Spice & Wolf IX (DWT) Read online

  The anger on her face was finally calming, and she turned her face away from him.

  “I am going to start doubting your words.”

  She ended her sentence on a tone of sadness, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes. It was clear to Lawrence that she was challenging him.. she so dearly loved using this skill of hers.

  “Did you not claim you were more than just a blustering human male who could only talk big?”

  Lawrence was finally able to risk a smile. Being defensive in this situation was pointless, even if it was very human to instinctively react that way. He stared at the floor and whispered to himself before raising his head to answer.

  “We won’t run.”

  “Alright, then you have nothing to worry about.”

  “Because you’ll be there for me?”

  If this could help with her own quest to find the bones of the wolf-god, then Holo would help with tooth and claw with nary a second thought. Of course this was far from the ideal solution in Lawrence’s mind. Holo nodded her assent and continued.

  “You need not worry over who to sell it to.. as Cole suggested, I can eat it while the others fight over it. That would be the best solution.”

  “Still, don’t blame me for not thinking of it.”

  “It only shows how much you are not thinking about me.”

  Cole was watching them as they spoke.

  “I know that!”

  Lawrence didn’t hesitate before answering. But Cole seemed worried. As an observer, it looked like they were arguing. But he soon calmed himself.. Holo was wagging her tail.

  “You say this and that all the time. Yet how many times have you needed my help? A third or fourth time cannot hurt.”

  In fact, Lawrence didn’t want Holo’s help. But the reality was that she had saved him many times. Even if he learned from what happened, he felt he couldn’t avoid relying on her. For that reason, he leaned in close to one of the ears she prized for being able to detect any lie.

  “I didn’t choose you as my partner because you’re the Wisewolf of Yoitsu.”

  Holo responded by looking at the floor and laughing. Cole didn’t seem to be listening in, but Lawrence was too embarrassed to continue in his presence. Whether he would have been able to if it was just him and Holo, he couldn’t tell.

  “Then you must show me that you are good enough to not need the Wisewolf.”

  “Of course.”

  His answer was direct.

  “Of course.”

  If he was on his own, he would either flee or let himself be used. But there was a reason a smile had unconsciously crept onto his face. Would he really stay and confront such an overwhelming situation? Did he really have no choice? Wasn’t it better to escape? Such thoughts were racing through his mind.

  * * *

  They were staying at an inn recommended by Eve, which had been discovered by Keeman. Since they weren’t going to flee, they could only wait to be contacted. If they acted independently it would leave a bad impression on both Keeman and Eve, who were sure to be watching them.

  It didn’t help that their opponents had the advantage in power and knowledge.. Lawrence could only react to their actions now. It was the logical thing to do, even if it was as unbearable as having to wait patiently on a chair in an office.

  Of course Lawrence knew the better option would be to just lie in bed and wave his tail in a carefree manner like Holo.. but he couldn’t help himself, so he sat nervously peering out the window. The sky of the season was gray, casting a shadow over people’s hearts and leaving them depressed.

  Lawrence understood just how small he was compared to the plans and greed of Keeman and Eve, and all he could do was sigh. He had been compelled to stay by Holo, but that didn’t leave him feeling particularly brave. This wasn’t a one-on-one contest between merchants.. it was a battle between great merchants capable of fighting several battles at a time.

  Never do business you don’t understand. Lawrence had been taught this by his master, and yet here he was violating that wisdom. He sighed and returned his gaze to their room in the inn. Holo had been grappling with the devil of slumber, but in the end she had succumbed and fallen asleep.

  Cole had taken off his belt. The innkeeper had lent him a needle, so Lawrence suspected he wanted to repair the belt. But the opposite was true. Cole was pulling threads from the belt, tying them together to form a longer one. He then threaded the needle and took off his damaged coat. His intent now clear, Lawrence stood up and walked over to him.

  “You don’t have to sacrifice your belt, you know.”

