I had lost my way during my journey.
Only my soul was wandering, while I stood still.
But right now, I'm walking to a distant place.
That's right, ever since I met you on this road.
The travellers witnessed the song, the forbidden song,
And I became attached to it as I heard it alone with you.
If the world I saw in my dreams exists somewhere,
Let's go search for it, beyond the winds.
Whether it's a freezing dawn,
A dry midday,
A shivering night,
or the ends of the Earth, let's go and see it.
Once upon a time in a village,
an abundance of wheat would ripen and sway in the wind,
and a wolf could be seen running through it.
Wheat that fell due to the wind would be trampled on by the wolf.
When the crop was poor, the wolf would then eat it.
There was nothing in the beginning.
There was only warmth.
And then, a promise was made.
Meetings and partings continued.
Eventually, humans gained wealth using their own power.
There was probably no need to keep the promise faithfully anymore.
Wolf and Best Clothes
I'm getting awfully tired of these countryside roads.
Aren't you?
You're a peddler?
If you head south for half a day, there's a small village in the mountains.
I just came back from selling salt there.
So, all of that's salt?
No.
This is fur.
It's just a stack of wheat.
It's strong in the heat and cold.
What's going on?
Since when has it become this daunting?
Truth be told, a pagan festival is about to start in a village to the south.
Pagan?
They don't believe in the one and absolute God.
They're an outrageous folk.
I think the law enforcement should use their power more like they did in the past.
It seems they're just not as devoted.
The pagans are probably using some cheap trick.
Pagans, huh?
The people of Pasroe?
Hey, Lawrence.
Boy, I'm really surprised.
I didn't think there was a different method for harvesting.
It's all thanks to the Count.
We can't rely on the wolf anymore.
Hey, we can't say bad things. It's a god, after all.
Oh, Lawrence!
Hello! It's been such a while!
No, no, you came at a really great time.
Tomorrow is the harvest festival.
Tomorrow? I thought it had already begun.
Actually, we're just a bit ahead here.
How about a cup?
Hey, hey, don't drag Lawrence into this one!
Well, forgive my rudeness!
By the way, do you know where Chloe is?
Chloe?
I see, so that's what it's about, huh?
No, she's just my merchant apprentice, after all.
I just thought we'd have a drink
and talk about trade while we were at it.
Well, that's not good.
That place is the final spot for the harvest this year.
She might be the one to become Horo for the festival.
Over there! That's where the wolf lies!
So who's going to catch the wolf in the end? Just who? Who?
Chloe!
Lawrence!
You came!
Horo will escape if you look away!
It's the last stack of wheat.
Did your greed hide the wheat stack?
Check it well, or Horo will escape!
So, who caught the wolf? Who?
It was Chloe! Chloe! Chloe!
Horo the wolf appeared! Catch her! Catch her!
She headed that way!
Catch her, Lawrence!
It's been a while, so treat me tonight, okay?
What do you mean, "treat me tonight?"
You'll be in there for a week!
Thanks to you, a new trade route has opened up for us.
It sounds like Chloe's doing well as the village's merchant.
Yes, she's doing really well.
This village will continue to prosper.
Thoreni silver coins?
I haven't seen these in this area, though.
We can say goodbye to those dark, rusty silver coins.
We'll see the day when we rub shoulders with people in the big city soon.
No, we still have a long way to go.
It's all thanks to the new feudal lord, Count Eirin Dotte.
There's no need to pray to the wolf anymore.
We can overcome droughts and storms thanks to our own abilities now.
Rather than Thoreni silver coins, we'll be making Rumio gold coins!
I hope for your patronage when that time comes.
Outsiders will just be treated as a nuisance.
Even so, talking about Rumio gold coins is taking it too far.
Well then...
Guess I'll sleep.
This can't be real.
Hey...
You...
W-Wake up!
What are you doing in my wagon?
I told you to wake up!
Ea-
Ears?
H-Hey...
What a pleasant moon.
Do you have any beer?
I-I don't have anything like that!
In the first place-
What? Then how about some food?
Oh? What a waste.
Are you some kind of possessing demon?
How ungrateful.
How dare you point your knife at me.
W-What'd you say?
I see, you're not part of the local village.
Sorry, please forget what I said.
My name is Horo.
It's been a while since I last took this form.
It seems it went well.
Horo?
Yes, it's a good name, is it not?
What a coincidence.
I know something that goes by that name as well.
I don't know of anyone named Horo, other than myself.
Where is that person?
It's the name of the god in a village from this area.
Are you telling me you're a god?
I've been called a god for a long time since I was bound to this land.
I'm not as great as a real god.
I am nothing but Horo.
"She's a girl that's been locked up since she was small, and
she's strange and pathetic,"
is probably what you're thinking, right?
I was born in the far North.
North?
Yes, the summers are short and the winters are long.
A forest in the country of Yoitsu.
It was a world where everything sparkled a brilliant silver.
You're a travelling merchant, right?
Could you take me with you?
W-Why me?
I have a good eye for people.
You're not a cold person who can nonchalantly refuse a person's request, are you?
Don't lean on me!
I'm not that good of a person!
Could you treat me nicely?
You're just too cute.
I don't dislike this form, but it's too cold.
Horo!
If you're really Kenrou Horo, then prove it to me!
