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.
Yeah, while I was on my way here from Rubinhaigen,
it had already become a famous rumor.
That's right, it's scary, you know.
That magician near that newly-made detour road, right?
I heard about it too.
He summons wolves and commands them as if they were dogs,
and attacks travelers to collect their blood!
That can't be true.
No, you should seriously be careful.
This is a story I heard from someone who's with the church in Rubinhaigen,
but two weeks ago, an entire caravan was wiped out.
Ah, scary, how scary!
It's scary so I'm going to drink more!
I guess I'll keep it in mind.
I pray the magician isn't a woman, then.
Why's that?
You're easily deceived by women.
You're also easily seduced, even if it means you'll get hurt.
Ever since then, the price of beer has certainly increased.
Ah, hey!
The Medioh Company must be a huge topic in bars.
Men really are foolish creatures.
Sorry for being an idiot.
Wolf and Righteous Scale
What an insolent city!
Bars close far too early!
That's because this place is under the control of the Church and Rubinhaigen.
At least they have bars intended for travelers.
You mean it's a city that's only interested in living humbly and praying to God?
The Church's sermons about virtues, that put you to sleep, are like this city's greeting.
I don't understand what's so fun about it.
After I sell the pepper and load up some new cargo, I'll take you to Rubinhaigen.
Is it a large town?
Yeah.
It's larger than Pattsio.
It's more of a city than a town.
It's lively, and there are a lot of street stalls.
Do they have apples?
I'm not sure about fresh ones.
It's almost winter, so it's about the time they preserve them.
Preserve?
They don't use salt, you know, they use honey!
And it's not just apples, preserved pears in honey are also good.
Also, in newer areas, they use peaches.
Peaches...
They cut the peaches into thin slices and pack them into a barrel.
The high-class versions of the product might even have almonds in them.
They then pour a lot of honey on top and a bit of ginger at the bottom,
and then store it for about two months.
The sweetness you taste when you put it in your mouth is a sweetness that's almost otherworldly.
The Church prohibits it, though, because of their doctrines-
Hey, you're drooling.
You're not lying, are you?
I'm not lying, but
generally, only the rich or noble can buy them.
Stores don't put them on display often.
W-What if they put it on display?
What would happen if they put it on display?
A-All right, I'll buy it for you.
You'd better!
But only a little.
It's a promise, okay?
H-Hey, are you listening?
Let's go, then.
Let's go quickly.
Go where?
We'll go to the inn, get on the wagon, and go to that whatever-company, of course.
We'll strike the doors until the master awakens, sell the pepper at a high price,
and then immediately depart for Rubinhaigen!
Wait, wait, at a time like this?
It might be sold out, so all the more reason to go now.
There's a higher chance of it not being sold rather than being sold out.
Peaches with honey! I can't believe this.
I just can't believe it!
That's only if we're lucky!
But...
It'll be hard for me to give up the pears as well.
We haven't taken that priest's story too much to heart.
It's truly a meeting that God has sent to us.
I wish to impart those words to you as an expression of the devotional feelings that reside in my heart.
Well, I talked a bit too long, so shall we get down to business?
Please.
What goods did you bring us today?
This here.
Pepper, is it?
I'm surprised you could tell.
It's the smell.
I'm amazed.
No, no, it's something I learned after doing this for so long.
By the way, did you bring a scale?
No, I didn't, but...
I believe in God.
But still, it's quite frustrating.
The demand for pepper has been rising lately.
If you had come a week earlier, I could've bought the pepper cheaper.
Then I've come at a good time?
Yes.
Well then, let us weigh the pepper.
Yes, please do.
Then I'll need some paper and ink, so please wait a bit.
What is it?
I'm thirsty.
Just bear with it.
Would water be okay with you?
We also have wine.
Ah, could I have some water?
A simple request.
The weight comes to 45 units.
Where did this pepper come from?
Ramapata from the the Kingdom of Riedon.
It was imported by the Milone Company.
Ramapata is known prominently for their spices, isn't it?
Also, there's no mistaking that this certificate is authentic.
Well then, how about one Rumione gold coin for each unit?
What is the market price for Rumione gold coins?
Would Thoreni silver coins be fine?
Yes.
In Thoreni silver coins...
It would be 32 and 5/6 coins.
That would be by my estimation.
Then I'll go with that price.
Ah, well then...
What's wrong?
I'm a bit dizzy...
A-Are you all right?
Y-Yes...
Are you better now?
A bit, thank you.
It must be the weariness from your long travels.
I'll bring you some goat milk now.
Excuse me...
For some reason, everything seems to be on a slant to me.
How does it all look to you?
No, I would never...
I'm sure it isn't, but...
Hey, are you okay?
I see something that can't be real!
It looks like I was drinking wine earlier, rather than water.
Isn't that right, sir?
There's a proverb that says you shouldn't drink more than the cheerful bar master.
I understand it now.
The secret to a thriving business is to be the sober one in that situation, correct?
It seems I'm drunk too.
I'll probably forget all that I've seen and heard here.
But when I'm drunk, I tend to talk quite a bit.
W-What are you...
The money here, the profit you tried to make off me, and...
Let's see, to buy my trust, you'll give me double the amount of what I was buying.
Double?! T-That's too much!
Ah, how unfortunate, I'm becoming sober.
The commodity will be...
Let's see, money is money, so how about some high-grade armor?
Armor?
It's a safe and standard commodity that will guarantee a profit.
And with this, I can return the money I borrowed immediately.
You have a lot of commodities for Rubinhaigen, don't you?
Armor, huh?
There's a company that's friendly with me in Rubinhaigen,
so the lending and borrowing would counterbalance.
How about it?
Thank you very much.
