Spice & Wolf I by Hasekura Isuna Read Free Book Online

her statement. Nonetheless he wondered uncharitably if she’d feel the same way if she were actually injured.
    Holo interrupted his reverie.
    “I know what you are thinking,” she said.
    Underneath the cloak, she smiled mischievously. The right corner of her mouth curled up in a smirk, showing a sharp fang.
    “Want to injure me and see for yourself?”
    Lawrence was not entirely disinclined to respond to her provocation, but he decided that if he actually reacted and drew his dagger, things could really get out of hand.
    It was possible that she meant it. More likely, though, it was just her mischief-loving nature.
    “I’m a man. I could never injure such a beautiful face.”
    Hearing him say so, Holo smiled as if having received a long-anticipated gift and drew playfully near to him. A sweet scent swirled vaguely around him, rousing Lawrence’s body. Completely indifferent to his reaction, she sniffed him, then drew slightly back.
    “You may have been caught in the rain, but you still smell foul. A wolf can tell these things.”
    “Why, you—”
    Lawrence threw a half-serious punch, but Holo moved adroitly aside and he hit only hair. She laughed, cocking her head and continuing.
    “Even a wolf knows to keep its coat clean. You’re a good man, aye, but you need to keep neat.”
    He didn’t know whether she was joking or not, but hearing it from a girl like Holo made it impossible to deny. For as long as he could remember, Lawrence maintained his appearance only insofar as it would help his professional negotiation, with no thought given to whether it would appeal to a woman.
    Had his negotiation partner been a woman, he might have taken the trouble, but unfortunately, he had not once met a female merchant.
    He didn’t know how to answer, so he simply turned around and fell silent.
    “The beard, though, is quite nice.”
    The medium-length beard that grew from Lawrence’s chin had always been well-received. Lawrence accepted the compliment gracefully, turning back to face her, somewhat proudly.
    “I daresay I’d prefer it a big longer, though.”
    Long beards were not popular among merchants. The thought automatically occurred to Lawrence, but Holo drew a line from her nose across her cheeks with her index finger, continuing her jape.
    “…Like so, like a wolf.”
    Lawrence was now finally aware that he had been made sport of. He ignored her and walked toward the room’s door, even as he felt childish for doing so. Holo giggled and followed. Truthfully, he was not actually angry with her.
    “There will be many people around the furnace. Best not to let anything slip.”
    “I am Holo the Wisewolf! Long ago I traveled clear to Pasloe in human form. Worry not!”
     
    The churches and inns far from the cities were important sources of information to a merchant. Churches in particular attracted all kinds of people.
    An inn might house poor travelers and grizzled merchants, but churches were different. One might find anyone from master brewers to wealthy nobles in a church.
    The church Lawrence and Holo had stopped in housed twelve guests. A few looked to be merchants; the others were of various professions.
    “Aha, so you’re here from Yorenz, then?”
    “Yes. I delivered salt from there to my customer and got marten furs in trade.”
    Most of the guests sat on the floor in the main hall, taking their meals or picking fleas from their clothing. One couple monopolized the bench in front of the furnace. Despite being a “great hall,” it was not particularly spacious, so no matter where one was in the crowded room, the generously stoked fireplace would dry one’s clothes. The couple’s clothes did not appear wet, so Lawrence imagined they were probably wealthy, and having made generous donations to the church could be here as they pleased.
    Lawrence was not wrong; he pricked up his ears to listen for a point in the couple’s conversation where he could enter and waited for his chance.
    The wife had gone