Once they reached the peak of the mountain behind the bathhouse, she looked back, and Selim was already out of breath.
“Sorry. Am I going too fast?”
“N-no…ah, um, yes…”
She perhaps thought it would cause Holo even more trouble if she could not keep up.
“We shall go slowly. ’Tis the first chance in a long time I have had to run, so I could not help but frolic like a pup.”
The truth was, of course, she wished to run at top speed, and she wanted to howl at the moon as loud as she could. But if she did that, however, then it would echo through the entire village of Nyohhira, and there would be an uproar at the clear signal of a wolf. All the villagers would light fires and spend the entire night on watch.
Of course, her companion would know whose fault it was and stand under the torch with a cross expression.
“Well, should you get lost, you shall be able to return by scent, aye?”
Selim’s wolf mouth flawlessly curled into a smile at her banter.
Then they roamed about the mountains at the pace of a leisurely stroll. Though Holo had not particularly claimed that this was her territory, dutiful bears and deer looked up at her, wondering what was the matter.
Under the pretense of looking for springs, they inevitably arrived at locations that smelled as though they had potential for that purpose, but Holo had long since found all the noteworthy spots back when they were first opening the bathhouse. So in a casual manner, the two wolves simply went in circles, with Holo’s feet steadily aiming toward the other side of the mountains, where Selim’s older brother and relatives were constructing lodgings.
But Selim was not a naive or stupid girl. As they were about to cross the second ridge, she spoke, as though having made up her mind.
“Lady Holo.”
“Hmm?”
“Um…I’m…sorry…”
Of course, Holo played dumb.
“Why do you apologize? You have followed me this far, have you not?”
She spoke with a faint smile, so Selim did not say any more.
However, though she agreed with her companion’s logic, she was still apprehensive in a corner of her heart that they were being too meddlesome. There was no doubting that Selim had made up her mind when she came to the bathhouse. If they gave her special consideration simply because she was feeling down after a few mistakes, then it was entirely possible that treating her like a child would hurt her.
But when it came to thoughtfulness, matters only grew more complicated the more one second guessed them, eventually becoming like the snake that ate its own tail. So her companion’s idea that for the time being they should try the first thing that came to mind in hopes of showing their sincerity was refreshing and, most likely, correct.
When Holo herself had gotten stuck on certain points—like how she had once been called the wisewolf, or that she was eternally young, or how she was not human in the first place—it was her companion who had grasped her hand and pulled her along. It went without saying as to how that ended up.
Then, as fate would have it, Selim joined their pack. There would be nothing better than if she enjoyed her time with them.
Neither of them spoke after that, and as they occasionally peeked in hollow grounds and valleys that seemed like they might produce water, they passed over the third ridge. The waxing moon had long since passed over their heads. It was the dead of the night, when even the grass and the trees slumbered.
As Holo wondered if her companion was freezing all alone, she saw a figure move at the edge of her vision, behind a cluster of trees.
“How admirable for you to come greet her.”
She smiled and murmured, and though it was unlikely they heard, more shadows appeared behind the first. The wind blew down the mountain at this hour, so their scent must have reached them on the wind.
“Look.”
Holo tried to encourage Selim, who stood stuck in place beside her, but she did not move. Perhaps it was from fear that her family would blame her for being weak.
But Holo had brought her all this way, and there was no turning back now, not to mention how dejected Selim was at the house.
At the head of the pack was a wolf who had been watching them silently, had the exact same coat color as Selim, and seemed so worried that it was possible he would start howling even now.
She recalled how it was the same expression little Col wore on his face as he loitered around the door whenever Myuri was late coming home from playing in the mountains.
Whether human or wolf, anxious males seemed to all be very similar.
“Do you wish for our kindness to be in vain?”
Holo bumped Selim’s neck with her nose, and she finally took a few steps forward.
When Selim glanced back at her, she bared her fangs in a grin.
“I do not know how many times I clung to that companion of mine in tears at times like this.”
Selim was clearly surprised, but at the same time, it seemed she understood Holo’s feelings.
Her wide-open eyes seemed to grow softer, and she looked at Holo as they glistened.
“Thank you.”
“’Tis what you must say to my foolish companion.”
Without a word in response or a nod of the head, Selim dashed off, as though she had been set free.
Her older brother waited a moment, too, before dashing toward Selim. Though it was likely he would scold or become irritated with her, there was no way that he did not think dearly of his little sister, with whom he faced many hardships. Her companion’s plan had been irritatingly on point.
Holo sighed in relief, but now she did not know what to do. If she hung around, Selim’s friends would defer to her and that seemed like it would be annoying. If she stayed by Selim’s side, she might hesitate and quickly decide it was time to return.
