Spice & Wolf II (11 page)

But with her next words, such thoughts evaporated.

“Well, I...I was wondering if you mightn’t...hire me.”

Faced with this shepherdess looking up at him as she held, no, clung to her staff, Lawrence’s mind raced.

When a shepherd asked to be hired, it was equivalent to being asked if you would leave your sheep in their care.

But Lawrence had no sheep. What he did have was a single clever, cheeky wolf.

“Ah, well, as you can see, I’m a merchant, and I don’t trade in sheep. I’m sorry, but...”

“Oh, no, not that—”

Flustered, the girl waved her hands hastily, then glanced from side to side as if to buy herself some time.

Her head was deep enough in the hood that her gaze wasn’t visible, but it was clear that she was looking for something.

Perhaps that something was a tool that would help her explain her request.

Soon it seemed as if she had found it—from underneath her hood, she somehow communicated a sense of relief, almost as if she had expressive ears hidden under there, like Holo.

What the shepherd girl was looking for sat alertly beside her, a four-legged portrait of a faithful knight executed in black fur—her sheepdog.

“I’m a shepherd. Um, I tend my flock, but I can also drive oil wolves.”

As she spoke, she waved her right hand slightly, and the black dog stood at attention.

“If you’ll be so good as to hire me, I can protect you and your companion from wolves. Would you consider it?”

As if to punctuate his mistress’s clumsy sales pitch, the dog barked once, then dashed off to round up the flock, which was beginning to disperse.

Though knights or mercenaries were often hired as protection on dangerous roads, Lawrence had never heard of hiring a shepherd to drive off wolves, but now that he thought about it, having a shepherd at your side would give you a keen set of eyes and ears. He’d never heard of such an arrangement, though, because shepherds that would propose such a thing were nonexistent.

Lawrence looked at the dog as it rounded up sheep, as if practicing for possible wolf attacks, then turned back toward the girl.

Living the lonely life of a shepherd, she probably had no occasion to give a fake, ingratiating grin. Under the hood, she smiled awkwardly.

Lawrence thought a moment, then spoke.

“Wait a moment, if you would. I’ll consult with my companion.”

“Th-thank you!”

For his part, Lawrence was ready to hire the girl unconditionally, but hiring the shepherdess meant paying her money, and whenever money was involved, a merchant could think of nothing beyond the possible losses and gains.

Lawrence trotted back to the wagon bed and raised his voice to Holo who lounged there, looking bored. If he wanted to know about a shepherd’s ability to repel wolves, he thought his best bet would be to ask the nearest wolf.

“What do you think of that shepherdess?”

“Hm? Mm...” Holo rubbed her eyes lazily and looked at the giril Lawrence did likewise. The shepherdess did not return their gaze as she gave orders to her dog.

She didn’t seem to be trying to show off her skills—she was merely rounding up the scattered sheep. Sheep, after all, tended to disperse when they stopped to graze and came closer together when forced to walk.

Holo turned away from the girl and spoke irritably. “I’m far more fetching.”

The horse neighed, as if chuckling.

“Not that—I mean her skills.”

“Skills?”

“What can you tell of her, as a shepherd? If she’s good, she might be worth hiring. You heard us, surely.”

Holo glanced at the girl, then gave Lawrence a bitter glare. “You already have me, do you not?”

“Of course. But it never occurred to me to use a shepherd to drive off wolves. There could be new business in it.”

Holo the Wisewolf could tell when a person was lying. Despite the truth of Lawrence’s statement, she still regarded him with suspicious eyes.

Lawrence soon understood why.

“I’m not being blinded by charm. You are the fairer, after all,” he said, shrugging his shoulders as if to add, “Okay?”

“I suppose that’s a passing mark” came the reply. It was a bit harsh being graded like that, but Holo smiled pleasantly, so surely it was a joke.

“So, what of her skill?” he asked.

Holo’s face was instantly tense again. “I cannot say for certain without seeing her in action, but I suppose she’ll be in the top half.”

“Can you be a bit more concrete?”

“I could take a sheep from her. However, normal wolves would be dealt with, even if they attacked together.”

It was an unexpectedly high appraisal.

“Her treatment of the sheep is very proficient. The worst shepherds are the ones with clever dogs who know how to cooperate with them. That one does both, I daresay. Her voice suggests that she’s young, which makes it even worse. Before she gets any more dangerous, I’ve half a mind to—”

“All right, all right. Thanks.”

Lawrence wasn’t sure whether Holo was joking or not, but the swishing of her tail suggested she was half serious.

