It was strange; not one day ago, none of them harbored any love for Fran, and now they were going to such lengths. Last night’s conversation had clearly moved them, despite them knowing that she had planned to trap them from the start. Lawrence couldn’t quite grasp why things had turned out this way.
He sent the two of them off and watched until they left his sight before he came back inside. Holo had laid out her tail and was busy tidying it. As he watched, Lawrence tried to bait her with words.
“Fran must have been contemplating the legend all night.”
Holo ran her fingers through her tail before flicking any bugs she found onto the fire. She turned away.
“Mm?”
“You heard what she said to Cole before they left, right? ’Let’s not miss anything that could be related to the legend.’”
“..Mm.”
Fran also thought the legendary angel was just something natural being blown out of proportion, perhaps wind-blown snow off of treetops or the steam from a hot spring near the lake. Those kinds of things might be mistaken for wings. The waterfall fell quickly enough that anything going the other way would look like it was rising quickly, be it steam or snow. Cole had listened to each of her guesses seriously, and promised to not miss anything with a nod.
“But my, she is serious. She wouldn’t budge even if the villagers or the landlord himself came to get rid of her.”
Lawrence expected Holo to grumble something like “she even dared to order me around,” but she didn’t. In fact, Holo seemed quite pleased.
“For a stubborn silversmith, she is nothing like I expected.”
“..really?”
Fran wasn’t quite what he’d imagined, but she certainly was as stubborn as a proper artisan, utterly devoted to their goals. In all likelihood she stayed up late wondering about the legend, and then ran outside first thing at dawn. Holo smiled at Lawrence’s question.
“She must have a lover, and is just chasing after him. That is not quite what I would call stubborn.”
That was likely the “he” Fran kept mentioning, the one who told her about the legend in the first place. He might be her lover, but was at least someone she clearly loved. It seemed Holo shared Lawrence’s view on that much. Based on Holo’s words, he found himself re-evaluating whether he ought to call Fran “stubborn.” It seemed that “obsessed” might be a better word.
“’Tis quite lovely.”
“Well, I suppose so.”
If Fran wasn’t lying to them last night then she was like a youthful maiden praying for her knight to survive his next battle. But Lawrence still had no idea why she apologized to him in the first place. Nor why Holo was so much happier now that she knew what Fran was up to. At any rate, those were the thoughts filling his mind as he tended to the fire, just before Holo spoke.
“She was quite generous, was she not? Apologizing like that.”
A big spark shot up from the flames, but rather than looking like any other random spark, it looked like it was caused by his nervous fidgeting. And it was. He turned to face Holo, who was staring right at him with an unnatural smile.
“You do know why she was so generous, do you not?”
Lawrence felt stupid for thinking that Holo hadn’t seen through his thoughts. Her tail was swishing gently as she held it. He really should have just admitted it to her sooner.
“I.. I’m afraid not.”
“Foolish mule!”
She shouted loudly, and the ashes in the hearth blew upward at the same time.
“W-why are you angry..”
“Ass! You do not even know why I dislike her, do you?”
Given how loud she was, and how bushy her tail was right now, if Holo had shouted that in her wolf form she would have blown the hut apart.
“..Um..”
It seemed she had reached her limit, and suddenly looked down after exploding at him. He thought she’d burst a blood vessel, and nervously watched her until she looked up.
“Well.. that is just the kind of idiot you are.”
She closed her eyes and sighed as though she was spent. When her eyes opened again, the anger in them was gone. But it had vanished entirely too quickly, and what was left behind was pity.
“So, I was the only one who was angry. And even she realized she had gone too far. It is not that you are kind, you are simply emotionally numb, are you not?”
Any man would feel terrible to be on the receiving end of that accusation, especially if he didn’t know why it was being sent his way. But before he could voice a complaint, she continued.
“You brought such shame on me!”
Lawrence wondered if she was talking about his performance in the company. He’d been cornered, and looked at Holo to save him. Not even Cole had been so pathetic. Holo bared her fangs, her face the very picture of contempt. Again she turned away.
“And right before my eyes, no less.”
“Ah-!”
So that was it..
“You just do not pay attention to where you are going.. and in the process you make us all look like fools.”
She nearly fell on her chair in frustration. He sat, obediently doing as her eyes commanded him. She would tear his throat out if he said what he was going to say. It was bitter medicine having to keep his mouth shut, but all he could now was wring his hands nervously.
It wasn’t that Holo was angry because he’d failed Fran at Athner Company, but because Fran had embarrassed him in front of her. Holo’s reason for accepting Fran’s request was because she had to in order to save face. She had the same complaints he had, but she wasn’t just angry at Fran.
Was he that happy to play the fool? Was he that happy to be embarrassed in front of her? Those were the thoughts running through her mind. He ran the last night’s conversation through his mind word for word, and remembered what she’d said. Then he put his head in his hands in exasperation.
