Spice & Wolf XVII (DWT)

  Contents

  Epilogue

  Intermission

  Epilogue

  The traveling merchant and the dark grey knight

  Wolf and a Gray Face

  Wolf and the White Road

  Editor Extras

  Afterword

  Translation Team

  Written by Hasekura Isuna

  Illustrated by Ayakura Jyuu

  Translation & Editing by

  ‘Drunken Wolf Translations’

  Ebook version 2.0 (08/04/13)

  Epilogue

  Intermission

  “Oh, how is our gentleman today?”

  I hear the voice as I lie on the steps. My name is Enek, and yet it doesn’t feel half bad being called a “gentleman.” I sigh and wag my tail, generously offering whatever help she requires.

  “Is the Sister in?”

  The woman has a cloth wrapped around her head, and with her sleeves rolled up like that she seems strong as a bear. If I remember correctly, she worked in a shop selling buckets and such. Presumably her work is done for the morning. That means she’s probably stopping by for a prayer on her lunch break. The thought makes me yawn.

  “I heard the children say they saw a carriage as they played on the hill.. I wonder if it’s the one that Sister was talking about..”

  “..”

  It’s so hard to keep my eyes open around this woman. Her presence just makes me want to fall asleep. There’s little I can do about it, so I force myself to walk back to the Church to stay awake.

  “But then, the children said it was black, like some carriage from the underworld.. I hope that’s not a bad sign?”

  Her questions continued; she was clearly trapped by her own curiosity. For such a bear of a woman, she sure acted more like a cat.

  “Oh, you feel like joining me back inside, do you?”

  Everyone in town casually talks to me, and I can’t quite handle all the attention. That’s why I just tune her voice out and walk down the middle of the hallway ignoring everyone. I only stop when I reach the door of the writing room. It’s not just the place in a church for clergy to write, but also to read books.

  It’s been several days since the spring harvest festival. All of her time was devoted to countless prayers for saints, but things have settled down since then. Sadly, there aren’t many people who can write, so she was probably still stuck doing that. At least, that’s her normal routine, but..

  “Sister, a carriage is..!”

  With the door already half-open, the woman blusters her way in with barely a knock, only to stop short. It seems she does have some reflexes after all. The so-called “Sister,” my master, is asleep at the desk. Given how warm it has become these days, she has trouble waking up in the morning, let alone staying awake. She might be fully-grown now, with long locks of hair, but she still looks like a child when she sleeps. I cough out a bark.

  “Ruff!”

  “Uh.. Ah!”

  My master nervously stands. She looks around. She then spies us beyond the papers, books, half-mended clothes and utensils scattered on the desk.

  “Oh! Ms. Lithkin! I.. um.. hehe..”

  She hastily tries sweeping the needles and other various things into the desk drawers like a child hoping they wouldn’t be caught by their parent.

  “Uh.. hmm..”

  What a sorry sight for a nun. She really is still a little girl at heart.

  “Oh, you don’t have to fret so!”

  The woman laughs, and my master smiles and leans back in her chair before shooting me a nasty glare. Why? What did I do? Don’t blame me for this.

  “Well, what can I do for you? If you’re here about the celebration for the patron saint of the guild, I’ve put Mr. Ports in charge of that.”

  “Oh no, no. I just came to say that there is a carriage on its way, and I believe it might be the one you mentioned.”

  “..a carriage?”

  “Indeed. Remember, you said that on the day one arrives, you will be taken someplace far away?”

  “..”

  My master stares at the woman, dumbfounded. Her jaw suddenly drops.

  “That isn’t next week!? Oh my gosh! Sorry, I have to get ready!!”

  In a flash, her sleeves were rolled up and she was running around in a daze. The woman laughs merrily at the sight of her. My master was a much better shepherdess. Norah the Nymph - that was her name back then, and she really was good at her work. Now she’s a nun running this church and giving this town her guidance. It’s hard to wrap my head around it.

  And yet, perhaps owing to that determined look she always has on her face she’s quite well-suited for these kinds of rituals. She’s been doing quite well at her new job. She’s long had to suffer the constant fear of wolves and starvation, so perhaps that’s why she’s so lethargic now that we’re living in a town.

  Dates. Numbers. Names. Prayers. Masses. She had been bombarded with new ideas, and it took her a long time to get used to them. If I wasn’t there to help her, she might not have made it.

  “Uh.. clothes and food.. oh, I should take a bible and prayer beads, too.. and.. I guess I should take spare shoes? Wow, I’m so used to having shoes now.. how did I live without them?”

  She combs her long golden hair between tasks as she gets ready for her carriage. She even pulls out the clothes she wore before we came to town, but it’s clear that they won’t fit her anymore so I don’t see why. It makes me sigh and lie down.

  “Oh right, I’ll need the invitation.. and this as well..”

  Luggage was never a topic when we were herding sheep. The Church teaches people to give up their worldly possessions for those who have nothing, and now I see the wisdom behind that. The more things you have, the more trouble it is. It’s the story of our lives. She hears me sigh a second time and I know she’s looking at me. Before I can even think, “damn”, she’s already walking up to me.

