Spice and Wolf, Vol. 3

by Isuna Hasekura

  "Looks like stewed carp really suits your tastes.”

  "Yea, I did not know that cooked carp…was this delicious. One more bowl.”

  Because the stewed carp was served in a large pot that was out of Horo's reach, it was Lawrence who helped her to it. Every time he did so, more onions were added to his own wooden plate. It appeared that Horo couldn't tolerate even cooked onions.

  "Where have you ever eaten carp before? There shouldn't be that many places where it is available.” “Hmm? In a river. Carps are easy to catch because of their clumsy movement.”

  So that's how it was. Horo must have been in wolf form when she caught the fish. "I've never had carp raw. Is it any good?”

  "The scales get stuck in the teeth, and the bones are too numerous. I had always believed it was good, watching the small birds swallow it whole. Raw fish does not appeal to me.”

  Lawrence tried to picture Horo biting loudly on a large carp from the anterior end.

  Carps were famous for their long life spans. Besides referring to the carp as a sacred fish, the Church also called it a minion of the devil (note: ok, so it's holy AND evil, whatever that means.). Consequently, carps were only eaten in the Northern regions.

  Indeed, it would seem quite foolish to honor the slightly long-lived carp in a region that held wolves like Horo.

  "Human-prepared food is indeed good. However, not only is the cooking good, but each handpicked fish is very fresh. That child Amati has a good eye for fish.”

  "He's very young, and the number of fish in his deal was quite amazing.” “By contrast, what is it that you are carrying?”

  Horo's gaze suddenly turned cold.

  "Huh? They're nails. Like this table…it doesn't have any…”

  "Of course I know they are nails. What I meant was that you should have bought something more impressive. Or, have you been daunted by the failure at Rubinhaigen?”

  Lawrence, hearing this, couldn't help but feel a bit angered, but seeing as how Horo had simply pointed out the truth, he had no way of refuting.

  Because of his own greed, he had bought battle equipment at the astonishing price of twice his own worth, resulting in a crisis that almost led to bankruptcy and ending his days as a slave. Not only that, Lawrence had caused much trouble for Horo as well as caused her to suffer great shame.

  Taking all this into account, Lawrence had finally chosen to buy about four hundred Trenni silver coins' worth of nails, quite a conservative purchase. As a result, Lawrence was left with a fairly good amount of cash.

  "Though the merchandise may not be so eye-catching, the profits should be pretty decent. Besides, my cart isn't completely filled with unattractive items.”

  Like a cat, Horo directed her gaze toward Lawrence holding a river barracuda bone in her mouth, her head slightly tilted.

  Lawrence had come up with a good line.

  He cleared his throat lightly, before opening his mouth to say: "I have you on my cart.”

  Although the line sounded rather affected, Lawrence himself seemed to think it was beautifully said, and couldn't suppress an involuntary laugh.

  Yet, even as he laughed, drank wine, and looked in Horo's direction, he noticed that Horo had stopped what she was doing, and wore a look of resignation.

  "…Well, I suppose this is the extent of your level." Then, having said this, Horo gave a sigh.

  "It wouldn't hurt to be just a bit more considerate you know!”

  "As soon as a male is treated too kindly, he will quickly become conceited. If he were to become accustomed to this kind of treatment, so that the other is forced to hear the same words over and over again, how very tedious that would be.”

  "Erh…”

  Lawrence decided that remaining silent simply wouldn't do, and so disputed: "Alright, then from now on I-”

  "Foolish mule.”

  Lawrence's words were cut off.

  "How much money is it worth for a male to behave kindly?” “…”

  Silently, Lawrence drank some wine with pursed brows, but the hunting wolf refused to let him off the hook. "Besides, whenever I appear dejected, you would want to treat me kindly, would you not?”

  Watching Horo utter this with an innocent smile on her face, Lawrence was all out of ideas. Horo was just way too cunning.

  Lawrence stared at Horo with a look of resentment, upon which Horo returned a most benevolent smile.

