Spring Log Page 17

  It was a permit they had regretfully held on to until it grew moldy.

  Perhaps they were hoping something was still there.

  “Could it be…?”

  As Lawrence murmured, there was a knock at the door. Everyone looked toward it, and peeking in was a different boy from the one Millike instructed earlier.

  “What is it?”

  The boy’s expression was rather confused in response to Millike’s question, and he turned back to the hall.

  “There’s a woman named Selim here who wishes to see you.”

  “What?”

  She did not come because she was called. Millike turned back to them with that realization written on his face, but it did not make any sense to Lawrence and Holo, either.

  “Let her in. Ah, and she said her name was Selim, right? So, is she alone?”

  “Yes. One woman in traveler’s clothes. And she was incredibly flustered…,” the boy added, perplexed.

  Millike ordered him to bring her in for now, and he turned on his heels and ran off.

  It was not Aram, but Selim that came, alone and in a panic.

  She could not have possibly brought some happy news.

  No one spoke, and the only sound was that of Holo sipping her tea.

  And when she placed the empty cup onto the table, Selim appeared.

  Selim’s face was pale.

  She was about to say something to Millike, who came to greet her, but she finally realized that Lawrence and Holo were also in the room.

  “Perfect timing. I had just wanted to call on Mr. Aram and you. I wanted to apologize for the disrespect earlier.”

  Lawrence spoke with his best smile because Selim was clearly upset. He learned from his experience as a merchant that showing someone a pleasant expression would calm them down for at least a moment.

  As intended, some of her tension peeled away when she saw Lawrence smile and, though she still seemed uncomfortable, she gave him a bow.

  “Well, take a seat. And is it a situation where you need soldiers right away?”

  Selim was beautiful, but the air about her was not that of a dignified wolf. It was more that of a shy sheep that ate grass in the corner of a field. If any stray dogs saw her, with their spirits high from the festival, they might make passes at her.

  “N-no…”

  Selim shook her head, and as though she had suddenly realized something, she shook her head again.

  “No, but perhaps…”

  “Perhaps?” he asked back, and Selim shook her head again as though fighting off the confusion.

  “I don’t know what happened…Suddenly, people from the association came to our room. They said, ‘Where did you get that? Bad things will happen.’”

  For a moment he thought they were talking about the permit, but that was odd. Aram and Selim had stepped foot into the associations for the exact reason that they had a permit and were going to open a bathhouse.

  Selim closed her mouth, as though swallowing her nervousness, then spoke.

  “We had some townspeople research the ore we found while digging for water.”

  Ore.

  Lawrence realized that the final missing cogwheel had fallen in place. This was what fit into the hole of the odd story surrounding the permit.

  “And where’s your brother?” Millike asked calmly, though he also likely had already caught on.

  “The people from the association…forced him to lead them to the monastery ruins…”

  “What is the ore? It must be a bigger deal than I thought if association members left during the festival.”

  “I—I don’t know, either. We asked townspeople to appraise it, since if we could sell it, then it could help us get on our feet. My brother thought it might be lead…”

  “Lead?”

  It was a metal that was everywhere, and it was not unusual. It was not something that association members, red in the face, would go after.

  That is what Millike’s expression suggested.

  But Lawrence thought differently.

  He recalled his time as a merchant.

  “Ores that contain lead are sometimes abundant in precious metals,” Lawrence said to Millike, who looked back at him. “Gold. Or silver.”

  Millike’s eyes widened. If either one was discovered in the mountains, it would cause a huge uproar.

  Silver would be especially troublesome. Like the association members that imposed on Aram had said, bad things would happen.

  The severe mountain ranges hindered travel in this area, and the region could not be unified by the sword, but they were able to consolidate the economy through silver coin. It was easy to recall what the money changers’ association president had said.

  Under present circumstances, silver was a weapon that held power in this region.

  If they found a spring that produced “weapons,” what would those in power think?

  “Then those monks from long ago really were mining for ore while they prayed to God…”

  “That also explains why they were able to build a stone monastery deep in the mountains. With the excuse that they were digging for stones for building and not necessarily searching for ore, no one would notice if they carried it out if they changed the silver they dug up and refined it into ceremonial candle stands and crests.”

  “But silver? If that’s so…”

  Millike placed his hand on his forehead and staggered, but quickly stood up straight again.

  “Why did you come here?” He suddenly changed the angle of his questions. “And what are you going to do here?”

  Selim seemed so bewildered that it felt like anyone watching her would become nervous, too, but there was a strength in her rough hands that suited her.

  “I—I can tell, t-to a certain extent, what someone wants by their footsteps.”

  That was due to the life she had lived until now. And since she was kin of wolves, she must have had good hearing like Holo.

