“I manage the books at Diva, so I know what they need to keep it running. All we have to do is get everything inside the gates and close them. They’ll have no choice but to back off then.”
He said that, but the men outside those gates would be mercenaries who were experts at besieging towns. How could they possibly hold the gate?
“They simply don’t have the capital to take over a town.”
What? Had Diva run out of money?
“They’re just like me; they have to keep the barons, mercenaries and Lesco running on the promise of the new currency. But there’s just not enough raw material to make it happen yet. It’ll take too long for them to gather enough, and even longer to mint the coins. So what if we have more money here then they have to pay everyone? If they run out of money to pay all those travelers and farmers in the north, what then?”
Then, everyone would have to give up on the new currency and settle for the poorer ones again. Their investment would fizzle, never to be appealing again. They would earn the wrath of the landlords that had already promised to pay others with the now-depreciating currency. It was all such a revelation that Lawrence was surprised Hildir had been so calm about the situation.
“I still remember the most important numbers, and by now they would have exhausted too much of their capital by hiring thousands of mercenaries like this.”
Their daily earnings came from the large number of travelers to visit Lesco, and those earnings would be so tremendous for a large company like Diva that Lawrence couldn’t even estimate them. However, Hildir could remember such things just like Lawrence could remember each of the trades he’d made in his life. Merchants remembered such things.
“That’s why they planned for us to surrender. It would save them money, and our surrender would make it seem like they had unlimited capital. They’re being way too showy right now just for the sake of capturing one former bookkeeper and a small band of mercenaries, however capable. They’re down to using the same tactics we are: threats.”
It was vital to never forget what weapons were at one’s disposal, and at the enemies’ disposal. The problem could be put into perspective with that information.
“In other words, their one concern is that we’ll shut the gate. Once it’s shut, we can negotiate, and Diva will be have to be content with our terms of surrender.”
Had Milicky realized the same thing? Or had Diva perhaps written him to ask that the gate be left open? What if he didn’t find Hildir’s plan acceptable, or if that “poet” in him just decided the situation wasn’t in his favor and he opened the gate for them? Diva wouldn’t have underestimated Hildir’s capabilities; they would know he was familiar with their situation and that he knew they were running out of money.
This was all a complex mental game being played by Hildir, Diva, and Milicky. Whose plan was the weakest? Who would chicken out first? Lawrence was terrified that he wasn’t cut out for such a battle.
“Commerce is like a battlefield.. I understand what that means now.”
He looked up.
“I’m just a traveling merchant. I buy and sell things. This isn’t my battlefield.”
Holo sighed, and Hildir showed a gentle smile. They were like two parents who were glad their child had realized that mountains couldn’t be moved. It soon became noisy outside; it seemed that Milicky had ordered his soldiers to retreat. The sound of their footsteps was soon drowned out by other, faster ones. It was Moid.
“What did you talk about?”
Hildir didn’t even look up at first. Putting their discussion into words wasn’t going to be easy, and a simple summary would be impossible.
“It’ll take a while to explain.”
They clearly hadn’t considered everything, and it felt like there was a lot of room for error. Hildir even looked up at Holo.
“Do you find something funny?”
She seemed utterly bored.
“No, more like.. admirable.”
She had long since given up on the belief that the world could be changed like this. In fact, she was patting Lawrence on the head like it was the only thing she could do to console him after he’d just realized it himself. She soon stood up, and helped Lawrence leave with her.
“Lawrence!”
Hildir shouted out to them. Holo wasn’t about to stop, but Lawrence leaned on her shoulder and turned to respond.
“Yes?”
“You really stood up to Sir Milicky like a great man. Don’t ever forget that. If you don’t, then your shop should always be successful.”
“..Thank you.”
Lawrence felt no better to hear those words, but all he could do was be polite in turn. He still left with Holo, knowing that it wasn’t such a bad conclusion for a traveling peddler who had just had his dreams shattered.
Chapter 11
Lawrence slept as much as possible to speed his recovery, and it was working. He had recovered enough to talk with Holo over breakfast, and enjoy the fresh bread the bakery had delivered to the inn for Hildir and the mercenaries.
Hildir hadn’t been expecting the reception they actually got, since the people of the town were fearful of Diva company’s violence and knew that Hildir was the one bringing it to them. And yet, there were many people trying to get a peek inside the inn. Hunters, farmers, merchants and craftsmen were all terrified of war and how it would impact their lives. It seemed their curiosity was getting the best of them because it was Hildir.
Lawrence sometimes got a good chuckle when people shared their goals and dreams, but this time the dream resonated with him. If the municipal council of Sovereign had no idea what to do about the Diva company, then a war might actually bring about positive change by shaking things up. Even if Milicky welcomed Diva, he couldn’t really stop them and avoid the town’s destruction. They were too powerful, and luck wouldn’t be on his side this time.
Milicky was just as afraid of destiny as he was of Holo, and strongly believed that the world couldn’t be changed this way. Hildir, however, had one advantage: he was a new face. In comparison, the people who delivered their bread didn’t even give the soldiers watching the inn the time of day. To them, Hildir and the Myuri mercenaries represented “righteousness.”