  “It sure must be nice to have no worries, huh Enek?”

  I’ve heard her say this for five years now, even since we came to town. It’s obviously not true. Well, at least it wasn’t, but I’ve since stopped caring as much about whether she needs support in her rituals, and started caring more about how much I’m fed for dinner. That means I have no choice but to ignore her right now, and leave her alone to run around the room. I emerged from the bundle of robes she had cast over me just in time to hear knocking on the door. It was not one of the knocks I had grown accustomed to; this was someone that wasn’t from around here. Someone that might be better described as a “messenger from hell.”

  * * *

  A crowd has formed outside of the church. This town was once ravaged by a deadly illness, but thanks to the help of brave people like my master, it has since recovered. Foreigners aren’t a rare sight here, actually. They even arrive in large companies with dozens of horses. Even so, the sight of such a prestigious-looking carriage has attracted this large crowd.

  It is a black, fully-covered carriage with two sharp-looking horses pulling it. There’s even a wagon behind it, presumably full of goods. There are even five or six stout men guarding it. It’s enough to shock my master when she sees it. She’s done her best to comb her hair straight, but it’s so curly that it’s a futile endeavor. Compared to the woman in the carriage, especially, who makes her preparations look sad by comparison.

  Seeing a tall woman wasn’t rare, but such a prestigious one? Definitely.

  “I am Eve Boland.”

  She speaks her name like she’s delivering a report. Her height contrasts with how thin she appears, but then calling her ”thin” isn’t quite correct; it’s more accurate to say that her body has no excess meat on it. Whatever perfume she’s wearing, it vaguely r
eminds me of wild beasts.

  “Um.. well..”

  My master’s quite nervous, but she’s been a nun long enough to be able to regain her bearings and stand up tall, with a smile.

  “Well, I am Norah Arendt.”

  My master is fairly tall, but Eve is much taller still. But there is more than just a height difference between these two. My master’s slowly been growing fatter over the years, all except for the one area where it counts the most. This lady with the wolf-like appearance has her beat in that department.

  It’s obvious when the two stand tall, because one of them is bending forward ever so slightly. That slant is not due to her outfit, which is ill-suited for the weather. Those furs are merely there for prominence, like a noble. Even her name, Eve, seems chosen for that purpose. She sighs as she looks my master over from head to toe.

  “This is the one..?”

  “Huh?”

  My master’s question-like sound is met only with the batting of eyelashes, which is itself enough of a reply, but is followed up with her voice.

  “Ah, nothing. We’ll take care of your food and clothes later. We still have time. But if you’re easily bored I suggest you bring a bible. We’ve got others to pick up, like I mentioned in my letter, so we’ll be leaving right away.”

  With that, Eve returned to her carriage. My master stood there in shock, slowly turning her head to look at me. I can’t even bark anymore, so I just sigh again. If I remember correctly, Eve had been trading in the south. I know little about the scale of such things, but my experience tells me that her deals must have been huge.

  * * *

  The carriage’s interior is just wide enough for three people, with two seats facing one another. There’s cotton covering the back of those seats and their armrests, and the stitching is very fine throughout. My master may be a nun helping this town, but she adores clothing. Her eyes are glued to these things.

  Even Eve’s clothes are a rare sight for her; loose robe-like coverings on her torso with uncommon details. My master’s stares seem to bother Eve, who breaks her silence to announce that her clothes are “from the desert nations.” It’s been a very quiet trip thus far, with neither Eve nor my master striking up a conversation.

  I am on the seat, having been permitted by Eve, and my master is staring out the window while rubbing my head. Her mind must be full of thoughts after five years of town life. Even back when we were herding sheep, we hardly got to travel much. It was always the same horribly tedious, virtually unchanging view.

  Of course, I could survive alone in a forest, but not my human master. She cannot survive without others of her kind. Even my dog’s eyes can see how difficult the life of a human is. They live days without hope, mechanically eating their meals until they perish.

  Our sheepfold was full of mice and bugs, with my master often being awakened by them. A chance meeting had ended all of that, and permanently changed her life. Sometimes, even the fastest person only runs in place without even moving forward. They need someone to give them a push from behind. Luckily, my master received just such a push, and moved forward to this place.

  “Does the outside world make you restless?”

  Two days after we’d left town, Eve finally spoke while writing a letter.

  “Hmm?”

  “Well, nuns don’t get many chances to travel.”

  Having double-checked her letter, Eve pushes it out the window where someone has been waiting to receive it. He folds it shut and rides off in the opposite direction. Eve has been writing letters ever since we left.

  “That, and you seem quite determined for someone heading somewhere in the middle of nowhere like Nyohhira. Even I thought twice.”

  She’s sure one to talk, when she’s been sitting there drinking and writing the day away, putting on airs. I don’t like how she looks down on my master. Master isn’t just some secluded nun with no knowledge of the real world. She might be dim sometimes, but she has experience and never gives up. I look up at master, hoping she’ll stick up for herself.

  “Oh ho.. yes, I do find it disconcerting.”

