Oh, Lawrence could catch up with the traveling merchant who was delivering the letter, but that would only incur Holo’s wrath. He had been with her for long enough to know that he couldn’t do that without a very good reason. She was just too smart for him to evade the rat’s nest of rationalizations she surely had prepared. He wasn’t going to win this one. Either he must have upset her some time ago and then made her angrier by failing to notice, or she was just incredibly bored.
Either way, all he could do was pray. At least his prayer might reach the ears of someone in this dark forest of trouble, perhaps even the wolf ears of a certain harvest deity. She had obviously been keeping this from him for some time and doing her best to make sure he couldn’t stop her. She must have enlisted someone’s help to write the letter, and so he could narrow down who it was that she would have trusted enough to write it, then seek them out.
He took the copy of the letter she handed to him and made his way down the snow-covered road to a certain solitary building. It should have been completed sometime in the previous autumn, but now it was probably being “decorated” by the winter climate. Originally, it was meant to house guests in the coming spring, but that plan had fallen through for various reasons. The war in the southern plains, for instance. Too many craftsmen had been sent to fight. There was also the heavy loss Lawrence had suffered when a merchant ship he had hired sank.
Yes, his plan was rent asunder, and there was no salvaging it with the heavy snow that had been hindering the shipping lanes this winter. He was keenly aware that even the most careful of business plans were prone to failure in this world, but at least they’d managed to erect the fine main building without incidents. “They” included him and Holo, but also some of the friends they had made during their travels.
He had been itching to open his hot spring inn come summer, so that’s why he wished things had gone according to plan. He had been arranging a springtime celebration for that event, though he had planned that for after Saint Arozury’s Day. He had met a lot of upper-class folks back then who he wanted present, but he didn’t want to make them come while the mountains were still laden with snow; not during the season when Saint Arozury’s Day occurred.
And yet, it was those who lived closest, and were closest to their hearts, who were used to the snow and could join them in celebration before the rest of the guests would arrive. That was a little too perfect; it had to be Holo’s real aim. If it wasn’t, then just the messenger’s fees would be too dear to joke about. Especially the one to get a letter all the way to Eve. She had risked much to open a company in the southern empire. She was no longer the one being abused by a town council gone awry; she was now one of the elite.
There was also Norah, who had become a nun in a small town to the east of Ruvinheigen; sending a letter there wasn’t cheap either. Diana and Elsa lived relatively nearby, but Elsa’s town was considered fairly remote and letters may not even get to her. At least Fran may be there with her, since she had heard about Tereo’s monastery. And yet, Lawrence’s face grew grimmer as he considered all of the actors in this little play. He breathed the cold winter air into his lungs, and warmed his fingers with the warm air that came back out. With his hand over his mouth, he sighed.
“Just.. what is she gonna do?”
Even after six long years, he still hadn’t fully grasped Holo’s ways. He’d even gotten into a huge argument with her not that long ago. He didn’t even remember what the cause of that argument was, only how suddenly she became irrational. Was it over food? It was the middle of winter, and it was just like Holo to be roundabout, so maybe that was it? At any rate, it took quite the idiot act to make her happy again. Not something he regretted, of course, but it did influence how much he was sighing lately. He brushed the snow off of his coat and walked into the main building.
“Oh, Mr. Lawrence?”
A boy looked up from his task of laying tiles. He was growing rapidly, and was now taller than Holo. He may well overtake Lawrence at this rate, even if he was quite thin. With his long hair tied back, he looked more like a tall girl than the wandering student he had been when they met. He brushed his hands of the dirt on them and wiped the sweat from his brow.
“Is it afternoon already?”
“Nah, I just wanted to ask you something.”
Cole’s expression went blank as Lawrence revealed the letter. It was obvious that he’d written it, since he was the only one capable of such lovely writing.
“I was kind of forced-”
“Oh, I’m not blaming you.. I knew Holo would take advantage of you, given how much you enjoy writing.”
His hard work this year had left the veins in his hands showing clearly through his skin. It was quite a contrast to his face. But the boy still kept studying the texts written by those monks and priests, even eating onions to keep himself awake late at night. His efforts were bearing fruit; he’d met with many knowledgeable people around the world. In fact, Lawrence really appreciated that, because it meant his own business had more visitors here in this sleepy, secret part of the mountains. They were so remote that not even wars could find them here in Nyohhira.
“I’m not here to scold you or anything, I just wanted to ask how she looked when she asked you to write this.”
“Ms. Holo..”
“Hmm? Was she upset? Did she tell you anything?”
Lawrence felt rather dim, being thirty years old and having to ask this of the boy. But Cole was a lifesaver when it came to smoothing things over between him and Holo. Even she relied on Cole to deliver her messages to Lawrence when she didn’t want to see him anymore. Indeed, the grim look on Cole’s face implied that he knew something.
“..she was..”
“.. she was..?”
“Smiling.”
Cole spoke as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Smiling?”
“Yes. And those recipients..”
