Isekai Yururi Kikou ~Raising Children While Being an Adventurer~ Chapter 536:

Astonishment

““Oniichan! Look, look~!””

After we’d finished ordering the jewelry, Rebecca-san, wearing an unmistakably mischievous expression, took Allen and Elena with her and left the room.

A little while later, the kids came back, looking as cheerful as could be—but—

“Allen, Elena, what’s go— huh!?”

““How is it? Does it suit me?””

“Huh!? E–Elena, y–your hair—”

Elena’s hair was now cut short—neat and tidy, just like Allen’s.

I immediately ran over, grabbed her cheeks with both hands, and stared right at her face.

“Wha—what? How!? Why!?”

“Does it not look good on me?”

“No, it does! It really does, but… why!?”

Since Allen and Elena had identical faces, it wasn’t strange that the same hairstyle looked good on her.

But that’s not the point! That’s so not the point!

“Your hair! What happened to it!? Did you actually cut it!?”

I was so shocked that I could tell my vocabulary had gone out the window.

““Wa, ha, ha! Oniichan, look, look~””

“Huh?”

““Ta-dah!””

“… Eh? Eeeeh~~~!?”

Elena grabbed her hair—and with a pop, it came right off.

“Haa!? A—a wig!?”

““Correct~!””

Under the wig was a fine net cap, meaning her real hair was safe and sound.

“Th–thank goodness…”

“Hehe, Takumi-san, did I surprise you?”

“Rebecca-san! ‘Surprised’ doesn’t even begin to cover it— I almost died of shock!”

Honestly, my heart nearly stopped.

As I thought… or maybe I should’ve known—the mastermind was, of course, Rebecca-san.

That scheming expression when she left earlier wasn’t just my imagination after all.

“I once heard a story about twin princes who switched places.”

“Ah… that one.”

That would be about the twin princes of the Creta Kingdom—Prince Cloud and Prince Rain.

Yeah, the kids had excitedly told Rebecca-san all about that story.

“Allen-chan and Elena-chan said they wanted to try it too.”

“… Yeah, that sounds exactly like something they’d say.”

“But of course, I convinced Elena-chan not to actually cut her hair.”

“Rebecca-san, thank you so much!”

Whoa—so they really tried to cut it before!?

Rebecca-san, you have my deepest gratitude for stopping that.

“So, I said I’d make them wigs instead, and took some time to prepare.

But I couldn’t find good enough material for a while.

Finally, I made something I was satisfied with—so today’s the grand reveal.”

… So this scheme had been in the works for quite a while, huh?

“Allen’s got Elena’s hair too!”

Allen pulled a wig out of his Magic Bag—it was tied up neatly with a ribbon, matching Elena’s hairstyle perfectly.

“Now they can both bee Allen-chan, or both bee Elena-chan~”

Rebecca-san smiled proudly, as if to say “I did a fine job, didn’t I?”

“Oh, e to think of it, they’re even wearing the same clothes.”

““Yup~!””

It seemed she’d gone all out—not just wigs, but identical outfits for both of them.

The kids often wore similar clothes, but I don’t think they’d ever had perfectly matching ones before… at least, I don’t think so.

“But Oniichan couldn’t be fooled~”

“You figured it out right away~”

“Huh?”

Now that they mentioned it—yeah, I had rushed straight to Elena without even thinking.

“That’s right. You ran straight to Elena-chan the moment you saw them. But isn’t that wonderful? It means Oniichan really knows you both well.”

““Yeah!””

I hadn’t realized it myself, but apparently, I could tell them apart instinctively.

“You know, you know, Obaasama!”

“She made a whole bunch for us!”

“Huh? Don’t tell me—black-haired wigs? Wait—red ones too!?”

They rummaged through their Magic Bags and pulled out wigs of black and red hair.

“Now we can match with Oniichan!”

“And with Obaasama too!”

So, the wigs were made to match my hair color and Rebecca-san’s.

“Here, this one’s for you, Takumi-san.”

“Eh!?”

She even handed me two wigs—one blue, one red.

“The blue one’s styled like your current hair, but the red one’s long. As for the kids— their black-haired ones match their own hairstyles, and the red-haired ones are the long type.” 𝖗ÀƝ∅ꞖЕ𝙎

“… I see.”

So not only the color, but the hairstyles differed too.

“If anything happens, use these to disguise yourselves and escape.”

“… Eh?”

Wait—what!? They were for disguises in case of emergency!?

“Hair color leaves the strongest impression, you know? Simple, but very effective.”

“You may have a point… Still, I’ll try to avoid ever being in a situation where I need to run.”

“Oh my, that’s the best approach.”

Right. Best to live a life where running and hiding isn’t necessary in the first place.

“But thank you very much. If something ever happens, I’ll make use of them.”

“Yes, please do.”

Who knows—there might e a day when I’ll actually need a disguise.

So I decided to store the wigs safely inside Infinite Storage.

Also… if I registered them to my equipment-changing magic tool,

would I be able to switch looks instantly—like a transformation hero?

That actually sounded kind of fun.

“By the way, what are these wigs made from?”

“Oh my… I do remember they’re made from plant fibers, but I’ve forgotten exactly which kind. Sorry, I’ll check and let you know.”

“No problem! I was just curious, it’s not that important.”

… For a moment, I worried they might be made from human hair, but since it’s plant fiber, that’s a relief.

Still, they felt amazingly smooth and glossy—

Rebecca-san really put care into these.

““Oniichan, now we’re gonna bee Elena~!””

The kids were having the time of their lives playing dress-up.

“Ohh, disguise play, huh? They already look identical, but dressed exactly the same, they’re like mirror images.”

Later, when Wald-san returned home, the two—now both disguised as Elena—rushed to ambush him.

But instead of being surprised or confused, he simply patted both their heads and went off to change in his room.

““Huh~?””

His pletely normal reaction left Allen and Elena both deflated.

Incidentally, I managed to tell who was who right away—and I was right! Phew. I was honestly proud of that one.