Spice & Wolf II (36 page)

A territorial dispute.

Given that, the actions Holo took to “let things go peaceably” became clearer and clearer.

A wisewolf would never stumble clumsily over a stone, dirtying her knees.

“No, listen. That was all well and good. I am Holo the Wisewolf.

If I am made to act like a mere dog, I—I shall still not be angry. But what is this? This soaked mouse standing in front of me, face swollen, covered in mud? Has my companion been so foolish as to trip and fall? And with burns on his wrists! Oh, indeed. Before me is a fine fool, who doesn’t give a second thought to his own appearance but protects my robe against the rain with his life. A dunce indeed! I’ve no idea what to do with such unbelievable soft heartedness.”

Holo gave her whole speech in one long breath, then inhaled deeply as she rubbed her eyes. “Well, then. I take it we’re off to Ruvinheigen?” she said, suddenly back to her normal self.

Her arms and legs were covered with scratches and trembled. Lawrence didn’t think it was because of the cold. This was Holo when she was truly angry.

“If we go now, we can enter the city under cover of darkness. The master always takes responsibility for betrayal. This is the truth of the world.”

Holo thrust her robe back at Lawrence, then untied the opening of the leather pouch around her neck, and popped a few grains of wheat into her mouth. There was no hesitation.

“Wait, there’s Liebert and Norah,” interjected Lawrence, now that he finally had an opportunity to speak.

Holo’s eyebrows shot up. “Think it through. Betrayal demands revenge. Sin must have punishment. But plunging in without thinking will give us no satisfaction. We can’t be satisfied until we’ve taken everything from them. Do you not agree? Consider. If we attack the lot that came for you, dealing with the gold afterward becomes difficult. But we’ll go first to the master’s house and make him good and sorry, then strike at the ones who so happily betrayed you. Then, we have but to butcher the sheep, take the gold, and go wherever we may please. I daresay this is the best plan.”

Despite her anger, Holo’s mind was as clear and agile as ever. Her plan almost entirely eclipsed Lawrence’s.

However, there was a reason he had to abandon this excellent plan.

“I feel the same way, but we must first get to Liebert—and quickly.”

“You have a better plan?” asked Holo after gulping down the grains of wheat.

Her expression was unreadable, and Lawrence got the feeling that if he misspoke here, he would feel the full force of whatever swirled behind that mask.

Nonetheless, he could not abandon Norah.

“The Remelio Company plans to murder Norah.”

Holo smiled thinly. “Yes, and those fools planned to kill you as well, yet you lived. She, too, may survive, don’t you think?”

“If you go to save her, she will definitely be safe.”

“Is that so?”

Lawrence found himself faintly irritated at Holo’s mischievous look.

Why was she acting like this?

Time was short. If Norah and Liebert ran through the night, they might make it through the checkpoint to Ruvinheigen before dawn. And if it came to that, Norah would be killed shortly thereafter.

The probability was high.

“You could defeat a hundred armed men in a flash, could you not?” asked Lawrence impatiently, but Holo only shook her head slowly.

“That is not the problem.”

Then what is the problem
, Lawrence wanted to say.

“I am a wolf. The girl is a shepherd. We are eternal antagonists.”

For just a moment, Lawrence wondered why Holo was dragging that out again now, but then he realized something important.

If Holo attacked Liebert and the others in her wolf form, it was quite possible that Norah would try to protect them.

In that case, there was a risk that Liebert would kill Norah, so could Holo explain that she was only there for the Remelio men? Would Norah even accept that?

If she didn’t, Holo would wind up playing the villain.

Even in the best of times, Holo hated shepherds. It was obvious that she did not want to go to such lengths just to save Norah, and Lawrence couldn’t force her to.

“I know there’s nothing in it for you—far from it, in fact. But can I not ask this of you? An innocent person is about to die, and I can’t just turn the other way.”

Holo looked askance irritably as Lawrence tried to convince her. She was the only one who could save Norah.

“I’ll owe you some thanks, of course.”

Holo twitched one ear and looked at him.

“...What sort of thanks?”

“As long as you don’t say anything like ‘In exchange for her life,’ I’ll give you whatever I can,” said Lawrence, trying to strike out the possibility of Holo making such a demand.

