Spice & Wolf XV (DWT)

  This was just as important when it came to opening a shop. Once the exchange rate stabilized, a shop he paid twelve hundred Trenni to open would effectively be worth fifteen hundred Trenni in the end. The more money he invested now, the greater his eventual return, all because of how stable gold was in backing the economy. Three hundred Trenni.. earning that kind of money wasn’t easy for Lawrence.

  “You know, I really do not hate it when you get like this.”

  “If I could drop everything right now, I would take all the coins I could carry to the south.”

  She smiled, then sighed. That snapped him out it; it was clear that he was overly excited. Finding out about Diva company was their real goal here, not making money. He coughed, and tried to steer the conversation back to Diva, but she just stared off into space like she wasn’t listening.

  “You haven’t thought of something strange about this, have you?”

  She wasn’t a businesswoman, but she was cleverer than he was. Being an outsider also had its advantages when it came to understanding such situations. That said, she couldn’t quite explain what was bothering her.

  “Well.. I just have a strange feeling about it.”

  “Strange feeling? How so?”

  “Um, well.. I am not sure..”

  She bit her lip and whined like it was bothering her, almost like she felt ill. Other bystanders were watching her with curiosity. Lawrence was unknown here, but they would surely remember his face now that they saw him with such a beautiful girl. He wanted to whisper to her that they ought to leave.

  “I got it!”

  She practically clucked like a chicken laying an egg, only to have her mouth covered by his hand.

  “Pipe down.”

  They made their way to the center of the market, which was filled with chairs made of roughly-hewn wood. They were there for a shop, but were just placed there so people could take a rest. Lots of people were happily chatting away here, and now Holo and Lawrence were as well.

  “So?”

  Holo puffed proudly at his question.

  “How can you dare call yourself a merchant, if you could not discover this?”

  “..Give me a break.”

  “Well, I am the Wisewolf after all. It is obvious that there is a flaw in this method.”

  She shone with confidence, and her mention that it was “obvious” piqued his interest. What did she mean? She smiled as he pulled in closer to listen.

  “If there was no flaw, why would the company not do it as well?”

  “..Huh?”

  “According to that spirited moneychanger, gold coins are cheap because Diva receives gold coins in exchange for what they mine from the mountains, yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “But then why would they not just do this by themselves? ’Tis strange.”

  Lawrence began saying “That’s because,” but found himself caught off guard.

  “They have gold coins, so they could just move them to the other towns. They could exchange them for silver themselves, but they clearly do not think this is the best way to profit in this situation.”

  That sounded perfectly reasonable, but Lawrence wasn’t quite convinced. There was still something strange.. the exchange rate for Trenni silver was odd, but it was already much more stable than it must have started off. And it wasn’t just the exchange rate that was bothering him. He also felt something eating away at the back of his mind.

  “No, there has to be more to it.”

  “What?”

  “I’m not sure, but that still doesn’t add up. Why not?”

  His hand supported his face as he thought it over again. This town was full of Lumione earned by Diva company. Gold coins were inconvenient for purchasing small items, so people would exchange them for other currencies based on silver or copper. Scarcer items would increase in price, so those coins would be worth more. It therefore made some sense that a gold coin would only be worth twenty seven silver ones here. That checked out.

  That meant one could earn from this situation. Buy gold coins here, and exchange them for silver elsewhere. Repeat, and the profits roll in. It was trivial, and any traveling merchant would jump at the chance. So then why didn’t Diva company do it? All they had to do was exchange their gold coins elsewhere on their own, and they’d make a killing. Especially since almost all of the gold coins in town were from Diva’s earnings to begin with. They could cut out the middleman, so why didn’t they? Holo was right about that.

  If one Lumione was worth twenty seven Trenni here, and was worth eight more Trenni elsewhere, that meant they didn’t want to do the job themselves. They would just compensate others for having to do it by offering their Lumione at a discount that made it worthwhile for others to do it on their own. But then.. how could it possibly be necessary for them to make the discount eight Trenni silver? This truly was odd, there had to be a catch.

  “They must have a reason.”

  But what was their reason? They wouldn’t need to do this much just to start a war. Maybe they’d heard that the coins were going to be collected and re-minted, like the time when he and Holo just met? If that was true, then this place was even more abnormal. If Trenni coins were involved in something this big, then he would have heard rumors in the south already.

  Plus, Lesco was so peaceful and lively; clearly exchange rates weren’t affecting daily trade here. If Diva company was guaranteeing a Lumione for every twenty seven Trenni, then why should Lawrence have to rush to exchange? Gold coins just weren’t that useful in daily life, so he might as well do some trading first and gather more Trenni to exchange for Lumione.

  Even if there was an exchange rate difference between towns to cash in on, only a big company or traveling merchant could probably capitalize on it. Town merchants couldn’t afford to close up shop for this chance, and craftsmen were probably still unaware of it. Farmers wouldn’t have a clue, since they only ever cared about the market for their produce or cattle.

