Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf, Vol. 4 Page 6

  Col gulped. That was why Sharon had faltered when the mercenary threatened her.

  “Our Kingdom is an island, and the era in which we could till the land to sustain ourselves on our own is long past. Without foreign trade ships, it’s uncertain if we could even put bread on our tables. If trade was to stagnate, then everything would immediately grind to a halt. We tasted that pain over a decade ago.”

  Col knew that story. He had come to the Kingdom before with Lawrence on his merchant journey. Back then, the wool trade had halted due to misgovernment, and he saw firsthand how great a depression the country fell into.

  Even the monasteries, which once wielded great power within the Kingdom, fell onto hard times in those days because economic activity had shrunk so much.

  If that was the result of a mere halt in the wool trade, what would happen if the steady flow of all daily necessities came to a standstill?

  Without a doubt, that would result in a great chaos that Col didn’t want to even begin imagining.

  “Of course, we knew plenty well the merchants would threaten us like that. They created their association in what is, to them, foreign land just to have this sort of united bargaining power in the first place.”

  It was a hard-and-fast rule that people would gather and associate with those who shared similar interests in lands far from home, where they had nothing else to rely on.

  “I understand…But judging from the way you’re speaking about it, I imagine you anticipated their threats and thought of a way to challenge them already, yes?”

  “That’s right. There are plenty of ways we can frustrate their trade. But there is just one situation in which getting in their way won’t show any results. And that is how perfectly united they are.”

  Hyland held her breath for a moment and quickly whirled to look around the room.

  Col realized she was checking to see if Hans had come back when she leaned over the table, much like Myuri would.

  “I just don’t get it. How have those greedy merchants conspired so perfectly?”

  Her anguished expression was the result of having thought so long and hard about it.

  “Conspired?”

  “Yes. There is no point in using our authority to interrupt the businesses of merchants. But on the other hand, if the merchants were to all stop on their own, that would leave the Kingdom in dire straits. That’s why as long as they stand together in unity, we are instantly at a disadvantage.”

  Those weak when scattered and alone grew stronger when they gathered and cooperated. That was exactly the sort of situation in which an association could prove its worth, and utilitarian merchants would immediately band together in solidarity for profit.

  In that case, it was perhaps an underestimation on Hyland’s part that the merchants should fall in line after being threatened by the power of royal authority.

  As Col mulled that over, wondering whether he should mention that, Hyland spoke.

  “I still can’t believe it. Why don’t they quarrel with one another? Those merchants are creatures of self-interest. Aren’t they supposed to be willing to do anything to maximize their profits?”

  When she said that, Col’s thoughts began to race. Maximize profits? Was that not exactly why these merchants cooperated like they were doing now, to challenge the authorities who were trying to get in the way of their trade?

  His bewilderment must have been evident on his face.

  Hyland looked at him and immediately shook her head, furrowing her brow resentfully.

  “They might be united because they’re all merchants from the south, but that does not mean they’re all on good terms. They shouldn’t be so willing to pass up a chance to kick down their competitors. That is exactly why I thought the more we complicated the situation, the bigger an invitation we would create for them to betray one another and the less likely they would continue to stand together in solidarity.”

  Betray? Col tilted his head, and he suddenly heard a bright voice that sounded out of place. “Aha!” came a small laugh from Myuri beside him. “I always got sooo annoyed when that happened in play fights, too. But getting a head start on your opponent is definitely the most exciting thing to do.”

  Myuri’s eyes lit up, and she was completely ignoring her grape juice and sweets.

  Hyland was hardly offended by Myuri’s lack of manners but instead took her hand, as though backing up what she said.

  “Yes, that’s exactly right! The first one to get ahead gains the biggest profits.”

  As Col found himself at a loss, Myuri grinned mischievously.

  “Brother only ever sees the good in people, so he doesn’t get it.”

  He raised his head, wanting to say something back, but she was right in that he could hardly imagine what she meant.

  “Col. Think with me for a moment. We’re in a situation where competitors in trade, fighting desperately over shelf space in the markets, have said of their own accord that they are willing to pull out from markets in the Kingdom. What do you think would happen, then, if some of them wanted to get ahead? There’s no way they haven’t imagined the profits of secretly agreeing to work with the Kingdom after that!”

  It was entirely possible.

  Merchants were truly utilitarian, and that was certainly one way to maximize their profits.

  “And those merchants are all annoyingly clever rascals. All of them suddenly came up with the same thing at the same time. There’s no way we could take command over them. There would be a sudden battle of treachery, and their union would fall apart little by little. No way that wouldn’t happen.”

  “But that didn’t happen, you mean?”

  Hyland nodded when Myuri asked. She gravely lowered her head.

  “Does that mean the Church is offering huge collateral to prevent them from trying to get ahead?”

  Faith and loyalty were unreliable to merchants.

