Spice and Wolf, Vol. 3

by Isuna Hasekura

  If he could just obtain that amount, added to the amount he already had on hand, he would have enough for another large sale.

  As Lawrence placed his hopes on such a tiny possibility, he saw Amati walk off from the stand, his previously flustered manner already changed to a leisurely one.

  Amati was surely planning to sell his pyrite.

  It was uncertain, however, whether he was planning to sell all that he possessed.

  Even without knowing what Amati's plan was, it was obvious that he was planning to exchange a portion of his pyrite for cash. Amati himself had probably become aware of the slow-acting poison. In that case, he was most likely planning to get rid of the portion of pyrite associated with the certificate first.

  Why had Deanna's subordinate still not shown up? Was he no longer able to gain the help of the heavens? Lawrence cried out inside.

  "Excuse me, are you Mr. Lawrence?”

  The despairing Lawrence thought he had heard wrong. "You are Mr. Lawrence, correct?”

  A short figure was standing beside Lawrence. A piece of fabric covered more than half of the person's face, only revealing a pair of eyes, making it impossible to tell whether it was a maiden or a young man.

  It was certainly not Lande.

  In that case, this person was most certainly the one Lawrence had been waiting so long for. "Miss Deanna wanted me to pass you a message.”

  The speaker's light green eyes gave off a serene radiance, in complete contrast with the abnormal atmosphere that filled the area.

  The mysterious air emanating from the speaker made it hard for one not to wonder if he or she was a messenger sent by the heavens.

  In other words, perhaps a miracle was occurring before his very eyes.

  "The content of the message is that the negotiation has failed," said the messenger. Lawrence paused for a second.

  "Huh?”

  "Miss Deanna said that the other party is still unwilling to sell, and wanted to apologize to you for disappointing your expectations.”

  The clear and smooth voice related the facts, as if announcing a death. The results had somehow turned out like this.

  So-called "despair" did not refer to a situation in which there was no hope to begin with…

  …but to one in which the tiny bit of hope that did exist was crushed at the last moment. That was despair. Lawrence could not make a reply.

  Deanna's subordinate seemed to have anticipated such a response from Lawrence. Without saying anything more, he/she turned around silently.

  In his mind, Lawrence involuntarily overlapped the image of Horo's back fading into the crowd like an illusion with that of Horo's form as she departed from him in the sewers of Pattio.

  Lawrence felt like a worn-out old knight wearing a rusted suit of armor as he directed his gaze toward the price board.

  The number of people in line to purchase had gone back to normal, and the market value once again displayed an upward trend.

  Although people were able to go along with marketing trends, controlling these trends was something only the gods could do.

  Lawrence remembered a famous saying among merchants.

  If a merchant's good fortune could last a bit longer, he would effectively have become a god.

  Having exchanged an unknown amount of pyrite for cash, Amati walked off from the vending stand, returning to the outer circles of the wall of people carrying a leisurely expression on his face.

  Lawrence had expected Amati to beam a prideful expression of victory in his direction, but Amati did not as much as give him a single glance.

  This meant that someone must have appeared directly before Amati's line of vision. Horo had returned to Amati's side.

  "Mr. Lawrence?”

  The one who had addressed Lawrence was Lande. Horo and Amati were exchanging words, but her gaze did not once turn in this direction.

  "Oh, sorry…this…uh, thanks for going through the trouble," said Lawrence. "Huh? Oh no, it wasn't any trouble at all…”

  "Can you help me pass a message to Mark? Tell him that the plan has failed.”

  The moment these words came out, Lawrence realized just how easy it was to admit to failure.

  Despite the plan's failure, quite ironically, the consequences were actually very good for Lawrence from a merchant's standpoint.

  Lawrence still had some pyrite on hand. If he were simply to purchase a bit more to obtain the needed amount and hand it to Amati in the evening, and subtract this sum from the money he had just gained from selling off the previous batch of pyrite, the result of the calculation would probably turn out to be positive in terms of profit.

