Chapter 11 Act III - 4

It seems that Holo's main purpose in doing this is to observe Lawrence's inner activities for fun. At some point, her smile had turned into a smirk. "Why don't you tell us angrily, 'Don't set a trap of this nasty nature'?" "If I'm angry..." "So, it's not a trap this time. Why don't you practice acting like a baby?" "...You will say that, right?" Lawrence shrugged, and Holo immediately grinned.When she had laughed enough, she rested her face on her arms. "It's really damaging the reputation of the virtuous wolf to be read by you."

"Anyway, after so long, you will naturally get used to it." Holo didn't smile, nor did she feel resigned.She just kept the aftertaste of the smile on her face, and pointed to the side of the bed with her finger. In other words, ask Lawrence to sit there. "However, your characteristics of being a good person have not changed..." Seeing Lawrence sitting on the bed, Holo sat up and continued. "Even if we put you into a trap and laughed out loud, at most you will only be angry, and won't ignore us." Lawrence replied with a smile: "Who knows. Not necessarily in the future."

Just when he was going to say "so you have to be careful about your words and deeds", he swallowed the words back in his stomach. He thought Holo would return him with a treacherous smile, but he didn't expect Holo to show a sad smile. "Of course, I suppose so. It must be so." Then, she said to herself, she took the unexpected action. Holo sat up, crawled beside Lawrence, and sat sideways on his lap.In the end, he even put his hands around Lawrence's back without hesitation and hugged him tightly. The face rested squarely on Lawrence's left shoulder. Of course Lawrence couldn't see her expression clearly.

However, even if she made such an obvious move, Lawrence didn't feel that she had any evil intentions. "It's true that people are fickle. If you were the former you, your whole body would tense up in this state." Even Holo, who could pretend to be calm at all times, couldn't control the movements of her ears and tail. From the sound and the touch of his left hand, Lawrence could feel her tail wagging restlessly. So, he gently held the tail. At this moment, Holo stiffened as if taken aback, and Lawrence hurriedly let go of her hand. Before he could apologize, Holo bumped her forehead.

"Don't touch it casually." Although Holo occasionally says something like "I'll pet your tail as a reward", it seems like this is a weakness. However, the purpose of doing this is not to confirm anything, nor is it purely a prank. Although he didn't know the reason, seeing Holo's reaction, he didn't feel frustrated from the bottom of his heart, so Lawrence was relieved. "You stupid ass." Holo cursed again, then sighed. There was a silence between the two. Holo's tail sputtered intermittently, and occasionally the crackling of the wick burning with lard was also mixed in.

Just when Lawrence was thinking that he should take the initiative to speak, Holo spoke at the same time: "If you accept this kind of care from you, it will really damage the reputation of the wise wolf." It seemed that she had sensed her intention to speak. However, from this sentence, it can only be felt that Holo is pretending to be energetic, and this is probably not Lawrence's illusion. "Really, if we act like a baby, it's the other way around. It's clearly said that you acted like a baby to us." Holo raised her face leaning on Lawrence's shoulder, straightened her waist, and looked slightly higher than him.

She looked down at Lawrence with her amber eyes, twisted her lips unhappily and said: "When will you be in such a mess?" "If you say what's on your mind." In an instant, Holo wrinkled her face and moved away as if she had eaten some bitter fruit. Even so, Lawrence still maintained a calm demeanor.Holo immediately showed a sad expression, and whispered: "You." "What's the matter?" "We want to see you in a mess." "understood." Hearing Lawrence's answer, Holo leaned against Lawrence's chest again, twisted her body and said:

"Is this the end of the journey?" If you want to tell others the surprise at this time, I'm afraid you can only let that person see this scene for themselves. Only in this way can we understand Lawrence's surprise at that time. But what he felt next was anger. After all, even if she was joking, Lawrence didn't want to hear this sentence from her mouth. "Do you think this is a joke?" "feel." The reason why he answered without hesitation was not because he was calm. On the contrary, he grabbed Holo's shoulders and looked at her expression.

Although the face was smiling, it wasn't a look Lawrence could get angry with. "Really, you are so cute." Lawrence couldn't help pondering in his heart—— If I want to poke my chin with my fingers while talking like this, I should show a more wicked smile as usual. "I'm not kidding. You'd be mad if you said that jokingly. Then—" Holo folded her hand on Lawrence's hand on her shoulder, and continued: "I will forgive us in the end. Because you are too gentle." Holo's fingers were very slender, and they obviously hadn't had much manicure, but their shape was beautiful.

