The slightly steep hills are continuous, with rocks everywhere, no grass or trees. Since the road extends along the gap between hills, it sometimes encounters narrow roads that can only be passed by a carriage. I thought I had to go up a long climb, but it turned downhill in a hurry; I thought I could only see bare rocky ground and dry bushes, but a vast scenery suddenly appeared in front of me. Although this kind of journey is less likely to be boring than walking on the endless vast grassland, I believe that after the fifth day, most people will get bored. When I just changed from the prairie that gradually turned into a lonely tone, which means that the cold winter is coming, into the scene of rocks everywhere, which is earthy yellow all year round, the sound of surprises that came from seeing the ups and downs of the road and the scenery has been heard until now. Silently.Looking back, only to find that the person who made the sound seemed to be tired of sitting in the driver's seat, and was lying on the cargo platform combing his tail.

The driver of the carriage was a young man, and he showed an expression that had long been used to his partner's wayward behavior.Claf Lawrence, a young man dressed so easily that he was a traveling merchant.Twenty-five-year-old Lawrence has been a self-reliant traveling businessman for the seventh year now. He is wearing a leather coat that wraps his body tightly from the neck, as if expressing the chill from late autumn to early winter. Lawrence occasionally stroked the modest beard on his chin, often seen on traveling merchants, because it was always cold to sit still all the time. Lawrence exhaled, feeling that as soon as it got closer to sunset, the breath he exhaled would turn into white mist. He turned his head and glanced in the direction of the cargo platform.

The shelves, which are always piled with products on the verge of overload, seem a little deserted this time.The most piled goods on the cargo platform are firewood and straw for heating at night, and the rest are only bags that even children can hold, mixed among these firewood and straw. However, the goods contained in such a small bag have a value that cannot be matched even if the entire shelf is filled with high-quality wheat. The bag contained high-quality peppers, and the total value was about a thousand in terms of trinity silver coins.If these peppers were sold in towns in the mountains, it would not be difficult to sell them for 1,700 silver coins.However, the bag containing such super high-end products has now become the pillow of Lawrence's partner who is lying on the counter and combing his tail leisurely.

This partner is petite, and the fifth palace seems childish, but she is like a queen lying lazily in the palace, leaning on the bag full of pepper, combing her tail listlessly: The robe and hat on his head were also taken off, revealing a pair of pointed ears. When it comes to tails, pointed ears, and companions of traveling merchants, dogs are generally associated.But unfortunately, this guy is not a dog. She was said to be a virtuous wolf who lived in the forests of the northern lands, but Lawrence wasn't sure if he could call her just a wolf. After all, this virtuous wolf has the appearance of a girl, and it would be wrong to call her a legitimate wolf.

"It's almost time to reach the town, so be careful." The girl has animal ears and a tail. It would be a big deal if someone finds out. However, having said that, this guy is as clever as a businessman, so I believe she will be fine without reminding her; however, she completely ignores the relaxation of her image However, Lawrence couldn't help but want to say a few words. After hearing this, the girl didn't even look at Lawrence, and even yawned a lot. The girl let out an unsuspecting "huh" sound of exhaling. Lawrence thought that the girl had finally finished yawning. Unexpectedly, she then pulled the brown tail with snow-white hairs closer to her body. Maybe it was because the tail was itchy?She nibbled at the end of her tail like a puppy, seemingly not responding to Lawrence at all.

Lawrence could at least be sure that Holo, a girl who had wolf ears and a tail and called herself a wise wolf, did have the ability to relax like an animal, regardless of her image. "……Yep." When Lawrence could not tell whether it was an answer or a voice that was relieved and satisfied by the tickling feeling, he had already become impatient and turned to the front. Lawrence and such a wayward Holo met about two weeks ago. When Lawrence passed a certain village on the way of business, a wonderful fate allowed him to pick up Holo, so the two started their journey.Holo, who has wolf ears and a tail, is a demon possessed by the general population. For the church that is committed to maintaining the order of the gods in the world, Holo is the target of their pursuit.

However, Holo is not simply a human with wolf ears and a tail.By now, Lawrence had no doubts about this. He was convinced that Holo was, as she claimed, the Wise Wolf who lived in the northern forests. The string of silver coin incidents that took place in Pazio, an estuary town built along the river, ended exactly nine days ago.At the end of the incident, Lawrence witnessed Holo's true appearance. The giant brown wolf named Holo understands human language, and it exudes an overwhelming sense of presence, almost like a god. If we want to mention the relationship between Holo, the virtuous wolf who can be revered as a god, and Lawrence—they are objects of loan and loan in terms of money, they are traveling companions in the eyes of the world, and they are friends in terms of personal friendship; at least Lawrence Lance thinks so.