Getting in their way was inappropriate, so in the end, she decided to search for springs, as per their original goal. Besides, she had long wished for a place where she could relax by herself whenever she was so inclined.
She wandered as her nose led her, and on the way back to the second mountain, she found a place where water bubbled up naturally. It was in a secluded ravine, where even a hunter, relentlessly pursuing their prey, would not come.
“Hmm. ’Tis in a nice spot, but a bit small.”
It was shallow, filled with rocks, surrounded by fallen trees and such and was only big enough for a bear to wet its bottom.
The stones cut off the water, struggling to rise. She could certainly fit into the spaces between the rocks if she returned to her human form, but if she were going that far, then the baths at the house were good enough.
“If there is a spring here, then there must be others.”
She wandered across the face of the mountain, but the vein of water must have been very far underground as she could not find any more. As a test, she pulled the fallen trees away with her mouth and rolled the smaller stones away with her claws, and it seemed like more water came up. If she cleared all the stones and such, then it may have yet started to look like a proper bath.
“Lady Holo?”
She had stuck her nose in the water, trying to figure out where the water was coming from when someone called her name.
“What is it? Are you finished already?”
“Yes. And, um…”
Selim’s ears and tail and head were all drooping, and behind her, her older brother and family were waiting.
Holo sighed in relief, and thinking it too much of a hassle to stop now, she spoke as she returned to searching for the source of the water.
“And what do you need from me, standing there so quietly?”
“I am sorry my sister has caused you such trouble.”
Selim’s older brother, as the leader of the pack, took one step forward as he spoke. His manner and speech were stiff and formal.
These people were so clumsy that, though they had powers that surpassed any human, they
struggled to earn enough to eat as mercenaries. And once, her older brother had said something toward Holo that was much too straightforward, courting her displeasure. Though she knew she was mostly the reason for this, it was hard for him to shake the bad first impression.
“She is not any trouble at all. Selim is a hard worker.”
“But she is in your care now. For you to indulge her so—”
“Are you saying this is a point of honor for your bloodline?”
There were six in the pack including Selim, but they were all small. Even if they did surround Holo, a fight with them would be over in a flash.
But that is perhaps why they placed so much emphasis on honor.
“…With all due respect.”
Selim’s brother awkwardly hung his head.
Holo sighed—what a job he has done.
“On my companion’s orders, I am simply here to search for new springs. Since we have come so close to her home, we merely took the opportunity to pay a visit along the way.”
“B-but—”
“So we may come to visit occasionally. There is no need for such drastic good-byes. I shan’t mind if you take your time when we come.”
Due to how honest he was, it seemed he could not argue when faced with such pretext.
He looked back and forth between the ground and his sister several times before he finally faced Holo in defeat.
“…As you wish.”
“Good. Then shall we soon call it a day?”
After she finished speaking, Selim came to her side without hesitation. She could tell by the air around her that whatever had been causing her gloom was lifted.
Until recently, these siblings had never been separated, living and growing up as one. Her family may have not been as prepared to send Selim off to work alone at the bathhouse as they thought.
It was not exactly for that reason, but it was because she knew this that they would come again soon. As she and the young white wolf were about to head back to the bathhouse, Holo suddenly stopped.
“Ah, I forgot to mention.”
A shock ran among Selim’s friends.
“You shall not dig up this spring without my knowing. Let me do as I please.”
“…”
“Or is this water you found?”
“N-no.”
“Then I shall be using this for a while.”
This time they actually set off, traversing the dark woods at a brisk pace.
Selim followed silently. Holo still felt a bit of stiffness, or perhaps it was fighting spirit, around the younger wolf, but she was getting used to the bathhouse, and once her family’s lodgings were settled, she might relax more. Selim was well-behaved, but she had a strong heart that was evident in her profile even now.
And Holo was simply excited to make that spring hers. Once it was finished, she could jump in during the daytime in her wolf form without any hesitation even during the busiest seasons.
She would keep it a secret from her companion for a while.
When she imagined that, she was a bit thrilled for some reason.
“Lady Holo.”
Selim spoke again when they finally arrived at the bathhouse.
“Thank you.”
Selim gave her thanks quickly, after returning to her human form. Though she was slender, her body was different from that of Holo’s daughter, and she quickly covered it with clothes she had prepared beforehand.
It did not seem like she considered Holo’s meddling as a bother, so Holo only shrugged.
“I do not mind as I also have found something to look forward to. But you must sleep now or else work tomorrow will be a pain.”
Selim nodded with a serious expression and then finally broke into a smile. They entered the bathhouse, and as they were parting in the hall, she bowed again dutifully. It was a different sort of seriousness than what she sensed from little Col, and to be frank, Holo was not used to it. If her companion were not around, then she probably would not be able to live in the same pack as her.