  “I immediately hid it in the straw of the bed. My brother took the opportunity to tell me to come to you. We have stepped on the tail of something that we should not have, and that you, Lord Millike, could help us…”

  That was a hopeful observation, or even wishful thinking, but it could also be called reliance, and it was likely a good representation of Aram’s personality. Millike, who was not human, just like how they were not, would help them, and then naturally, they would help him if their roles were reversed.

  But Millike’s expression did not waver.

  “I want to ask you something. Did you really come here not knowing about that ore?”

  Selim gulped as Millike’s sharp gaze bore deep into her.

  Lawrence remembered trade negotiations from long ago. This was the atmosphere of that dried-up world, where no one could easily trust another, where they should not easily believe anyone.

  What Millike was most afraid of was Selim pretending to be an innocent traveler while aiming to open a mine. He could not be sure that nonhumans did not work as agents for humans. If he lent them a hand, simply because they were both like him, then it could lead to the town’s destruction.

  There came a third voice.

  “Well, ’tis likely true.”

  It was Holo.

  “Should she be lying, then I may as well sew my ears closed.”

  She removed her hood and showed her wolf ears, and they twitched. She was able to discern lies with her hearing.

  “Should their goal be gold or silver or whatnot, would they ask the townspeople to identify what they unearthed if they did have these ulterior motives? ’Twould be announcing that they search for treasure.”

  It was unthinkable. With some tools and a bit of knowledge, they would be able to figure it out themselves. If their goal was ore, then they would have completed the preparations for it already.

  “Well…I suppose your brother had no choice but to travel to the dig site with the townspeople. There is no depending on the ones who intruded and demanded
he take them there.”

  Selim nodded uncomfortably at Holo’s words.

  “Then from what I’ve heard, there is no proper road to where the holes are. Then this might also mean he’s buying time. Though the townspeople may be red in the face, they cannot move until they confirm how much treasure they may obtain from the mountain. Then again, the boy Aram has realized that he has stepped into something terrible, but has, on second thought, decided that it might become more complicated should he act without understanding the situation. Buy time and rely on what he can. Well, ’tis good judgment.”

  “Save for the one who is going to solve this problem in the meantime.”

  Millike, who was being depended on to fulfill such a role, sighed, feeling annoyed.

  “Considering the situation, they probably found silver in the mountains. And how are we supposed to explain this to someone who doesn’t know how much trouble finding silver in this area means? What’s more, the owner of that land isn’t anyone around here—it’s the pope!”

  His long beard and hair seemed to quiver in anger.

  Even now, Selim seemed as though she might cry out of guilt, so Lawrence piped in.

  “Do you think the Debau Company would intervene and settle this nicely for us?”

  It was troublesome that they found silver here because the Debau Company, who had unified this region into its current state, maintained its power through the circulation of silver coins.

  If some stranger came and opened up a silver mine within their sphere of influence and then used that silver to mint coins, then it would be a clear violation of territorial sovereignty.

  And since there were great concessions that came with the circulation of coin, Debau was incredibly sensitive about the treatment of silver, which was the foundation for their currency. The money changers’ association president also complained about that.

  But the same could be said about the opposite. If they were to sell land with silver in it to the Debau Company, then they probably would not be angry. Rather, they would gladly buy it.

  They should think that why the association members were so angry and forced Aram to take them to the dig site was because the picture was clear.

  But Millike gave a sigh that sounded like it came from the depths of hell.

  “The pope printed that permit. Afterward, he might hear that a large amount of silver was discovered there. That’s more than enough reason to spark a war.”

  What was written on the permit was not the written will of God.

  How many large companies went bankrupt after they lent money to royalty and titled nobility, only to have them annul their debts?

  “Then what shall we do?”

  Millike groaned.

  “In reality…the only thing that could happen is that the Debau Company would buy the silver they find there and put the bill into the pope’s pocket. That’s what they have in common.”

  Though the pope at the head temple of the Church had fallen from a position of ultimate power, he was still a prominent figure in this world. What’s more, there were those in this land who despised the Debau Company. By the logic that the enemies of enemies were friends, then it was entirely possible there existed people who might purposefully instigate a confrontation between the pope and Debau.

  And if it came to war, then there was no doubt that Svernel would become one of the main battlefields.

  This was the worst possible outcome for Millike, who wanted to protect his town, and also for Lawrence, who was a person from the town of Nyohhira, which depended solely on Svernel for the distribution of their materials.

  An oppressive air lay heavily over them all, and there came a small voice that sounded out of place.

  “Um…”

  It was Selim.

  “Wh-what should…we…do…”

  She and Aram came, burning with hope, from the south. They had no malicious intent, and they had no way of knowing that they would dig something up in the mountains. Rather, it was much more common for someone to mine, knowing there was silver, and instead run into trouble.

  This was the meaning of too much luck becoming a curse.

  “There’s nothing to be done. If we offered compensation to the pope, it wouldn’t be worth it if we don’t exploit the ore on a large scale. Secretly doing leisurely things such as running a bathhouse wouldn’t be possible.”

