Spice & Wolf Omnibus

by Isuna Hasekura

  And also perhaps because the swelling in her face made her appear extremely displeased.

  The shabby princess’s name was Holo.

  And, of course, Holo was not a princess, although there was every possibility she had once been called a queen, perhaps somewhere in the far north.

  Atop Holo’s head sprouted a pair of proud, pointed wolf ears, and from her waist grew a majestic puff of a tail.

  Though she currently appeared to be a teenage girl, her true form was that of an enormous wolf, large enough to eat a full-grown man in a single bite. She called herself a wisewolf and had lived for centuries among the wheat, guaranteeing a good harvest.

  Yet despite her lineage, which was as proud as any dynasty of kings, when he saw her like this, he could understand why the villagers who had prayed to her for a good harvest had finally ceased to rely on her.

  It was true, he had to admit, that her vaunted dignity and authority vanished once she had him feed her, her hair still bed mussed.

  That said, the idea that she had opened her heart to him enough that she didn’t mind looking unsightly in his presence held a certain appeal.

  Lawrence could only regard it as a telling action on her part.

  After all, while this was the second time she had indulged in having him feed her, he still had no memory of her ever thanking him.

  This time around, she acted as if the act was the most natural thing in the world, and once she finished eating, she belched loudly, then twitched her ears. Her gaze was distant. Perhaps she was remembering something.

  A moment later, her brow furrowed in displeasure.

  “Who would ever conceive of a wisewolf complaining of muscle pain?” she asked as he tidied the dishes, her eyes returning to the here and now. “For me to be so frail, you must think me… ngh…” said Holo, trying to lean her head forward and failing.

  Throughout the previous day, Holo had sprinted across the wilderness carrying Lawrence on her back with one other, the wandering boy student, Col.

  Perhaps she was happy at being able to run her heart out in the sunlight, but when they’d arrived at the inn, she was so exhausted she couldn’t climb the stairs to their room – and yet up until she fell asleep, her eyes had glittered with a strange excitement.

  She had scarcely rested while running, waiting for Lawrence and Col – who merely clung to her back – to cry out for a break.

  Holo, in her endless desire to run, had seemed less like a prudent, careful wolf and more like a dog released onto a field. Lawrence had meant to be sarcastic about it, but when he praised her fleetness of foot, her faced swelled with a pride unlike any she had ever shown before.

  In her huge wolf form, she was covered in coarse hair that seemed composed of silver wire, and when she sat proudly, he felt a presence from her that was truly worthy of the label “god.”

  But when she was so genuinely pleased at his sarcastic praise, he couldn’t help but let slip a rueful grin.

  Holo had been worshiped for centuries as a harvest god, so she probably couldn’t help how much she enjoyed expressing herself with childlike openness – and unless Lawrence interpreted her actions in this favorable light, it would have been easy to forget entirely that she was in fact a wisewolf.

  But, of course, he knew from their travels thus far that this was simply her true disposition.

  So Lawrence praised when he could.

  If he’d said any more, her busy tail might have wagged itself right off.

  Thanks to her efforts, Holo had appeared so poorly this morning that it had been difficult to look at her, and her constitution was so ravaged that Lawrence could practically hear it. He recalled a truly serious illness.

  When it came out that she was merely sore, he was so relieved that he wanted to yell at her for having made him think otherwise.

  After all, she could not lift her arms or turn her head, and her back hurt too much for her to stand – the very image of a very sick person, indeed.

  What distinguished her from a sick person was her entirely healthy appetite.

  “Ah, well, I suppose it’s what comes of running so far while carrying two people on your back.”

  “Aye, ’tis true I ran a bit too hard.”

  The only parts of her body she could properly move were her ears and tail.

  But despite her terrible condition, she did not appear particularly regretful.

  Even if she had come to greatly enjoy this girl’s form, perhaps she simply felt her true wolf form fit her better.