Lawrence looked back again, Holo seemed to be curled up and fell asleep.Holo wore trousers under the robe, so her feet would not be exposed; but the appearance of the robe rolled up to the waist in order to comb the tail, but fell asleep, the expression was really sensational. Holo's sleeping position could only be described as defenseless.Her petite figure made her look less like a wolf, and more like a weak girl who would be eaten by wolves. Even so, Lawrence still did not dare to underestimate the girl in front of him. It was because Lawrence noticed that Holo's wolf ears moved suddenly, and saw her slowly stretch out her gloves to put on her hat, and pull down her rolled up skirt to cover her tail.

Lawrence turned his body to face the front, and saw the traveling merchant on foot, appearing from the road extending to the right along the slope of the hill. Sure enough, there was no need to remind Holo. The realm of He Luo, a wise wolf who is hundreds of years old, can catch up with a little boy who has only lived for 25 years. Even so, Holo looked younger than Lawrence, even though her actual age was dozens of times that of Lawrence, Lawrence still sometimes felt a little uncomfortable with her behavior. The relationship between the two that Lawrence expects to have is the same as the age gap in appearance: as long as he reminds Holo, Holo will be frank and obedient, and because of Lawrence's reminder, Holo will avoid various difficulties and thank him deeply.Unfortunately, the opposite often happens in reality.

Lawrence looked back slightly. Lawrence thought he was turning his head slowly and quietly, but Holo, who was sleeping with the pepper bag in his arms, glanced at him. Seeing Lawrence's somewhat surprised expression, Holo looked as if everything was under her control, smiled mischievously, and closed her eyes again. Lawrence turned and faced forward. The horse wagged its tail from side to side as if mocking him. There is a specially named town called Poloson. As long as you pass through this town, head north or east along the plateau for several days, and then continue to travel through the towns and villages there, you can lead to foreign countries.As the literal meaning of exotic, where people eat and dress differently, even the gods they worship are different.

Lawrence had heard that Porosun had been called the gateway to another world not long ago. As long as you go west from this rocky plateau, and then whether you go north, south, or west, you can encounter a large area of ​​fertile land and forests.However, the land there has only a few springs and is surrounded by rocks, so there is not much land available for farming.Even so, a town was specially built on such land, precisely because it was the entrance to another world. In the morning mist, Lawrence was walking towards the fields where the goats were bleating, while counting the wooden stakes erected around like tombstones.The wooden stakes are engraved with the names of the saints who have left their names in history after the long history of the church. The saints are still purifying the land. Before Porosun was known as the gateway to another world, it was said that it was once a holy place in a certain city. Following God's instruction, the church forced the pagans to change their beliefs, and decided to carry out the battle of purification against this land polluted by wrong culture by the positive number of believers. It has been a long time so far.Poroson had been the spiritual pillar of a certain alien that was wiped out in these processes.Legend has it that after the church waged a fierce war and finally wiped out the heretics in this place, the town of Porosun was built by Zhengdun disciples. It is said that the pagans later migrated to places further north and east than Poroson, and Poroson became a stronghold for missionaries and knights who planned to go out.Afterwards, Porosun became a relay station for people and supplies, and has flourished ever since. However, today in Porosun there are no missionaries wrapped in rags and dressed like hermits; nor are there knights wearing long swords and declaring that they will retake the land for the true god. What would now pass through this town would be woolen goods, salt, or iron from the north or east, and grain or leather from the west or south.It has long been a thing of the past that Porosun was used as the arena of wars with the heretics, and now only prudent businessmen keep coming and going in and out of this town. Because of Holo's presence, Luo Lunjin