If a nail like that stabs the back of the hand mercilessly, it is naturally impossible not to hurt. However, even though Holo's nails stabbed the back of his hand, Lawrence did not let go of her shoulder. "The contract I accepted... is to send you back to your hometown." "It's pretty close." "Since that's the case, why did you last time in the village..." "People change, situations change. Of course, our moods change too." After speaking, Holo smiled wryly.Lawrence immediately realized that he must have shown a very embarrassing expression.

Although it was only for a moment, he was indeed stunned. Is this something that can be decided by a change of mood? "Hehe, it looks like there are still fields that haven't been plowed. But, this is not a place where you can just walk in with your shoes on." Although it's nothing new for Holo to play tricks on Lawrence to appreciate his dazed or confused demeanor.But if using the same method can no longer lure him into the bait, this method will become more and more extreme. It's just that, as Holo said, this is a place where I don't want to break other people's jokes. "But why did you say that all of a sudden?" "Didn't that woman say that?" "...Is it Eb?" Holo nodded, moving away the nails that were piercing the back of Lawrence's hand. Seeing a little blood oozing from it, Holo expressed apology with her eyes, and continued: "Although encounters can be bought with money—" "That...but still can't decide if it's good or bad?" "That's why we should cherish this kind of encounter. That little human girl said so self-righteously..." Holo cursed something that wasn't meant to be, and put her hand on Lawrence's face. "We hope our encounter is a good encounter. If this sentence is to come true, we wonder if we should part here." Lawrence had no idea what Holo meant. In Treo Village, Holo deliberately avoided the question of "what to do after arriving in her hometown" without answering. That's because both of them have a premonition that "once they reach their hometown, their journey will come to an end".Lawrence thought so. And according to the original agreement, this is a matter of course.That's what Lawrence planned when he and Holo met, and Holo probably did the same. It's just that the trip between the two of them is indeed very happy.They would love to continue if they could. In any case, it is always under the influence of this childish temptation. Besides, this is the same for Holo, right? At least from the previous trips, Lawrence also has the confidence to be sure of this. If that's the case, why end the trip here, and why do you have anything to do with "making this encounter a good one"? Holo cast her eyes on Lawrence's face that couldn't hide her confusion, still put her hand on his cheek, and said with a helpless smile: "You stupid ass, don't you really know?" This is not a joke, nor is it angry.As if feeling helpless looking at an ineffective child, there was even a look of kindness on her face. Holo lifted her face, let Lawrence's hand fall from her shoulder, and hugged him slowly again. "It's such a fun trip. You can laugh, you can cry, and even a calm and cunning person like us can make a lot of noise like a child. For us who have been alone for a long time, this is really true. It's so wonderful. I also thought, I hope it can last forever." "In this case--" Lawrence was about to speak, but suddenly had nothing to say. That is impossible. After all, Holo is not human, and the time difference between each other's existence is too far. "Although you have a quick mind, you are still inexperienced. After all, you are a businessman who is dedicated to making money, and I think you should understand immediately... We didn't say that because we didn't want to kill you. That kind of thing... ...we've gotten used to it." Like a gust of wind blowing over the tawny plains in winter, Holo said lightly: "If we have stronger self-control, we might be able to stick to our hometown. We also had such confidence when we left the previous village... But you are a good person through and through. No matter what we do, you will accept it , as long as we have expectations, you will try our best to meet them, it is really hard for us to bear all this, it is very difficult..." Even hearing such words from Holo's mouth that seemed to be written on the last page of The Story of Chivalry, Lawrence was not at all happy. What Holo wanted to say, although she didn't understand at all, at least she could understand a little bit. That is, at the end of these words, the words "so let's part here" will definitely follow. "So, we feel... very scared." Holo's tail puffed up as if feeling uneasiness welling up in her heart. That was the night of the whole roasted suckling pig.At the time, Holo said she was "terrified" and felt very intimidated. Although I didn't understand it at all at the time, judging from the situation, there was only one thing that scared Holo. However, Lawrence didn't know why she was afraid. Holo hoped Lawrence would notice this. Holo had said that night that it would bother her if Lawrence noticed that, and even so, she said it in this case, and it must have been because Holo felt that "if he didn't notice It will be very troublesome if it arrives.” Holo is a virtuous wolf, she doesn't do unnecessary