Holo laughed.
“People always say how big the world is, and now I see just how true that is.”
She closed her eyes again after looking at her cup. It was true; she used to sparkle like a sharpened sword, but now she seemed broader and deeper. People couldn’t stop time and stay where they felt happiest. Holo had even cried about this the last time they were in Lenos. People changed. It was unavoidable.
But that didn’t mean that they had to change in sad ways. One could chose an optimistic route through life, like Lawrence and Holo had, and it seemed that Holo was thinking about that right now. She continued staring out the window with her ears drooped, like they always were when she was embarrassed (and would lead to her getting angry about it later).
* * *
“I should thank God that I met the two of you again.”
Lawrence nodded in agreement with Elsa’s heartfelt assessment. People discovered friends as they traveled, not just life lessons. They might pine about the size of the world, and their own weaknesses, and the feeling of culture shock as they traveled, just like Elsa. But they also learned interesting new ideas, like Elsa was doing right now.
In front of her was a dish classified as a fish tail, no matter how much it resembled a chunk of meat. The clergy ate no meat; it was as natural to someone like Elsa as knowing not to breathe underwater. She could never have imagined that a backdoor like this existed, where she could wear gills for a moment. The look of discovery on her face was wholly satisfying to Lawrence.
“You need not take my word for it, milady, the bishops have made it nice and official in writing.”
The waitress was so lively and bubbly today that she talked with them even while she delivered beer to others. Usually, a pub became dead quiet the moment a member of the clergy entered. But not here. No one paid any mind to Elsa, and just focused on relieving their exhaustion.
“Never.. mind. It’s a big world, after all.”
She stared at the fish tail in front of her before carefully slicing off a ridiculously tiny piece with her knife. She then chewed it like she was hoping to choke it down with all the other unpleasantries of the world. Even Holo and Cole were speechless. Only the waitress smiled in anticipation.
“Ooh.. wow..”
Elsa struggled for a long time before finally swallowing it. Her hands then searched for her cup, her eyes having closed long before. Cole put her juice in her hand, earning her thanks before she quickly drank it down like she was washing out her stomach. Was her initiation over? Lawrence worried how she would take this as he watched her put down her cup, frowning and squeezing out some words.
“So.. so spicy..”
Her face was red, and that included her eyes. For someone who lived in abstinence like Elsa, this kind of rich-tasting dish was like drinking liquor. It was excruciating.
“Mmhmm! It’s meant to be eaten with wine. Now try this.”
The Church had no problem with people drinking, so long as they did so in moderation. There was no shortage of bishops and priests who struggled with the “moderation” part, in fact. They just grew steadily fatter and fatter. There was even one physician called “the angel’s physician” who had a belly so large he had his desk cut so he could sit at it.
“What is this?”
“Buttered fried clams. They’re sent to us from the port downstream, shells and all. You can even eat ’em raw if you wanna.”
Few people ate raw food unless they lived in frigid pagan lands. Lenos wasn’t far from Gerube (the port city the waitress was talking about) so some of their customs spilled over as well, including eating raw clams. Elsa’s eyes were round, as though she suspected it was a joke. That was precisely the way a girl her age should react, and Holo was so ecstatic to see that she would have whispered something to the waitress, had Lawrence not gently turned her face back.
“If this is too rich for you, just eat it with some bread. They serve good food here, but the bread..”
Before he could finish, the waitress slammed another dish on their table, and smiled at him.
“..the bread is a bit expensive.”
She nodded pleasantly when she heard his final wording, then ran back into the kitchen. Holo smiled too, as she covered her bread with baked beans.
“There really are so many different kinds of food outside.”
Their table was covered with meat, vegetables and shellfish of all kinds. There were steamed dishes, and cooked dishes. Strong and weak-tasting ones. Even the bread was new to Elsa. It was thinly cut, and used to wrap other foods. Forget Tereo, even Enberch didn’t trade much with the outer world. They didn’t really pay much attention to cuisine. That was how Lawrence had solved Tereo’s financial crisis, after all.
“But you know, this shock only lasts a couple of days. Even I was overwhelmed the first time I left home. It was a challenge to get used to it all. But after a month, I’d seen practically everything.”
Someone like Lawrence would be bored with life by now, so he counted his blessings that he had met Holo. That kind of spice was what made life worth living. Elsa tried to smile at his reassuring words, but stopped the moment she saw Holo stuffing her face with her bread.
“Uh.. Um..”
Holo finished by sliding the last bean stuck on her face into her mouth with her thumb, then licked that thumb before proceeding to stuff the next dish in front of her into her face. Nothing else registered on her mind when she was enjoying a meal.
“Hmm?”
She opened her mouth when she finally realized Elsa was staring at her. But she only stopped for a moment before she continued stuffing her face. Lawrence was desperately trying to find a way to excuse her, but Elsa was too stunned to notice. She eventually dropped her gaze like she was trying to keep herself from saying anything.
Elsa picked up her own bread to politely tear it into bite-sized pieces. She paused, remembering Lawrence’s words, and dipped it into the fish-tail sauce first before eating it that way. After that she paused again, making Lawrence worry that she was regretting it; the sauce was spicy, after all. He soon realized that she was in fact staring at Cole, whose own sauce-soaked bread was dripping everywhere as he devoured it without a care in the world.
