Dason, reincarnated into a dubious world that counted its years by the Imperial Year. But he felt relief at the fact that shower facilities existed even in this age.
Whooosh......
Streams of hot water beat against his skin. Dason doggedly scrubbed away the grime and grease that coated his whole body. Pushed along by the current, the filth that had reeked of rot was sucked down into the drain.
Squish, squish.
Working his fingers between the strands of his hair to get the grease out, he sniffed.
'Smells nice.'
Gulp.
Swallowing, Dason washed his hair with a special liquid said to be made by alchemists. A soft lather bubbled up and soon covered his head.
Tap, tap.
When Dason came out of the bathroom shaking off the water, Kemen was standing in front of the door in an awkward posture.
"Young Master......"
Kemen bowed his head slightly in greeting, then bit down hard on his lip. He seemed moved by his master's act of declaring that he would bathe on his own.
'A guy who showered once a month says he'll wash every day...... No wonder he's shocked.'
Inwardly, Dason understood Kemen. It was a sight the Dason of old could never have shown, after all.
Swipe.
Steeped in the freshness of a bath, Dason smiled lightly, picked up a pure white towel, and began to dry his hair. Only now did he look like a person.
"I have brought a skilled hairdresser. I will show you the way at once."
But Dason's transformation was only beginning. Now that his body was clean, it was time to shave his beard and cut his hair.
***
Following Kemen's lead, Dason headed from his room on the 7th floor to the 4th floor.
That was where the hairdresser Kemen had brought was waiting, so they had to go down the spiral staircase to the lower floor.
'No such thing as an elevator, huh.'
The medieval-style winding staircase was like something he had seen in textbooks or at European tourist sites. It was a structure designed to make it easy for those above to defend against enemies.
Clack, clack, clack.
As he went down the stairs, a thought suddenly came to Dason.
'Come to think of it...... he said he'd send me to the Demon Realm Forest.'
The Demon Realm Forest. It was a land inhabited by notorious demonic beasts, and the very thing that threatened the safety of the empire and the kingdoms. The Count, Dason's father, had threatened to exile him there for his offenses.
'He said they'd work me as a soldier first if I went there...... The odds of surviving the Demon Realm Forest as a common soldier.'
Gulp.
When his thoughts reached that point, he could not help swallowing. Because.......
'They say barely one in ten makes it back alive.'
Setting foot on that land was no different from a death sentence. A gruesome end would surely be waiting for him.
Tap!
Just then Kemen, walking ahead, came to a stop and spoke.
"Young Master, we have arrived."
When Kemen opened the door, the hairdresser who had been waiting inside came into view. She was a woman in a black robe, her long, straight purple hair hanging loose.
'That's...... a hairdresser?'
Dason looked at her with puzzled eyes. That was because, no matter how he looked at her, she did not seem like someone who trimmed hair.
Just then, a soft purple radiance began to pour from the woman's body. The mysterious light wrapped every corner of the room and shimmered beautifully.
"It is an honor to meet the young master of the time-honored House Arhan."
She offered a polite greeting in a soft voice, but no sincere respect could be found in the woman's eyes. She was merely observing the formalities.
'That's professional courtesy for you.'
Dason smiled bitterly to himself. Nobody was going to look up to him, infamous as the worst trash under heaven.
"You probably don't remember, but we have met before."
"Pardon?"
"We ran into each other on the street some time ago. I remember that you looked at the color of my hair and mocked me, Young Master, asking 'What kind of crap color is that?'"
The woman's words left Dason bewildered. It seemed that he and this woman who had come as a hairdresser were tangled in an ill-fated history.
Flash!
For an instant, a sharp light sparked in the woman's eyes. The humiliation of the past came back to life and kindled an ember of anger. The purple radiance that had been so beautiful shimmered slightly.
Gulp.
Dason swallowed hard without realizing it. The air was taking an ominous turn.
'Just how much vile behavior did this bastard go around getting up to?'
He rummaged through his head, but the memory the woman had mentioned did not come to him.
But the chance that she had lied was slim.
After all, how boorishly he had usually behaved was etched vividly into Dason's memories. He had surely spat out such abuse while drunk.
"Um...... I am sorry."
Unable to just stand there, Dason bowed his head and offered a heartfelt apology. It was a wrong committed by the body's original owner, true, but now that he himself had become 'Dason', there was no escaping the responsibility.
"......?"
But had she not expected Dason to apologize in earnest? The mana that had been wrapped around the woman's body wavered, and her pupils widened, seized by surprise.
"I may not remember it well, but given the way I used to behave, I am surely the one who was in the wrong."
Dason was bowing his head and apologizing with all sincerity. He was humbly admitting his fault and asking for forgiveness.
"Is the world ending today or something?"