  When he thought about it like that, perhaps one of the sources of her displeasure during their journeys thus far was simple frustration at being unable to freely travel in her true form.

  “Still,” she said as Lawrence considered it. She yawned slightly before continuing, “’Tis shameful to be in such pain that I cannot get out of bed. ’Twould have been less so if those who rode on my back were also unable to rise in the morning.”

  She could not move her body, but her mouth worked quite well.

  Holo smiled maliciously, but her attitude was completely artificial and thus hard to take seriously.

  If Col had been there, he probably would have been at least moderately flustered, but fortunately he was out.

  “If you’re so much wiser and farseeing such that I should just leave everything to you, then perhaps I should just go ahead and follow your lead. Except I trust you haven’t forgotten last night, have you?” asked Lawrence, and for once Holo did not refute him.

  Quite the contrary – she bit her lip in frustration and turned away.

  She seemed to remember the previous night’s failure all too well.

  “Honestly. Forget following your lead – I’ve got to keep a tighter grip on your reins. Just who did you say was whose driver again?”

  It seemed like a good opportunity to make Holo consider the consequences of her actions, Lawrence thought as he pressed her.

  The previous day, Holo’s speed had compelled them to disembark from the boat heading down the Roam River, and they arrived in the port town of Kerube in half a day. Had they stayed on the boat, the same distance would have taken two full days.

  Such speed was swifter than any horse they could have hired.

  There was, in fact, a reason they had traveled so quickly.

  They were pursuing stories of the bones of a great wolf found in a village in the mountainous Roef region. They had no proof, but it seemed likely they came from a wisewolf not unlike Holo, and there was the possibility that the Church authorities would attempt to desecrate the remains in order to display their own might.

  That was not something Holo could abide.

  Lawrence was not so arbitrary as to change his initial plan and head down the river to chase that story for that reason alone – but he was likewise not honest enough to say aloud the true reason. For his part, Lawrence was using the excuse that he wanted them to end their travels with a smile, but if he had asked Holo, there was no doubt that she would have prepared a different excuse.

  In the process of gathering information regarding the wolf bones, they had discovered that among those pursuing the relics were Church authorities in the Roam River region.

  And that was why they had come to the port town of Kerube – to speak with Eve, who undoubtedly knew the Roam River region front to back.

  Eve, once a noblewoman and now a ruined merchant, had once conspired with the Church in Lenos, so there was no doubt her information network was deep. Also, there had been the fur incident in Lenos, where she had sunk a boat in the river simply to block it as part of her fur-export scheme, which gave Lawrence ample ingredients with which to question her.

  Thus, Lawrence, Col, and Holo had disembarked from Ragusa’s vessel, and the former two had climbed upon Holo’s back in pursuit of Eve.

  But they had miscalculated. After arriving at the ship they had pursued for some time, they found that Eve was not aboard.

  However, they did find Arold, the master of the i
nn in Lenos where Lawrence and Holo had stayed. That was enough to tell them that the ship was somehow involved with Eve, but strangely, the large volume of furs that it should have been carrying was nowhere to be found.

  There was no mistaking the fact that Eve had packed up the furs and was trying to reach Kerube.

  Which meant there was a high probability that she had switched to an overland route midway through her journey. Even had she used a ship in order to transport the goods quickly, if the distance was not too far, it was hardly as if other methods were not available.

  Supposing – either through good luck or as part of her plan – she had managed to procure some horses, the choice to switch to an overland route midway would not be so very strange.

  On the contrary, given that a vessel had been sunk so as to block the following river traffic, it was obvious that the responsible party would be someone who had loaded that first ship with furs. Blithely toting her furs down the river was like loudly proclaiming herself to be the culprit, so switching to land travel would be a good way to avoid such suspicions.

  Lawrence thought about it and concluded that Eve was already en route to Kerube. Holo had wanted to interrogate Arold as to her destination, but Lawrence managed to rein her in and continue downriver.

