Spice & Wolf XIV (DWT)

by Hasekura Isuna

  “You know what my job is as a book dealer. I use my channels to find books in collections, figure out where they’re from, and where they belong. I specialize in books from the desert.”

  “And you’ve never been charged with paganism? Lucky you.”

  Lawrence had figured this out already, but felt like playing along. Lou just flashed him a malicious-looking grin.

  “Believers might like to think they have the high ground, but the Church’s isn’t the only belief system. That, and I don’t just do this for fun. Lots of people value my services. Without people like me, they wouldn’t even know which wines were safe to drink from their conquests.”

  “Right, right, makes sense.”

  Lawrence raised his left hand defeatedly so Lou would carry on with the real topic.

  “I suspect that, at least as of this summer anyway, that company in Kinisen still doesn’t know what they really have in their possession. Their owner just loves exotic stories of adventure, especially from places like the desert. That’s what my traveling artist friend told me. He also told me that they probably just haven’t gotten to it yet because they have a lot of books to check out.”

  Lawrence had been correct in that, too. It seemed that Lou was just as careful and calculating as he was, at least so far.

  “That means we have two problems. One is the money. The other is how we get it there.”

  “No choice there, we’ll have to take it ourselves. Not like we have a branch or some third party we can trust.”

  Loah smiled when he heard Lawrence say that. Were they the owners of their own large companies, they wouldn’t have to dirty their own hands this way.

  “As someone who also works with his own two legs, I agree.”

  “As for the way we get it there, I’d suspect a money order would be the safest bet.”

  Money orders were a godsend for traveling merchants. They could safely move capital without having to carry the actual cash. The Church might cry foul at such “evil tactics,” but that hardly mattered. If someone like Hugh needed to send cash to Flynn, he’d just have Lawrence bring him a money order. That way they didn’t have to risk being robbed or otherwise losing all that cash on their way to Lenos from Gerube. That was the whole point of a money order.

  “Agreed again. Far less trouble than having to worry about each other the whole way.”

  Lou smiled. He knew a money order was the way to go. It was only valid between the two parties who were involved. It was useless for an illiterate thief, and neither he nor Lou would be able to run off with it.

  “But this won’t be your average money order. I don’t even know if they’ll accept one that far up north. It’s a huge risk for us one way or the other.”

  That was ultimately the real problem. Money orders were a godsend, but not everyone treated them as such. They would be in trouble if this company in Kinisen wouldn’t honor it. After all, the actual money had to be available in town for them to truly honor it, so what would happen if they were experiencing a situation like Lenos was in Kinisen? That’s why merchants still carried cash despite the risk, and why they had to think hard before carrying large amounts of it.

  “We’ll just have to hope Delink can confirm that. Otherwise, if Kinisen is close to Endyma, we’ll have to rely on the companies there for a connection.”

  “Good. Looks like we at least see eye to eye on this much.”

  Establishing such seemingly-obvious things was vital, lest it turned out that they weren’t as obvious as believed. If one of them only trusted coins, and the other only money orders, it would only be a huge mess that couldn’t be settled with words. Merchants tended to rely on their experienced intuition more than the words of others.

  “You know, I really never wanted to deal with Delink again.”

  Lawrence finally understood Eve’s chagrin at having to deal with Delink. He admired her just as much as he admired them, but he didn’t want to deal with either of them again in this lifetime. Holo would probably be laughing at him under her cloak right now.

  “Everyone regrets their drunken actions eventually.”

  What an understatement. Lawrence looked out one of the lonely windows in the shop, realizing the sun would soon set.

  “Anyway, I’d like to get the nastiest business sorted out as soon as possible.”

  At least they didn’t have to worry about Delink being closed for the evening mass. Lawrence really didn’t want to have to toss and turn at night while worrying about this meeting, but Lou couldn’t help but crack wise.

  “Oh really? I always start with the most delicious dish first, myself.”

  Lawrence couldn’t stand that fat, smiling face much longer. Dealing with guys like him was like dealing with all the people they sucked up to their entire lives.

  “That I can see. And yet..”

  Lawrence couldn’t help but want some small revenge.

  “..If I hadn’t been around to serve you such a fine dish, what would you have done?”

  He’d been relying on Lawrence the whole time, so Lawrence wondered if he had a backup plan. Lou simply frowned, like he didn’t have one at all. Flynn finally had to speak on his behalf.

  “He’ll never tell you.”

  Flynn’s sense of comedic timing was just as good as Holo’s.

  * * *

  Despite being as simple-looking as Flynn’s shop, this one was entirely different. It looked nice, with well-laid brickwork and a size that wasn’t out of place even among the other great companies on the street. But once you walked inside, the silence was deafening. Even the sound outside was muffled.

  “What an honor.. you’ve decided to take me up on my offer of wine after all?”

  Eringin flashed his dark smile. Not many businesses had four bosses of equal rank, but at the moment it seemed like he was the only one present. The others must be out on business.

  “Oh, and you’ve brought a friend?”