  Lawrence just couldn’t figure out why Diva would maintain this low exchange rate if they would be taking a loss. What was the point? They had even hired mercenaries, and were paying twenty Lumione a day to keep them here. That was a lot of money. What was their aim? Were they just so rich they no longer had to care about such things?

  There was clearly something more to this, but it was beyond him. Why would you keep such a low exchange rate at your own loss?

  “Holo, what do you think?”

  He finally noticed something as he asked her that question.

  “What do I think about what?”

  He had been lost in his own thoughts, so of course she wouldn’t have a clue what he meant. And yet, she was smiling at him when he looked up. She even sounded happy.

  “I finally occupy some space in your heart.”

  He was dumbfounded. It took him several seconds to realize what she meant. He had instinctively asked her what she thought, rather than walling himself off and thinking on his own as he usually did.

  “Speaking of which, would you like to know what you have been saying to yourself?”

  “What?!”

  He immediately looked around him, knowing that he couldn’t take back anything he’d said. She laughed at his feckless reaction, but then she continued.

  “’Twas but a joke. Hmm. There are still so many things I do not understand, but I believe I see the theoretical problem. It seems there are many principles of the world that will never change no matter how long I live.”

  Her smile was arrogant, but still lovely. “Confident and gorgeous” would probably be a better description. He could see her fangs poking over her alluring lips, and her eyes were squinted so tightly they looked more like the scar left behind after being slashed by a knife.

  Lesco, or at least the Diva company, seemed to making a lot of odd choices. At least one of those choices seemed devious.

  “The workers in that company probably aren’t good people.”

  He sank in his chair an
d looked around at the lively town surrounding them. It was like heaven for a merchant or craftsman, but as the Bible said, it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a person like Lawrence to pass through the gates of heaven.

  “If a magician has a chicken lay a blue egg, ’tis the work of the magician and not the chicken.”

  “How about golden eggs, I wonder..”

  A traveling merchant could hardly stop a war, but preventing one wasn’t quite the same thing. If the machine leading to war was wobbly, they could destroy it. After all, even ants could destroy a dam. The situation right now was indeed similar to the fiasco that happened when he’d just met Holo. Attention hadn’t been paid to the details, so now everyone was in trouble.

  “I feel..”

  “Hmm?”

  As he wondered about this, Holo pushed her palms against her knees as though preparing to stand up.

  “As though we have not thought back on what happened shortly after we met.”

  He stared at the happily smiling girl and reached his hand out to her. She tilted her head and pulled his hand. He had to force himself to not wrap his arms around her.

  * * *

  Lawrence suspected they had determined what Diva company was up to, but because it might have been a coincidence, they returned to the market to investigate. Whenever two distant towns traded, they would base prices on the Lumione gold coin. The exchange rates might vary, but it was still easier to calculate things this way.

  If gold coins were so inexpensive, then southern towns like Gerube should be frequenting the shops here. They always used Lumione coins, after all, so they should be taking advantage of their low price. So why weren’t they?

  “Who comes to trade? Everyone. Well, not everyone.. those who don’t mind coming to a place run by a mining firm. Lots of people from the Dolan Plains way up north, and Vashal in the far east. It’d be tougher for them to stay put then to come to the mountains and sell all their wares.”

  That was what a grocer said. His shop had all kinds of products on display, ones rarely seen in places south of Lenos. Dried fruit, pickled vegetables, chicken and rabbit meat, fox and wolf fur, and even ironware.

  No matter if someone was just trying to sell wares in a tiny shop, or they were doing business in an unrestricted market, they were still a “northerner.” Even this grocer was from a village deep in the mountains.

  No one in the north cared that Lesco was using a southern currency. Such things as where a currency was issued didn’t matter to them, only that it was a viable currency. Because of that, Lesco was able to procure all sorts of goods from the north.

  “Hmm..”

  The sun was beginning to set when they finished their rounds. Lawrence sat on a chair, deep in thought. Diva company was the only thing that connected Lesco to the south.

  Lesco mostly traded with the north, and just sold crops that came from the south. Everything else was basically from the north. Local craftsmen made everything from the basic necessities to the luxuries. Not one person believed a war would begin.

  The town’s business was set up in a rather cozy manner. With an exchange rate so beneficial for buyers, everything sold well. Of course, that was unfavorable for sellers, but they had little choice if they wanted to do business. Because of this, lots of people came to town and a nice selection of products became available.

  Products were all sold, craftsmen kept buying more raw materials, and the whole operation ran smoothly. True to Moid’s word, the town’s rapid growth was fueled by “freedom.” What a horrible joke.. nobody could tell it was all just Diva Company’s ploy.

  Lawrence could tell something was amiss from how suspiciously smooth everything ran. Something had to be. All these mercenaries in town, yet no one believed a war was brewing? It was just too strange, and something far out of Lawrence’s experience.

