Spice & Wolf XV (DWT)

  “Well..”

  “Uh, wait.. what I mean is, what did you think about this town, back when we first heard about Diva company?”

  Holo seemed confounded by his question, but still thought it through and gave him a reply.

  “I thought as you did. That dancing girl we met during our boat trip told me that everyone here thinks only about money, and that people should not be that way or some-such.

  “Yeah, but she was talking about the town where the actual mines are, wasn’t she?”

  “I believe so, but I did not know that at the time. Back then I could not have imagined this kind of atmosphere would exist. That, and no one had any information to offer us in the other towns.”

  Lawrence nodded.

  “That’s what I thought..”

  “What?”

  “I keep suspecting that I must have missed something, or that I’m just losing my touch and that I’m completely misunderstanding this place.”

  “Oh?”

  “But I’m wrong. If even you haven’t heard about this, then it’s not just me.. things are even stranger than I guessed. Things just don’t add up here.. it’s not the flow of coins.. not the number of coins.. it’s something more fundamental.. wait, no, maybe the shipping of silver coins?”

  They had finally arrived at their inn while Lawrence tried to organize his thoughts. They could see candlelight through a crack in the column holding up the eaves. That smart teenage worker was sweeping the entrance of the manger. Another day was turning to dusk, and he was feeling tired.

  His was a world weaved from many products, where the threads could intersect or run parallel to each other. It could be overwhelming. With such complicated threading, a complicated tapestry was formed.

  “Hey.”

  “Hmm?”

  Once more he spoke to Holo, who looked back up at him. It was usually the other way around; he hoped that it would be like this more often in the future. But he wasn’t so stupid as to speak only to hear her reaction. He was just puzzled for a moment, trying to put his thought into words.

  “You know me.. my curiosity was piqued the moment I noticed something was odd.”

  One of her eyebrows raised, along with one corner of her mouth.

  “I do not need such an introduction.”

  He was being upfront and honest because he wanted to make sure he was being clear. He couldn’t resist looking around to make sure he wouldn’t embarrass himself, but then he looked Holo in the eyes.

  “I just think you’ll be unhappy to hear this.”

  Holo stared back into his eyes.

  “Oh?”

  “But if we can deduce Diva’s plans, and they don’t threaten Yoitsu or the north, then maybe I really can fulfil my lifelong dream and open a shop here.”

  He was trying to look serious as he made his statement. Holo frowned, then smiled. Maybe he looked too funny to be angry at him.

  “And?”

  His eyes remained glued on hers. His mind wandered momentarily, comparing their color to the best candlelight Lesco had to offer, and found them superior. He had to answer her question, but it didn’t feel like it would be easy to do so. He took a deep breath.

  “I don’t want to earn your hate, but I can’t stop being myself.”

  She also breathed in, and flashed him a fang-filled smile.

  “I see. But I still have no clue what you are on about.”

  She took his hand and walked into the inn beside him. Upon entering, they found it crammed with mercenaries and the waitresses from other shops who had been called in to busily serve them. Myuri and Moid sat at one end of the bar, with two other people next to them. Everyone else was quietly eating at the tables.

  Myuri seemed to noticed Lawrence’s gaze, and raised his glass in greeting. Lawrence couldn’t disturb the silence, so he raised his hand in reply, following the town’s custom. Myuri pointed at a table, and Lawrence nodded after looking at Holo for a moment. He entered the bar with his hand on her back like a proper gentleman, but spoke otherwise.

  “Don’t drink too much. Silver coins don’t just fall out of trees, so either Diva is hiding something or someone else is. Maybe both.”

  He then patted her back, as though encouraging her to not be nervous in front of Myuri and all of the other mercenaries. It was a tricky situation. There weren’t many here who could make a move against Diva company, so if someone was doing something in secret they were probably at odds with the company. Holo gave a confident nod.

  “I see.”

  They were soon seated at a table with the two mercenaries.

  Chapter 4

  “Oh, you walked around town? Did you see anything interesting?”

  Myuri was being quite respectful around Holo.

  “Oh, indeed.”

  Their cutlery was made of silver. They even had those rare trident-like utensils that southern nobles were said to use.

  “We have our suppliers, but calling them merchants might be a bit of a stretch. Take Moid here.. a good planner, but hardly one for business.”

  “Coins are too small for my hands.”

  “That’s why I ask. For some reason we rarely get to have friendly chats with merchants.”

  Mercenary groups like theirs were often painted in legends like swarms of locusts stripping the land bare. Of course it would be rare for them to share a meal and chat with someone like Lawrence; they should find it odd. After all, their “chats” with merchants generally amounted to threatening them or letting them choose the way they wanted to die.

  Well, that might be exaggerating a bit. But it certainly was a rare opportunity for them to chat with a merchant who wasn’t normally associated with mercenaries, like Flynn or Delink company. They had to keep their reputation as fearful as possible, after all, or they would be taken lightly by their enemies. It was quite a conundrum.

  “Well, I highly doubt I’ll have anything to say that’s worth your while.”

  Lawrence smiled as he replied, setting down the loaf of bread he had just broken.

