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Chapter 65 – Joyful, the Savior Has Come (2)
Chapter 65 – Joyful, the Savior Has Come (2)
I never thought Tatarnok Village would still be standing. It’s fascinating.
Back then, I thought it was completely reduced to ashes and would never rise again.
When Linus and I passed by the village, the Demon King’s army had already set it on fire.
We managed to save the villagers, but we couldn’t protect the burning houses.
As I looked at the invitation, recalling those memories, Olysia peeked over the table.
“What is that?”
“Oh, this? It’s an invitation to a village event.”
“What kind of event?”
“A village we saved during the war. They’re asking me to come this time.”
“Really? Then you should go. When is it?”
“This weekend.”
“Perfect timing. I’ll prepare a nice outfit for you. And you should get a haircut. Stop by the salon in the commercial district after work tomorrow.”
“Yeah, yeah. Without you, I’d live like a beggar.”
I joked, and Olysia shrugged her shoulders with a smug look.
Funny kid.
# # # # # # #
“Head Professor! Let’s go play tennis!”
The next day, as I was about to leave work, Lina ran up and grabbed my arm.
Behind her, Anna stood awkwardly, dragged along by Lina.
“Are you swimming in money? You’re just going to lose again today. Besides, I’m busy. I need to get a haircut.”
“Are you going to a wedding or something?”
“Something like that. Let’s play tennis tomorrow.”
“Oh, then we’ll come with you to the salon!”
What’s she talking about now?
Lina hooked her other arm around Anna and said.
“Anna needs a trim anyway. We might as well go together.”
“N-No, I’m fine….”
“What’s fine about it? Come on.”
Anna’s hair was indeed a bit scruffy. She didn’t seem to care about anything except horses.
She was the complete opposite of Lina, who was always neatly dressed.
Speaking of which, about their names—Lina’s real name is Lindus, but she asked people to call her ‘Lina’ because her original name sounded too masculine.
There’s no special connection between Anna and Lina’s names.
“Oh my goodness!”
When we entered the salon in the commercial district, the owner made a fuss, welcoming me enthusiastically.
“Isn’t this the Head Combat Professor from the academy!?”
“It’s my first time here.”
“Even if it’s your first time, who wouldn’t know the Head Combat Professor? Are you here for a haircut?”
“Yes.”
“Please come this way.”
The owner guided me to a chair in the center.
There were several other chairs around, with students sneaking glances at me.
“Professor Anna is here for a haircut too.”
“Is that so? Professor, please have a seat here.”
Encouraged by Lina, Anna reluctantly sat next to me.
A different stylist attended to her, while the owner focused on me.
“How would you like it cut?”
“Just keep it neat, same style as now.”
“You look great already, but this style would suit a handsome man like you.”
The owner showed me a booklet with various hairstyles illustrated in detail.
“Aren’t these styles that are popular with the male students? I’ll just stick with my current style.”
“Understood….”
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The owner looked a bit disappointed but picked up the scissors.
“No, no… Just a little, a very little….”
“Shouldn’t we cut this much? It’s almost summer.”
“No, no, no….”
Next to me, Anna was also having a debate about hair length with her stylist.
The stylist wanted to cut off a lot of Anna’s thick hair, but Anna, who was not ready for such a drastic change, was firmly against it.
After a heated discussion, including Lina, they settled on trimming it and tying it up tightly.
“Professor, you should come more often.”
Listening to the fuss and laughing, the owner spoke while touching my hair.
“Or do you get your hair cut somewhere else in town?”
“I just cut it at home with a razor.”
“Really? Are you serious?”
Seriously. I just swipe the long hair off with a razor.
Olysia freaks out, but it’s convenient for me.
It’s a habit that has been solidified since I’ve reincarnated in this world.
Since joining the army until the end of the war, I couldn’t afford to go to a proper salon, so I just cut my hair roughly. Now, I’m so used to it that I can style it decently with just a razor.
“How does this look?”
After trimming my hair, the owner showed me the mirror. It was indeed neat.
“Looks good.”
“Now, let’s wash your hair.”
The owner washed my hair with warm water, asking,
“How’s the water temperature?”
“Feels like paradise.”
After washing, the owner offered a scalp massage, saying it was a complimentary service for first-time visitors.