“Hey.”
Holo suddenly spoke up as Lawrence stared out the window after eating.
“What?”
“Hold my wrist.”
She rolled up her sleeve to expose her wrist. Lawrence was confused, but did as he was told.
“As tightly as you can.”
“Huh?”
His confusion deepened as much as he tightened his grip on her wrist. It was just a normal girl’s wrist, the kind that looked easily injured. Obviously, he would never do that to her, so he slowly applied force and readied himself to stop when she reacted with pain. When she didn’t do so, he decided to take things seriously. By the time he released his grip, he had left a clear mark on her wrist. And yet, she seemed oddly happy to see it.
“That is good.”
“Uh, what?”
He felt anxious to leave a mark on her body like that, it felt horrible.
“Your strength is returning. You should be well enough soon.”
Ah, so she was testing how soon he would be ready for their departure.
“So we’re.. moving on?”
He paused to omit the word “finally”, which would have been a bit too rich to hear from him. Of course, Holo caught onto that anyhow and was already tugging his beard.
“Yes.”
They were abandoning Hildir and the Myuri mercenaries and fleeing town. It wasn’t something one would forget in a lifetime. All they could do now was hope they would survive to meet again in the future. Lawrence had to abandon people to wolves before, and Holo had probably been like those wolves at some point in her past.
But this wasn’t the same kind of situation, they were leaving behind people who had a fighting chance. Hildir was still standing and they were armed, so it was
easier for Lawrence and Holo to move on. Lawrence felt he had to help steer the conversation ahead.
“In that case, shall we head back to Lenos first?”
“Why there? Are there not livelier places we could visit?”
“In the south, sure. There were a lot of big places like Ruvinheigen on my trading route before I met you. The weather’s nicer too, so it makes for happier traveling.”
Winter was ending; spring was just around the corner. Summer would come sooner enough, and that was the best time of year to be out on the road. It would also be fun to scout for a shop, since he didn’t stress out as much about risks as he used to. He no longer had to put his life on the line to raise the capital for a shop, nor perform a delicate balancing act around Holo. He’d gained perspective on their journey, and now knew what he needed to do. Any quarrels between them would be manageable now, and he would make sure to stay on the right path. With Holo at his side, he had to be responsible.
“Then I should go take care of our provisions.”
“Oh? Uh, thanks..”
He was so confused he just kept holding her hand until she replied.
“I have had enough of your hand. I need money now. Money!”
Oh, was that what she meant? He wasn’t sure if she was just toying with him, but he didn’t let go of her hand until he placed his wallet in it. He had never given anyone his wallet before, but he didn’t have to think twice about giving it to her. It wasn’t even because he was too injured to join her, but simply because he could just as easily hand his life over to her now.
“Alright! I wonder what to buy?”
“Just don’t waste too much!”
She turned around and stuck her tongue out at that, so it was obviously what she was waiting to hear. Her ears and tail were happily flicking at the air. It was enough to make him nervous, but only a little. When she finally left his sight, he had no choice but to look outside again. All he saw was a typical northern town, bustling as always.
He was looking to catch another glimpse of Holo, but when he remembered there was a back door in the inn, his hopes were dashed. She would surely make sport of him by taking that route, wouldn’t she? He laughed, but stopped when he saw a bird gracefully swooping into the room below his. It was Louis, of course, and despite having seen him before Lawrence was still amazed by his appearance.
In the end, Louis’ flight path had cast Lawrence’s eyes downward, where he saw the unbelievable. Holo was there at the entrance of the building, looking up at him. She even seemed to be smiling. The Wisewolf Holo was smiling up at him. He didn’t have much choice but to call her name and smile back, did he?
* * *
Lawrence and Holo eventually went to see Myuri. His head was bandaged. His hand and legs were cut up. His knee was broken. He was battered. He was still unconscious. At least his expression was peaceful. Holo said nothing at all, until she bowed down to touch her forehead against his.
“Be a wolf.”
That was all she said before she and Lawrence left. Her expression was much the same as always, but Lawrence could tell how tenuous that mask was.
They wandered off to say farewell to Moid and Hildir, but Moid had to tend to his duties in town and wasn’t present to see them off. The inn was busy with people coming and going now, so it was clear he had been hard at work gathering supporters to give them a fighting chance.
Moid and Hildir could make this work. A merchant who knew how to allocate people to get the most out of them, and a staff sergeant who could encourage outnumbered soldiers with but a word should be able to draw the townspeople to their cause and shut the gate on Diva. Only then would the company be forced into a stalemate where they had to bargain.
Their thousands of soldiers were, as Hildir said, a terrible drain on their resources. Every day was crucial for them, and this was just the start of their campaign. They had no choice but to efficiently conquer this town with minimal losses, or their resources would become too limited to complete their task.