Well then, could you make arrangements for the goods now?
I would like to depart for Rubinhaigen as soon as possible.
I-I understand. What about the audit?
I'll leave it to you. I believe in God after all.
I feel sorry for him.
But still, I'm amazed that you noticed.
I'm beautiful, the lay of my tail is good, and I'm smart.
But my ears and eyes are good too.
I smelled it right when I entered this room.
Oh?
Not "Oh!"
What are you doing, so suddenly?
Experience leads to trusting others too much.
And that trust can sometimes be fatal.
You should have learned that after Chloe.
That's entirely true.
You fool!
Feeling sorry for yourself is even worse!
You should just learn from it.
Oil?
Yes, I hear it's good for maintaining my tail.
Could you buy me some in the next city?
Have you ever calculated the price for those clothes you're wearing, your spare clothes, the comb,
the expenses for the inn, meals, and the absurd amounts of beer?
There's also the poll tax when we enter a city.
It's not like you can't calculate it, right?
I can do addition.
But not only addition, I'm also good at subtraction.
Then add up how much you've spent.
If you're so wise, you should be able to know the answer to my question.
I don't know.
I'm sure you will buy it.
You pride yourself for being clever and wise, but you just lose face when you're drunk.
I'm not drunk at all!
Hey! What are you doing?!
Just kidding.
Hey...
It's not good to belittle me.
Don't you understand that you gained that unimaginable profit by grasping onto that master's weakness?
Will you buy me oil?
How much do you think you owe me?
140 silver coins!
You understand how much that is, right?
You think I'll just buy you some more unnecessary stuff on top of that?
What? Do you really want me to pay you back that much?
Of course!
I didn't know you thought that way.
W-What do you-
Well...
Once I pay you back, I'll be free.
Yeah, I should just pay you back and return to the North by myself.
Well, I am used to being alone.
I haven't decided when you have to pay me back.
As long as you pay me back when we reach the northern forest, it'll be fine.
Is that all right?
Yeah.
I'm sure I will be able to pay you back once we reach the northern forest.
Also, I was planning to pay you back with interest.
In other words, the more I can borrow from you, the more profit you'll get.
Okay?
Oil, huh?
Yes.
You can forget about my debt, so will you buy me it?
Agreed, then.
Thank you.
The weather is perfect this morning!
But you really haggled with him, didn't you?
Why are you asking that?
It's not good to become a merchant that extorts.
Rubinhaigen is the best place to sell armor, but there are too many merchants who bring it in.
And because of that, the interest rate will naturally lower.
So I just haggled with him to get more.
But you bought this much, so you should have a big profit, right?
Well, we should have enough to buy oil.
That's great.
But thinking about it, spice is really good.
Did you eat it?
Don't treat me like you. I'm talking about profit.
You should have gotten more spice, then.
The price won't be any different in Rubinhaigen or Polson.
The tariff would cost me so much that I'd be be at a loss.
Then you should give up on it.
If I could trade spices or something with a higher interest rate, I'd have my own store by now.
Isn't there something else?
For example, don't jewels and gold sell well?
There won't be much profit with those in Rubinhaigen and its vicinity.
Why's that?
The tariff is too high.
By looking at a few merchants, they get charged a high tariff when they import gold.
You can't do any business because of it.
Why are a few merchants exempt from it?
It's a monopoly with the Church.
If you take gold to the Church there, they'll carve a holy seal for you.
The blessed gold then comes with a preposterously high price.
Of course, for exempting the tariff, they receive donations.
What a splendid relationship.
That's why there's a terribly severe punishment for smuggling.
If you smuggle it, the price will double,
but in exchange, it will also be dangerous.
That's why there aren't any idiots who do it.
You can't even import gold by hiding it?
The cargo inspection isn't that laid back.
What'll happen if they find out?
At the worst, they'll sever your dominant arm.
It's just not worth it.
Well, your business is doing well.
You just need to steadily earn money.
You're exactly right.
But there's someone who's trying to waste my steady gain of profit.
You should be careful.
It seems like a mercenary band is coming in from the north.
Mercenary band?
Yeah.
Then continuing on this path would be suicide.
Yes, they're like birds of prey and can find their game even faster than I.
If they think it will make them money,
they'll take everything, not even leaving behind the ashes of tree stumps.
They have long spears, too.
I have memories of trouble with them.
What troubles me more is why they've gone out of their way to come here.
They're like us, they only move if there's something to gain.
Well, there's no use worrying about it here.
Anyway, let's take that new detour road leading to Rubinhaigen.
You're not afraid of that pagan magician, right?
There seems to be a pack of wolves on the road also.
They're easier to handle than humans.
At the least, we can talk.
Then I'll leave the negotiations to you.
There's no one around.
The power of rumors are exceptionally strong.
How boring, I'm going to take a nap.
You'll still know if wolves come if you're asleep, right?
I can tell that much.
It'll be troublesome if we're surrounded.
You're such a worry-wart.
It doesn't normally matter if they're awake or asleep, despite what animal it is.
It's that you humans are too defenseless when you sleep.
That's not very convincing, since you snore when you sleep.
I don't snore!
Well, it's not that loud.
I told you I don't snore!
All right already.
I told you I don't snore!
I told you, I got it!
What's wrong?
I'll leave the coming negotiations to you.
What's there?
The type of humans I hate.
That magician?
Sheep?
Is that supposed to be the magician?
What was that?
It's a kind of ritual for when you meet a shepherd.
At the very least, she doesn't look like the magician.
I'm a travelling merchant, Lawrence.
This is my traveling companion, Horo.
To the shepherd where God had guided us to meet, I hope that you pray for our safe journey.
With pleasure.
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 the Shepherd's Lambs