Holo’s tail gave a sullen twitch.
“Do you mean to claim that fool was lying?”
“I don’t doubt your ears. But we can’t say anything definitive about the things he didn’t bring up at all, can we?”
Holo pursed her lips.
“Let’s talk about land used for planting wheat, for example. Is it right to keep the forest intact when there isn’t enough land for wheat? By cutting down the trees, villages will thrive, and some people might even be saved from starvation. It’s entirely possible that this Lord Tonneburg and his people both want this, while Meyer is the only one who doesn’t. He came to us for help because he didn’t want to lose his precious woods, right?”
It wasn’t impossible that Lord Tonneburg was thinking of his people first and foremost when he decided to work with the town of Karlan to clear the forests. If that was true, then fulfilling Meyer’s request would ruin those plans.
If that were to happen, it would be very easy for them to track down Lawrence the Nyohhira bathhouse owner, which would obviously cause problems for them in the future.
“Of course, I could simply decide to do this for you, because you always want to protect the forests.”
Holo glanced at Lawrence when he said this, then looked away in a pouty huff.
This wolf was not a wicked pagan spirit that could not care less about humans. She had faithfully kept her promise to a human villager for centuries, presiding over Pasloe’s bountiful wheat harvests.
And because of that, it was unlikely Holo would be any happier if they decided to keep the forest intact only to condemn a great many to poverty.
Lawrence had spent many years in the world of trade—a crossroads of countless interests. Before his eyes, he could see rows upon rows of scales, tipping in every direction, weighed down by various choices.
“Or…,” Lawrence began, deciding to ask just in case. “…was Meyer a spirit?”
If he were, then Lawrence would knock away all the scales on the table and replace it with a war map. He could completely disregard the interests of the human world and fight for the livelihood of the forest with the same enthusiasm he did when he decided to become Holo’s life partner.
Perhaps his intentions had gotten across to her; the fur on her tail perked, but it had apparently been an unconscious motion.
Realizing how her tail had reacted, Holo gave him a hard glare and said with a sigh, “He is human. Though he smells of earth and wood, I also caught the scent of gold and silver coins. Like you.”
If there was one thing that definitively separated Lawrence and Holo, it was not Lawrence’s lack of ears and tail. Nor was it the gap in their lifespan.
It was their differing attitudes toward money, and their attitudes toward loss and profits, which could also be called a sort of faith.
“Thought so. That makes this about trade, then.”
Holo would of course want to jump on a request to save a forest from being cut down, but this was not a remote mountain inhabited by spirits—this was a land that supported human livelihood.
And the mechanisms that made up the human world were complicated.
“You plan to turn him down?”
Her tone was thorny and did not sound genuinely reproachful, but it was a sign that she would not be backing down without a fight. Even Holo, who was the one typically admonishing Lawrence for constantly sticking his nose into trouble, was not going to easily give in when it came to preserving the forests.
And Lawrence, of course, felt responsibility for their actions in Salonia, which had unintentionally affected the Tonneburg Woods—and there was Holo, too.
Yet despite all that, Meyer’s request came with all sorts of concerns that made Lawrence want to decline it.
That was why there was a part of him that wished Holo would lie to him and say that Meyer was not human.
After that thought crossed his mind, he sighed. Though Holo was a heavy drinker and constant snacker and told lies over the silliest things, she would never treat such an important moment lightly. And so, there was only one person here who could fool the selfish former merchant who always put his own safety first.
And that would be the part of him that used to be a smooth-talking businessman.
“Anyway…,” Lawrence began with a deep sigh; one of Holo’s drooping ears pricked upright. “Whether Lord Tonneburg’s decision is right or wrong, there is something strange about the way the town of Karlan is acting.”
Holo’s reddish eyes slowly turned in his direction, wide open.
“The original plan to lower the lumber tariff didn’t go well, so they’ve set their eyes on the Tonneburg Woods looking for cheap lumber. That makes perfect sense from a commerce perspective. But there have been rumors that Karlan might be lowering their own tariffs.”
“Mm…hmm?”
Holo’s expression was complicated, unsure what to make of this news.
“Karlan is letting go of their precious tax revenue. Yet they’re pointing their finger right at Tonneburg in search of cheap lumber. They’ve even come up with a rather expansive plan. On the surface, it doesn’t seem to add up. Because if they don’t have enough money to buy lumber at current prices, then they shouldn’t be so willing to lower their tax revenue.”
Holo dipped her head and looked to Lawrence for a brief moment, before her eyes drifted upward.
