1.「普通」のお茶汲み(1)
王宮付き侍女の朝は早い。
手狭ながら清潔な寮室に、陽気な鶏の鳴き声が聞こえてくるのを耳にしながら、エルマはむくりと寝台から身を起こした。
いまだ、朝陽も射さぬ時分。
慣れない者なら寝台から降りるのすら手間取る薄暗さだが、本日が初出仕であるはずの彼女は、淡々と身支度を整えていく。
お仕着せのメイド服に腕を通し、清潔なエプロンに長い黒靴下、磨き抜かれた革靴を身に着ける。
肩を覆うほどの黒髪はくるくると団子にまとめ、ブリムと呼ばれるヘッドドレスを着ければ完成だ。
支給品である小さな鏡を覗き込み、エルマはしばらく首を傾げていたが、やがて、城に唯一持ち込んだ布鞄の中から小道具一式を取り出した。
それをなにやら丁寧に顔に塗ったり描いたりし、さらには厚底の眼鏡まで装着したうえで、再び鏡を見つめる。
そこには、これといって美人でも不美人でもない、平凡な少女が映り込んでいた。
肌は十五という年齢にふさわしく滑らかだが、赤みに乏しく、どちらかといえばくすんで見える。
目は眼鏡の存在に引っ張られて、何色なのかすら判別がつきづらく、薄めの唇は血の気がなくやや陰気である。
衣服とて、清潔感はあるものの、サイズが合わないのかどこか野暮ったく、全体に冴えない印象が強い。
だというのに、彼女はぱっとしない己の姿をまじまじと見つめると、
「よし」
満足げに頷いた。
その声だけは、はっとするほど美しい。
続いて彼女は、寝台を片付けついでに、なにげなく窓の外を眺めた。
四階建ての寮室の、最上階。
ルーデン王国の建築技術の粋を集めた王宮だけあって、ここでは侍女の寮ですら高層建築の使用が許されている。
平民ならばまずご縁のない高所からの眺望は、王宮付きを望む娘たちの憧れであり自慢でもあったが、しかし昨日まで
「これを毎日上り下り......」
むしろその呟きには、迷惑というか、単純にうんざりとした響きだけが籠っている。
彼女は、眼鏡の奥で死んだ魚のような目になると、「帰りたい......」とぼやきながらしばらく地上を眺めていたが、やがて諦めたようにため息をつき、すっと窓辺を離れた。
と、寮室を出ようとしたそのとき、エルマが手をかけるよりも先に木造りの扉が開いた。
無言で顔を上げると、ずいっと人影が迫ってくる。
エルマと同じくメイド服を身に着けたその人物は、開口一番にこう言い放った。
「まあ! みすぼらしい黒ネズミだこと」
こぎれいに結わえた金髪に、釣り目がちな若草色の瞳。なかなかの美少女だ。
年はちょうどエルマと同じか、ひとつ上くらいだろうか。
状況を冷静に検分して、どうやら先輩のようだと結論付ける。
揶揄
なしのエルマさん。言っておくけれど、いくら侍女長のグラーツ子爵夫人が後見くださったところで、あなた自身はしょせん、ただのエルマ。王宮付き侍女で苗字すら持たないなんていうのは、あなたくらいのものだわ」
猫のようににんまりと笑ってみせた彼女は、腰に手を当てて名乗った。
「私はイレーネ。ノイマン男爵家の娘よ。侍女寮の東棟四階を預かる
侍女寮は、既婚者・未亡人を含む年長者が住まう西棟と、十八歳以下の未婚の子女が住まう東棟から成り、さらに四つの階にはそれぞれ代表者が置かれている。
イレーネは、その東棟四階の代表者、つまり階長であるらしかった。
男爵令嬢としてそこそこの実権を握っているらしく、イレーネの言動は高飛車だし、新人をいびってやろうという意思が前面に現れている。
だがまあ、朝早くから単身寮室に殴り込むガッツの滲むさまはどこか清々しかったので、エルマはことさら反撃態勢は取らずに、しおらしく頷いた。
が、それはイレーネの気に食わなかったらしい。
彼女は長い睫毛を上下させてエルマの全身を眺めると、ふんと鼻を鳴らした。
「愛想のない人ね。顔も、表情も地味。王宮付き侍女といったら、花嫁修業の最難関にして頂点のような役職なのに、あなたみたいな人がいたら私たち全体のレベル感が下がるじゃないの」
「まあいいわ。だからこそ、私たちが鍛えてさしあげなくてはね。よくて? あなたは今日から、私の言う通り、割り振られた仕事をまっとうするのよ」
先ほどから「はあ」の一言しか発しないエルマ相手に、イレーネは痺れを切らしたように、一枚の紙を突きつけた。
