Spice and Wolf - Volume 17 - Chapter 15

GRAY SMILING FACE AND WOLF

Mr. Lawrence and Miss Holo were arguing again.

The cause was not allotting Miss Holo enough meat in her stew for supper.

For his part, Mr. Lawrence said he was subtracting equal to the dried meat she had snatched and eaten. For her part, Miss Holo said, “You have some nerve, do you have any proof,” and so forth.

In fact, Miss Holo really had snatched and eaten the dried meat. During the time Mr. Lawrence had gone into town, checking the state of the place and speaking to people at the inns, I had witnessed with my very own eyes her sitting on the bed, casually eating the dried meat while grooming her tail.

Even so, Mr. Lawrence had no way of knowing that; so when pressed for evidence, he was at a loss for words. I thought if I said I saw the whole thing, the circumstances would have been turned on their head.

I did no such thing, because I thought it might have been some kind of scheme of Miss Holo’s.

After all, she was a wolf god known as the wisewolf who had lived centuries.

Miss Holo pressed even harder. “Any proof?”

With an unpleasant look, Mr. Lawrence drew in his chin and said, “None.” After glaring at Mr. Lawrence for a while, Miss Holo snorted a “hmph” and turned aside. Afterward, she declared it her natural right and pulled a handful of dried meat out of the pouch.

I had witnessed this kind of back-and-forth many times ever since they allowed me to travel with them.

Though arguments could begin based on a few words and on the slightest of misunderstandings, there were also many cases like this where Miss Holo was clearly at fault. At first, it made me very nervous, but lately I had become quite accustomed to it, so I just turn away from them ever so slightly and think little of it.

This time, too, Mr. Lawrence made a sigh and Miss Holo turned away in annoyance. Perhaps Miss Holo did not recognize what she was doing as bad behavior. Even though I think that if thoughts between you differ, you should just talk things over properly, for some reason, neither of them did.

But even though their gazes were averted so as to not look at the other, I felt like they were closer to each other than before the argument, maybe because they were both leaning forward a bit.

It was a sight I did not see much of in my village.

When in town, there were multiple options for supper, like a tavern or the dining hall of an inn, but Mr. Lawrence wanted to eat in his room at the inn as much as possible.

When eating in the room of an inn, it was usually cooking using ingredients he had procured for low prices that he brought to the dining hall to be cooked. If you asked him, he would say it was cheaper that way. He would also say, even if there was not enough and he asked for extras, he could still keep expenses down that way.

He would add with a strained smile that this was particularly important since he had someone with him who ate and drank her fill.

As if Miss Holo knew why Mr. Lawrence did not go to the dining halls or taverns to eat, she drank her wine as if it was precious. When eating in a room and finished drinking her allotted wine, she never got any more, no matter how much she sulked like a spoiled child. All Mr. Lawrence did was open his waterskin and present it to her without any expression.

When Mr. Lawrence and Miss Holo argued, they did not shout and throw things at each other like I often saw back at the village; they just suddenly stopped talking. They did not meet each other’s eyes, behaving like there was no one else there. Back in my village, when people had an argument, it was like both people concerned had started a fire, and as a rule, the neighbors did not approach until it had burned itself out, since valuable things always seemed to get broken.

Instead of doing things like that, even as Mr. Lawrence and Miss Holo gave each other the cold shoulder, they were able to talk to others with smiling faces right away. Judging from their faces, you would think there had been nothing but fun times since getting up that morning.

After that, as if each’s existence had been exiled from the other’s head, they were able to completely ignore the other as if it was truly second nature. Even if Mr. Lawrence broke down first during the ignore-the-other contest that followed, calling out to Miss Holo over and over, it was all for nothing if her mood had not improved. Her tone, posture, and eye movements were completely natural as she joked with me and ignored Mr. Lawrence.

At first, how they were both exceptionally adept at making composed smiles even while angry looked a little creepy to me.

Even so, when looking at the big picture, it all looked so childish that I did not really understand either of them.

After we ate, by the time I put into order the utensils we had borrowed from the inn, went to return them to the kitchen, and came back, Mr. Lawrence was coming out to refill a pitcher of water.

I simply could not hold it in anymore and told him about Miss Holo.

Once I did so, Mr. Lawrence made a surprised expression, indeed acting as if there had been no argument whatsoever.

“Mm? Holo did?”

“Yes…Er, I felt that it really wasn’t good for me to keep quiet about it…”

The Church teaches us that God sees all our actions, so it is futile to try and hide what we do. However, as we do not possess eyes like those of God, the truth remains hidden from a great many people.

In my village, lies were punished by having one’s rump smacked with a supple bow.

It was literally beaten into you that when holed up by snow in the middle of winter, when bears and wolves roamed the mountains, even the smallest lie or concealed thing could bring about nigh-unimaginable disaster.

I have encountered many lies and concealed things since descending from the mountains, but I still believe such things must be rectified.

All the more so because I had eaten the slice of dried meat that Miss Holo pushed onto me.

“Yeah, I know.”

But with a smile, that was what Mr. Lawrence said to me.

“Ah? But Mr. Lawrence, you…”

“Certainly if you insist on my providing proof, I have none, but we’re down four pieces of dried meat. Perhaps Holo ate three and you ate the other one?”

As he beat me to it, I brought my fingertip up to my forehead.

Mr. Lawrence, who was well versed in dense passages from scripture, seemed able to recall exactly what he had of everything.

“…I’m sorry.”

After speaking, I hung my head.

In my village, if you stole food, they even made you stand naked outside of the house.

