Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Translation Team
Written by Hasekura Isuna
Illustrated by Ayakura Jyuu
Translation & Editing by
‘Drunken Wolf Translations’
Ebook version 2.0 (07/22/13)
Prologue
The moon was hidden behind the clouds, making it pitch black. At times the cold breeze would cause their hair to flutter. The flame inside their wiry lantern danced about, making them restless in the cold and eerie deadness.
A sound of crunching ice was heard as the horse-drawn cart full of goods rolled along. No one spoke; the team was hurrying through the silence. A dim lamp swayed next to the cargo deck, illuminating the neck of the horses and the driver. It was like they were trying their hardest to look like a procession of the dead.
However, one person on the team had moved away. He bore no lamp, only a stick - it was uncertain whether it was for spurring the horses or scolding their riders. He was off on one side of the road. And he was the only one on the team whose face had any expression.. an expression of shock.
“Hello.”
Only brief utterances were exchanged, because it was too cold to have a proper conversation. It was so cold, in fact, that one could mistake a stone for a chunk of ice. Words were traded for some time on this desolate winter’s night.
The other side of the conversation was an experienced merchant who faced this situation calmly, as if such a roadside meeting was normal. But the leader of this team still needed some time to accept a deal like this.
“Need a quick horse?”
The conversation had started innocently enough, and that question had been answered with a simple “no”. But after hearing the merchant’s offer, no one answered. They just shook their heads in the gloom.
A breeze swept by as the horse cart inched forward in the night. The torches hanging along the entrance of this castle were bright.. so bright it felt like they were in danger of being exposed and wind up hanging as well.
Although that was actually a possibility, it was an advantageous deal that needed to be carefully considered. But normal people wouldn’t have the stamina to stand in the cold and make big decisions. No matter what kind of magic was used.
“Well, let’s find a warm inn first.”
That person spoke on behalf of his team, who were so tired they could barely speak.
“Mr. Eve Boland, was it?”
That was the name of the experienced merchant he was speaking with, who assented in order to cope with the reality of the situation.
Chapter 1
“Om nom..”
She was stuffing food into her face, swallowing barely after chewing, then opening her mouth for more. If a spoonful of porridge was sent her way, she would open her mouth to receive it without a moment’s hesitation. Once in a while she would even unintentionally bite the spoon.
She wasn’t young, but her teeth were still as sharp as a canine’s fangs. After eating enough bread-based porridge to last for two days, this canine was finally satisfied. She had licked her lips and breathed in deeply. Now, she reclined on a bed, on two lovely woolen pillows, somewhat resembling a troubled princess.
But this princess was so thin she might be mistaken for a poor village girl. Anyone given the honor of hugging her would realize that wasn’t the truth, but no one could deny that she looked the part. No.. perhaps the reason that she looked like a poor village girl was how messy her hair was after sleeping, which was uncharacteristic of princesses, or perhaps it was the pain and restlessness written on her face.
The name of this poor princess was Holo. Of course she wasn’t a princess. A more appropriate title would be queen. “Queen of the white forests of the north.” Upon her head were a pair of wolf’s ears, and from her waist grew a striking tail. She might appear to be a frail teenage maiden, but in reality she was a giant wolf who could swallow a man whole.
She had chosen for herself the title of Wisewolf. She lived in the wheat to control the harvest. And she had done so for several centuries. Yet in spite of deserving the prestige of royalty, those who had prayed to her would never recognize her as the god they had depended on. Of course not.. not with her undignified manner of being spoon-fed in the morning without even tidying her disheveled hair.
“Since I am defenseless against you, I take no issue with showing you my bad side.”
It was true that such a statement made him feel warm inside, but Lawrence could only reply sullenly.
“Some people only talk sweetly.”
He couldn’t help it. This was the second time he had fed her in this childish manner, but she had yet to thank him. At least she ate the rest of her meal with more grace. Afterward, she burped and moved her ears around. Her eyes were unfocused, almost nostalgic. After noticing this, he frowned.
“How many would believe me if I told them the Wisewolf had succumbed to muscle aches, I wonder?”
He lamented while tidying the utensils. Her eyes returned to focus.
“How can you treat a frail, sickly maiden this way? Boohoohoo..”
She turned her face to the ground in admission of her failure. Yesterday, she bore Lawrence and the wandering student Cole on her back, running for half the day. She might have been a little too excited to run freely under the sun.
By the time they had arrived at an inn, she was so drained she was unable to climb the stairs. But it wasn’t she who wanted to take a rest.. Lawrence and Cole were the first to surrender. In her excitement she had been more like a free and happy dog than a regal wolf.
Lawrence satirically voiced his appreciation of her speed and stamina, but as expected she simply sat up tall with a proud look on her face. A great wolf with needles of silvery hair all over her body sat on the ground with her head raised and chest puffed out. It truly suited her godly status.
But her ability to play along at such jests was enough to make him smile. For centuries she had been praised as a harvest god, so she would never truly express herself so childishly. If Lawrence didn’t understand her so well he might well forget that she was a Wisewolf.