things, and she rarely does wrong things. That being the case, it should be able to be understood through the conditions currently prompted. Lawrence frantically turned his head. With the memory that the businessman is proud of, he desperately recalls everything and thinks. Abu's words, Holo's sudden request to end the trip, as a businessman might understand.And—what Holo was afraid of. No matter which one it is, it seems to have nothing to do with it. I can't figure out how they can be connected together. And, if the journey is enjoyable, isn't "hope it lasts" the most natural sentiment? Although the journey will always come to an end, Holo should not be avoiding this inevitable outcome.She should have understood this long ago, and Lawrence did the same.At the end of the journey, he also had the confidence to say goodbye to Holo with a smile. Therefore, ending the journey halfway like this must have some meaning. During the trip, at this moment.Because I feel that I can't go all the way to my hometown... Thinking of this, Lawrence had a hunch that they were connected. Pleasure, travel, timing, businessman. At this moment, Lawrence couldn't resist the urge to tense up. "...Did you notice it?" Holo said as if she was helpless, and stood up from Lawrence's lap. "At first we didn't want you to be aware of this, but if this continues, the best result will be missed. You also understand? The meaning of this sentence." Lawrence nodded. It couldn't be more obvious. No, in fact, I vaguely noticed it before.Maybe it's just that I don't want to admit it. Holo left Lawrence's body without any regrets and got off the bed. Looking down at Heron's amber eyes, Lawrence said to himself: "Even you, haven't you read that story?" "Story? So...is that what it means? It's really a good metaphor." There are roughly two kinds of stories in the world.One is the story of people's happiness, and the other is the story of misfortune. However, in fact, it should be divided into four kinds of stories.The remaining two, however, are too difficult for humans to write, and human beings are too incomplete to understand it. If anyone can create it and someone can read it, it can only be God.In fact, the church can also provide this guarantee of the afterlife. "A story of happiness that continues." Holo paced slowly and wordlessly, and picked up the water glass full of wine that was piled with the luggage in the corner of the room.She turned around with a smile on her face. "That kind of thing doesn't exist. Of course, I am very happy to communicate with you, really very happy. I am so happy that I almost want to eat you." When she squinted her amber red eyes like this and said such words, if it was the first time we met, my heart would have been involuntarily thumped. However, there is no wavering now. Hope to be forever the same as when we first met—Holo's words deeply pricked Lawrence's chest. "However, no matter how delicious the food is, what happens if you keep eating the same thing? It should be boring, right? And the most disturbing thing is that if we want to have new fun, we can only continue to take extreme measures. Action. You should also know what awaits us next, right?" At first, I would feel shaken just by holding hands, but now even if I was hugged, I still didn't rush, and even kissed the back of my hand casually. If you continue to calculate what will happen in the future, you will definitely become stunned. Compared with the long time, the two of us can do very little. Even if you keep changing the form again and again, you will soon be exhausted. Although you can continue to live along the stairs. However, that ladder may not always exist. "In the end, no matter how we long for it, we can't be satisfied. All the happy exchanges will be weathered, and only the faded happiness will remain in the memory. At that time, I will really think that we were so happy when we first met." She cast a mischievous look, probably on purpose. "That's why we feel very scared. I'm afraid that this kind of happiness will disappear faster, your..." Taking a sip of grape wine from the water glass, Holo said as if mocking herself: "gentle." Holo the Wise Wolf. A wolf that has survived for hundreds of years, is in charge of the harvest of wheat, is afraid of loneliness, and can change into human form. Her fear of loneliness also has an incomprehensible side.It is really hard to understand if it is just because you don't like the reason of being worshiped and revered as a god. Of course, after all, it is an existence that lived in a long time, and the existence that spent the same time as her is extremely rare.It was this fact that made her so sensitive to loneliness—Lawrence thought so. However, at this moment, he felt that he had finally realized the real answer. If you hate loneliness, just find those people who live in the same time as you, and have fun together.But she didn't do that—no, she couldn't, the reason for it. Holo said that she is not a god. Its real reason lies in this. It is said that God can create the kingdom of heaven into a world of eternal happiness without birth, old age, sickness and death. Holo couldn't do that at all. Like a human being, she will gradually get used to everything, and then get tired of it, sighing like "it used to be such a happy