「ほら、黒ネズミさん。これが今日のあなたの仕事よ」
支給品であるらしい上等な紙には、余白がほとんど残らないくらいに文字が書き連ねられている。
エルマがまじまじとそれを眺めていると、イレーネはふふんと唇の端を引き上げた。
「あなた、字は読めて? 一度だけ私が音読してさしあげる。二度は言わないから、一度で覚えてちょうだい。まず、六つの鐘が鳴る前に鶏小屋に行って――」
イレーネは早口で膨大な量の仕事を読み上げていく。
苗字も持たない、つまり字も読めないであろう下層民ならば、間違いなく悲鳴を上げる情報量だ。
しかもその内容とは、卵の受け渡しや厩舎への差し入れ、東庭の手入れや騎士団への手紙の配達、さらには妃への茶の準備など、王宮内のどこになにがあるのかもわからぬ新人には、過酷にすぎるものだった。
「厨房の端にある食堂で夕食を済ませたら、あとは聖堂の清掃と図書室の返却本の整理、それから――」
「ちなみにどの仕事も、遅刻は厳禁よ。三回までは食事が抜かれる程度だけど、あなたの評判は一気に失墜するからそのつもりで。さて、図書室のあとは――」
「なによ、うるさいわね。べつにこれ、いじめじゃないわよ? グラーツ夫人に後見されていようと、ルーカス王子殿下に直接お言葉を頂く女だろうと、実力主義の私たちは、ちやほやなんかしないっていうだけ。仕事の押し付けなんかじゃなくて、あくまで、これが普通の業務量なのだからね?」
明らかに嘘だ。
エルマはかすかに眉を寄せた。
「......新人が、ユリアーナ前妃殿下のお茶を用意するというのも、
ユリアーナというのは、先月まで側妃としてヴェルナー前王に仕えていた女性だ。
ヴェルナーの崩御に伴い後宮を離れ――この崩御というのが、エルマがここにいる契機でもあるのだが――、王宮内の大聖堂内に居室を構えて隠居生活を送っている。
いくら今は妃ではないとはいえ、新人に茶の準備をさせるには、あまりに高貴な身分にすぎるのではないか。
エルマが首を傾げると、イレーネはわかりやすく視線を泳がせた。
「......そ、それは、まあ、多少は珍しいかもしれないけれど、侍女がお茶汲みをすることに、なんの不思議があって? 侍女はお茶を淹れ、主人の心に寄り添う。これって、実に当たり前のことだわ。そうでしょ?」
「え、ええ、そうよ。だいたい、あなたはまだ仕えるべき主人が決まっていないのだから、
「そりゃあ、ユリアーナ前妃殿下にお茶を振舞うなんて、正直私だったらごめんだけれど――なんですって?」
必至に言葉を重ねていたイレーネは、ぎょっとして聞き返す。
だが、エルマは淡々と繰り返すだけだった。
「ええ。それが
「普通......。そ、そうね。ええ、至極普通のことだわ」
意表を突かれながらも、イレーネは内心で自分に言い聞かせた。
そうとも、侍女が茶を淹れるのも、新入りが先輩の命に従うのも、至極普通。当然のことだ。
ただ、ユリアーナ前妃殿下が求める茶のレベルが異様に高いことや、茶の淹れ方が気に食わないという理由でこれまで何人もの侍女がクビになってきたこと、そもそも、それまでにこなすべき業務が尋常でなく多いことというのは、......少しだけ、特筆すべき事項かもしれないが、別に、異常というほどではない。
思いきり破綻した論理で己を宥めていると、無表情の新人がすっと脇をすり抜けていく。
「ど、どこへ行くのよ!?」
「時間があまりないようなので、さっそく業務を開始しようかと。念のためお聞きしますが、書かれていた業務が完璧にこなせるならば、多少作業順が前後しても構いませんね?」
「は......、メモも持たずに、ずいぶんと大口を叩くこと」
「ああ。すべて覚えましたので、メモはお捨て置きください。または裏紙として再利用を」
イレーネは愕然とした。
「――は?」
だがエルマは、真新しい陽光が降り注ぎはじめた廊下に、真顔で頷きかけるだけだった。
「朝は空気が澄んでいますね。――これがシャバの空気の味ですか」
「――......は?」
イレーネは、豆鉄砲を食らった鳩のような顔つきになった。
2 1. "Normal" Tea Drinking (1)
The maid with the royal palace is early in the morning.