But Mr. Lawrence made a wry smile and placed the pitcher in his hand on top of my head.

“Holo made you eat it, didn’t she?”

That was exactly what happened, but the fact this was what Mr. Lawrence believed actually made me a little concerned.

“Am I wrong?”

Quickly lowering my upturned eyes, I made a small shake of my head.

“I trust you, and that’s why I don’t doubt what you said.”

When I lifted my head, Mr. Lawrence had a smiling face very typical of him.

“Besides, even Holo must vaguely realize that I count the slices of dry meat.”

“Ah?”

Mr. Lawrence removed the pitcher from my head and spoke as he walked.

As I spoke back in surprise, I followed right behind Mr. Lawrence, awaiting his reply.

“It’s not as if I thought I was putting her on trial and determining her guilt or innocence. I’m not that hard up for money.”

Mr. Lawrence opened the door that led to the courtyard and went outside.

It was a moonlit night, seemingly blotting out the oil lantern in his hand with ease.

“But on a journey, if you let your guard down over and over, that can lead to disaster someday. For example, in a critical situation, you might have to give up on something because you’re just a little short on money or something similar.

“You understand, don’t you?”

As I nodded, Mr. Lawrence nodded back.

I thought that these were very important words.

But after Mr. Lawrence made a satisfied face at my reaction, he turned gloomy.

“But she’s extremely narrow-minded about some things, you see. I have no objection to simple childishness, but she’ll probably get hardheaded if I prove impropriety to her face.”

I wondered if that was really true for Miss Holo, a wolf so sublime as to be called wisewolf.

Though that was what I thought, Mr. Lawrence sighed and slumped his shoulders and, drawing close to my face, said this:

“If I back her into a corner and say, ‘You swiped the food, didn’t you?’ she’d acknowledge it, yes. And after, when taking the slightest break and offered food, there’s no doubt in my mind she’d say, ‘Is this not swiping food?’ Moreover, she’d go, ‘Is it all right to eat this?’ or something, and even ‘This, my boy, this is a trap,’ wouldn’t she?”

Mr. Lawrence looked like he dreaded it from the bottom of his heart as he mimicked Miss Holo’s manner of speech.

I could not say with confidence, “No, she would never do that”; they certainly did seem like things Miss Holo might say.

Overwhelmed by Mr. Lawrence that I was, I found it mysterious that, however great the dread on Mr. Lawrence’s face, I did not see a single shred of dislike for Miss Holo upon it.

“That’s why I don’t need to back her that far into a corner and drive the fact I count all the food in like it’s a nail. Holo’s no idiot. If I gently point it out, even she’ll stop swiping food after a while; a few cross words to me doesn’t mean any genuine conflict. Besides…”

Lawrence drew the bucket out of the well and poured cold water into the pitcher.

“It makes it a little harder for her to beg for food and wine when the going gets a little rough, doesn’t it?”

I nodded in admiration.

It was definitely so, I thought, for Miss Holo was indeed stubborn about certain things.

“Goodness. She should know exactly what happens when you’re not prepared and trouble strikes…She really is quite troublesome.”

Holding the pitcher, nearly full to the brim, Mr. Lawrence made a heavy sigh.

“Where would she be if I wasn’t the one traveling with her?”

In the corridor, someone was passing through who was apparently a merchant who knew Mr. Lawrence, so I took the pitcher and returned to the room in his place.

When I arrived back, Miss Holo was glugging down her wine as if still holding a grudge as she sat on the bed, grooming her tail.

“Mm. Water?”

“Would you like some?”

As I inquired, Miss Holo nodded. Beginning to drink water apparently meant she was done drinking wine for that day.

Drinking wine alone made you thirsty, but treating it by drinking more wine would not put a stop to that. “Even fools treat thirst with water,” she would always say.

Just as I was looking around the room for a small container to open, Miss Holo reached her hand out to me. Then, she took the pitcher, put it to her lips, and began to drink. Even though she drank the water as heartily as any wine, she did not spill even a single drop.

I thought to myself that she was not very drunk today, for I had often seen Mr. Lawrence hurrying to wipe water dripping from the corner of her mouth.

“Phew. ’Tis nothing quite like cold water.”

Making a burp that greatly resembled a hiccup, she cackled as she tendered the pitcher.

I took it and put it on top of the table.

It seemed Miss Holo’s mood was not terribly foul at present.

“So, what of that fool?”

“Mr. Lawrence, you mean? He seems to be speaking to a merchant he’s acquaintances with downstairs…”

Do you want me to call him? I nearly asked, but I stopped myself.

I had learned a thing or two about how Miss Holo operated, too.

“Hmph. ’Tis good if he does not stick his neck into strange schemes again…”

Her eyes fell upon her fluffy tail; seeming to see some hair that was about to shed, she pulled it out with a light tug and blew it away with her breath. Then, she made a great yawn, raising her arms in a stretch that looked like it felt good from where I stood.

“…Ah. So, did you tell him about me, lad?”

As she examined the sandals sitting on a chair, Miss Holo launched one of her usual ambushes.

I could not feign innocence like Mr. Lawrence could.

Taken back by surprise, I looked toward Miss Holo.

“Heh-heh. I am not upset.”

There were times you could do naught but trust the smile on Miss Holo’s face.

Even now, there were times when I guessed wrong, but I thought today’s was genuine.

“Did he say something, then?”

Miss Holo put the tankard with wine in it onto the floor and pushed it into the corner.

Usually, this was a signal she was going right to sleep.

But she crossed her legs and sat on top of the bed, putting her elbows on top of her knees and resting her chin upon her palms with a bored look.

