“Jack’s shop? Yeah, he doesn’t go out of his way to look nice, but he still does good business.”
“The key is food.”
Nyohhira merchants started off with nothing, so they became quite conservative. Lawrence was slowly getting used to it, but it helped that Holo was there with him. Especially since she was a being fit to be called a god.
“So..”
“Hmm?”
Holo’s arms wrapped around his head as she smiled.
“You should prepare something tasty for our celebration.”
Perhaps the water was making things a little too hot, especially with the two of them stuck to one another in the nude. Lawrence felt he could certainly rise to the occasion. Holo’s face was an obvious red compared to the rest of her pale skin.
“Uh.. hehe..”
Of course, Lawrence knew that she was beguiling him to get what she wanted.
“Oh? Do not tell me you refuse? The banquet must be excellent.. understood?!”
Her teeth were on his throat again. Her stare was so malicious that he felt his courage dwindling. He didn’t think she would be nasty enough to invite five of their former female companions, let alone force this on him. Naturally, his eyes avoided hers, but she stood up, unwilling to let him so much as think before opening her mouth again.
“This sort of celebration is imperative the first time around. If you assert your dominance at that time, all will be well.”
It wasn’t the first time Holo was being too proud for her maiden’s body to contain it. She had done her part to help Lawrence earn his reputation, so he had no desire to decline her wishes, but he still didn’t know why she had been so upset.. was this her way of forcing the issue?
“Uh, Holo..”
“What?”
He knew asking her now would probably mean opening the gates of hell, but he had no real choice. He needed to know what her motivations were, so in a way it would be more productive if she did lose her temper. He’d rather see the wolves in the forest than only hear their howls. He swallowed hard, and just as he was about to ask..
“What do you think you are doing!!”
Holo roared so loudly that all the wildlife around them fled. Lawrence turned toward the bird he heard taking off, and just barely caught sight of a fox rushing into the bushes. This appearance was really more refined and mature for Holo. She might never admit it, but she truly did feel as though she was the top dog in her world. It might be a byproduct of all those years she was called a god, but the end result was that Lawrence was completely under her control.
“Confound it all..”
Holo sighed, and her smile returned to one of being in an excellent mood.
“You must be serious with that audience, or they will walk all over you.”
Lawrence agreed; anyone who wandered into these mountains would naturally be at the mercy of the wildlife here. Without Holo, he would have spent a lot of money to have people guard him.
“Oh..”
“Hmm?”
“I am sorry, you were saying?”
She looked down on him and smiled, but what courage he had was long gone.
“Err.. um.. nothing..”
“Hmm? Well, just make sure the banquet is excellent. I am longing for that.”
She re-entered the spring and leaned against him. Longing for it? Her double-meanings were too much for him. He slouched down in the water so his nose was just barely over the surface, then closed his eyes.
* * *
He would invite the men, she told him. And he had begun. He had sent letters to some of his male friends, inviting them to celebrate the opening of his shop. So far, it was just the few friends he had in Nyohhira.. and most of them were technically business associates.
But without hesitating, Holo had sent an invitation all the way out to Eve. If Eve was dragging everyone here, then Lawrence knew he had to make it worth their while. He’d also casually written a list of other names: Hildir from Diva company, Lou Loah the book dealer, Myuri of the Myuri mercenary band, Hugh the art dealer, Keeman of his former Rowen Guild, and the shepherd named Huskins. Furthest of all was Mark, whose shop was in the same town Diana lived in.
He had even unconsciously begun writing Amarti’s name, but stopped dead in his tracks. Of the many men who showed interest in Holo over the years, Amarti was the only one bold enough to openly express his love. He wasn’t a friend at all.. he was Lawrence’s biggest enemy since he met Holo. Lawrence hoped God wouldn’t think ill of him as he crossed Amarti’s name off his list.