That said, conquering a town had to be done properly. It was just as risky to incur the hatred of Sovereign by foolishly injuring their people. Anyone could see that Hildir wasn’t disadvantaged, even if Milicky was also correct in his own assessment. It was just that they had no choice but to do this now.
Now that he was shaking hands with Hildir, all of these thoughts bubbled to the top of Lawrence’s mind.
“Now then, here are the gold coins you entrusted to us.”
They had been waiting for just this chance to return those to Hildir. It was an amount of money Lawrence had never handled in his life. It made him feel a bit lonely to part with them, but it also eased his mind tremendously.
“And here is the banned book.”
Hildir nodded as he took the book and the coins.
“My thanks to you, but this book-”
Hildir’s question was cut off by an annoyed-looking Holo.
“Just do what you will with it. ’Tis useless to us now.”
Even if Hildir were to lose, Holo could probably hunt the book down again without too much trouble.
“I understand. Well then.. hmm? What’s this?”
Hildir finally spotted the other article in the pouch.
“Holo received it from-”
“From the bird. He asked me to hand it to you in secret, and it has worn on my patience.”
Hildir pulled it out with a serious look in his eyes. It was an object shorter than a ceremonial short sword, but much larger than a stamp with his company’s seal on it. In fact, Lawrence wasn’t sure if he’d correctly guessed what it was until he saw Hildir’s reaction just now.
“This is..”
He held that object in his right hand so it wasn’t surprising that it was shivering, given that his right shoulder had been injured. And yet, he was clutching it far too hard for that to be the reason; in fact both of his shoulders began trembling as he lowered his eyes.
“I.. finally have it..”
“Be thankful for Louis’ courage.”
Lawrence’s words were met with a glance from Hildir, who studied the object for a moment before raising it to his forehead and closing his eyes again. It was like he was holding the key to saving the world. Nothing more needed to be said, so Lawrence and Holo exchanged glances before nodding and bidding Hildir farewell.
“Please wait a moment!”
Hildir stopped them.
“Perhaps you already know what this is, but since you’ve carried it, I feel I obligated to tell you just in case.”
Despite saying so, he didn’t even give them time to react. His eyes were already tearing up as he removed the object from it’s cloth wrappings.
“..”
Lawrence was awestruck by its unveiling. It was a hammer, though not a normal one. It was the kind used to mint coins. And not just any coins, of course. It was beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was for minting Diva’s would-be currency. It was the tool that bridged Hildir and Diva to their dream, and he stared at it now like an infant was in his arms.
Such hammers would be worn out after minting perhaps two hundred coins, so Diva would have dozens of them. Stealing one hammer for Hildir would not stop Diva, who would go right on ahead and melt down other coins to make their own with the hammers they had left. This was a symbolic victory, one reminding Diva of the dream that had brought them here.
“Mr. Hildir..”
Hildir was still gazing at his child as Lawrence called out to him.
“May I see it?”
Lawrence had been wondering what image they would mint onto their coins. The mercenaries wouldn’t agree on a particular ruler, so a person’s profile wasn’t going to be met with approval. Besides, that wouldn’t be a strong enough symbol to unite the people of the north. Lawrence also suspected that mountains weren’t an option either, given that Diva company’s mining efforts had scarred many a mountain.
As such, Lawrence believed they might select an image representing power
and fear, at least until he’d met Hildir. And now, having seen Hildir’s reaction, he thought he might finally know what it was. Hildir’s version of Diva wasn’t a company that thought to oppress people, but a company of dreamers. They truly believe they could change the world.
“Of course. That’s why I asked you to wait.”
Hildir lifted the hammer to reveal the stamp on its underside to Lawrence. It took Lawrence’s breath away. Not because he was surprised or sad, but simply because it was just the kind of image that would make him smile, too. Just like the people of the north, who endured in this colorless and frozen land. It was the sun. Hildir wanted to rule the land with the warmth of the sun.
“I hope you’ll remember this foolish merchant and his stupid dreams for the north.”
Lawrence had no words worthy of being given a voice, so he lowered his eyes silently.
“Sorry for wasting your time on this. May the sun protect you.”
If he wasn’t looking to God for protection, then Lawrence and Holo could leave with their minds at ease.
“Mr. Hildir!”
That was when a young worker suddenly burst into the room. He spotted Holo and Lawrence before running into them, and nervously threw himself in another direction. Being unable to stop, he came crashing down at Hildir’s feet.
“Mr. Hildir! A message from Mr. Moid! Diva has sent a messenger into town!”
“What?”
Hildir’s personality immediately snapped back into a serious merchant as he was re-wrapped the minting hammer back into its cloth. His hands were frozen in the middle of that task as he focused on the problematic announcement.. and so did Lawrence.
“A messenger..?”
Hildir spoke to himself as he considered this news.
“Why..?”
A messenger would only be sent into town to try to negotiate before a war, so was Milicky letting them in because he hoped to find a peaceful resolution? Or was he just playing both sides? The townspeople would only see a messenger as coming to declare war on them, since negotiations had already broken down and the gates had been shut.