Are you saying you want to see my wolf form?
That's right!
I don't want to.
W-Why's that?
What about you?!
If you're a human, then I'll take you to a church and exorcise you.
Possessing demons cause great trouble.
But if you're really the Horo who brings an abundant harvest, then I'll think it over.
You look like you could bring me great fortune.
Do you really want to see it?
Yes, I do.
I'll ask you one more time.
Do you really want to see it?
I really want to see it.
Regardless of the form, I can't change unless a price is paid.
In my case,
it's blood from the living,
or a bit of wheat.
Take some of the wheat over there, please.
H-Hey.
What's wrong?
Sorry for my sudden return.
No, don't worry.
I'll be heading towards the festival, but you can stay here.
Who is it?
It's Horo.
Horo?
You didn't bother showing up, so I had to come.
Don't you have to be in the grain barn?
Horo probably doesn't exist, anyway.
Come on, let's go.
Where to?
You promised you'd treat me, right?
You smell differently from before.
Did you pass by Zauchebache?
You have a good sense of smell, as usual.
The smell of the soil and life there just sticks to you naturally.
Your look has changed, too.
It's overflowing with confidence.
Isn't it?
It feels great.
I just might surpass you, one day.
I'll have to ask for your patronage when that happens.
How mean! You probably don't think that way at all!
Of course I do.
This beer is good.
Hey, hey, that's enough.
If you start believing in me, then I have a good proposal for you.
If it goes well, we can open up our own store, and even build our own house!
That's amazing.
Come on, take me seriously!
I have a big business negotiation, and we can make a killing off it if it comes together.
Lawrence?
You're really starting to look like your father.
Your father also had a good business sense.
It's not like that, this time.
That's why I'm telling you all this.
There are always some strings attached to these big proposals.
Is that why you want to hire me?
I want to partner up with you because I admire you.
I've always taken everything you've told me to heart.
I believe that I've gotten this far because of it.
It's all because of you.
It's dangerous.
It's really dangerous.
You're still young.
Rather than betting on this proposal, it'd be better if you gained more experience.
How boring!
It was a chance for us to gain a profit together.
I'll bring you some better proposals that are less dangerous.
I'll partner up with you on those.
I've grown without you even noticing, you know!
No, you have a long way to go as a merchant.
You'll have it coming when you underestimate me.
Experiencing something like that might be good.
Is it a woman?
You looked up to the sky for a moment.
Did you find a good partner?
No.
I was just imagining how it'd be if Horo were my partner.
Horo?
You mean me?
No, I mean the real Horo.
I can't believe it, you were having delusions like that?
Delusions, huh?
Yeah, delusions.
Delusions, you say?
Delusions for sure.
What if Horo actually existed?
Another delusion?
I wonder if she's had painful times, too.
Of course not!
Horo is a god, after all.
I guess.
I guess there's no way she'd be here.
Whom are you seeking?
Horo!
You don't need to act so surprised.
Where were you hiding?
During this season, I live inside harvested wheat.
I can never escape.
It's because someone is looking.
But, there's an exception.
Exception?
If there's a bigger stack of wheat than the one that was harvested last,
I can move to that one.
Well, so...
How do I say it... I guess I can call you my savior.
You are my savior.
During that time,
when I saw your true form,
I was unusually surprised.
Is that why you vanished?
You know,
I was asked for a favor by a young man a long time ago.
I was asked to ripen the wheat for the village.
Since then, I've been protecting it.
However, if abundant harvests repeat, it puts pressure on the land.
I had to let the land rest sometimes.
However, the villagers would say it was my whim that did it.
It's been getting worse these past years.
No one needs me anymore.
Whenever I'm needed, they run away scared when they see my true form.
I can't even get close to them.
That wasn't what I had wished for.
For now, I'll believe that story.
You're such a distrustful man.
Is there a place you want to go, once you leave the village?
I want to return to the North.
Lawrence?
It's all right, you can come out now.
It was quite hard to tie up my shoelaces in there.
Well, of course.
Shoelaces?
Hey, is that my...?
Yes, does it look good?
Those are my best clothes; they took ten years to obtain!
Seems like it.
The tailoring is quite good.
You're a pretty good merchant.
Take those clothes off right now, or get off.
You wouldn't do that.
You'll have it coming if you underestimate me.
Anyway, I'm counting on you, um...
Lawrence.
Craft, Lawrence.
Lawrence.
In the future, your name shall be in my tales for eternity!
Geez, you don't need to talk about me.
Get your own meals, okay?
I'm not in an easy business.
I'm not such a fool to think that I'd get free meals just like that.
I'm Horo Kenrou, the prideful wolf.
Anyway...
It's a bit confined.
Listen here...
Well, it'll be a good way for me to get used to the cold.
Seven apples on the witch's tree
With seven seeds to plant inside of me
In spring time I grew a magic song
Then skipping along,
I sang the song to everyone
I look at the world through apple eyes
And cut myself a slice of sunshine pie
I danced with the peanuts for the flies
Till someone had told me
To say hello for every good-bye
Saw some sugar stars
I'll put them in a jar
And we'll wish around the world
Oh we'll wish around the world
I'm a little wolf inside a cart
You say,
And off I go from June to May
Oh we'll wish around the world
Let's wish around the world
Next, Wolf and Distant Past.