  “You don’t want to head back to the inn?”

  He looked up at Holo, who was rubbing her calves. It finally dawned on him just how long they’d been walking; her cloak was covered in dust.

  “Oh˜hoh.. indeed, we do not want to walk around forever, like stupid dogs.”

  Lawrence had always relied on his legs to gather information, to the point where he basically thought with his feet. Unfortunately, he wasn’t walking alone anymore.

  “After all, I am the Wisewolf. Slow thinking suits me better than endless walking.”

  “As long as there’s wine in your hands?”

  Holo stood up as he stooped down, looking a bit irate.

  “I may not be as sharp as you in business, but it still interests me.”

  Was she just saying that to show her care again? Lawrence wasn’t sure, but Holo wasn’t paying attention to him anyway. She just kept talking.

  “For example, I am more accustomed to puzzling over the whole, rather than playing with the little pieces until they fit.”

  “True, once you sink your fangs into something, you never let go.”

  She smiled and kicked his shin.

  “The interesting pieces stand out more as I view the whole.”

  “..And what interesting piece do you see now?”

  He rubbed his legs as he asked, knowing from her expression that she wasn’t joking around.

  “When you spoke of currencies, my thoughts drifted to that island.”

  “Oh, you mean the Winfield Kingdom?”

  Winfield was an important producer of wool, but their economy was nearing collapse because of poor decisions from their king. Holo nodded.

  “Why is this town not in the same position as that place?”

  “What do you mean?”

  He was confused, but she didn’t laugh at him. She was serious.

  “Just now, as we wandered around the market, I noticed that everyone smelled of soil and wood. They were all from the mountains and forests, meaning they would not come here often. That made me imagine this place being much like that island kingdom.”

  Someone as sharp as Holo wouldn’t like spelling out their conclusion after an analysis. It made Lawrence feel like he was being tested, but he remained patient.

  “So.. then.. ah! You mean they’ll sell their goods and take the money home.”

  “Yes. That money should be gold or silver, but in this case I would expect them to ask for silver.”

  Lumione gold coins depreciated less than the others, and fewer needed to be carried around. But silver coins would depreciate more quickly here, so people could get more of them to take home. This was similar to what Lawrence had experienced on his first adventure with Holo. It was so much more convenient to shop here with gold coins that people would give the silver ones away, not even bothering to properly exchange them. Lawrence hummed at this realization.

  “That means the silver coins will all leave town eventually, and they’ll run the risk of ending up coinless, like Winfield.”

  “Exactly. Just like that island where we could stuff our bellies with food with but a lone coin.”

  Was she mentioning food because she was hungry after all of that walking?

  “But that doesn’t seem like it should happen here.. even with these exchange rates. At the very least, they’re far from having insufficient coinage now, so..”

  “Of course, some people will be bringing back large amounts of silver coins.”

  “Right.. Lenos has a lot of them right now, after all.. and probably all because of what’s going on here..”

  Both cities were on the Roef river, so a sharp businessman would have bought them up, while others would just trade for them during the fur riots. After all, it was hardly novel for a coin to become scarce when exchange rates were so favorable. Lenos was already in the same boat as Winfield, and didn’t have enough coins for small change.

  “Hey.”

  “What?”

  “With all of this silver here, will they make their own money?”

  Lawrence puzzled over it for a moment, but quickly came to the conclusion that
it wasn’t feasible.

  “They’d need more than just the workers and hammers, they’d need the moulds for the coins being minted. Basically, they put a blank coin in the mould and hammer it so the image is imprinted on it. The craftsmen who make those moulds are all kept close to their kings, and making fakes is tantamount to declaring war. War with a country strong enough to make their own coins, like Trenni. Not to mention that-”

  “Time leaves its mark on coins. From the amount of rust and wear, people will know that a coin is new. It would be impossible to hide that fact.”

  Holo stopped eyeing the coin in her hand and looked up at Lawrence before continuing.

  “After all, one cannot hide their simple-mindedness by simply acting mature.”

  Lawrence’s face twitched, but he kept his composure and replied.

  “Indeed. If they try too hard, they might be passed over by the one who likes them as they are.”

  He said that to turn her tease back around on her, but she flashed him a shameless smile. Well, whatever.. as long as she was happy.

  “It seems that someone has been bringing coins into town in secret.”

  Lawrence was curious about there being such a large number of coins moving. Were there actually that many coins? No one could estimate just how many were actually moving in and out of town in a day, but given the differences in exchange rates between the town, enough people might actually be gaming the system for it all to work.

  The answer to this riddle seemed to be just around the next corner. What was it? It was right on the tip of his tongue. He turned his head to look around, and finally noticed just how lost in thought he was.

  “Hey.”

  “Hmm?”

  It was rather late. The food stalls were beginning to sell full course dinners, and Holo was struggling to tear her eyes away from them and back to Lawrence.

  “What’s your impression of Diva company?”