It was enough to know that the shepherdess was a good one. If he just provisionally hired her, it would still cost money, which would be wasted if she turned out to be clumsy. Lawrence turned to approach the girl but was stopped short by Holo speaking up.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Are you really going to hire that?” Holo’s voice had an accusing tone.

Lawrence heard her and remembered that Holo had no love for shepherds.

“Aah. You hate her that much?”

“Well, as long as you’re asking, no, I don’t care for shepherds, hut that’s not what I mean. I’m talking about you.”

This was the very definition of being caught off guard.

...Excuse me?” asked Lawrence with all sincerity, having no idea what Holo meant. Holo sighed in irritation and narrowed her eyes. Her red-tinged amber irises were keen, burning with a cold fire.

“If you’re going to hire her, that means she will be traveling with us for a time. I’m asking you if you have no problem with that.”

Holo’s eyes fixed Lawrence coolly in their gaze.

She sat in the wagon bed and thus looked down on him.

That wasn’t necessarily why, but Lawrence couldn’t shake the feeling that she was very angry with him.

Lawrence frantically thought it through. Holo was furious at him because he was going to hire a shepherd. If it wasn’t because she hated shepherds, there were not many other possibilities he could imagine. The options disappeared one after the other, leaving only one.

Perhaps Holo preferred traveling as a pair, just the two of them.

“You don’t like it?” he asked.

“I didn’t say that” came her quick, sulky reply.

Musing fondly on this peevish side of Holo’s, Lawrence smiled slightly as he spoke. “It’s about two days to Ruvinheigen. No good?”

“...Nor did I say that," she said, shooting him a glance that he couldn’t help but find charming.

“Well, in that case, I’m sorry, but I’ll have to impose upon your patience,” he said. He smiled openly, unable to resist Holo’s unexpected charm.

Holo knitted her brow. “What exactly am I to endure, then?” she asked.

“Mm, well...” said Lawrence, hesitating. He couldn’t very well suggest that she was jealous to her face. Once Holo’s contrariness was roused, her opposition would be tireless.

“I’d just like to see how effective a shepherd is against wolves. You can manage for two days, can’t you?”

“...’Tis not impossible. But that is not the issue.”

“Well...,” Lawrence began, concerned about the shepherdess—but Holo took the opportunity to continue.

“If we travel carelessly with someone else, they might find out about me, might they not? And I could manage, aye, but what about you?”

In those words, Lawrence heard something that made him stiffen. It was not his imagination, nor was it some grandiose thing, and even the shepherdess some distance away cocked her head as she looked on.

Of course. That was it. That was the other possibility How had he overlooked it? He wished the sudden cold sweat that broke out all over him would wash away his mistake.

Thinking that Holo wanted to travel alone with him had distracted him from the obvious. He’d been presumptuous.

Holo’s gaze bored into the back of his head.

The change in Lawrence’s demeanor was obvious even from a distance, and the ancient wisewolf sitting next to him surely discerned his inner workings.

“Oh ho. I see how it is.”

Lawrence reddened.

“You wanted me to say something like this, mm?”

He turned slowly back to her, facing the wolf girl with an expression that was downright desolate.

Holo put a closed hand to her mouth and spoke with a hesitant, modest tone. “I...I wanted to travel with just you...

She twisted her body away fetchingly, averting her gaze with mock bashfulness, then looked back at him suddenly. In that brief interval, her expression shifted from demure to cold as she delivered the final blow.

"I jest."

Lawrence had no reply, and whether from frustration or embarrassment, it was doubtful if he would even be able to remain standing.

Wanting in any case to put some distance between himself and Holo, he turned and began to walk away before he was stopped by her call.

Lawrence looked over his shoulder, wondering if she hadn’t had her fill of tormenting him, and saw Holo smiling there in the wagon bed.

It was an exasperated sort of grin.

He felt better as soon as he saw it.

“Honestly,” he said with a sigh, giving her a rueful smile.

“I doubt I’ll be exposed in two days. Do as you will,” said Holo with a yawn and looked away as if to say, “This conversation is over.”

Lawrence nodded, then trotted over to the shepherdess.

He had the feeling he’d grown a bit closer to Holo.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Oh, n-not at all. So—”

“How does forty
trie
for the trip to Ruvinheigen sound? With a bonus if wolves attack and we make it through safely.”

Lawrence wondered if she would refuse, since the conversation with Holo had wasted some time. The shepherdess’s mouth hung open for a moment, but eventually Lawrence’s words seemed to sink in, and she nodded hastily.

“Y-yes, please!”

“It’s a deal, then,” said Lawrence. He was about to extend his hand to shake, thereby sealing the contract, when he realized he hadn’t asked the girl her name.

“Might I inquire as to your name, miss?”