  He was easily in the top three of people that Lawrence would never want to introduce a friend to, and Eringin surely knew that. He delighted in such knowledge. His smile showed signs of loneliness as he directed them to their chairs.

  “Please have a seat.”

  Even Lawrence wouldn’t prepare such lavish chairs for his customers if he was the boss here. They could even accommodate a man of Lou’s stature.

  “I see you’re all alone today?”

  Being direct was the only way to deal with someone who held a distinct advantage. The more words were spoken, the more likely one of them would be the wrong one. There was a reason that the wise had a reputation of stoicism; they knew their reputation could only diminish with every superfluous word. And yet, Lawrence was far too nervous to stay silent, and had already cast aside this wisdom.

  “Of course. We normally only gather together to make a ‘purchase’. But don’t fret; we don’t let just anyone into this room.”

  “You flatter me.”

  The only part of Eringin’s body that moved were his thumbs, as they changed positions atop his still-clasped hands.

  “Oh my, no. I heard what took place in Gerube.”

  He wasn’t just saying that as a pleasantry; he had an interest in keeping tabs on Lawrence. But he smiled and continued.

  “There is but one principle we must live by, and that is to make sure we maintain and extend our relationships with our associates.”

  Holo would surely have kicked Lawrence by now. Eringin’s point was clear: because he knew everything about Lawrence, he was willing to talk to him.

  “Oh, ho.. I see you didn’t bring your sword today?”

  When what he was talking about sank in, Eringin again smiled.

  “Please be more confident, Mr. Lawrence. Your handling of the conspiracy around that woman impressed us. You even managed to exact your own kind of revenge. It would be unbecoming of you to overestimate us and underestimate yourself. The only substantial difference between us is our choice of weapons, after all.”

>   Kind words were free, as was yielding a bit when you were in the dominant position. All merchants understood that, even Lou. But it was the man before Lawrence who couldn’t be underestimated, the man all the guards in town wanted to befriend, and his kind didn’t say such things easily.

  “Thank you for saying that.”

  Lawrence put away his merchant’s mask for a moment to make sure Eringin saw an honest smile. Eringin squinted.

  “Well then, if you please?”

  Lawrence had apparently passed the first risky hurdle. It was time to let Lou talk. Lou stood up straight and took a deep breath.

  “There is a banned book about certain techniques.”

  Eringin stared at him as he had Lawrence, making it clear to Lou that it was his turn to win him over. Lou had never seemed so serious.

  “A copy of that book was made at the Second Remelon Conference, which took place thirty or forty years ago. The original copy of the book was burned, and its author kept under watch. There have been rumors of the author’s student managing to sneak out a draft copy of the book, but that rumor has only been the usual trickery you’d expect from a swindler.”

  That checked out. Even Cole had been swindled that way, and had to flee from Akent, the City of Learning.

  “But this other copy is legitimate?”

  “Yes. I have confirmed the details.”

  Lou then went into a smooth explanation of how he had discovered the book with the help of his wandering artist friend, and that confident smoothness wasn’t the kind one would hear from a mere swindler. Eringin stared at him in evaluation, for quite some time, before his eyes shifted back to Lawrence.

  “Mr. Lawrence, you have no way to corroborate this, yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is a huge risk for you. You surely understand your liability as our medium, yes?”

  It was a bit of a cruel joke, but Lawrence nodded.

  “He’s been evaluated by someone I can place my trust in.”

  Of course, that person’s evaluation was that Lou was persistent and devious, both quite negative qualities on their own. But when put toward a goal like this one, they were positive ones that showed he would pull through in any way he could. Eringin tilted his head and smiled like an angel. Lou was so serious about this, in fact, that he couldn’t help but wipe the nervous sweat from his brow.

  “Clearly this isn’t for the money?”

  Eringin’s eyes were closed in thought. He couldn’t have forgotten the day of the riot, when Lawrence kicked Eve away and came back to his company.. all for Holo.

  “We have profound ties to the north.”

  Eringin smiled as Lou said that.

  “That’s a lovely sentiment, but not what drives people like us.”

  Even Flynn was unwilling to deal with Delink, since they were slave traders. And he was a man who dealt with mercenaries; killers and thieves. Things like introductory fees were pointless with people like that, who sometimes weren’t even paid in the end. They knew they might collectively make very little, but they still banded together in the knowledge that they could rob with reckless abandon to make up for it.

  But even though those kinds of people were unwilling to deal with them, here was Lawrence. He’d detoured to Delink to introduce Lou to them, all for the sake of the northern lands. Delink could earn a great deal from strife in the north, given how many potential slaves and slave-purchasers such a scenario would create.

  “Let’s leave such lovely sentiments to the priests and sages. We merchants profit by satisfying the needs of others, so whose needs are you satisfying, Mr. Loah?”

  The time to bargain had come. Lou cleared his throat and replied clearly.

  “Sir Nicholas of the Duchy of Raundille. The good Sir is only interested in.. well, banned books.”

  Eringin seemed to have no recourse but to smile, as he placed his fist against his chest like he was suppressing the urge to vomit. It seemed even slave traders couldn’t always believe what they heard.

  “I’m sorry, did you say Sir Nicholas?”

