様、その方は飲み屋にいらっしゃるのですか?」
「居所が知れているわけではないが、大方合っているだろう」
が確認すると、あっさり頷いた立勇がどこの路地から攻めていくかを思案している。
――なんで飲み屋?
近衛であるなら、外城でも武具などを扱う店にでも出入りしているのかと想像すれば、まさかの飲み屋とはと呆気にとられたものの。
が「飲んだくれ」だと相手を評していたことを思い出す。
あれは謙遜ではなく、真実飲んだくれであるということなのか。
「雨妹、お前も気を付けて酔っ払いを見ていろ。
立勇に指示され、雨妹も周囲の観察をすることになる。
――っていうか、探すのは酔っ払いで決定なのか。
どれだけ酒好きな相手なのだろうかと呆れながら歩き、雨妹と立勇でそれぞれ飲み屋を一軒一軒覗いては出てを繰り返す。
さすが都なだけあり、庶民でも質の良い酒が飲めるのだろう。
そして人口も多いため、飲み屋の数が多かった。
けれど時間的にまだ夕食には早く、一応飲み屋も開いてはいるものの、酔っ払いが多く出没するような頃合いではない。
この時間から酔っ払っている者は、おそらく一日中酔っ払っているのだと思われるが、通りを堂々と歩いてはいない。
「......いたぞ」
立勇が目的の人物を発見したのは、探し始めてからだいぶ日が傾いてきた頃、三本目の路地にある飲み屋を覗いた時であった。
「らっしゃい」
「......邪魔するぞ」
入るなり声をかけてきた店主に、立勇と雨妹は挨拶をして、奥の席へと進む。
そこには、一人の酔っ払いが卓の上に突っ伏していた。
立勇が言った通りな「ずんぐりむっくりで髭もじゃな厳つい」中年の男で、赤ら顔で酒臭く、どう見ても泥酔している。
「明様、起きてください明様!」
「うぁ......」
立勇が何度が肩を叩きながら声をかけると、男――明が唸り声のようなものをあげる
雨妹は明を見て、いくつか気になった点があるものの、それを脳内に留め置くことにして、とりあえずうつ伏せはなにかの拍子の窒息が怖いので顔を横に向け、店主に水を貰いに行く。
そして寝ぼけ半分な明の前に、雨妹は店主から貰った水の入った杯を卓に置く。
「もし、もぅし、少々お話をしたいのですが!」
雨妹は「無理だろうな」と思いながらも、明を起こそうと背中を叩いてみるのだが。
「そうなったら、そのお人は起きやしねぇよ」
店主が雨妹と立勇に「無駄な努力だ」と言わんばかりに声をかけてきた。
「いつもそうして寝たまんま門が閉まって帰れなくなって、朝まで寝て待つのさ」
そう言って店主がやれやれという風に息を吐く。
ということは、この明は一日酒を飲んでいるか寝ているかしかしてないのではないだろうか。
――なるほど、正しく飲んだくれだな。
「それは迷惑をかけている」
立勇が店主に頭を下げる。
確かに、朝まで客に居座られる店側には大迷惑だろう。
なにせ、店を閉められないのだから。
いや、もしかすると閉店時間になると、店の前に転がされるのかもしれない。
だがそれだって結構な労力であろう。
「どうしますか?」
「このままというわけにはいくまい。
立勇がそう結論付けた。
というわけで、立勇が連れ出す前に明の飲み代を清算しようとすると、「飲み代は先払いで貰っている」とのこと。
飲んだら金を払い忘れるから、という明の気遣いらしい。
もしかすると、ただの酒好きの果ての飲んだくれというわけではないのかもしれない。
とりあえず雨妹が少しでも酒が抜けるようにと、明の鼻をつまんで苦しがって起きたところで「もっと飲みましょう、これはお酒です」と言って水の入った杯を持たせ、飲ませるということを数回繰り返す。
「......雨妹お前、酔っ払いのあしらい方が上手いな?」
前世で看護師という普段ストレスフルな職場で働いていると、酒の席になったらそのストレスが爆発して、はっちゃけ過ぎてしまう同僚というのがたまにいた。
管を巻いて酒を手放さない同僚に水を飲ませる技術はピカ一だと、褒められたものだ。
それから店を出ると、立勇が男を担いで内城へと向かうことになった。やはりそちらに家があるらしい。
――内城かぁ......。
実は雨妹は、内城へ入るのが初めてである。
酔っ払いを連れ帰るという名目ではあるが、少々ワクワクしながら立勇の後ろについて行くのだった。
"Li Yong, is that person in a pub?"
"It's not like I can pinpoint his exact whereabouts, but I have a general idea."
Li Yong readily confirmed Yui Mei's speculations when she tried to probe. He ruminated on which alley they would start their attack.
