Ch.156Chapter 156

A fragrant scent wafted through the air, tickling my nose. The sound of scissors snipping mixed with the chatter of employees filled my ears.

This was a hair salon, where countless people came to trim and style their hair.

From simple cuts to perms that made hair curly, and techniques for adding waves—they offered everything. They even had hair coloring to change the color of one’s hair, making this place truly deserve the word “vibrant.”

With styles ranging from modest to flashy, there seemed to be no reason for anyone interested in self-improvement not to visit this place.

The catalog kindly showed which hairstyle corresponded to which name. Since it would be difficult to tell just from the names, the pictures helped people choose more easily.

I quietly scanned through the helpful catalog.

“So you can change your hair color however you want.”

I was looking at the hairstyle catalog, while Ouro beside me was browsing through the coloring catalog.

She let out a small sigh of wonder, seemingly fascinated by the idea of pursuing a different color than what one naturally has.

A sigh mixed with curiosity. Ouro’s gaze remained fixed on the coloring catalog.

They were colors you could see anywhere. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Colors you’d see looking around the world.

But when those colors were applied to hair, it felt completely different. Moreover, they didn’t just show the colors—they displayed them on what looked like wigs to directly demonstrate how hair would look when dyed.

“Are you interested in coloring?”

“…Does this change your hair permanently?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

To be honest, I couldn’t give her a definite answer about this.

If we’re just talking about basic beauty techniques, it probably wouldn’t be permanent, but once magic gets involved, nobody knows what might happen.

Ouro stared blankly before looking around. Then she returned her gaze to the catalog.

“It’s fascinating that there could be people whose hair isn’t their natural born color.”

“That’s possible. Just like we don’t always wear clothes of the same color, maybe people want to choose something different.”

The same applied to both colors and styles. There was nothing strange about any of it.

As long as it doesn’t harm others, it’s probably right to consider it within the realm of freedom.

As we sat side by side in the salon looking through catalogs, the Professor glanced at us with a smile.

“Ouro, do you want to try coloring?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure. I like this color.”

At the Professor’s question, Ouro tilted her head. She was just curious, not desperately wanting to try it. She lowered her gaze while touching her hair.

I stared at Ouro for a moment before turning a page in the catalog. This time, the Professor’s gaze shifted toward me.

“Ourr, do you want to change your hairstyle?”

“No, I’m just looking.”

I shook my head since I hadn’t really thought about styling my hair.

I was satisfied with just trimming my bangs and tidying up split ends, as was the original plan. It would feel awkward to suddenly cut my hair short or add waves.

Bob cuts looked pretty, and so did long hair with waves. Since my hair color was different, I even momentarily thought coloring might not be bad.

I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. I told myself not to be tempted by such things.

Since hair doesn’t grow in just a day or two, this hair that took time to grow seemed too precious to cut.

At first, I refused to even cut it because it was Ouro’s body and I couldn’t treat it carelessly.

But after time passed, I became reluctant to cut it because I found it precious. Even though it was completely my body now and I didn’t need to worry about anyone else’s feelings.

“You’re just here for a trim today, right?”

“Yes, just a trim. Oh, looks like it’s our turn.”

I thought we might have to wait longer, but time didn’t wait for me.

The previous customer finished paying and left their seat, and finally it was my turn.

“It’s your turn now. Please sit over there and I’ll trim your hair right away. You wanted a cut, right?”

The employee came over and started guiding me.

I suddenly felt nervous. I instinctively tried to pass my turn to Ouro, but the Professor was gesturing to her as well.

“Huh?”

“Ouro needs to go too. Both seats are open.”

Ouro made a confused sound. The Professor kindly told us that both of us should go and helped us stand up.

I moved with uncertain steps and confused feelings. But I wasn’t left to wander. The Professor’s hand gently pushed my shoulder.

Pushed along, I found myself sitting in a chair facing the mirror.

The plush chair was designed for comfortable, extended sitting. As soon as I sat down, the employee’s face appeared in the mirror.

A pretty woman smiled and held out something like a cloth. With a flutter, the vinyl-like material wrapped around me from the neck down.

As I sat still, the employee brought a comb to my hair.

“Shall I start with combing? Just stay still.”

“Ah, yes.”

I became extremely tense. Since this wasn’t something I normally experienced, it felt unfamiliar and my mouth went dry. I clenched my fists and looked straight ahead, feeling the comb grab and pull at my hair.

“Eek.”

“Keep your head firm.”

The employee placed her hand on my left temple. It felt more like she wanted me to lean rather than pushing, so I unconsciously leaned my head.

I didn’t want to make things difficult for the employee, so I tried to keep my neck stiff.

However, despite my intentions, I couldn’t prevent my head from being jerked around by the employee’s surprisingly rough handling.

Every time she tried to brush through my hair, I heard what sounded like something breaking, which terrified me.

I wasn’t sure if it was because my hair was tangled or if the comb was trying to rip out my hair, but it didn’t seem like a normal sound for hair, and I turned pale.

“Ugh, ahhh…”

“It’s okay, just bear with it a little longer.”

“Th-there’s a strange sound…”

As I was letting out a pale-faced voice, an even louder voice pierced my ears from beside me.

“My hair!!”

It was Ouro’s scream.

Seeing her scream as if attacked by a hair-eating monster, I felt relieved that I wasn’t the only one terrified.

I knew very well that the cause was our extremely long hair that had become tangled beyond proper detangling. It was an obvious truth that required no deduction.

Still, once the combing started, I couldn’t think straight. My eyes watered from the pain.

“Should I go slower?”

“Y-yes…”

The employee carefully asked, probably noticing my grimace in the mirror.

Ouro’s screaming probably contributed to this as well.

After the combing was done, scissors appeared. Not ordinary paper scissors, but ones that looked like they had an iron comb attached.

The light snipping sound seemed weak, but it proved sufficient for cutting hair, so I nodded without much thought.

“It’s quite tangled. If you brush regularly, you can prevent it from getting knotted.”

“…Is it very tangled?”

“It’s not too bad, I was able to detangle it quickly.”

The employee explained in a gentle voice.

Her voice was somehow ticklish to my ears, and I found myself being drawn in.

With one snip of the scissors, my hair fell down. The hair slid down the vinyl cape like a slide and settled on my lap.

Since moving my head might result in an uneven cut, I kept my head still and only lowered my gaze. I could see a bit of hair.

I slightly moved my hand under the cape. When I lifted it, the area where my hand was bulged out. I hesitated before flicking the cape.

The hair that had settled there flew off from my impact and fell to the floor.

“You can shake it off, but don’t flick it like that.”

“Ah, yes.”

I was simply scolded.

I decided to behave and focused my gaze forward.

“All done now. Shall we get up and wash your hair?”

“Huh?!”

“Come on, let’s get up now.”

Wait, when did I fall asleep?

I blinked. My eyelids felt heavy, making my vision still dark, and my mind was foggy. I swallowed the saliva that almost escaped my mouth and looked around.

And finally, looking at the mirror in front of me, I could see myself with neatly trimmed hair.

“…Eh?”

“Do you like it?”

“Uh, yes…”

Though I was still disoriented, I did like this hairstyle.