  Around twilight, Holo had spotted a far-off caravan, confirming Lawrence’s theory.

  Eve led the line of horses.

  Lawrence and Holo got ahead of her and waited for her arrival at the entrance to the port town of Kerube.

  At that moment, Eve’s face looked as if she had encountered the living corpse of someone she knew to be dead and buried.

  Eve entered Kerube with Lawrence and the others, her hair fluttering in the wind that was so cold it seemed to blow directly out of an ice cave. After a short discussion, they stayed at an inn she had recommended.

  The reunion took Eve completely by surprise, giving Lawrence the upper hand, but he could not help but conduct their brief conversation with a certain amount of sighing.

  Holo had changed back from a wolf into a girl, and though she still glared at him, she was too tired to properly speak.

  It was not as if Lawrence was unable to predict what would happen if Holo entered the same room as Eve, whom she had already quarreled with once in Lenos.

  However, he had not imagined that it would come to actual blows.

  “’Tis on account of your lukewarm disposition. Have you so easily forgotten just who ’twas that gave you that mark upon your face?” Holo emphasized her claim.

  “Surely you don’t think that criticizing another proves your own point valid, do you?”

  “Hmph…” Holo shut her mouth and pulled her chin in.

  She understood that she was the one in the wrong.

  Yet Lawrence understood full well the reason she was not quietly accepting that and apologizing.

  “I must hand it to Eve on that account. Faced with your threatening mien, she chose to withdraw rather than fight back.”

  Holo’s eyes shifted away from Lawrence.

  Left alone, Holo would have lunged at Eve right on the spot, but Lawrence had physically restrained her from doing so.

  Eve’s eyes had looked them over with a snakelike coldness, neither intimidated nor dismissive, and in the end, she had even smiled slightly.

  “It’s because she judged that picking a fight with us there held no profit for her.”

  “Oh, so now you’ll talk to me like a child who knows not loss from gain?” snapped Holo, closing her mouth. Her expression was more and more strained, as though a thousand times as many words were swirling about within her throat.

  Lawrence watched her, feeling rather exhausted.

  Looking at her ears made it obvious she wasn’t truly angry.

  So as to why she would have acted the way she did–

  “It’s because Eve could tell that your anger wasn’t rational, isn’t it? You were angry like a child is angry. All notions of profit aside.”

  In other words, Eve had realized she had tread upon a tail she should not have.

  If her opponent had been rationally angry, then Eve could have met her with reason, but trying to reason with an anger of passion would only have had the opposite effect. So Eve had meekly lowered her head.

  At which point, Holo, while still angry, had to acknowledge Eve’s sense and let her go.

  And yet she could not simply accept the situation.

  While logic required Holo to excuse Eve, it was no easy thing. Holo ground her teeth before Eve’s spell-like influence. To break the confrontation off required Lawrence to work some magic of his own.

  She certainly was a troublesome princess.

  “Well, having had such a passionate confrontation, it should make it easier to talk rationally. Easier for us to find some profit.”

  “… And?” Holo glared at him.

  Embarrassed, Lawrence slackened his shoulders and sighed softly.

  It was a sigh of acquiescence.

  “If it was for me that you were so angry… thank you.”

  Since ancient times, promises were customarily made verbally, speaking them aloud – save, for some reason, in business.

  Even now, Lawrence could not escape the awkwardness he felt when plainly speaking his feelings, but if Holo required this of him, then he would have to do it anyway.

  Negotiation required finding compromises for both parties.

  “Aye, if you say so.” The venom finally drained from her face, and her ears flicked rapidly.

  The faint chatter of the market across the street was audible through the window.

  The winter sunlight was warm, and as long as one was directly in its rays, it felt almost as if spring had come.

  Lawrence could not help smiling at the absurdity of it all, and Holo, too, chuckled.

  It was a pleasant, peaceful moment and a precious one.