While hearing the cheerful chicken chirp in the cramped and clean dorm room, Elma woke up from her bed naked.
It's still a time when Asahi won't shoot.
If you're unfamiliar with it, getting off the bed is a bit of a hassle, but she's supposed to be doing her first job today, dressing up lightly.
Wear a clean apron, long black socks, and polished leather shoes with arms through tailored tailoring.
The darker you cover your shoulders, the more you put them together in a dumpling, the better you wear a headdress called a brim.
Peeking into the small mirror that was supplied, Elma leaned her neck for a while, but eventually took out a prop set from the only cloth bag she had brought into the castle.
I carefully painted and painted it on my face and even wore thick-bottomed glasses before staring at the mirror again.
There was a reflection of an ordinary girl who was neither beautiful nor undesirable.
The skin is suitable for the age of fifteen and smooth, but it is scarce in redness and looks dull.
The eyes are pulled by the presence of glasses, it is difficult to tell what color it is, and the thin lips are not bloody and slightly negative.
Although there is a sense of cleanliness when it comes to clothing, I have a strong impression that the size doesn't suit me or that it is somewhere wild and the whole thing is impossible to understand.
However, she stared seriously at herself without hesitation.
"Okay."
I nodded to my satisfaction.
Only that voice is so beautiful as to be calm.
She then glanced out the window without difficulty as she cleared the bunk.
The top floor of the four-storey dormitory.
Only the Royal Palace, which gathers the best architectural skills of the Kingdom of Rouden, is allowed to use high-rise architecture even in the maids' dormitories.
As a civilian, the view from an unfamiliar height was the admiration and pride of the daughters who wanted the royal palace, but until yesterday she was supposed to be at the lowest level of the people (...), and she only turned a cold gaze as she was tired of.
"I go up and down every day....."
Rather, the murmur contains only annoying or simply boring sounds.
When she looked at the ground like a dead fish in the back of her glasses, she blurred "I want to go home..." for a while, but she finally sighed as if she had given up and left the window.
And when I tried to leave the dorm room, the wooden door opened before Elma put her hands on it.
When I raise my face silently, the shadow comes all the way.
The same person who wore the maid's clothes as Elma said at the very beginning of the opening:
"Oh, my God! It's a shameful black rat."
Blonde hair tied neatly, young grass eyes that are easy to fish for. Quite a beautiful girl.
Is the age exactly the same as Elma or about a year older?
Calmly examine the situation and conclude that it appears to be senpai.
The opponent raised one eyebrow in a mockery.
"Oh, you're unconscious? It's about you, Elma, without a last name. To tell you the truth, how much of a maid's wife, Countess Graz, looked after you yourself, just Elma. A maid with a royal palace doesn't even have a last name."
Laughing like a cat, she put her hand on her hips and named herself.
"My name is Irene. Daughter of the Baron Neumann. I'm here to greet you as the new maid and tell you what you're doing today, as the manager (Steer Master) who keeps the fourth floor of the east wing of the maid's dorm."
The dormitory consists of the west wing, where elderly people, including married and widowed people, live, and the east wing, where unmarried children under the age of 18 live, with representatives on each of the four floors.
Irene was said to be the representative of the fourth floor of the east wing, or the head of the floor.
As a baroness, she seems to hold real power there, Irene's words and deeds are high-speed, and her intention to snore the newcomers appears in the front.
However, since the seepage of guts that beat into the dorm room early in the morning was somewhat clear, Elma nodded in a shrewd manner without retaliation.
But they didn't like Irene.