  Cole was now busy stitching, skilfully mending his coat with the needle. He raised his head and smiled embarrassingly to acknowledge Lawrence, but kept sewing. As the thread gradually disappeared, his coat was repaired. For a merchant only capable of judging how profitable a product was, attempting such “repairs” would require a prayer.

  “I’ll buy you some thread.”

  “Hmm? There’s no need.. see?”

  He bit off the thread, then proudly raised the mended coat to display it. Holo would have knocked him on the head while wagging her tail, but Lawrence just placed his hand on his head and spoke.

  “You just explained the riddle of the coins to me, and I haven’t repaid you yet. Even Church lecturers expect a fee, don’t they?”

  Cole seemed to be debating how to answer, as if he had placed his optimism and the kindness of a friend on a scale in his mind. It evidently settled on the side of friendship, since he smiled and confirmed Lawrence’s sentiment.

  “Are you sure it’s okay?”

  “Would you like to buy some from a tailor? It might come in handy later.”

  Lawrence said that despite knowing that, somewhat paradoxically, the thread would be more expensive than Cole’s coat. The boy had left his home with a noble goal in mind, but he had likely started on his journey without much money. If Lawrence told him that the coat he had taken with him, which was full of memories, was worth less than a piece of thread, Cole could only be depressed.

  “Sure, then.. thanks.”

  Cole replied happily as he put his coat back on.

  * * *

  Lawrence wanted to ask Holo to join them, but she was too busy snoring loudly. Since it was clear she wasn’t going to awaken anytime soon, they left her behind. At least this way, Keeman and Eve would still find someone there if they visited.

  “What kind of thread would you like?”

  They soon found the tailor that the innkeeper had suggested. The situation with the Narwhale had left the city in a mess, but it seemed that only a small number of people were affected.

  Power was what it was because it was held by a small number of people; to most, any concerns of land ownership and the city’s reputation were as distant as the moon in the sky. That was how Lawrence had lived before he had met Holo. Through all of her scheming he had changed, but he still felt at home in such a “normal” way of life.

  The tailor’s shop was incredibly quiet. A young apprentice was busy daydreaming, his hands stained black with dye. Noticing potential customers, he flashed them a business smile. Lawrence replied likewise, taking in the smells of the world the youth was living in. They were smells that he knew.

  “The price varies with the color.. which do you need?”

  “Um.. I guess the color of my coat?”

  As Cole looked at his coat, a voice rang out.

  “Well, a pale yellow won’t stand out.”

  Cole’s eyes opened wide in response. Yellow-dyed products were generally luxury items. The sweet smile on the apprentice’s face made that fact even clearer. He seemed a year or two younger than Cole, yet somewhat more sophisticated. Craftsman’s apprentices were always sent here and there on the whims of their masters; their lives were completely different from Cole’s.

  “Hmm.. but isn’t yellow...”

  Cole seemed concerned about how drastically the color would affect the price, and looked to Lawren
ce nervously, as no salesman would openly admit something like that.

  “Oh, you’re merchants?”

  The apprentice cut Cole off and leaned in. He would earn more commission if he sold something more expensive.

  “Ah, well, we came all this way so maybe we should buy something beautiful.”

  Lawrence went along with the apprentice’s business spirit. Cole seemed confused. The apprentice straightened his collar and puffed out his chest.

  “Of course, of course.. please take a look at these.”

  The young salesman brought out some samples. Each was merely the length of his palm, but they were so expensive that if they blew away and he lost them, he would go without food or pay for three days.

  Only a spice from a place named Saffron could dye things yellow. Saffron was far across the seven seas, on the river to paradise. Yellow was a color seen to represent the value of gold. A valuable dye made a product valuable as well; the wealthy would purchase such products slavishly, and as they did the prices shot up accordingly.

  Cole detected where the conversation was headed, and grabbed Lawrence’s sleeve nervously.

