Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF

No... I don't want to be alone anymore.

But that doesn't matter. I remembered...

That's right... There is someone who loves me.

What are you to me?

No, what am I to you?

ORIGINAL STORY BY ISUNA HASEKURA

Jeez! Didn't I tell you?

I can't believe you're the same man who was so confident earlier.

Something unforeseen happened.

It was completely unexpected.

-And I... -You let your guard down.

Be honest.

You're right.

So, what do you want to ask about?

If you want money from me, you won't get it.

I want to know which way the wind is blowing.

Even if I wanted to catch the wind and set sail,

an outsider like me wouldn't be able to forecast

the "winds" of the market here.

Just give up.

Just as nobody can stop a raging horse,

it's not easy to stop raising prices.

On the price board that they built next to the stone seller,

the waiting list keeps growing while the availability stays the same.

I don't expect the prices to drop anytime soon.

Unless you're an almighty god,

it'll be impossible to change this trend.

Then I'll just have to act like I'm a god.

A predictable drop in price

wouldn't be enough to bring down Amati anyway.

Are you thinking about setting off a crash in the market?

That's the only option.

Anyway, by sunset tomorrow,

I have to turn all the pyrite that he bought

into nothing but useless rocks.

A trick good enough to deceive him...

A trick that will trigger a crash...

Is there such a thing?

Then I'll just have to act like I'm a god.

God...

How much will you buy these for?

Look,

everything appears tilted in my eyes.

Excuse me, but do you have time to be contemplating?

If I were Holo...

Take a look at this.

Prepare yourselves...

You went all out, didn't you?

Did you give up on the wheat business?

Rumor has it that the value will double by tomorrow.

Double? Really?

No doubt about it.

If you drop your sail just because it's a festival,

you will miss out on a great opportunity.

I guess it's no time to be playing it safe and purchasing wheat.

That's true.

That was delicious.

The fish was as good as they said it was.

I'm curious about the other items on the menu now.

Mr. Lawrence.

Oh, sorry. May I help you?

I was told to deliver a letter to you.

From whom?

Both of them are from your companion.

One of them I wrote on her behalf as she dictated.

Can I get some light, please?

"Cash on hand: 200 silver coins."

Amount of pyrite on hand: 300 silver coins' worth.

Sellable assets..."

This is a breakdown of Amati's assets!

Holo...

This is... Amati's handwriting.

Let's see... "In the name of God..."

A marriage certificate?

HOLO

Holo...

I need all of the cash that I've left with you!

The bar that Mr. Amati frequents is...

What's with him?

He's the one from the guild.

Hey! Watch where you're going...

Excuse me.

Good evening.

-May I help you? -You don't have to be so cautious.

I am here to talk business.

This is a nice, quiet place.

It's impossible to drink in peace anywhere else.

So this is a special spot.

What are you scheming?

I'll cut to the chase.

I want you to buy pyrite from me.

I want you to buy pyrite from me.

I want to sell you 500 silver Trenni coins' worth of pyrite

based on today's market value.

You must be joking.

It is not a joke.

You must know that I am making a profit by reselling pyrite.

So why in the world

are you trying to sell pyrite to me?

Don't tell me it is true that you

don't care about what happens to Ms. Holo, as long as you collect her debt?

No, Holo is important to me.

-Well then, why... -Of course,

I'm not selling it just like that.

I want to sell it to you on margin.

-On margin? -Yes.

What do you mean?

I mean, tomorrow evening, I want to sell you pyrite worth

500 silver Trenni coins based on today's market value.

Well then, why don't you just ask me tomorrow evening?

No, I'd like the payment now.

In other words, I will receive

500 silver Trenni coins from you right now.

And tomorrow evening, I will deliver the amount of pyrite

that is worth 500 silver Trenni coins at this moment's market value.

That's all.

So even if by tomorrow evening,

pyrite is more valuable than it is right now,

I will still receive the amount of pyrite calculated based on

-today's market price? -That's right.

For example, let's say that I sold

one piece of pyrite that costs 1,200 Ireid to you on margin right now.

I will receive that payment from you immediately.

But even if the value

of that pyrite goes up to 2,000 Ireid by tomorrow evening,

I will still have to give you the pyrite as promised.

The opposite can also be true.

Even if the value decreases to 200 Ireid,

I will still only receive one piece of pyrite, right?

Exactly.

Why not just do an ordinary transaction?

Exchanging the payment and product on different days

is basically the same thing as a regular transaction...

No, it's not.

So that's what it is?

By "selling on margin,"

you make a profit by selling a product that you don't have on hand.

Compared to "buying" on margin,

which yields profit when the products you have on hand become more valuable,

"selling" on margin yields profit when your money becomes more valuable.

In other words,

you make a profit when the value of the product

you sold drops, right?

As expected of you. You understand now, right?

I never knew of such business methods.

I guess I've become ignorant of the world around me,

by dealing solely with fish.

In this case, if you buy 500 silver coins' worth

of extra pyrite from me,

you will profit that much more when the value rises.

Likewise, you will lose that much more when the price drops.

That's true.

If you make a profit, that means I will suffer a loss.

This is basically...

Mr. Amati, I am challenging you to a duel.

It can hardly be called a "duel."

I mean, you don't plan on making this deal without a certificate, do you?

Even if the value of pyrite is going to drop by tomorrow evening,

as long as it reaches a value that can produce the money I need by then,

I can sell the certificate off to someone.

It is too disadvantageous to you.

After all, I only need a slight increase in value

to be able to reach my goal.

However, I do not wish to agree to a transaction

that is unfavorable to you, just for my own advantage.

It may seem that way if you only look at this transaction.

But actually, this disadvantage evens things out in the end.

By which you mean?

I mean that there is the possibility

of Holo ripping up and tossing away the marriage certificate.

You have a copy too, right?

Even if you pay off her debt to me,

if Holo says no,

there is nothing you can do. That's a risk you have to bear.

Compared to that,

my slight disadvantage is nothing.

I don't think you have to worry about that.

You two seem to have had a big argument.

During our journey together,

Holo has cried in my arms three times.

When she is like that, she is quite adorable.

But unfortunately, she's so stubborn.