“Ah, yeah.. all the women we met on our travels. You know Elsa, of course, and I’m sure you remember Eve as well.”
Cole laughed bitterly, obviously remembering the woman who looked more like a wolf than Holo did. It wasn’t a tired or spiteful kind of bitterness, though, because Eve had been gentle to him.
“When she forced me to write it, saying she didn’t want you to find out, I instantly figured you had made her angry again.”
Cole was sure getting “smarter” over the years. Lawrence felt nothing but frustration at his inability to counter the boy’s statement.
“Not surprising that you were put off by her smile, then, since she smiles when she’s at her angriest.”
“Really? But it was quite a smile.. she seemed incredibly happy..”
“Incredibly happy..?”
Lawrence’s eyes went round as saucers, and even Cole seemed to finally feel his terror as he nodded.
“Oh.. good lord.. then she’s probably about ready to kill me!”
Lawrence’s hand shot up to his forehead, but his mind had gone blank. What had he done? He just couldn’t figure it out. He always kissed her before sleeping and after waking up. He always praised her tail when she combed it. He made sure to take time out of his schedule to eat breakfast and supper with her at home. He even took work home when he had to, in order to spend more time with her. If anything, she should probably feel a bit spoiled given his effort. Sure, they still argued from time to time, but never so terribly that she would call all of those girls here.
Lawrence suddenly looked up, searching his thoughts for what the reason might be. Many people came to Nyohhira during the long winters to soak in the hot springs. They were often quite wealthy, to the point where Lawrence went out of his way to find the most attractive and skilled servers to tend to them. Some of them even expressed interest in Lawrence, despite everyone here being way out of his league.
Of course, people in their middle age would even settle for someone like Lawrence, to the point where the men in town were reputedly ranked by the women. Many who
settled to work here ended up with a good-looking woman of their own. Holo was there with him in the shop, and everyone knew that, but she never wanted to make it clear that they were a couple. At first he wondered if she was embarrassed, but perhaps the Wisewolf was simply too proud to admit that she wasn’t sure if she wanted their relationship to progress. They were already well on the path for him to make good on the promise he had made in Sovereign.
His original promise to Holo was to take her back to her home, Yoitsu, but that never came to pass. Nyohhira was very close to Yoitsu, but in the end she chose to not return. Every time he mentioned it, she lost her temper, so perhaps it was her own way of staying interested in marriage. Of course, Lawrence could never really know the truth because of this, so he let the matter slide rather than forcing the issue.
They may not have taken any vows before God, but Lawrence was still able to stand tall and say they were closer than any other couple. He knew her every dimple, even the ones she was unaware of. He could never touch her tail directly, but at least he was now permitted to sometimes comb it. She was still stubbornly unreasonable, so perhaps that was why so many women had been drawn to him before they settled here. Those advances were mostly just jokes at his expense, of course, but not always.
In fact, he’d seen his share of serious offers. They were mostly indirect, but sometimes a bolder attack was made on Lawrence in the springtime, with a delicious meal here or a nicely woven vest there. He’d rejected every one of them, gently but firmly. It was always difficult when he actually did care for someone, because it felt just like walking past a diamond that was sitting in the middle of the road. It was enough to make him cry.
He knew Holo had seen every one of them, always with a look of pure rage. He never left any room for interpretation or joked at her expense, but she never once stepped in to clear the matter up herself. She just sat back and observed the situation like some wise sage. Finally, he woke up one day with his throat in Holo’s mouth and couldn’t take it anymore - if she needed him to say it, then he would say it. And say it he did, kneeling down before her and asking for her hand in marriage.
That seemed to do the trick; her tail swelled and her red eyes disappeared into his chest as she hugged him tightly. She sniffed at him for so long that he eventually suspected that when she stopped, she really would bite him to death. He steeled himself for that eventuality, but it never came. In fact, an entire week passed before she said anything to him at all. It went without saying that the first word that came out of her mouth was “fool.”
Incidentally, the woman that bore witness to his declaration was quite influential in town. She always had good things to say about Lawrence’s honesty and integrity. Her word was respected, and so Lawrence could finally relax. Holo would never think so strangely again. He could sigh in this cold, unfurnished room and daydream about that time five years ago in Sovereign, when her moonlit face had inspired him to make her his bride. This was a time for celebration, he thought, not more problems.
As he sighed, he realized that Cole had been standing there with a worried look on his face the entire time. Lawrence was aghast, and smiled nervously at the lad.
“By the way, it looks like this is almost done.”
“Yes, I think one more day with the crew should do it. There’s just some things that have to be prepared before then.”
“Thank you for everything. It’s a shame that someone as capable as you is fated to become a church scholar.”
Cole smiled back. Many people came to Nyohhira in the spring, so he tried to visit in order to share discussions with everyone.. be they craftsmen or mercenaries. In an age where it wasn’t rare for a priest to have formerly been a craftsman, all it took was the right attitude and the funds to learn about the church. Nobility was unnecessary.
