Spice & Wolf VIII (DWT) Page 11

“What’s that?”

  “Recently the church of a certain village, which caused a certain mess, has been bravely spreading the teachings of the Church. This has encouraged the believers around the river, and has begun to threaten the power bases of the other religions in the area around the northern mountains. It has stirred the fighting spirit of the believers to rally against the others.”

  Cole rose to his feet and stared at Holo. She was implying that even his own home must be involved and would fall into the clutches of the Church.

  “However, the people of the north were too strong, and their beliefs did not take root. You must bear that in mind, and not yield to the incorrect judgments of your relatives who suspect the path you have chosen.”

  After hearing this Cole breathed in deeply and his shoulders drooped. Of course Holo knew that the Church could now easily show them “proof” that was beyond doubt. She was only hiding that behind a smile, since no one wanted to hear such things about their home.

  “But the clergy will never allow those rebelling to get the better of them, so they’ll merely expose something so very near to the truth that it will be beyond suspicion. That would explain why the church in Lenos is trying to set up a bishopric.. after they find the bones, someone with such authority couldn’t be disobeyed or suspected.”

  “Indeed. In order to convince the others that their beliefs are wrong, the Church must acquire the bones as soon as possible.”

  Holo sighed and took a seat, her tail nearly emerging from under her robe. Lawrence watched her quietly before sighing as well.

  “Then it must be true that D’Jean Company is still after the bones, and that they know where they are. They may have even told the Church already.”

  “If so, we must go to the company and see for ourselves.”

  Holo’s eyes were always dreadful when she stared at someone with her fangs exposed like this, but Lawrence just shook his head.

  “We mustn’t solve this with violence. The Church won’t let you escape if you appear. Once they hear that the god of another religion exists, all who follow the ’true’ faith will become hostile.”

  Of course Holo wasn’t a child that would reply by saying “I’ll tear them to shreds if they do.” She understood the gulf in power between them. She knew that such violence would only give the stagnant Church the authority they needed to have a resurgence.

  “If we can, we should steal some money. With money, we-”

  “That is not funny-”

  Holo had interjected, but when she saw that his eyes were serious she trailed off.

  “With money, we can kill whomever we need to. With enough of it, we could even safely expose your home to others. It is not a joke.”

  He was a merchant, and he knew how cheap a life was in the face of money. He knew just how cold and hard cash was, and just how much power it held. But he couldn’t tell if Holo was buying it or not.. she just whispered to herself and looked away from him. He pressed on.

  “Besides, just knowing the details isn’t enough to make the situation any better.”

  “And why not? If the company is trying to get that fox on their side, we have two options.”

  “Two?”

  The Wisewolf’s mind was in full swing. She turned to look at Lawrence while knocking on Cole’s head, then spoke.

  “Cole’s knowledge might be able to threaten that company.”

  “I see.”

  It was true, they could take advantage of the copper coin fiasco with D’Jean company.

  “And what’s their other option?”

  She slung a strange smile on her face and rushed up to him. He felt a pit form in his stomach, the same kind of sinking feeling he got when he knew bad things were coming – he had seen her wear this kind of look before.

  “If the company wishes the help of that fox, they can tell her the location of the wolf’s bones.”

  She was a head shorter than Lawrence, and standing in front of him like that would force her to look up to him. But it only gave the illusion that his was the stronger position.

  “For D’Jean’s, that’s a possibility. But aren’t you forgetting something?”

  “What?”

  Did she have have some secret in mind to blackmail Eve? He couldn’t think of anything.

  “Just think about it. For Eve, there’s no benefit in telling us. If we ask her about the location, she’ll just warn us to not get involved. Why should she tell us?”

  Holo’s reply was a even more provocative smile. Her tail swishing around unpleasantly.

  “Then beguile her. You have already beguiled me, so she will be far less of a challenge.”

  Love was more valuable than other kinds of trade, and Holo was aware of Lawrence’s abilities. Setting aside whether it would work, it was indeed a possibility. But why was Holo being so unpleasant about this? As his fear of her smile grew, she turned to Cole.

  “Little one, stare at the ground and cover your ears.”

  “Huh?”

  Cole hesitated for a moment, but was soon overpowered by her stare. When he obeyed, she sighed and turned her attention back to Lawrence. Lawrence was at a loss.. should he apologize for not being as quick as Cole?

  “Did you think I would not realize?”

  Her smile vanished as she grabbed his ear and yanked him toward her.

  “Wh- what-”

  “You may have to watch others to know what they have eaten, but I simply need to smell it. And if I need more detail, I merely need a closer whiff.”

  A closer smell.. Holo must be talking about earlier when Eve was consoling him. But why wasn’t she angry until now? Lawrence felt strangely about it; he recalled trying to fool Holo earlier, but what was all of this about her smelling something?

  “Oh!”

  When he snapped out of it, her face was right in front of his.

  “You are not an entirely brainless male. That spares me having to teach you the stupidity of being so brave.”

  Eve had drunk some of his beer at the Stream of Gold. Such sharing was normal for travelers, so a merchant would think nothing of it. But Holo didn’t see it that way.