  By the time Lawrence and Horo had finished their long-anticipated decent supper and returned to their room, the streets outside the inn had at last quieted down.

  Although it had already been sunset when they arrived in Kumerson, the level of chaos within the town far exceeded Lawrence's imagination.

  If they hadn't run into Amati, Lawrence most certainly would have had to head to the foreign firm and request its help in arranging an inn. Not only that, he may have ended up having to stay in a room at the firm.

  Arrays of wheat dolls of unknown origin and wooden sculptures could be seen everywhere in Kumerson's streets. Not only the streets, even the narrow alleys were filled with bands and clowns leading spectators round and round.

  In a large plaza located at the southern end of Kumerson, the marketplace, whose business hours had been greatly extended, was still open. The entire plaza was overflowing with a vitality fitting to the reputation of a town-wide fair. Not only that, even the craftsmen who were normally not permitted to sell merchandise had set up vending stands along the large streets outside the marketplace.

  Lawrence opened the wooden window to cool off his body, which seemed to be burning up due to the effects of the strong liquor. Beneath the beautiful moonlight, Lawrence could see that a few street peddlers had already begun to wrap up.

  The inn that Amati had arranged for Lawrence and Horo was a top-quality inn that was among Kumerson's finest, an inn that Lawrence normally wouldn't even consider staying at. Their room was on the second floor, and faced a large street extending north and south from the center of town. The inn itself was located near an intersection with another large street that ran east and west. As Horo had wished, the room contained two beds. However, Lawrence strongly suspected that such an arrangement was the result of Amati's forcefully persistent efforts.

  Although his guesses brought him a slight sense of superiority, Lawrence was still thankful to Amati for having arranged a place for them to stay, so he directed his gaze out the window and decided not to make any more blind guesses.

  Out on the broad streets, it seemed like everyone was walking in staggers.

  Lawrence smiled mildly and turned around to find Horo sitting cross-legged on her bed pouring some wine into a wooden mug, looking as if she still hadn't had enough of drinking.

  "I say you, if you end up in agony tomorrow, I won't care. Have you already forgotten the painful hangover you had back in Pattio (a.k.a. Pazzio in some translations)?" said Lawrence.

  "Mm-? Do not worry. Good liquor will not have side effects no matter how much you drink (note: kids, don't try this at home). However, if I do not drink, my heart will suffer side effects, so how could I not drink?”

  Having finished pouring, Horo took a happy sip, and bit a piece of dried salmon left over from supper. Lawrence felt that if he just let Horo have her own way, she would no doubt eat and drink till she passed out with drunkenness. Yet, to Lawrence, Horo's good mood was most welcome.

  This was because there was something Lawrence had great difficulty telling Horo.

  The reason Lawrence had altered his usual business route, coming to Kumerson which he normally only visited during the summer in the cold winter season, was of course because he was heading toward Horo's hometown.

  Even so, Lawrence had never asked Horo about the precise location of Yoitsu. Although Lawrence had heard the name of the town mentioned before, it was only part of a legend, and so he was unsure of its exact geographical location.

  The reason Lawrence had not questioned Horo about its exact location was because whenever Yoits
u was mentioned, Horo would always show a nostalgic smile but subsequently appear forlorn after remembering how great a distance they were from Yoitsu both time and space-wise.

  Although Lawrence thought himself feckless, even this reason alone was enough to make him hesitate about bringing up the subject of her hometown.

  However, Lawrence felt that Horo would probably not be saddened so much if the subject was brought up right now. Thus, Lawrence made his decision, sat down at the desk against the wall, and said: "Oh yeah, before you pass out with drunkenness, there's something I want to talk to you about." Horo's exposed ears and tail showed an immediate response.

  Her gaze was a step later in turning to Lawrence. "What is it?”

  The clever wolf seemed to detect from Lawrence's tone that his intention was not in making conversation. A faint smile surfaced from the corners of her mouth, a clear indicator of her current good mood. Lawrence slowly opened his heavy lips and said: "It's about your hometown.”