  Not only that, Lawrence still stood to gain a thousand silver coins from Amati. The result could even be described as becoming filthy rich.

  From a merchant's perspective, unexpectedly making a huge profit was no doubt the happiest thing in the world, yet Lawrence at that moment only felt a sense of infinite emptiness.

  Lande's gaze wondered around in the air, appearing to be at a total loss. As Lawrence prepared to hand him a fee for his service, for the first time, his eyes displayed a strong personal will.

  "Mr. Lawrence.”

  Lande's serious expression caused Lawrence to involuntarily stop the movement of his hand, which held several silver coins.

  "Are you…you really planning to give up?”

  When Lawrence was still an apprentice, if he ever wanted to raise a comment with his master, he would need to be fully prepared for a beating later on.

  Lande probably also held such a resolve. His left eyelid trembled, as if in fearful anticipation of the fist that could strike at any moment.

  "The master always told me that a merchant should never give up so easily.”

  Seeing Lawrence retract his extended hand, Lande's shoulder recoiled for a moment in fear. Even so, Lande did not look away.

  He was making a serious suggestion.

  "The master always says that the god…god of wealth doesn't take care of those who only pray, but those who keep fighting stubbornly and never give in.”

  Lawrence did not have any objections to these words. However, his goal this time was not to make money. "Mr. Lawrence.”

  Lande's gaze was directed straight at Lawrence.

  Lawrence took one brief glance at Horo before directing his gaze back to Lande. "I…I started liking Miss Horo ever since I first met her. But, the master told me…”

  The outstanding wheat merchant's apprentice, who always silently completed every task assigned to him, regained an innocent, youthful expression.

  "…if I were ever to say something like this before Mr. Lawrence, I would surely get a good beating," Lande said, seeming as if he were about to burst into tears. Lawrence smiled lightly, and raised his fist up high.

  "Heh…”

  Lande inhaled sharply.

  Lawrence gave Lande's cheek a light tap with his fist, and said with a laugh: "That's right. I want to give you a nice, hard beating.”

  After uttering this with a laugh, Lawrence could not help feeling a desire to cry. Lande was probably about ten years younger than Lawrence.

  But Lawrence felt that his current appearance was not much different from Lande's.

  "Damn." Lawrence scolded himself silently.

  Before Horo, it seemed that anyone would become a sniffling youngster Lawrence shook his head.

  Someone who kept fighting stubbornly and never gave in?

  Although the phrase sounded laughable, Lawrence felt a devilish charm in the words, and lifted his head to look up at the sky.

  These words that had been uttered by a youngster ten years younger than himself caused the dark maelstrom consisting of supposition and doubt to instantly fade away from Lawrence's mind. That's right! Since he had already gotten to this point, the profit left in his hands would only serve as proof of his defeat, so losing this profit would not hurt in the least.

  That being the case, it certainly would not hurt to be optimistic and
rethink the entire situation before making one final move.

  Things that were important did not necessarily need to be obtained through great effort. Because Mark had just cleared up this myth for Lawrence not long before.

  Lawrence made use of the power of memory he was so proud of, and searched for the raw materials necessary to construct a new plan.

  And the central axis of this plan consisted of something Lawrence had not thought of until a moment ago. "The people who keep fighting stubbornly and never give in are usually those unbelievably optimistic fellas who cling to any hope they have as they continue to observe the situation," he said.

  In that moment, Lande revealed an expression befitting his age. This expression was more appealing than his appearance when he was fulfilling a given task, and even when he was fulfilling a task that had not been assigned him.

  Surely Mark loved this boy as his own.

  "A merchant always formulates plans, predicts the future, and compares his ideas with the facts. You understand that don't you?”

  Despite hearing an off-topic remark, Lande still nodded agreeably.

