It's been about a week since everything changed. One day, it felt like half the servants were planning some sort of assassination of our lord, and another day, he's up and gone, having taken a barge full of riches from a mercenary in exchange for his title. So from one day to the other, our liege just changed. And yet, somehow, it worked, probably aided by everybody despising the old lord and figuring that the new one can't be worse. Sure enough, despite Lord Genji being a former mercenary entirely unsuited to rule, we found ourselves with a far more wise and gentle lord, and pretty much all problems with the old one were swept away with ease.
This, however, has put me in a rather strange position. Back when we were still united with our hatred of the old lord, slacking was commonplace, and in my case, that expressed itself in getting drunk every day. It is my job to take care of the massive sake reserves stored in the cellars of this estate, and so it was very easy to sneak a bottle or two. I've done this for quite some time now, and so I'm quite the experienced drinker of sake, which might be very unladylike, but I really do not care. With the new lord, this arrangement is probably not tenable anymore... or so I would have thought.
Today, I was actually taking stock of the sake in the cellars—since I hadn't done a proper inventory of this stuff in a long time—when I was approached by one of the guards and told to rest up for tonight, for my presence was requested at tonight's banquet, specifically by Lord Genji. This was unusual, to say the least, but one thing I learned in this line of work is when the lord requests something, you obey. So I returned to the servants' quarters and slept until nightfall before being awoken by the guard.
This brings me to my current situation, where I am kneeling in the dining room rather than preparing what will be served, my place directly by the side of where the Lord Genji will sit, which is a surprise to me. While everybody has heard of Lord Genji at this point, only a few of the staff have actually seen him, with me not being amongst those, so this is going to be my introduction to him as well. And so, it is here that I wait, watching as the other servants scurry about, setting everything up and preparing quite the banquet.
Eventually, the guests begin to file in as well, with some being higher-ranking servants, some members of Lord Genji's court, and some might be more personal friends, with some of them looking quite foreign to me. They must have some sort of connection to the lord from his time as a mercenary. And finally, the lord himself arrives, taking his place right next to me. It's clear to me right from first glance that he carries himself in a dignified manner. "Ah, you must be Shimashi. My guards have told me about you, but I have not had the pleasure of meeting you yet," he says, his tone soft. "May we have a long and fruitful friendship... though I suppose that tonight will tell me quickly whether that will be the case or not." The statement implies a lot without telling me anything, and his slight, knowing smile just adds to the trepidation. Still, at least he seems more playful than malicious. When I give him a respectful nod and slight bow, he chuckles. "While man might test his mettle in battle, it is only when sharing food with his comrades that his true colors show." With him sitting gracefully like this, speaking to me like a poet, one could almost forget that he was a warrior. But as the feast begins, I still can't quite figure out what I'm supposed to be doing here.
***
I figured it out, and all it took was way too many cups of sake. In retrospect, the signs were there fairly early, when the food being brought in began to dry up, and instead we were served more and more exotic variants of sake from all across the country. There were even some bottles amongst them that I recognized as being very valuable, bottles I would never have touched in my life, but here they are, being opened and poured freely. When a couple of the other guests started excusing themselves before stumbling off or being supported by some servants, I thought that this event would surely end soon, but I could not have been more mistaken. But what really sealed the deal for me was the moment one of the guests vomited, causing plenty of splatter that hit his neighbors, then passed out in his own vomit. I would have been sure that now would be a good time to call for an end to the festivities, but no. Indeed, all that happened was that the vomiter was carried out and his spot was cleaned by the servants, and then the next bottle of sake was brought in.
Things just continued to escalate from there, and before I knew it, I had arrived in this current situation. The dining room looks more like a battlefield now, with spilled sake staining several places and multiple guests either sleeping right here because they didn't make it to the bedrooms, or just outright passed out. In the end, the last two standing—or, well, kneeling—are Lord Genji and I. He must have been told of my, er, hobby... but instead of being angry or having me punished, it seems he was instead quite happy to have someone like me in his employ. It was all building to this—being a drinking partner to him, someone that can keep up with him, because nobody else seems to be remotely up to the task. And I should mention, I'm not really keeping up with him either, I'm pacing myself. At first I drank just as quickly as he did, but the more it became clear that I was in for the long haul, I slowed down quite a bit. This man is a legendary drinker, and the gods only know what things he got up to in foreign lands to make him this way.
And while the alcohol hasn't defeated Lord Genji, it has had its clear effects on him. The topknot that held his hair had become undone at some point, causing his long, white mane to simply spill out all over his shoulders, and the hair covering his left eye was swept away by errant gestures, causing a massive scar over that eye to become visible, giving an edge to his otherwise soft facial features. "Hah! Looks like my guards did a good job this time. Last time they brought some runt that couldn't even handle half what you've handled so far. I'd almost given up hope that this country still had people capable of drinking in it!" he bellows, the grace and dignity in his voice completely gone. "And to think that I was looking for people in the taverns of this province, when what I was looking for was in my employ all this time!"
"I... I'm glad I can be of service, my lord..." I mutter in return, holding back a belch. How is this man capable of putting away this much booze? Is he even human?
My stunned expression simply causes him to guffaw, clearly amused by my inebriation. "Ah, I haven't had this much fun in a long time. Must have been ages since I last felt this excited, back when I was still out on the battlefield. Those were the days... you ever disembowel a man? Not just kill him, but get a real good cut, so his guts spill out right then and there? Oh, it's a sight to behold! Part of me wanted to do that to that damn Turk I was working for when he sent me into early retirement, but that got me to here, drinking with you, so maybe it wasn't all bad. Still, there's nothing quite like the thrill of battle, the taste of blood... you ever taste blood before? I tore some Greek's throat out with my teeth once," he tells me, clearly incredibly happy to delve into his memories. He's asking me these things like there is even the remotest chance I ever disemboweled someone or tasted blood, but at the same time, I can't imagine he's actually expecting me to answer yes.
For a bit, all I can do is stare, but I do manage to catch myself. "Um, no, can't say I've done that before..." is the only thing I can say in response. What else can one say to that? Even if I wasn't drunk right now, that would have me stunned.
But Lord Genji did not seem to care, and he laughed uproariously once more, his lips curling up into an almost sweet-looking smile across his youthful face. "I suppose a servant woman doesn't get too many opportunities for that. You know, I like you, Shimashi. To think all these bastards can't hold their alcohol—courtiers and friends from my old days that should have had more than enough chances to build up some damn drinking skills—and here's you, a mere servant woman that can knock them back like a champion! You'll have to limit your little hobby down in the cellars from now on, but I think we'll find plenty of opportunity to make up for that. Now, indulge a mercenary for just this night, alright? Let us drink more, I shall tell you of my past, of murder, of plunder, and, of course, of wenching!" he yells, the sake clearly having knocked out all of his inhibitions at this point.
"W-Wenching?" I mutter in return.