Of course, on their journey he had discovered that she was actually quite down-to-earth. And so, he also gave her a more serious compliment. But if he took his praise too far her tail might wag itself right off her body.
She had run further than expected. Her face in the morning had been so pale that Lawrence and Cole couldn’t bear to see it. Lawrence’s mind went totally blank. He suspected she might have fallen seriously ill. Thankfully he soon realized that she was simply very sore, and his worries were for nothing.
But he very nearly scolded her. She was now unable to move her neck and shoulders. She couldn’t even stand due to the sharp pain she felt when bending her waist. She truly was every bit like a sickly maiden, even if she ate far more than a normal maiden would.
“I ran a very long distance with the two of you upon my back.”
“Yes, it was indeed exhilarating.”
Only her ears and tail moved now. She felt pain in every muscle of her body. However, there was utterly no trace of regret on her face. She enjoyed being in the form of a teenage girl, but she was ultimately still a wolf.. better suited to freely run in the wild. Lawrence finally understood just how unhappy she must have been at being unable to freely run like that while on their journey.
“And yet..”
Holo yawned as Lawrence’s mind wandered.
“It is quite shameful that I cannot rise due to muscle ache.. but are you not even worse? You can barely move and you were merely lying on my back the entire time.”
Being unable to move he
r body didn’t mean her venomous tongue would stay still. But those words lacked power coming from someone lying in such an unassuming pose. They may have made Cole nervous.. but lucky for the boy, he wasn’t there.
“You know, if you thought things through and showed keen observation and planning skills, I’d have no problem letting you run free. I’d just follow you wherever you ran. But that’s not quite what was going on last night, was it?”
Lawrence refuted. It was rare that Holo kept her mouth shut. And not only that, she bit her lip after turning away. She really did seem to realize just how shamefully she had acted.
“I couldn’t just let you run, I had to hold your reins so you wouldn’t lose yourself entirely. Tell me again.. who’s leading whom?”
He figured this might be a good way to change things up and make her properly reflect on her actions. That’s why he continued on the offensive. But he wasn’t too hard on her.. she had brought them to the port town of Gerube in merely half a day with her preposterous act. A boat would have taken two full days and no horse could even compare.
It was of course because they had a goal, and were willing to risk their lives to rush. As they boated down the Roam river they learned that the bones of a wolf deity were revered in a village of the Roef mountains. They had no true evidence of this, but such bones were probably from one of Holo’s kind.
The Church seemed to be searching for the bones to demonstrate their authority. This wasn’t something Holo could tolerate. They simply could not ignore it. But neither Lawrence nor Holo could just openly change their plans to chase after such a rumor.
They were simply incapable of being that straightforward. Lawrence was operating under the pretense that he wanted their travels to end on a happy note, and Holo had her own excuse as well. So they intentionally avoided being honest with each other.
According to the information they gathered, the people living along the Roam river were being led by the Church and were hunting those bones. And so Lawrence and Holo had journeyed to Gerube in order to find Eve, a merchant who knew everything about the Roam river.
Eve was of noble birth. But after her family line declined, she became a merchant. She had colluded with the Church in Lenos in committing illegal acts. She likely knew a great deal about the Church. Lawrence believed he could leverage his knowledge of this, as well as the fact that she must have sunk a boat in order to be the first merchant to sell fur at Gerube.
In order to catch her in time, they had stopped chasing her by boat and had jumped on Holo’s back instead. They rushed after Eve, but had miscalculated.. she wasn’t on the ship they had expected her to be on. Arold, the old owner of the inn they had stayed in at Lenos, was on board.. so clearly, it was the right vessel, and Eve should also have been aboard. But neither she nor the fur she was hauling to Gerube were aboard.
Clearly she must have continued transporting it by land. Transporting by river was a very good way to move goods quickly, but at such a short distance from Gerube other methods became viable. Perhaps she lucked out, or perhaps she planned ahead.. but if she had found horses, it wouldn’t be strange for her to jump ship and use them to haul the furs the rest of the way.
It was also a sly way to avoid liability. A boat had been sunk and blocked the river, stalling other ships that were also carrying fur to Gerube. If she arrived there first, and by boat, she might as well openly declare herself the one responsible for sinking that ship. So switching to land was a keen move.
Based on this, Lawrence guessed Eve was en route to Gerube with a horse cart laden with fur. Holo wanted to press Arold for information about Eve’s location, but Lawrence convinced her not to. They simply resumed their race downstream. As evening fell, Holo sighted a caravan far in the distance. Lawrence had been correct.. it was led by Eve.
They passed ahead of the caravan using a faster route, and arrived at Gerube to wait. Upon arrival, Eve looked as if she had dug herself into a grave. Her team had traveled to Gerube in the biting wind. After a brief discussion they headed to the inn that Eve had suggested. What she hadn’t expected was to find Holo waiting for her there.
But even if Lawrence had that advantage, he couldn’t use it. Holo was still energetic after transforming back into a human girl. She kept still, but her eyes shone with a dark light. Lawrence had anticipated they might meet this way, but he never suspected they might come to blows.
