The Hero's Face Feels Strange
The hero finds his own appearance unfamiliar.
“Hah.”
He rubbed his face with his palm.
He had been lying on the bed for an hour now. The wooden grain on the ceiling faintly emerged in the darkness. It was a mistake to have nodded off in the audience hall.
The word “rejection” had risen to the back of his throat.
The gazes of the soldiers.
“If it were General Arthur, of course...”
“The hero of our kingdom...”
He couldn’t voice it out, crushed by those eyes. It was due to his timid personality. It had been the same in his previous life. He couldn’t return the wrong item bought at the convenience store and just used it. This time, it was a professorship.
He shifted his body.
“Ten years...”
That time, he had been hypnotized at age 14 and skipped in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t that he had personally lived it; it was the 10 years his unconscious had lived instead. It was less about being wronged and more about unfamiliarity.
He moved his fingers. The joints made a light sound. This hand had cut off the necks of dozens of enemy commanders and fought alone in the center of the battlefield to win and return alive, the soldiers said. It was hard to believe this was his hand. Now, this hand was just fiddling with the edge of the blanket.
He looked up at the ceiling again.
Tomorrow, the military would end. Now, he was not a soldier but a professor. He just had to endure for three years. Among people who had never seen him before. A place where no one knew the hypnotized “General Arthur.”
Just thinking that made his breath a bit lighter.
“Yeah. Somehow, it’ll work out.”
He reached out and picked up the military uniform. The clothes to wear tomorrow. Only two sets of military uniforms, and one sword. Those were the spoils of the past 10 years. It wasn’t something to call a burden.
It would have been nice if there was a little more time.
With the money he had earned a lot in the past, he could have gotten trendy clothes tailored. But he didn’t even have time to shop; he was leaving tomorrow.
He folded the military uniform and placed it beside the bed.
***
He stood in front of the mirror.
The 14-year-old him was nowhere to be found. When he raised his arm, the muscles from shoulder to forearm were visible even over the thin shirt. They weren’t thick. They were sleek. Muscles that were not unnecessarily inflated, attached only as much as necessary.
It was the end of the body that people who worshipped fashion muscles in their previous life wanted—obtained for free. Ten years of combat had substituted for exercise.
He took off his clothes.
There were a few scars. A mark like cut by a knife on the left side of his waist. Traces of being stabbed on the back of his right shoulder. Not flesh wounds, but long thin lines left behind. Compared to the “war hero” who had been praised for his 10 years of activities, his body was healthy without major wounds.
His face was fine.
His skin was still milky and transparent. It was hard to believe he was a human who had rolled under the sun all day without sunscreen. Whether it was genetics or some magic in this world.
The face in the mirror was unfamiliar.
It was different from the face with plenty of baby fat that the 14-year-old him remembered last, which was relatively plump. The jawline was sharp, and the nose bridge was straight. The black eyes looked a bit dry, but that rather gave an impression of indifference. A face that didn’t seem to look at people well.
The annoying thing was the messy hair.
The bangs poked into his eyes, making his vision stuffy. The back hair reaching his shoulders showed that he hadn’t properly groomed it in the battlefield. In this state, it was troublesome.
“This is a bit...”
Many men said that men are judged by their hair. In the academy, there might be a situation where he meets someone and has a happy life, or his ideal type might appear, so he needed a little preparation.
He tidied up his appearance roughly and left the room. A soldier was standing in the hallway. It was the same soldier who had guided him to the audience hall—the one who was ecstatic when he said one word.
The moment he saw his face, he bent his waist 90 degrees.
“General! May I ask where you are going?”
“General Arthur” was described as a taciturn person who doesn’t speak much. If so, it was better to keep pushing. He shook his head left and right.
The soldier’s shoulders slumped.
“Ah... yes...”
He turned his steps as if he didn’t know. Sorry, but if I speak, the existence called Arthur in your fantasy will die miserably.
***
The 3rd floor hallway where he went to the salon was quiet.
The sound of footsteps echoed on the floor. When he opened the door at the end of the hallway, a sweet fragrance pricked his nose. It was so rich that it was hard to tell if it was flower scent or perfume.
From inside, a slender voice came out.
“Oh my, soldiers can’t use this place, can they?”
The man standing in front of the mirror scanned him. Slender eyebrows. Multiple rings on his fingers. It was the type that put a lot of strength into each angle of bending the wrist.
It seemed that the salon inside the royal palace was a space that soldiers couldn’t use. Probably because it targeted nobles or royalty, it couldn’t be helped. Just as he was about to turn his steps, his voice caught him.
“According to regulations—”
His gaze stopped at his waist.