  “Now then, I’ll just tidy up the dishes…”

  “Aye,” said Holo in response to Lawrence’s statement, which had been mostly to himself. Her gaze fell to her tail – which along with her ears were the only unexhausted parts of her body – as if she wanted to groom it.

  It was a scene that had replayed itself many times on their journey.

  However, there was one element that differed from their usual arrangement.

  The element in question was Col, who had gone shopping in the marketplace, which Lawrence remembered when there was a knock at the door. After a few moments’ wait, the door opened, and there stood Col, carrying a wooden bowl.

  Lawrence searched his memory for exactly what it was that Col had gone out to buy, and in that moment, a strong smell reached his nose – a peculiar smell, like sweet herbs boiled in sulfurous water.

  He flinched away at the overwhelming odor, but Col seemed not to mind it one bit.

  “I made a salve!” he said, cheerily entering the room.

  From his labored breathing, Lawrence could tell the boy had hurried.

  Holo had taken a liking to Col and patted his head. Meanwhile, Col seemed to have become quite taken with Holo.

  Upon seeing her state this morning, he had bounded out of the room like a hare, off into the morning bustle of the town.

  The people of the northlands had exceptional knowledge of medicinal herbs like these.

  It was not an overstatement to say they had remedies for everything from cuts to fevers. He had surely made a salve that would be effective for muscle pain.

  Lawrence’s thoughts got that far, but then he stopped himself short.

  Holo.

  Lawrence turned around to see the keen-eared, keen-nosed wisewolf of Yoitsu having literally turned tail and curled up in agony at the smell.

  He could not help but sympathize.

  But could she turn down the medicinal salve that Col had made out of the kindness of his heart?

  Lawrence ignored the desperately pleading glance that Holo gave him from behind her pillow, and the moment he passed Col–
<
br />   “Ah, this salve will work on your wounds, too, Mr. Lawrence.”

  Holo had buried her face in the pillow, but her ears pricked up happily upon hearing this.

  The salve had a deep green color and a suspiciously thick consistency.

  Lawrence applied some of it to a piece of cloth, then applied it to the swollen section of his right cheek. Instantly, the pungent scent pierced him like a needle, and an intense heat spread throughout his face. It stung his eyes and seemed to almost wrench his nose.

  And yet Col had spared some of his meager traveling funds to make the balm, so it could not be allowed to go to waste.

  Still, the terrible smell…

  When Lawrence rubbed it on Holo’s shoulders and back, she looked at him with truly terrified eyes. Given how sensitive her nose was, she was doubtlessly truly suffering.

  And yet some part of Lawrence felt as if he should not have to be the only one forced to endure the stuff, and given that it did seem to be effective, he rubbed it on Holo all the same.

  Holo made indescribable noises as he applied it to her, none of which were remotely charming.

  As penance, Lawrence would probably have to buy her new clothes later. That or some fine wine.

  Once he was finished rubbing it in, she gave him a final, venomous glance, which he supposed was unavoidable.

  “Oh, that’s right. The merchant we met yesterday on the way here said she wants to meet with you.”

  Once he finished applying the salve to the places on Holo’s body that were particularly afflicted, Lawrence wiped the excess from his hands.

  It seemed clear enough that it was strong medicine, so it probably would have some sort of effect.

  As he replied to Col, Lawrence regarded Holo from the corner of his eye – she was curled up and groaning on the bed, probably from the salve’s smell. “The merchant we met yesterday? You mean Eve?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Haste is a virtue, eh? She’ll be gone today or tomorrow, I guess.”

  Though she was fallen nobility, Eve was moving up in the merchants’ world with incredible momentum.

  In Lenos, the town of lumber and fur, she had ensnared Lawrence as part of an unbelievable fur trade. In addition to the fur she had gained in her enormous gamble, she had gone to the absurd length of sinking a ship in the river so that no one else would be able to move fur the way she had.