Spice & Wolf VIII (DWT) Page 7

  Lawrence drank his beer, looking at the merchants around him with disdain. He had hoped to see an intense competition for profit.

  He was suddenly distracted by the gull atop the pillar, which took off at the toll of a bell. The crowd fell silent. He watched as everyone seated rose, placed their right hands on top of one another, and shouted, “In the name of Roam, master of the river!”

  The meeting began. They all sat back down, each of the soldiers waving their spears to the sky in response. The ritual was like some ancient imperial ceremony used by the wise. Such formalities were necessary to officiate meetings. But based on how they were acting, no one really cared about this meeting.

  If the meetings of a city’s ruling body weren’t authoritative it would mean chaos, like mercenaries without a commander. It wasn’t much different from ruling a country, in which kings announced that their powers were granted by God.

  Lawrence drank his beer, smiling and muttering to himself.

  “Trouble is everywhere.”

  “That’s just the kind of thing you’d say.”

  This unexpected reply made Lawrence nearly spray beer from his mouth. He nervously turned to the speaker, Eve, who wasn’t taking part in the meeting.

  “Why so nervous? Are you hiding something?”

  Her eyes betrayed that she was smiling under her scarf.

  “Merchants hide their secrets and money in their wallets.”

  “..and carry them to the grave, right?”

  “Exactly.”

  He gave an exaggerated shrug, Eve smiled happily like a noblewoman from the city.

  “What do you want from a normal merchant like me, anyway?”

  “Normal, huh? I’ll never forget the moment my throat was grasped ’normally’.”

  Lawrence was wholly embarrassed to be reminded of that, but it was true.. even the greatest general would remember the time they were bitten and cried.

  “I expected you’d be up there with the heads of the meeting.”

  “For this kind of thing? What could I possibly gain up there? Why don’t I just pray to God?”

  She narrowed her eyes and surveyed the tables as she spoke. He looked at her face, but couldn’t divine her inner thoughts. He wasn’t sure how she’d take it if he continued talking.. if she was a wolf like Holo she’d probably take it personally.

  A loud cough from the head table formally declared the start of the meeting.

  “This meeting is called to order.”

  As Lawrence had overheard, the meeting was about the expansion of the delta market. The one speaking was one of the well-dressed men who was with Eve earlier. He seemed accustomed to public speaking.

  “I won’t say this meeting is useless.. but don’t you always feel like these meetings are just formalities, and that nothing will actually get solved?”

  Lawrence hesitated before answering.. his mind was being slowly poisoned by feelings of envy.

  “Then, Ms. Eve, what you’re surely saying is that you’re the one making those ’real decisions?”’

  Perhaps she had noticed his envy, because she simply shrugged and sighed.

  “Just speak your mind already.”

  “One of the movers and shakers is wasting their time on someone like me.. I can’t help but feel conflicted.”

  As he finished talking, he worried that he was conveying too much emotion. But then again, it was a reasonable response. Being trusted by a powerful figure was a great honor for a powerless merchant like him.

  And yet, Eve seemed stunned by his words. As he wondered if they were really that surprising, Eve turned her attention back to the meeting. The north and south factions were debating, but they didn’t seem impassioned.. it looked rather silly, in fact.

  When she turned back to him, he expected her to be wearing the same kind of expression she showed to Cole earlier, but it was closer to the one she wore when they had fought in Lenos.

  “Would you laugh if I told you I’m glad you’re openly honest with me?”

  With that, it made sense why she kept looking around at the meeting as they talked.. it seemed that wolves were utterly incapable of being openly honest.

  “Yes, I would.”

  Merchants were never completely open with each other. They wore different masks when they did business. Because of that, if he made her happy enough to invite him to join her for some behind-the-scenes entertainment, it was no fault of his. No one could blame him for feeling the way he did, and it was fine for him to be open about it.

  It was once said that merchants could only make friends with other merchants.. if that were true, it meant that those around a successful merchant would always hide their true feelings and just try to please them.

  Even heroes of legend needed a respite from this kind of thing, so Eve ought to really be happy with Lawrence’s honesty. She looked at the ground for a time, and when she raised her head her eyes were clear as though snow had fallen in them and melted.

  “It was the right decision to greet you when I saw you earlier. Frankly, being stopped by those guys was really depressing.”

  Eve pointed at the people speaking during the meeting.

  “Because it didn’t involve profit?”

  Eve curled her lips at his playful remark.. it was obvious to Lawrence, even if it was hidden behind her scarf. She snatched away his beer in response.

  “But for me, who has to be so aggressive in Lenos and on the river, it might be one of the reasons that I find this place so comfortable.”

  She either had a political benefactor, or the capital and backing of investors who could operate outside the legal system. Lawrence had never been at her level.. it was all new to him.

  Her family had declined, but she still held a noble title and climbed her way back up from rock-bottom. She must have a lot of benefactors that others didn’t see.

  The men had shown her respect when Lawrence saw them at the pier, but based on her expression things weren’t quite as simple as they seemed.