Upon hearing his words, her face turned severe; she had probably been planning to do just that.

“Please. You’re the only one.”

Holo’s face stayed as irritated as ever as she lazily waved her sodden tail with discontent. She held her leather wheat pouch in her hand and folded her arms, exhaling whitely in the cold air.

“Holo...”

Lawrence knew there was a limit to what he could do. Moreover, Holo had endured humiliation in order that his gold smuggling could proceed.

She had dirtied her knees and been made, she said, to act like a dog—he could imagine any number of awful appearances that might have been forced on her.

Then having endured that humiliation, she finds that her partner has been betrayed and made to look like a fool.

He couldn’t criticize her and was already thankful that she was willing to assume her wolf form and strike at the Remelio Company. Asking for any more was the height of selfishness.

Holo exhaled a puff of air.

She smiled, looking almost resigned.

“Come now, don’t use that voice with me,” she said, heaving a sigh. “Here, take this. Also, I suppose I’d best take off my clothes. It would be troublesome to arrange for new ones.”

“You’ll do it?”

“There is a condition,” said Holo as she undid the sash that held her trousers up. Her expression was unreadable.

Lawrence gulped and waited.

“You’ll understand if I don’t guarantee the lives of those who bother me.”

If Norah took Holo for an enemy and protected Liebert and company, she would be spared no mercy, in other words.

He couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.

No—she was surely serious.

Holo had spoken without particularly looking at Lawrence. Her breathing was neither fast nor slow.

Lawrence mustered all of his business cunning in response. “Very well. I trust you.”

Puffs of white vapor appeared as Holo laughed as if giving in. “You’ve gotten quite clever. Exactly what sort of troublesome fellow am I traveling with?”

She shook her head lightly and quickly took off her blouse and trousers. She then kicked off her shoes roughly and, after collecting them, tossed them at Lawrence.

“What, no words of admiration yet?” she said, putting a hand to her hip, turning around, and looking over her shoulder.

It was a small price to pay.

“It’s a magnificent tail,” Lawrence said.

“Mm, that was a bit monotone, but I suppose it will do.”

Holo turned to face him. “Now, then, be so kind as to close your eyes.”

She had no problems being nude, but evidently she did not want him to witness her transformation.

Lawrence had no desire to oppose Holo on this. His feelings on the matter were complicated as he well knew from the Pazzio incident.

He closed his eyes and waited.

Soon there was a murmuring sort of rumble, like a great throng of mice running, and it was followed by the sound of something growing larger. Then he heard the shifting of something huge waving to and fro in the air and finally the heavy footfalls of a large animal.

Lawrence felt hot breath on his face.

When he opened his eyes, there was a gigantic mouth directly in front of him.

“
If you’d flinched, I was thinking of eating your head first.
”

“Well, it is fairly frightening,” answered Lawrence honestly as Holo’s red-tinged irises seemed to stare right through him.

He trusted her, after all.

Perhaps she smiled a bit with her well-fanged mouth. There was a slight snarl.

“
Shall I carry you in my mouth or on my back, then?
”

“Spare me your mouth, please.”

“
You might find it surprisingly comfortable.
”

“I might be tempted by the warmth and find myself in your stomach.”

“
Hee-hee-hee. Come, on my back now. Grab on to my fur; it won’t hurt. Hold on as tightly as you need.
”

Holo’s body had a mysterious heat to it, like standing by a campfire.

Lawrence faltered a bit at her intimidating aura, which seemed to make even the rain move aside, but once he had roughly wrapped up her clothes and slung them under his arm, he did as he was told and, grabbing her fur, climbed atop the great wolf.

She had an animalistic scent to her, unlike a human, but it was distinctly Holo nonetheless.

“
If you fall, I’ll snatch you up in my jaws.
”

“I’ll make sure not to.”

He could tell that she smiled.

“
You know—
”

“What?”

“
I truly hate shepherds.
”

For a moment, Lawrence didn’t know why she bothered repeating this, but when he realized it was simply her true feelings, he pointed one thing out.

“Norah knows that whether this job succeeds or fails, she’ll have to give up shepherding.”