Reynolds face was twitching like a jittery child’s. Killing two birds with one stone; that’s how most people would consider this method.
“Diva can also evade taxes by trading this way with you. Each time they do, they lose two crates of coins. They won’t profit, but they wouldn’t have to pay the taxes. And so-”
Lawrence paused and coughed.
“What do you want? How much? What’s your aim? Tell me!”
Reynolds must have been caught off-guard, but he was still able to stay in control and didn’t openly shout at Lawrence. Lawrence put a hand on his shoulder to calm him, and smiled.
“I’m but a simple messenger. Such things..”
Lawrence turned his gaze to the corridor.
“..will have to be discussed with my two employers.”
“..”
Reynolds didn’t fall to his knees, possibly to preserve some dignity. He knew he had no chance to bribe those two. They were the kinds of misers who could kill with just a smile.
“And so, I bid you farewell. This merchant must continue his adventure to find the wolf-god’s bones.”
With that, Lawrence turned and walked away. As he passed by Keeman and Eve, they all shook hands. They would surely roast Reynolds quite nicely. He walked down the darkened corridor and passed the other chatting merchants and their uncomfortable expressions.
He wasn’t a hero. He wasn’t even a great merchant. He’d never been on the public stage. He didn’t even have subordinates he could control on a whim. He walked out of the main door of the church, feeling like just another long shadow being cast by its torches. Looking back, he saw the majestic structure being lit from underneath by those torches and the terrifying atmosphere it created.
He walked down its front steps, off into the crowd, and pressed onward. It wasn’t that he felt confident. But he still had a place to go. To familiar scenery in a familiar building. He walked through the open door of that place, hearing the floor creak as he climbed to the third floor.
His eyes hadn’t yet accustomed to the darkness, but he instinctively remembered where the door to his room was. He stopped in front of it, and knocked. Noises were heard and it soon opened, letting candlelight and the smells of food spill out. It was a scene he could never have hoped for as a lonely traveling merchant.
His life had been terribly busy of late, but he still smiled and announced himself.
“I’m back.”
Holo and Cole replied.
“Welcome back.”
Slowly, the door closed behind him.
Epilogue
In the end, they were unable to discover what kind of ridiculous deal had been foisted upon Reynolds by Keeman and Eve. But, since the Narwhale deal between Reynolds (who was thought to have fallen into deep trouble) and the Southerners was settled rather quickly, he must have accepted it despite knowing the Rowen Trading Guild would be involved.
On paper, Reynolds had purchased the Narwhale. But in return for keeping quiet about his fraudulent money and the Diva Company’s tax evasion, the profits would be returned to the Southerners via the Rowen Trading Guild.. something along those lines. And in order to silence the Northerners, Eve must have mediated the sale and directly handed them the profits.
That was all Lawrence could discern from the atmosphere in town, and he had no will or desire to know the full truth. He had been acquitted for his part in the fiasco: for being Keeman’s minion and for almost becoming Eve’s as well. Furthermore, the following day’s lunch was a huge spread of tasty food, with no worries about the bill.
“So what is our next destination?”
Holo managed to squeeze out her question between bites of meat so tender she needed no knife nor fangs. It was such exquisite food that Cole had trouble bringing himself to swallow it.
“Who knows.. mmm.. this is delicious.. I wonder what it is?”
He had become so engrossed in the first-rate meal that his off-handed reply won him an icy stare that could have pierced him.
“Eve should be sending someone to inform us about what they managed to extract from Reynolds about the wolf-god’s bones. That much is certain, so don’t worry.”
“Hmph. That was but a verbal contract.”
She tore into a deep-fried fish-head upon saying so. True to a coastal port town, a bowl of salt was present, and the salt-sprinkled fish-head must have been tasty indeed.. Holo bit into it once, twice, and finally wolfed it down.
“You do know how important verbal contracts are, don’t you?”
Holo didn’t reply, instead licking her fingers like a cat.
“Anyway, I suspect we’ll probably end up crossing the channel.”
“You mean the sea?”
Cole lifted his face as he spoke, distracted from his intense debate on whether to eat his lobster’s head or leave it alone.
“Since that island nation is importing foreign currency, it must be full of people who are the best at buying this and that kind of item.”
Cole didn’t seem to grasp the meaning of his words, and by the time his eyes shifted back to his lobster’s head, Holo had snatched it and popped it into her mouth. The sounds of crunching shell followed, as Cole looked on in surprise.. not from the fact that she had taken the head from him, but at the fact that she was actually eating it.
“Lobster heads are edible, you know. In fact they’re quite good.”
“Eh?”
If Cole responded with a look of envy, Holo would have been pleased. But it seemed that even the Wisewolf was weak against sad expressions.
“Grr..”
Seeing no other choice, she withdrew the hand that had been reaching for the rest of his lobster.
“Be nice, you two, and eat politely.”
It was an obvious joke, but Holo still flung a large piece of herb at his face. As he sighed and peeled it off his cheek, a conservative knock was heard on the door.
