Spice & Wolf I by Hasekura Isuna Page A

him more, so Lawrence stifled the reply that rose within him.
    “Heh. I daresay you’re a bit more grown than he, though. As for your lad, it seems to me he is lying.”
    Lawrence calmed himself; this confirmed his suspicions. During their conversation in the hall, the young merchant Zheren had spoken to Lawrence about an opportunity for profit.
    There was a certain silver coin in circulation that was due to be replaced by a coin with a higher concentration of silver. If the story was true, the old silver coins were of poorer quality than their replacements, but their face value would be the same. However, when being exchanged for other currencies, the new silver coins would be worth more than the old. If one knew in advance which coin was due to be replaced, one could buy them up in bulk, then exchange them for the new coins, thus realizing what amounted to pure profit. Zheren claimed that he knew which coin among all those circulating in the world would be replaced, and would share the information in exchange for a piece of the profit. Since Zheren would certainly have made the same offer to other merchants, Lawrence could not simply swallow the story whole.
    Holo stared into space as if thinking back on the conversation, then popped the piece of potato into her mouth and swallowed it.
    “I don’t know which part is a lie, though, nor do I understand the finer points of the conversation.”
    Lawrence nodded and considered. He had not actually expected that much from Holo.
    Assuming that the transaction itself wasn’t a lie, Zheren must be lying about the coins, somehow.
    “Well, currency speculation isn’t rare in and of itself. Still...”
    “You don’t understand why he’s lying .. . no?”
    Holo plucked a bud from the surface of her potato and ate the rest. Lawrence sighed.
    He had to admit that she’d long since gotten control of him. “When someone’s lying, what’s important is not the content of the lie, but the reasoning behind it,” she said.
    “How many years do you think it took me to understand that?”
    “Oh? You may have called that Zheren person a lad, but you’re both the same to me,” said Holo proudly.
    In times like these, Lawrence wished Holo did not look so frustratingly human. To think that the youthful Holo had long understood the principles that he had suffered so much to grasp was too much for him to take.
    “If I were not here, what would you do?” asked Holo.
    “First I’d work out whether it was true or not, then I’d pretend to believe his story.”
    “And why is that?”
    “If it’s true, I can turn a profit just by going along with it. If it’s a lie, then someone somewhere is up to something—but I can still come out ahead if I keep my eyes and ears open.”
    “Mm. And given that I am here, and I’ve told you he’s lying, then…”
    “Hm?”
    Lawrence finally realized what had been eluding him.
    “Ah.”
    “Heh. See, there was nothing over which to agonize so. Either way you’ll be pretending to accept his proposal,” said Holo, grinning. Lawrence had no retort.
    “I’ll be taking that last potato,” said Holo, snatching the potato from the table.
    For his part, Lawrence was too abashed to even split the potato he held in his hand.
    “I am Holo the Wisewolf! How many times longer do you think I have lived than you?”
    Lawrence’s mood only worsened with her concern for his feelings. He took a vindictive bite out of his potato.
    He felt like an apprentice traveling with his teacher all over again.
     
    The next day was beautiful with clear autumn skies. The church awoke still earlier than the merchants, so by the time Lawrence rose, the morning routine was already finished. Lawrence anticipated this and was unsurprised, but when he went out to the well to wash his face, he was shocked to see Holo walking out of the worship hall with the members of the Church. She had her head bowed and was wearing her cloak, but even so she stopped frequently to chat