  That’s all, master? I bark softly, but she rubs me to console me.

  “But I still wanted to go.”

  “..”

  Eve puts her elbow on the window ledge to hold her head up. She’s been staring at master, who’s in turn been talking while looking outside. She looks like one of the predators you would find in a forest.

  “Is that town where you met them?”

  By the time she asks her follow-up question, though, Eve’s also looking outside.

  “No. We met in Ruvinheigen.”

  “Ah, so you were already a nun, then.”

  “No.”

  Master looks over at me, embarrassed. She looks like she’s peeking into some forbidden treasure vault.

  “The Church was taking care of me, but I wasn’t much more than a sheep.”

  She’s laughing at herself as she looks into my eyes, with the kind of smile only someone who’s broken the chains of fate can wear.

  “I was a shepherd, you see.”

  Eve looks back at my master, obviously surprised.

  “One day, I just met them. I’d like to say that they reached out to help me, but it’s more honest to say they got me in more trouble. That’s really what it comes down to.”

  Master’s come a long way to be able to talk so openly and honestly. It’s quite true that while that wolf and sheep helped us, they ended up getting us into even more trouble in the end.

  “Where did you meet them, Ms. Boland?”

  A predator never answers, they only ask.. and even then, it’s normally only to ask their prey which end they want to have eaten first. Eve’s clearly quite unpleased to be asked.

  “Call me Eve.”

  Master smiles, but settles on “Ms. Eve.”

  “I met them in the north. We’ll be passing by that place at some point.”

  “I see.”

  Master can patiently chat with church-goers for hours, so she gently nods with a smile as she replies. She doesn’t push the topic. Perhaps that experienced response is what pushed Eve to finally respond carelessly.

  “So you were a timid sheep?”

  “Hmm?”

  My master replies with the same sound, then smiles and nods in response.

  “I was an injured wolf.”

  Eve turns her head back toward the window, like she’s hoping to relive some distant memory. It’s the same kind of look that master often wore when we had just begun our lives in the town.

  “That’s why..”

  “..”

  Master says nothing. She just looks at Eve.

  “I almost had an affair.”

  Master’s eyes were round as saucers when she heard that. Eve slowly turned back to look at her with a smile, but if my eyes didn’t deceive me, it was more a smile of self-mockery. It seemed she had feelings for that man. Moreover, she seemed to guess that master also did, even if I believe that master doesn’t really care about him at all.

  After we had settled in town, many people attempted to court my master. They were all rejected. She always said she had already given herself to God, but that isn’t quite true. She’s just happy enough to have me. I sigh to let master rub my neck as she replies to Eve.

  “Once sheep are focused on something, they forget about everything else.”

  Eve smiles when she hears that.

  “Damn. And yet he still called for us. What nerve.”

  Eve’s eyes are looking back outside, but now they’re just looking at the scenery.

  “I’m amazed that he has the gall to ask me to take everyone there. Can you believe it? We’re picking up three more women on our way to Nyohhira.”

  “Oh?”

  “Hard to stomach, huh? I was beside myself in rage. That’s why I brought the finest clothing and jewelry with me. Norah, was it? You just grab whichever you like, so we can show off that we don’t need him.”

&n
bsp; Eve smiles like a wolf, and master doesn’t know how to respond. Makes sense. I’m the only male she’s interested in anyway. Master does look at me after thinking it over, though.

  “Yeah.. it’s not a good idea to just let a sheep have his way.”

  The wolf’s smile on Eve’s face widens as her eyes meet with master’s. I lie on master’s lap, lost in my thoughts about that incident with the stupid sheep they’re talking about. We haven’t been able to travel for a long time, so I’ve been getting a bit anxious, but this carriage is more luxurious than any church so I’m falling asleep. There’s no chill wind blowing through the windows here.

  * * *

  Eve seems to have gained an appreciation for master’s toughness. They haven’t talked much, but it’s hardly been an uncomfortable conversation. I’m getting quite tired of sleeping on master’s lap, though. We’re approaching the next town to pick up another traveler, but it seems like this time we’re going to spend the night here in an inn. But before I can imagine what this next person will be like, I catch a strange scent ahead of us.

  “..what is that smell?”

  “Medicinal stones.”

  “Medicinal.. stones?”

  “This town has many alchemists, and I’ve been told that the person we’re meeting is their chief.”

  Millers, executioners, and shepherds were unpopular, but not even they were as infamous as witches and alchemists. Eve is using the same tone one would use to frighten a child, but master only plays along. In fact, she’s quite disappointed.

  “You’d better get used to it, because you’ll be smelling the same thing in Nyohhira.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Nyohhira’s a famous hot spring town. There’s a lot of springs there in the mountains, some as big as lakes.. and they all smell like this.”

  I can’t believe that for a second, but master seems to take it at face value. She closes her mouth and tries to picture what Eve has said. But come on; who would heat up an entire lake? Eve’s clearly just being colorful.

  Just then, the carriage stops after making a wide circle. The driver hops down from his seat, greets someone, and before anything interesting can happen we hear a knocking on the wooden door of the carriage.