“Probably Eve’s messenger..”
Lawrence opened the door a crack.. one who opens their door widely while eating was either a show-off or just being shameless. When he saw who came to visit in that crack, he was glad he hadn’t thrown it widely open.
“Oh, I shan’t have minded coming in.”
Eve’s mischievous words rang out as Lawrence walked into the corridor and shut the door behind him. Holo would still hear every single word, but it was better than inciting a fight.
“You’ve got to be joking. But.. to think that you yourself would come calling.”
“You say that so coldly.. how surprising. I’m not one to forget a favor, let alone saving my life.”
In spite of his attitude, if he was asked whether he was happy she came to him personally, he would have to say yes.
“Oh, about your inquiry..”
“How did that turn out?”
“As expected.. Reynolds had, to some extent, acquired some insight as to the whereabouts of the bones.”
Her choice of words was puzzling.
“To some extent?”
“He concluded it was futile before even I did.”
She tilted her head to show just how sarcastic she was being. She was keeping the truth from him, hidden deep in her heart, on purpose.
“Don’t be upset. I hadn’t anticipated that outcome.”
“And?”
“Hehe.. I don’t recall you wearing such a serious expression yesterday.”
She chuckled and flicked his chin, making him shrink back and wince. Perhaps she had been drinking a little to ease her mood.
“To cut to the case, it’s in the Winfield Kingdom, my home country, at the Great Brondel Monastery. Have you heard of it?”
“Bron.. that place with the Golden Sheep?”
“Oh, so you’ve heard that legend. On the mainland, it’s usually only the elderly that know it. But indeed.. it is that same monastery in the legend of the Golden Sheep.”
It is a monastery on a plain that stretches as far as the eye can see, tending to such large numbe
rs of sheep that it’s joked that even God cannot count them all. The legend is that once every few centuries, somewhere in the countless flocks, there appears a sheep with golden fleece. This great monastery befitting the Winfield Kingdom was reputed to be as important as any major trading town.
“I’ve heard that the abbot of the monastery bought it. Of course, I can’t be certain whether that’s true.”
“No, thank you. I’ll repay the fav-”
Lawrence cut himself off when he noticed that Eve was smiling.
“Don’t be that way. I’m truly indebted to you. Arold and the furs have finally arrived as well as a ship heading to the south. So..”
She slowly extended her hand, while looking him straight in the eye and smiling slightly.
“..sorry.”
He smiled back and looked down at her hand to clasp it.. and that’s when it happened.
“!!”
Whether he had anticipated such a thing happening was beyond him right now - he was so stunned that his mind went entirely blank.
“That smell.. it’s that herb ’Abi’, isn’t it? Keeman must have really gone all out on your meal.”
Eve then laughed and acted as if nothing just happened, replacing the scarf around her face.
“You once told me that business is most profitable when you take your partner by surprise. That’s the payment.”
She put her hand on Lawrence’s shoulder, who was still at a loss, then moved her head closer.
“If you go to Winfield, my name should be of use. Fleur von Eiterzentel Boland.. or at least, that’s my official title, but those who are close to me know my full name: Fleur von Eiterzentel Mariel Boland. I like the ring that Mariel has to it.”
Her innocent laugh would have been quite something to behold if she wasn’t wearing her hood.
“I hope it proves to be of use to you. Lawrence..”
Her sudden use of his name was followed by a slight pause, during which he replied with conviction.
“Yes.”
“Kraft Lawrence.. I’m glad I met you.”
They were words fit for people who had served together long in the military. She wore a hood wrapped tightly around her face, clothed from head to toe for a long journey. Her back straight, she removed her hand from his shoulder and extended it quietly. It was an almost annoyingly fresh appearance. His hand gripped hers firmly.
“I won’t forget the name Eve Boland.”
“Heh.. where there’s money, there’s me. Well, to our next meeting.”
She quickly withdrew her hand and spun around on her heels, walking away with no signs of regret. Business was an endless road of meetings and partings. Lawrence likewise turned and opened the door behind him, but stopped..
“Oh.. what happened?”
The door was open with Cole standing there, for some reason holding a plate full of food and wearing a slight look of fear.
“She told me to go outside..”
Because of the door’s angle, Lawrence couldn’t see Holo.. but he could tell what was going on from the look on the boy’s face and what he said. He stroked Cole’s head.
“Will you endure the hallway for a bit?”
Lawrence couldn’t tell if he was wearing the correct smile, but he had to smile.. it was the only way he could survive what was coming. But as Cole nodded and walked past Lawrence into the corridor, Lawrence plucked something off his plate.
It was the same herb, Abi, which Eve had smelled.
The same herb that had been thrown at his face.
He eyed the sprig in his hands before tossing it into his mouth. He chewed it as he entered the room, closing the door behind him.
I don’t want to remember anything after this.
If Lawrence was transcribing a legend, that was how he wanted to end it. He let his mind drift in an attempt to escape reality.
Translation Team
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Spice & Wolf IX (DWT) Page 15