What is "tsundere"?
What does "backtrack" mean?
What is he talking about?
Valentina blinked in confusion, looking innocent and untouched by the baptism of knowledge.
Lately, she's been suspecting that she might have been locked up for too long, already unable to understand the language of the outside world.
Just as the Hungry Dragon was puzzled, Herbert continued asking, "Dear customer, do you have a preferred hairstyle? Longer or shorter?"
Valentina's mouth twitched, responding casually, "Whatever you like..."
"Whatever, huh? People who say this are the hardest to deal with."
The hairdresser, Master Herbert, pouted helplessly, picked up the scissors, and mumbled, "Since you say that, no regrets later."
Since you've entered, you won't have any say now.
This shop takes no responsibility for any consequences!
Snip.
Accompanied by the subtle sound of the scissors' blades rubbing and squeezing, fiery strands of hair gently slid down.
Though Herbert gave a disclaimer earlier, he wasn't an idiot who acted rashly without preparation.
As the Duke's second son, Herbert didn't know how to cut hair, but the poor guy from his previous life, who struggled alone in the world, was quite familiar with scissors.
His skills weren't top-notch, but it was enough for giving haircuts to himself and friends around him.
The scissors danced behind Valentina, while she took small bites of the last chicken leg.
Learning her lesson from last time, she now enjoyed the process rather than finishing everything at once.
Not long after, just as Valentina was about to bite off the bone she had cleaned, her shoulder was gently patted.
"This won't be shared with you!" She alertly turned around, then directly crushed the bone and swallowed it.
Crunch crunch, gulp.
Herbert: ???
"Who's going to fight you for that?"
He sighed wearily, waving his hand, saying, "Turn around, I'll trim the front for you too."
"Oh."
Seeing the excessively obedient Giant Dragon lady, Herbert couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, feeling an irresistible urge to place his hand on top of her head and give it a rub.
"Hmm?"
Valentina looked up, confusedly gazing at the young man, expressing her puzzlement, and... threat, through her eyes.
What are you doing?
At this critical moment of survival, Herbert seemed to enter a special state.
At this moment, he clearly understood what he should and shouldn't do!
Without changing his expression, he continued to rub her head, earnestly saying, "... Don't talk, I'm thinking about how to cut."
Valentina instinctively felt it was strange and carefully scrutinized his eyes, but in the end, found no flaws, merely responding with an 'oh'.
"Oh... Hmm?"
Thud thud thud.
The distance between them was very close, and Valentina could clearly hear the strong and rapid heartbeat inside the young man's chest.
"I say, why is your heart beating so fast?" Valentina's eyebrow arched, squinting as she asked, "What are you afraid of?"
With the flaw exposed, it seemed like everything was over.
But Herbert was very calm, even somewhat exasperatedly replying, "I'm afraid if I cut wrongly, you'd get mad at me again... Okay, don't move, it's almost done."
Snip snip.
With the last decisive and brisk motions of the scissors, Herbert completed his artistic creation.
He stood up, stepped back, squinted to observe, then nodded in satisfaction.
"Hmm, not bad, my skills are really not bad!"
"Just as I thought, this look suits you very well."
?
Looking at Herbert's strange smile, Valentina felt a bit creeped out and quickly asked, "Hey! Don't just stand there smiling, talk! What do I look like now?"
"Don't rush, don't rush, let me show you."
Herbert took out a prepared mirror and placed it in front of the Giant Dragon lady, proudly saying, "Ta-da—"
Valentina initially wanted to grab the mirror, but the moment she saw the person in the reflection, her expression turned blank.
"Ah..."
The current Valentina was like a completely different person from the earlier vagabond style; the previous messiness could no longer be seen.
Her mid-length red hair draped behind her, with a few fringes falling across her forehead, making her look wild yet retaining a softness.
This kind of beauty, bright and slightly heroic, would surely turn heads remarkably on the streets.
It's hard to say if she'd break men's hearts, but she'd likely break women's hearts.
If a video were posted online, those little sisters would probably either be scrambling to call her sister or rushing to shout mom.
"Is this... me?"
Valentina shook her head in disbelief, muttering, "Is this really me?"
She had seen her human form before, didn't dislike it, but definitely didn't like it as much as her dragon form.
She always believed she preferred her majestic and powerful dragon form.
But now, looking at herself in the mirror, her conviction suddenly wavered a bit.
"Of course it's you, and this is your true form."
No makeup, no special effects, how could it not be your true form?
Herbert handed the mirror to her, smiling, "This mirror is a gift for you, as a thank you for your cooperation. You can look at yourself every day and admire your beauty."
"Ah... hmm."
Absentmindedly, Valentina accepted it, her gaze fixed on her reflection, remaining still for a moment.
Meanwhile, Herbert took the opportunity to gather all the hair.
"Alright, got the materials!"
Suppressing his excitement, Herbert didn't let his guard down at this moment, taking a wet towel and approaching Valentina.
"Okay, admire later, let me wipe the hair off your face first."
To play the full act, one can't reveal anything at the last moment.
Valentina blinked, stunned for a second before coming to her senses, instinctively declining, "No need, I can do it myself..."
Can't she just burn off the hair with a flame? Why so troublesome?
Valentina wanted to dodge, but Herbert wouldn't let her escape, directly thrusting the wet towel in front of her.
"Alright, don't worry about it, just close your eyes."
"You... mm!"
A slightly cool towel unceremoniously pressed against her face, then began rubbing up and down in circles.
↑→↓←
The technique was not gentle, even a bit rough, but the Giant Dragon lady didn't flinch, cooperating unusually obediently.
→→↓←→↓
For it was her first time receiving care from someone else.
She closed her eyes, silently murmuring a name in her heart.
"Herbert..."
.
.
After finishing Valentina's haircut, Herbert didn't proceed to the next section but directly took the hair and left the prison.
Instead of continuing to earn others' goodwill, he decided to deal with the somewhat tricky materials first, at least clean them—after all, these were going to end up in his mouth.
This time, to avoid potentially awkward situations, Herbert didn't head straight to the kitchen to wash them, instead choosing the most secluded well in the monastery to fetch water.
However, before Herbert could get close, he suddenly caught a familiar scent, and his expression changed abruptly.
"Oh shit..."
"How did I run into it again!!?"
With a heavy heart, he looked at the grass carp by the well, his mind echoing with one phrase—
"Bro, your craft, you play it really well..."