There were other remote people he had to invite anyhow: Jakob, who managed the Rowen guild branch in Ruvinheigen, Weiz, the moneychanger in Pazzio, and Richten Marlheit, who had helped Lawrence free Holo so long ago. All of them warranted more formal invitations, and most of them would be at the formal celebration.
“Wow..”
Lawrence was sitting at his desk, staring at the parchment listing the names. He sighed, noting how many people he was able to list just off the top of his head. Many of these people had changed his life. If they hadn’t, he wouldn’t be here now, and when he thought about it he had also helped steer the course of their lives. Lawrence often felt proud that he had made it this far on his own with Holo, but it was plain as the nose on his face that he had been walking a tightrope. He thanked God for bringing them all together at the right time. His expression remained grim until he opened his eyes and saw all of those names again.
“Who else?”
Most of them wouldn’t have trouble accepting, but they all had their own lives to lead and Nyohhira was practically at the northern edge of the world. Just the messenger’s fees would be painful. There was always the chance of accidents occurring on the way to Nyohhira, too, and if he didn’t carefully invite everyone, he would never live it down. He could hear it now: “you know that guy opened his own inn, and invited all his friends and family.. but he forgot all about me.” Just the thought made Lawrence cringe.
“I should ask her to make sure I don’t miss anyone..”
Lawrence couldn’t help but grumble.
* * *
After two days of thinking, Lawrence decided to send invitations to three groups of people: those who could take a few months off of work if they willed it, those with moody temperaments, and those with important secrets like Huskins and Marlheit. Having sent the invitations, he finally found himself looking forward to holding this banquet. He wasn’t expecting that Eve would really show up, but she was still invited. As Holo said, all he had to do was make sure the banquet was worth attending.
Thankfully, he had enough money saved up. Everyone’s trip should be memorable, even if Lawrence was facing trouble when they all finally congregated. Even Delink’s owner had requested that Lawrence call him over when he opened his shop, implying that he would support Lawrence financially if he needed help to hold the celebration. Not many people in Nyohhira had friends in such places. Mr. Diva joined Hildir in expressing their thanks and offering their help.
Lawrence politely declined everyone’s help - he didn’t want to be too dependent on them. Instead, he borrowed all his funding from Keeman and the Rowen guild.. only for that accident with the merchant trade fleet to happen. In the end Keeman himself had to bow to Diva and ask for their aid. Thankfully Keeman had managed to recover from that as things stabilized, and Lawrence had just enough savings to make it through that tough time.
His wallet was now fat, and he was happy even if it was all borrowed money. This way, he didn’t have to worry about saving it, just making sure the feast was a success. Even the other guests in Nyohhira would turn their eyes on his place if he did so. After all, Holo was right: they would see how lavishly he treated his patrons. He had to make sure the food was top rate. Alas, he knew very little about cooking, so he didn’t know what ingredients and prices would really be necessary, let alone what special dishes to serve.
“Just list whatever you feel is necessary.”
He turned to Holo to list the dishes she felt had to be included. Both she and Hannah were eating walnuts, though he had no idea where those nuts came from.
“..Anything?”
Holo wasn’t playing around. It had been a while since he’d seen her react that seriously. He took a moment to mentally prepare himself before nodding.
“Truly?”
Her confirmation made Hannah look over at Lawrence, as if to say, “this is your last chance to escape, boss.” Hannah should know; she always pinched every penny she could to offset Holo’s expensive taste in food. She had gained that taste on her trip with Lawrence, so he knew he couldn’t really blame anyone but himself.. but all he did was take a deeper breath and nod again.
“Yes, yes, whatever you desire.”
She knew that if she went too far and wrote “honey-pickled peaches” or something ridiculous, he’d just scratch it off. He’d made that obvious by handing her cheaper paper instead of parchment. She looked up with a smile.
“I am not as foolish as you seem to think.”
She continued after he handed her the paper and a pen.
“It would hardly be fun to kill all my prey at once.”