“You are too weak. Have you forgotten how you got injured?”
Holo was trying to legitimize her behavior.
“You don’t think you can prove the rightness of your cause just by criticizing others, do you?”
“Grr..”
Holo pouted, staring at the ceiling. She knew she was at fault. Lawrence understood why she wouldn’t want to admit it, but..
“Eve sure was clever. When pitted against you, she didn’t defend.. she retreated. I’m sure you know why?”
Holo looked away. Lawrence had pulled her hand to keep her from attacking Eve. All the while, Eve had calmly observed them like a snake. No threats, not ignoring them.. just smiling.
“She knows that nothing good will come of fighting.”
“Do you see me as some child who understands nothing of profit and loss?”
After her simple refutation, Holo shut her mouth. Surely there were many complaints within her, wanting to be given a voice. Her face gradually became twisted. Lawrence stared at her, not knowing what to do. He could tell by her ears how angry she was. And so, for her sake he had to find a good rationalization for her outburst.
“All Eve could see was your anger getting the better of you, like a child losing their temper. As though you were acting without care for profit or loss.”
Eve realized that she had crossed a line she should never have crossed. But if her opponent could be driven to anger, she could oppose them with calm reason. After all, if one was emotional, they wouldn’t be rational. In a way, they were admitting failure.
And so, no matter how angry Holo was, she could achieve nothing. But her heart was far too full of anger. Rationally, she knew she would have to forgive Eve, but emotionally it was impossible. She was bound by a curse that only Lawrence could lift.. truly a troubled princess.
“But, after such an outburst, the ensuing conversation would be less tense. It would become easier to win a profitable outcome.”
“Then?”
Holo shot him a stare. He shrugged, and softly sighed. If it had to be said..
“Obviously, you got angry for my sake.. and for that I am very grateful.”
Contracts were written with diplomatic language. It seemed such diplomacy wasn’t only useful in business. He was embarrassed to have to spell it out for her, but Holo was being demanding. He had no choice.. when trading, one had to satisfy both parties.
“Oh? Well, if you say so.”
Her face finally calmed and became happy, her ears flicking up as if excited. The sounds of the marketplace gradually started to seep in through the window. The sun warmed the street, giving people the illusion that spring had already arrived.
Lawrence smiled to cover up the awkwardness of the moment. Holo followed suit. Things were finally calm and relaxed – such a well-earned moment should be cherished.
“Alright, I’d best tidy things up.”
“Carry on.”
Holo replied, though Lawrence was really just talking to himself. She looked down at her tail and began to tidy it up. It was a scenario that commonly played out on their journey, but this time there was a crucial difference. They finally remembered that difference when they heard it knocking on their door.
The door opened and there stood Cole, holding a wooden bowl. Just as Lawrence wondered what it was, he detected a strong scent.. it was indescribable. The best he could describe it as was a mixture of sulfur and burned spices. Lawrence wanted to flee from the odor, but Cole didn’t seem to mind it.
“I have ointment!”
He happily waltzed into the room, clearly out o
f breath from running back. Holo liked the boy and took care of him, so the two of them were already quite close. Earlier in the morning he had run off to the market like a rabbit after seeing Holo’s condition.
Northerners knew much about herbs. They had recipes to deal with a number of health issues, anything from wounds to fever. The ointment Cole had brought was presumably effective against muscle aches.
But it stank. Lawrence gasped – how would Holo react? He spun around to check and saw the Wisewolf of Yoitsu, known for her keen sense of smell, holding her tail with a pitiful look on her face. He sympathized, but what could they do? Refusing Cole’s kindness was simply too cruel, so Lawrence acted as if he didn’t notice Holo’s pleading eyes as Cole walked up to her.
“Ah, this will also be effective for Mr. Lawrence’s wound.”
Hearing that, Holo happily buried her face in the pillow and flicked her ears.
* * *
The greenish ointment was sticky and vile. Lawrence spread it on a piece of cloth and applied it to the wound on his face.
In that instant, the scent pricked his nose like needles and his face grew hot. His eyes watered in pain, and his nose felt like it would twist itself inside-out from the stench. But Cole must have spent his own meager earnings on this, so Lawrence forced himself to endure it.
But the smell was truly horrific. As he prepared to apply the ointment to Holo’s shoulders and waist, the look in her eyes was one of genuine terror. Given her nose, she too must be suffering. But if Lawrence was going to suffer this seemingly-useful treatment, then she too would have to endure.
She made little squealing noises as he treated her.. it was a terrible experience. He wondered if he should buy her new clothes to make up for it.. no, maybe wine would be better? He dreaded the icy glares she would send his way afterward.
“Oh, by the way, when I was returning I saw that merchant we met last night. She wants to meet with you, Mr. Lawrence.”
After applying another layer of the ointment to the parts of Holo’s body that were in the most pain, Lawrence cleaned his hands. The ointment was undoubtedly potent, so it really should be effective. But given Holo’s yells, it was far too pungent. Lawrence looked over her before replying to Cole.