deliberately passed the commercial road with fewer passers-by, but this place is indeed a commercial road that has existed since ancient times, and the carriages full of rare goods kept passing by the two of them.Among the goods, there are especially many rare textiles. However, despite the frequent trade activities in Porosun, the towns are simple, which is due to the characteristics of the local residents.Although the city walls protecting the town are magnificently built because of the abundance of stone materials here, once you enter the city, you will be greeted by simple buildings piled up with stones and covered with straw.While it is often said that a place frequented by goods and people must be rich in wealth and that the place will soon become rich, things seem to be a little different in Porosun. The residents here are dedicated positive counters, and almost all the money they earn is donated to the church.In addition, Porosun does not belong to any country's territory, but is managed by the church city of Reubenhagen located in the northwest of Porosun.So the donation isn't going to the city Church, but to the church in Rübinghagen.Not only that, the tax books of the land are also managed by the church council in Lubinhagen, and even the residents' taxes are not directly paid to Porosun. Residents of Porosun are only interested in a simple life. So when the bell rings in the dim morning, the people working in the fields will put down their work together, close their eyes in the direction of the ringing bell, and put their hands together. If it is an ordinary town, the merchants In order to carry the goods to the market for sale, he has already been busy running around with a flushed face at this moment, but it seems that there is no such unfunny person in this town. Afraid of disturbing the prayers of the surrounding people, Lawrence stopped the carriage. Then he also folded his hands and prayed to God. After the bell rang again and the residents resumed their work, Lawrence drove the carriage again.At this time, Holo suddenly said, "What are you doing, so you are the minion of the church." Lawrence thought that Holo was just joking. While taking care not to let the carriage hit the pile of vegetables on the side of the road, he replied perfunctorily, "As long as I can guarantee my safe journey and prosperous business, no matter who it is, I am willing to pray." "If it's a good harvest, we can guarantee it." Because Holo stared straight at Lawrence after she finished speaking, so Lawrence squinted at Holo and said, "You want me to pray to you?" Holo knew the loneliness of being revered as a god, and hated it.Lawrence knew that Holo couldn't hope so, so he said it on purpose. That's because Lawrence guessed that Holo might be too bored, so he wanted to bicker with him. As expected, Holo deliberately said in a coquettish voice, "Well, we want you to pray to us." "How do you want me to pray?" Lawrence, who was getting better at how to deal with Holo, had no choice but to ask. "Anything is fine. Of course there is no need to talk about a good harvest, but we can guarantee a safe journey. We can predict the wind and rain to some extent, and we also know the quality of the spring water. If we want to repel wolves or wild dogs, we are the best people." Holo's answer was like what a boy who just left the village would say when he was selling himself to a trading company. After some thought, Lawrence replied, "Yes, it does seem to be very helpful in terms of safe travel." "Yes?" Holo tilted her head slightly and said with a smile on her face. Looking at Holo's innocent and innocent smiling face, Lawrence couldn't help thinking that Holo might just want to show that she was more powerful than the gods of the church.Holo has such a particularly childish behavior from time to time.Lawrence couldn't help thinking, if Holo usually looked like this more cute. "Well, then the journey will be safe. If you want to avoid wolves, you can rest assured." "Well, you said the journey was safe, right?" "That's right." Lawrence replied while manipulating the reins to avoid the laden donkeys that were grazing leisurely on the road. The entrance to the city wall is close at hand.In the morning mist, Lawrence saw the end of the line waiting for investigation. Although the entire town of Porosun is like a church, because there are many businessmen from pagan countries here, it is more accommodating than imagined, and the focus of the inspection is on commodities rather than immigrants.Lawrence wondered how much