Chapter 39

Relatively speaking, Rodi's mind did not have too many reflections. His attention was entirely focused on dyeing Sally's hair. Because the dye was prone to setting, he was very careful, using his fingers to dye her hair strand by strand, afraid of smearing her cheeks. Thus, he had no time to think about what Sally was thinking.

After a while, Sally, feeling a bit闷闷 (stifled), began to look for a topic to talk about.

"I didn't know hair could be dyed."

"You should know now."

"Will it stay like this forever?"

"A few washes will do."

"…Why are you like this…"

"Hmm—what? How so?"

"Nothing…"

Sally pouted slightly. She felt that this guy sometimes seemed like a block of wood. After some thought, she suddenly asked, "Rodi, what color hair do you like?"

Rodi's movements paused slightly.

"…Red, I guess."

Unconsciously, Rodi had let down his guard around this little girl he had never interacted with before. Perhaps due to the dangerous environment and lack of sleep, he had gradually forgotten about her exceptional intelligence and skills, treating her as just an ordinary girl who only nodded and agreed.

After this unintentional response, Sally was silent for a few seconds, then asked a question Rodi never expected—

"Her hair… was red, right?"

Her.

Rodi's fingers twitched nervously but quickly regained composure.

"Right, it was red, like a bonfire at night, very warm."

This was the first time Rodi had described the mysterious "her" in detail to Sally. The sensitive Sally, looking at Rodi's somewhat melancholic eyes, felt as if her heart was pierced by something unknown.

Rodi did not continue talking about that woman. Instead, he raised his hand and said, "That's it. We'll set off once your hair dries. Now, change into these clothes. I'll turn around and won't look."

After saying this, the awkwardness from a few days ago was gone. Sally silently changed her clothes, but she realized that her trust in Rodi had reached a point where she didn't feel embarrassed changing clothes with him turned away—was this… shameless? Or…

She shook her head, driving the somewhat flustered emotions out of her mind, but she had to admit that when Rodi was in her line of sight, even just his back, she always felt a sense of inexplicable security.

However, when she picked up the clothes, her brows furrowed. "This… seems to be men's clothing?"

Rodi, facing away, coughed dryly and replied, "It's men's clothing… there's a strip of cloth, best to wrap your chest to make it less obvious. You know, that, cough, cough—I'm just trying to…"

"Shut… up!"

Sally's face turned red again. Rodi's silence was better; the fact of having a "big chest" being mentioned made any girl feel a bit awkward. She inwardly cursed, thinking that just when she found him a bit more tolerable, now she had the urge to kick him again…

This guy was impervious to any attempts to make him suffer. How could she make him pay?

Sally thought for a moment, her eyes twinkling with an idea.

She tried to calm down, tightly wrapping her prominent chest with the strip of cloth, then dressed in the entire outfit. Adjusting her expression, she thought about the plan she had just come up with, and with a slight smile, said, "I'm ready."

Rodi turned around, and before him was no longer the girl with long white-gold hair and an oval face, but a "tomboy" with black hair tied up, standing straight.

A brown short coat, a tightly tied waist belt, and long pants tucked into long leather boots—this outfit gave Sally a touch of "masculinity." However, to disguise herself as a man that no one could recognize, Rodi, based on his experience with disguises, began to make adjustments—padding her shoulders with leather, applying a brown grease to her cheeks to make her originally fair skin appear slightly tanned. The detail-oriented Rodi even had Sally apply the grease to her hands, feet, and neck to prevent any slip-ups. He then used a special adhesive made from animal fat to simulate a scar on Sally's cheek.

This scar destroyed the gentle demeanor of her oval face, adding a fierce aura to her previously gentle brows.

Finally, Rodi stood in front of her, reached out, and pulled up the hood at the back of the clothes, gently covering Sally's newly dyed black hair, nodding in satisfaction.

This really looked like a mercenary.

For such a "creation," the tech-savvy Rodi couldn't help but feel a bit proud. Clearly, in his eyes, Sally was not just a girl but an "art piece" like a newly painted figurine.

