Chapter 3: Guests at Shinya (3)
“Ah, I didn’t introduce myself.”
“……”
A gentle yet humble voice that pierced my ears. Then, he bowed his head to a young girl, much younger than himself.
“I am the Left General of Han, the Marquis of Yicheng, the Governor of Yuzhou, and the uncle of the Emperor, called Bei (備).”
He had a sheepish expression, as if he was sorry for not revealing his identity first. Having received his greeting, I also hurriedly bowed to show respect.
“Ah, yes, hel, hello….”
…Going beyond the difference in age, and despite his status as the Emperor’s uncle, he bowed his head to a mere woman, I could personally feel the words in the history books that said his personality was the best in the world.
“Brother, why are you bending down to such a little brat?”
“……!!”
…But then,
A loud voice came from his left side. I was startled and turned to see a woman in a brown robe with a sword on her hip glaring sharply at me.
A face that made you think of a fierce cat and muscles all over her body, and dark brown hair that slightly covered her shoulders.
She, who overall seemed to have a talent for sports, said with a frown, as if she didn’t like me at all.
“You only have a pretty face, and your temper doesn’t seem good either, hey, are you a prostitute?”
“……Eh?”
At first glance, it was an extremely rude remark, but at the same time, I instinctively took a step back rather than retorting, from the killing intent coming from those slit eyes.
“Ah, Yide (益德), can’t you shut your mouth for a moment!”
“Ugh!”
…Whether he noticed I was scared, or whether he simply didn’t like her rude behavior, Liu Bei frowned and shouted.
At that voice, filled with immense anger, unlike before, I, and the woman in the brown robe, flinched and shrunk our bodies.
“What kind of words are those to someone you’ve never met! Can’t you apologize right away!”
“Ugh….”
He was scolding the woman, seemingly very angry.
Whether they were in a clear hierarchical relationship, or whether she was a person with strong pride, she finally bowed her head slowly.
“I, I’m sorry.”
“……”
However, she immediately clicked her tongue, as if her apology was unwilling. Liu Bei, looking at her, sighed deeply and then turned his gaze back towards me.
“Please forgive my younger brother’s rudeness. She is a kind child at heart.”
“……Younger brother?”
I looked puzzled at one strange word mixed in Liu Bei’s words. Seeing my face, Liu Bei opened his mouth as if he had forgotten.
“I forgot to introduce you. This is my younger brother, Zhang Fei (張飛).”
“Yes?”
And at his natural introduction,
The back of my head began to ache as if it had been hit by a 5-ton hammer.
Younger brother.
The meaning of the younger brother I know is ‘younger sibling’.
Certainly, Liu Bei had sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and their strong friendship that lasted until death was also a major theme throughout the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
But there was one thing I needed to point out.
It was that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were men, and they had XY chromosomes. It was not ‘Three Siblings’, but ‘Three Brothers’.
But now, the one he called younger brother, even ‘Zhang Fei’, was a young woman, not a man.
This meant that, unless Liu Bei was deceiving me, Zhang Fei was actually a woman.
“And do you see the woman standing behind me?”
“……”
Whether he knew or not that my head was about to explode, he continued to introduce his companions without a break. This time, he pointed his finger a little distance from the gate.
Standing there was a tall woman in a green robe.
Like Zhang Fei, she had a sword at her hip, and her fox-like face didn’t seem to have any emotions.
Another thing to note was that her hair reached her ankles despite wearing a hairpin. It felt like the Eastern version of Rapunzel.
“Humph.”
“……”
She, leaning against a pine tree, also didn’t express it, but like Zhang Fei, her mood seemed to be very uncomfortable. Unlike them, Liu Bei smiled brightly and continued his explanation.
“Standing there is my second younger brother, Guan Yu (關羽).”
“……”
My expression hardened at his words.
The moment it was confirmed by his mouth that it was ‘Three Siblings’ of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. My complex thoughts began to become even more messy.
Why is it different from the history I know?
I haven’t been involved in anything yet, even though there’s been a distortion? Or is this another parallel world? If not, did history just record it wrong in the first place?
Since I had never seen a case where the appearance of a person changed during the 15 years I had lived here, the shock came to me even more strongly.
However, Liu Bei didn’t give me a chance to think and immediately changed the topic to his main business.
“…Ah, then I’m sorry, but is this Mr. Wolong’s residence? It seems to be correct according to the map.”
“……”
Even though I had heard a series of shocking news in a short time,
Judging from his words, it seemed that the reason for his visit to this house today was still clear.
He must have come to recommend Kongming to fill the lack of strategists. At the same time, it was also the day when the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage began.
I smiled awkwardly and answered his question respectfully.
“Yes, the Mr. Wolong you mentioned, Zhuge Liang, is my older brother, and this house is his house.”
“Oh!”
Liu Bei’s eyes widened at my words.
He suppressed his excitement and asked me.
“Then, is the teacher at home today?”
“No.”
However, I had to shake my head at the second question.
It wasn’t a lie, because Zhuge Liang had left on a trip yesterday.
“My older brother left on a trip yesterday.”
“Ah……”
Hearing my answer, which I had spoken respectfully, Liu Bei’s face began to stiffen. He asked again with a hesitant voice, to confirm if he had heard wrong.
“A trip, you mean?”
“Yes.”