“Er…ah, that’s…”

Of course I remembered, since it was only moments before, but if I told her all of it there would probably be another argument.

Since I am quite poor at telling lies, I was as economical with the truth as I could be.

“Well, he said he can’t provide any proof, but he does know you ate it…”

After gazing straight at me, scrutinizing every word, Miss Holo went “Hmph!” and turned aside.

“Goodness, he truly is a fool.”

Then, she made a large sigh.

“He does not understand in the slightest why I swiped the food.”

“…Ah?”

“Mm? Could it be that even you think all I was doing was having a snack?”

Miss Holo’s ears were fearsome ears that could pick up anything.

I nodded, venturing no excuse, tilting my head a bit as I looked at Miss Holo.

“My word, these males are just…” Miss Holo rocked forward, grimacing as if enduring a headache.

She fell from the bed, but my worry was of course needless; she deftly put a hand to the floor, reached her other hand out to the wine, taking it in her hand as she rose up in one swoop.

“I am certainly aware of his side. ’Tis not good to swipe food and waste it, it might cost us when in a real pinch, and so forth?”

It being exactly as she said, I nodded as if wondering if she was angry with me.

“Of course I understand that. But I do not think ’tis necessary to be so narrow-minded about each and every little thing. I did not steal food that we have but a limited supply. A few slices of dried meat shall hardly be missed.”

Miss Holo had a valid point as well, I thought.

Mr. Lawrence’s preparedness was important, but to always be that way was stifling.

Even in my village, it was said good hunters must keep their guard up at all times, but when night falls, the good hunters are the hunters who sleep well.

Even the Church teaches that excessive austerity is no virtue.

“I think it a good thing if that fool lightens up a little. When I first met that fool, he was so greedy that he would not overlook even a nail fallen upon the road. He did not even eat properly, focusing everything on making money, neglecting even his own life. If you do such things long enough, your mind shall split and you shall make a terrible mistake.”

As Miss Holo finished the last part, she guzzled down some wine.

Though she had a great love of wine, it did not look so tasty when she drank it alone.

“Human life is short. Those who do not enjoy themselves when it is time to do so die with scowls on their faces.”

Then she muttered, “Goodness,” as she drank the seemingly bitter wine.

I looked at Miss Holo as if I was admiring her.

No, I really was admiring her.

Miss Holo lived a very long time. She had no doubt watched the lives of many souls.

I thought she had likely seen some who prepared for any future eventuality, yet had not lived long lives as a result. If that was so, they had likely never had the time to use any of what they had piled higher and higher, dying without ever enjoying themselves.

Certainly, Mr. Lawrence always made a pained face at Miss Holo’s propensity to eat and drink her fill until she could no longer move. But in the end, he was greatly enjoying having Miss Holo with him. “It can’t be helped,” “Might as well enjoy it after having come this far,” and so on.

Apparently Miss Holo was not behaving like this out of self-indulgence; she truly believed Mr. Lawrence’s obstinate aspects ought to be mended.

I reflected upon the fact that I had not noticed this whatsoever.

“Well, if I said this to his face, he’d no doubt think he is the wise one. He’d likely say, no, you’re the one who’s mistaken. That is why I must very slightly play the fool, loosening him up whether he likes it or not. Yet even though this wisewolf is doing so much for him, truly that fool is…”

As I thought to myself, I feel like I’ve heard something like this before, Miss Holo made a large burp and said this:

“What would happen to that fool if I was not traveling with him?”

Miss Holo was already up when I awoke the next morning.

She had opened the inn’s shutters and placed bread crumbs from last night on the windowsill that attracted small birds.

Even though her true form was a huge wolf that seemed like it could swallow a cow whole, and even in her current human form had incredible intensity when angry, she watched the little birds peck at the bread crumbs on the windowsill with her chin on her palms, looking very gentle.

Besides, I knew that Miss Holo truly was very kind. She was considerate to me about all kinds of things; sometimes she even told Mr. Lawrence things in my place that I found very difficult to say.

She was mean to me just as much, but since Miss Holo always seemed to be having fun from the bottom of her heart, she probably did not think it was mean. After all, she did not tease even Mr. Lawrence all the time.

As I got up out of bed, I saw that Mr. Lawrence was sound asleep in the adjacent bed. Even though Mr. Lawrence was in the middle of sleep, his forelocks were in perfect order. Miss Holo, with her chin on her palms at the window, most likely knew why they were like that.

“What, ’tis the lad who awoke first?”

As Miss Holo noticed me and said that, she seemed a little sleepy.

Those words seemed to make the little birds pecking at the bread crumbs realize that Miss Holo was right beside them. With shrill cries, they hopped up and flew off.

Miss Holo lazily watched the heartless little birds as they departed; it felt like she was saying “My, my” as she rose from her seat.

“Now then…slap the fool awake and get breakfast, perhaps?”

She cracked her wrists, finally making a sigh and a snort.

Though her face lacked expression, she seemed somehow amused; no doubt she enjoyed waking Mr. Lawrence up.

I pretended not to notice the eager sway of her tail as she drank cold water out of a pitcher.

In short order, Mr. Lawrence was waking up with a start while Miss Holo made a cackling laugh.

“—nsherned you shay?”

It was a little before noon when Mr. Lawrence entered the room and Miss Holo parroted the words back at him.

Her strange way of speaking was because she still had dried meat in her mouth.

In spite of that, his composure did not waver an inch.

However, perhaps I might say, that is Mr. Lawrence for you. After all, the dried meat Holo was gnawing on was broken out from Miss Holo’s personal supply.

