110話 ご飯のためにはどこへでも
ご飯を求めて近衛の食堂に向かう
雨妹は外廷へ入る前に、出る際に変に目立つからと外していた頭巾を再び取り出してしっかりと被る。
――どこに誰がいるか分からないもんね!
夜闇で暗いので見られても平気ではと思わなくもないが、用心である。
例の髪切り魔の変態皇子のような者が、いつどこに潜んでいるか知れないのだから。
そうして連れて行かれた近衛の建物というのは、本当に外廷の端にあった。
たまにお偉いさんが集まって話し合ったりする場所らしく、宮女の宿舎とは趣が違う。
そもそも近衛は宮女のように住み込みではなく、内城からの通いであるので、食堂とて近衛の全員を食べさせるものではない。
基本的に夜の遅くまでやっているらしく、今頃行っても食事にありつけるというわけである。
立勇に連れられて建物へ入った雨妹が、廊下を歩いていてまず思ったことは。
――なんか、建物の中の空気が男臭い......。
都へ来てから女の園で暮らしているから余計に、そう感じるのかもしれない。
あかりをケチっているのか、うすら明るいのがまた暗さを引き立てていて、おどろおどろしい雰囲気である。
男臭さと混じり合って、なんともいえない気分になってきた。
その苦行を抜けた先、廊下よりも幾分か明るい空間が見える。
美味しそうな香りが漂ってくるので、おそらくはあそこが食堂であろう。
「へぇ、そこそこ小奇麗ですね」
「お前は、近衛をなんだと思っているのだ」
「いや、だって、男だらけってなんか、ねぇ?」
雨妹は言葉を濁しながら笑ってごまかす。
掃除や整理整頓の能力に男女の性差は関係ないものの、男だらけになると汚くなりがちなのは、前世でも今世でも傾向としてあるもの。
「廊下が男臭かったですし、ここもそういう建物かと思っても無理ないですよね?」
雨妹が正直に告げると、立勇が「ああ」と眉を上げる。
「廊下は息を止めて歩くのが癖になっていたな。
雨妹は立勇にそう忠告してやりながら、食堂を見渡す。
食堂の中にいるのは近衛だけではなく、宦官や文官などの姿もちらほらと見られる。
なにかしらの理由でここを訪ね、ついでに食事をしているのだろうか?
見れば酒を飲んでいる者もいるので、仕事上がりの一杯なのかもしれない。
――ここでお酒を飲めたら、わざわざ外城に出なくてもいいもんね。
「上手いことやっているなぁ」と雨妹が感心していると、
珍しく女連れているじゃねぇか」
横手から声をかけられた。
そちらを見ると、いつの間にか目の前に簡素な格好をした筋肉ムキムキな大男が立っていた。
まるで熊みたいだと呆け顔で見上げると、その熊から頭を捕まれる。
「しかも見ねぇ顔だ」
――って、強い、力が強いから!
そう言いながらワシワシと頭を揺すられ、雨妹は外れそうになる頭巾を懸命に押さえた。
「所用で外へ案内いたしましたら飯時を逃したとあんまり嘆くもので、連れてまいった次第です」
立勇がその熊男へ丁寧な礼をとって話す。
その言い方だと雨妹が食いしん坊みたいに聞こえるのが少々引っかかるものの、お腹が空くのが切ないのは事実なので、ココで文句を言うのは止めておく。
腹が減ったら剣も振れねぇんだ、それに細っこい身体じゃあ戦場で死ぬぞ!」
そう言って熊男が雨妹の頭をさらにグイグイと押してくるが、背が縮みそうなのでやめてほしい。
それに雨妹はおそらくこれ以上食べても太っていくだけだし、戦場に出る予定もない。
けれど熊男が雨妹の食堂での食事を禁じたいわけではないことはわかったので、雨妹はペコリと頭を下げて、ついでに掴んだ手から逃れた。
Chapter 110
Yui Mei and Li Yong headed towards the imperial guards' dining hall in order to have their dinner.