tax would be imposed on the pepper placed on the counter, and suddenly felt a gaze from the side.No one else but Holo, of course. "that's it?" Her voice sounded a little angry. "Yep?" "We are asking you to ask someone to guarantee a safe journey, so you don't say anything?" It wasn't until Lawrence looked at Holo with an unbelievable expression that he realized what Holo meant. "What, you want me to put my hands together and pray to you?" "joke." Holo stared at Lawrence anxiously. "You asked us to guarantee a safe journey, do you want to send us away by praying for something that can't fill our stomachs at all?" Lawrence's head was spinning like a windmill, and he came to a conclusion all at once. "You mean a tribute?" "hehe." Holo nodded with satisfaction. "What tribute do you want?" Lawrence asked with a sigh while queuing up at the end of the line waiting for interrogation. "Mutton jerky." "Didn't you eat a lot yesterday? The amount you ate should have lasted a week." "As long as it's mutton, we can eat as much as we want." Maybe it was because of the deliciousness of mutton, Holo not only did not apologize, but even licked her tongue.No matter how noble a wolf is, it can only act like a dog in the face of jerky. "Although the roasted mutton is not bad, the taste of the dried mutton is even more unbearable. Ru, if you want to have a safe journey, prepare Fengrou jerky." Holo's eyes sparkled, and the tail under her robes swished incessantly. However, Lawrence completely ignored all this, and his eyes fell on the horses led by the merchants in front.The seemingly warm wool piled up on the horse's back. "How's the wool? Is it good or bad?" When Holo heard Fengmao, she seemed to think of Fengmao.She showed more and more expectant eyes, looked at the wool that Lawrence was pointing at in front of her, and immediately turned her head and said, "It's pretty good, you can even smell the grass that the sheep are gnawing on." "Sure enough, that's right. It seems that the pepper is not difficult to sell at a good price." The better the texture of the wool, of course the tastier the lamb.The more delicious the mutton, the more meat consumption will increase accordingly.As a result, the price of pepper used to season or preserve meat will rise accordingly, which makes Lawrence can't help but look forward to the high price of his pepper. "And then, the jerky must be salty enough It’s better, it’s not too salty. Also, don’t use the leg meat, the meat from the side is the best...Ru, are you listening?” "Yep?" "We said that it should be salty enough, and the meat should be jerky from the side of the waist." "Your mouth is really picky, the price will be very high." [This is still cheap. " If Holo really wanted to make sure the trip was safe, a little mutton was cheap indeed.Anyway, Holo's real form is that of a giant wolf.As long as she is serious, she should be safe even if she is surrounded by mercenaries who are vicious as vicious thieves. However, Lawrence turned to Holo deliberately with a silly expression on his face. It was rare that Holo was blinded by the food, how could she give up the chance to play tricks on her? "Oh, you are really rich. If you are so rich, why don't you pay me back?" However, the opponent is Holo, who calls herself the Wise Wolf.She seemed to have sensed Lawrence's plan immediately, Holo suddenly put on a serious expression, glared at Lawrence and said, "We won't fall for the same trick again." The last apple incident seemed to have taught her to behave.Lawrence twitched his tongue lightly, and said with the same serious expression, "Since this is the case, why don't you just want to eat jerky at first? That would be cuter." "If we pretend to be cute and ask you to buy it, will you buy it for us?" Just hearing such words already makes people feel unlovable.Because the team was moving forward, Lawrence said firmly while driving the carriage, "How can I buy it for you. You should learn from cattle or sheep and regurgitate the food you ate yesterday." Lawrence felt that what he said just now was beautiful, so he couldn't help laughing, but Holo instantly lost her expression due to anger. She sat silently on the driver's seat and stomped Lawrence's foot hard. The road formed by stepping on the muddy ground is surrounded by simple houses piled up with rough stones and then paved with straw. Because the residents in the city only buy the necessities of life, even if there are street vendors, no one will patronize them, so the number of vendors in Porosun is beyond imagination. The number