Read Spice & Wolf II for Free Online Page A

wheedling—it was human nature.
    “Uh, er, well, how much do you think you’re in debt to me for?
    It’s one hundred forty silver! Have you any idea how much money that is? And now you think I’m going to spend more on you?”
    “Oh? What, you want me to pay you back?” Holo looked at Lawrence with an expression of mild surprise, as if to say she could pay him back at any time she chose.
    There are none in this world who don’t wish to be paid back money they have lent. Lawrence gritted his teeth and glared at Holo, enunciating his response very carefully. “Of. Course. I. Do.”
    If Holo paid back what she owed in a lump sum, he’d be able to fill his wagon bed with more and better goods, which would mean improved profits.
    More investment equaled greater return—it was at the very center of a merchant’s world.
    Yet Holo’s expression changed completely at Lawrence’s words. She regarded him coldly, as if to say, “Oh, that’s how it is.”
    Lawrence faltered at the completely unexpected change.
    “So that’s how you’ve been thinking,” said Holo.
    “Wh-what do you—”
    Lawrence would have finished with mean, but Holo’s rapid-fire response cut him off.
    “Well, I suppose if I pay my debts, that makes me a free wolf. I see. I'll just pay you back, then.”
    Hearing these words, Lawrence understood what Holo wanted to say.
    Some days earlier, during a disturbance in Pazzio, Lawrence had seen Holo’s wolf form and retreated in fear. Deeply hurt, Holo tried to leave Lawrence, but Lawrence stopped her by saying he would follow her all the way to the north country to collect the money she owed him for destroying his clothes.
    “Come what may, you’ll pay me back,” he had said. “So leaving me now won’t get you anything.”
    Holo stayed with Lawrence based on the reasoning that making him come all the way out to the north country would be a bother, and Lawrence had thought that the business about debt repayment was just a pretense for both of them.
    No, he’d believed it.
    He believed that even if she were to repay the debt, she would still wish for him to travel with her to the forests of the north country—though her bashfulness would prevent her from admitting it.
    And Holo had now turned the tables on him. She used the fact that the debt was his own pretense against him.
    A single word jumped into his mind.
    Unfair . Holo was truly unfair.
    “In that case, I’ll just give your money back and travel by myself north, shall I? I wonder how Paro and Myuri are faring.”
    Holo looked away, purposefully letting a small sigh escape.
    Lawrence, at a loss for words, glared sourly at the wolf girl that sat beside him and wondered how to retort.
    He imagined that if he was stubborn and demanded that she pay him now and go on her merry way, Holo would really do it—and that wasn’t what Lawrence wanted. This was where he’d have to cry uncle.
    There really wasn’t anything charming about Holo.
    Lawrence stared at her, furiously trying to think of a comeback, but Holo looked away from him obstinately.
    Some time passed.
    “...We didn’t decide the due date for repayment. Just as long as I get it by the time we arrive in the north country. Will that do?”
    Some part of Lawrence was still stubborn. He simply couldn’t let the cheeky wolf girl have everything she wanted. This was as far as he could give in.
    Holo seemed to understand that. She slowly turned toward him and smiled, satisfied.
    “I should think I’ll be able to repay you by the time we’ve arrived in the north country,” she said purposefully, drawing near him. “And it’s my intention to pay you back with interest, which means the more I borrow, the greater profit for you. So you’ll do it for me, yes?”
    Holo’s eyes met Lawrence’s as she looked up at him.
    They were beautiful eyes with red-brown irises.
    “The oil, you mean?”
    “Yes. Make it part of my debt, but please—buy it for me, won’t you?”
    The plea was