thing". Hope to be so happy forever. This girlish wish will never come true—for the wise wolf who has survived for such a long time, it is clearest. "As long as the result is good, everything will be fine. You and other human beings can really talk, and we used to think it was admirable. Although we also think that it is true to think this way, it is difficult to make up your mind to end a truly happy thing. If you just I don’t know what will happen if I drag you all the way to my hometown like this. Therefore, in order to make our trip with you happy from the beginning to the end, it’s best to part here.” Lawrence didn't speak, but stretched out his hand to take the water glass offered by Holo who approached him. Obviously the content of the speech did not contain any positive factors, but it sounded as if he was determined to move forward.This may be because her tone is almost self-defeating. "It just so happens that you are about to realize your dream. Even as a part of your life story, there shouldn't be a better time than this, right?" "That's true, too." Therefore, Lawrence did not interrupt Holo. "Besides, there is one thing we planned to say later, which will surprise you." Holo pursed her lips into a smile, as if the conversation just now had never existed, sat down next to Lawrence with a relaxed movement, then turned around and picked up the book next to the pillow. "In the book, we also appeared." After Holo finished speaking, she couldn't help smiling wryly.She probably saw how surprised she was when she heard it. When he heard that his dream was about to come true, his expression obviously didn't change at all. "All kinds of things happened in the past. But until we read them in the book, we completely forgot about them." Holo turned to a page as she spoke, and handed the book to Lawrence. This should be asking yourself to read it, right? Lawrence put down his water glass, picked up the book, and shifted his gaze to the pages. The story, written in angular handwriting, begins with the words "in a time when all men are still ignorant and ignorant." At that time, even the term church could only be heard in rumors from distant countries. On it was the name of the Holo whom Diana, the writer of Chronicle, had said in the pagan town of Camelson last time. "It actually said it was the tail of wheat bunch... It's a bit complicated." Although Lawrence felt that this description was not too far off, he still didn't say it. "...you've been a big alcoholic ever since." After reading that part, Lawrence couldn't help but said helplessly.But instead of feeling any discomfort, Holo puffed out her chest proudly and snorted. "I can still recall it vividly now. The alcoholic who fought with us was a girl younger than you. In the end, we were not so drunk with that girl as we could no longer hold it in our stomachs. That contest The scene is nothing short of spectacular—" "No, that's enough, I don't want to hear any more." Lawrence waved his hand and interjected.Holo was stubborn, of course, but the girl was probably just as stubborn.How the contest ended in the end, even if you don't want to, you can guess. However, although there is indeed something about a wine fight, it is actually just describing the heroic deeds of the girl who fought with Holo. It is true to say that this is a matter of course. "Hehehe, but it's really nostalgic. We all forgot it before reading it." "Drinking, eating, singing, and dancing...Although this has probably been rewritten many times, I can still feel the happy atmosphere at that time. The original rumor must be something like a joke." "Well, I'm really happy. You, please stand up for a while." "Ok?" Lawrence got up from the bed as she ordered. Then, Holo pointed at Lawrence again, so he also put down the book in his hand. Just as he was thinking about what he was going to do, Holo swished his body closer and took Lawrence's hand. "Right, right, left. Left, left, right. Do you understand?" Not even time to think "what's going on?" This should be an ancient dance passed down from that village that Holo once danced as written in the book. However, standing by her side, Lawrence understood. Holo has wolf ears and a tail. Lawrence certainly knew what was waiting for him after such a relaxed and cheerful action. After all, Holo said that she wanted to end the trip because she was too happy to travel. "If you drink this kind of dance, you will get dizzy immediately after dancing a few times." Holo raised her gaze and finished speaking with a smile, then immediately shifted her gaze to her feet. "Right, right, left, then left, left, right, understand? Come on, it's time to start." Although Lawrence had never danced much, he was once dragged by Hero to dance the whole night during the festival in the heathen town of Camelson. Anyone can dance decently if they practice for that long. Holo kicked "Hey!", and Lawrence jumped up to her rhythm. Just as the shepherdess Norra danced to show she was the real shepherdess, dancing was everywhere.Although there are many types of dance, the dance steps are basically very similar. Lawrence matched the rhythm of Holo's dance steps on stage from the first step, and Holo in front of him was taken aback. "No no." She was probably expecting Lawrence to make a fool of himself and make