If she was willing to joke like that, then Lawrence was optimistic that she wouldn’t go overboard. Hannah, however, sighed.
“I hope you’ll still be able to pay me.”
Her serious tone was offset by her smile and the fact that she was watching Holo’s wagging tail. She did it just so Lawrence would squirm, and made that obvious by smiling up at him.
“But if you’re in the red, I’ll pitch in by donating my time.”
“That’s much appreciated.”
The very instant he finished thanking Hannah, Holo shouted “ink!” and Hannah stood on a chair to take it off the top shelf of the bookcase.
* * *
Beer, cider, grape wine, honey wine, brandy, vodka, whiskey.. even kumis. Lawrence had no idea where Holo had even heard of kumis. Probably one of the many travelers from far in the east had tipped her off. Her list of meat was even more exotic. The expected mutton, veal, beef, pickled beef, rabbit, pork, chicken, geese, and pheasants were there, but also things like quail and peacocks.
“Just how am I supposed to get peacock?”
Peacocks were revered in many areas, so hunting them for meat was forbidden. Even a king would have trouble poaching them. Not many had ever tasted one. And yet, Holo at least put a note beside the word “peacock” - “if possible.” She even placed a similar one next to “quail” - “would be nice..” She seemed to know just how much she was asking for.
Her list of seafood was quite basic: pike, carp, and eel. Mostly freshwater things, probably because only pickled and smoked seafood from the ocean was readily available in the winter so she was probably tired of those. Lawrence had half a mind to make a show of crossing them all out and writing “pickled herring” instead.
She included “fish tails” as well, presumably the delicacy from Lenos. That should be doable, since people went to Lenos all the time. Next on her list came fruits and vegetables. “Please God, let it be reasonable” was the only thought running through his head. He looked at the list, and stopped breathing.
“Oranges? Lemons? Where have you had those?”
Lawrence had only heard of them by the rumor that a great merchant ship sold them at the southernmost port on the continent. They were foods from the desert, and he had no idea what they looked like. The other items - figs, strawberries, blueberries, gooseberries, peaches, apples, and pears - were ones he could at least find, even if they had to be dried or soaked in honey this time of year.
His eyes moved on to the nuts, grains, and other bits on her list. She was just listing everything she’d ever heard of.. wasn’t she? Lawrence passed the list on to Hannah to see whether she could haggle with Holo. Hannah was the one that knew how to haggle Holo down on the meat, at least.
“You forgot meatballs.”
But she only added another item, one that Holo had asked Hannah to prepare on many occasions. Holo had even tried asking Lawrence, so this was certainly the best time to treat her to them. But.. making meatballs in Nyohhira? Lawrence sank into thought. They would be expensive, because only salted meat was available at the market here. He would just have to roll up his sleeves.
* * *
Lawrence had decided to stop thinking about the expensive food and move on to the others items on their agenda. They needed a musician for a proper banquet, for starters.
“Oh, her?”
When Lawrence asked Cole to try to hire a certain musician, Cole was stunned.
“But it took so much effort to smooth things over with her..”
She was the woman who tried to win Lawrence’s heart. It had been difficult, but she was the best musician they knew.
“Yes, please invite her on my behalf.”
“..”
Cole kept leafing through a book he had borrowed from someone visiting Nyohhira, making it painfully obvious that he didn’t want to do it. Ultimately he agreed, but all the girls in troupes liked to chat with Cole; he’d decided to avoid them out of his desire to become a priest. Of course, his decision only made them pursue him even more forcefully, so a sly “God will forgive you” from Lawrence wasn’t enough to convince him this time.
“Have you made arrangements with the workers?”
Craftsmen generally traveled south in the winter to continue working, and would only return after the thaw. Lawrence had somehow managed to convince them to remain this time so he could open his shop in the spring.
“Yeah, things should match up fine with the invitations we sent. They’ll be here soon enough, too, so we’ve got to get cracking.”