  “Don’t misunderstand!”

  After his firm statement, Holo violently removed her hand from his ear and replied.

  “Of course I understand. You cannot keep any secrets from me.”

  His ears weren’t in that much pain, but he still massaged them while wincing. It was nice that she spoke her mind so honestly, but why did she have to grab his ears like that?

  In spite of her resolve, and the fact that it might be possible, Lawrence still wanted to prioritize it last on their list of options. He wasn’t confident that he could make it work.

  As he watched Holo pull Cole up from the table, it dawned on him that she was worried. The myth of the bones was very much true.. that was becoming more and more obvious.

  “Anyhow, we should now..”

  Her powerful voice snapped Lawrence back to reality. Cole was tidying the table at her behest. But what were they going to do? He pondered over this until he noticed that Holo was holding a wallet – his wallet. She must have stolen it from him a moment ago.

  “Buck up. You still wish to train the little one, do you not? Or would you prefer continuing to beguile Eve?”

  Lawrence had no response besides shrugging and sighing.

  * * *

  Only the best companies could afford glass windows. The well-to-do buildings usually settled for oiled parchment instead, but most people had no covering - just shutters. As such, most people had to open their windows to let light into their rooms.

  Of course that included the room they were in now. Noise and cold air flowed into the room freely, but they didn’t take any notice. They weren’t ignoring it because they were hot, but because they were deep in thought.

  “It’s impossible..”

  Lawrence finally broke their stalemate. His eyes were moving constantly as he tried to find a solution. But the atmosph
ere around the table didn’t change.

  “Hmm.. a logically troublesome foe.”

  Currency-exchange fraud was done by using the rates from hundreds of different coinages and goods, and worked over long time periods. Of course there were fraud schemes that leveraged simple tricks, but then the fraudster had to be very skilled. The simplicity of this scheme was surprising to Lawrence.

  “Um, I forgot the exact number, but if they do it that way they’ll still have to make adjustments. I think they could change the number of crates with coins from fifty-seven to sixty..”

  He looked over at Holo and Lawrence, who were shocked at his confidence.

  “No, that must be it.. I see, this should slip by unnoticed..”

  “Perhaps.. still..”

  Holo moaned regretfully and pinched his face. Lawrence had discovered this scheme a long time ago, but he never suspected it was actually usable. Cole seemed to recognize that as well. Fifty-seven crates of coins always becoming sixty was quite strange.

  There were two ways to fill a crate with columns of coins: in a rectangular grid, or a honeycomb pattern. Either way the coins would fill the crate, even if more coins fit into the crate in the honeycomb arrangement.

  Contracts only stated that the crates had to be completely filled, not their precise arrangement. That made it easy to notice theft without having to count any coins or do a full inspection.

  As such, the only party that had to really worry about counting the coins was the one who ordered them. No one else had to care about the actual number of coins inside each crate. One could ship fewer crates this way, and avoid paying shipping fees and tariffs.

  “No one else has noticed it yet.”

  “Hmm?”

  “This young boy is smart. But smart people are everywhere.. perhaps one day you might even be one of them.”

  Lawrence ignored her mockery. The boatman on the Roam river, Lacoza, shipped coins several times a year. In the past two years, someone who was aware of this scheme may have already opened the crates. And there was another important point to consider.

  “The D’Jean Company may be saving on shipping fees and tariffs, but they’d soon come to realize the risks of using this method.”

  “Eh? Ah.. the cargo manifests!”

  Despite being pinched, the boy was still thinking logically. He understood, even if he was unable to smile. Holo pinched him even harder to show that he was correct.

  “Exactly. The manifests cannot lie. And if they’re suspected of scheming something, they would be caught in a crate by crate inspection.”

  But even if they were thoroughly investigated after the delivery, it might not yield any results. Lawrence picked up a coin on the table and sighed.

  “Then..!”

  Holo suddenly shouted, seemingly addicted to pinching poor Cole’s face.

  “We have a weapon we can use to threaten D’Jean’s!”

  Her eyes were shining, so Lawrence hesitated. He didn’t know if telling her the truth was the best way to go, but a lie would cause him more suffering down the line.. she’d end up even more disappointed, or something even worse might happen.

  “I’m sorry, but..”

  Her face twisted.

  “That’s not going to help us.”

  “Why not?”

  The unpleasant look on her face was painful to behold.

  “D’Jean Company is just evading taxes and shipping fees by using three fewer crates. If that gets out they may be fined, or lose a bit of reputation, but..”

  “It is nothing compared to the profits they can get from the bones, right.. I remember you teaching me something like that when we bought these clothes..”

  Holo grabbed her town-girl clothes, obvious dissatisfied but unable to reject the reality.

  “Unfortunately so. It would have made a weapon if they were only partially interested in the wolf bones.”

  Holo seemed disappointed at having seen something slip through her fingers, but it didn’t depress her. Cole, who had provided her with this ammunition, seemed even more disappointed. He had obviously hoped his solution would help, but instead of another congratulatory pinch he was being bopped on the head, as though by an irritated older sister.

  “Ah well. It does show that matters are serious. At least its better than if they were relaxed like buying apples.”