  “Or maybe some sort of disciplinary action was taken against them in their country…But I can’t imagine a punishment big enough to put them all on the same page. Then, even supposing they proposed a profit for them, it still doesn’t make sense. How absurdly expensive of a medal did they have to prepare for this?”

  The Church had earned the hatred of the people because of the astronomical amount of wealth they had accumulated.

  But still, there was a limit to all things.

  Could the Church promise enough riches, or threaten a punishment big enough to control all the foreign merchants, for them to not mind giving up all the trade with the Kingdom? To control all the transactions for the massive amount of boats in the harbor they saw from Yosef’s ship?

  Such a thing seemed impossible, even for God.

  “On the other hand, it would be a serious emergency if every foreign merchant truly left the country. All the wheat and meat would be immediately bought up from the markets, various products would jump up in price, and there would be looting everywhere. The Kingdom would descend into chaos. If that happened, then the Church would surely launch an attack.”

  Impossible. The word stuck in Col’s throat like a lump of stone.

  Hyland had carefully considered war with the Church and sent them to the northern islands for that very reason. That area was this region’s food store; the firepower of the fishermen-pirates would be crucial if war was to break out in the strait between the island and the mainland. However, fish were fish—they were not a replacement for wheat and oil and all the other daily necessities of life.

  If all the merchants were to leave, then it would be the same as cutting off the Kingdom’s food supply.

  If the Church was to recover from this setback, then this was their golden opportunity.

  “And that’s not all,” Hyland said, her hand pressed to her forehead as though bearing a headache. “If the cost of things skyrocketed, riots occurred, and the Church took the opportunity to start a war and throw worldly affairs into chaos, then it’s also possible that Heir Klevend would play on the
confusion to cause a civil war over the order of succession. That is truly what we’re most afraid of. We have the option of arbitration in the case of war with the Church, but internal conflict will only be resolved at the gallows.”

  Chaos was always a ripe opportunity for those in low standing to claw their way up.

  Hyland and company not only had to be wary of the Church on the outside but also of revolt on the inside.

  They were truly beset with troubles both at home and abroad.

  “That is why I wonder if the tax collector organization’s offensive posture toward the Church might be Heir Klevend’s orders as well. Perhaps he is deliberately trying to rile up the Church to create a reason for them to start a war.”

  There were plenty of people who believed that belligerent lords who thought of talking as a waste of time had it all and that their valor was exactly what gave nobles honor.

  “I may be doubting him too much, but…the tax collectors here in this city are unusual. These supposed drifters have come together to pledge loyalty beneath a banner, like mercenaries. You saw it, right?”

  Col recalled what he had seen in the harbor. Even Yosef, who was used to seeing tax collectors on the seas, had been surprised at how coherent they were.

  “But the more I think about it, the more I feel this is an opportunity for Heir Klevend to kill countless birds with one stone. Even if he managed to raise enough money by selling collection permits to cause internal strife and ultimately caused a war by backing the Church into a corner, just stirring up confusion within the country could still create the groundwork for his civil war. Of course, if the Church just ran off with their tail between their legs, then he could assert himself as a key figure in the conflict between the Church and us. He’s more of a tactician than I thought.”

  He was watching closely for a chance to take the throne and making elegant waves to do so.

  “Of course, the king and I don’t plan on bending to the Church. But we also must be concerned with peace within the Kingdom.”

  At this rate, the foreign merchants would all pull out from the Kingdom and political instability would stem from a serious supply shortage. The only one who would aim for the Kingdom as it reeled like that would be the Church.

  There were countless countries throughout history that fell to ruin in wars over the throne.

  The kinder Hyland was as a ruler, the more unbearable her country’s ruin would be.

  And Col himself could not idly stand by as others suffered.

  He could not, but the situation before him was much too complicated and chaotic.

  “I could say it’s all nothing but guesses, of course, but…the drive of the tax collectors and the way the traders were acting just make me imagine terrible things…”

  Hyland sank into her chair, exhausted.

  As a member of the royal family, she had a responsibility to the fates of her countrymen.

  The kinder she was, the more heavily that duty hung over her.

  “Or maybe it’s his way of testing their courage, gambling on everyone’s expectations,” Myuri said, taking a piece of sugared fruit from the copper platter. “It’s totally possible, but I’m bad at gambling.”

  Myuri had seen plenty of nobles in Nyohhira, but Col did not know anyone else as grounded as Hyland.

  And whatever the truth may be, the reality was that the Church had planned something, made the merchants their allies, and those merchants had come together to stand up against the Kingdom.

  While he did not know what the trick might be, there was one thing he was certain of.

  “If we consider everything individually, then it seems like a situation so far beyond little people like us. However…”

  Both Hyland and Myuri looked at him.

  “However, I believe our biggest job is to avoid a war.”

  Hyland nodded gravely.

  “Also, we cannot allow them to dishearten us in our chance for reformation. We have come all this way. If we do end up losing our spirit, then our next chance to right the wrongs of the Church would be decades away.”

