A brisk, clear sky extended beyond the open window.
As Lawrence sat staring over the town, a gentle breeze, smelling faintly of the sea, brushed over his cheek.
The soft sounds of a comb running through fur tickled his ears, and an occasional sweet fragrance drifted past him and out the window.
He turned back to look into the room to see Holo tending to her tail, so thick and luxurious with fur that it would shock even a noble’s daughter, with three bottles of expensive oils lying beside her on the bed.
He could almost hear Elsa scolding him; but as he watched Holo absently, he continued to think.
After the meeting from the previous night, Eve had said to him, “No matter what happens, conflict with Kerube is unavoidable.”
Though she had not drunk to excess, Holo had still consumed enough that she was wheedling him for attention; and when he took her back to the inn, he had finally gotten the entire picture of the situation in his head, and it weighed on him.
What sat before him was not a simple situation where a regional lord’s personal forest was being sold off. It was a situation that would affect the flow of trade for the entirety of the region well into the future, and even had to do with Col’s fight against the Church, which had effectively split the world in two.
This was not something a mere bathhouse owner should be sticking his neck into, but for some reason, he had connections with each of the major parties in play. And more importantly, he was the one who lit the spark by preventing the lowering of lumber tariffs in Salonia.
If Lawrence had any faith, then he would consider this a God-given trial.
“I must add more pages to my journal.”
But his wolf wife spoke of other matters in response to his musings. She was in a better mood after speaking with Eve the previous night.
She was somewhat shy, so knowing that she was in familiar company allowed her to talk freely about Col, Myuri, and even memories of Kerube rather than feel obligated to discuss the unfamiliar likes of Tonneburg and Karlan.
She was occasionally more maiden-like than her own daughter, but that was something she often forgot.
“Just because we know all these people, that doesn’t mean this is going to be a carefree affair. We’re up against real merchants here.” Lawrence stepped away from the window, sat down on his bed, and looked over at Holo in the bed beside his. “Kieman almost killed Eve during the narwhal incident, but the moment their interests aligned, they started working together. He will be a genuine enemy if our interests conflict again.”
Holo lightly furrowed her brow as though surprised by the reminder.
“But it did not seem as though she was lying when she spoke of little Col and that fool Myuri.”
Her tone when she said “I’m worried,” seemed forced, but that had apparently been her genuine feelings on the matter.
“In my perspective, it does not seem like she chases profit at the cost of everything else anymore. Which, I feel, means this will not lead to the trouble she might have once caused.”
Holo ran her hand through her tail one final time, pleased with how glossy it was.
“On a personal level, sure. But both Eve and Kieman are merchants who have always chased what they think will be big game.”
Holo, her tail still in her hand, went blank for a brief moment. That was because Lawrence had been laying the groundwork to become a great merchant in the Debau Company, yet it was her own fault that his access to that path was cut off. And that bothered her. That praiseworthy look on her face, one he saw not too long ago, tickled him; he continued.
“Big doesn’t always mean better.”
As he said that, he considered how Holo may have seemed a slender girl, but her true form was a towering wolf.
“When things get big, then all sorts of other things get tangled up in it, even if it has nothing to do with your own personal motivations. Think of a bull in a porcelain shop.”
“A bull?” Holo blinked.
“Try and picture a huge bull in a small shop full of porcelain. That can only end in tragedy.”
“Mm.”
“It means that bigger things will also make things a lot tighter.”
Holo would certainly understand—she had been under immense pressure when humans decided she was a divine being and worshipped her purely because of the majesty of her powerful wolf form. Perhaps taking on the appearance of a delicate girl and letting others dote on her as much as she liked was a sort of retaliation.
“Kieman represents Kerube, and Eve is working for Col. There might not be a lot of room for either of them to factor in their personal feelings. Even if they wanted to compromise or concede in certain ways, everyone else around them won’t let them do that.” Lawrence lay down on the bed as he spoke. “If Eve wanted to get serious about this, then she would pull Karlan’s plan together in an instant with the force of a thunderclap. Both Matthias and Meyer are good people, and looking at the tavern back in Karlan, I’d say the merchants they’re working with are just as positive as they are. The tavern owners are inviting in people of high status and even learning how to cook new dishes in order to help their city grow—that’s not something you hear about very often. If a bad person like Eve wanted to, she could take control of this entire situation.”
Holo had some personal opinions when it came to how optimistic people walked without ever watching their step. She gave a thoughtful nod.
“Then, once she’s used clever ways to settle the matter, she would collect her profits, not caring what problems she caused on the way out, then totally vanish. But she’s not doing that. She’s letting things play out as they will, which means I think she’s genuinely doing this for Col’s sake.”
Eve had apparently asked Holo what it felt like to create a weakness for oneself as they sat in the baths together.
Eve had acted the part of wounded wolf and bared her fangs, making the whole world her enemy, yet before her a larger wolf walked alongside a foolish sheep just a few paces ahead of her.
Something about that must have seemed ridiculous to her.
Her guards had been hard at work, and the dancing girl had genuinely enjoyed dancing.
Eve had come out of the hollow of her tree, found allies she could trust, and changed the way she interacted with the world.
“But she’s letting Kerube get in the way because of it. That’s what I think, at least.”
“Mm. But how exactly are they getting in the way? Kerube is not close enough that the shadow of their house darkens Karlan’s home. There is quite a distance between the two cities, so why do they feel the need to fight?”
From Holo’s perspective, who knew just how lively Kerube could be, Karlan was a small little place that was completely eclipsed by the other city on several levels. She did not understand why the massive Kerube would be genuinely angry if Karlan were to expand its trading area by just a small bit.
“Kerube was originally a port city that thrived off fur and lumber that came from Lenos. And so the trade makeup in Kerube and Karlan is already very similar. If they both participate in sea trade, then the products they deal in would only grow even more similar. There’s nothing more unpleasant to have in a trade rival than this, and I bet they’re already competing daily for wool from the kingdom.”
Wool was Winfiel’s special export, and it was valued in markets throughout the world. It was considered a product that brought in endless profits. The more you could get, the better.
Eve’s main business these days was the wool trade, and she was apparently moving wool for a number of trading companies. Though she might not be using her connection with Col for nefarious purposes, there was no doubt she was shrewdly claiming the most favorable position as the merchant who stood closest to the Twilight Cardinal, who in turn held sway over the trends of the kingdom.
So when Karlan decided to become a bigger city, it was unlikely that determination of theirs had much effect on Eve. The biggest reason she was here was because she wanted to buy Karlan’s favor for cheap, sell her wool at a high price, and get as much lumber as she possibly could.
And nothing was infinite, so she was likely deducting the increased portion of wool imported to Karlan from Kerube’s allotment.
“You merchants are truly fools. None of you have any flexibility.”
It was a sound statement, but Holo was the sort to grab everything for herself when served delicious food at a tavern. Lawrence smiled as he gazed at her, and she returned it with a sharp glare.
“Is there something you wish to say?”
“Nothing at all.” Lawrence shrugged and continued, “And I think the one spurring this on might be Eve, who might be provoking Kerube deliberately, to a degree.”
“…”
Holo’s shapely brows arched like a cat’s long tail.
“Kerube is the oldest port city in this region, and of the biggest scale. That means they’re a powerful trade partner for the wool merchants from the kingdom. Not only that, Kerube deals in lumber from Lenos, too. The kingdom merchants don’t have forests back home—they probably don’t have much room to negotiate when dealing with Kerube.”
“Do you mean that because they are taken advantage of in the lumber trade, they return the favor when the time comes to trade in wool?”
Lawrence shrugged, and Holo seemed tired of the incessant fights in the human world.