She raised and lowered her long eyelashes and looked at Elma's whole body, and her nose snapped.
"People who don't love each other. Your face and expression are plain. Speaking of maids with royal palaces, it is the most difficult position for bride training, but if there are people like you, our overall sense of level will drop."
Well, that's fine. That's why we have to train you. You know what? You're going to do your assigned work from today, as I say. "
Irene threw a piece of paper at Elma's opponent, who had only said "yes" earlier, as if she had cut out her numbness.
"Look, black rat. This is what you do today."
On the fine paper, which seems to be a supplied item, letters are written so that little margin remains.
Elma stared seriously at it and Irene pulled her lips up.
"Can you read? I'll read it to you only once. I won't say it again, so remember it once. First, go to the chicken coop before the six bells ring."
Irene reads out an enormous amount of work quickly.
If you don't have a last name, that is, you won't be able to read, it's definitely the amount of information that makes you scream.
Moreover, the contents were too harsh for newcomers who did not know where in the royal palace, such as handing over eggs, inserting them into the stables, cleaning the eastern garden, delivering letters to the Knights, and even preparing tea for the queen.
"After dinner in the dining room on the edge of the kitchen, we'll clean the cathedral, organize the books we return to the library, and..."
"By the way, it's strictly forbidden to be late for any job. Up to three meals will be skipped, but your reputation will be lost all at once. Now, after the library..."
"What, you're so loud. This isn't bullying, is it? Whether you are being looked after by Mrs. Graz or a woman who will speak directly to His Royal Highness Prince Lucas, we of meritocracy will not do anything about it. It's not about pressuring work, it's just a normal amount of work, right?
It's obviously a lie.
Elma frowned faintly.
"... is it normal for a newcomer to prepare the tea of former Princess Juliana?
Juliana is the woman who served former King Werner as concubine until last month.
With Werner's collapse, he left the rear palace - a collapse that was also an opportunity for Elma to be here - but he lives in hiding in a cathedral inside the royal palace.
Though she's not the queen right now, she's too noble to let a rookie prepare tea.
As Elma tilted her neck, Irene was able to swim her gaze easily.
"... well, that may be a little unusual, but what wonder does the maid have about drinking tea? The maid brews tea and leans against her master's heart. This is obvious. Isn't that right?"
"Yeah, yeah, that's right. Basically, since you haven't decided on the master to serve yet, it's only natural that you should be (...) uncomfortable... no, it's only natural that you should hit the noble one. Whether the opponent is noble or lowly, I will do so solemnly if I am commanded to brew tea. That's what a maid should look like, no, of course, just normal."
"Well, if I were to be honest with you, I'd be sorry to offer you tea, but...?
Irene, who was bound to repeat the words, replied briefly.
But Elma just repeated it lightly.
"Yeah, if that's normal."
"Normal... Yeah, that's right. Yeah, it's pretty normal."
Irene told herself in her heart, even though she was pointing at her intentions.
That said, it is perfectly normal for a maid to brew tea, or for a newcomer to obey senpai's life. It's only natural.
However, the unusually high level of tea required by former Princess Juliana, the fact that many maids have been fired so far because they don't like how tea is brewed, and the fact that many tasks to be done by then are unusual in the first place may be a bit of a noteworthy matter, but it is not so unusual.
As she forgives herself with her own broken logic, an expressionless newcomer slips through her side.
"Well, where are you going!?
"I don't seem to have much time, so I thought I'd get started. As a precaution, if the work that was written can be done perfectly, can we do it in a slightly different order?
"Ha... without a note, you're going to slap your mouth a lot"
"Oh, I remember everything, so please throw away your memo. or reuse it as backing paper."
Irene was stunned.
"-What?"
But Elma nodded with her face in the hallway where the new sun began to fall.
"The air is clear in the morning. -- -- Is this the taste of shaba air?
"----what?"
Irene looked like a pigeon with a bean gun.
The Unbound World’s “Normal” is Difficult
シャバの「普通」は難しい
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-unbound-worlds-normal-is-difficult/
Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy
Adapted to Manga Beautiful Female Lead Calm Protagonist Female Protagonist Maids Overpowered Protagonist Prison R-15 Royalty
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n0641eh/
中村 颯希