  Hearing Lawrence cut right to the subject thus, Horo suddenly laughed silently and took a sip of wine. Lawrence had been certain that Horo's expression would turn serious, so her reaction took him quite by surprise.

  Lawrence was just wondering whether Horo was already drunk when she gulped down the liquor in her mouth and spoke: "You do not know where it is after all. I figured as much, and worried about when you were going to ask me about it.”

  Having said this, Horo looked smilingly at her reflection in the mug as she continued with a sigh: "You must believe that bringing up any topic related to Yoitsu would cause me grief, correct? Do I really look that fragile?

  Lawrence had planned to point out the time she cried over a dream about her hometown, but figured that she was probably aware of this herself. Horo's tail seemed to be wagging happily.

  "No, not at all," he replied.

  "Foolish mule, you are supposed to say "yes" in times like these.”

  Horo seemed to have gotten the answer she wanted. She seemed even happier as she wagged her tail.

  "You concern yourself over such strange things. You managing to bring up this topic must mean you felt it was alright after seeing my reaction at supper? Seriously.such a softy.”

  Horo smiled a bit embarrassingly as she drank and talked.

  "To me, your considerateness is not altogether unpleasant. But, perhaps I should say that foolish look of yours is interesting to look at. If you had continued to remain silent, only to find out that you had gone in the wrong direction after already reaching the North, what would you have done then?”

  Lawrence replied with a shrug. He continued to reveal his purpose: "In order to prevent the foolish-looking me from taking the wrong path, could you tell me the location of Yoitsu?”

  Horo took a sip of wine, and paused briefly. Then, she gave a soft long sigh.

  "To be honest, I do not remember it clearly.”

  As if to cut off Lawrence's "Don't joke around," Horo continued: "If the direction is needed, I can tell that right away. It is over there.”

  Lawrence looked in the direction that Horo had quickly pointed to, and understood immediately that she meant north.

  "However, I cannot remember at all how many peaks need to be scaled, rivers passed, and plains traversed. I believed that I would naturally remember once we got close. Is that not alright?”

  "You don't have any clues to find the location? The path doesn't just head in a straight line, and it'll be very difficult finding a reliable map once we get to the North. Some locations can't even be reached without taking roundabout paths. Do you remember the names of any nearby towns? We might be able to use those as clues, " said Lawrence.

  Horo pondered for a moment, and said with an index finger against her temple: "The town names I can recall are Yoitsu and Nyohhira. There was also.uhm, what was it.Pi.” “Pi?”

  "Pire, Piro.yes, Piromorden.”

  Seeing Horo's cheerful expression, as if she had gotten out something stuck in her chest, Lawrence said with a slight tilt of his head: "Never heard of such a town. Any others?”

  "Uhm- there were indeed a number of towns, but not all of them with names like today. We just needed to say a town was on the other side of a certain mountain to know its location, so there was no need to give names.”

  Indeed, Lawrence had been surprised by this the first time he went to the North to do business. Back then, Lawrence had arrived at a certain town, to find out that its name was known only to travelers. Neither the town residents nor the people living in the outskirts knew the name of the town.

  Lawrence had even encountered an elderly citizen who said that naming a town causes it to become the target of evil deities.

  The so-called "evil deities" must have been referring to the Church.

  "Well, let's just use Nyohhira as a starting point then. If it's Nyohhira, then I still know the location," said Lawrence.

  "That is a nostalgic name. Do hot waters still spring from that region?”

  "I've heard that although it is a pagan town, many bishops and kings still secretly travel great distances to bathe appreciatively in its hot springs. There's a rumor that, because of its hot springs, Nyohhira is exempt from attacks by anti-pagan armies," Lawrence explained.

  "After all, only the hot springs there are not part of anyone's domain,”

  Horo said with a smile, then followed up with "In that case" before clearing her throat softly. "If this were Nyohhira, then it would be in that direction.”

  Horo was pointing to the southwest. Lawrence loosened up slightly, seeing as how Horo had not pointed farther north.

  If it was located even farther north than Nyohhira, then it would no doubt be a place where snow wouldn't melt even when summer came.