of people moving in the city is not small. Although the carriages full of goods or merchants carrying a lot of luggage are constantly going back and forth, the city is quiet and silent, as if the whole town is filled with cotton-like air, constantly sucking people's breath away. Noisy. It is unbelievable that such a quiet, plain, dusty town is an important trade relay station with distant countries, and it creates dizzying amounts of profits every day. In other towns, the traveling missionaries would be ignored; in this town, the townspeople would gather around the missionaries to listen to the wayside sermons, with grateful glances.How does this teach one to imagine that such a town would have anyone engaging in acts of interest? Lawrence had always found this town very unfavorable. "What a boring town." In Holo's eyes, this town, which exudes a unique church-like atmosphere, seems to be worthy of only this description. [There are no food vendors here. " "Your words sound like we only know how to eat." "Why don't you listen to the sermon?" There was a crowd gathering just ahead, and the traveling missionary was preaching with a Bible in one hand. It seemed that there were not only residents in the audience, but also a few businessmen who usually only prayed for a prosperous business. Seeing Lawrence pointing at those people, Holo snorted with a painful expression as if drinking bitter water, "If you want to preach to us, wait another five hundred years." "I just think you need to hear a sermon on frugality." Lawrence looked at Holo playing with the silk belt in the driver's seat and said.Holo covered her mouth with her hand and yawned big. "We are wolves, and we don't understand any difficult sermons at all." Holo said while wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, pretending to be puzzled. "Anyway, God's teaching on simplicity and frugality should only be convincing here." "Yep?" "Because almost all the money earned here will flow to the church city of Reubenhagen in the northwest, and no one will want to listen to sermons seriously in Reubenhagen." The church city of Reubenhagen, which controls this area, is described as a wealthy city that will use gold to build its walls in the near future.It is said that the upper echelons of the Holy Church Council who control the city even regard the church's centuries-old crusade against heretics as a profit-seeking act Because, the upper echelons are full of bishops or priests who even businessmen feel inferior to. It is also because of this that Reubenhagen has so many opportunities to make a fortune, right?Just when Lawrence was thinking this way, Holo tilted her head in thought and said, "You just said Reubenhagen, didn't you?" "You know?" Lawrence squinted at Holo as he drove the carriage towards the right road that diverged into two. "Yes, I remembered. But what we heard was not the name of the city, but the name of a person." "Oh, there's nothing wrong with the name. Although Rubenhagen is the name of the city now, it was originally the name of the saint who led the crusade against the heathen paladins. It is a very old name, so it is rarely heard now." "Hmph. Are you talking about that guy?" "how is this possible." Lawrence chuckled, but suddenly remembered the fact that Holo had traveled hundreds of years ago. "That guy is a majestic man with fiery red hair and a puffy beard. When he saw our cute ears and tail, he called us the minions of the devil without saying a word, and led the knights to hold The long swords and spears chased us down. Then we got really angry, so we changed back to our original form to fight off the knights, and finally bit the ass of Rubenhagen. The ass is too hard and not tasty at all. .” He Luo proudly narrated her own brave deeds, and snorted loudly with her nose.But Lawrence on the side was a little surprised and couldn't even speak. The church city of Lubinhagen still has records about the saint Lubinhagen with red hair, or when the fortress was built in the current city location, the saint fought with the pagan gods. It’s just that in the records, when the sage Rubinhagen was fighting with the pagan gods, it was his left arm that was accidentally eaten.Therefore, the saint depicted in the murals of the Cathedral has no left arm and wears blood-stained tattered clothes, but he still bravely commands the knights blessed by the gods to fight against the pagans. The saint Reubenhagen was always painted in rags, like a naked portrait, perhaps because his clothes were torn to pieces by Holo.After