When I heard Miss Holo rummaging around and saw her taking out the dried meat and gnawing on it, I exclaimed, “Ah!” but Miss Holo made a conspiratorial laugh and explained it to me.

She seemed to have done it with the intent of Mr. Lawrence seeing that and admonishing her, with her answer to give her great bragging rights.

Miss Holo’s tail wiggled all around when Mr. Lawrence failed to fall into her trap.

“Yesterday I ran into an old acquaintance of a merchant in the corridor, and he asked me to help with something.”

“Then should you not do it?”

As Miss Holo spoke those words, she returned to her everyday tail grooming.

Since she combed it several times a day, it was a comely tail indeed.

However, Miss Holo was being uncooperative beyond reason, like a princess withdrawing from a conversation.

“You’re free, aren’t you?”

Immediately one of Miss Holo’s sharp ears stood straight up. It was as if to say, “Aye, try saying that again,” but Mr. Lawrence simply slumped his shoulders.

“Um, can I do it?”

I was not doing anything in particular, and since they were both taking such good care of me, I wanted to help where I could.

I did not mind physical labor; it was the simple, boring chores that made you stronger.

“Mm? Ah yes, you’d be plenty of help, Col. Can I count on you?”

“Yes!”

Since I did not have many opportunities to be useful, I leaped up at this one.

As Mr. Lawrence beckoned with his hand, I tossed on my overcoat and hurried to the doorway.

“What will I be doing?”

As I asked, Mr. Lawrence spoke rather casually. “It’s merely counting some gold coins. There’s a fair amount, but you’re strong in math so I’m not at all concerned.”

I knew that this was high praise coming from Mr. Lawrence, but such considerate words were ticklish. Before meeting Mr. Lawrence and Miss Holo, I would have wondered if I was being mocked, deceived, or perhaps both.

“I’ll do my best!”

“Ha-ha. You’ll be fine even without the enthusiasm.”

And as Mr. Lawrence was escorting me out of the room, his feet suddenly came to a halt.

“So?” Mr. Lawrence said curtly.

His face seemed somewhat amused.

When I turned around, it was just as Miss Holo, who but a moment before had been gnawing on dried meat, grooming her tail, was pulling her robe out of the luggage.

“I shall go, for you will be lonely without me.”

I met Mr. Lawrence’s face and made a small smile.

Of course, this was not overlooked by Miss Holo, for in the corridor she stomped on my foot.

In the end, the three of us left the inn, making our way to the inn the merchant concerned was staying at.

Outside, it was very bright and warm.

It was bustling from so many people being out; everyone was full of life in the morning.

Miss Holo was showing great interest in stalls she spotted through the spaces in the crowd; had Mr. Lawrence not been holding her hand, she would probably have gotten lost like a child. If I asked her what in the world she was doing, she would have probably been mean to me again so I held my tongue, but Miss Holo truly seemed to be having fun as usual.

“So what was all this?”

“A merchant I know asked for help tabulating his money.”

It was a vaguer explanation than he had given me, but Miss Holo, as if she thought it was fine as it was, went “Hmph,” nodded, and scratched the base of her ear through the hood of her robe.

“And why did he ask you to do such a thing?”

“Apparently he’s not close to any of the money changers in this town. His deal ended well, but he’s unfamiliar with the currencies here, he said. So he asked me to sort out the coins and show him in broad terms how to convert them efficiently; he can’t learn without seeing it for himself.”

Miss Holo listened to Lawrence’s explanation, though it felt unclear whether she was really listening or not. I was not an expert on trade, but I did know it was very complicated to exchange a mountain of differing varieties of coin. When I was studying in the scholarly city of Aquent, there were people who told silver coins apart by biting them. They told me they had been fooled by counterfeits made from rusting pieces of steel. They added, “You can tell steel by the taste, so you’d better learn it, too.”

I told Mr. Lawrence the story, to which he made a great laugh.

“That brings me back. My teacher did that a lot to cheat me out of my allowance.”

This shocked me quite a bit, but Mr. Lawrence looked like he had had a great deal of fun.

That master and pupil to deceive each other by such means made me admire what an amazing profession being a merchant was.

However, Miss Holo yawned as she listened to the story, saying this at the end:

“So that is how you became so gutless?”

“I’d rather you said ‘watchful.’”

“Ha!”

Actually, I really liked the way Miss Holo laughed when she was mocking someone.

That was because she looked so malicious and yet so very pretty.

Even as Mr. Lawrence drew his head back a little, he surely understood that any rebuttal would dig a deeper hole.

He politely held back his words and walked forward.

He was devoting himself to silence to avoid an argument.

I thought Mr. Lawrence came off very well, too. Miss Holo harshly dubbed him a cowardly fool, though.

“Ahh, ahh, thank you for coming. And you brought such a charming apprentice, too.”

It was indeed a portly, middle-aged merchant who greeted them at the inn.

I was unaccustomed to the hat he was wearing; when I asked about it, he indicated it was from a land far to the east. Apparently it was a harsh land that was dry year-round, a place of both extreme heat and extreme cold.

Certainly, the gentleman was very kind, but I felt he would be quite frightening if angered. It was an atmosphere I saw much of in my village.

“This is Holo, who I travel with for a few odd reasons, and Col.”

“I am Holo.”

“Tote Col.”

When Miss Holo and I introduced ourselves, the gentleman went “Mm, mm,” as his wrinkled face made a nod.

Perhaps he had grandchildren around our ages.