  “I was kind of like a bodyguard to them, always getting ridiculous orders. Do you how this market came to be?

  Lawrence honestly shook his head.

  “A few decades back, some merchant from the south suggested building it. He said it would be a good base for trading with the north. So some merchants tried to buy the delta from it’s landowners. But the landowners figured it would be a huge loss to sell their land, so they decided to built the market on their own. It cost some of them dearly.”

  “The landowners were from the north, and the ones who lent them money were from the south?”

  Eve lowered her scarf, drank some beer, fixed the scarf, then handed the beer back to Lawrence.

  “That’s right. Those merchants speaking up there are the sons of those lenders. The landowners kept their land and earned a hefty rent fee, but they had to pay it right back to the lenders with interest. So those unsatisfied landowners tried to find a way out of it.”

  “And failed.”

  Eve nodded, her eyes becoming cold enough to suggest that people’s lives were worth less than profits.

  “So what’s the next generation looking for? Simply put, it’s a scapegoat.”

  “Someone to blame for this difficult problem, huh?”

  Eve’s face calmed like the surface of a lake. One day her abilities could make her a powerful merchant, but right now she was just a merchant with some money.

  She was tasked with solving this problem that everybody knew was impossible to solve. And the people who assigned this task didn’t expect a solution.. they just wanted her to fail so they could punish her; a scapegoat.

  As the one who had lost in their encounter, Lawrence had been hoping Eve was someone who was at the top of the their game.

  “Ah.. right.. I’m good at dragging others into my misfortune. You learned that in Lenos.”

  Eve spoke calmly.. she was strong, but different from Lawrence. They didn’t live in the same world.

  “Yes..
as I expected, this had been pretty gloomy.”

  “Oh ho.. you’re always straightforward, aren’t you? But that’s what this place is like.. even the profits from exporting copper are exploited by the ruling class.”

  Nothing was worse than having power without the money to back it up. That’s why the rich only took risks when they had to.

  “Right, well, I don’t want to drag you into my gloom.. so come find me when you have a problem that needs solving. Thanks for the beer.”

  As Eve left, Lawrence shouted to her.

  “By the way, I managed to get information about those bones!”

  She turned back for a moment, wearing a neutral expression. As she walked away, Lawrence was certain she was smiling under her scarf.. she was intentionally acting that way as if to say “just what I wanted to hear.”

  He didn’t look at the other merchants. His eyes followed Eve, as she left the crowd and greeted some merchants who seemed to be different. Based on their clothes, Lawrence judged them to be from the south. Like Eve, they were probably the bodyguards of the treasury in the south side of the city.

  If he learned their names and stories, he’d probably root for them as well, but right now his heart was supporting Eve. In Lenos, Lawrence gained an appreciation for her sly and determined nature. On the Roam river, he gained an appreciation for her single-mindedness.

  But here, she was the one being used. Of course, while being used she was also using her opponents. She easily broke free of the Church-supported Lenos, and didn’t even plan to remain in Gerube. Instead she was taking her furs to the south.

  Lawrence was finally beginning to understand.. she wasn’t a hero who could change the world with a sword. She was just a regular merchant who always had to struggle to pull herself out of the mud. A great merchant had once said that merchants were never the main characters in the story of this world.

  After reflecting on it, Lawrence felt relieved that Holo wasn’t there with him. He stared down at the bottle in his hand and thought, “this way I can at least have some beer instead of wine.” He knew how pathetic his face must look right now.

  It wasn’t strange for Holo to be angry when she heard about the Church abusing the remains of her kin to convert others to their faith. Lawrence wasn’t Reynolds, and he didn’t own D’Jean Company, but he also wanted to take happy memories with him to his grave.

  He whispered in his heart before looking back at the aggressive debate taking place in the meeting. He drank the rest of his beer with a sigh.

  * * *

  The goods of many nations were on display in the delta market. It was like a miniaturization of the world, a place where one could find themselves charmed by the many languages they heard in the air. But hearing it was much more interesting than seeing it.

  This wasn’t the type of big, open market that was held several times during the year, where goods were piled on display high into the sky. There were no troupes of musicians or actors earning money from the traveling peddlers and casual shoppers.

  There certainly were crowds, but the various stalls didn’t display much of their stock. There were mostly signs with tags listing the names and prices of goods available, and one had to ask an attendant to see actual samples.

  There were many dishes to savor, but nowhere to savor them in this crowded and narrow place. At best, one could find tiny and roofless stalls selling beer and wine. But because it was liveliness, not rowdiness, that was wanted here, such stalls were few in number and soldiers with longswords patrolled the area.

  Lawrence was easily able to work his way straight to his destination. Anyone with a good mind could easily understand the basic layout of this small market. But it was probably more likely that he would be found first, before he found who he was looking for.

  Holo and Cole were probably having fun, so after watching such a disappointingly stupid conversation between the ruling merchants, Lawrence walked to the nearest inns in search of them. As he entered one, he heard someone call him from upstairs.

  “Hey, you.”