Yui Mei donned her trusty headscarf before they entered the Outer Court. She removed it earlier so that she wouldn't stand out too much.
'You never know where someone might be!'
The night was dark so it was supposedly okay even if she was seen, but she still wore it just in case.
She didn't know if a person like the perverted, hair-cutting prince she encountered before was lurking somewhere nearby.
Finally, Li Yong led her to the imperial guards' building, and true enough, it was at the edge of the Outer Court.
Bigwigs would gather here for some chit chat from time to time, so the design was different from that of the court ladies' lodging house.
In the first place, imperial guards were not stay-in unlike the court ladies, so there was no reason for them to gather around to have their meals together at the same time. On the other hand, the imperial guards worked on a shift basis, and someone would be working , so there was no way they could follow the twice-a-day meal schedule.
Thus, they would basically prepare the meals even until late at night, and even if they went there now, there would still be meals available.
Li Yong led Yui Mei into the building. The first thought that came across her mind the moment she set her foot in was --
'Uh, the air reeks of men...somehow..'
She probably felt this way because she had been spending almost all her time surrounded with women ever since she came to the capital.
It wasn't clear if the lights were turned off. Although there was a faint light, it was predominantly dim inside the building, and it was quite eerie.
Combined with the stench of men's sweat, the atmosphere gave Yui Mei an explicable feeling.
After finally getting through that agony, she could see a bright space at the end of the hallway.
A delicious aroma wafted through the air, so that must be the dining hall.
"Wow, it's pretty neat in here."
"Hey, just what kind of impression do you have of an imperial guard, huh?"
"Ah, no, well, think about it, you're all men, right?"
Yui Mei replied ambiguously with a laugh.
Cleaning and being able to keep things tidy and orderly didn't really depend on the gender, but based on Yui Mei's observation in her previous world and in this world, too, there was a tendency for a place to be dirty if it was filled with only men.
"The hall was reeking with men's body odor, and it can't be helped that I think of this place as such, right?"
Yui Mei honestly said. Li Yong raised a brow, and replied with "Yeah".
"Holding my breath when walking down that hallway became my habit, I guess. The stench leaks out from the storerooms, so that's why it is so stinky. They should've just washed the weapons right away instead of piling them."
Yui Mei warned Li Yong as she looked around the dining hall.
The imperial guards weren't the only ones inside the hall. There were also eunuchs and civil officials here and there.
She wondered whether they came here for a reason, and were having their meals while at it.
Some of them were drinking booze when she looked around, so they were probably having a drink after work.
'They don't have to go out of their way to the Outer City if they can drink here.'
What a good thing to do -- Yui Mei was amazed, when suddenly --
"Hey, Li Yong, it's rare for you to bring a woman here, huh!"
Somebody called out from the side.
When she turned around, a brawny, huge man wearing simple clothes was standing in front of them before she noticed it.
Yui Mei was dumbfounded as she raised her head to look up at the bear-like man, when suddenly, the bear man grabbed her head.
"And it's an unfamiliar chick, to boot."
'Wa-wait, you're too strong, too strong!!'
The bear man turned her face from side to side vigorously, and Yui Mei desperately clutched the hood on her head because it was about to fall off.
"I took her outside because of an errand, but we missed dinner. She complained about it too much, so I brought her along with me here."
Li Yong respectfully replied to the bear man.
Based on the way he phrased things, Yui Mei seemed like a glutton and that irritated her, but she couldn't mutter any complaints because it was true that it'd be painful if she had to remain hungry.
"I see, I get it now, that's also possible, huh! If you're hungry you can't swing the sword, and you're going to die on the battlefield if you have a stick for a body!"
The bear man continued pressing Yui Mei's head, but it felt like her back would break so she wanted him to stop.
Besides, Yui Mei would only get fat if she ate a lot more than usual, and she didn't have any plans of going to the battlefield.
However, she understood that the bear man didn't stop her from eating a meal at this dining hall, so she hurriedly bowed her head and scampered away from his hand.
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