  “I mean, the things that catch my eye are just buildings being sold cheaply and the like.”

  “Ah, yes. One of my reports said that Mr. Lawrence and Ms.. Miss Holo were staring at a shop that’s for sale..”

  Holo smiled and stared at Myuri. She knew he was struggling to figure out how to refer to her.

  “Oh, you guys saw that? I must have looked pretty pathetic.”

  “Don’t say that. There are those even among us who spend the later part of our lives working. We share the same dream, after all, of earning enough to live comfortably in a town somewhere.”

  Myuri was trying to give the impression he wasn’t spying on them. He motioned with his eyes to Moid, who carved the meat. In a flash, Holo’s plate was empty no longer.

  “But is it really that cheap?”

  It seemed that Myuri’s talents weren’t limited to the killing arts.

  “Oh my, yes. And that’s on top of there being no troublemaking companies or guilds here.”

  “Right.. some of my men are even thinking of settling down here. Not all of them are young and free of scars.”

  Myuri’s eyes surveyed the room like a king staring at his subjects from his castle. His band did have a long history, so it made sense for them to have warriors of age and experience. They weren’t a new band with a single conflict under their belt. With a history like theirs, of course some of their members would settle down in towns. The band could benefit from having old members supporting them in many places.

  “And no one here cares about their past, which is even better.”

  No disputing companies, no guilds, little regulation.. this was hardly a place that could be called a proper “town.”

  “True, I think the money situation’s even better.”

  The moment Lawrence mentioned money, all eyes were on him. For those who bloodied their hands for money, such a mention warranted their undivided attention.

  “What do
you mean?”

  “Markets and currencies are driven by the whims of God. It’s just the way it is. So imagine my surprise when things aren’t the same here.”

  Myuri stabbed his trident-shaped utensil into a chunk of meat before shifting his gaze from Lawrence to Moid. However, Lawrence trusted in Holo’s ability to divine what everyone was thinking just from their eyes, so he remained focused on his speech.

  “Of course, things only look that way.. it’s really because everyone’s scrambling to maximize their own profits.”

  They nodded; mercenaries were the kind of people who knew full-well how this sort of thing worked, since they had to predict the movements of their enemies and the landlords who hired them. Lawrence pressed on.

  “Even if the exchange rates for money in this town are surprisingly low because God’s in a good mood or something, he’s not going to do everything for us.”

  Lawrence was ready to shut himself up the moment someone spoke up against him, but they were all attentively listening to him. If they were wolves, their ears would all be eagerly turned his way.

  “By that, I mean the money market’s quite tendentious. Coins, more precisely Trenni silvers, may seem to be naturally flowing here, but when you look at it from a broader perspective..”

  Myuri shot up from his chair, looking very much like his own spiked hair (did he use egg whites to keep it up like that?)

  “I see.. someone’s been moving money in..”

  “Yes. But when this sort of thing happens, someone’s bound to notice. That’s what confuses me.. I just can’t figure out how the money’s flowing in this place.”

  Lawrence had reached a point in his theory where it verged on becoming substantial. Not a single piece of cutlery was in anyone’s hand.

  “?”

  All eyes were on Lawrence, anticipating his conclusion. Had this been a bargaining session he would have been the one making off like a bandit.

  “No one in Lenos seems to know much about this place, which means few people are traveling between.”

  Even if people kept their mouths shut about Lesco itself, they couldn’t really hide the fact that they were going there. The moment people found out, they’d become naturally interested. They couldn’t all lie about it; keeping so many stories straight would be impossible.

  In fact it wasn’t even about misinformation, but rather that there was no information. No one was keeping secrets, they just weren’t traveling between towns. Lawrence had noticed just how barren the roads were on the way to Lesco. Those heading north from Gerube wouldn’t be taking boats, but walking along hills. Lesco was hardly hidden from view, so it was just too strange that no one knew about it.

  “At first I thought that things just recently became like this, but after I strolled around the market today I realized I was wrong. It’s like everyone from the north comes here to gather up Trenni silvers. They’re such a trusted currency, after all, so they’re valuable. Northern folk will snatch them all up and take them back home. But then, there has to be an inflow of Trenni to compensate for that, or this place’ll end up like the Winfield Kingdom. Everyone’ll grab all the coins they can and flee like rats from a sinking ship.”

  You could hear a pin drop in the room now; the air was eerily tense. No one was communicating, not even with their eyes. Even Myuri was hanging on Lawrence’s words. It was encouraging.

  “I have to believe that Diva’s bringing the cash back in, otherwise someone would have been spotted bringing it in by now. And they’re also keeping the exchange rates the same, which is a big mystery unless you look at it that way.”

  “So you think they’re secretly smuggling in more coins?”

  Myuri stared at Lawrence, almost in a threatening manner. He was cleverly cutting to the chase, making Lawrence rub his nose and sweep the bread crumbs off his lap before continuing.

  “I’m just a merchant. I have no understanding of war. But there are only so many secrets out there that are worth exploring.”