“I see. Ah, that reminds me.. we need bedding for all the guests. Was Ms. Eve really coming? It wouldn’t do to have her sleep on hay..”
Eve was an influential merchant now, so they felt compelled to have a full ensemble for her: a marble base for the bed, lavish pillows, and silk bed sheets. Norah would surely settle for a regular bed with regular bed sheets, but it wouldn’t do to treat their guests discriminately. This was one of the reasons such celebrations were so painful to set up.
“Why don’t we try borrowing some of Mr. Morris’ beds?”
“Hmm..”
It was a great idea, since Morris had all sorts of furniture fit for wealthy patrons.
“Let me think it over..”
“We also have to consider their reception.. we don’t know if their carriage can make it up the hill in this snow, and we don’t even know exactly when they’re arriving.”
“You’re right!”
Lawrence hadn’t thought about that. Their carriage might be able to make it, but if it was from the south then it might struggle to get through the snow. They really ought to prepare a sleigh, and see to it that their carriage was taken care of. It would be tricky without knowing when they were arriving.
“We’ll need guards too, won’t we? Would it be wise to ask Myuri? I’m guessing he’s invited too?”
Lawrence raised his head as soon as Cole mentioned that.
“Yeah.. that’s an option..”
“Then please make sure his invitation is customized. I expect it’ll be enough to just send a letter to Lenos for Eve, since if she’s really coming she’ll definitely go that way. She knows her way around the north, after all.”
Cole really had a handle on these kinds of things. Lawrence would be lost without his help. He dearly wished Cole could work for him and help him manage the inn, but of course Cole wasn’t his apprentice.
“Alright, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Understood.”
Cole replied politely, despite bearing most of the responsibility for organizing the banquet. But Lawrence had to deal with the craftsmen working on the inn, so he prepared himself and headed down the snowy path to the main street in Nyohhira. When the workers were present it was always lively in the inn. Otherwise, it was just a l
arge place that only had Lawrence, Holo, Cole and Hannah living in it. It felt a bit.. empty.
Holo was very territorial, but she didn’t have a problem with patrons. In fact, she seemed to be looking forward to them opening their inn, and openly admitted that she liked livelier places. However, the winter had passed, and spring was underway, so Holo was getting sick of the noisy workers. In fact, she was always holed up in her room now, and wasn’t eating much.
He was worried that she truly was ill this time. He thought that she perhaps eaten too much salty food in the winter. Catching a cold wasn’t rare, but her mood was usually better after the season for fresh vegetables arrived. This year, more people had been absent from the town meetings, and everyone seemed quite thin and worn out after the winter. Despite that, the myth that the hot springs cured all illness curiously persisted.
Things had gotten to the point where Lawrence had begun rinsing the salt off their food, and asked Hannah to season as little as possible.. which Holo of course hated. Perhaps she just came to negatively associate it with the overly noisy atmosphere, but after so many meals consisting of porridge, she couldn’t keep it down anymore. The best she could handle was bite-sized bits of bread soaked in goat’s milk. Even wine was out of the question. She had to be in trouble.
His worries were looming over his head. Hannah was saying nothing, and acting as though Holo could stand to learn a little from actually falling ill. Despite that, Holo believed in Hannah, which only made Lawrence wish he could do more. He felt pretty useless. Time was flying by as he did his best to care for her, and he was juggling the organization of the workers with the preparations for the coming banquet.
Not long after that, after the solstice, they finally received a letter from Eve. She had made it all the way to Sovereign, and it seemed as though she had missed the letter Cole suggested they send to Lenos. But at least Eve had still sent them a message from Sovereign, so at things were proceeding smoothly with their guests.
If they were in Sovereign already, then they would arrive before Saint Arozury’s Day, but Lawrence should still manage to have things prepared for them even if they arrived at that time. Nevertheless, his reply was: “even if you take in the sights and sounds, you’ll still be just in time.” Thinking that a bit too obvious, he also added that he was surprised they all decided to show up.