“Well, Church Law is a little bit like architecture.. they both need a vision, the materials, and a theory on how to combine them.”
“They both need to be developed.”
Cole smiled.
“Yeah.”
Lawrence had bequeathed his business route to a trusted partner of his when he decided to open his own shop. It took two years to sort everything out, and then another to discover the right place to open said shop. Add to that the two years to build that shop, which wasn’t even done yet. Still, wealthier lodgers would want a quiet room of their own, where they could talk at ease. That was the purpose of this building, where Cole was working now. The hot spring water was diverted under it for warmth, and so Cole’s labor wasn’t the only reason he was sweating.
“Hmm. You should probably head off a bit earlier, so you can take a bath before lunch.”
“Sure.”
Cole replied, then looked at the letter again.
“Um.. did I do a good job?”
It was clever and to the point, just the kind of writing that a hero or church leader would fall for. He had a gift, and if he got to choose what to write it would have been flawless.
“Yeah, there were just a couple of.. iffy phrases.”
“Ah.”
“We can change them later.”
“Thanks.”
Lawrence nodded and left. This was probably his last chance to teach Cole anything. Once Lawrence’s shop made a splash, he was destined to become a stubborn old innkeeper, forever stuck in Nyohhira. It was just the way things were, as surely as the sun set in the west.
He knew he’d probably get a bit tired of it from time to time, and probably wish he could have a bit more capital to work with, but there was a good chance that Eve would welcome the chance to have him visit in the south. If he played along, they might even have another great adventure. In fact, Eve was wealthy enough to hire a biographer. She wouldn’t want her name to only be recorded in tax ledgers.
Of course, Lawrence also had the option of working for Diva company. Hildir had managed to smooth things over for Mr. Diva and had returned to work there. They now ran the company like a king and his chancellor, and had earned a reputation as great as the Ruvik Alliance.
It wasn’t long now before their sunny coins brightened up the north. Lawrence’s excitement would peak that day, as he remembered his own contribution to the war over this currency. He wasn’t against adventuring, he just had someone more important to consider. Any risks he took now had to be sensible.
With that thought, he slid the letter back into his coat and opened the door of the main building. He was greeted by the familiar smell of milk-based soup.
“Be patient, it will be ready soon.”
He walked into the living room and saw the chestnuts Holo had been shelling. Her face was still the same as always; she looked a bit taller (and maybe even fatter), but he swore that was just his imagination. In truth the only thing that had probably changed about her was the amount of space he occupied in her heart.
“You make it sound like you’re cooking.”
Holo laughed at his joke, so she was probably in a good mood at least. The girl standing in the kitchen was the one who took care of their housework. She would be the cook for their inn, once it opened.
Her name was Hannah. She had been sent to them by Hildir, so Lawrence wasn’t sure if she was even human, but he never bothered confirming it. A lady should be able to keep her secrets, and it was a faux pas to pry into people’s backgrounds in a place of wandering travelers like Nyohhira.
Lawrence had settled on Nyohhira because it was near Yoitsu, and because it was convenient for his friends. For instance, Hugh the sheep would never age in the eyes of others, but if he left town on a long “trading expedition” then he could one day return and pretend to be his own descendant.
Nyohhira was the perfect escape for that kind of purpose. Many colorful people came here for their own reasons, so Lawrence knew that when his time came then at least Holo wouldn’t be as lonely.
Hannah was quite clever, too, and managed to easily find food in these snowy mountains. She was at least more keenly aware of human life compa
red to Holo. In fact she had even taught Holo how to weave. In a peculiar twist, Holo didn’t find it tedious. Lawrence never happily received any clothes made by her, like they were a proper couple, but he hoped that one day he would be able to nervously accept her clothes with just the right fluster to make her happy.
“Why are you roasting so many chestnuts? They still have to last until spring, you know.”
“If I eat any more pickles I will throw up.”
“Odd, you haven’t complained about them ever since we moved here.”
Lawrence ate a chestnut to quiet his starving belly.
“I prefer a more balanced diet.”
“Then why not ask Cole to go on a hunt? He’s good with a bow, and Ross’s boss caught a deer here not too long ago. I’m sure you’d enjoy sharing a nice bit of deer liver and a frosty ale with me.”
Holo frowned and looked down as she ate. He was upsetting her on purpose, of course, because he knew that she didn’t like just sitting around at home eating all day.
“I have had no such desire lately.”
“But you felt like roasting chestnuts?”
“What I would like is a certain delicious-sounding honey and peach dish that some selfish fool has forgotten about.”
“I just can’t afford them right now. You know I’ll buy you whatever you like once we’re out of the red.”
Holo harrumphed her displeasure so forcefully that the chestnut skins on the table flew off.
“However..”
She looked up at him, and Lawrence got to stare at the face he never tired of seeing. Her amber eyes stared into his until he had to shut his eyes and look away.
“One who is ill gets their choice of meals.”