Raiban
Yao and the others would be imposing on his household.
The arrangement was ideal in terms of conditions, but it came with certain problems.
First, it was the home of an eccentric strategist.
Second, it meant staying at another man's house.
It was essentially a bachelor's household.
From a social standpoint, it was hard to imagine young women wanting to stay there —
"My, how nice it is to have flowers around."
Raiban arrived, pushing his spectacles up with a smirk.
After that, the two promptly wrote a letter and ordered a servant to deliver it to Raiban.
"He is male, after all — are you sure that's alright?"
Maomao was taken aback by how quickly things had moved.
"I don't see why it wouldn't be. He doesn't have lecherous eyes."
Yao replied airily.
No, Yao really should have thought more carefully. Raiban did stare at women quite intently — it was just that his perspective was different from other people's. Raiban, who measured everything in numbers, likely regarded women with the same detached appreciation one might afford a work of art.
"I think it will be fine with Raiban."
Even En'en, whom Maomao had expected to object, was enthusiastic. When she asked why —
"Raiban's relationships with women are always clean-cut with no lingering complications, and they're all older women."
(She did not need to hear that.)
He was quite the ladies' man despite his clownish exterior. There were some things one simply did not want to know, even if one already suspected them.
And so, with everything falling into place, Yao and En'en would be staying at Raiban's residence starting from the very first day of their vacation.
Raiban had, with characteristic courtesy, come all the way to their quarters to pick them up.
"Bringing a carriage, no less. Where do you plan to scrounge up the money? Gonna charge En'en for her board?"
"What a terrible thing to say. It's only natural to be courteous to women."
Suspicious.
"The real reason?"
"..."
He didn't seem willing to talk. It felt like there was some hidden agenda, which made her uneasy.
"Oh well."
Maomao planned to head back to the pleasure district after seeing Yao and Yan Yan off. Being the eccentric strategist he was, he probably wouldn't care even if more people tagged along.
"Maomao."
"What?"
"You're coming home with brother too... Wait, stop making that face."
Apparently, her face had twisted into a grimace. Yan Yan came over, smoothed out Maomao's expression, and left. What was that all about?
"No way."
Maomao flatly refused. She briefly returned to her room, then came back with her belongings.
"Well then, I'm heading home."
She gave a brisk wave to Yao and Yan Yan, but something tugged at her clothes. She thought it might be someone else, but it was Yao, clutching the hem of her garment.
"Maomao's coming too."
"This has nothing to do with me."
She had to put her foot down here. But Yao's face fell. Why did Maomao have to come along? She wore the expression of a lost child.
"Maomao..."
Yan Yan glared at her. This attendant was being overly protective, wasn't she?
"Relax. I've arranged for Father to be away for several days."
Raohan gave his glasses a glint.
"What if strange rumors start spreading?"
She confirmed with Yao and Yan Yan inside the carriage.
Two unmarried women staying overnight at a bachelor's quarters — in other words, it would be no surprise if people started questioning their relationship.
"..."
Yao looked at Maomao with a complicated expression. She seemed to want to say something but couldn't bring herself to start. En'en, unable to watch any longer, spoke up.
"Visiting a friend's house wouldn't be unnatural, would it?"
"Huh?"
She let slip a gruff voice without meaning to.
"If... if we make it seem that way, then we can save face too. So Maomao, you have to come along."
Yao said, stammering.
"I don't want to. It sounds like it'd smell like old people."
"Maomao, Father doesn't smell that bad for his age."
"Huh?"
"Maomao."
En'en once again kneaded Maomao's face to soften her expression. Yao looked at the two of them with an indescribable look on her face.
"Anyway, Father isn't here, so stop making that face. Come on, we're almost there."
The location was near the eastern edge of the capital. A bit too close to the merchant district for upper-class living, but the grounds were impressively large. You could tell the buildings had once been well-constructed, though the years had clearly taken their toll.
The garden was completely bare, but the layout had a certain functional beauty to it — perhaps Raohan's doing.
What was eerie was the strange scorch marks and sword cuts dotted along the building's pillars, railings, and walls.
In truth, this was Maomao's first time visiting the eccentric strategist's estate. When she was small, the eccentric strategist had tried to take her home on several occasions, but each time the shrewd old woman had beaten him off with a broom.