Though her companion was completely useless on his own, before she had a chance to notice, he had the power to bring all sorts of people together.
He was not the person who stood shining at the front of battle, but he had a good character for rallying the pack. Confident in her ability to judge others, she returned to the bedroom.
She did wonder at least once if he would be awake waiting for her, but there her companion was, sleeping soundly.
She crawled into the bed and just stuck her cold hands and feet on him.
He opened his eyes in surprise, and after he groaned for a moment, he greeted her.
“Urrghhh…Welcome back.”
“I’m home.”
Holo clung to him and closed her eyes, drifting off into sleep in an instant.
Possibly due to the village of Nyohhira’s typically festive atmosphere, the Festival of Saint Alzeuri was rather quiet and simple affair. They did not even construct a huge statue and march around with it in a pompous parade. They converted the communal shed into an impromptu church and the villagers gathered there to offer prayers, followed by a feast afterward. The most festival-like part of it all was how every single candle inside the shed was lit.
In the festivals of larger towns, associations competed to see who could donate the largest and greatest quantity of candles in order to display their wealth, but here, the number of candles they lit was a prayer for how hot the bathwaters would be. Of course, vain people could be found anywhere, but if the large candles prepared in service of their vanity were offered to warm the springs that bubbled up in the village, then people welcomed it. There were more than a few merchantlike characters who were fine with virtually anything, as long as others’ money worked in their benefit.
Holo, who was once called a god and oversaw the harvest of wheat in a village, could only shrug her shoulders in response to that truth of the human world. It was Selim’s first time seeing the festival, so she watched with great interest, but Holo paid the ceremony no mind and smacked her lips appreciatively over the food.
The Festival of Saint Alzeuri was a marker that signified the guests for the next season would start arriving. Though it was not nearly as busy as winter, there were still quite a number of summer patrons. A tense excitement ran through the air but also a feeling of tedium at the coming of another noisy, lively season.
“Hello! Is the master in?”
An energetic voice came from the entrance to the house. It had been three days since the start of the festival.
Though he did not quite seem to be a herald, it still likely signaled that someone of high rank was on their way. It was surely a servant sent to give a preliminary announcement.
“Abbot Harivel will be arriving tomorrow morning. Is everything in order?”
“We’ve been waiting for you. Everything is prepared.”
The servant was satisfied with Holo’s companion’s response, then happily took the rare opportunity to soak in the baths without any hesitation before his master came.
Holo was ready for the coming battle, but there was an odd expression on her companion’s face.
“What is it?”
This Harivel came every year. He always behaved well and paid generously during his stay. Myuri was excited every year to see how long that long, white beard of his had grown.
Even her companion was usually happy to see him. Their guest did not generally inspire such facial contortions.
“Hmm? Oh no, it just feels like he’s a bit early this year.”
“Early? Perhaps he simply could not wait.”
This was a hot spring village on the threshold between paradise and the mortal world. Those who came here to escape the fetters of worldly affairs always looked like they were going off to hell when they left.
“That would be nice, but…”
He may have been nervous that it was now finally time to part with his lazy days.
Holo felt proud when she thought tha
t, as she expected, he was no good without this wisewolf by his side.
After visiting her brother and the rest of her family, Selim had been overflowing with determination not to fall into despondency even if she made more mistakes. With their first guest soon to arrive, though, she had become incredibly tense, so Holo spoke a few words to her.
Unlike real war, no one would die if she made an error.
It was partially a joke, but Selim seemed quite relieved.
The following day, a familiar elderly priest arrived at the bathhouse.
“Oh, Sir Lawrence. Thank you for having me again this year.”
The old priest had a strong physique even in his old age, and though he was bald, a white beard overflowed from his chin, which made him look even bigger. He embraced her companion and, seeing Holo, embraced her, too, with the smile of a gentle old man.
Finding her face buried deep in that fuzzy beard, she gained a slightly better understanding of why her companion and little Col always wanted to do the same with her tail.
“Is your daughter out hunting now?”
“Well…”
As he heard the story of Myuri and little Col, Harivel’s face quickly flushed red.
“Oh, that’s exactly it! That’s what it is!”
Then, as though his own excited voice surprised himself, he placed his hand on his chest and whipped back and forth to look between his attendant and Holo’s companion.
“Erm…Father? Why not come inside for now? You must be tired after your journey.”
“Ah yes, you have my thanks. But oh, I had wondered if that was the case when I heard the rumors, but oh my…”
The large, bearded elderly priest walked energetically to the dining hall and sat in a chair, still buzzing with excitement.
Their guest was restless even in his seat, but when he saw Selim bring him a drink, he showed her a smile; he stood out even among their most amiable patrons.
“You’ve hired a new girl, I see. Thank you.”
Spring Log II Page 13