Applying a fragrant oil and gently massaging my scalp felt surprisingly good.
“Feels nice, doesn’t it?”
“It does….”
The rhythmic pressing on my scalp was so soothing that I unintentionally drifted off to sleep.
# # # # # # #
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Peptobismol]
[Proofreader – Demon God]
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“Ah, this feels great!”
Emerging from the ice-cold creek water, my entire body felt refreshed and rejuvenated.
“Hey, Linus. Why don’t you join me?”
“I’m fine.”
Linus replied, keeping a vigilant eye on the entrance to the creek from the other side.
“I don’t see any signs of movement yet.”
“Of course not. We’ve been running non-stop for two days. Come on, wash up. If not, you might collapse by morning.”
“Maybe….”
“And you need to wash off the smell to avoid being tracked.”
Linus must have found the logic sound, as he slowly descended the slope, stripped off his clothes, and stepped into the creek.
In the meantime, I got dressed and climbed up to the spot where Linus had been standing, looking out over the direction we had fled from.
“No lights, no aura. They probably think we’re dead and went back.”
“I hope so.”
Linus answered, splashing water on himself.
“We need to make it back to the battalion HQ safely….”
Right now, we were the only two survivors from our platoon, making a desperate escape.
The corps had dispatched a platoon to scout the enemy’s situation, and it just had to be ours.
Our platoon leader was a newly commissioned officer, fresh to the front lines, blinded by ambition.
The previous platoon leader was reassigned after I reported him to the battalion for embezzling supplies.
I initially planned to let it slide, but when he ordered a charge against an ogre vanguard, I had a bad feeling that staying under him would mean a pointless death before even facing the Demon King.
Then we got a new platoon leader, who turned out to be even worse.
If the last one was merely incompetent, this one was both incompetent and greedy.
Before the reconnaissance mission, he inspected our gear and openly declared that we should seize this opportunity to make a name for ourselves.
Ignoring the boundary set by the corps, he infiltrated deeper and discovered a Demon King’s battalion camp. He then ordered a night raid—a suicidal command.
The result was the annihilation of our platoon.
Not the “combat ineffective” kind of annihilation, but complete wipeout.
Somehow, Linus and I managed to survive and were retreating to the distant battalion HQ.
If our insane platoon leader had died near the boundary, we might have reached HQ by now.
We had infiltrated so deeply that no matter how much we ran, the HQ was nowhere in sight.
Judging by the terrain, we might need another day or two.
We should rest today.
There’s no way they’d pursue us this far just to catch two soldiers. We need to sleep if we want to keep running.
“You’re right, Dian. I’ll take the first watch.”
Finding a hollow spot, I piled branches and leaves to lie on while Linus climbed back up the slope to keep watch.
“Alright. Wake me later.”
With that, I hit the ground and fell asleep immediately.
Who knows how much time passed.
“Dian, Dian!”
Linus shook me awake roughly.
“What is it…?”
“A village over there is under attack!”
“What?”
I followed Linus up the slope and peeked out. Indeed, not far away, a small village was engulfed in flames.
It was a village we hadn’t seen earlier because there were no lights.
“Look. It’s the Demon King’s army.”
Linus pointed to the corner of the village where horned figures carrying torches roamed.
We could hear the screams of people fleeing from them.
“They haven’t evacuated yet. How unlucky.”
“Let’s help them, Dian.”
“How? We’re just two, and they look like a platoon at least.”
“If we leave them, they’ll all die.”
That was true, but…
I hesitated for a moment before shaking my head.
If we don’t hold back now, Linus and I might never kill the Demon King.
“Linus, I understand, but—”
“Waahhhh!”
At that moment, a child’s scream tore through the air.
A kid, about six years old, had fallen while carrying an infant on his back.
“Dian!”
Linus grabbed my shoulder.
“We promised to kill the Demon King, but if we ignore this, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life!”
“Damn it, fine!”
Seeing the child shielding the baby with his body, I jumped to my feet.
“Let’s go, Linus! Let’s take out those horned bastards!”
“Professor?!”
As I was about to rush down the slope, someone shook my shoulder.
I opened my eyes to see the salon owner looking down at me.
“What?”
“Did you have a dream? You were talking about Linus and horned something…?”
“Did I?”
As I turned, I saw Anna, Lina, and everyone else in the salon staring at me.