"…Thanks?"
Waylen awkwardly said.
He really started to regret his pink hair and already debated whether he should immediately dye it another color.
"You know that hair is the trademark of the Karoline Family?"
Graham asked.
"…So I've heard."
Waylen said.
"You didn't know before?"
"No… It was my first time hearing about them."
Waylen said.
"I've met many clueless people in my life, but you might take the cake, or you're just very good at lying."
Graham said.
He then put the whiskey bottle to his belt and pulled out a knife from the belt, and he slowly brought it to him.
"Wait!"
Waylen raised his arms and dropped the bag to the floor.
The knife looked really sharp, he thought. He could only imagine how badly it would hurt to get stabbed by that.
"My family was killed by a person called Karoline Henry. Does that name ring a bell to you?"
Graham asked coldly.
"N-No!"
Waylen shook his head furiously.
It pissed him off greatly that he happened to share the same hair color as this Karoline Family, whose evil deeds were now being associated with him!
"Hmm…"
Graham lowered the knife and slipped it back to his belt.
"My anger is only directed towards him. I will either drink myself to death before I find him or I'll die fighting against him. That'll be my fate, kid!"
He laughed loudly.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
Waylen awkwardly laughed.
"I don't think you're Karoline, I'll be honest, kid. They've tried sending spies to Sorcerian High before, but they've never been able to hide from Headmaster Salvador.
"They've tried all kinds of methods. All kinds of brilliant disguises. I don't think they're idiotic enough to send a pink-haired kid over there.
"If you're truly Karoline… Headmaster Salvador will know."
Graham turned his back to Waylen and started walking back with a stumble in his step, as he could barely see straight.
"…Haah…"
Waylen let out the breath that he had been unconsciously holding in, and he then looked at his reflection in the mirror.
"Shitty pink hair…"
…
Shhh-click!
Waylen opened the door to the train compartment, and Annie and Ned were sitting inside. Then they turned to look at him.
"Hi."
He said with a sheepish smile.
"Hi."
Ned and Annie responded back.
Waylen dropped the bag to his foot and sat down next to Annie, and they were still staring at him.
"So… How was the luggage car?"
Ned asked humorously.
"Ugh…"
Annie rolled her eyes at his stupidity, and Waylen just laughed in response and said, "Uneventful," which earned a couple of chuckles from them.
"We should've told you beforehand, but that pink hair is really bad news, Waylen. You should dye it."
Annie said with a worry.
"I'll do that as soon as we are at the school."
Waylen said.
If his hair alone could cause him so many problems, he'd rather go bald as long as he didn't have to live with this kind of danger.
"What did the Justice Army guy want from you?"
Ned asked.
"…Asking about my hair. It was not a big deal. By the way, what is Justice Army?"
Waylen asked curiously.
Annie and Ned looked at him like he was some exotic animal. They couldn't believe in his lack of knowledge.
Before Waylen asked that, he knew that it must come as really weird for him to know, but he really wanted answers now.
So, even though he might seem completely oblivious, he had to ask.
"Justice Army is an organization that keeps the world safe from those that seek to do harm. Their numbers are large, and their influence is vast."
Annie said.
"They're the good guys, basically. They have some incredibly powerful wizards in their ranks. Oh, I'd love to join Justice Army.
"If you become part of the Justice Army, you won't be a commoner anymore. Instead, you'll become a minor noble!"
Ned said excitedly.
It had been his dream ever since he found out that he had magic cells.
"Justice Army is currently in a war against Crime Families, and the Dark Army."
Annie said with a dark look on her cute face.
"…Even though Justice Army has a lot of members, it sadly isn't enough. They're losing more and more members every day.
"Dark Army is intentionally seeking war with Justice Army as they want to destroy the world and then rebuild it from scratch for their 'Dark God' or whatever that is.
"Crime Families is not targeting Justice Army, but since they're doing criminal activities, they're obviously going against Justice Army daily."
She said.
"…And that Karoline Family?"
Waylen asked curiously.
"There are thousands of Crime Families that roam the Researched World with their fleet of ships, but also the land as well.
"However, among the Crime Families, there are five families that have risen above everybody else in power and influence.
"They're called the Five Great Mafias.
"One of those families is the Karoline Family, led by the World's Most Heinous Woman, Karoline Grace."
Annie said.
"…Oh."
Waylen grimaced, touched his hair, and let out a gulp as he realized why everyone acted the way they did after seeing his hair.
"Their trademark is the pink hair. Thus, pink hair has become kind of taboo. There is a saying in our village, "If you see someone with the pink hair of the devil, run the other way!""
Ned said.
"Why didn't either of you suspect me of being Karoline?"
Waylen asked curiously.
He'd been thinking about it, and Annie and Ned have honestly been very friendly towards him despite his pink hair.
Ned and Annie looked at each other.
They then looked back at him and said at the same time.
"You don't look evil!"
Waylen looked surprised, took a glimpse at the reflection, and he looked relatively harmless.
"…We've only heard stories about the Karoline Family and how the children of Karoline Grace all share that devilish pink hair and have the faces of the devil.
"Apparently, you can tell whether someone is Karoline by their face alone, as you can feel the evil energy radiating from them."
Ned said.