  There had been plenty of times when he almost gave in to the trouble before him, fell to his knees, tucked in his tail, and ran away.

  Yet, he believed this was the right path and had walked all this way.

  “It is exactly as you say, but do you have any leads at all? Obviously, if we can effectively use your name of the Twilight Cardinal, then the people might come together to resist like they did in Atiph…”

  The reason Hyland was not as articulate as she had been before was because the situation was so vastly different from how it had been in Atiph.

  This was not a situation in which she could easily disperse her enemies. If they cornered the merchants, the allies of the Church, then they would just run away, and that would only spell trouble for the Kingdom. And so the merchants needed to stay in the city, yet if they gave in to the pressure and compromised with the Church, then reform would only get further and further away.

  And what was even more trouble was keeping an eye on the movements of the tax collectors, who were supposedly the Kingdom’s allies. That was because they might be trying to corner the Church to deliberately start a war, according to Heir Klevend’s scheming.

  It was almost like a theological question.

  Three bulls are headbutting, pushing against one another. Removing one bull would leave the other two with leftover force and they’d end up attacking you.

  They had to find a way to stop two of the bulls without putting all three of them in the ground.

  “The first thing that comes to mind is separating the Church from the traders’ association.”

  “Right. If we could only get a grasp on their interests, then we could drive a wedge between them…”

  The conversation trailed off here because the ones talking were a noble and a priest-in-training. They did not know how merchants thought.

  “Have you talked to anyone from the Debau Company?” Col asked.

  The company that controlled the entirety of the northlands was on Hyland’s side.

  “I did, but they are practically outsiders this far south. They are not a member of the traders’ association, and their interests stand opposed to those of the megacorporations in the south anyway. The people on the inside know nothing.”

  “I see…”

  In that case, there was only so much Col could do.

  Maybe it was time for him to send a letter to Lawrence, the sharp ex-merchant.

  Just as that thought crossed his mind—

  “Anyway, you know what to do now.”

  “Huh?”

  Both he and Hyland voiced confusion at the same time.

  With both sets of eyes on her, Myuri simply shrugged.

  “First you need to get a read on what the enemy’s up to, Brother. You might come up with some bright idea if you just take a look around the city.”

  It can’t be that easy…, he thought at first, but then it struck him.

  “Are you sure you don’t just want to get into mischief?”

  “Oh, come on!”

  Myuri puffed up her cheeks, and Hyland’s absentminded laugh joined them.

  “Ha-ha-ha. But it’s not necessarily the worst option we have.”

  “Heir Hyland, please don’t encourage her…”

  “It’s all right. The Church had the rug pulled out from under them because they did not understand what the people wanted in Atiph. A lord who knows nothing of their land should change their attitude, shouldn’t they?”

  She was right, but when he turned his attention back to Myuri and saw the mischievous look on her face, something didn’t sit right with him. He could only imagine she said that because she had grown bored of the conversation and wanted to go out and about in town.

  “And it’s now an undeniable truth that you are an important player here. Once your face and name are widely known, you will then lose freedom in your movements, and the people may not tel
l you the truth anymore.”

  There was a hint of sadness in the smile on Hyland’s face. Being a powerful member of a royal family was not without its drawbacks.

  And perhaps the name of the Twilight Cardinal held more authority than even Hyland did.

  “And I also wouldn’t mind if you remained in the manor with me, occupying yourselves by debating the ominous clouds surrounding the Kingdom, looking dark and serious and wearing big frowns.”

  “Not a chance.”

  When Myuri turned her down, Hyland shrugged comically.

  “I just want to build a good relationship with you two.”

  Col was not sure if Hyland really liked Myuri all that much, but he could easily imagine Myuri getting bored and falling into a bad mood.

  And since it was true this was not a problem that could be solved simply by thinking, it seemed like their only choice was to get out on the ground to investigate just who was plotting what.

  When he came to that conclusion, he reluctantly had to agree that what Myuri said was right.

  “Sure. So then, tomorrow—”

  “It’s barely noon!!”

  When Col leaned back at Myuri’s threatening attitude, Hyland’s shoulders shook with laughter.

  “Heh-heh-heh. Exactly. And if you don’t play your cards right, you’ll have an endless wave of lobbying envoys paying you a visit tomorrow.”

  Myuri glared at him with an I told you so look, so without any other choice, he gave in.

  “I might be at the bottom of the ladder of all the royals in the Kingdom, but I still want you to see the biggest city in our country. Now that you’re here, there’s a shop you absolutely must visit at least once.”

  “A shop? What do they sell?” Myuri asked innocently, and Hyland responded as though telling her a secret password.

  “They specialize in mutton, and it’s called the Golden Fern.”

  Myuri’s eyes immediately began to sparkle.

  “Brother!!”

  As she gripped his shoulder to shake him, he wondered how people could believe that he was the Twilight Cardinal.

  “Yes, yes, I know. I know.”

  “Oh, but…”

  Myuri suddenly stopped.