“Oh, I’m truly sorry for making you come out of your way like this. I’ve been trading in far-off lands for twenty years, you see. I can’t make sense of this mountain of strange coins, and as a result, these money changers want to keep half my coins for commission. You can’t slip anything past them.”

He spoke resentfully, but I understood very well what he meant, having had my own terrible experiences at the hands of money changers. Only Miss Holo asked Mr. Lawrence, “Was that one at the town back then ill-natured, I wonder?”

Mr. Lawrence thought about it for a while and replied, “That money changer was a real villain.”

Most likely, Mr. Lawrence and Miss Holo were speaking of a money changer at a town they had visited before on their journey. I could not even imagine what kind of money changer it took for Mr. Lawrence, with such a breadth of knowledge about the world, both in front of and behind the curtain, to call him a villain.

But I wondered why Miss Holo looked somehow amused. Perhaps, like a knight, she was more worked up the mightier the foe.

There were many things I still did not understand.

“So, can I ask you to get this done as soon as possible? Actually, there’s a money order from a comrade I need to settle by tomorrow. There’s too many people who push this job and that onto their elders, I tell you. This is why I hate traveling.”

“It just shows how much they trust you. Understood.”

“Right this way, then…”

And so, the gentleman showed us to the inn room where he was staying.

“Mm.”

“Ooh.”

“…”

The moment we entered the room, the three of us were at a loss for words.

In spite of being about the same size as the room where we were staying, it was just overflowing with things: bundles of rolled-up fabric; bundles of furs fastened with ropes; and bulging flaxen sacks with their mouths closed strewn all over the floor, filled with different kinds of beans so far as I could tell. There were other things I did not understand at all, but I picked out a number of crates, making me wonder just what kind of business this man was into; I really could not tell.

But what struck us dumbfounded was most likely not that, but rather the mass of coins, a mountain, piled atop a large table likely at its limits.

“Bwa-ha-ha! How about it. Surprised?”

The gentleman’s shoulders shook as he made a droll laugh.

Though he seemed every bit a little boy playing a prank, the proud smile on his face was indeed that of a greedy and exceptionally skilled merchant.

Though Mr. Lawrence, too, had sucked in his breath, when I glanced up at the side of his face, he looked composed as he stared straight at the top of the table, seeming to calculate in his head. In Aquent, there were a great many people who devoted themselves to thinking, but I thought that sometimes, the side of Mr. Lawrence’s face looked like those of exceptional people I had seen in that town.

It had been famously said the front of the face can lie, but the side cannot.

Miss Holo mocked and made fun of Mr. Lawrence quite often, but I thought Mr. Lawrence was an excellent merchant himself.

“There’s quite a bit of coins all over the place here…and with old ones mixed in, too.”

“Yes. That makes it difficult. My traveling companion is a merchant about the same level as I. I had a deal for the guild to send someone to do the accounting, but he was completely useless. I have to think it’s our willingness to stick our own necks into danger that makes us into merchants.”

When the gentleman smiled, his teeth poked out, with several off-color like a set of mismatched coins.

In the village, it was taught that men became like stone as they advanced in years. Therefore, it was taught, one should age gracefully so that even if you truly became stone and you were on display forever, you would have nothing to be ashamed of.

Surely, even if this gentleman became stone then and there, he had the look of a merchant whom travelers could only admire.

“Also, this merchandise…You bought up a whole warehouse from some company hard on its luck?”

“Ah?”

I was the only one surprised. When the gazes of everyone else there assembled onto me, I realized that my face was red.

“Hah. Well, something like that. I haven’t been in business long enough for this land to trade kings three times over for nothing. I was collecting on favors I’d made here and there and so forth.”

I understood from Mr. Lawrence’s slumping his shoulders that this was surely not worthy of overwhelming praise.

But the gentleman took it as admiration and looked very proud.

Looking at the two of them, I felt like I was watching two children who had enjoyed pranks who had grown into adults wholly unchanged.

I thought that was something to be quite envious of, but Miss Holo did not seem all that fond of it.

Even at a time like this, she had a bored look as she poked the hilt of a sword in its sheath with the tip of her finger.

“We’ll be as much help as we possibly can. But with so much, I’m not quite as confident so…I need a visual reference. Holo, sorry but could you go get the pouch with coins in it from the inn?”

Miss Holo lifted her head from a shield adorned with pretty decorations, looking at Mr. Lawrence, then at me.

She must have thought, Why not make the lad do something so tiresome like that?

But.

“Mm. The one you always use to compare by eye?”

Miss Holo asked with a display of humility that astonished me. “That’s the one. Sorry, but thanks.”

“Mm.”

Miss Holo nodded briskly, heading out of the room at a jog.

Though I did not understand whatsoever the circumstances swirling around, I wondered if perhaps the coins were too valuable to be entrusted to me.

That made me a little sad, but it stood to reason.

“Now then, Col.”

That was when Mr. Lawrence’s voice leaped out.

“This one, this one…and this one; shouldn’t be any question for these. Take the same type as these and line them up in piles of ten.”

“Right!”

I made my reply and got to work.

As the coins on the table had already been roughly divided into copper, silver, and gold coins, we strove to sort out the valuable gold and silver coins.

Since there were several silver and gold coins that closely resembled one another, plus subtle differences depending on the date of minting, it seemed quite a few coins were mixed up with others. Scales and measuring boxes full of water were methods for rigorous distinction, but it was best to sort by hand as much we could.

Seeming well aware of these circumstances, the gentleman said, “A lot of money’s riding on getting the fine details right.” Though this meant Mr. Lawrence was doing so-called assistant’s work, he made a pained smile that revealed no special dislike.

