Spice & Wolf XVI (DWT)

  Contents

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Translation Team

  Written by Hasekura Isuna

  Illustrated by Ayakura Jyuu

  Translation & Editing by

  ‘Drunken Wolf Translations’

  Ebook version 2.0 (07/30/13)

  Chapter 6

  They both stared at that bag, knowing that it belonged to Cole, who should be far away in the town of Kinisen right now. Words like “thieves,” “brigands,” and “highwaymen” all flashed in their minds. The kinds of people Cole had no chance against. He couldn’t stand up to such violence.

  This was just too much to take in right now. Lawrence couldn’t quite grasp what was going on. He looked up and saw a thin, cloaked man standing next to their table. He searched his memories, but knew nothing of the man. He didn’t even seem like the kind who was evil. Far from it, he actually seemed somehow elegant.

  Saying nothing more, the man began walking away with the light footsteps of a goblin. Lawrence was still so shocked he didn’t even think to go after him. The only reason he got up was because Holo had taken one glance at the bag and jumped to her feet.

  “Wait..”

  That was all he could say. Holo glared back at him wrathfully, like she was looking at an enemy.

  “There must be others with him.. can you sense them?”

  Her eyes remained glued on his, her anger slowly cooling as he stared her down. She then began hyperventilating, unable to calm herself. Her shoulders shook and she struggled to contain her anger. It was like her lungs were bellows, at least until she somehow managed to steady her breathing.

  “Can you sense them?”

  He repeated his question. She shielded her eyes like she was about to faint, but managed to finally take a deep breath before glancing around.

  “I cannot say, there may be no one else.”

  Her fangs were gleaming.

  “But that is not important.”

  She was beyond rational thought at this point, so he nodded and brought the bag over to her.

  “Then let’s confirm that this is really Cole’s.”

  She threw the bag at him, having clearly detected Cole’s scent upon it. Her nose would not be mistaken about that. The bag seemed to be his, and within it were his usual things; bits of cloth, the certificates he had purchased, and what little cash he carried. It was hardly worth robbing, so now they knew that this wasn’t a simple robbery. More importantly, these people knew Holo’s identity.

  “Shall we give chase?”

  His question earned a smile.

  “They shan’t escape, even if we must chase them to the ends of the earth.”

  Her confident strides gave the impression that she was born to play this part. It was midnight, but the town was still bustling. It had turned into quite a slurred atmosphere, with people hardly capable of stringing together words anymore. There was no longer any telling which of the puddles on the ground were spilled beer and which were urine.

  Lawrence recalled a tale about a priest being lead through hell by a saint. On their tour, they had also watched people who had fallen to the seven sins crying their sorrows to the world, seen flowers of lava, and even the mature fruit of the body of a prostitute that had not noticed her own demise.

  Lesco, a town managed by Diva company, had no strict rules or regulations. Sin was rampant on every street right now. Even the beautiful moon and stars of winter were bashfully hiding themselves behind the clouds. Were a bird to fly overhead, they might marvel at the flames dancing beneath them.

  Mere minutes ago, the hopes and ambitions of this place were all that Lawrence could see. Yet now, at the very moment that Cole’s bag had been flung onto the table before him, that spell was broken. He held Holo’s hand as they weaved their way through the endless drunks in this town built by Diva’s precise wisdom and kindness. He was still proud of Diva’s accomplishments, but now he could see the darkness they had also “built.”

  Holo suddenly hummed, then stopped at the entrance of an alley. Lawrence peered into it, but because of the fires around them all he could see was darkness. It seemed so black as to have no end. It was the very model of a trap.

  “If they believe I shall yield, they are sorely mistaken.”

  She pulled the small pouch of wheat from its resting place around her neck, making it clear that she would make no pretense of kindness. She then dove into that darkness with no trace of fear, leaving Lawrence to follow her with the bag slung over his shoulders.

  Such alleys inevitably appeared as towns grew, in the cracks between the houses that dotted the roads. They would be filled with goods and tools, and piles of firewood that seemed to be there taking shelter from the sun and rain. In the day, they only added to the sense of hope and liveliness of the town, but at night these snowy paths felt more like the back stages of a grand play.

  Lawrence swallowed his emotions and did his best to follow Holo closely. Soon they spied another square of the town, with a well that seemed to be surrounded by buildings. Once those buildings were completed and filled with life, this would be another lovely spot to relax during the sunlight hours, but right now, with construction materials strewn about, it felt more like a refugee camp for war survivors.

  And yet, those eerie sights were not the ones that stole their attention. No, that would be a rabbit, which Lawrence first assumed had managed to escape some butcher shop, only to wonder why it made no movements as they approached. Soon, he realized that it was no ordinary rabbit; from the light in its eyes, Lawrence could tell that it also understood the words of humans. Holo took a deep breath, as though to keep herself from pouncing on the creature.

  “I have no fear of bringing sadness to the owner of that bag.”

  It spoke, and left an elegant first impression at that.

