Please! I'm begging you!
I've had enough of you!
Are you that desperate for money?
You don't have to pay me back.
Just don't ever show up here again.
Thank you.
ORIGINAL STORY BY ISUNA HASEKURA
Good to see you back so early.
Holo.
I'm sorry.
This is the money I was able to gather myself.
I still need more than 40 Lumione,
but there's nothing else I can do.
The only other option I can think of is gambling.
But if this ends up in the right hands,
it can possibly double or triple.
So I'm going to entrust that money to you.
If things don't end up working out in the end,
you might as well use that money.
It won't make much of a difference even if
my debt increases a little.
Hey! We're going to lock up already!
You fool! Get back here already.
Huh?
Um...
My friend threw a wallet at me from the window.
Give me a break...
What a fool...
I'm sorry.
That money...
How did you scrape that together?
Do you want to know?
What were you going to do if I took that precious money and ran away?
That's half of the reason why I was gathering the money.
If I can't fulfill
my contract with you because of my mistake,
leaving you money for your journey is the least...
You were going to leave me money for my journey?
‪Yeah...
What are you even thinking?!
It's my fault!
If I hadn't been there, they would've lent you money!
You should be angrier about that!
I... I...
No, I was in the wrong.
You came with me because you were worried.
How could I get mad at you for that...
You... fool!
-You... -Watch out!
You're...
such a softie.
A softie?
You are.
You weren't able to borrow money because I was with you.
And yet...
Well, I slapped your hand away.
And that was out of line.
I selfishly forced you to take me with you.
So you have every right to get mad at me if that ruined everything.
But when you
apologize to me like that despite all that, I... I...
I'm sorry.
When I slapped your hand away,
I honestly felt like I made an irreversible mistake.
I didn't think you'd forgive me no matter how much I apologized.
That's why I wanted to do whatever I could.
If that backfired, I'm sorry.
Hey...
Just tell me one thing.
Why are you such
a softie?
It's just my personality.
You...
Huh?
I can't believe it! You're such an unbelievable softie!
You fool!
Your "personality"? Did you just say, "personality"?
Any respectable male would have said something like,
"because I love you" even if it was a lie, you fool!
I'm sorry! I actually...
-Let me tell you something. -Huh?
Sometimes, I want you to say it even if it's a lie.
Sometimes, it's just
too late to say it anymore and it makes me want to punch you in the face.
Which one do you think applies to me now?
The latter?
You're really a one-of-a-kind softie, aren't you?
How many males out there would
refuse to say things that would pull a female's heartstrings like,
"I love you," or, "You're special to me."
I know exactly what went through your mind.
But I guess
I am able to travel with you carefree, because you are such a softie.
Maybe it's unreasonable to ask for everything.
But even still, I wish you had said it.
So, let's try again.
Why are you such a softie?
Because you are special to me.
Jeez, what are we even doing?
You're the one who made me do it.
Well, it was good practice for you, wasn't it?
My goodness...
-But you know... -Huh?
From next time, let me get mad.
I appreciate you thinking about me,
but sometimes problems can be fixed faster
if we just get mad at each other and vent it out.
Okay.
But you made the right decision by betting on my wisdom.
After all, I have a good idea.
What? What is it?
Huh?
Please wait here.
You have me.
Yeah.
You have something important to talk about?
Smuggling gold?
-You must be joking. -I'm serious.
People on the verge of bankruptcy tend to mistakenly believe
that the most reckless plans are flawless.
What if we have someone highly skilled to smuggle the gold?
The plan you shared with me is impossible.
Highly skilled people
already make enough money without having to smuggle gold.
What if this person was
highly skilled and not making much money?
If they're skilled,
they should be able to find work in this town.
What if this person is skilled and has a job in this town,
but it's low-paying and to top it off, they're in need of money?
What's important
is the fact that this person is unhappy with their employer.
And this person's employer is the church.
If we say they can get revenge
on the church by smuggling gold,
they will jump at this chance for sure.
They will not betray us.
Then why don't you guys smuggle the gold on your own?
There's no reason for you to come to me.
There are two reasons. One is that
the payment deadline for the debt that I owe
this company is today.
The other reason
is that I only have this much money on me.
I ran around town all day and scraped up
3 and 2/7 Lumione.
This is all that I have.
I want you to believe me, with this as collateral.
I also want you to postpone my debt payment
and provide the funds needed to purchase the gold.
What?
Excuse me,
but do you have time to be contemplating?
It seems like another person left your company just now.
Can you afford to be wasting time?
My hearing is exceptionally good,
so I can hear people talking in secret.
Would you like to know how the people downstairs are planning
to run away just by themselves?
"This company suffered a huge loss from the armament market crash.
"Let's run away from here. There's no future for us here."
"Go and tell everyone else."
That's what they're saying. At this rate, your company...
Please stop!
Mr. Remelio, what do you think?
If you don't mind waiting on my payment
and giving me a reasonable cut of the profit,
it's not a bad deal for you at all, in my opinion.
What do you think, Mr. Remelio?