There, the martial arts badge given by the king himself was shining. Grade 1. A badge awarded only to those who achieved the greatest contribution in war. A design with a black leopard engraved on a gold background.
The hairdresser’s eyes widened.
“That badge, grade 1 martial arts badge...?”
The voice rose half an octave.
“If a soldier received this badge at this time... could it be, could it be that you are General Arthur?”
He took a step back.
It was instinct.
He approached with sparkling eyes. When he stepped back, he closed half a step. The speed was fast. No time to avoid.
“Whoa, why! From the back to the thighs, you look so firm!”
“...”
“Have you come to get a haircut! Come sit here quickly!”
He grabbed his shoulder and pushed him into the chair. The feeling of fingers probing the shoulder muscles gave him goosebumps. This man moves his hands too slowly.
“The top hairdresser of Leon Kingdom, Serdieng! I’ll make a hairstyle that will satisfy the general!”
Each tone was in the opposite direction of his taste. But he couldn’t refuse. The skill to refuse without hurting the other person. He hadn’t read that book yet.
He closed his eyes.
He resigned himself.
Snip, snip, snip.
The sound of scissors echoed towards the ceiling. Serdieng’s fingers lifted each strand of his hair. The cutting was unhesitating. Occasional exclamations came out in between.
“Hmm... huum...”
He tilted his head and twisted his wrist. The scissors flashed.
“This is...!”
It seemed he had found something. The cutting became faster. He kept his eyes tightly closed. He decided not to think about anything. Only the feeling of hair falling on his shoulders.
How much time had passed?
“...Completed.”
Serdieng took a deep breath.
“My life’s masterpiece!”
He opened his eyes.
The man in the mirror was looking at him. The messy hair was gone. The side hair was neatly arranged, and the top hair was grown to an appropriate length and combed back. The bangs were left only enough to slightly cover the forehead.
It was similar to the style called “Guile cut” in his previous life. The details were a bit different. He had sharpened around the ears more, and the back of the head line had more curves. In this world, it would be quite an advanced style.
The unfamiliar face felt a bit tidied up.
“Very perfect! A perfect hairstyle that suits the general’s perfect appearance!”
Serdieng clasped both hands behind him. His face was flushed red beyond the mirror.
“This is—”
He got up from his seat.
When he took out his wallet, he vehemently shook his hands.
“No no! I can’t receive money from the general! If I receive money from someone who protected our kingdom, I’ll receive a heavenly punishment!”
His eyes sparkled.
“Instead, if you become my fiancée and entrust your hair to me for the rest of your life—”
He shook his head.
Saving was good. But a long-term contract with this man was out of the question. He didn’t have the courage to endure the admiration pouring out with those eyes for three years every time he touched his hair.
“Rejection...”
Serdieng’s shoulders slumped. Then he raised his head.
“But! If other people can’t be moved by this hairstyle either, that would be a greater sin! General, after washing, you must definitely—”
He stepped back.
“—apply a small amount of oil with your palm—”
Two steps.
“—the bangs must be raised upward—”
Three steps.
He opened the door and came out to the hallway. The voice was still coming from behind, but he didn’t slow his steps. After all, men dry their hair with natural wind. Styling is done by delicate people.
He preferred natural hair as a person who pursues casualness.
***
From outside the wall, the sound of singing was heard.
It was the way back to the room. Through the hallway window, the street view was visible. Torches were lit, and people were gathered. The whole city was bustling with the news that the war had ended.
“Father!”
“Hubby——!”
Someone’s cry was heard. A soldier was running to his family. A woman who seemed to be his wife buried her face in his chest while crying. A child clung to his legs. The soldier lifted the child up, and wrapped his arms around the woman’s shoulders.
Was this scene what I protected?
The hypnotized me wouldn’t have fought while thinking of this scenery. I just moved like a machine. Still, the warmth of this street reached his chest as if made by his own hands.
The troubadour’s song was heard.
“General Arthur—— cutting through the enemy lines——”
“Cutting off the neck of the enemy country’s commander——”
It was burdensome that his name was mentioned there. He moved away from the window. He walked faster. The song grew smaller.
He returned to the room and lay on the bed.
You worked hard, unconscious me.
Tomorrow, I leave for the academy. The next three years, I have to act as a professor among people who have never seen me before. But at least, they are people who don’t know me. A place where no one knows the past “General Arthur.”
“By the way...”
He had no confidence in teaching.
But he had to deceive them.
If he was caught, he might have his wealth taken back by the king. For his happy retirement life, for the next three years, he would act as the me who was hypnotized.
He closed his eyes. Today was the last night as a NEET.