  “Indeed, if this will not work, we shall find another way.”

  It was easier said than done. It wasn’t easy to find another myth like the bones of the wolf-god, so if Reynolds had a lead on where they were located, wouldn’t it be best to follow it? And if Reynolds knew, then Keeman might as well – they were both based in Gerube, after all.

  It was still unknown what Keeman was planning, but since he had asked Lawrence to contact Eve, it was likely that he would be compensated. The situation in town might make it hard to find Keeman quickly, but that seemed to be their best option.

  But if anything were to happen..

  “Also, we should consider that Eve isn’t staying for much longer.. it seems she plans to leave this mess of a city behind, and may not return for a long time. What if Reynolds learns this?”

  “We must contact her as soon as possible.”

  There was plenty of time left to make a true enemy out of Eve. As Lawrence muttered to himself, Holo continued speaking.

  “So we must draw that fox in?”

  Just who was it a moment ago that was so angry about Eve? Lawrence couldn’t help but stare at Holo, but he had no choice now but to consider this stupid plan.

  In this world, one had to jump at opportunities, because they never knocked twice. And if it was related to the Church, it would vanish into the darkness.

  Holo played with Cole’s hair while Lawrence stroked his beard. They considered many possibilities, and together it felt like the three of them could even outdo a genius strategist.

  The time silently passed until Holo finally left Cole, walked to the bed, and let her tail out. Seeing this, Cole and Lawrence turned to look at each other. It seemed they were both wondering whether she was requesting a break.. they smiled and nodded at each other.

  “Hmm?”

  Holo suddenly raised her head, turning her ears to the corridor.. just like she had earlier, when she played Lawrence for a fool. She undoubtedly heard footsteps; her sharp ears were beyond suspicion.

  “Mr. Lawrence.. Mr. Kraft Lawrence.”

  The innkeeper’s voice called out as he knocked on their door. But why would he come to their room? They stayed silent, though Cole stood up and walked to the door. They had paid the deposit for their room, and hadn’t broken any dishes. As Lawrence mulled it over, the door opened and the owner peeked into their room.

  “Oh, you’re here after all.”

  “Yes, is there a problem?”

  “Yes. Someone has asked me to pass something on to you.”

  “Pass something on to me?”

  Before Lawrence could guess what it was, the innkeeper handed him a letter. Lawrence proceeded to read the letter’s fine handwriting.

  “Come to the the Lidon Inn to the east. I wish to talk to you about my statues. The innkeeper knows the details.”

  After finishing, Lawrence raised his head and found the innkeeper staring at the letter. After their eyes met, he nodded.

  “You understand, right? One person.”

  Lawrence didn’t understand until he took another look at the letter and read the final line: “One person.”

  “Got it? Then I’ll prepare a carriage. Please get ready.”

  “Uh.. huh?”

  Lawrence was mystified, but the owner simply looked at the floor and politely excused himself.

  “What happened?”

  “Hmm.. I’ve no idea.. I am to meet Eve at another inn.”

  Lawrence set the letter down on the table. Holo regarded it as though it offended her territorial instincts, and hopped down off the bed.

  “Something must have happened.. something compli
cated.”

  “Will you be alright by yourself?”

  Holo sniffed the letter as she held it with two fingers, as though divining some hidden information. As her expression twisted it became obvious that the letter was indeed from Eve.

  “You must beguile her properly.. you fool!”

  After barking this, she repeated herself.

  “Will you be alright by yourself?”

  The look on her face was stone serious.

  “There are better ways to put me in danger, so I suspect this time she truly wishes to meet with me.”

  “..”

  Holo’s silence made the depth of her displeasure obvious. Her tail swished about angrily. Was she worried that Lawrence was walking into a trap? Or did she just doubt he could properly play his role?

  In any case, he had been summoned on his own and he planned to honor that request. Eve was the one to be suspected, not him. But he knew that pointing that out to Holo would only make her feel worse. To his credit, Cole came to Lawrence’s rescue like some angelic figure.

  “It’s fine, Miss Holo. I’ll still be here even if Mr. Lawrence leaves.”

  He was certainly in fine form to make such a useful joke. Holo’s eyes opened and she could only laugh in response.. there was no way she could capriciously follow up on that, since Cole was so much younger than Lawrence. When her laughter ceased, she put her hands on her hips and sighed.

  “Alright, I shall await your return and be protected by young Cole.”

  Lawrence looked at Cole, who smiled in response. In his heart, Lawrence thanked the boy.

  “Very well, then I’ll be off. When I’m gone, don’t open the door for strangers.. it might be a wolf.”

  Holo wasn’t interested in his lame jokes.

  “If there is bad news, I do not know if I will be able to remain in human form.”

  She wasn’t joking, she was asking. But Lawrence had no chance to answer. The innkeeper, who must have been well-paid by Eve, had very quickly managed to prepare a carriage and was already calling Lawrence downstairs.

  “Then, the driver will take you the rest of the way.”

  At this rate, he was beginning to suspect that the Lidon Inn wasn’t an inn at all.. perhaps it was someone’s residence. He nodded and followed the innkeeper outside.