What a twit. Fran had realized that Lawrence was asking for a map for basically the same reason she was chasing after the legend: out of love. That’s why Holo’s anger at her had subsided, and why what was left was purely directed at him right now.
“..Sorry.”
He truly was the only one who’d missed the point. She was right to be angry.
“I wonder if you get stupider by the day.”
Lawrence was beyond knowing what to say, but it seemed that he didn’t have to say anything. Holo seemed to have burned her anger out because of his thick-headedness. His incredible thick-headedness. She sighed, looking at her tail and speaking gently.
“At least that saves me the trouble of tidying it.”
It seemed the bugs and loose hair were all forced from her tail when it swelled up in anger. But Lawrence knew better than to smile, unless he wanted to be swallowed whole. He remained silent.
“The world just keeps turning..”
She curled up as she spoke. He might be stupid, but even Lawrence realized she wasn’t talking about the same thing anymore. Unfortunately he was too stupid to know what she was talking about now.
“I.. really don’t follow.”
She turned, laughing at herself.
“It is nothing.. I just realized I am acting the same way.”
“?”
This was too confusing for him to know how to react.
“The villagers were always saying they should not hold any more festivals. They did not respect me, and would rather scold me. They never asked me how I felt, and so I just stood there staring at them from a distance, never understanding what they were thinking. And now I am doing the same thing all over again.”
They didn’t treasure her as they once did, so that was the natural reaction.. but it didn’t make it easier for Lawrence to know how to react. Should he apologize? Or just acknowledge her words? He really felt like a complete idiot, silently standing there as she stood up.
“Well, it is good to chase someone you care for. Even if you will never catch them.”
She was wearing her evil smirk of scolding, obviously still upset at him making her look like a fool. This was really letting him off the hook easily.
“The problem is..”
She looked at the animal skin curtain before completing her thought.
“What to do when they are already dead.”
The dead should be respected, and the innocent should be redeemed. Holo was clearly comparing this situation to the bones of the wolf deity. No matter how strong they were in life, they couldn’t bite back in death. Even Sister Katerina was able to tolerate being called a witch while she lived. It wasn’t because she’d lost her faith, and Holo knew that. Katerina had simply been too kind to deny the lies, and accepted them instead.
“That is why I wish to help her.”
Holo had been forgotten. It was just like she was dead. She hadn’t been able to salvage her reputation in Pasloe. She was only able to flee. But there was still a chance for Katerina’s name to be cleared. With that, Lawrence finally understood. That had to be her reason for doing this.
“Well, it makes no difference to the villagers what we say about someone who is dead. And that dried-out husk will not care what she is called, so I am not doing anything more useful than whomever cleaned their room.”
“But such actions are meant for those who keep living, not those who have already died.”
Simply put, one could still hope to understand the thoughts of the living. Now that he knew what the situation was, Lawrence could try to find a way to resolve it.
“There is no absolute right or wrong in this world, so I pity the villagers and their landlord.. but..”
She concealed her tail under her robe and pulled her hood over her ears.
“..You would rather help this free-spirited girl?”
Her evil smile took on a whole new meaning. Since a proper funeral was the hope of the living, Holo’s reason for helping Fran was really rather comical. The two of them laughed as the fire danced beside them. If he said that the fire had melted their hearts, Holo would surely laugh even more loudly.
* * *
Fran and Cole returned in the afternoon. Lawrence thought they’d returned for lunch, but Fran had other plans.
“Can we return to the village? I want a map.”
“A map?”
They were sweating profusely despite the frigid air, so it was obvious how quickly they had returned. Cole was so out of breath he plopped himself on a chair and just drank. Holo had to shake the snow off his clothes, though he was too tired to even thank her. It wasn’t a stretch to see that something had happened.
“Did you figure something out?”
As soon as he asked his question, Lawrence was surprised. And so was Holo.. Fran was laughing merrily, as though she could barely contain herself. She just happily repeated “yes” between laughs. For such a reputedly stubborn artisan, she sure was cheerful once her mask was taken off. Maybe Fran used that mask as Eve used her face-scarves, in self-defense.
When Cole had recovered, Holo handed Fran the waterskin. She received a chuckle and a word of thanks, and smiled back. It was almost surreal after the previous few days. After drinking and breathing in deeply, Fran continued giggling. She seemed to be lost in thought about the legend.
“What kind of map did you want?”
Fran yelped, startled at the sudden question. She looked at Lawrence as if she had just noticed he was there. Perhaps she hadn’t realized she had omitted that detail.
“Sorry.. one that shows the rivers around here.”
“Rivers?”
That seemed a bit odd.
“Yes. As we walked around the lake I realized that when it snows the rivers will be frozen still, so the waterfall will be nearly halted. It might even freeze over itself if it snows heavily enough. But they won’t be frozen forever. So I’d like to see a map, so I can see how the waters flow into the lake.”
Her words were flowing freely from her mouth, compared to her previous stoic self. Her seriousness was eradicated, as was her conservativeness. She even gesticulated, revealing the full extent of her thrill.
“I see.”