  It seemed like a strange tangent to go on, but this was a strange crowd to entertain. Even if they weren’t moving, they were exuding an air of challenge that could break one’s will. It felt like being a rabbit cornered by a pack of dogs. Anyone would be cowed by that atmosphere. Had Holo not been with him, Lawrence wouldn’t have the courage to stand up to them. Myuri finally stopped staring at him and broke the silence.

  “So?”

  He still wore a gentle smile as he lifted the meat he had stabbed earlier on his trident. It was a delicious dish of finely roasted beef, generously spiced. Dark on the outside, red and juicy on the inside. Myuri placed it into his mouth like it was his birthright to help himself to such dripping meat. He’d probably had even more bargaining experience.

  “Traveling merchants like me dream of owning our own shop. We have to peek into every corner, and divine the secrets of every town trend to do so.”

  Anyone who came in at this point in the conversation would be totally lost. Myuri didn’t shoot back with another question. It was likely that his band had already thought about this before Lawrence and Holo ever arrived, but had arrived at a simple conclusion. Coins were flowing out, but there was enough supply to sustain that.

  Shipping coins wasn’t easy, and there were plenty of people coming to Lesco who would notice. Unless one wanted to believe that goblins and elves were behind it, it had to be because someone was doing it in secret. That meant it was motivated by business. No one had to tell everyone where they were shipping things, so the conclusion was obvious.

  “They can keep their secrets.”

  Myuri wiped his mouth as he spoke. Now Lawrence knew he was right. Holo’s ear was subtly turned, obviously confirming the same thing. Myuri tapped his ear, making the tension in the room rise.

  “Some secrets are meant to be kept. After all, they make the world go ’round.”

  Moid looked up at Myuri, obviously surprised, but the grandfatherly figure of the group was dismissed by a simple wave of Myuri’s hand. That hand then pointed toward Holo, who had resumed eating her pidgeon pot pie.

  “More wine, Moid.”

  Moid nervously poured more wine into Holo’s glass. She hadn’t been drinking much, of course, since she was busily watching everyone’s reactions. They might only share the Myuri name and not the blood, but they still had the cunning and sharpness of a pack of wolves. It made Holo happy enough to politely drink half her glass out of respect.

  “There are many people here, taking care of our needs. This inn has been kept busy every day just to keep us fed.”

  Myuri’s voice seemed just as charred as the meat and pies he was sharing with his band. Lawrence detected that he was finally being asked to talk.

  “And that’s not even counting all the shoes and other equipment they’ve got to maintain.”

  Myuri’s reply was immediate.

  “But if we enter town all at once, we’ll probably be treated like thieves.”

  Lawrence then realized how the money was flowing, but he still wanted to know the reason. Why was Diva company doing all of this?

  “Say, Mr. Lawrence..”

  Myuri was cutting to the chase again.

  “Let’s have some fine wine after dinner.”

  He was of course saying that their present conversation was over, so Lawrence nodded and kept his reply short.

  “Thanks.”

  * * *

  Lawrence asked if he could be excused for a while, and Myuri didn’t put up a fight. Lawrence was being permitted to talk with Holo, or avoid the downstairs atmosphere, if he wanted. He wasn’t going to be backed into a corner and stabbed.

  It was tough being in the den of such people, after all; they weren’t really much different from beasts, albeit ones without sharp fangs or claws. But really, Lawrence only asked because he’d had a long day. The moment he entered his room, he plopped right into bed just like Holo.

  “Well well, you really worked hard today.”

  She sat
next to him as she took her shoes off. Her tail was more of a mess than usual, and smelled dusty.

  “So it turns out they really are the ones bringing in the silvers, huh.”

  “’Twould appear so. They may even be the ones spreading the rumors of war, perhaps.”

  “Oh?”

  Her tail was making his nose itch, but he couldn’t bring himself to move it when he saw her looking at him. That only made it wag happily, rubbing itself all over his face. He kept quiet until the so-called Wisewolf finally stopped out of boredom.

  “Diva must have told the mercenaries here about the currency situation and hired them to smuggle in silvers. No thief is stupid enough to attack mercenaries, so they won’t have any trouble. And they’d be the stupid ones if they told anyone about what they were really up to in Lesco, so it makes sense they would spread those rumors of a northern attack.”

  Holo nodded and lay herself down, placing her elbows on his belly to support her face.

  “But what might their goal be?”

  “Good question. If it was just to smuggle in silver, they could do it another way.. It’s not too much of a stretch to think they’re really out to spread the rumor.”

  Merchants weren’t ones to take meaningless actions. Their principles ensured that all of their commercial behavior was results-oriented.

  “If we assume Diva’s really out to mess with the north, they’d have to call in some good knights and mercenaries that would be motivated to keep their secret. Others would follow soon enough, once people from the north came here and started spreading the rumors. That way they wouldn’t have to spend very much to gather an army of knights and mercenaries.”

  The more of an army they gathered, the more people would think there really *was* something going on, and come digging for the truth. Word of mouth would bring them there, and they would see for themselves just how splendid the town was. If no one came, they would’t sell any goods. But as things picked up, they could even hire traveling merchants to sell their wares to remote areas.

  “But knights and mercenaries are useless outside of war..”

  “They must have a use here, or they would not be here. It is just that simple.”