  "Selling that item would cause such a change, selling this item would cause a different change. Making suppositions like this is also important.”

  Perceiving another nod from Lande, Lawrence moved close to his face and said: "Frankly, this thing called 'supposition' can be anything you want it to be. So if you formulate too many, you'll soon become lost, and start to feel that every deal is full of risks. At this point, in order not to be confounded, you need to have some kind of guidepost. This is a merchant's single requirement.”

  The young Lande revealed a slightly merchant-like expression and answered: "Yes.”

  "As long as it is trustworthy, even the most radical supposition can serve as a guidepost." Lawrence lifted his head, and closed his eyes.

  "Perhaps….it would be best to believe.”

  "Stop kidding yourself," thought Lawrence, and silently mocked himself.

  Even though his heart doubted, as Lawrence looked at the form of Horo, he became almost certain. Just maybe, Horo's manner of dress was hinting at such a possibility.

  Although this possibility was not easily believable, if he were to try putting it to the test, Lawrence still felt there was a good chance that it would come true.

  However, in order to fulfill this possibility, there was a condition that had to be met.

  And that was what Lawrence had not thought of earlier, the precondition that Horo had not forsaken him. To still be thinking of something like this now, this certainly could be said to be the kind of optimistic view that only a person who struggled stubbornly and never gave in would have.

  Even so, Lawrence still felt that at this point, holding such an optimistic view was more meaningful than trying to come up with a plan to stop Amati, because he had discovered a possibility of making this dream come true.

  Lawrence did not know what Mark had told Lande to cause Lande to be willing to help him so. However, Lawrence felt Lande's saying that he liked Horo had probably been an honest confession. Lawrence considered Lande praiseworthy for being able to say that in front of him. At least, if the roles were reversed, Lawrence could not say with confidence that he would have possessed such courage.

  In that case, Lawrence at least needed to maintain the pride and spirit of a merchant in not giving up easily, or else he would not be able to keep a steady footing before Lande.

  After patting Lande lightly on the shoulder, Lawrence took a deep breath and spoke: "As soon as I sell the minerals at the vending stand, start spreading the rumor I asked you to spread for me." Lande's face was radiant. He nodded his head, having regained an apprentice's countenance.

  "I'm counting on you.”

  Having said this, Lawrence prepared to turn around, but changed his mind.

  Although Lande's eyes said that he wished to ask something, Lawrence ended up being the one to question. "Do you believe in God?”

  Seeing a dumbstruck Lande, Lawrence simply uttered an "I'm counting on you," and walked off.

  Lawrence possessed a supply of pyrite worth 250 silver coins. A simple calculation revealed that the sum waiting to be spent on purchasing which was indicated by the price board already exceeded four hundred coins. Even if he were to sell off all the pyrite he had on hand, he could not be hopeful that it would have any effect.

  Yet, it had to have an effect. If his assumption was correct, it would definitely have an effect. Lawrence only looked back once, his gaze moving toward Horo, who was standing beside Amati.

  Just one instant would be enough, Lawrence thought to himself. If Horo would just be willing to look in his direction, that would be sufficient.

  And thenLawrence stood before the vending stand. The upsurge of people placing orders had come to a stop, and the stand had regained a measure of peace. Seeing Lawrence returning to sell more pyrite, the owner revealed an expression that seemed to say "Hmm?" He then revealed a smile, as if to say: "Looks like you have made quite a lot of money.”

  Although there had been no exchange of words, Lawrence nodded involuntarily. The real profit comes after this, Lawrence thought to himself.

  Lawrence handed the owner the bag of pyrite he had received from Lande, and threw out a brief statement: "I wish to sell.”

  The owner, who received a service charge for every deal, gave a hearty smile and nodded. In the next second, however, his expression became one of amazement.

  Lawrence closed his eyes, and revealed a smile.

  The guidepost within Lawrence's heart had been correct. "Mr. owner, I wish to sell these as well.”

