- Shari -

The rest of the time we waited I spent carefully explaining to Myra that Liqu is not going to kill her, she has nothing to fear, as long she doesn't turn hostile, and that I will do my very best to keep that slime in check.

The results were so-so.

But I think I could at least convince her that now that I'm watching over Liqu it's better than when she was running loose.

Finally, the other two are coming back and so the tense atmosphere gets lighter.

They wouldn’t have agreed to leave her with us if they suspected any real danger.

Nonetheless, it is a bit of proof from our side that everything is still fine.

Even Chris was visibly relieved seeing his supposed girlfriend unharmed.

"Myra, did they do anything to you?" (Chris)

"No, it was mostly calm." (Myra)

Yet, while saying that she throws a glance at Liqu; whose previously mentioned killing spree was still affecting her a bit.

God, Myra! Your boyfriend is paranoid!

And now you were acting all secretive and had to say something ambiguous.

Now he will surely ask himself what happened at the time when it wasn’t calm.

I hope he isn't one of those people who follow pre-emptive approaches to things that bother them.

But far more surprising was that Jacob looks also visibly shaken.

I don’t know why if nothing happened.

I mean, he agreed to this.

"What is wrong?" (Shari)

"Never again!" (Jacob)

"What do you mean? (Shari)

"I will never do something like this again! Do you have any idea what looks someone like me receives, when he buys face powder in the wealthier districts?! Especially from the female shop attendants!!" (Jacob)

"Pft-glrb" (Shari)

I don’t know if the rising bubbles are an identifiable sign, but alone the part where I cover my mouth should have been revealing enough for him to realize I was laughing at him.

"Sure! Laugh about the one who you sent through hell for your beauty products!" (Jacob)

"Glrrrrrrbsh" (Shari)

Sorry, but this is just too good!

Imagining him in his fighting attire, still dirty from the journey, surrounded by noble ladies in their fine dresses, completely lost on how to approach the counter with the face powder.

Even slime tears are coiling on the side of my eyes.

"Are you done?" (Jacob)

No sorry; I need a moment longer until I can think straight again.

"N-now. Now it should be possible. S-so despite your… troubles, could you acquire the object you sought under greatest personal hardships?" (Shari)

"Yes sure, here's the box. I took a bigger one considering your… needs." (Jacob)

I take the cylindrical container and open it carefully.

And inside is the white substance.

But before I can apply it, there is another problem.

To set up a working disguise, it's necessary that I at least cover my whole head, since they most likely will order me to lift my hood.

But what I cannot cover with the powder is my hair.

This blue, melted, viscous slime hair.

Just using the powder on it will not work, with how it consists of thick strands.

And it will be completely impossible to shape it into the shape of normal hair.

Thus is simply too complex of a structure.

I should have asked Jacob to buy me a wig in addition.

But I forgot and the three silver for the powder, which I now assume, for Jacob's sake, that this was the full price, left my finances quite dwindling.

So there's simply no budget for something like this.

And straw would look too fake to work out.

Like this only one possibility remains.

One I don’t want to pursue.

One that will hurt my pride as a girl!

Like this, I am contemplating... sigh, and draw my hair inside my body.

Yes, as things are I have no choice.

I will go bald.

Now I can apply the powder.

Well not me, as even if I have a mirror I am still unable to safely cover my whole surface since I can't see everything properly and already need all the concentration I have to prepare my surface for the powder.

The boys are out of question.

But while I believe that I could convince Myra, I would feel bad for the emotional strain this would put on her.

Even more when there is a certain someone who would be just too eager to do it.

"Sigh! Can you help me here, Liqu?" (Shari)

Wait! Wasn’t she like fifteen meters away from me when I last checked?

How did she…

Never mind.

"Just put the powder on my head, without wasting too much." (Shari)

"Yes, yes, yes! I give it my all!" (Liqu)

God, she is practically beaming at the prospect that I'll allow her to touch me.

I simply don’t believe her that she only has a platonic relationship in mind.

Nonetheless, she is far more skilled than I would have thought.

Her movements are calm and accurate, and she is passionately using just the right amount.

Meanwhile, I try to harden the respective areas, as I did with my core membrane or my fingers before, to prevent the powder from just merging with the matter.

It takes a fair amount of time and I start to become a little bit worried if we can get this done before it gets dark.

Finally, she's done.

I instructed her to apply it to the eyes as well, aside from the spot in the middle, to have a little human-looking white there.

This blurs my vision a bit, but I can still see enough to be operational.

Now first I need to confirm if this will even work and ask the humans around as test viewers.

Well, two of them, as I have no nerve now for "You won’t deceive me, creature!" from Chris.

"And?" (Shari)

"I-I think it covers you quite well!" (Myra)

Well, I can't expect more than that.

Since I just want to avoid the monster stamp, looking weird must suffice.

"It could be a problem that you still have no pupils. But I have heard that there are mages who have eyes like this." (Jacob)

I had considered putting pebbles inside.

But my view is already so dulled with that mist of the powder around my all-around view, which I’ve got accustomed to, that having my eyes obstructed with stones would be inconvenient.

As I already stand out that association is not much worse.

So it works.

Yet, two slimes need to get into this town.

And I need now to do something I really would like to refrain from.

"Liqu could you… Damnit, how do you always get this fast behind me? Argh, forget it, just sit down here!" (Shari)

So I begin to cover her too.

Reluctantly I admit, she was better than me at this.

What did you expect?

It’s not like my family had the budget for makeup or even the possibility to obtain it.

And I really don’t know why Liqu is so talented.

After I’m done, a third of the box is empty, and a little sticky.

Nothing I can do about that.

Okay, this has to suffice.

And yes, it is impossible to describe the joy on Liqu’s face when I worked on it.

Something a little bit past "Now I can die in peace!".

After I’ve got the okay from the others for my work, maybe a bit enforced by Liqu who made very clear that she would only accept praise for my efforts on her, we finally tend to make our way to the gate.

Please, let nobody die!