ORIGINAL STORY BY ISUNA HASEKURA
Must be nice to be you.
I'm hungry.
You just ate bread.
That nasty, hard piece of bread doesn't count as food.
If I bought enough food to satisfy you for each meal,
I'd go bankrupt within a week.
As a male, shouldn't you feel honored to be able to spend
your money on someone as cute as me?
If only I could slap that "honor" onto some bread and eat it.
Did I get a rise out of you?
I'm not bread, so I don't rise.
Well?
How long until we get to the next town?
It's on the other side of that hill.
What kind of food will we eat this time?
I want to sink my teeth into some fresh and juicy beef or lamb.
And if I can have something sweet as well, that would be perfect.
We just ate a mountain of apple pies in Pazzio.
After helping you finish all those apples,
I don't want to even smell anything sweet for a while.
That sure was tasty.
That was a new way of eating apples that even I'd never thought of.
Jeez...
Processing apples like that isn't free, you know.
I'll tack that expense onto your debt and...
-Is that it? -Yeah.
That is Poroson.
For us, our one-and-only God has...
What a boring town.
There are no food stalls, after all.
You make it sound like I'm only interested in food.
Want to go listen to a sermon, then?
They're 500 years too early to preach to me.
You should listen to a sermon on living a simple and frugal life.
I am a wolf, after all.
Their sermons are too difficult for me to understand.
Well, their teachings on simplicity and frugality are
unconvincing anywhere outside of this town, anyway.
Huh?
In the city of the church, Ruvinheigen, where we're headed next,
bishops and priests who should be following those
teachings are lining their own pockets.
Did you say, "Ruvinheigen"?
-Do you know it? -Yes.
But the "Ruvinheigen" that I know is a person's name.
Yeah, you're not mistaken.
It's the name of a saint who led an order of holy knights to exterminate pagans.
He was a man with bushy, fiery red hair and a beard
and a stern look on his face.
According to records, that's what he looked like.
They also say his left arm was chewed off when
he fought against pagan gods.
Left arm?
-It was his butt that I bit. -Huh?
As soon as he saw my cute ears and tail,
he started chasing me around, saying that I was sent by the devil.
He got on my nerves,
so I bit into his butt.
It was sinewy and not very tasty.
His butt? I'd be too embarrassed to keep that on record too.
But just so you know...
I only bit him.
I didn't kill him.
You care about that kind of stuff?
It's important.
I guess it is.
All right, let's go to the trading company.
Okay. But before that...
Huh?
Sorry for the wait.
You looked like a nun with that robe on,
but now you look like a regular girl in town.
You won't find a girl as cute as me, though.
But in a boring town like this,
I can't even flaunt it.
We'll head to Ruvinheigen once I sell this pepper to Latparron Trading Company,
so bear with it until then.
Is Ruvinheigen a big town?
It's huge.
It's more of a city than a town. There are lots of stalls too.
-How about apples? -You never get tired of that, do you?
What's delicious, is delicious.
So, how about it?
I don't know about fresh apples.
By now, I think they might be pickled in preparation for winter.
Pickled?
They pickle them in honey.
They also do pears and sometimes peaches, although that's rare.
It's quite expensive, though.
They thinly slice peaches and add a layer of figs and almonds in between.
Then they pour a generous amount of honey over that
and top it off with a bit of ginger.
I've eaten it once.
It's so sweet, the church even considered banning it.
Hey, you're drooling.
But I'm not sure if it'll be there or not.
It's generally for nobles and rich people, so stores don't have them...
If the store has them...
Fine! I'll buy it for you.
Promise?
Yeah...
Well then, let's hurry up!
They might sell out.
I can't have that. We're talking about peaches and honey, you know!
I can't believe it! It's like a dream!
We still don't know if it's available, okay?
But pears sound just as good.
Pagans and devils
are lurking around town without us even noticing.
Believe it or not, the other day,
a mage who manipulates
wolves has started living near Ruvinheigen.
But the church extends mercy to even people like them
and offers forgiveness.
Well then, shall we talk business now?
Thank you.
So, what kind of goods did you bring today?
This, here.
Oh, black pepper?
How did you know?
The scent.
All right, let's weigh it.
Do you have a scale?
No, I don't.
However, I trust in God.
I must say,
you brought that at a very good time.
The demand for black pepper has been soaring recently.
My goodness... If you had come one week earlier, I could've bought it cheaper.
I'm thirsty.
Wait.
Even a saint cannot live without water.
Would you like water?
Or wine?
May I have water?
One moment, please.
It's worth 45 weights.
Where is this pepper from?
This was imported from Ramapata in the Kingdom of Leedon.
The Milone Trading Company imported them.
From Ramapata, huh?
This pepper has traveled quite a long way, hasn't it?
The certificate looks to be real.
Well then, how about we offer one gold Lumione coin
per weight?
What is the spot price of gold Lumione coins?
What currency do you mainly use?
Silver Trenni coins.
Let's see...
It's 32 and 5/6 of a coin. That's the spot price.
That sounds good to me.
Thank you.
What's wrong?
I feel a bit dizzy.
Are you okay?
You must be tired from the long trip.
Everything that I see is tilting to one side.
Master,
it seems I am still dizzy.
Look,
everything appears tilted in my eyes.
Well then, did I drink water or wine?
What I drank was wine.
Isn't that right?
As they say, "The owner of a busy bar does not drink himself."
I see.
The key to having a thriving business is being the only sober one.
-Isn't that right? -No, this is...
It seems I was drunk on alcohol, just like my companion.
So I'll probably forget about a few things that I saw or heard while I was here.
On the other hand, drunkards are known to say outrageous things.
What?