  “M-Mr. Lawrence!”

  “Hmm?”

  As Lawrence smiled and turned back, the young apprentices’ voice called out in order to keep his customer.

  “Sir, sir! One more look, please! See how the color is still brilliant even when placed next to a piece of gold! This is our highest-quality piece.. what do you think?”

  Lawrence nodded, and noticed the tailor had stopped working further in the shop and peered in their direction. He wouldn’t care if the boy actually managed to sell the thread, but was keen to appraise his apprentice’s technique.

  The tailor’s eyes met Lawrence’s for a moment, and he smiled and waved. Lawrence replied with a nod before turning back to the boy.

  “It’s truly lovely.. as bright as gold.”

  “Yes, indeed! So this-”

  “However, don’t you feel it might be a little too bright to go with this coat? Won’t the seam be too obvious?”

  The boy’s business smile froze and Lawrence heard the tailor sigh.

  “I’m afraid my problem will be solved with some gray string, which I’m sorry to say is the cheapest.”

  The boy had no reply, having seen his commission from the golden thread vanish just like that. The tailor finally cut into the conversation.

  “What length would you like?”

  The man gave the boy’s head a good knock with a rough hand. Trading with a canny merchant required one to be just as cunning if they wanted to sell for a good price. It seemed the man wanted to knock that lesson into the boy’s mind.

  “What can I get for three silver pieces?”

  “Hmm.. it would loop around this spool five times. But, how about some in blue? Recently the dye’s been abundant, so the price of blue thread’s come down quite a lot.”

  “Whew.. sounds like a great time to invest. I’m sure you’ll make a killing when the price goes back up.”

  The man, who seemed to have anticipated failure, simply smiled.

  “I guess I’ll just have to settle for gray thread valued at 3 silvers, then.”

  He pulled out a spindle of gray thread and proceeded to close his sale.

  * * *

  Afterward, Lawrence and Cole slowly returned to their inn. They walked along the river, looking at the city. Cole was two paces behind Lawrence, clutching the little bag of thread and looking rather upset.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Cole responded with a face like a beaten dog. He was clearly smart enough to know that he had been had. But he was being more straightforward than Lawrence expected.

  “Are you that hurt?”

  “Well.. um, no..”

  He averted his eyes as if looking for an escape route. Lawrence wondered if he was getting too used to traveling with a certain wily wolf.

  “Holo takes advantage of you far more evilly, though.”

  Lawrence said so, though he felt bad for offering any kind of excuse at all. Cole seemed to reminisce for a moment before nodding in embarrassment.

  “True.”

  “She also barks orders at me with no trace of shame. I’m no god, I’m just a merchant. It’s as if she doesn’t know the meaning of mercy.”

  Lawrence still hadn’t repaid Cole for the ointment, let alone his solution to the riddle of the coins. He wanted to reward the boy. But two-thirds of merchants kept their mouths shut in such a situation.. only a third would remind a seller they had forgotten to ask for payment. Lawrence struggled to decide which camp he fell into, but ultimately decided to be honest.

  “Of course, even if I said that to her, she’d still travel with us.”

  Cole smiled. Lawrence could see why she liked him.

  “But you know, even if I’m not a god, I don’t hate this treatment.”

  “Eh?”

  “If I hated her selfish whims, or felt she was too greedy, I wouldn’t travel with her.”

  Cole gripped the bag tightly and his smile widened.

  “You’re a prospective clergyman.. so if you won’t ask anything else of me, then at least let me do a confession to help you practice.”

  “Huh?”

  “I should say that my behavior back there wasn’t very respectable.”

  Lawrence shifted his glance away from Cole and hesitated. Cole noticed, and steered himself into the mindset of a confessional, wearing a look that was truly becoming of a priest.

  “How do you mean?”

  “Honestly speaking? I was venting.”

  “...venting?”

  It was a bad habit of his to always speak before thinking, and he knew it. After raising his head to look at Lawrence, it fell back down again.

