Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF

C'mon! I wanna hear a story!

Hm. Have I ever told you about the giant, salty pond?

Yeah, I know that one.

Well then, what about when I encountered

a pompous fool, and I bit him right on the ass?

You've told me that, too.

All those stories are for babies!

Don't you have any grown-up ones

I haven't heard?

Of course, I do!

I'll tell you an old one.

I know you haven't heard the tale

of the distant village.

Once there was a village far to the south,

and a wise wolf who protected its harvest each year.

What was the wolf like?

The wolf was trustworthy,

and struck a promise with the village youth.

It would stay and ensure

that they'd always have bountiful harvests of wheat.

And this worked well, yes.

For a good many years.

None know where it began, but when the villagers saw

ripe wheat stalks swaying in the wind,

they took to saying, "the wolf is running."

When the wind flattened the ears of wheat,

they were trampled by the wolf.

And when harvests were poor,

they were eaten by the wolf.

It sounds like those villagers

must have cared for the wolf a lot!

Yes. Yes, they did.

Okay, they lived happily ever after

and that was the end?

- No. -Huh?

Many years went by just like that.

But slowly, the villagers' memory of the pact

they'd struck with the wolf began to fade.

Over time, stories of the wolf,

once shared with reverence and awe,

turned into nothing but old wives' tales.

The humans developed new methods

of growing wheat for themselves,

till they no longer had need for belief in the wolf

that had long brought them bountiful harvests.

So? What happened to the wolf after that?

Well, at that time of year,

there was a festival.

The sky should stay clear 'till tonight.

Rain would be bad for you. huh?

Hm.

Huh?

A merchant?

I'm on my way back after selling some salt.

There's a small village in the mountains

I do business with half a day east of here.

And what cargo do you return with?

Some marten pelts.

Ah. And this?

A sheaf of wheat I got from the village.

From what I hear,

it'll fare well against cold and pests.

What of yourself?

What occasions your atypical post here,

sir knight?

Word of a pagan festival.

Apparently, happening in a village nearby.

Really, now?

Heretics, the lot of them,

who don't believe in the great God

that created our world.

I'd expect it up North, but to think

there are still some around these parts.

Know anything about it?

I'm afraid not.

Hm.

A pagan village, huh?

Good day!

It's been a while!

Well, who do we have here?

You must be...

Your favorite traveling merchant, Kraft Lawrence.

It looks like quite the harvest this year!

I'll say, just take a look at all of this!

I've come looking for Yarei. Where can I find him?

He should be down in the field over yonder.

Thank you, good sir.

Better hurry.

You're gonna miss him at this rate.

Still a lot of young men down that way,

none too good with a sickle.

I'd bet money on it.

One of them will be Holo this year.

Holo, huh?

The wolf is there!

The wolf is there!

The wolf is resting in that stack of wheat!

We made it to the last sheaf!

Careful not to cut too much!

Huh?

You know Holo flees

from the greedy hand!

Who will be the lucky man to catch the wolf this year?

Hm.

Yarei, Yarei, Yarei!

Holo's here at last!

There's Yarei.

He's possessed by Holo!

Let's get 'im!

Holo's not getting away!

Block his exits!

- -

You're not escaping this year!

Time to lock him in!

Hey, Lawrence!

-I'll see ya later! -Huh.

And when is "later" coming around?

- -

You won't be allowed out for a week.

Looks like another great year for the harvest!

Indeed.

And we owe it all to the innovations

brought to us by Count Erhendott.

The new lord of the fiefdom, right?

So the era of praying to old gods is over.

The harvest was once an omen,

but we don't have to worry about

the moods of a fickle wolf god,

thanks to the farming methods our lord has brought.

That's a lot of Trenni silver

for a rural area!

I'm impressed!

Again, we owe it all to our new lord.

Is your price negotiator

holding up to expectations?

If you're talking about Yarei, he's still doing splendidly.

He's always telling people his business sense

came from what you taught him.

He's just reaping the fruits of his hard work.

He also mentioned how much

he was looking forward to seeing his old friend again.

I wish it worked out.

So, would you like to stay the night here?

That's a generous offer,

but sadly, the items I purchased

have a rather strict deadline for payment.

I hope to take you up on it next time.

A lone outsider has no reason to stay.

I hope you like all the fresh vegetables

I picked out for you.

Time for bed.

- -Hm.

- -

Hey!

-Wake up! -

Is this a joke, sleeping in someone else's cart?

Get up! Huh.

Your ears?

Huh?

'Tis a good moon. Have you no wine?

No, I've nothing of the sort!

And what exactly are you--

Well, then, something to dine on?

- -Oh?

Is that meat?

What an awful waste.

Get back! Are you a demon, girl?

'Tis a thankless wretch who points their blade

in my direction.

Thankless how?

Ah, right.

You do not count among the humans from the village.

My apologies. A mere slip of the tongue.