Let's do it.
Let's pray that God overlooks us.
Call Liebert.
Who knew he had enough saved up to buy gold, though.
Any trading company should have funds
that they protect no matter what, so they can get back on their feet.
I thought I could get that out of them.
-I see. And so... -Huh?
Will you be able to seduce the girl?
You make it sound so bad.
Am I wrong?
Not really.
You're such a softie.
But again, I am able to travel carefree
thanks to the fact that you're a softie.
So, I can persuade the girl for you.
I should do something for you, at least.
You still feel bad about yesterday?
No.
I don't know how
that negotiation would've gone if you hadn't pressured Remelio.
You're already doing a lot for me.
Really?
It was my fault that I was
blinded by greed and got involved in a market that crashed.
I will get her to agree myself.
Plus, if I ask for your help with something like this,
I can't imagine what you'll make me do later.
Oh, too bad.
I wanted to make you feel indebted to me so I can get you to repay me later.
That was close.
I was about to fall for your trap.
Hello!
Huh?
Mr. Lawrence and Ms. Holo?
It must be God's will that we chanced
upon each other at the church.
Even I won't fall for that.
That's good.
I hear that some people these days drink too much wine at church.
I can't drink much alcohol, so I barely drink.
Anyway, um...
Actually, I have a job offer.
Really?
How about we change locations?
Okay.
To our reunion.
So, you are able to go all the way to Lamtra, right?
Yes, I can.
Even with your sheep?
As long as there aren't too many.
I want to hire you for a certain job.
The pay will be 20 Lumione.
T... Twenty?
But that is only if it's a success.
It's a dangerous job and you won't get paid if it fails.
The job requires you to walk your sheep
and bring them back safely.
It won't require any more skills from you as a shepherd.
Then why...
However... However, there is a big risk.
A risk big enough to make it worth the pay.
The fee to join a guild for tailors is one Lumione at most.
If you have 20, you won't have to worry about living expenses for a while.
You can even easily buy the title of "master."
Then you will be the master of "Norah's Clothing Store."
Oh, that reminds me. Will you be joining a guild in this town?
No, I was thinking of going to another town.
Oh, really?
Wouldn't this town be better, since it's larger than others?
I'm sure it will be hard to settle down in a town with no acquaintances.
But I guess you'd want to stay away from this town's church.
That's not... true...
The more diligently you work,
and the more you protect
the precious sheep they entrust you with,
the more they suspect you of using pagan magic.
Am I wrong?
And they're trying to force you to reveal your "true identity"
by sending you to areas where other shepherds would never go.
The priests are probably going to
keep sending you to dangerous areas
until you are attacked by wolves or mercenaries.
They will do that day after day, while suspecting you of being a pagan.
I've been through something similar. Let me be honest with you.
This church is worse than pigs.
So here is the plan we came up with.
It entails causing a little bit of trouble for the church
while making some money, and then moving to another town.
It's smuggling gold.
What?
But what can I possibly do?
As you know, this town is
terribly strict when it comes to cracking down on gold smuggling.
Yes.
We're thinking of secretly bringing large amounts of gold
into this town by hiding the gold in the bellies of the sheep.
I see.
In towns that are under the influence of this town's policies,
gold is sold at exorbitant prices.
But there is one exception.
That is the pagan town of Lamtra.
The safe route from Lamtra has a lot of traffic
and other shepherds claimed that territory from a long time ago.
That is the reason why I chose you.
Hardly anyone passes your area
and you won't look suspicious roaming around with sheep.
And on top of that, that road is the shortest route to Lamtra.
And for you personally,
this plan is the perfect chance to get back at the church.
After all, aside from donations,
the church's biggest source of income is gold.
But a horrible punishment awaits you if they find out.
And you will also need to leave town after this job, just to be safe.
However, the payout is 20 Lumione.
I'd love to take the job.
I look forward to working with you.
Me too.
Well then, let's go over the details.
Why don't you act a little happier?
It went well, after all.
No matter how profitable it is,
nothing is worth gambling your life for.
That's true.
That kind of negotiating that stresses the profit so much is something conmen do.
They say signing a bad contract is your own fault,
but that only applies to fellow merchants. Look at her.
She's just a shepherd!
You are so hopelessly soft.
That girl
is not a sheep that can only be chased and devoured as prey.
She's a bold sheep who willingly jumped into
a herd of wild animals with determination.
She might actually be another animal in sheep's clothing.
I hate to say this,
but she's a good shepherd.
And you are not so bad yourself.
If you say so.
But I must say, you are surprisingly skilled.
Of course, I am.
Be careful not to get lured in by me.
I'll look forward to that.
Well, I just have to do my best so that everyone can smile in the end.
That's a reasonable goal. However...
Wouldn't it be better if the two of us can chuckle to ourselves in the end?
That's a tempting idea,
but I'd rather see everyone smile.
You're a softie, through and through.
-Is that bad? -Of course not.
Next time, "The Wolf's Forest and Cold Rain."
Subtitle translation by: Kiko Morita