fun of it, but the attempt was not so easy to succeed. Boom, boom...the two took light dance steps, and now it was Lawrence who was guiding Holo, whose footsteps were a bit chaotic.For things like dance, as long as you understand the truth that self-confidence is more important than technique, then as long as you boldly look at it, you will be fine. However, Holo's movements were dulled by surprise, and it was only at the beginning. She was quick to slick her dance steps, occasionally staggering her rhythms in an act of defiance.She probably wanted to disrupt Lawrence's rhythm and let him step on her feet. Of course, Lawrence was not caught. "Well, damn it." From the perspective of others, the two probably look like a pair of dolls that have been stitched together. The rhythm of the two is indeed very consistent. Right, right, left, left, left, right... Although it was just such a simple movement, the two danced without stopping in the narrow hotel room. The dance, which was supposed to last forever, ended in the end.Surprisingly, it ended when Holo stepped on Lawrence's foot. "Oh wow!" After Lawrence called out, maybe it should be called luck.Both of them fell on the bed at the same time. Only the hands holding each other did not separate. Lawrence thought Holo did it on purpose, but Holo was stunned as if she didn't know what happened. Then, as if she finally came to her senses, she met Lawrence's eyes. Laughter came out naturally. "...What the hell are we doing?" "It's better not to ask about that kind of thing." Holo shrunk her neck back as if feeling an itch, and at the same time bared her fangs. She does seem to be enjoying herself. That's why she was able to continue talking like that. "It also says the direction of our hometown, isn't it?" Lawrence maintained a smile as if he was immersed in the aftertaste of the stupid conversation, recalled the contents of the book again, clicked, big. It was written in the book that Holo of Wheat Bunch Tail came from the deep mountain of Roever, which was about twenty days' walk from the village, between the sleeping and the birthing directions. The direction of sleep refers to the north, and the east is the direction of birth.It is common for people to assign specific meanings to directions. Moreover, what is more important is the record of Roever's deep mountain. Lawrence had also heard of this name before. That was the name of one of the tributaries connected to the Roma River that flows near Reynolds City. There can hardly be any doubt that the so-called deep mountains of Roever are the mountains from which the River Roever flows.In this case, Holo should be able to return to her hometown even if she is alone. Moreover, this prediction should not be wrong. If there was a mistake, it was probably only the matter of Lawrence stacking the wheat on the loading bay in Parslow. "So, have you read it all?" As if thinking that silence would expose the obvious lies of the two, Lawrence asked immediately. The hands holding each other parted at the same time as they sat up. "Well, the oldest story is about the strange man who laid down the first pillar to make the town inhabitable." "Is it your old acquaintance?" After hearing this joke, Holo also smiled and replied, "Maybe it's true". "but--" Holo also sat up. "Maybe we should return it before we get the wine stains on the book. After all, it doesn't need to be a copy, and it's all in our heads." "It's true, maybe you fell asleep while studying, and maybe you got your saliva on it." "We won't do that." "I know, of course I don't snore anymore, right?" Lawrence smiled and got up from the bed with a whoosh. The same call put on a gesture of "if you stay there, you might get bitten". "Do you want to know what you are talking about in your sleep when you are sleeping?" Holo said with half-closed eyes. These are the words that have touched my heart many times. Why does such a conversation sound so sad? Lawrence had a hard time refraining from showing it on his expression. "Probably like this. Don't, don't eat like this again..." Dreaming about eating something delicious is a common occurrence. However, since he started traveling with Holo, he has had several nightmares about being eaten by her with a lot of delicious things. "Didn't you earn back your food expenses?" Holo protested and got out of bed on the opposite side from Lawrence. It was as if they were acting out a quarrel between the two. "This is the conclusion. If you don't make any money in Camelson, you will really eat up all my property." "Hmph. People say that if you want to eat, you have to eat up all the plates. Then I'll eat you too." Holo licked her mouth with her tongue as if acting, and looked at Lawrence with bewitching eyes. Of course, Lawrence understood long ago that this was indeed acting. But the subsequent development is different from the past, and he also realized this with pains. There was a break somewhere in their relationship.While that is very sad, it is not unbearable. However, he felt that this was the saddest thing.That must be a prank by God. "Really. So after returning the book, what do you want to eat when you come back?" Hearing what Lawrence said, Holo wagged her tail and said in a mischievous tone: "I'll tell you later." Just this conversation, as happy as ever.