Chapter 193: Let Me Tie Your Hair

[ Huh? Didn’t I already say I don’t want anything flashy? If I’m going to wear one, then this is the one! ]

With that, Long pointed to a very simple deep crimson ribbon with no decorations whatsoever.

The ribbon itself did not seem particularly expensive either. It had been left casually in a roll, practically being sold off at a bargain price.

"If you like this color, there are other, nicer fabrics too, you know?"

[ This one is fine. ]

Why? What kind of preference is that?

Between Mochi and Long, their tastes were almost ridiculously inexpensive.

Even Mochi’s crown had been a dirt cheap bargain that Mochi had taken a liking to and bought. Though, technically, Mochi had gotten it for free.

Perhaps monsters really did have fundamentally different values from humans.

Still, if Long was happy with this one, Qiu Nuoya supposed they could go with it.

"How long should we make it?"

"Young master, that one’s inexpensive, so we don’t sell it by length."

Qiu Nuoya was surprised by the shopkeeper’s response.

They don’t sell it by length!?

Well, considering how cheap it was, he supposed that made sense. The price attached to the roll of crimson ribbon was only five small copper coins. Qiu Nuoya had no idea how many meters there were, but it was an incredible bargain.

After deciding to buy the crimson ribbon, Qiu Nuoya looked over the merchandise and picked up several decorative cords.

His own hair had grown all the way down to around his waist, so he had actually been looking for something he could use to tie it up.

It was getting long enough to become a nuisance, and he had considered cutting it. But whenever someone told him things like, "Magic resides in the hair," he found himself wondering whether perhaps he should not cut it after all, even if it was nothing more than a superstition.

To be perfectly honest, Qiu Nuoya’s magical power was far beyond what could normally be considered possible, and he knew that the length of his hair had nothing to do with it. Even so, he kept letting it grow because he could not help wondering whether there might be a grain of truth hidden within some superstitions.

"Nuoya, there are plenty of things in superstitions that seem obviously false, but if people have continued passing them down, there is usually a reason for it. Take the superstition that you should not cut your nails at night. It sounds ridiculous nowadays, but back when electricity was not something people had, it was easy to injure yourself when cutting your nails in the dim light. That is why people were encouraged to cut them while the sun was still up. It may no longer fit modern life, but that does not mean we should simply dismiss the wisdom of people from the past."

Hearing those words brought back a memory of his grandfather sitting him on his lap and cutting his nails for him.

Come to think of it, I really was a grandpa’s boy. I always loved listening to him talk like that.

Whenever Qiu Nuoya thought that even superstitions that seemed meaningless might have had some reason behind them, he remembered his grandfather’s words and found himself unable to bring himself to cut his hair.

Even though it was getting a little inconvenient, having long hair was not causing him any real trouble, so for now, he decided to simply keep letting it grow.

Besides, there was no way all that hair could be tied up with a single small hair clip. Since he had already been looking for something to keep it together, finding these hair cords was perfect timing, so Qiu Nuoya decided to buy some for himself as well.

Long’s ribbon was quite long, so they could split it between them and even have matching hair ties. However, Qiu Nuoya felt that red did not really suit his bluish hair. Red was a complementary color, so he did not think the combination would look particularly good.

"Hmm..."

As Qiu Nuoya picked up several hair cords and debated which one to choose, Viktor leaned over to look at what he was holding.

"Are you buying those?"

"I wanted a hair cord, but finding a color that suits my hair is surprisingly difficult."

Qiu Nuoya’s hair was an almost black indigo, an unmistakably fantastical color. Perhaps a similar shade would suit him best. But since these were decorative cords, he felt that choosing something too plain would be a waste.

There were plenty of blue toned colors to choose from, including indigo, sky blue, and purple, but somehow none of them felt quite right.

"Then how about something like this?"

Qiu Nuoya had been considering thicker hair cords that looked reasonably sturdy, but Viktor suggested several decorative cords that were so thin that Qiu Nuoya wondered whether they could even hold his hair together.

However, by taking several strands and loosely tying them together, they formed a reasonably thick cord.

The colors were silver, indigo, and pale blue, and the combination looked quite nice.

"Oh, I like that."

Qiu Nuoya decided to buy the cords exactly as Viktor had suggested.

Even combined with Long’s ribbon, the total cost was less than a single copper coin, making it an incredible bargain.

"Please let me tie your hair later."

After Viktor made the offer, Qiu Nuoya let him tie his hair with the new cords.

The thin silver strands were woven through his indigo hair here and there, giving it a surprisingly nice appearance.

It actually looks kind of stylish!

Of course, Qiu Nuoya had lived his entire life without knowing the first thing about fashion, so he had no idea what actually counted as stylish.

Meanwhile, Long stared at the deep crimson ribbon Qiu Nuoya had bought for him. Qiu Nuoya wondered where he intended to wear it, only to watch Long casually wind it around one of his horns.

He wrapped it around his horn so carelessly that it looked almost like some kind of flag, making Qiu Nuoya chuckle.

As a marker, though, it was incredibly easy to recognize.

Once he finished tying the ribbon, Long let it flutter in the wind and proudly struck a pose.

Qiu Nuoya would never tell him this to his face, but he looked absolutely adorable.