  “And yet, he has suffered no injury. I would prefer avoiding that, if at all possible.”

  Only Holo would be able to judge whether this was really happening. All Lawrence could do was try to keep the situation calm.

  “What are you after?”

  Not money, certainly. Not if it could talk, and knew of Holo.

  “My colleagues spotted the two of you, wondering what a wolf might be doing with a merchant, and then let their curiosity get the best of them.”

  “And what did they discover?”

  Lawrence spoke sincerely, and the rabbit’s ears perked up.

  “A banned book, which I require.”

  It was plausible, albeit surprising, that they had been monitored ever since they were in Lenos, in order to deliver Cole’s bag to them now.

  “..why?”

  “To be frank, I do not wish to become your enemy.”

  It ignored Lawrence’s question in an attempt to placate Holo. She already seemed to be preparing to pounce at the first possible moment, gripping her wheat pouch tightly. The rabbit’s eyes were on Lawrence, but it was talking to both of them.

  “The lands of the north are in danger.”

  Lawrence took a deep breath, now realizing that his hunch had been correct: the banned book was not only the cause for all of this, but also the key to its solution.

  “With the book, I can prevent this.”

  A reasonable thing to say, and well-articulated. Clearly, this rabbit was leadership material. And yet, given that the buttons on Cole’s bag were torn off, it was clear that no amount of careful wording could gloss over the fact that Cole had been threatened. Perhaps, the next time they met, it would be Cole’s head that was flung onto the table before him.

  “Who are yo
u?”

  What the rabbit replied surprised Lawrence.

  “Hildir Schunard, the financial officer of Diva company.”

  The financial officer was the most important assistant a company’s owners had. His was a position of vital importance to a company that was capable of issuing its own currency, like a nation might. In simple terms, his position, were they actually a nation, would be that of prime minister.

  It wasn’t possible to rule out whether he spoke lies, and when Lawrence looked to Holo she was standing quietly. He swallowed again, and took three more deep breaths before turning himself into a merchant once more.

  “Then, Mr. Hildir, why exactly do you need this banned book?”

  “I understand your doubts, and I also understand your goal.”

  If they had been watched since Lenos, then the net had been cast wide enough to catch such small details.

  “But still, when all is said and done, there is no way I will answer anything related to said book.”

  Hildir claimed to be the financial officer of Diva company, but it was hardly a claim he had legitimized. Regardless, Lawrence wasn’t under the impression that he was lying. Hildir was not making a request of Holo to borrow Lawrence’s abilities, but simply because he needed that book.

  He had even dared to fling that bag next to Holo, knowing full well that such an action could have killed him. Hence this gamble was more important to him than his own life. He was prepared. Lawrence could therefore ask him again.

  “May I ask what the problem is?”

  Hildir stopped breathing at that moment, and spoke with a begrudging tone that betrayed his inability to control the situation.

  “There are presently two factions in our company, and I am a member of the weaker.”

  “..And?”

  Lawrence knew to shoot back as quickly as possible, even if he couldn’t hide his own nervousness. If Diva was a company divided, then things may be dire indeed.

  “I suspect that you had already deduced our intent to issue a new currency.”

  “I had. And an excellent idea, I might add. It will benefit all involved.”

  “Indeed.”

  This town’s beacon of prosperity could not illuminate such a dark alley, and all one would see if they looked up right now was the ominous red flow of flames.

  “In fact, when all is said and done, we shall earn too much.”

  Too much? What an odd thing to say.. Lawrence found himself thrown off entirely.

  “Too.. much?”

  “Verily. When we decided to issue our new currency, we knew it would be highly valued. The moneychangers have even already assigned it a high rate.”

  Of course, people would have already begun to speculate on the future currency. It was declared to have a ridiculous purity, but one that people could trust would be sustainable. Such coins would be in tremendous demand, so moneychangers would compensate with higher exchange rates, so speculators would not ruin things in the name of profit.

  “Our first instinct was to be happy, but it will not benefit many people - especially the barons who will have to cover for the exchange rate. Even the ones who have already earned so much from this plan. The moment they noticed what was happening, they demanded a simple solution.”

  “For the bank to issue more money?”

  Hildir nodded and sighed.

  “It is indeed a simple and profitable solution.”

  “One that will put the north in danger?”

  Lawrence tried to lead the conversation, but Hildir suddenly broke eye contact with him. Was he overdoing it? He was a bit surprised to see sadness appear in Hildir’s eyes, like he hated himself for this. He had ears that looked like wings, but he was chained to the ground. He turned back to Lawrence, who didn’t really care if it was just an act.

  “All coins are made of metal, and the moneychangers have already hoarded nearly all of the coins we’ve minted. They’re effectively useless now, and we can’t just issue more. But we’re merchants, we have to do everything we can. I’m sure you can tell what the simplest solution is from that much.”

  Lawrence’s heart sank, indeed realizing what he meant.

  “Conquering more land for mines.”

