Roaring Heroes Battle the Overlord (Ainz)

Chapter 121: The Battlefield

In a remote town, Barrett carried a small jar of dye and a few wood combs, walking over the cobblestone streets that were lightly dusted with snow, heading towards the outskirts of the town. EeDeChi was waiting for him there.

The two adventurers had trekked for several days, and the winter was already three-quarters over. The raging blizzards had finally subsided, and the merchants, who had huddled indoors, slowly began to open their snow-covered windows, sweep the snow from their doorsteps, and resume their winter business.

Inside a general store, Barrett sold some of the spoils from his recent monster hunts, including fur, teeth, bones, and magical sacs. At the same time, he bought two pairs of leather boots lined with fleece, three maps, and a jar of golden hair dye, which he now carried in his hand.

He bought the boots because after the long journey, his shoes had worn out completely, the heels completely gone. As for the hair dye, that was Barrett's idea. Dyeing EeDeChi's noticeable black hair golden would probably help with their disguise.

Turning down a narrow path, Barrett met up with EeDeChi, and the two squatted in the desolate outskirts to begin their transformation. Barrett mixed the hair dye with water, then dipped the comb into the liquid before applying the golden dye to EeDeChi's hair.

Barrett had once been a wanted man, so although his hair-dyeing skills were rusty, they were still serviceable. After a while, the dye dried, and Barrett picked up a long-handled wooden comb to style EeDeChi's hair, making it stand up straight, to alter her appearance further.

EeDeChi picked up a mirror to check out her new look.

In the reflection, her previously sleek black short hair was now a striking golden color. Perhaps due to the setting agent in the dye, each strand of hair stood up straight, as though it were a burning golden torch. Only a small lock of hair hung down on her forehead.

"Is this... a Super Saiyan?" EeDeChi turned her neck and looked around in the mirror.

"How's it look? Pretty cool, right?" Barrett was pleased with his handiwork. Though he didn't understand what "Super Saiyan" meant, he could tell that, after the hairstyle change, EeDeChi's appearance had drastically transformed at first glance.

"Eh, it's fine," EeDeChi wasn't one to care much about her looks. She tossed the mirror to Barrett, and the two of them packed up their things. They spread out the map again to confirm their direction and headed toward a nearby forest.

They would pass along the edge of the forest, bypass the Nightwhisper Town marked on the map, and head in the direction of the Slane Theocracy.

...

The winter forest was eerily quiet, the black tree branches broken under the weight of the snow, crossing each other in tangled patterns. The snow on the ground still hadn't fully melted, and two sets of disordered footprints stretched deeper into the forest. But these footprints didn't belong to EeDeChi and Barrett.

"The prints are still fresh," Barrett crouched down to examine them closely. "From the size and the patterns on the soles, I'd say it's a man and a woman."

"Why are their steps all over the place?" EeDeChi asked, confused. The two sets of prints looked like a group of lost ants crawling around in a mess.

"They might be fellow adventurers," Barrett speculated. "They're probably working together, one ahead and one behind, scanning the area as they go."

Barrett stood up and gazed deeper into the forest. "There's something important in there, I can feel it."

Normally, Barrett would have followed the footprints to investigate, maybe see if he could find something useful along the way. But today, he didn't feel like it.