Chapter 107

The first thing Col thought of when he heard the phrase “the northern wolves” was Eve and the Debau Company. When it was agreed the monastery would be built as an annex to Sharon’s orphanage, they had struck a bargain. Since they would be borrowing money from Eve, Eve would get priority when it came to hiring out the exceptional children from the orphanage who could read and write. Col thought that if Eve’s company was big enough to support Sharon’s orphanage, then the even bigger Debau Company could give money to support even more boys. “Mister Hilde and the Debau Company originally worked with Heir Hyland in order to widen their market. They must always be in need of talented workers.” “You’ve gotta station new soldiers at a new fort, after all.” In her mind, Myuri was picturing a war of encampment or something of the sort, and companies establishing branches in new regions in order to take over was, indeed, very similar. “Was Lutia shocked?” Col wondered if she was referring to the skill he had that brought them straight to a solution for a problem that could not be solved within the bounds of the city. Regardless, Myuri must have felt some sort of rivalry with Lutia, and she asked because she wanted to know for certain just how well she had done in this battle. “She was impressed.” In truth, Lutia had been so bewildered by the idea that Myuri would certainly jump for joy if she knew, but Col said nothing to preserve Lutia’s honor. And just because Lutia herself had not been able to find a solution, that did not mean Lutia was lacking. Col and Myuri had simply traveled a different path. “Hmm. Then the problem should be solved for the minute, but…” Satisfied they had been able to show Lutia just how amazing they were, Myuri sat on the bed to relax. But when she lifted her legs to fold them in front of her, she crossed her arms and pouted. “We didn’t get Chicken’s friends to bring the letter to Mister Hilde, did we? It’s gonna take so long to get there.” Aquent was very far from the northern city in which the Debau Company made their home. Following the human systems that made up society, it would be a very long while before the letter reached Hilde and they received a response. “We have Mister Le Roi’s eyes.” “Mm-hmm… I don’t think he would be very shocked if he learned what Mother and I really were.” Col had the same impression; he was more likely to pen an account with great fascination instead. “Never mind us. That might expose Miss Lutia’s true nature, and it might get Miss Sharon involved in all of this as well.” In the face of all of society’s red tape, Myuri shrugged her slender shoulders. “Okay, then next we need to find friends for you.” Originally, Col was going to search for scholars in the city, but Lutia and her gang were looking for scholars who would be willing to grant them degrees gratis. And those were likely people who made it a principle to live in honest poverty, so their ideals probably ran close to his and Hyland’s. “Lutia said she would put us in contact with any scholars who come to mind.” “People who don’t want money, right? I’m sure they’ll help us. There’s a surprising number of weirdos who you’d get along with, Brother,” Myuri said, astonished. The reason her skin had such a lustrous glow was because she was bursting at the seams with worldly desires. “But Lutia said those people had some kind of complicated problem of their own, right?” She stretched over the bed like a cat, perhaps as a reaction to having crawled through tight spaces. “No matter the sort of professor, calling them to the city still costs money. We would need to pay for their food, their housing, and the minimum tuition fees. And we would have to come up with the joining fee for the professors’ guild when they do join.” “………” It was plainly written all over Myuri’s face that she thought the whole thing was a bother. “So even if they do sympathize with Lutia’s plight and ideas, it would not be easy to bring someone over who has already established roots in another city.” Not only that, but if they were to come to dismantle Aquent’s professors’ vested interests, then they would have to be more than ready to make the change. Lutia and her gang had apparently been in talks with a few candidates, but Col could understand exactly why these talks were going so slowly and nothing was happening. “If we find people who are full of that same sense of justice that you have, then we just need to tell them they’ll be raking the evil Church over the coals with the great Twilight Cardinal and the Silver Knight.” She had deliberately added great to his title, and it would be foolish for him to ask who the “Silver Knight” was referring to. As much as he wanted to tell her there was no one as reckless in the world as she was, he figured it would be a little too difficult for her to understand that. “Oh, why don’t you become a professor, Brother?” “I’m sorry?” He gave her a cold look, unsure of what sort of nonsense she was going on about this time, but it rolled off her back. “Oh yeah, that’d be a great idea! That way you could also give Lutia a…degree…thing? And then she could use that to solve her house problem, and then she could come with us to the desert!” The adventure-loving Myuri turned her gaze to the horizon from which the sun rose, dreaming of the far-off desert lands. “Oh, but then that would make you Lutia’s teacher…” Myuri’s lips and wolf ears abruptly turned downward. “I don’t think I like that.” Col was not sure what Myuri thought a student-teacher relationship entailed, but regardless, it seemed she was uneasy thinking about another wolf intruding on her territory. “I’m not sure how I’d feel if Canaan was learning from you, either.” Canaan had nothing but praise for the Twilight Cardinal, and Myuri did not seem to like that very much. She was just like a child who wanted to stake her claim on a toy the moment someone else showed interest in it, even if she did not normally care very much for it. “Oh yeah, did you send a letter to Canaan? He’s looking into that battle you’re going to have with the Church, right?” “Not battle. Ecumenical council.” The eye roll was always palpable in Myuri’s tone when she said Church, so perhaps picturing herself swinging her sword about at the council was her way of making herself feel better for not being able to take part in the jousting tournament. “I left Archivist Canaan a letter detailing the reasons why we will be going to Canaan before we left the Kingdom of Winfiel. I believe he should have the letter by now, and he should be putting together a reply.” Considering how important the ecumenical council was, that it took place only once every century, Canaan likely had his hands full looking into it. Col prayed that God would watch over Canaan as he worked, and Myuri gave him a flat look. She ran her fingers through her tail, pulling out a clump of fur, and picked at it. “A reply, hmm?” Col looked to Myuri, unsure of what she meant by that, but the wolf was completely relaxed, having bathed after a bout of work, and she was already under the covers. She began snoring softly before long. And with a sigh, Col started picking up the clothes she had strewn about the room.