Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF

What? What happened?

ORIGINAL STORY BY ISUNA HASEKURA

I said, I'm sorry.

Of course,

I'm willing to do whatever I can to help you stay warm.

That's why I'm being quite generous and not even charging you a fee.

However, I have to draw the line somewhere, right?

This tail of mine is my pride and joy.

The only thing that proves that I am myself.

But look...

I've lost some fur, and it's completely flattened because of you!

First of all...

How dare you fall asleep while I'm talking.

We're approaching the next town.

That's where we can find information on my homeland, right?

According to Ms. Diana,

there's a monk who collects stories specifically about pagan gods.

I see. So that monk is in that town, huh?

No, the abbey is in a very remote location,

so only the priest at the church in Tereo knows where it is.

So the town we're approaching is Tereo, huh?

No, it's not. I don't know the directions to get to Tereo,

so we're going to stop by Enberch first.

What a roundabout way.

Blessed are those who live in Enberch.

That is because God always stands by those who have true faith.

I want to eat sweet bread.

Wait until I sell my cargo.

-What was your cargo again? -You don't remember?

It's the wheat I bought from Mark back in Kumersun.

Oh, that's right. It was wheat, wasn't it?

It's my first time here,

so I didn't know what products were in demand.

But I thought that a town of this size would have wealthy nobles

and a large church that would buy wheat.

So I planned accordingly.

I don't care about your simple little plan.

I'm asking, why did I have to eat that dark and bitter rye bread

day after day, when there was wheat in the wagon?

For someone who made a huge profit in Kumersun, you sure are stingy!

Excuse me...

We're not traveling just to find your homeland.

-This is how I make a living. -You fool!

My cute little tail was squashed under your leg!

It's only fair that you let me

squash you under my thumb!

I'm sick and tired of rye bread!

What I want is white

and fluffy bread made from wheat!

This year, we had a huge rye harvest.

So, we just can't get around to dealing with wheat.

Wheat does bring in a profit,

so I wish I could buy from you, but...

It would've been easier if I had just baked bread

out of this flour and sold that instead.

That's how merchants think.

Although, you'd be starting a war with the bakers.

So the bakers are tough here as well?

Yes, they are!

If you're not a baker and you bake bread, they come at you with a stone rolling pin.

By the way, are you here to open up a new trade route?

No, I'm just traveling and trying to make a living while I'm at it.

Oh, where are you headed?

-I'm planning on going to Lenos. -Lenos?

That's quite far.

I'm going to head toward Tereo before that, though.

I want to stop by the church.

In Tereo?

If you need to go to a church, wouldn't Enberch be better?

Now that you mention it, I did see a large church.

Yes, our church manages this whole region.

We have an amazing bishop named Bishop Mendes.

Actually, there is someone I want to meet at the Tereo church.

Oh, I might as well ask, while I'm here.

Do you know how to get to Tereo from here?

A single road leads straight there, so you won't get lost.

It takes about one day by wagon.

Thank you very much.

If it's God's will, we'll meet again.

Yes, I'll look forward to that. Bye now.

Hey, he said it takes a day to get to Tereo, right?

Huh? Oh, yeah.

If we get back on the road now, we can get there by tomorrow.

Shouldn't we get some rest? You must be tired too.

We can rest tomorrow, when we're in Tereo.

I want to get there as soon as possible.

All right. But let's eat a warm meal before leaving.

You're okay with that, right?

Well, of course we're going to.

-What's that sound? -It's that.

If there's a waterwheel here, we must be close.

Whoa!

Sorry about that! Hey, you're traveling, right?

That's right. And you are?

As you can see, I'm a miller.

So where did you come from? You're not from Enberch, are you?

How perceptive of you. Now let me ask you something.

How long will it take to get to the town of Tereo?

The "town" of Tereo?

If Tereo is a town, then Enberch is a city-state!

I don't know why you want to go to that boring village.

I see. So...

-How far is it? -It's just over there.

You're practically in Tereo already.

All right, I see. Thank you.

Now, now! There is no need to rush! Isn't that right, my travelers?

What do you want?

I don't really... Oh, that's right!

I see you're traveling with quite the beauty.

She's a nun on a pilgrimage.

-A nun? -Is there a problem?

I wouldn't recommend taking a nun to Tereo.

We came here because we need to visit the church in Tereo.

There shouldn't be a problem with a nun visiting a church, right?

Yeah, but, how do I put this... They're fighting right now.

With those irritating people from the Enberch church.

If a nun shows up amidst all that,

it'll complicate things.

I see. Well, we'll be careful then.

It'll be fine as long as she doesn't look like a nun, right?

That would be helpful.

But what business do you have with the church?

-I came to ask for directions. -Directions?

So you didn't come here for business, huh?

Darn, I thought I could be of use to you.

Maybe next time. Can I go now?

My name is Kraft Lawrence.

-What's your name? -Evan!

-Gyoam, Evan! -All right, Evan!

I'll remember your name.

Okay! Don't forget it!

Make sure to stop by on your way back too!

He was staring at you the whole time.

He's a miller, after all. Things must be tough for him.

Oh yeah?

It's the same situation as shepherds.

They're necessary jobs, but they're treated as outcasts in towns and villages.

I see.

There's wheat inside your pouch, right?

How much will you be left with once you thresh and grind it with a millstone?

I was a god of harvest,

but I don't know anything about that.

If you had this much wheat grain, for example,

and you thresh it and make it into flour,

you'd only get about this much.

It goes down that much?

People like to say that the millers

at water mills have a hidden finger that they steal flour with.

Plus, waterwheels are typically owned by the lord.

So you have to pay a tax to get your grains milled.

But who has to collect those taxes?

Naturally, it'd be the miller.

Exactly. And nobody is happy about paying taxes.

So who do you think they villainize?

I see.