Chapter 478 (2/2)

To her surprise, when Dinesh entered, he abruptly straightened and saluted the man. “Ghosthound! Sir, I didn’t expect-”

The man waved his hand, laughing. “Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have minded if you are avoiding me, it’s asking a lot.”

Dinesh shook his head very quickly. “No, it’s truly nothing. I, too, enjoy Neveah’s company. The issue was simply tying up loose ends here, with the relocation of the people from the border areas. If you wish, I will come with you.”

Tanya looked between the two men. As it turned out… the barefoot man and Dinesh knew each other? And based on how they were acting… the barefoot man was in the superior position.

Her hands began to shake slightly as she continued to cut away his hair.

The barefoot man was very still while she cut his hair. “Well… hopefully, it doesn’t come to that.”

There was a moment of awkward silence before Dinesh spoke again. “Oh, yes. Mrs. Hamilton told me to inform you that they have secured the mine and Thorn will be returning shortly.”

Now the man smiled, and when he did so, the whole room became several degrees warmer. “Perfect.”

The two continued to make small talk about topics that Tanya didn’t really understand, but she was happy to have them speak. Although she wasn’t included, the sound of voices in the backdrop was what she wanted. It used to be the View playing on TV, now it was these two strange men.

Luckily, neither of them had a sword.

She also noticed that her Hair Cutting Skill was increasing very, very, very quickly. More quickly than it had all day. Before this man had come, she was at Level 8, and she was now already at Level 15. Dinesh had told her that it would improve more quickly when she attempted more difficult things, maybe it was simply because of how hard his hair was.

After about an hour, she finally finished, and the man stood and went to the mirror to inspect it. Where his hair had framed his face and veiled his eyes before, now it was cut short, just a few centimeters of dark hair sticking out of his scalp. It revealed high, gaunt cheekbones and a strong jaw. But most of all, it cut away everything in his face that hid his eyes. They burned and flashed like fat in a fire, bright and sharp.

When the man turned to thank her, she couldn’t even reply: the force of will behind those eyes caused something primal in her to shrivel up and refuse to move. In this man, Tanya found herself trusting completely, and also giving up completely. Before him, there was no resistance, and that strange submission caused her hands to tremble so hard her bones popped...

After a bit of thought, the man produced a glove with a strange Engraving carved into it for payment, bid them both farewell, and left the shop.

“Who… who was that” Tanya asked, wide-eyed.

Dinesh shook his head, saying nothing.

****

When Randidly knocked on the door, there was a soft laugh, and then an answer. “We both know why you are here. No need to be polite, come on in.”

Randidly walked through the door, his hackles already rising.

She was lovely, of course. In a relatively chaste blue summer dress, her blonde hair tumbling long and wild down her back. It was slightly satisfying to see Lyra blink slightly when he walked in, looking at him.

“You got a haircut,” She blurted out, as he stopped in front of her. “It… It looks really good, Randidly.”

Her tone was warm, and it gave him hope for this conversation. But almost immediately, Randidly had a sudden sense that this was just the calm before the storm; they would not part amicably on this day.