Lawrence waited patiently.
“So when the water builds up past its limit and explodes-”
“We’ll get our angel.”
Fran stared at him in anticipation, so elated that she wasn’t even bothered at being cut off like that. It was fully possible that if the water built up over the winter, the pressure would build up until it finally exploded through the ice. In the right lighting it would just like an angel floating up to the moon. Even if one knew the truth, the sheer spectacle would leave them thinking it was a miracle.
Lawrence didn’t think he would ever have come up with that, though he hardly to excuse himself.
“I agree, that’s probably it.”
Fran was nearly in tears of joy.
“I hope we’ll get to see it.”
Lawrence felt that was the only correct way to respond to someone in such a state, with that kind of smile.
“Mhm.”
That was all that Fran could say.
* * *
Fran took Cole back the lake, not wanting to wait for the map. Cole seemed swept up in her excitement and followed her, determined. Holo didn’t want him to go, and had a look about her like she was losing a sweet younger sibling.
“Well, let’s go.”
Lawrence put his foot on the stirrup, at which point Holo ran up to him and grabbed his hand. He pushed her up on the horse, then hopped up in front of her. He grabbed the reins, and the horse began to trot.
“She looked just like a happy child.”
He wanted to laugh at the memory of Fran’s extreme excitement. Hugh would have a hard time believing it.
“The truly childish are the ones who believe that adults should be even-tempered.”
She grabbed his waist and rested her head on his back. Her chin and ears poked into him, making him wonder if he ought to have set her in the front.
“True. People say the elderly become rather childish.”
“..Meaning the longer you live the younger you get?”
Holo seemed to be in a good mood. Lawrence smiled when she laughed at his line. After her mirth, she replied.
“This seems quite important to her.”
Fran had mentioned a “person she knew” in a moment of embarrassment, someone who wasn’t able to be with her now. Perhaps he was just a craftsman unable to desert his job, but her wistfulness made it seem more likely that it was for a darker reason. According to her, they should have been traveling together, so for them to part ways in the middle implied injury, illness, or worse.
Holo turned her head so the other side of her face rubbed up against Lawrence.
“I never expected to see such a kindly smile on her face. She has put on quite the thick mask.. only the gods know what she would have done if she had not chanced upon us, that foolish girl.”
Lawrence sighed and replied.
“Well, anyone else would have been scared away by her determination, and leave her all on her own.. probably.”
Those who succumbed to fear of danger found it harder to succeed in such tasks. And yet, the more one walked along the edge of a knife, the more likely they would stumble. Unless one happened to be with a goddess of luck, of course.
Lawrence knew why Holo was bringing this up, and that she wanted to hear him say something like “If she’s daring enough to boss around the Wisewolf of Yoitsu, then even luck itself would bend to her whims.“
But knowing that made another thought cross his mind: why had he been lucky enough to end up traveling with Holo? Holo laughed, probably having sensed his doubts. Maybe she’d planned to sit behind him all along, knowing he would eventually stumble on this line of thought.
“Jeez.. I know how lucky I am to have such a dear partner.”
She laughed loudly.
“Just who are you talking about?”
He had to be the nice one, no m
atter what. He tightened his grip on the reins and spoke resolutely.
“Holo, the Wisewolf of Yoitsu.”
“Well, then, perhaps you ought to tell her so.”
He heard her tail swishing around behind him. Money could warm him, but not shield his back from the wind like this. It was nice to act like this from time to time, so he let her warmth sink into him as they rode on to the village.
When they arrived, everything seemed to be business as usual; farming, grazing, making repairs. Holo squinted as she watched the sights. It didn’t matter how far they traveled, this was the kind of scenery that awaited them.
“I dislike how this village is not taking a stand, but I can understand why they would do so for their own protection.”
How keen of Holo to observe the situation that objectively.
“And, given what Fran has said, someone in the village did not wish to brand Katerina a witch. They even cleaned that hut for some redemption.”
A perfect resolution to this situation would be inordinately difficult. Holo understood that and sat in silence. No one was wrong, per se, yet that didn’t make it any easier to accept things.
“Well, it’s up to us to reverse the curse on the witch and turn her back into a pious nun. Fran could then focus on her investigations and on drawing our map. That’s a happy enough outcome, surely?”
Even if the landlord couldn’t get the villagers to enter the forest, he could still use the dead nun to his advantage. Of course that made Holo angry, but it was all for naught. She exhaled out in frustration.
“Very well. Then let us locate a map. It may be wise to hunt down Mr. Vino.”
They weren’t noticed by everyone in the fields, since they were hunched over and working. Lawrence decided to catch their attention first, but no one seemed to care much. They just peeked at them once in a while, then resumed working. After all, Lawrence and Holo had arrived the previous day, and Miura or Vino had probably explained things to everyone.
Rather than heading to Vino’s home directly, they found him in the town square crafting bows and arrows with others. They were polishing white arrowheads in their hands, probably fragments of bone from the deer they had hunted the previous day.