[X] Barber Jones Hairstyling.
[X] King Aultcray
Okay neat. The interlude will be something I work on right after this update.
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You were drawn to a barbershop. Specifically Barber Jones Hairstyling. You knew you could get service here without getting kicked out due to talking with him about investments earlier but you didn't get a good enough deal to justify the money he wanted you to lend him. You really needed to have someone fix your hair. Especially if you were serious about being in business. The more you respect yourself the more people will respect you as your father always said. "Huh? A customer this late... Oh Yukihime! Welcome, welcome take a seat! I knew you'd come back so I can take care of that mop on your head!" Jones was scarred, like you. He had a prosthetic leg and an eyepatch. More than that he was a big jolly fellow with a well groomed goatee and ironically bald. His main customer base were military veterans so you thought it was just right to go to him for your hair... "Yes, Mister Jones. I think... I think I want my hair tamed from the unruly mess it is right now... Please avoid cutting where you can, I am quite attached to it despite how it looks." It was sentimental, it was just hair after all but you liked your hair damn it. "Haha! I get that one all the time. Though I've never worked on something like this before... I'm going to need to head over to Charlie's Perfume store, he has some special hair treatment stuff he usually uses for his own hair I can buy off him. Sit tight kid, I'll be back." Jones put way too much trust in you, leaving his store unguarded with two relative strangers. You weren't going to do anything though you just thought it was sorta irresponsible. For a moment it was awkward just sitting in silence.
"So... William... Knitting?" You were bad at small talk. "Yes, I used to be really good at it in my youth. Though, when I was on the road there was very little opportunity for it... Now that I'm stationary in a place that sells supplies for my hobby cheaply I can do it whenever I want! Maybe I'll branch off into other parts of clothes making... Sometimes... Sometimes Yukihime, when you're walking towards a goal you start to forget the small things in life. I wish I treasured things like that before now..." Things puttered back into companionable silence. You liked William. He and you were basically on the same level of human interaction both of you able to see much more in each other in small quiet conversations like this. You were incorrect when you saw your father in him, William truly was a type of person you've never met before and you're glad to have met him.
"Huff, ahh... Give me a moment... Phew! I'm back kid. I'm out of shape! But I have the equipment I need." Jones finally came back. You were surprised at the small bottle in his hands, but you reserved your judgement. Things didn't work like you thought it did, the only thing you knew was that you knew nothing. Jones, didn't use magic. In fact you were pretty surprised, seeing the crazy amount of magic users as business owners. "Hey, Jones... Why is there so many magic users running shops?" So you asked him directly. "Oh that? That's easy. There's only a few institutions that professionally teach magic in Melromarc, the fee to enter one is absurd and the competition to stay inside is even more crazy. This creates the problem of 'Hedge Wizards' who fuck around in the countryside using unlicensed magic, and a large amount of people who don't bother to even try to learn magic outside of the craft they want. For example, Alchemy Girl... Pris... Pri.. Alchemy Girl, she was privately taught by Master Ricardo for the longest time before being sent to Melromarc's Magic Academy with the instructions to only learn things that would help in her chosen field. For you see, you only really need to have a year of being a student under your belt in these academies to get licensed for business pursuits. That being said, a lot of people don't bother to go at all and just illegally do magic as Hedge Wizards because it's really hard to enforce the ban even with most of the knowledge being hidden in some castle somewhere." Huh. Interesting. Brush, brush, brush, snip... This is giving you anxiety time for the next topic.
"That makes sense, but what's with all the business owners either being foreign, young or really old... No offense Mister Jones." The more info you get the more you can use it to your advantage. "Well that's simple too. A lot of the younger business folk are bastards, illegitimate offspring of noblemen. A lot of the last generation of businessmen had much of their wealth taken by the crown in the last war, and then the rest of it after the wave devastated the military. It's why there's so many poor folk in the capital, and also why you're slightly popular with the business folks because you got away with the greatest political beat down Aultcray has ever experienced in public. If he wasn't a war hero he'd probably have been experiencing a public revolt by now with how much he's favoring the nobility and the church over us and the common folk." So you just entered the fray in a political entity tearing at the seams in a economic depression. Snip... Snip snip... Brush. "Done!"
That was pretty fast and painless. You looked into the mirror, ignoring your mangled face and bloodshot eyes you looked good. Your hair was well groomed now, and led down to your lower back. You're going to need a brush and some hair ties. You were pretty tired now... "It looks great... How much do I owe you?", "Hah! Nothing kid. The fact that one of the Four went into my shop? I'll profit off that for months. Not to mention kid, it was an absolute pleasure working on that hair." You couldn't accept that charity... "Then allow me to tip you for your good work!" Jones looked apprehensive "I couldn't possibly do that... Keep your money, kid." No. You know what, you'll just conveniently leave some money somewhere for him to take then. So you left fifteen silver on his desk on your way out. You pay your debts in full, to not do so would make you less than an animal.
You got back to the tavern with William and you ate. You forgot to ask to exchange some silver to copper so William had to pay again, but at this point your finances were so linked together that you didn't mind anymore. Just as you were finishing up William asked you something.
"Yukihime, I've been thinking it over for a while. I would like you to become my student."
Do you accept?
[X] I'd be honored...
[X] No thank you.
I'll be working on the interlude.