I nodded firmly.
I understand how he felt, who had come here with the idea of having the best scholar in the world as his subordinate, but what could I do. It was impossible to forcibly summon someone who wasn’t there, and especially someone who deliberately left to avoid this situation.
“Ha……”
Liu Bei sighed deeply as if the world was about to fall apart.
Zhang Fei, who was next to him, also shook her head and muttered, “It was a waste of time.”
A moment of silence followed,
Liu Bei raised his head again and asked me a question.
“Then, can you tell me when he’ll be back?”
“……”
A request filled with deep sincerity.
However, I shook my head once again.
“Because the period of traveling is always variable, it’s hard for me to predict when he’ll be back.”
This time it was 100% true,
I couldn’t predict when my older brother would come back because the period of his trip was always irregular.
Still, since Liu Bei had set the period for his visit to one week, he wouldn’t be back for at least 7 days.
“Ah, yes……”
At my answer, the atmosphere in front of the gate began to drop rapidly. Liu Bei, seemingly feeling a great sense of loss for not being able to meet Zhuge Liang, lowered his head weakly.
“Um……”
I looked at him, feeling sorry for him.
Was it because of the sympathy that slightly welled up in my heart, or was it just because of the insidious desire to show off what I knew to the world’s Liu Bei, I looked at him sadly for a moment, and finally, I cautiously suggested that he have a cup of tea.
“…Since you’ve come all this way, why don’t you have a cup of tea?”
“Is, is that okay?”
Perhaps he imagined a scenario where Zhuge Liang might come back while he was drinking tea, Liu Bei’s expression began to brighten again.
“Yes, please come in.”
“Th, then, excuse me.”
As I opened the gate and gestured for him to come in,
Liu Bei bowed several times and stepped into the house.
“Tch, Brother, this is just a waste of time, isn’t it?”
“…Be quiet, Yide.”
And the two women, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, followed Liu Bei.
Looking at them walking towards the yard, bickering, I sighed deeply.
Yes, well,
More than 2,000 years,
It’s okay for the gender of a character to be misrecorded.
“Ehh……”
Shaking my head at the overflowing worries,
I firmly closed the opened gate again.
.
.
.
“Here, please have some.”
After guiding Liu Bei to the guest room, I brewed some tea in the kitchen and served it to him. The scent of flowers echoed in the room.
“I’ll drink it gratefully.”
He sipped the tea after gratefully bowing. After savoring a few sips of tea, he turned his gaze back to me.
“What’s your name, ma’am?”
“…My name is Zhuge Lang.”
I answered his question, also sipping the tea.
Then, Liu Bei, smiling brightly, replied.
“Indeed! Your name is as beautiful as your face.”
“……Yes?”
I frowned at the unexpected, cheesy words. I didn’t know if it was just to make me feel good, or if he was flirting with me, but I sharply retorted at him, who was smiling playfully.
“…To make a joke about a girl’s face, you are truly carefree, Your Excellency.”
“Yes?”
Liu Bei was startled at my words.
In fact, I was aiming for a certain atmosphere, and I deliberately created it to show off my knowledge to him, even if it was a little bit, but it must have been a very serious word to Liu Bei.
“Th, that’s not possible, day or night, this Bei is always thinking of lifting the Han and comforting the people!”
Putting down his teacup, he stood up and slammed the table.
Shaking his hands, he seemed to be quite shocked. I sipped the tea again and said to him in a calm voice.
“Then, Your Excellency, what plans are you making for the world?”
“That’s…!”
Hearing my question, his lips trembled and he paused for a moment.
“……”
And then came silence.
Yes, of course, he wouldn’t have any.
That’s why he came here, striving so hard to find Kongming, to make that plan.
“You know, Your Excellency, that you can’t stay as a guest in someone else’s house forever.”
I brushed back my bangs, which were covering one eye.
Currently, Liu Bei was staying with Liu Biao, who governed Jingzhou. I was subtly implying that he was still without a piece of land after wandering the world for more than 20 years.
“Hoo……”
Liu Bei finally sat down again with a deep sigh.
And then, as if he had given up, he asked me a question, the one question I wanted to hear.
“Then, do you have any good wisdom, ma’am? If you do, please use it for this Bei, and for the sake of the poor people.”
“……”
His question to lend me his wisdom.
It was a question I had thrown out of spite because I was annoyed by a woman’s criticism, but this was enough. If it was an unreasonable demand to go with me instead of Zhuge Liang, it would have been a headache.
I closed my eyes and recalled the words Zhuge Liang had said before leaving yesterday.
[Never share your wisdom with Liu Bei.]
“……”
Zhuge Liang’s command was quite firm.
But how, would a human being just throw away the chance to show off what they knew? Especially in front of a historical figure!
…A subordinate may disobey the emperor’s orders when he’s outside, and I thought that sometimes, minor acts of defiance were fine.
“…I am just a girl, but fortunately, thanks to my good older brother, I was able to learn quite a lot.”
“……!!”
However, I can’t just say something without any basis, so he won’t listen attentively, so I will assume that I learned it from Zhuge Liang. And as expected, Liu Bei, mentioning Kongming, became interested and sat up straight.
Looking at him,
I smiled brightly and uttered the first words.
“…The Plan for the Three Kingdoms, have you heard of it?”