  Even so, the scope was still too large if all that was known was that it was southwest of Nyohhira. "How long would it take to get from Nyohhira to Yoitsu?" asked Lawrence.

  "At my speed, it would take two days. For a human.I do not know.”

  Lawrence remembered riding on Horo's back near Rubinhaigen. Surely Horo could easily and swiftly traverse unpaved regions.

  With that in mind, the scope would indeed be too large using Nyohhira as a starting point for investigation. Searching for a particular town within that scope, or possibly even a small village, would be like looking for a needle in a desert. Precisely because Lawrence was a traveling merchant, whose work involved traveling among towns scattered throughout the vast world, he understood the difficulty of the task all too well.

  Besides, there was mention in the legend Lawrence had heard of Yoitsu's destruction by a great bear demon. Should the legend be true, finding the ruins of a town that had been destroyed centuries ago would be impossible.

  Lawrence was not an aristocrat, who could pass all of his days in leisure. If he were to stray from his usual business route and linger in other regions, he could last half a year at best. Besides, his failure in Rubinhaigen had placed him even further away from his dream of opening up his own town shop and consequently, he had even less time to lose.

  Just as Lawrence was pondering these things, the words that had formed in his mind flowed naturally from his mouth: "Couldn't you go back by yourself from Nyohhira? You know the direction don't you?”

  If the distance between Nyohhira and Yoitsu was only about two days, then as Horo had said, she would surely remember the way once she was near.

  Having considered this, Lawrence had said what he did without any other intention. However, as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized that he had erred.

  Because Horo was looking at him with a stunned expression.

  A look of surprise surfaced on Lawrence's face. At the same moment, Horo looked away. "Yea.yes. If I got to Nyohhira, I would no doubt remember the way back to Yoitsu.”

  Having said this, Horo gave a forced smile. Just as Lawrence was wondering what was going on, he suddenly exclaimed audibly.

  Horo had once said, at the estuary town of Pattio, that loneli
ness was fatal.

  Loneliness inspired this much fear for Horo. Although Lawrence had meant no ill, Horo was still prone to taking it in a negative way. Besides, she had had a lot to drink.

  It was possible that Horo would even interpret it as a sign that Lawrence was getting tired of searching for her hometown. Lawrence quickly added: "Wait a minute, don't take it negatively. If you could reach it in two days, then I could just wait for you in Nyohhira.”

  "Yea, that would be enough. You will take me straight to Nyohhira? I was hoping to see a few more towns." The dialogue had been joined together seamlessly. Yet, Lawrence felt a bit disappointed, because he perceived that the seamless joining was the result of Horo's quick-witted reaction. In spite of the harmony on the surface, there was a rift beneath.

  It had been hundreds of years since Horo left her hometown. Just as what Lawrence had heard in the legends, Horo had no doubt at least thought of the possibility that Yoitsu no longer existed, and even if she hadn't, the number of years she had seen was itself sufficient to bring about huge changes to the world. Surely Horo's heart was filled with uncertainty.

  Horo must have been afraid of going to her hometown alone.

  The innocent smile she had shown when the taste of wine had reminded her of Yoitsu, perhaps that was precisely an opposite reaction triggered by her uncertainty.

  Pondering this for a moment, it became easy to understand Horo's mentality. Lawrence felt deeply regretful over his careless remark.

  "Listen, I'll do everything within my ability to help you. What I said just now was-”

  "Did I not just say how much it is worth for a male to behave kindly? You, do not be so considerate, it will be troublesome for me.”

  Horo's forced smile was mixed with a troubled expression. Setting her mug under the bed, she continued: "I am so terrible, always judging everything by my own standards. After all, in the blink of an eye, you and everyone else will already be old. I always seem to forget that with such a brief lifespan, how important a single year must be.”

  The moonbeams projected through the wooden window shrouded Horo's body. In that instant, the image before Lawrence seemed almost an illusion, so that he hesitated to approach. He was afraid that Horo would vanish as a dispersing cloud of mist if he got too close.