  “I did.”

  “We have a long list of clients.. I mean, “people we know,” of course. There is no such Sir.”

  Eringin rubbed his forehead.

  “Setting aside how real he is-”

  Lou immediately began trying to salvage the situation, but Eringin cut him off. It seemed he didn’t really care whether Sir Nicholas was a real person, so why did he even bother asking? If he only asked questions to hear the answers then what had he been after? Lawrence was puzzled, but Eringin’s next question was too sharp to be confusing.

  “How much profit do you expect?”

  Merchants lived for profit, so it was good to hear him cut to the chase like this. People only asked self-interested questions when they wanted to be involved in something, and there was nothing more self-interested a merchant could ask about than profit. Discussions about profit estimates were perhaps the only times when the most stoic merchants couldn’t contain their excitement.

  Common wisdom was that estimates were always too high or too low. The bigger the plan, the further off the estimate. Lawrence’s master had taught him this, and it didn’t take long for Lawrence to understand why merchants couldn’t contain their excitement during such discussions.

  If Lou had ulterior motives, it would become obvious in the next few moments. A merchant driven to profit would be excited, and one who was lying wouldn’t be. It was that simple. Liars were easy to see through because they were so busy worrying about the lie they wouldn’t speak clearly about the profits.

  “Around..”

  But Lou was not lying.

  “..a hundred and twenty Lumione.”

  “That’s about what we could fetch for the princess of Loine.”

  Eringin, too, was busily sizing up the profit.

  “I’m not just being prideful, either. I know how markets affect book prices, but I also know that the alchemist Alan Mihail’s ‘The Iron Heart of God’ went for a hundred Lumione, and this book’s contents should be far more valuable.”

  That was a lot of money. But book collectors didn’t deal in sensible trades, so it was still in the realm of possibility. Eringin stared hard at Lou without even blinking, until his eyes eventually closed. Lou breathed in deeply.

  “And how much is this book worth?”

  “A proper book merchant would pay at least thirty Lumione for this one.”

  Lou had come prepared, and had set a book down on Eringin’s desk as collateral right from the start. It was a thick book that seemed fairly old, but might as well have been a paperweight decorating someone’s bottom shelf to Lawrence. He couldn’t believe that useless-looking book beside him was worth enough to achieve his own modest dreams.

  Eringin remained motionless, aside from ringing a bell on his desk. The door quickly opened and a boy came in and spoke into Eringin’s ear. Eringin nodded, and the boy bowed and left.

  “I can go as high as eighty Lumione. Enough?”

  Lou replied with a pathetic tone.

  “Enough.”

  “But we’re going to charge you twenty Lumione regardless of whether you succeed or not.”

  Given that it wasn’t even what Lou claimed his collateral was worth, it seemed Eringin was going to be kind enough to leave them enough to get back on their feet if this plan failed.

  “..And I have one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  Lou didn’t act surprised at all; he was probably willing to let Eringin suggest whatever he wanted at this point. Eringin let him cough before continuing.

  “We gamble with every deal. It is the fortunate who win. But we plan on winning while sitting here in our chairs.”

  Eringin turned to Lawrence and completed his thought.

  “My condition is that you, Mr. Lawrence, will follow Mr. Loah. I want you to think it over seriously, and if that’s fine with you, I will lend you the money.”

  Just as expected. Er
ingin spoke like he was saying a prayer, but there was nothing but realism in his words. Lawrence knew he was going to be solely responsible from the start, since he was the one who made the decision to introduce Lou. If Lou screwed up, it was Lawrence’s loss. And yet, something inside him was surprisingly nervous.

  “No good?”

  Eringin seemed surprised. Lawrence heard himself nervously reply.

  “No.”

  Lawrence soon realized that he wasn’t feeling nervousness; he was feeling self-loathing. Feeling too nervous about the deal under such pressure was one thing, but Lawrence couldn’t believe that he’d actually rejected Eringin’s request just so he could travel with Holo, even knowing how disappointed she would be in him when she heard it. What an idiot.. he almost laughed out loud at himself.

  “Oh well. But it’ll still be a rough trip to go out there on your own, so let me send someone with you.”

  Eringin rang the bell again, and another boy came into the room.

  “I’ll write you a money order, but you’ll have to take it to a company we’re friends with. The terms will be that you’ll all have to be present and sign it before it can be claimed.”

  That was reasonable. Eringin again spoke softly to his underling, and the boy left.

  “Alright, well, I hope you don’t mind chatting some more. I trust the guy I’ll send with you, and the company in Kinisen owes me anyway.”

  Threatening Lawrence and Lou now was useless. They would be monitored all the way to Kinisen, so it wasn’t like they could run off with the cash or the book. And besides, Eringin’s smile was more horrible than any threat he could ever utter.

  “Um.”

  Eringin turned back to them, having just cleared the atmosphere between them. Lou was mopping the sweat off his face, though, realizing that the master of the Delink Company was really just giving them a moment to catch up to what he said. He wanted to make sure Lou had been paying attention.

  “When you say they’re your friends, do you mean-?”