  The voice that reached Lawrence's ears even caused him to feel nostalgic.

  Then, with a heavy thud, a bag that was easily twice the size of his own appeared before his eyes. Looking toward his side, Lawrence found Horo, looking as if she were ready pounce and bite in the next instant.

  "Foolish mule.”

  Hearing this, Lawrence gave a smile and said with no other intention: "Sorry.”

  After staring vacantly for a moment, the owner immediately ordered his apprentices to take down the waiting plates suspended on the price board all at once.

  Together, the two bags amounted to at least 650 coins' worth of pyrite.

  Since the estimated value for the amount Horo had brought along was for before the slight increase in price, the sum at the present moment was sure to be even higher. The one who had purchased pyrite from Deanna was none other than Horo.

  In other words, together the two had sold a quantity of pyrite worth almost a thousand coins.

  The buying atmosphere would probably not be able to stimulate any further increase in the market value. Taking off one of the white feathers attached to Horo's robe, Lawrence said: "Unlike somebody, she's a mature beauty, isn't she?" Horo threw a punch at the side of Lawrence's waist. But she did not withdraw her hand.

  Lawrence felt that that alone was sufficient.

  With a pushing and shoving crowd filled with a killing intent right behind their backs, Lawrence would not loosen his grip on Horo's hand for the world.

  Although, he had a great urge to show off in Amati's face.

  He could not help revealing a strained smile for harboring such a childish notion.

  Final Chapter

  In an instant, the price went through a severe crash.

  Although there were still a few people who continued to buy small portions of pyrite after all the waiting plates had been rearranged, the sale that had approached one thousand silver coins generated a much more vigorous selling atmosphere, finally causing a complete reversal in the originally upward trend and a nosedive in the market value.

  Of course, the ones who came into possession of the joker card last were those who had been waiting to purchase at the top value.

  Even the sharp-eyed merchants who had come forth to sell as soon as they noticed Lawrence and Horo's actions suffered considerable losses.

  As for Ama
ti, who had not transferred the selling on credit contract to someone else while the exchange rate was still decent, it went without saying how terrible his loss was.

  Before that moment, Amati had seen Horo suddenly make a dash for the vending stand, carrying a large bag, and reached out a hand in an attempt to stop her. Now, his hand was still extended forth, his body frozen in such a posture.

  From Amati's standpoint, compared to the fact that the certificate he held had become a piece of scrap paper, the harsh reality of Horo suddenly turning hostile was surely a much greater blow.

  Though on this point, Lawrence could not help feeling a bit sorry for him. It seemed that Horo had intended to not surrender herself to Amati since the very beginning, and had even planned to break off with him in a cruel manner.

  The reason Horo would do so seemed to be that Amati had said something she simply could not stand. Although Lawrence out of fear did not dare ask what Amati had said, at the same time he felt as if he should ask Horo, in order to prevent himself from making the same mistake.

  "So, is the contract over then?”

  After completing the contract with Amati, Lawrence had paid Mark's vending stand a visit to thank him before returning to the inn. Seeing Lawrence return, Horo posed the question as she groomed her tail, not even bothering to lift her face.

  Horo's tone still sounded somewhat sharp, but not because the two of them were still acting out of rash passion.

  Lawrence of course knew the reason.

  After setting down his items, he sat down and replied: "It's over. Completely and utterly over.”

  Lawrence was not joking.

  Because he had very successfully completed the contract with the depressed Amati, who appeared like an empty shell separated from its soul.

  Concerning the results, Amati had not suffered a net loss. The profit he had made all along making transfer sales was somewhat greater than the loss he had incurred due to the trap of selling on credit that Lawrence had set up.

  On the other hand, Lawrence could understand perfectly well that Amati's present mood was just as if he had suffered a loss great enough to cause bankruptcy since, up till the last moment, Lawrence himself had been situated within such an atmosphere in which his mood had dropped to an all-time low.