I'll ask for the payment of the pepper that is correctly re-weighed,
plus...
Let's see...
consent to buy double that amount on margin.
That's going too far!
Is that not possible?
That's too bad. I feel like I'm sobering up.
As for the goods...
What about quality armaments?
Armaments?
The annual great northern expedition is coming up soon.
Armaments are a safe and sure way to make a profit, don't you think?
Armaments, huh?
I'm sure you have trading companies that you're on good terms with in Ruvinheigen.
If I sell it to them and offset the loan,
I can pay you back in no time.
What do you think?
Thank you very much.
Well then, can you get the goods ready now?
Okay.
Um, what about the appraisal?
I'll trust you with that.
I have faith in God, after all.
Now then, I am also sobering up.
As long as I get premium wine and dried lamb,
I'll be happy.
There's a place we do business with nearby,
so please order whatever you want.
I will call someone to escort you there.
Poor guy...
I can't believe you noticed that though.
I have good looks, a fine tail, brains,
and good ears and eyes.
I noticed the moment we entered this room.
I guess it's a good enough trick to deceive someone like you.
I have nothing to say to that.
You should be fine on your own from this point on.
I'll go buy food while you finish up.
We have to hurry to Ruvinheigen
for the honey-pickled peaches, after all.
Only enough to get us to Ruvinheigen.
I know! Simple and frugal, right?
That took longer than expected.
Holo isn't back yet?
I hope she doesn't drink until they go bankrupt.
I heard about it during my pilgrimage to the north.
The town was worshipping
a pagan wolf god.
-That was delicious. -Huh?
Don't tell me you ate it all!
Don't worry, there's still more.
What happened to "simple and frugal"?
Well then, now that I'm full, I have to care for my tail.
That's right...
What's up?
When we get to the next town, I'd like some oil.
Oil?
Yes.
I've heard that it's good for tail maintenance.
Buy it for me, will you?
Have you ever calculated your clothes, comb,
travel expenses, and food and drink expenses?
Don't tell me you can't do addition.
I can do addition.
Not just that, I'm also good at subtraction.
Then a smart wisewolf like you
should know my answer.
Yes, I do. You will most likely buy it for me.
After all, you are going to make quite a profit thanks to me.
Buy me oil, will you?
Do you realize how much money you owe me?
Why would I buy you more unnecessary things?
My goodness... Do you want me to pay off my debt that badly?
Of course!
I didn't realize you felt that way...
What do you mean?
Well, if I pay off my debt,
I'll be free to go.
Then I'll just return to the north.
I wonder how Paro and Myuri are doing?
There is no payment deadline for your debt.
It's fine as long as you pay it off before we get to the north forest.
Are you satisfied now?
I'm sure I will pay off my debt by the time we get to the north forest.
So...
The oil, huh?
Buy it for me, will you?
Thank you!
But why did you get armaments?
Because Ruvinheigen is a supply depot for
the great northern expedition against the pagans.
Armaments are hot sellers.
Then we'll make quite the profit.
No, there are many merchants who will be selling them.
So naturally, the interest rate drops.
But with this much stuff, I'm sure we'll make good money.
We'll make enough to buy your oil, I guess.
But if you think about it that way, spices are really great.
You ate it?
I'm not like you. I'm talking about money.
Then you should've just got more spices.
There's not much of a price difference between Ruvinheigen and Poroson.
You actually lose money because of tariffs.
If only I could sell something that is as profitable as spices.
Then I'd have my own shop in no time.
You can't think of anything?
What about jewels or gold?
Those things aren't very profitable in regard to Ruvinheigen.
Why is that?
When you try to import gold into Ruvinheigen,
they impose heavy tariffs.
Do the people in that town not want gold or what?
That's not it.
Merchants who are partnered with the church bring in gold.
The tariffs are reduced for them, after all.
Interesting.
And when they take it to the church in Ruvinheigen,
they can get the gold engraved.
It's then called holy gold and becomes highly valuable.
Basically,
the church and a handful of merchants are monopolizing the profit, huh?
Exactly.
Talk about "holy." It's as filthy as you can get.
Well, if you can manage to smuggle it,
it would sell for ten times more.
Can't we just bring it in secretly?
If we could, everyone would be doing that.
If you're caught, they'll sever your dominant arm, at the very least.
It's not worth the risk, in my opinion.
That's true.
Well, your business is doing good,
so might as well just keep at it.
But a certain someone keeps squandering my hard-earned money.
Hey,
there's a lot of people.
Huh?
To make a detour, we'll have to go down Saint Lyne.
How about this fabric?
Can anybody speak Parousian?
Apparently, down this road...
A mercenary company, who should be in the north, is moving down south.
You can take a detour, but there are wolves roaming about
and recently, there are rumors of a pagan mage who can summon wolves.
So, what is Holo the Wisewolf's opinion?
I've never had a good experience with mercenary companies.
Well, they're troublesome wherever they go.
What about the wolves?
They're easier to handle than humans.
At least I can communicate with them.
Then it's settled.
Nobody is here.
Rumors carry more weight than you think.
Are there any wolves?
Wolves aren't stupid enough to be
spotted that easily in a place that's as open as this.
However...
the kind of human that I hate is ahead of us.
The mage or whatever? What should we do?
It's their job to run away.
There's no reason for us to avoid them.
That's...
A shepherd.
The "mage" they were talking about was a shepherd?
What was that for?
It's a ritual you do when you meet a shepherd.
Now we know that person is not a mage.
I'm Lawrence, a traveling merchant.
She's Holo, my traveling companion.
If it was God's will that we met,
and if you are a good shepherd,
you should know what to do.
Next time, "A Traveling Companion and Sinister Message."
Subtitle translation by: Kiko Morita