Rodi circled her several times, muttering about her being "a bit short" and other such things. When he felt it was almost perfect and wanted to say "let's go," he noticed Sally staring at him intently.

Their eyes met.

Sally had a plan, her gaze filled with curiosity and a hint of testing. At this moment, she had no intention of avoiding his gaze. Although she was no longer recognizable as a girl after all the disguises, her sudden "loving" gaze made Rodi shudder!

"Is this… enough?"

Sally deliberately took a step forward, her voice suddenly becoming very gentle—this step brought their faces within thirty centimeters of each other, a distance that only lovers would have.

Rodi, as if under a spell, swallowed hard, his expression slightly distorted, wondering what had gone wrong.

This is wrong, I'm just disguising her, not doing some mind control… Is she schizophrenic? What's with this gaze? It's like a drama!

While thinking this, Rodi had never truly "deeply" looked into a woman's eyes before. This emotional novice was instantly confused, his brain feeling like it had been flushed down a toilet, all thoughts gone…

When he suddenly came to his senses and noticed his body's reaction, he quickly averted his gaze, took several steps back, and took deep breaths.

No, no, no… Damn, my sexual orientation is definitely fine… Why didn't I think about it when she was in a dress, but now, in men's clothing, I have this weird feeling? It's definitely wrong… I'm not gay, what's going on…

Is this girl deliberately messing with me?

Rodi adjusted his emotions for a long time, suddenly thinking of this possibility. He looked up, wanting to say something, but found Sally still staring at him with that serious expression—defeated, he mumbled, "Let's go," and turned to walk forward, feeling depressed.

Behind him, Sally's lips curled up uncontrollably, as she realized her attempt had succeeded!

To deal with a guy who didn't know how to talk to women, all she had to do was stand in front of him and act "loving," and he would "surrender without a fight"—Sally found that this guy, who usually seemed clueless, was actually… a bit "afraid" when facing her up close.

As for the reason? Sally didn't think too much about it. She just couldn't stop laughing in her heart— "For making me suffer before, now you'll start to suffer!"

Sally walked with light steps, her mood seemingly better than ever.

...

Rodi's speed through the Silent Forest was a legend among the adventurers of the Eifert territory, but no matter how fast, he was actually taking a detour—now passing through Kiger Town was to race against time, as the rugged stone paths outside the town were impassable even by horse—the fastest way was to go directly through the town. If he took a detour, the time would not be enough for Rodi to return to Holier City before Francis.

Even though he was confident in his disguise, he was still somewhat anxious—being a ranger, he knew that even with a changed skin color, hair color, and an added scar, Sally's distinctive oval face and demeanor could not change much in a short time.

If it were just simple Condon Fort knights, recognizing Sally would be almost impossible, but the detail-oriented Rodi never relaxed his vigilance… If he ran into Francis himself, he felt that even ten more scars on Sally's face would be useless.

Sally's scent, walking posture, speaking voice, tone, and even any action could reveal her identity to those familiar with her. Rodi would never underestimate the cunning and intelligence of Francis, after all, this young baron, now only twenty years old, had indeed become the Duke of Eifert in Rodi's memories and had withstood the pressure of countless lords in the kingdom for three years, almost staging a successful counterattack!

Although Francis was young, Rodi did not underestimate his intellect and abilities.

So, as he walked through the streets of Kiger Town, Rodi appeared calm but was actually highly alert, carefully scrutinizing every suspicious person. Sally, following behind him, had a straw in her mouth, as Rodi had requested, and was trying to act indifferent.

Kiger Town, as a medium-sized town on the border, belonged to the Tranka Viscount, who was a powerful lord within the Duke Lucifer's territory. To put it simply, the lord of Nolan Village and Finks Village was the Kirk Baron, and the superior of the Kirk Baron was this Tranka Viscount.

Thus, in name, the viscount's position was quite high, and his wealth and power were also considerable. Just like Kiger Town, Rodi could see markets and shops that would never appear in Nolan Village. Although the permanent population was only around a thousand, for the Caren Kingdom, this was already considered a large town.

Leading Sally through the town, Rodi not only paid attention to possible Condon knights but also gradually overlapped the current scene with his memories.