all, Holo's original appearance was a huge wolf. She only needs to bite lightly, and the other party's body should be covered in blood immediately. And, if Holo was telling the truth, the fact that the ass was bitten would have been too shameful to leave the record. Thinking about it this way, the legend that only the left arm was eaten seems unnatural. Perhaps the person Holo bitten was really the sage Reubenhagen. It felt like accidentally learning the secret behind history, and Lawrence couldn't help laughing. "Ah, but you." "Yep?" "We just bit that guy, we didn't kill that guy." Holo said with a different expression than before, as if watching Lawrence's reaction. Lawrence didn't understand Holo's meaning for a moment, but then he finally noticed. Holo was probably worried that Lawrence, who was also a human, would be angry if she killed someone. "It's strange that you worry about something." "It's a very important thing." Seeing Holo said seriously, Lawrence also agreed and didn't make any more jokes. "Speaking of which, this town is really boring. The forest is more lively than here." "After selling the pepper, I will be carrying a new stock to Rübinghagen right away, so bear with me until then." "Isn't that a big town?" "Rubenhagen is bigger than Pazio. Rather than calling it a town, it would be more appropriate to call it a city. There are also many lively vendors there." Holo's eyes suddenly brightened. "There are also apples?" "Not sure if there are fresh apples for sale. Winter is coming, there should be pickled apples." "... Pickled?" Holo asked back with a surprised expression.When it comes to preserving food in the north, no matter what food is salted, she must think of salted apples. "Pickled with honey." Holo's ears visibly moved, and even the hat on her head changed shape. "Pears pickled in honey are also delicious. Others... I think about it... By the way, although they are rare, there are also pickled peaches. The best pickle is to slice the peaches and stuff them into a bucket In the middle, some figs and almonds are added from time to time. When the whole bucket is filled, a lot of honey is poured from the top, and finally a little ginger is put in for pickling. After about two months, it is the best time to eat I ate it once, it was so sweet that even the church once agreed to ban pickling... Hey, your saliva is dripping. " Holo wiped the corner of her mouth in surprise. After looking around in a panic, he suddenly looked at Lawrence suspiciously and said, "You... must be trying to frame us again, aren't you?" "Can't you see if I'm lying?" Perhaps because she couldn't find anything to say, Holo lowered her chin slightly. "I'm not lying, I just don't know if there are any. Most of those things are patented by nobles or rich people, and they wouldn't be sold in stores." "What if, what if it is shown?" Swish, swish, the tail under the robe flicked excitedly like a puppy.Holo's eyes were full of anticipation, tears were shining in her eyes, and she looked like she was in unbearable pain. Holo's face moved forward, almost on Lawrence's shoulder. Her eyes were terrifyingly serious. "...Understood, I will buy it for you to eat." The moment Lawrence finished speaking, Holo squeezed Lawrence's arm tightly with both hands and said, "Don't break your promise." Lawrence thought that if he shook his head at this moment, there was no guarantee that Holo would jump forward and bite him. "Just buy some, just a few." Although Lawrence urged so much, he wasn't sure if Holo had listened. "You, you must keep your promise. Eh?" "I know, I know." "Then let's go, you, let's go." "Hey, don't pull me." Although Lawrence ruthlessly pushed Holo's hand away, Holo's thoughts drifted away to nowhere.She stared into the distance, and while biting the nail of her middle finger, she muttered to herself: "It might be sold out, what if it's sold out..." Lawrence said to himself, "If I had known, I wouldn't have mentioned the honey-pickled peaches." But it was too late to regret it. If you go back and say no to buying it now, you might be killed by Holo. Honey pickled peaches are not something that a traveling merchant can buy casually. "Needless to say it's sold out, you might not even be able to buy it. You need to figure this out first." "Peaches and honey. It's unbelievable." "Are you listening?" "But, it's a pity to give up pears, isn't it?" Holo turned to face Lawrence's question. Lawrence didn't answer, instead he sighed heavily. Lawrence went to the place where the pepper was sold, and it was a business