“..”
Unlike Holo, however, Cole was very self-conscious. The moment he realized Elsa was staring at him, he reflected on his actions. His cheeks were stuffed, but his jaw wasn’t moving anymore. Holo always giggled at how squirrel-like his eating habits were, and she shared her food with him almost like she was feeding a squirrel. His eating habits could hardly be called polite, but they were endearing in their own way.
“How.. unsightly..”
Lawrence burst out laughing, but Elsa wasn’t kidding around. She had reached her limit. Cole had paused again in mid-bite at her scolding, and closed his mouth in embarrassment before staring at her, bread still in-hand. Holo just smiled and kept right on eating.
“You too!”
Holo was still Holo. She did pause at Elsa’s words, but only long enough to raise her chin and look down on her before stuffing her face without a care in the world. Elsa sighed and shifted the blame onto Lawrence.
“You eat like thieves! At least that’s what our village would think if they saw you people eating this way!”
Perhaps that alluded to how a thief would have to quickly stuff their faces before they were caught. Lawrence nodded earnestly, but Holo couldn’t care less.
“I’m afraid that all travelers eventually lose their manners like this.”
Elsa was taken aback. She was aware just how little she knew of the wider world, and that her own common sense wouldn’t necessarily apply elsewhere. But this was just too much for her to handle.
Manners were just too ingrained in Elsa, it seemed. Holo’s toying around with her innocence and righteousness wasn’t helping things either. Lawrence rapped Holo’s head to wipe the evil smirk off her face before trying to persuade Elsa again.
“I really a
m sorry, but that’s just the way it is.”
“..Oh, nevermind.”
Elsa sat up straight in her chair and stared up at the ceiling. Lawrence joined her, but he stopped when she looked at him and closed her eyes. After a moment, she cleared her throat.
“I truly am grateful for your hospitality, being a poor village girl who cannot repay you. But at least I can offer you something in return.. that is, if you will accept it.”
When her eyes reopened, she seemed quite happy at her revelation.
“Will you let me teach you proper table manners?”
Cole looked at her nervously, then at Lawrence. He acted like this was the first time anyone had scolded him over something like this. Certainly, it would be a worthwhile lesson for him to learn. He ate like a starving beast, after all.. and that was an overly kind description. Elsa flashed Cole a gentle smile, probably realizing how Lawrence felt.
“Don’t worry. You wouldn’t be the first to struggle with it, even a certain villager I know can’t get it through his thick skull. I’m sure you can do it, if you put your mind to it.”
Lawrence realized she was talking about Evan, who’s resistance to her lessons infuriated her. Holo also seemed to be in agreement that Cole could stand to learn a thing or two, but Elsa read her mind and repeated her earlier statement to her.
“You too.”
“How dare you? Who do you think I am..?”
“No one gets special treatment. It shouldn’t be any trouble for you, though, so you really have no excuse.”
Holo was quite good at playing the spoiled princess. In fact, she’d earned her share of detractors for it. Elsa knew her character, however, so Holo had no recourse but to turn away, pouting.
“Even wonderful dishes like these will taste better if you eat them properly.”
Elsa beamed them the kind of smile only a member of the clergy could. It was the same type of smile Fran used when she was serious; but it was entirely Elsa’s own. Fran had survived a harsh, bloody life with only friendship and her bible. Elsa really didn’t have much more; just a dim-witted miller for company. They were like similar seeds that had bloomed in different soil.
“Oh, really..”
Cole shot Lawrence a glance. Holo, being a wolf, could care less, but Cole was a human who wanted to learn Church law and become a clergyman. Manners were something he should learn. Lawrence nodded in approval, and Cole put on an expression like he had just missed the carriage he was supposed to ride on.
Everyone reacted differently, and those reactions were how you could judge their character. There were people who gave up immediately, and people who kept walking no matter how many times they had their feet kicked out from under them. Cole was the latter type, and he nodded despite his nervousness.
“Please.. please teach me.”
“Very well then.”
Elsa smiled benevolently, and Holo quickly drank her wine. Elsa’s lesson was quite sensible and typical, actually. Don’t eat too quickly, don’t eat too much, don’t drop any scraps, don’t make any noises, move the food to your mouth and not the other way around, and so forth. But this was all completely new to Cole.
For Cole, meals were like competitions for survival. He had to stuff his face as quickly as he could. There was so little food to begin with that there was no such thing as a “scrap.” Talking was only detrimental, so focusing on the sounds he made was pointless. Even washing and drying his hands before a meal just meant others would have already devoured most of the meal.
In fact, Cole had only started to eat more sensibly after he met Lawrence. He no longer had to compete to fill his belly. He could relax. He was able to try so many foods for the first time in his life. In fact, he seemed lost in thought right now, and sat up to murmur to Lawrence.
“You know, now that I met you guys, I eat so slowly that my food even goes cold before I eat it sometimes. But I was already used to eating cold food, so I never really noticed it before.”