  “But of course. The northern lands trade very little, but that does not mean they are poor. Our backers have been pushing us to attack them. In fact, many barons have closed their doors to our plans, and so the ones who have joined us openly see that as an opportunity, rather than a problem.”

  There was spite in his voice. Clearly, Diva company had not wished to do this. He spoke as though the barons were parasites. This flew in the face of Lawrence’s suspicion that Diva was a company large enough to pull their strings, which could only mean one thing.

  “..Meaning that there are some in your company who support this kind of crass action.”

  “Precisely. Stopping all of this will require the banned book.”

  Lawrence flinched in revulsion. He was close to throwing up. This was hardly an unfamiliar concept to him, it was a regular way of thinking for the nobility. God was laughing at all of them. Hildir calmly continued, speaking as though he had been dining with the Devil.

  “Their minds are set, even if they will not say it directly. They are already making excuses, such as suddenly becoming pessimistic that our existing mines will be sufficient for this plan.”

  Merchants were always good at rooting out excuses to justify their cheap behavior.

  “Of course that would mean they have the impetus to delay our plan, or open new mines. It has become a complicated political problem, since a strong company can easily take over an existing mine, or even take over some metal-rich land to open a new one. Some can see nothing but benefits to this idea.”

  The desire for huge potential gains always clashed with equally negative consequences for others, and in this case none of those others could stand up to Diva. Myuri had made it painfully clear that was the case with the mercenaries supporting them. Diva had the money, and that was all they needed to emerge as the victor in any such war.

  Considering Diva would win not only land and new mines, but would also force more people to back their new currency, this was a problem that could only keep growing as exchange increased. They would be strong enough to suck every drop of blood from the people around them. They were like the mythical snake that ate so much its lungs couldn’t expand, and finally died.. except that Diva had no lungs to limit them.

  “With the book, I can rob them of their willful excuse that our mines will run out. We’ll need no new mines, and can even reopen old ones that have since been closed. Many barons would also be happy to sell any such useless mines they own, so I’m sure you can see that this is all in the best interest of the north.”

  With new advances in mining, a mine that had “run out” could spring back to life, and give these people the money they craved. Neither Lawrence nor Holo had to think it over to see how it would benefit the situation.

  “Money can solve most any problem now, and it will only be able to solve more of them in the future. The age of bloody wars needs to end. If the Moon-Hunting Bear has taught us anything, it is that the age of power is long gone.”

  Hildir suddenly stopped talking and leaned in closer, but Holo only stood her ground quietly. Lawrence understood that it was up to him to speak on her behalf.

  “Are you the only one backing this idea?”

  This rabbit almost gave the impression that he was struggling on his own in the company. If that were true, all Lawrence would be doing by handing over the book would be adding fuel to the fire. A merchant couldn’t take such a stupid risk. Hildir’s answer, however, was immediate.

  “No. Our owner, Hilbert von Diva, is of the same mind.”

  The company’s very owner was in the weaker party. Something like that might seem ridiculous, but Lawrence didn’t think so. The company was far too large to be under one person’s control. Division of labor was inevitable. Even a faction of
powerful workers could best their boss, and Lawrence had even heard of owners being taken hostage for being overly stubborn. Who could tell how much of a company like Diva would be consumed by the flames of greed?

  “So please, help us stop these malcontents before our company becomes an invader. Not even the Church can stand up to such power; the flames will consume this entire land. I do not want to be part of a company that would open the gates to hell. You have fallen under the spell of this town yourself, no? That is the true dream of Diva company, which is now being destroyed!”

  His words mournfully trailed off into the sky. Many people had woven this thread of dreams into a tapestry, and Lawrence could certainly understand why they would take pride in that. The age of power was ending, and what remained of that power was fast becoming the responsibility of humans. Merchants just so happened to be ending up with most of that power, because they were like Lawrence: they were dreamers. Diva company was a good example of that.

  “I am but a rabbit, as you plainly see, yet I wish to see that dream come to fruition. Building a free kingdom? Where no one is restricted, and people use their wisdom and hard work to succeed? To dream of bringing peace to an unstable land? That is worth my life to me, so much so that I would even stand like this before a wolf.”

  He turned to Holo.

  “I cannot let this dream end here.”

  Then.. he had never planned to kill Cole.. or maybe he couldn’t? Why hadn’t he coerced or threatened Lou Loah directly, instead of taking Cole hostage and risking his life in front of Holo like this? There had to be a reason..

  His long ears twitched as he stared at the speechless Holo, his head tilted.

  “When this is over, I will reward you greatly. The two of you wish to stay here and open a shop, yes? Then I, the financial officer of Diva company, will give you my support.”

  The fact that he didn’t say the support would be financial implied that he intended to do even better than that.

  “We are out of time. This time, Diva company is gambling with more lives than ever. I must assume that you understand the meaning of the phrase ‘seize the moment.’ That is why while the rest of the people in my faction are still holed up in the company, I have run out to do this on my own.”