firm named Ladoperon whose name was as special as the town name Poroson. Presumably, as long as one traces the lineage, one can find out that Radoperon is a pagan who lived in this area before the establishment of this town.It is said that special names have been handed down from a long time ago, but now, these people with special names are outright Orthodox Christians, and their enthusiasm is not even comparable to that of ordinary people.The boss of Radopei Firm is nearly fifty years old. Perhaps at this age, his faith has become more and more pious. Therefore, when Lawrence stepped into the firm after half a year, the owner of the firm saw Lawrence who hadn't been in the firm for a long time, and first wished him safe and sound, and then persuaded Lawrence that he should Go and hear a great sermon from the new priest of the church, and start preaching to Lawrence about how listening to a sermon can save the soul. To make matters worse, the owner of the firm seemed to think that Holo, who was wearing a robe, was a nun on a pilgrimage, and he also asked Holo to give Lawrence a severe warning. Holo pretended to understand, criticized Lawrence severely, and only smiled maliciously in front of Lawrence. When Lawrence finally got rid of the preaching from his boss and Holo, he swore to himself that he would never buy honey pickles for Holo. "So, time has dragged on for a while, shouldn't it be time to talk about business?" "Excuse me." Although Lawrence said this a little tiredly, he knew he couldn't be careless when he saw the boss suddenly put on a businessman's face. Maybe the boss's business method is to deliberately spend time preaching, first to make the opponent's thinking ability worse, and then launch a fierce attack. "So, what kind of products are you going to sell today?" "The product is here." Lawrence cheered up and took out a leather bag full of pepper. "Oh, is this pepper?" Lawrence was surprised to be guessed what was in the bag before he let go of the leather cord that tied the bag mouth, but he barely let his emotions show, and said with a smile, "How do you know?" "Smell it." Although the boss said with a mischievous smile, the pepper that has not been ground into powder has no obvious taste. Lawrence peeked sideways at Holo, who was standing aside, and saw that she was smiling happily. "Looks like I haven't trained enough." "Experience is different." Seeing that the boss was not arrogant, with a calm smile and a calm expression, Lawrence thought that maybe he just mistook Holo for a nun on purpose. "However, Mr. Lawrence always chooses the most opportune time to bring in evil goods. This year, thanks to God's blessing, the grain and grass have grown well, so that the pigs can eat fat just by walking casually on the roads in the city. Zizi, the demand for pepper will rise in a straight line for a long time. Really, if you come a week earlier, I can bargain for a cheaper price." Seeing the boss smiling brightly, Lawrence could only return a wry smile.The initiative of the dialogue is completely in the hands of the other party.After being told by the boss, Lawrence can't be too strong when negotiating the price, and it may be difficult to save the situation. "Well, let's weigh it. Did you bring a scale?" Unlike money changers who regard the accuracy of the scale as their own reputation, the scales held by merchants usually have some manipulations.If the commodity to be weighed is pepper or placer gold, etc., as long as you fiddle with the scale, the weight of the scale will vary greatly, and the seller will prepare a scale to be used with the buyer's scale. However, Lawrence did not usually sell high-end commodities such as pepper, so he did not prepare a scale. "No, but I believe in God's arrangement." The boss listened, smiled and nodded, and took out the scale at the back from the two scales placed on the cabinet. Lawrence couldn't help secretly heaving a sigh of relief, but he knew that he didn't show such feelings on his face. Even if the boss is faithful to God's instruction, no matter how devout orthodox, it will not change the fact that he is a businessman.Presumably, what lies ahead is the passive scale. If you use a passive balance, you don't know how much loss it will cause.After all, a grain of pepper is equivalent to the value of a silver coin. Luo Lun expressed his gratitude to God in his heart. "No matter how much people believe in the justice of God, they should have the judgment to distinguish the authenticity of the Bible before them. No matter how much they believe