15

Chapter Fifteen - "May There Be More Baldness in Asgard"

The next morning, Forseti rose from his bed, quickly finished breakfast, and set out with the hair restorer in hand.

As he walked through the streets, his gaze scanned the surroundings, every reflection catching his attention.

Not long into his walk, Forseti's expression suddenly shifted, as if he had remembered something. He halted in his tracks.

Come to think of it, wasn't the owner of the tailor shop where he bought his satchel bald?

With this thought in mind, Forseti made a beeline for the tailor shop. After a short while, he arrived and looked up at the sign: Taylor's Tailor.

Seeing someone enter, Boss Taylor spoke casually, "What do you want? Have a look around."

It was his first time doing something like this, so Forseti looked up at Boss Taylor's bald head and said, "Mr. Taylor... Are you troubled by hair loss?"

Boss Taylor suddenly looked displeased, his brow furrowing slightly. "What are you trying to say?"

"Well, actually, I have a new hair growth agent to recommend to you. It's something entirely different that you haven't seen before, just..."

"If you're not buying anything, please leave," Boss Taylor interrupted impatiently, gesturing to shoo him away.

"I assure you, it works," Forseti said, taking out the crystal bottle from his bag, wanting to continue.

But Boss Taylor had already begun ushering him out, walking up and saying, "Even if I lose all my hair, I wouldn't use a hair restorer! So, please leave."

"For just five runes!" Forseti quickly added.

At this, Boss Taylor paused abruptly, his expression changing as he asked tentatively, "Five runes?"

Forseti nodded, "You know that effective hair restorers for Aesir are expensive, at least a dozen runes."

Boss Taylor queried, "What are its effects?"

Forseti hadn't tried it himself, so he couldn't know for sure, but if it was produced by the Holy Light, its effects should be reliable. Now was the time for salesmanship, even if the effects weren't as expected. "It can cure any baldness."

Boss Taylor hesitated, his brow furrowed in thought.

Compared to other treatments for baldness, five runes were indeed a modest price. However, for many Aesir, five runes were still a considerable sum worth contemplating.

If it were a woman facing baldness, not only would she pay five runes without hesitation to restore her hair, but she might even spend fifty runes.

But for most men, spending money on this was another matter.

"Could you lower the price?" Boss Taylor asked.

Forseti replied, "It's already a good deal. For five runes, you can regain the hair of your youth."

"I've been bald since my youth," Boss Taylor stated flatly.

"Uh..."

Forseti was momentarily at a loss for words. After a moment's thought, he continued, "I believe five runes shouldn't be too much for you. Five runes can give you a new lease on life. Why not seize the opportunity?"

After pondering for a while, Boss Taylor finally nodded. "Alright. But you must guarantee its effectiveness."

"Of course," Forseti assured, handing over Andorov's Hair Restorer. "If it doesn't work, you'll get a full refund."

Boss Taylor examined the crystal bottle. "How do I use this?"

"Just apply it to the bald spots," Forseti instructed.

Boss Taylor opened the bottle, poured out the hair restorer, and rubbed it onto the top of his head. "It feels a bit itchy."

"That's normal."

"How long until I see results?"

Forseti smiled, "Typically, within three days, you'll notice a change... I'll come back in three days. I'm sure you'll be pleased to pay by then."

...

Three days later.

Forseti returned to Taylor's Tailor shop. As soon as he entered, he saw Boss Taylor examining himself in the mirror. What had once been a shiny bald head was now covered in a thin layer of stubble.

"It seems the hair restorer didn't disappoint, Mr. Taylor," Forseti remarked with a smile.

"Haha, you're right," Tyler chuckled, setting down the mirror and occasionally running his hand over his head. "The hair restorer works wonders. I actually felt these sprouts on the second day of using it."

With that, he got up, fetched five runes, handed them to Forseti, and said, "Here, take it. I'm very satisfied!"

Forseti smiled, "Wishing you a happy life!"

"Heh."

Leaving Taylor's Tailor shop, Forseti weighed the coins in his hand, humming a tune. He was in high spirits.

Five runes—almost his annual income. At this rate, he wouldn't be long before he saved enough to build the Fist of Verrigan.

By the Holy Light, may there be more baldness in Asgard.

Back home, Forseti found a small bronze object and placed it on the blueprint of Sanqi's Fist of Verrigan.

[81% substitution for Jordan's refined ore]

While Asgardian bronze wasn't rare within Asgard itself, it was considered an excellent material when compared to the wider universe.

Forseti was quite satisfied with an 81% substitution rate.

Of course, as the premier realm in the universe, Asgard possessed many superior materials, such as Asgardian iron, Asgardian steel... and even Uru for forging Thor's Hammer. But they were costly, and Forseti could only consider them for the future.

Even if he could afford more advanced materials, Forseti wouldn't use them to forge the Fist of Verrigan.

Although effective, the Fist of Verrigan was not a high-level artifact.

In the future, once he had the means, who would settle for less? Forseti envisioned wielding Thunderfury in his left hand, Windseeker's Blessing Blade in his right, and Sulfuras, the Hand of Ragnaros...

...

Landvety Town.

Forseti found an herbal shop. "Do you have any green chip grass here?"

"You're looking for green chip grass?" the shop owner asked, surprised.

Forseti nodded. "Yes."

Peter's Herbal Shop had only one green chip grass left, which he couldn't use. Even if El helped him acquire it, his uncle would find out about their strained relationship, potentially causing trouble.

"It's not a common herb. We did have one, but it was used recently and we haven't restocked," the shop owner shook his head.

"Even if we did have it, we wouldn't sell you the last one unless you paid a high price."

Forseti felt disappointed. Just yesterday, he had felt on the brink of wealth, never anticipating such a setback.

Seems like getting rich isn't that easy.

Turning to leave, Forseti heard the shop owner call out unexpectedly.

"What is it?" Forseti turned around, curious.

The shop owner said, "If you need green chip grass, try your luck at the Brave Hunter Tavern. There's a man named Tialfi who hunts in the Landvety Forest every day and occasionally brings back herbs, including green chip grass."