I did as Mr. Lawrence had told me, proceeding to divide silver coins alone. Furthermore, since these were different enough that there could be no mistake, my work proceeded fairly smoothly.

For sorting the gold coins, Mr. Lawrence gave instructions to the gentleman, with both doing it together.

When taught something you do not know, you should be cordial and pay proper respect, even to someone younger.

This is what the learned men of Aquent taught, but I thought it very unlikely that they could follow their own precept.

As a result, I had thought that it might not be possible, but in fact, it was possible.

Merchants might be liars, but they are forthright to about the same extent.

“Hmmm. The gold coins are fine like this.”

“It seems so. The problem is the silver coins.”

The pair of experienced merchants had apparently divided the gold coins up in what seemed no time at all.

As my eyes widened, both merchants came to my side, making small grunts as they sat.

“Ah, you’re making good time here. There’s no need to rush; accuracy is what’s important for this.”

“Right, right. Rushing won’t make more of them. Though when you don’t close your purse quickly, you find yourself a few short!”

With that, the gentleman made a loud laugh.

He seemed in spirits high enough to live another few centuries.

“Now then, you have to watch out for this one and that one. This is counterfeit; that one’s from a rival religion.”

“Hmph. Today’s men in high places do things just like the old ones.”

“Well, I suppose so.”

The gentleman made an exaggerated slump of his shoulders and a large sigh.

After that, we began to divide silver coins together, but I suddenly realized about Miss Holo. I felt she was a little late coming back.

Even in the middle of a town, there would be cowardly thugs after your things if you let your guard down.

I did not think Miss Holo, of all people, would have her things taken by highwaymen, but nonetheless, I was getting worried.

But Mr. Lawrence did not seem to be paying that much concern. In the end, Miss Holo arrived back a short time later.

“Sorry about that.”

As Mr. Lawrence, still sorting out silver coins, displayed his gratitude, Miss Holo curtly nodded.

Somehow, it felt like the back and forth between a master and a dutiful apprentice.

I watched Miss Holo, quiet with her hood pulled down, as if watching something somewhat mysterious.

“All right, line the contents up over there.”

“…”

Miss Holo nodded briskly and stepped closer to the table. Mr. Lawrence had indicated where silver coins were in neat rows in piles of ten. Normally, Miss Holo would probably make a great laugh and send the piles of silver coins crashing down with one swipe of her tail, but of course, she did not do so here.

Instead, she pulled something out of her robe and put it on the table as Mr. Lawrence had asked.

I instantly doubted my own eyes.

For Miss Holo had taken out a very familiar carrying bag—mine.

“Don’t mix them up with the others.”

Mr. Lawrence said it casually with a small smile. His eyes narrowed as he smiled, like an old man displaying his affection for a beloved granddaughter. Beside Mr. Lawrence and the rest of us, Miss Holo untied the cord of my carrying bag. In addition, my carrying bag, made for carrying over my shoulder, was tied with two cords: one around the mouth of the sack and another tied around the base of the bag forming a large ring.

What Miss Holo had untied just now was the cord of the bottom; she had laid the bag onto the table on its mouth.

Even as I thought there was no way Miss Holo would make a basic mistake like that, I was somewhat concerned and was about to raise my voice.

That was when Mr. Lawrence spoke to me.

“Ah, that silver coin is wrong.”

“Ah? Oh.”

I had put one with a lily drawn on it where the ones with lilies and moons drawn on them went.

As I hurried to fix that, I confirmed that I had not made any similar mistakes.

“You’ll make mistakes if your eyes stray.”

Lowering my eyes as the gentleman, sitting across me, admonished me with his gaze, I resumed my work.

I needed to worry about myself, not others. If I failed here, it would only cause trouble for Mr. Lawrence. Furthermore, I was a hundred years too young to be worrying about Miss Holo.

Right after I had that thought…

“Ah, hey, Holo!”

“Mm, uh?”

It was the instant Mr. Lawrence rose from his chair in haste and stretched his hand toward Miss Holo. The carrying bag Miss Holo had untied with her own hands began to move according to the laws of nature.

As Miss Holo slowly drew the cord out, the contents, lightly held up, now had nothing to support them and came crashing down onto the table. And just like when dropping a leather pouch full of water, the contents did not simply fall and crash, but sought an outlet to pour out of.

The carrying bag’s mouth had only been lightly tied.

The heavy silver coins inside easily broke through the dam, flying out toward greener pastures.

It was all in the blink of an eye.

When I regained my senses, Miss Holo was absentmindedly holding the now-empty sack as she stood before the spilled contents of the bag.

“Ahh, what are you doing, you fool!” Mr. Lawrence disparaged Miss Holo.

Under the hood, Miss Holo’s face drew back and exploded.

I reflexively cowered, but I did not hear Miss Holo yell, “Fool!” Instead, she looked at Mr. Lawrence like a frightened child and began scooping up the spilled silver coins from the mountain of silver coins piled up on the table.

However, one could not separate iron powder from sand without special implements. The task before Miss Holo was all the harder because several of the coins were the same varieties as those that had been lined up on the table.

As a result, things ended up only becoming a bigger mess. Before she could be yelled at, Mr. Lawrence grabbed Miss Holo’s shoulders and pulled her back.

An awkward silence fell over the room.

I forgot to breathe and waited for someone to speak.

The gentleman cleared his throat.

“I’m not upset. In exchange, is it all right if I decide how many silver coins there were? Looks aside, I’m still going strong up here.”

The gentleman pointed to his own head as he spoke.

