雨化竹身 Bamboo Rain

飞云商会为行秋准备的宴会衣装。竹纹清雅、剪裁服帖，但最令行秋满意的还是其内层的口袋，足够塞下一册较薄的小说了。 Formal wear prepared by the Feiyun Commerce Guild for Xingqiu. The bamboo prints are refined and the cut is most flattering, but Xingqiu's favor

「你说什么——『游侠猫』走丢了！还是在这个档口？」

"What? Meowndering Hero's gone missing!? At this juncture, of all times!?"

领班惊怒的声音在后台回响。

The troupe leader's furious voice echoed backstage.

「偏偏还是在飞云商会宴请枫丹贵客的晚会上？这名声一砸，我们戏班在璃月枫丹两头都落不得好！」

"And right when Feiyun Commerce Guild's having important guests from Fontaine over for an evening banquet? Come on! If we run our reputation into the ground here, it's is going to be disaster for our shows on both shores of the sea!"

饰演「游侠」的演员此刻却全无「游侠」的派头，缩着脑袋惶恐不已。

The actor playing the "wandering hero," head shrunken back in a panic, looked nothing like the part.

「离…离我们上场还有点时间，我这就去找！」

"Th—There's still time before we take the stage. I'll go look for it right now!"

后台窗外，檐角之上，行秋正随性而坐。

Outside the backstage window, sitting leisurely on a corner eave, was Xingqiu.

「原来如此原来如此，因为顾忌到名声，所以才没拜托『飞云商会』的人一起找吗？不过这下可就难办了…我该怎么告诉他们，猫兄你在这儿呢？」

"I see, I see. So it is a matter of saving face, then, that no one from our Guild was asked to join the search? That complicates things... How, then, am I to tell them that you're here, Mr. Cat?"

行秋直起身，向一旁的烟囱口里看去：一只装饰夸张的黑猫正警惕地盯着他。

Standing up, Xingqiu peeped down the chimney mouth next to him — within, a black cat in swashbuckling garb stared up at him, eyes vigilant.

且不说自己本就是偷偷从宴会溜出来的，不方便直接见人，若以「飞云商会」二少爷的身份去告知「游侠猫」的所在，恐怕戏班的人自己都会尴尬到钻地。

To say nothing of his own chicanery in secreting himself away from the banquet making him ill-suited to meet others directly, someone known as the "second young master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild" finding this 'Meowndering Hero' would make things terribly awkward for the opera troupe.

「只能先把猫兄你救出来，再悄悄带回后台了吗…唔，希望不会弄脏这身衣服，不然大哥肯定要问我又上哪了…」

"I guess I'll just have to rescue you and take you backstage in secret, huh... Ugh, I hope I don't get these clothes dirty, or my brother's going to ask some pointed questions about where I've been again..."

行秋小心翼翼地往烟囱口探出手，「游侠猫」却不领情，喵了一声躲进角落。

Xingqiu reached cautiously into the chimney, but the cat ducked into a corner, rejecting his proffered helping hand.

「…是被陌生的环境吓到了吗？还是说你也不喜欢聚宴的气氛？不过猫兄，让别人陷于困境，可有负『游侠』之名啊。」

"Spooked by the unfamiliar environment? Or are you just not fond of the banquet atmosphere? Either way, Mr. Cat, getting others in hot water is not quite what a cat with your title should be doing."

行秋苦笑，看来今天身不染尘，是请不动这位「猫兄」了。

He grinned wryly. No getting this kitty to come along without getting his hands dirty, huh?

晚会一切如常，戏班顺利登场。

The night went as planned, and the troupe took the stage without a hitch.

「游侠猫」伴着紧锣密鼓上下翻飞，掌声与喝彩绵绵不绝。

Meowndering Hero twirled and flipped to the strict rhythm of the gong, seemingly endless applause breaking out.

「好！好！」行秋拉着大哥连声叫好，大哥的注意力却不由得飘向他身上的新行头。

"Amazing! Most amazing!" Xingqiu exclaimed while grabbing onto his older brother. What grabbed said brother's attention, however, was Xingqiu's new attire.

这身枫丹风格的衣装竹纹清雅、剪裁服帖，显然是出自名家之手…

This Fontainian-style ensemble's well-tailored lines were adorned with elegant bamboo patterns. Clearly, the work of a master...

不过这小子当初收到它时可是一脸苦涩，说什么「行动不便」、「难以匿踪」，只试过一次就束之高阁，如今怎又穿得甘之如饴了？

And yet, when he had first received it, had this little lad not complained that it "restricted movement" and "made it hard to conceal oneself," wearing it but once before folding it up and putting it back on the shelf? Where was this sudden love for it coming from?

像是读出了大哥脸上的疑惑，行秋浅笑道：「晚间读书时看到一句：『宾客来此，如归其家』…为了招待枫丹的来客，换上这身衣装，也是一种礼数吧？」

As if reading the doubt written on his brother's face, Xingqiu smiled softly, saying: "I came across this line while reading last night: 'One should make guests feel at home'... Changing into these clothes to welcome guests from Fontaine is a form of courtesy too, is it not?"

大哥眉间的疑惑消解大半，又上下打量了一番，看他身上的衣装熨帖洁净，倒也没像去年那样偷偷跑出去折腾…

The doubt knitted into the elder brother's brows dissipated, and he looked Xingqiu up and down once more. His clothes were quite clean, so he certainly didn't seem to have snuck out like he had last year...

或许他在这一年里，多少也有所成长了吧。大哥欣慰地想。

Perhaps his kid brother really had matured a little this year, he thought with some relief.

…只是空气里若有若无的一丝煤灰味，究竟是从哪儿来的？

...Still, there was a faint smell of ash in the air. Where was that coming from, exactly?

「不用麻烦你们了，我自己更衣就好。」

"No need to trouble yourselves. I'll change by myself."

聚宴告终，行秋支开侍从，脱下外衣，露出早已黑一块灰一块的内衫。

When the banquet was over, and the servants were sent away, Xingqiu would take his coat off, revealing his dust and dirt-stained inner garments.

「呼……好险好险，还好柜子里还有这身行头，不然可真瞒不过大哥的眼睛…」

"Phew... That was a close one. Good thing this was in the cabinet. There was no way I was fooling my brother otherwise..."

不如下一部小说，就写一位来自枫丹的侠盗吧。行秋暗想。

Perhaps his next novel could be about a chivalrous thief from Fontaine, then?

「嗯…开头就写：世人皆知锦衣华服不利隐踪匿迹，却不知名流身份才是侠盗的一重隐藏…」

"Hmm... Let's start with this: All know the common wisdom that damasked dress makes a deficient disguise, but none realized that celebrity was the cloak of this chivalrous thief..."