Rachael had yet to recollect how the day had ended. She knew that time was passing for her at a speed it had never done before.
Usually, Rachael was aware of the passage of time. She liked to categorize her time into different segments and follow a routine. But today was a different experience for her.
Before she knew it, it was time for the day to end and everyone to return home. And this time, Emily did come to pick her back up. She quickly made her way toward Rachael, and Rachael could see her real intentions.
'Perpahs, this is the feeling of excitement I am feeling? The day is certainly passing much faster than I expected it to.'
Before she knew it, Rachael found herself fast-walking through the hallway toward the school entrance, where Emily awaited her.
The elder was currently busy looking around, and she was also dressed head to toe in heavy clothes.
Emily did not want anyone to know she was there to pick Rachael up. Otherwise, people would have a lot of questions about her behavior. She was an unmarried woman, after all.
"Emily, I want you to take me to a hairdresser. I want to get my hair color changed."
Rachael told Emily with a straight face. Emily looked surprised to hear Rachael say these words and worried about the money she would have to spend to do so as well.
"Rachael, I know you want to be fashionable, but we do not have the money to do so. How are you going to afford this?"
Emily asked, but Rachael flashed her a card. The name on the card belonged to young master Adrian, and Emily instantly felt her heart skip a beat in fear. She was afraid that Rachael had done something unforgiving, like steal.
"Why do you have that card with you? Do you know how much trouble we will all be if you do not let that card go? Did you steal it? Huh, did you?"
Emily asked as she shook Rachael around by her arm. She seemed determined to get Rachael to confess her sins. But Rachael halted Emily by breaking free of her hold and dashing about.
"I did not steal this card from Adrian. He gave it to me himself. I am not at fault here."
Rachael addressed this issue as soon as she could, but it was clear that Emily did not believe her words. If anything, she looked even more suspicious than before and hummed in response.
It did not mean anything to Rachael if she was believed or not. All she wanted to do was to live an everyday life.
"Y-You mean that the young master gave you his card just like that? What are you going to do with it? What can we buy with that money? A lot! I-I mean, we should hand this back to the young master."
Emily tried not to let her greed show on her face. But it was evident that she wanted to take hold of the money Rachael had at her disposal.
"I am not handing this money to you. I will change my hair color, and that will be it. I will be giving his card back once I am done."
Rachael admitted, and Emily was sad. She imagined finally having a wealthy lifestyle. But all of it came crashing down for her.
'Tsk, this is the worst thing that could have happened to me. But I could trick this kid into spending more money on me than necessary.
With those thoughts in her head, Emily raised her head again. But unfortunately for her, Rachael saw through her schemes. Every time Emily tried to get Rachael to go into a shop, Rachael pretended as if she did not hear her.
In the end, they both entered the hair saloon that was known as the best in town.
"Welcome, dear customers. What can I get you today? Madam, do you want to get your hair done the same way as your daughter? Green might not be a trendy color, but it is dashing nonetheless."
Rachael had to give it to the professional. He did not even flinch when he noticed her green hair. It was professionalism at its best.
'Or maybe this man thinks I have green hair because I want to follow a trend. I will not put it past people to do such a thing.
"Are you serious? Why would I risk having green hair? It would be like calling myself out and making me a target. Forget it. I am here to get this kid's hair done today. Make it a dull color so she can blend in with others."
Emily requested, and the hairstylist frowned. He looked down at Rachael, asking with his eyes if this was also what she wanted. And Rachael gave him a calm expression that said she did not mind.
Finally, the hairstylist sighed in defeat and asked Rachael to sit beside him. Rachael did so, and the hairstylist got ready to work.
Experienced fingers moved through Rachael's hair, and she leaned back into those comforting hands. It felt relieving to have someone touch her hair like this.
But soon, the hairstylist paused and looked over at Emily with a troubled expression on his face. He looked shocked.
"T-This is…. Is this child naturally green-haired? How is that even possible?"
Despite the people of this world having unnatural powers and the presence of dungeons, natural green hair was what stumped people and made them cringe.
"I know. You can have extra money but need to keep your mouth quiet. Otherwise, your life will be in danger as well."
Emily warned the hairstylist, and the man knew that it was too late to back away now. He had already accepted this job.
Rachael realized as she enjoyed her hair being worked on. A floral scent in the air masked the smell of chemicals and other agents. The parlor people were trying their best to make everyone comfortable.
She did not even know when she fell asleep, but when Rachael woke up the next, she did not recognize herself.
Her beautiful green hair had been turned into a muddy brown shade but retained its original gloss and shine.
"It was hard to make your hair change color. Magic products would not work, so we must use expensive stuff for our hair. I hope you will appreciate our generosity and leave us a big tip."
The shopkeeper was not even trying to hide his greed. He was in a mood to loot an inexperienced child and her caretaker.
Usually, rich children were spoilt and had a lot of money. As a result, they were a mess, and their caretakers generally threw money around to calm the clutter down.
As a result, their shop usually ends up with a lot of net profit.
Emily took the bill and almost had a mini-heart attack. The number of zeros at the end of that bill was enough for her to no longer want to look at it.
"W-What is this? Isn't this a lot of money? Can I get the breakdown for this?"
The person who handed Emily the bill had not expected her to react like this. He was at a loss because this was the first time someone had asked him for the breakdown of the bill.
Not only was he unprepared for this, but he needed to figure out what to put in. The bill was a lot more inflated than it was supposed to be.
"T-These are the advance payments for your next few sessions. You must return once a month if you do not want your hair to fade to your original color."
The person explained to Emily and Rachael. At the same time, he wanted to pat himself on his back for successfully thinking of this excuse.
Emily did not believe him and did not want to pay for this service anymore. But the deed had already been done, and the money could not be refused.
"So, about this bill-"
"We will just pay for this time. We can pay separately for next time.
The hairstylist hissed as soon as he heard Rachael's words. Out of the two people, he had not expected the child to be the main problem for him.
"B-But I am giving you a discount this time! You must return many times to get your hair touched up. To save you money, I asked you to pay it up in advance."
The hairstylist tried to hide his uneasiness. He had never expected to be questioned about his unreasonable prices.
Hearing his words, Emily could not help but agree with him. If paying money now could lessen the price of the overall service later, then it was a good deal.
"Once again, no need. Cut our money for this service, and we will head out now."
Rachael decided to put her foot down and deny this. She had a bad feeling about this deal, so she declined it.
The second she did, the hairstylist looked annoyed and turned away from her. He knew he needed to focus on the adult if he wanted things to go his way.
"My beautiful lady, this child might not understand the importance of saving money. But I am sure that you are not the same as her. I understand why I ask you to pay it in advance. You will not get another chance to make this deal."
Now Emily was conflicted as well. She wanted to take this offer, but she also knew that she could not do so.
"Rachael, we should take this deal. It doesn't sound that bad…"
Emily tried to convince Rachael to follow her will. But Rachael could see through all of what was happening.
They both shared a look and then Emily sighed before paying for the required money. She also kept an eye on the hairstylist so that he would not charge them more than he should.
Rachael was not looked at with envy and ridiculous for her hair color or appearance for the first time that day.
She had an easy and enjoyable time in the park and returned home happy.
As soon as she was back, she knew it was time to return this card to its owner.