Though a merchant’s words were never to be taken at face value, it was true that the gentleman did not appear upset. He had probably counted them while we were piling them up.

Mr. Lawrence, looking like he wanted to say something to Miss Holo, shut his mouth and nodded toward the gentleman.

“Sorry. I can’t have you saying I inflated the numbers in the confusion.”

“Ha-ha. I’d say the same thing even if there was a written count.”

“Is there any proof I ate the dried meat?”

That is what Miss Holo had asked at the inn.

In this world, irrefutable proof rarely existed.

“That’s thirty-two Ladeon Diocese silver pieces; fifty-five Mitzfing Cathedral silver pieces; forty-one Archduke Dandren Enthronement silver pieces; and finally, eighty-five silver trenni pieces.”

As the gentleman listed them off, he gave Mr. Lawrence a somewhat sleepy look when he reached the last part. “The same as I recall.”

As Mr. Lawrence replied, the gentleman made a broad grin before shifting his gaze toward Miss Holo.

“That’s how it is. Don’t be concerned; just separate that many coins out. If you make a mistake, correct your mistake and you will be forgiven, for the Lord is generous.”

The last part was a famous line from scripture.

As Miss Holo nodded, Mr. Lawrence emerged from behind, extending the hand nearest to the table.

Without a word, Mr. Lawrence pointed out the silver coins concerned and assisted with the work. Clang, ching—the sounds peculiar to silver coins reverberated, almost as if they were crying.

The gentleman seemed satisfied as he gazed at Miss Holo and Mr. Lawrence’s work.

And when he suddenly looked in my direction, his smile grew even stronger as he said this:

“Lad. What did your master tell you earlier?”

I resumed my work in a hurry.

Miss Holo finished sorting out the silver coins that had been jumbled together around the same time I finished sorting out the gentleman’s remaining silver coins.

“Good. Splendid.”

Looking at the coins neatly piled on top of the table, the gentleman spoke with pride.

“Glory to God.”

Afterward, Mr. Lawrence used reference samples to make a more detailed classification, focusing on those he considered especially troublesome. Mr. Lawrence said that this was all that could be instantly recognized on sight and to please consult a proper money changer with proper scales for an expert opinion on the others.

The gentleman seemed quite satisfied with just this, nodding with a smile on his face.

And as the three of us were preparing to depart from the inn, he handed Mr. Lawrence a small leather pouch.

“You’ve been a real help.”

As Mr. Lawrence’s hand accepted the pouch, the gentleman clasped both hands around his with a good-natured smile on his face. “Call if you need anything else,” Mr. Lawrence said with a smile; then they parted.

I had been sure that we were going to have dinner together, but it did not feel like that at all. I could not really tell if they got along well or poorly. Perhaps relationships between merchants just aren’t like that, I thought, committing it to memory.

Besides, there were other things pressing on my mind far more.

The first was: Why did Miss Holo put coins in my carrying bag and bring it over?

The second was: Why in the world did Miss Holo make a blunder even worse than mine?

“Goodness.”

As I pondered these things, Mr. Lawrence finally opened his mouth.

For a moment, I was startled, wondering if he was referring to the words inside my head, but Mr. Lawrence had spoken after opening the pouch from the gentleman and placing the contents atop his open palm.

“That’s a well-known miser for you. Made us work like money changers and this is all he pays us.”

Mr. Lawrence pinched three coarse silver coins together and held them up to the sun.

Even though he had told me the story of his master swindling his own student, I was shocked nonetheless.

“This won’t even cover lunch.”

As Mr. Lawrence spoke, I finally recalled that I hadn’t had lunch.

“Hungry, aren’t you? Let’s go buy something with our profits.”

I thought I had heard wrong, but the next moment, Miss Holo, who had remained silent up to this point, let out a chuckle.

“So, how much did we make?”

Mr. Lawrence did not find Miss Holo’s behavior suspicious in the least.

Miss Holo seemed to be toning down her usual voice as she laughed.

What in the world is going on? I wondered, as Miss Holo pushed the carrying bag, packed with silver coins, onto Mr. Lawrence.

“Who knows? I am not a merchant. I do not know the prices of silver coins.”

At those words, I thought, Ah!

At the time, the gentleman had counted from memory, but I wondered if a few extra had not fallen into the sack in the confusion.

Isn’t that plain burglary? The moment after I had that thought, Miss Holo spun toward me and took my hand, making a proud, grinning smile, with her fangs showing.

“How many coins were you able to swap?”

While Miss Holo stood beside me, grinning all the while, Mr. Lawrence carefully opened the mouth of the carrying sack wide and peered inside as he spoke.

My head was full of question marks. Swap?

“About ten of the silver coins with swords on them; I did not replace any with lilies. I replaced around thirty of your beloved silver trennis.”

“Mm…if that’s the case, well, considering the age difference, it comes out to a fair bit.”

“Heh-heh. That fool was desperately counting them, was he not? It was as if he had grease in his eyes. I wonder, will you turn into that when you grow old?”

Mr. Lawrence made a disagreeable face at Miss Holo’s final words.

Miss Holo made a small cackle before suddenly looking toward me.

“Ah, Col. I had to use your carrying bag. Do not be concerned, your belongings are all in order at the inn.”

I nodded at that, but I still had not the faintest clue what was going on here.

They had not stolen silver coins, yet they profited from swapping them alone?

“Good of you, though. At what point did you notice?”

Mr. Lawrence closed the carrying bag and directed his words toward Miss Holo.

“Mmm? ’Tis obvious. ’Twas the moment you returned to the room and spoke to me rather than the lad.”

