu had drugged Charlie by applying sleeping herbs to the grilled chicken beforehand. It was a precaution—just in case Yuu’s suspicion about him was right, and Charlie turned out to be a scammer. The sleeping herbs were meant to keep Charlie from stabbing him in the back while they slept. But the problem was, Yuu never would have drugged him if the thought of Charlie being a member of royalty had even crossed his mind.

Charlie was now out cold, sleeping uncomfortably on the ground. Seeing this, Yuu decided to move him inside his tent.

Afterward, he returned to sit by the campfire, resolved to keep watch throughout the night.

***

Leaving Charlie to sleep comfortably in the tent, Yuu entered Tiada Castle-town the first chance he get when morning came. His first destination was the barbershop, which he found near the central plaza of the town. His objective was to disguise himself after he heard that

The place was still closed when he found it, so he knocked on the door. There was no immediate response, so he knocked some more. Moments later, a grumpy old grandma answered the door, voicing complaints out of nowhere.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“I told you, Gregory. You can’t just come in so early in the morning; I haven’t even—oh? Who are you?”

“Has the shop opened yet?”

“You came too early.”

The grandma promptly swung the door shut, but Yuu caught it midway. She squinted up at him, her face twisted in a scowl.

“I’d pay double—Triple!”

The grandma sighed, giving up under Yuu’s look of desperation. She opened the door gently for Yuu to come in. “What do you need?”

Yuu stepped inside the store, and his first impression was humbling. The barbershop had only one room. It was quite small and cramped compared to modern Earth's standards, with only one main seat for the customer in the middle of the room and a long wooden bench on the side for those waiting. Surrounding the main seat was a simple dresser in front and a cabinet on the far wall. The dresser was filled with well-maintained barber tools, along with a bronze mirror resting on top. The cabinet was cluttered with jars of salves, small bottles of oils, and a couple of baskets of dried plants, filling the air with the aromatic scent of soap, oil, and herbal remedies.

Yuu took in his surroundings, settled into the main seat, and asked the grandma, “Is it possible to dye my hair here?”

Hearing the question, the grandma clicked her tongue, irritated. “Tsk. Of course, it is. What kind of barbershop wouldn’t be able to dye some hair. Tsk. So, what, you want to change your hair color? Such a waste. Natural silver is quite rare and in demand these days.”

“Yeah, that’s why I want to change my hair color to black, Grandma—” it took Yuu a second to remember the name of the barbershop “—Rose?”

That moment of hesitation irritated Rose even more because caring for a customer so early in the morning who hadn’t even bothered to read her name on the sign was hardly her ideal start to the day. Fortunately for Yuu, she believed that money was money, and with Yuu offering to pay triple the usual price, she decided it was worth her time. “Alright. Tsk. Do you want a cut, too?”

“Of course.”

“Do you have the money?”

“Yeah,” Yuu said, pulling out a pouch full of silver coins from his dimensional storage, and showing it to Rose.

“Great Tsk. Let’s do the cut first, then we go to dye your hair black, alright?”

Yuu only nodded in response. Hearing Rose click her tongue so much made Yuu wonder if she was genuinely irritated or if there was something uncomfortable stuck between her teeth.

***

It took about an hour for Rose to neatly cut Yuu’s hair and apply the dye he’d requested. Despite her grumpy exterior and the occasional tongue-clicking noises, she worked with surprising precision. Her hands moved skillfully, cutting Yuu’s hair with high precision using her scissors and comb. She also covered every strand of hair with the dye, transforming his ragged silver hair into a neat jet-black style. Looking at his reflection in the bronze mirror, Yuu couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed with the end result.

“It will take a while for the dyes to dry. Tsk. Go sleep or whatever.”

As Yuu closed his eyes, waiting for the dye on his hair to set, someone slammed the barbershop door open.

“Ah-ha! I found you, you bastard! How dare you drug—ow! Ow!”

It was Charlie. However, before he could finish his sentence, Rose came rushing in, wielding a broom to chase him out.

“You youngsters, always causing a fuss so early in the morning! Can’t you keep it down for once!”

So she said, beating Charlie into a metaphorical pulp with her broom.

Yuu, who witnessed the scene, could only hold back his laughter and said, “Gr-Grandma—can you stop the beating? I know him.”

***

Charlie came out of the beating unscathed. Granted, it was just a broom, but looking back on how seriously Rose was swinging it, he should have had a small scratch or two.

I suppose there’s a reason why the Gods chose him to be one of the hero’s companion candidates. He sure can handle a beating or two.

“Thirty-six silver coins. Tsk.”

As soon as Yuu’s hair had dried, Rose approached him to ask for payment. And instead of giving Rose the thirty-six silver coins she asked for, Yuu handed her a gold coin.

“Here. Keep the change,” Yuu said before walking out of the door while dragging Charlie out. He whispered to Charlie, “Let’s talk outside.”

Rose, silently watching the duo walk out the door, clicked her tongue and pocketed the gold coin in her chest pocket. “What a bunch of rowdy kids,” she muttered under her breath.

***

Outside, Yuu and Charlie couldn't have a serious conversation because they noticed a crowd gathering in front of the Central Plaza podium. To avoid drawing attention, Yuu pulled a hooded robe from his dimensional storage and handed one to Charlie, urging him to wear it as well.

They approached the crowd, keeping their faces hidden under their hoods, and discovered that the lord of the town was about to make an announcement.

It all seemed like a spectacle to Yuu, until two familiar, skinny kids walked onto the podium in shackles, accompanied by several other children, all bound in the same way.

***

[ Starting Quest: Save the Children! ]