"Is this the kind of place where burglars come and go?"
Maomao traced her finger along a scorched pillar. The pillar, its red lacquer peeled away, wore the look of resigned decay — not even worth repairing.
"Don't say such nasty things. Look properly. The scorch marks were made by Father, and those sword cuts are old, aren't they? Intrusions by bad sorts have been declining for about ten years now."
(The way she said it, it still happened once in a while.)
After the scorching, he had probably done something with explosives. The large grounds and the location outside the high-class residential district — both were deliberate.
"Leave it to my brother. He's hired proper guards."
It seemed he really was going after all.
Raohan passed through the main house and headed for the detached wing. Compared to the main house, it was a modest structure, but it still had a two-story building.
The interior was not lavish, but neither was it plain. En'en was nodding as she took it all in, so it must have been passable.
"It's a bit cramped, but I trust there won't be any issues? I can't exactly put you up in the main house. As for servants..."
Rahan called over a middle-aged woman walking along the corridor. She had an unremarkable appearance, but working in this estate gave her an unmistakable air.
"Use this person. She'll follow most ordinary commands."
(Just how far does "ordinary" go?)
"It's nice to meet you."
The maid bowed politely and, not wanting to be in the way, promptly left.
For the size of the estate, there were surprisingly few servants. If anyone else was around, it was a manservant clearing rubble from the garden, or three girls around ten years old — though it was hard to tell if they were working or just playing. Actually, one of them might have been a boy.
"We'll handle meals, but if you'd rather cook for yourselves, feel free to use the kitchen here. You can find ingredients in the kitchen behind the main house. The maid I just showed you is usually around, so don't hesitate to ask her."
"Thank you very much."
It was En'en who bowed politely. Yao also expressed her gratitude.
"I'm sorry it's so spartan."
"No, it's more than enough."
As far as En'en was concerned, she could handle Yao's care on her own without any problem. As long as they had a place to hide, they'd manage.
"Um..."
Yao timidly raised her hand.
"When will the owner, Lord Raohan, be coming back?"
"He'll be gone for at least three days. He's competing against the Go Saint."
Rahan glanced at Maomao once before answering the question.
"It's not an official match, but there will be plenty of spectators. They've rented out a dedicated building and are staying there for the duration."
"He went to all that trouble for us?"
Yao looked a bit surprised.
"No, it's something he does every year. Three days isn't too long for me to be away from my father's side, is it? And then your letter happened to arrive. I thought the timing was perfect."
"Then what about us?"
"Don't worry. As long as you bear no ill will, my father won't mind."
That eccentric military strategist apparently had some sense that allowed him to instantly tell friend from foe.
"Then, I'll get out of your way since I'm a bother. I can tell you my room, but for Maomao's sake, I'll behave myself. If you need anything, just tell a servant."
Rahan leaves the detached room.
"Oh, right, Maomao."
"..."
"You should stay over tonight. It would be unkind to leave two friends at a house you don't know, wouldn't it? I'll let the Ryokuseikan know."
"Isn't this also a house I don't know?"
"Not just don't know—take a look in the back room. You'll be able to tell who originally used it. One night probably won't be enough."
Rahan says this with a meaningful look before leaving.
"Who originally used the room?"
Maomao looks around the inside of the detached structure. It's an old build. She walks down the corridor. The kitchen is on the right, and rooms are on the left. She opens a door further back.
"..."
It smelled of paper.
The shelves were lined with old medical texts, and on the opposite side was a medicine cabinet.
(Oh, right.)
Since this was the Luo household, Father must have lived here originally.
And since Father was estranged from his brother, he must have been given a room in this separate building, not the main house.
She opens the drawers of the medicine cabinet. They were, of course, empty, but the lingering scent of medicinal herbs tickled her nostrils.
"Amazing... what is this?"
Yao and En'en were also astonished. She opens a book. In the old volumes, the marks of bookworms were prominent.
To raise Maomao, Father had moved to the pleasure district. The former eunuch expelled from the palace had likely been cast out of the mansion with almost nothing but his own body.
There were many books Maomao had wanted to peek at in the past, which had angered him.
"...This is a amount you couldn't finish reading in one night."
Yao seemed to be voicing Maomao's thoughts.
"One night isn't enough."
It was frustrating, but she was right.