'Why a pub?'
Yui  Mei thought he would be frequenting a store that sold armour in the Outer City if he was part of the Imperial Guards, so she was taken aback when told that he might be in a bar.
However, now that she thought about it, Yang did describe him as a "drunkard".
Did that mean it wasn't a condescending statement, and that he was really a boozer?
"Yui Mei, be more alert and look around for a drunk person. We're looking for a short, stocky, bearded, grim looking fellow."
Yui Mei scanned her surroundings under Li Yong's direction.
'Wait, so it's decided that we're searching for a boozer?'
Yui Mei was astounded, and she couldn't help but think 'Just how much of an alcoholic is he?' as the two of them walked along the street, checking out every single pub they saw on their way.
She discovered that even the commoners drank good booze here, as expected of a capital city. The liquor available in the borderland was mostly watered down to the point that the level of fermentation was low. On the contrary, they could already smell the aroma of booze wafting from the pubs just by passing through.
Moreover, there were a lot of bars due to the large population of people living here.
Still, it was too early for dinner, and although the pubs were open, it wasn't the time for drunkards to be loitering around the place.
The only drunk people at this point should be the ones who spend the whole day drinking, but they didn't find any of them brazenly wandering in the streets. After looking around for a while --
"...he is here."
The sun was already setting by the time Li Yong declared that he found the person they were looking for after peeking into a bar in the third alley that they scoured.
"Welcome."
"...Excuse us."
Li Yong and Yui Mei responded when the barkeeper greeted them as they entered the pub, then they headed towards the innermost seat.
There was a drunkard sprawled on the table.
He was exactly like how Li Yong described him -- a middle-aged, "short, stocky, bearded, grim looking fellow" with a red face and reeking of alcohol.
"Lord Ming, please wake up, Lord Ming!"
"Ugh....."
Li Yong tapped his shoulder several times while calling his name. The man -- Ming groaned.
A few doubts crossed Yui Mei's mind as she stared at Ming, but she decided to set those thoughts aside. He was lying down on his face, so she turned his head to the side for fear that he might get suffocated before going to the barkeeper to ask for some water.
She then placed the cup beside the half-asleep Ming.
"Hello, excuse me, I'd like to have a word with you!"
Thoughts of 'this is impossible' crossed Yui Mei's mind as she tried to wake him up by patting his back.
"That person will not wake up just by doing that."
The barkeeper called out to Yui Mei and Li Yong, implying that 'they're just wasting their time'.
"He always sleeps through the night just like that until the gates close and he can no longer go home."
The pub owner looked exasperated as he sighed.
In that case, then Ming must have spent the whole day either drinking or sleeping, then.
'Heh, so she is right, he really is a boozer.'
"Sorry for all the trouble."
Li Yong bowed his head towards the barkeeper.
True enough, a guest staying until morning would be a huge nuisance to the bar.
They wouldn't be able to close the bar after all.
No, they might just throw him out in front of the street when it was closing time.
However, that in itself would already require a great deal of effort.
"What will we do?"
"We can't leave this as is. We won't be able to properly talk in this case. It can't be helped, we just have to carry him home."
Li Yong concluded.
And so, Li Yong decided to pay for Ming's booze money first, but apparently, he already paid in advance.
It was probably Ming's consideration, because he knew he would forget to pay after drinking.
Maybe there was a deeper reason why he was drinking, and not just because he loved booze.
In any case, Yui Mei tried to ease his drunkenness. She pinched his nose, and when he woke up in pain, she made him drink the water on the table by saying "Let's drink some more, here you go, this is wine." She repeated that several times.
"...Yui Mei, you're great at dealing with drunkards, huh."
She had been working as a nurse in a highly stressful workplace in her previous world. Back then, she also occasionally experienced drinking with a colleague who would overindulge in alcohol as a means to vent out all that stress.
All her coworkers admired her skill of making her colleague drink water, even though that person clutched the bottle of alcohol tightly without any intention of letting go.
They left the pub, and Li Yong carried the man on his shoulders as they headed towards the Inner City. The man had a house there, apparently.
'Inner City, huh....'
Actually, it was the first time that Yui Mei would set foot in the Inner City.
They were going there because they would bring this drunkard home, but Yui Mei couldn't help but feel a little excited as she followed behind Li Yong.
Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace
百花宮のお掃除係～転生した新米宮女、後宮のお悩み解決します。
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/housekeeper-of-the-hundred-blossom-palace/
Fantasy Romance Shoujo Slice of Life
Adapted to Manga Ancient China Complex Family Relationships Different Social Status Female Protagonist Imperial Harem Love Interest Falls in Love First Reincarnated in Another World Royalty
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4104ev/
黒辺あゆみ