“I…suppose that’s true. But are you absolutely certain that Karlan is not going through the same troubles as the other city where you went on a rampage?”
She made a very reasonable point. As expected of the Wisewolf.
Just like how the lumber tariffs in Salonia affected Karlan downriver, Karlan, too, was perhaps nothing more than a passing point for the lumber that would continue traveling to their final destinations elsewhere. That meant it was possible that there were people out there besides those in Salonia and Karlan who had an interest in cheaper lumber and lower tariffs.
“Mm. ’Tis strange, then. Are the lowered tariffs in Karlan affecting lumber alone?”
If anyone asked Lawrence to name what he liked about Holo, he would undoubtedly say that he adored how she was smarter than him.
He cleared his throat, trying to hide his delight.
“From what I’ve heard, it won’t just be lumber, no. That’s why there’s something strange about this. Something big must be going on behind the scenes in town.”
Holo drew up her shoulders, legs still crossed, and grasped at her toes.
“If so, then…what?”
There was an obsequious look in her eyes because she knew that the situation was going to turn out much more complicated than she anticipated, despite how reluctant Lawrence was. That is to say, he had found a reason to turn down Meyer’s request.
In all honesty, that was what Lawrence wanted to do.
But everything could change with a single thought.
“Think about it for a second.”
“Hm…?”
“I’m saying there’s something even bigger looming over this town.”
Perhaps the reason the astute Holo had not noticed was because Lawrence’s attitude had been much too careless. This was a horse dangling a carrot in front of its own nose, after all.
“Karlan has drawn some kind of grand picture, and Tonneburg is about to sadly lose its precious forest. And when things get this big, you know what’s usually hidden in between the lines, right?”
“Mm…”
“A chance to get incredibly rich. Right?”
“Ah.”
When they had journeyed together when Lawrence was still a traveling merchant, Holo would give him a cold stare every night whenever he went wide-eyed thinking about a scheme to earn a heap of coins. Those were his ambitions—and they were entirely gone now.
The reason he had discarded them was because he had found something more important to him than gold, and he wanted to keep that safe.
That something turned out to be Holo—whose wolf ears were flitting this way and that. There was an apologetic, yet expectant look on her face as she peered at him; it was a hard expression for her beloved to ignore.
Lawrence decided to consider this a favor and said, “I’m talking about a whiff of gold, one that’ll attract this former merchant who’s also a massive fool.”
There was a glint in Holo’s eyes, and her tail thumped against the bed like a puppy’s.
Lawrence set his jaw and steeled himself, not letting his expression melt like he wanted.
“I’m going to ask you one more time. You didn’t sense Meyer telling lies or anything, did you?”
Holo’s ears pricked upright at the question, and she shook her head.
“He did not behave as though he was making something up.”
When he got his answer, all Lawrence could do was sigh.
“No hard feelings if it doesn’t turn out the way you want, okay?”
Cutting down the forest might turn out to be for the people’s sake; they might even earn Lord Tonneburg’s ire and have to protect the bathhouse. Or perhaps Karlan was planning something unbelievable, including encroaching on the Tonneburg Woods. Worse, Lawrence and Holo might not even see a single silver coin in profits if they got involved.
Yet the wisewolf, who would live a much longer life than Lawrence, repeated what she told him not too long ago.
“It will still be a part of my memory, traveling with you.”
It did not matter what happened, so long as they were together. No matter how lonely she was, or how bored or pained she was, it was all proof that she was alive now.
A priest might consider it a terribly decadent way of thinking, and it almost sounded like it was just a convenient excuse in their current situation.
And in truth, it was nothing more than an excuse.
It was easy to find pessimism in the world; because of her pessimistic outlook, Holo often found herself wanting to stop traveling with Lawrence. It was Lawrence himself who thrust that mindset of hers aside, and in the end, she found that she truly did wish to spend her life with another.
And when she did at last, she found ahead of her days filled with joy.
“You’re a sly wolf, you know that?”
In the end, perhaps this had always been the obvious choice to begin with.
If either of them lived sensibly and only ever made smart decisions, then they never would’ve walked hand in hand.
“…A wolf never lets go of her prey, you know.”
She took his hand in hers, her smile filled with genuine gratitude.
She was more precious than gold, a reward more decadent than the finest wine.
Lawrence smiled at his own foolishness, tugged on her hand, and pulled her into an embrace.
Then, after that brief moment, they returned to Meyer to tell him they would take on his request.