An absurd remark burst from the woman's mouth. She had judged this to be a situation in which the continent splitting in two and the sky falling would make sense.
"Ahem."
Just then Kemen, who had only been listening from the side, cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Since the Young Master is apologizing in this way, would you consider forgiving him at this point?"
He gave the woman a slight look and quietly urged a reconciliation. In any case, he seemed to want to tell her that Dason's attitude had changed a little.
"......Understood. Let's leave the small talk here. It's time to see to your hair now."
In the end, the woman lifted the corners of her mouth and nodded. Suddenly seized by fear, Dason hurried to sit in the chair and entrusted his head to her.
***
The haircut ended only after a little over 30 minutes had passed.
"......You truly are remarkably skilled with your hands."
As soon as she finished her work, the woman took her fee from Kemen and left without a word. She had received an apology, but it seemed she still did not care to stay long in the same space.
"Are you satisfied, Young Master?"
"It's more than that. I'd have to say I'm completely impressed."
That aside, the haircut was superb.
Dason looked at his reflection in the mirror and let out an exclamation.
"Wow......."
For fine hair that shone gold and blue eyes that suited it well had come together, and he could feel that he had been reborn as a young master of delicate, handsome looks.
"I'm handsome."
He had the kind of tall, striking looks that anyone would fall for at first sight.
"It is very good to see you praising yourself."
Kemen quietly lifted the corners of his mouth at Dason's muttering.
"Young Master. What will you do now? Both your body and your hair are neat and clean."
With that, he asked about the next item on the schedule. By rights, as a son of the noble Count's family, Dason ought to have been attending lessons to build a basic education.
But Dason had shown the clear makings of trash from birth, and so he had long turned his back on such schooling.
Ding-a-ling!
[The Musical Genius's system presents a Quest.]
Just then, an alien message appeared in the air. It was a change that had come about when Kim Han-su's soul settled in Dason's body.
[Quest: Play the old piano in the antique storehouse and send a resonance through Kemen's heart.]
[Reward: A mysterious change comes over the old piano.]
"What is this......?"
Dason saw the translucent screen unfolded before him and blinked eyes gone round with surprise. That was because the content of the Quest that had popped up out of nowhere was beyond all common sense.
"Young Master, is something the matter?"
Seeing him unable to hide his fluster, Kemen asked worriedly.
"Ah. It's nothing."
Dason waved off Kemen's question. He had no intention of bringing up the Quest. To do that, he would first have to explain that he was a person from 21st-century South Korea, after all.
"Come to think of it, was there a piano at the antique shop?"
Kemen answered Dason's question with a puzzled look.
"A piano? You do not play instruments or anything of the sort, Young Master."
As he said, Dason had always been a man who would not so much as glance at any instrument at all, let alone a piano.
"Ah, I just thought I'd have a look at one."
"Hmm......."
Kemen tilted his head and studied Dason with a suspicious eye.
"Your conduct seems so very different today, Young Master. It is as if you were an entirely different person."
"Huh?"
"You bathed of your own accord, and just now you even apologized first to a skilled hairdresser...... It is far too different from your usual self."
At Kemen's words, Dason felt his face burn. Without his realizing it, a chill shot down his spine.
'Don't tell me I've been found out?'
In his head he knew Kemen had only been joking, but for a moment he was struck by a sense of crisis, a fear that his identity might be discovered.
"Haha, even so, nothing could make me happier than this change. I am deeply moved, for it seems you are finally showing yourself as a young master should."
Fortunately, Kemen burst into laughter and cleared up the misunderstanding. Dason, his tension gone, managed an awkward little laugh as well.
"As it happens, I was just about to buy a new clock at the antique shop myself. Let us go together."
And he headed for the antique shop together with Dason.
***
The old antique shop was located within the castle walls. Although it was not that far in terms of distance, Kemen decided that he and Dason would travel by carriage.
Jingle, jingle.
With a clatter of hooves, the carriage sped along the road inside the castle. Dason cast his gaze out the window and took in the castle scenery. Kemen's voice sounded in his ears.
"By rights, we ought to be accompanied by the escort knights. However, because you insulted the Aura Knights last night, Young Master...... they are unwilling to move without a direct order from the Count."
"They're Father's escort knights. Is that allowed?"
"In principle, they are men who serve the Count alone, after all. Had it not been for His Majesty the Emperor's command, they would have accompanied the Count to the imperial palace this time as well."
Kemen continued his explanation with a wry smile. Dason sank into thought with his hands resting on his knees.
'Well, getting around without an escort is more comfortable anyway.'
Being free of a bothersome restraint was not such a bad thing.
Before long, the carriage came to a stop in front of the antique shop. With both feet on the ground, Dason looked up at the old-looking building.
'So the old piano's in there.'
He seemed lost in thought for a moment, and soon he made his way into the shop with Kemen.