"Ugh, I'm so tired."
The one stretching with a great big yawn
was Yao.
A rag was clutched in her hand.
"Is something like this good enough?"
En'en
was also rinsing and wringing out a rag.
"I think it's fine, don't you?"
Maomao put the drawer back where it belonged. They had spent several days cleaning the medical office. Once the big cleanup was done, that would wrap up their work for the year.
At the end of the year and start of the new one, the court ladies were given time off. The medical officers took turns remaining in the palace, but apparently there was no need for Maomao and the others to stay.
Apparently, if the court ladies weren't given proper time off, their families would raise a fuss.
(Then again, we're basically here doing this as part of our bride training.)
Or perhaps husband-hunting.
However, both Yao and En'en had come to work as actual employees, so they likely wouldn't be spending their vacation at their family homes. Yao's father had died, and the authority over the household now rested with her uncle—and that uncle was trying to force Yao into marriage.
For En'en, who lived and breathed the life of a proper young lady, Yao's uncle could only be seen as an enemy.
"Hey, Maomao, what are you going to do during the holiday?"
Yao asked as she hung the rag out to dry and washed her hands.
"Actually, it's going to be the busiest time for me."
"Busiest time?"
"Men with bulging purses don't always go home, you know."
Yao tilted her head in confusion, but En'en seemed to grasp the implication and glared at Maomao. Being the well-connected one, she knew exactly what Maomao's family business was all about.
"Maomao, please don't say such vulgar things in front of the young lady."
(It's not so much vulgar as it is simply the truth.)
To put it plainly, men who'd received a hefty lump sum of wages would come calling to buy the company of "night butterflies." Since the doctors were also on holiday, the old procuress always told her to keep the apothecary open. Since there was no telling whether her father would return, Maomao would have to mind the place. Above all else, she was still a near-amateur when it came to running the apothecary.
Sazen
I'm curious whether things are going well.
(
I'm counting on Keiyo,
so I want to believe it'll be fine.)
I recall the cheerful man with pockmark scars on his face. His skills as an apothecary are trustworthy, but considering his slapdash personality, unease lingers.
"I have no money and no free time, so there are no days off."
Not just the apothecary—she also has to tend the fields. Since it's that shrewd old woman, she's bound to find some excuse to push chores onto her.
After finishing tidying up the cleaning supplies and looking up, Yao was mumbling something. She had the look of someone who wanted to say something.
"Is something the matter?"
"...Um, Maomao's family ran an apothecary, right?"
"They did."
This time she was fidgeting.
When Maomao tilted her head in puzzlement, Yao finally seemed to steel herself and spoke up.
"F-For study purposes, would it be alright if I visited Maomao's home during the holiday?"
"M-Miss!"
The one taken aback was En'en. She seemed displeased that Yao had been the one to bring it up.
(It's because of the neighborhood, after all.)
She looked at Maomao, silently pleading for her to come up with some excuse and decline.
"The area is unsafe, so I'd advise against it. More importantly, there are all manner of foul-smelling, rough men there—far worse than those military officers. It's a dangerous place for you, Yao."
"...But Maomao, you live in a place like that, don't you?"
Just when I thought she'd be deterred, she shot back with a counter.
"I've lived there since I was born. Surely it's not strange to go somewhere with someone who's accustomed to it?"
She'd only said something perfectly obvious, but it seemed to have reignited Yao's competitive streak.
"Then I just need to get used to it!"
"M-Miss! It's dangerous! Let's just stay home and rest quietly while you have time off!"
"If I stay home, that man will come."
Maomao didn't need to ask who "that man" was. It had to be her uncle — the usual suspect.
(So she wants to use my place as a safe house?)
If he showed up with a marriage prospect in tow, that would be the end of it.
"He can come during the day, I suppose, but what about at night?"
At night there were customers coming and going, and besides, Maomao's house was a ramshackle wreck. Right now Sazen and
Chou U
were living there, so she really couldn't put anyone up.
"Honestly, my house isn't fit for anyone to live in, Miss. I don't think it would work for you."
"How does En'en know that?"
(I used to live there, you know.)
The maid had surveyed the household thoroughly as well. Not a single detail escaped her.
"Don't you have any other acquaintances? A friend who might take you in?"
Maomao seemed to have asked the wrong question.
Yao's face had gone pale as a sheet. She looked like she might start crying at any moment.
En'en gripped Yao's shoulder and pleaded, "Apologize to her."
(Oh...)
She understood. Yao had no friends.
This was Maomao's fault for not noticing sooner. She needed to smooth things over carefully.
"Every household gets crowded with relatives during holidays, so she had no choice but to turn you down. That's only natural."
"Exactly! She figured you'd be fine since you have work to keep you busy, isn't that right, Miss?"
En'en gave a thumbs-up in approval. But was that really okay? That would end up with Yao having to come to the pleasure district.
(Should I rent a room at the Rokusyokan?)
No good. There were too many customers coming and going — no rooms were available. Even if there were, the madam would fleece her on the price, and even if she paid, could Yao keep her sanity in a room where she'd hear moaning all night long? And halfway through the night, En'en might just snap and go charging at the sources of those sounds.
Most other places would be the same, so she wondered whether there might be a decent inn somewhere in the capital.
"You'd want somewhere that isn't an ordinary inn, right?"
"That's right."
Yan Yan answered on Yao's behalf.
"Last time I was too much of a nuisance, so when I moved to a different house, they figured it out the very next day."
(What kind of man is that uncle of hers?)
Was Yan Yan's skill at intelligence work something Yao's uncle had drilled into her?
"They'd probably find me right away at my place too, wouldn't they?"
"No, I think it would be safe as long as it's somewhere around Maomao."
What did she mean by that?
(Oh...)
It clicked into place.
And while she was at it, the ideal lodgings that Yao and Yan Yan were looking for floated to mind.
Somewhere with good security, where relatives couldn't find them — and even if they did, couldn't lay a finger on them.
Such a place existed, but it was hard for Maomao to bring up.
"Maomao, you seem to have something in mind."
Yan Yan leaned her face right in close.
"If you do, would you tell us?"
Their noses were now barely an inch apart. At this distance, she couldn't even look away.
"Yan Yan, you're too close."
Yao pulled her back, and Maomao let out a sigh of relief.
"So, where is it?"
Yao pressed her as well.
Maomao raised both hands in surrender.
"It's the home of someone you both know. I absolutely will not put in a word for you, so if you want to ask, you'll have to do it yourselves."
Since they were supposedly a prestigious family, they surely had rooms to spare.
"Why not try asking that scruffy spectacled fellow?"
Raiban.
That was who was being discussed.