  He didn’t reply at first. He walked inside and made his way to the second floor, entering the small room that he had been called to, before finally speaking without a trace of sarcasm.

  “How extravagant..”

  “Really? It only cost that one silver coin.”

  Tables and chairs had been placed by the window, and Holo sat on the sill drinking. He could have seen her from the street. He wasn’t sure if she was drunk or just confident, but she wasn’t trying to hide her ears and tail.

  “I think maybe I should teach you again how much a silver coin is worth..”

  He picked a cup up off the ground and smelled it before sighing. She was quite a glutton for wine and food, but she was still very picky about their quality.

  “Where’s Cole?”

  He assumed by all the empty plates on the table that she had sent the boy out to order more food.

  “What you are thinking is correct.”

  She had probably grown too hot after drinking, and decided to enjoy the breeze from outside. Her face showed just how pleasant it was.

  “As usual, you boss other people around freely without a trace of guilt.”

  He filled a cup with wine and sat on the bed in the room. It wasn’t soft, but to those just getting off a ship – where the conditions were like a dog kennel – it was as pleasant as the finest mattress from a palace. In fact, someone crammed in a boat until their breaking point would no longer need the teachings of the Church to appreciate such a room.

  Of course, Holo had never experienced that harsh reality. He wished that just once she would feel some guilt for such behavior.

  “You learned something good, did you not?”

  Holo was staring out the window with her head against the bars, as the breeze blew past her face. She seemed to be enjoying the music from outside and ruminating about something. Her ears flicked around as she listened.

  “I did?”

  He sipped on some wine; it was just the right kind to drink while resting.

  “Well, you seem happy at least.”

  Her eyes were closed, but somehow that only made it seem like she could see through everything. He couldn’t resist touching her face and smiling.

  “I do?”

  He was certain that he had wiped his facial expression after talking to Eve, but Holo just stared at him with a cunning smile.

  “You are a hundred years too young to fool me.”

  At first he wondered if she’d somehow heard his conversation with Eve, but then he realized that she had simply asked him in a way that would make him reveal the truth. He placed his palm on his forehead and sighed at her, as she wagged her tail in delight.

  “It seems like you have figured it out. Well, you are obviously just a pup to have fallen for such a simple trick.”

  “..I’ll be sure to remember it.”

  “I suspect your mind is too small to remember it.”

  She craned her neck back as she spoke, as if she was itching to say it, then laughed heartily.

  “Why you.. well, I’m certainly not happy now. Put simply, it’s like you’re after dry wine and not something sweeter.”

  “Oh?”

  She stood up, but seemed unstable.. was she tipsy from the wine?

  “Ah.. I am a bit too cold now.”

  She sat down next to him and leaned her back against his. Many sailors were tipsy like this after a long boat ride. Lawrence had experienced it first-hand.. and now Holo was acting the same way. They sat back-to-back as she hugged her tail. Her behavior surprised him, but if this was what she wanted..

  “So what did you learn?”

  Given the situation and what was on his mind, he wouldn’t have been able to speak so steadily and in such a normal tone like she did. But again, he realized how easily he had let her get him flustered, and sighed once more.

  “About the dark side of the city.”

  “Hmm?”

 
“Basically, I learned about a loan.. just a much bigger one than usual.”

  Holo poured wine down her throat like a mug of water after waking up. It wasn’t terribly strong, but she should still take it easy. With that in mind he reached for her cup.

  “I hope you realize how many words I swallowed with that wine just now.”

  His arm was still reaching out as she rested herself against his shoulder.. the wolf was in his arm.

  “You are usually excited to talk about money problems when they are not your own, yet this time you are not.. why is that?”

  She burped after another sip, then took his hand and placed her cup into it.

  “Just what did you discuss with that fox?”

  It seemed impossible to hide anything from Holo. He lifted the cup to his mouth and took a sip, then realized that she had pulled the wool over his eyes once again. She was laughing; it wasn’t a cup of wine, just honeyed goat milk for Cole.

  But if she felt it necessary to trap him this way, he didn’t have to worry about her getting angry even if he told her everything. So he slowly began.

  “..that clever woman, who easily bested us, is just a little girl here in this city.”

  “Mmhm.”

  “She isn’t just being exploited by the ruling class here, she’s little more than a punching bag. The one I looked up to in Lenos and on the Roam river is just a small fry over here. How should I put this..”

  If he finished what he was saying, it would make Holo angry. But he’d already gone this far, and if he didn’t fully explain himself then she’d probably be even more angry.

  “I’m.. disillusioned.”

  Holo didn’t answer. In fact she didn’t even look at him. He couldn’t tolerate the silence for long, so he continued.

  “If even Eve, who is such a good merchant, is like this, what does that make me? Worthless? I at least wanted the person who bested me to be someone really impressive..”

  It was only natural for there to be people better than you.. Lawrence wasn’t so naďve that he felt he was anything special. His self-esteem had been low for years. But the feeling hadn’t grown worse with age. He worried, he felt depressed.. but he knew that no one would encourage a lonely traveling merchant. But now..