The harsh winter passed quickly, and spring arrived. In Triste, this season was heralded by green sprouts poking out of the soil and a slight dampness clinging to the trees and plants. With the wedding drawing near, everyone was busy with preparations.
Since the wedding and festival period was expected to be chaotic, additional knights had been dispatched to Triste to help keep things orderly. Prince Axel had ordered them not to intrude upon the slime duke family, so they had set up an encampment and were preparing their own meals. However, I couldn’t just ignore them when they were here for our sake. I had the triplets regularly bring them sweets from the Lakeside Duck Bakery, which the knights seemed to greatly appreciate.
Some of the locals liked to watch the activity at the encampment from a distance, since it was so rare for knights to be dispatched here from the capital. They wanted to bring the knights refreshments too, so I asked Gabriel to let them deliver provisions over several staggered trips. Now, whenever the locals approached the camp, the knights on guard duty would wave to them. It was a very heartwarming exchange.
Tourists were steadily coming in—arriving early to avoid wyvern flight congestion closer to the festival. As Constance reported on the situation, I began to worry about how the village was faring. Gabriel shared my concern.
“Gabriel, can we go check on Chagrin?” I asked.
“If we make it quick, it should be fine...but it would be problematic if we attracted a crowd,” he replied.
The newspaper had recently published a feature on the slime duke. As a result, Gabriel had become a celebrity. There were days when tourists would spot him and flock to him, rendering him stuck for upwards of an hour.
“Why don’t we wear disguises, then?” I suggested.
“Disguises?”
“Yes.”
He stroked his chin. “That sounds like fun. Even changing our hair colors would probably make us look like different people.”
“Indeed, your hair color is quite unique. Would you happen to have any wigs?”
He shook his head. “Come to think of it, I haven’t shown you this trick before.”
“Oh? What trick?”
Gabriel summoned his black slime and plopped it atop his head. He muttered an order, and the slime coiled up before springing into the air with all its might. When it landed back down, flattening on impact, it spread to encompass Gabriel’s head. In the blink of an eye, the slime had transformed into short, black hair. Apparently there was no need for wigs when you had slimes.
“Wow!” I exclaimed. “I didn’t know your slimes could do that!”
It felt kind of refreshing to see Gabriel with short hair. His usual long, pearl-white hair gave him a soft and gentle impression, but this short, black hair made him look tough and fierce. It was amazing how simply changing the length and color of a person’s hair could make such a difference in how they were perceived.
“What do you think?” he asked. “Do I look like a different person?”
“Yes! You look cool with short hair too.”
“C-Cool? Um, I see. Do you prefer this hairstyle, Fran? Or do you like it more when it’s long?”
“I like both. But since you’re a magician, long hair is better, isn’t it?”
Magicians kept their hair long because it allowed them to draw more mana from the earth. I always envied Gabriel because his hair was silkier and shinier than mine.
“That’s true, but if you’d said that you preferred my hair short, I would have cut it,” he said.
“You don’t have to go that far. You’d be wonderful no matter what you did with your hair.”
Gabriel blushed, the redness reaching his ears. I didn’t think I’d said anything that embarrassing, though.
“Fran, you would probably say that even if all of my hair fell out,” he said.
“I’m sure I would. When I say you’re wonderful, I’m talking about what’s inside, not outer appearances.”
“Th-Thank you.” He cleared his throat and changed the subject, his face still flushed. “Erm, would you like to try changing your hair color too?”
“Can I?”
“Yes, of course. Which color would you like?”
I’d have to choose from Gabriel’s other tamed slimes—the colored ones, to be precise. There was the light-red Wibble, the blue slime, the yellow slime, the red slime, the green slime, and the milk-white kaolin slime.
“I admire people with light-red hair,” I said. “The color looks cute.”
“Wibble, then. What about the length and texture?”
“I’ve always dreamed of having waist-length hair that’s soft and fluffy like cat fur.” My hair was thick and straight. Though I curled it with an iron every day, it would always revert to being flat the next morning. I couldn’t maintain that light and airy hairstyle.
“Very well. Wibble, can you do that for Fran?”
“Leave it to Wibble!”
Wibble jumped onto my head and transformed in accordance with my request. I watched my locks become soft, wavy, and light red, then lifted one in my hand. It felt shockingly natural.
“This is amazing!” I exclaimed. “It’s just like real hair. Thank you, Wibble. My dream’s come true!”
“It was nothing!” Wibble said, its eyes and mouth suddenly appearing on the tuft of hair. I couldn’t help but giggle at the sight.
“Gabriel, how do I look?” I asked.
“Absolutely adorable! But I’m a fan of your usual look too, of course.”
“Thank you. That makes me happy.” Not only had he complimented my new hair, he’d also praised my regular appearance. It felt like getting a two-for-one deal.
“Fran, you might want to wear something more plain to help blend in with the villagers.”
“No problem. I couldn’t bear to throw away the dresses I wore in the old part of town, so I brought them with me when I moved here.”
I was afraid that he might laugh at my poverty-influenced behavior, but instead, he smiled and said, “It’s great that you take good care of your things. I have my own set of clothes for when I’m going undercover, so I’ll wear those.”
Wibble started to giggle. “Wow, going undercover? You sound like a celebrity!”
“Gabriel is a celebrity,” I said. “With all of these tourists visiting, there’ll be chaos if he goes to the village.”
“Will they ask for Gabriel’s autograph?”
“Yes, without a doubt.”
“Um, I’m quite sure they won’t,” Gabriel interrupted.
“You never know. I’d like one, personally.”
“Wibble wants an autograph too!”
“You’re both joking, right?” Gabriel asked.
If Coco were to sell a portrait of Gabriel signed by the man himself, I would definitely buy it.
“Sign Wibble!”
“You already have my seal engraved on your body because of our contract,” Gabriel said.
“Oh, right!”