in the truth God, if you remember the wrong content of the Bible, it is tantamount to an act of offending God. " The boss said so, and put the scales on the table beside him. What he meant was to ask Lawrence to confirm whether Libra had been tampered with. Although businessmen are always accustomed to deceiving each other, this does not mean that there is no need for a relationship of trust between businessmen. "Then, I'm sorry." The boss listened, nodded and took a step back. The scales on the table are made of dark golden brass, which looks very gorgeous.It seemed a little out of place that this kind of scales, which could only be owned by wealthy money changers in big towns, appeared in this firm. The facade of Radoperon Trading Company is plain and unpretentious, which can make people mistakenly think that they are in an ordinary house; apart from the boss, there are only a few male workers in the firm.The furnishings in the firm were also quite simple, with only two cabinets placed by the wall, inside which were only jars containing spices and goods from the north and south, as well as tube-shaped paper and parchment documents. Although this firm is not in harmony with the scale in front of us, the two ends of the scale are quite in harmony. The pointer of the scale does not stop at the center position. After weights are placed on the left and right weighing pans, the pointer also points to the center position. This scale does not seem to have been tampered with. Lawrence smiled reassuringly at his boss. [So, is it okay to weigh the pepper? " Of course, Lawrence had no reason to reject the boss's proposal. [For this, we need paper and ink.Please wait a moment. " Saying this, the boss took out an inkpot and paper from a drawer in a cabinet in the corner of the room.Luo Lunjin was watching the boss's actions absent-mindedly. At this moment, the corner of his clothes was pulled suddenly, so Lawrence turned his head to look.No one else but Holo, of course. "What's wrong?" "We are thirsty." "Hold on." 罗伦斯没多加恩索地这么回答后，才重新想了一下。 眼前的人可是自称贤狼的赫萝。她会突然说出毫无关联的话，或许是有什么用意。 就在罗伦斯改变念头打算再问赫萝时，传来老板的声音：「如果少了水，就是圣人也活不了命。帮您准备水就好了吗？还是要葡萄酒呢？」 「能请您给咱水吗？」 看见赫萝以笑脸回答，罗伦斯心想赫萝应该真的只是口渴而已。 [请等一下啊。 " 老板把笔记兼用的合约用纸、墨水及羽毛笔放在桌上后，没有呼唤他人，便走出房间亲自拿 水去了。 老板这样的作风比起用商人来形容他，更像是正敦徒的典范。 罗伦斯一面对这样的老板感到钦佩，一面瞪著赫萝说：「或许这对你来说没什么大不了的，可是对我们商人来说，谈生意就等於在战场上打仗。要喝水晚点再喝不就得了？」 「可是咱口渴了。」 赫萝可能是因为挨骂而感到不悦，她别过脸不理睬罗伦斯。明明反应快得惊人，但有些地方却又表现得孩子气。罗伦斯心想就算再多说什么，赫萝也听不进去了吧。 罗伦斯耸了耸肩，把赫萝的事从脑海中驱除，开始概算起胡椒的金额。 过了一会儿后，老板端著上面放有铁制水壶和杯子的木头托盘回来。让交易对象、而且还是长辈的商人为自己做这样的服务，令罗伦斯十分过意不去。不过他看到老板脸上挂著笑容，仿佛在说这些事情与谈生意无关。 「那么开始秤重吧。」 "OK." 赫萝在距离梢远的墙边，用双手捧著铁制杯子一边喝水，一边望著秤重作业进行。 秤重的动作相当单纯，先在一端的秤盘摆上砝码，接著在另一端的秤盘摆上胡椒。两端的重量对称时，就先把称盘上的胡椒移至别的位置，再摆上新的胡椒使两端重量对称。 虽然这是单纯的作业，但假设摆有砝码的一端只要有些微倾斜，而秤重者因为嫌麻烦而忽略之，就这么直接继续秤重作业的话，累积下来的差距将可能造成意想不到的大亏损。 因此，老板与罗伦斯两人互相确认天秤是否对称，等到两人得到共识后才继续下一批秤重。 单纯却挺伤神时秤重作业一共进行了四十五次。虽然胡椒依产地不同，价格会有所差异，但罗伦斯带来的胡椒以一颗砝码的重量来说，价值应该相当於一枚卢米欧尼金币。如果依罗伦斯所了解的行情来计算，一枚卢米欧尼金币相当於三十四又三分之二枚大量流通在河口城镇帕兹欧的崔尼银币。现在有四十五枚卢米欧尼金币的价值，也就等於一千五百六十枚崔尼银币。 胡椒的进货金额是一千枚崔尼银币，这么概算起来可有五百六十枚银币的利润。辛香料的交易果然相当有赚头。当然，如果是黄金或宝石、或是高级染料的原料等商品，有时还能卖得进货价的两、三倍价格。虽然胡椒的利润与这些商品比起来可说微乎其微，但对餐风露宿的旅行商人来说，这已是没得挑剔的高获利率。缺乏资金的旅行商人扛著重量达体能极限，而且是麦子里等级最低的燕麦商品越过山头，拖著身心俱疲的身子到城镇交易，结果只赚得一成利益的情况，一点也不稀奇。 搬运轻轻一只皮袋的胡椒，就能够赚取五百枚银币的利润，这生意简直是太好赚了。 罗伦斯满面笑容地把胡椒装回皮袋里。 「呃——所以是四十五颗砝码重。这些胡椒的产地是哪里呢？」 [这些是从利登王国的拉玛帕达进口的胡椒，这是负责进口的米隆商发行的证明书。 " 「原来产地是拉玛帕达啊，这些胡椒还真是走了一段长远的路程呢，那根本是我们无法想像得到的地方。」 老板一边收下罗伦斯递给他的羊皮纸证明书，一边眯眼微笑地说道·住在城里的商人多半不会离开自己的故乡，在故乡终其一生。虽然有些商人退休后会展开巡礼之旅，但商人在退休前根本没有多余的时间旅行。 不过，就算是不曾间断旅行的旅行商人罗伦斯，也只曾听过利登王国是个盛产辛香料的地方，他也不清楚那是个什么样的国家。如果以帕兹欧为出发点，那就是顺著河川出海后朝南方前进，越过不同颜色的两片海洋才叮抵达利登王国。据说就算乘坐超长程专用的巨大型船只，也必须花费约莫两个月的航海时间。 利登王国当然语言不通，而且据说那里十分炎热，一整年都处於盛夏季节，国民们无不晒得黝黑，一出生就是黑皮肤。 虽然很难想像世上会有这样的地方，但事实上确实有辛香料、黄金、银或铁从那里运来。不管怎么说，米隆商行都愿意以商行名誉为担保，发行这些胡椒是从拉玛帕达运来的证明书。 想必是真实存在的国家吧。 [这证明书看来不是伪造的。]城里的商人都看过数量庞大的汇兑通知书、光票（注：指不附带任何商业单据的票据），还有合约书等文件。不用说是总行设置在异国的大商行，就连远方国家的小商行所发行的文件，据说他们都能够凭上面的笔迹辨识真伪。 如米隆商行般的大商行所发行的合约书，想必他们已经很熟悉，应该一眼就能分辨印监的真伪。合约书上的签名固然很重要，但盖上去的印监更是证明其真伪的关键所在。 「那么，一个砝码算一枚卢米欧尼金币，您意下如何？」 「卢米欧尼金币的行情是多少呢？」 尽管罗伦斯对金币行情已有某程度的了解，但他还是立刻发问。 那是因为金币几乎是被当成计算货币来使用。也就是说，金币只是单纯被视为世上各种货币的价值基准。交易时先以金币计算金额后，再决定付款的货币种类。不过这么一来，金币与付款货币之间的行情变动，当然就会构成问题。 这是罗伦斯最紧张的时刻。 「我记得罗伦斯先生您是继承师父的生意，循著圣人梅崔吉斯的巡礼路行商，没错吧？」 「是的。因为有圣人梅崔吉斯的庇佑，一路旅途平安，生意也还不错。」 [这么说来，您的交易货币是以崔尼银币为主罗？ " 由於大多数的旅行商人都必须传承修行，不能擅自决定行商的路线，因此一般多是循著从前圣人走过的巡礼路行商。 因为这个缘故，旅行商人自然会有固定使用的货币。 不过，拉多培隆商行的老板能够立即说出罗伦斯固定使用的货币，可见他是实力过人的一流商人。 「如果是崔尼银币的话，行情是三十二又六分之五枚。」 这比罗伦斯印象中的行情还要低。 然而，这个城镇是重要的贸易地点，就这点来看，这行情差距还在可容许的范围内。 在汇集来自众多城镇流人大量货币的地方，对於计算货币的酌定，一般都会比实际的货币价值来得低。 罗伦斯以电光石火般的速度动脑计算，脑海里浮现的胡椒总金额约为一千四百七十七枚崔尼银币。 虽然比预期还要低，但也算是不差的价格。这样罗伦斯与拥有商店的梦想之间，就拉近了一大步距离·「就以这个价格麻烦您了。」