I was completely lost.

Even Mr. Lawrence looked at Miss Holo with a suspicious look now.

“Well, I’ll take your word for it.”

“Fool. But I must say, you put on quite an act yourself. When Col made that dubious face at the carrying bag, I thought things might get a little rough.”

“…!”

That was when Mr. Lawrence had warned me.

“I was surprised, too. I thought you’d pick a gentler method.”

“But ’twas perfect, was it not?”

“Very much so. Well, it’s a good thing I’m used to giving out that humble, submissive feeling, too.”

Miss Holo maintained the smile on her face while baring her fangs, which was quite a dexterous feat.

However, she immediately withdrew her fangs, pulling her head back in apparent happiness.

I was the only one not in on it.

As I stood there like a scarecrow, Mr. Lawrence noticed me and said, “Ahh, sorry, sorry,” and explained.

“Holo can tell whether silver is good or bad by sound.”

“Huh?”

“She can tell by sound just like we can tell steel and copper by taste. Even if the symbol is the same, the silver purity rate varies heavily according to the year it was minted. It was clear from the start that stingy old man would get people to help him without any proper reward, you see. So, we swapped our bad coins for good coins and took our own reward.”

The sound Miss Holo made when scattering the silver coins about. And then, the sounds the coins made when she hastily sorted the silver coins out again.

“This fool wouldn’t ask me to do something troublesome for no reason, you see. There was definitely something behind it. And then there was that mountain of coins. Of course, I understood right away what he had in mind.”

At the very least, so far as I was aware, there was no evidence either of them had spoken a single word to plan out this conspiracy. After all, no doubt if they had, I would have heard them, and being a timid person, I could not have calmly gone along with it.

Miss Holo took my hand with her left; she took Mr. Lawrence’s hand with her right.

Mr. Lawrence’s face had a satisfied smile as well; they really were dancing to the same tune.

“Well, we’re not traveling for nothing, are we?”

Miss Holo was looking up at Mr. Lawrence as she spoke. As she did so, Mr. Lawrence looked down at her, somewhat sarcastically curled up the corners of his lips, and inclined his head a little.

It was when I felt somewhat left out by the tight bonds that Mr. Lawrence and Miss Holo shared that Mr. Lawrence said that to me.

“Aye. ’Twas because the lad worked so diligently that the fool let his guard down, after all. Besides, paying attention to one rabbit is one thing; two rabbits is a different matter altogether. Col’s hard work making him careless beforehand was what made it possible.”

“That’s because the apprentice is a reflection of the master. He seemed to think Col was my apprentice, so that must have made him more confident I had nothing up my sleeve.”

As they were both very kind people, I thought this was probably more than half being considerate of me.

However, the other half, or even less than half, was praise, something I should gratefully accept.

That made me happy, and I smiled widely at it.

When Miss Holo and Mr. Lawrence saw me like that, the smiles they gave me were much gentler than before.

They were very good people. They were people I could trust, people I could open my heart to. Moreover, they were people considerate to someone like me. If the people in the Church were like this, people would be able to live in my village and the villages nearby with greater relief.

In spite of that thought, I needed to lament about that less and be happy I was able to travel with both of them. Setting my thoughts in order, I picked my pace back up and I, Miss Holo, and Mr. Lawrence walked side by side.

“Now then, time for lunch?”

“Yeah. Let’s buy something appropriate around here. I know there’s a cheap bakery right around…”

Mr. Lawrence tried pulling Miss Holo’s hand down a street, but as if he had made a misstep, Miss Holo stopped walking, with her hand holding Mr. Lawrence back.

“Mmm? There’s a restaurant with delicious-looking food over there. Is that not better?”

“That’s the one with what, roasted chicken and duck? During the day it may smell delicious, but it’s expensive. Bread’s plenty.”

As Mr. Lawrence tried to walk forward once more, Miss Holo fiercely yanked him back.

“Fool. You go earn money, but you have no intention of using it?”

“No intention whatsoever. If I use up everything I earn, when can I rest easy?”

“Hah! That’s quite something from someone who’s always sleeping like a foolish, lazy cat. What you earned back there was thanks to me, so use it as I tell you!”

“I’m the one who took the job. Besides, you don’t even know how to arrange coins by type. Let’s say you earned half. That half probably doesn’t even cover all the food you’ve swiped.”

“Y-you’re dragging that out again…Really, this fool is just…”

“Don’t you think about anything but eating? Think ahead a little more…”

In hushed voices, here in the middle of the street, the back-and-forth started again. Fortunately, the street was incredibly packed, making an even more incredible racket. There were craftsmen arguing with one another and merchants having price disputes all over the place. The people around them gave Mr. Lawrence and Miss Holo slightly odd looks, but immediately lost interest and hurried along their own way.

But as I watched the two of them like this, I slowly had a thought:

This is probably what getting along well means.

In the end, as if unable to come to terms, both suddenly looked away from each other; Miss Holo came toward me with incredible force.

Then, she grabbed my hand and walked off.

“Ah, er, and Mr. Lawrence?”

As I asked her, Miss Holo had a sulky look on her face like that of a little girl as she said this:

“That fool can jump off a bridge!”

In the midst of being pulled away by Miss Holo, I looked back at Mr. Lawrence.

Mr. Lawrence looked toward us and, moving his mouth, formed but did not say the words:

You, too!

Still, they looked like they would be making up before supper.

Like telling the quality of coins by their sound, I had a fair grasp of the tone of their words.

I quietly thought about that as we slipped into the bustle of the town.

End