  “You saw how frightened I was at the inn.”

  Lawrence didn’t have the nerve to laugh at Cole while he was opening himself up to the boy. Instead he offered him his hand. Royalty yelled to cover their embarrassment, while nobility coughed and normal people pretended to stumble. Cole did none of those. He would surely become a good clergyman.

  “I did.”

  That answer was too much, and Lawrence finally laughed out loud. Cole nervously tried to apologize, but Lawrence waved at him to stop.

  “No, no.. that’s just fine. You may be my student, but I can’t very well slap your face just to save my own.”

  Puzzled, the boy smiled and rubbed his face.

  “But after acting so pathetically, I just wanted to feel a bit better about myself.”

  “..you mean.. you also did that to teach me?”

  A careful answer.. just what one would expect from Cole.

  “Exactly. I showed you some tricks of the trade while playing the villain. I made you feel nervous that I’d buy the most expensive thread, just to feel like a bigger man.. damn, I’m just a little kid, aren’t I.”

  He scratched his face as he stared at the river, where some merchants stood near a boat that was being unloaded. He overheard some of their conversation on the wind. They were trying to talk their way aboard to get to the south side.

  But the city’s rule was to halt all boats during major incidents so no one could cross the river. It was devised by the landowners and those who controlled the river. Lawrence suspected the boatman wouldn’t risk it. His kind would generally protect their own interests, no matter how hard the merchants tried to convince him.

  They knew this yet this still tried to bargain, showing that the problem in the city was a big deal to them. Based on this, it was clear to Lawrence just how powerful Keeman was. There should be no way to have his letter delivered to Lawrence from the south right now.

  “Your confession has been heard. May our merciful Lord forgive you.”

  Cole spoke in a priestly tone after hearing Lawrence’s confession.

  “My thanks.”

  Lawrence was truly grateful.

  “However..”

  “Hmm?”

  Lawren
ce looked at Cole.

  “You have other reasons for doing this, don’t you?”

  Cole stared at Lawrence with clear and pure eyes, piercing directly to his heart.

  “You want to show that you can rise to Miss Holo’s expectations.”

  The boy’s eyes shone as if he was in the midst of a heroic legend. It was impossible for Lawrence to look into such honest and straightforward eyes. He looked away in shame, not knowing how to reply.

  “Well.. that’s part of it, yes.”

  Indeed, Lawrence was worried about that. His abilities were rather modest.

  “I can’t be of much help to you so please work hard!”

  “Uh..”

  Cole was standing tall in appreciation of Lawrence. His shame meant nothing to Cole, who still somehow held him in perfect esteem. In spite of having dragged him out to buy thread, messing with the tailor’s apprentice, or using him to raise his own self-esteem, Cole didn’t look down on Lawrence.. he seemed to actually trust him.

  Lawrence understood this was just how Cole was, but it was still hard to believe he was so tough and determined to be like that. Merchants had more curiosity than a cat.

  “You can still see me that way.. me, a shameful merchant who vents his frustration on others.. you really are amazing.”

  Cole was surprised; he wasn’t praising Lawrence, but had simply spoken truly from his heart.

  “Wha..? But, um, you’re traveling with Miss Holo.. even helping her find her home.”

  “So?”

  “Then.... the problem we face must be a big one judging by how you panicked.”

  Lawrence wasn’t sure what Cole meant. Indeed what he faced right now was beyond his abilities as a merchant, and even with Holo’s support he was hesitant. But he was talking about something else.

  Was he implying that since Lawrence was traveling with Holo, he must be a great person, and therefore the problem that great person was panicking over must be major? Or did he mean something else? While Lawrence was lost in thought, Cole continued.

  “You’re traveling with Miss Holo and continuing her legend, so of course the challenges and obstacles you face must be on a large scale. I’m truly grateful to have a chance to join the two of you.”