  “N-no…”

  Rather, it would not be unusual if they were held responsible for bringing a complicated problem to this land. Millike did not say that, though, as it was the least he could do to console her.

  With her rough hands, Selim gripped her clothes.

  “There at least would be jobs at the mine. All you can do is save your money and go to a new land.”

  They coordinated with the associations in town, and all that was left was to wait for water to appear. They had only just barely touched their dream, and the disappointment was staggering. Selim reeled, and she sunk to the floor.

  Millike did not say anything to her and only slightly narrowed his eyes.

  “First, we need to contact the Debau Company. It would be best to have everyone from Debau here and ready when the ones who went to check on the mining come back. We can’t give those greedy folk time to do anything.”

  As Millike spoke, he looked at everyone in the room in turn, as though confirming the order of things. Lawrence, Selim, and then finally, Holo.

  “…You treat me like a post-horse.”

  “How much do you think all the sugared candy you ate cost?”

  The bowl, which was filled with candy, had at some point become empty.

  “And you should be on good terms with the rabbit in Debau Company.”

  The one who kept accounts there was not human, but the embodiment of a rabbit. With him, Lawrence and Holo had escaped to this city and had history of planning a comeback.

  “Honestly…When we finally get out of the village, things go wrong.”

  “W-wait.”

  The one that interjected as Holo reluctantly agreed was Selim, who had been so dazed until then.

  “P-please let me do it.”

  Holo did not look at Selim, but at Millike, and tilted her head.

  Millike was expressionless, either because it was his natural face or because he was a man with power that was used to passing cold judgment, and he looked down at Selim.

  “If you are volunteering to work because you feel responsible, then no. You have no stock in the Debau Company and doing needless work now will just cause more problems.”

  Thoughtless charity would not help anyone.

  But this would have Selim completely left out. The situation would be taken care of in a way that was completely out of her hands. Lawrence, who was nothing but a simple salesman, knew well the feeling of being left behind by the system.

  It was all because of bad luck and bad chances.

  “And, Wisewolf Holo, I want you to go see Aram first. Delay their journey as much as you can. I’m sure wolves can communicate with each other without the townspeople realizing.”

  “So rough for a wolf handler,” Holo said discontentedly as she stood from her chair.

  “And? Troublesome ones like yourself enjoy writing all the time, aye? Should you have something I should bring, prepare it quickly. The sun will soon set.”

  “I will do so shortly.”

  Passing by Selim, who still sat on the floor, Millike left the room.

  Millike was cold to everybody. The only thing he considered precious was this town.

  “Can you stand?”

  Lawrence, obliged, helped her up, and Selim finally snapped back to the present.

  And when she did, the reality of the situation seemed to catch up to her at the same time. Tears pooled in her eyes.

  It was difficult to hold back tears once they started. When she did, Lawrence first realized how young she truly was. Selim and Aram had an innocent dream that was fitting for their youth. If there was light at the
end of the path, they believed in just that.

  “Hey, young girls shouldn’t cry over things like that.”

  Selim looked quite like his daughter Myuri, and as he held her up by the shoulders, Holo stared at them. Of course, on purpose.

  “It’s not your fault, and they won’t take the permit for free.”

  Like Millike had said, if they were to open a mine, there was an option for them to earn money there.

  But at any rate, the wandering lifestyle still waited for them afterward.

  “Or…”

  Lawrence began to speak, but then hesitated. Even if he asked them to come work at his bathhouse, there was no way he could take in all of them. In the end, it was a hopeless situation. If he had vast amounts of money, he would lend it to them so they would be able to build their own bathhouse deep in the mountains of Nyohhira.

  But unfortunately, even if he knew all the ways of the world, there were still some things that could not be done.

  That was why preachers always had to teach people about good lifestyles.

  “We can also ask the people at the Debau Company if they have jobs, so we can keep you two as close together as possible.”

  Having watched Myuri, he knew that the tears of younglings fell like jewels.

  Selim, too, tears still rolling down her cheek like small stones, looked at Lawrence.

  He hoped the reason why she harbored no grudges was because of her personality. Hoped that it was not resignation simply because the hopes they held onto until now had been crushed in the end.

  “Thank…you…so much…”

  She thanked him with a hoarse voice and looked down.

  Lawrence could only pat her thin shoulders.

  Then he looked at Holo, suggesting that they leave her alone for now, and left the room.

  “Hmm…”

  The one that sighed when they exited to the hallway was not Lawrence, but Holo.

  “Is there nothing that can be done?”

  She looked as though she was enduring the pain and looked beyond the closed door.

  She had acted like it had nothing to do with her, but she was much more openhearted than Lawrence. She was the one that wanted to help the most in that room.

  “Probably not. We can only hope for a miracle.”