That wasn’t the simple realization of a child, either. A wandering student like him wouldn’t eat many warm meals; he had to arouse sympathy in others just to be fed at all. Lawrence couldn’t help but put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and reply.
“But now you can even share your food with others. It tastes good that way, even if it’s cold, doesn’t it?”
Lawrence had also experienced similar hardships when he was starting out, and yet now he could sincerely say something like that with a straight face. He felt odd to have come so far that he was able to say it at all. Before he met Holo he viewed meals as a necessary source of nutrition, and little else. Now they were outright entertainment.
Having a companion to eat with made it possible to enjoy even the coldest and least palatable foods. In a word, it was fun. Cole seemed to have understood that as well. He was nodding like he had just learned some great secret of the world.
“And if you’re still not convinced this is worthwhile, just think of it as a free lesson.”
He flashed the boy a sly smile.
“Right!”
Cole’s spirited reply was followed by him running after Elsa, who had already left the pub. Cole was always enthusiastic about learning. He’d probably study what he learned from Elsa like he was attending classes. Holo, on the other hand, was so frustrated that she lay flat on the table as Lawrence paid for their meal.
“As long as he learns something, it will be worthwhile.”
The coins he got back for change had images of rabbits on them, probably because rabbits were such an important staple up north. He tossed a coin playfully into the air, and Holo’s hand reached out to grab it.
“I am just a beast anyway.”
He suspected she was joking, and was about to fire a joke back at her before he realized she was being serious. He forced his mouth shut.
“His smile is the most important, after all.”
If she was the kind to force her ways onto others, she wouldn’t have had to leave Pasloe in self-exile, forgotten. But she believed that life was happiest when one lived freely, even if she seemed powerful enough that people would obey her.
She really was better-suited to a relaxed life, as Lawrence had realized after traveling with her for so long. He could picture her staring at the swaying ears of wheat day in and day out, serene and beautiful, just like her. But that wasn’t the way the world truly was.
“Cole’s just at that age where his curiosity is boundless. Learning is just too exciting for him.”
He thought it was a lovely sentiment, but Holo clearly didn’t. Her hand hit his shoulder and she pouted before they headed out to Cole and Elsa, who were waiting for them. As they walked back together, Lawrence wondered if Cole and Elsa would have as many common interests as it seemed they should; they seemed so happy walking together.
“I’m afraid it looks like your toy has been taken from you.”
Lawrence felt like being the malicious one for once, and Holo indeed nodded like a little kid who had her toy taken from her. She was just too honest for her own good at times like this, and Lawrence had to force himself to smile so he wouldn’t get depressed as well.
“Geez, if this is how you react if Cole is snatched away, I shudder to think how you would be if I was snatched away too.”
She was just too easy to attack when she let her guard down like this.
“Fool. I am a Wisewolf.”
If only she acted like this a little more often, she would be even more beautiful. He was holding her hand before he realized it, marvelling about how much warmer it seemed than usual.
* * *
Lawrence woke up the next morning when he heard the door to their room being closed. He’d been drifting in and out of consciousness anyway, so he sat up and was once again hit by a wave of loneliness. If his bleary memories could be trusted, that meant the others were off to another mass.
He yawned, hesitating over whether he might as well just plop back into bed. Traveling to Lenos wasn’t parti
cularly difficult, but the nights were rough. A bed this comfortable was a godsend. He hadn’t felt anything like this lately, not in the snowy Winfield Kingdom, nor in the hut they had slept in in the mountains.
Elsa was probably feeling the same way, having never stayed in such a fine inn. They hadn’t been given any time to prepare anything but a makeshift bed for her, but she already seemed to think that was the height of luxury.
She even joked about it being more comfortable than the elder’s bed in Tereo. And yet, given how she fell asleep the moment her head touched her pillow, it might not have actually even been a joke. Not even Holo could fall asleep that quickly. In fact, Holo was so shocked that she hopped up and shook Elsa to confirm that she was really asleep.
Despite her strict demeanor, Elsa was a compassionate girl. Only her enemies would find it difficult to see that compassion. She didn’t treat Cole the way Holo did, like a lost puppy. Nor did she go out of her way to make people uneasy, like Fran did.
Lawrence wouldn’t be surprised if Holo had joined them just to make sure Cole wasn’t stolen from her. For all her protests that she didn’t care, she had to. Her displeasure was so clear that the more she acted like some proper Wisewolf should, the more amusingly obvious it was.
Lawrence felt such pride and happiness that Holo confided in him that he was afraid she would tease him for it. But right now, he was alone and could afford to drop his guard. He yawned through his smile, and rolled his head to work the kinks out of his neck before he stood up.
He had business to attend to. He couldn’t forget his other companion in the stables, nor could he avoid the need to buy provisions for the next leg of their trip. He had to order provisions as early as possible, in fact. They were probably already out of stock, on account of how many travelers were in Lenos lately.
It might take several days just for an order to come in. Even the inns were all full, and running out of their own stock. Merchants were always on the ball when it came to such things, so at least he could take solace at that fact. He then proved that point by quickly rinsing his face and letting the innkeeper know he was leaving. He was gone in a flash.
Spice & Wolf XIV (DWT) Page 6