Free Spice & Wolf I by Hasekura Isuna Page B

traveling merchant. He wasn’t such a weak dealer that a few words tossed in from the side would bring up his prices, and there was no guarantee the buyer would accept such prices.
    Yet his curiosity at exactly how she would attempt this farce overpowered his doubt that it would actually happen, so in the end he said, “Agreed.”
    “It’s done, then!” replied Holo, burping.
    “But this isn’t just limited to our pelts. You’re a merchant, too—there may be no chance for me to talk up our price.”
    “How modest of you.”
    “Wisdom is knowing thyself first.”
    The statement would’ve sounded better had she not said it while casting her gaze longingly back toward the remaining pile of apples.
    The pelts’ destination was the Milone Company, a brokerage house that acted as an intermediary for a variety of goods. The Milone Company was the third-largest house in the city; the two above it were local businesses that had their headquarters in Pazzio. The Milone Company was headquartered in a mercantile nation far to the south and run by a powerful trader of noble lineage; the Pazzio location was a branch.
    Lawrence had chosen the Milone Company over the local brokerages because it would pay higher commodity prices in order to best its competitors and also because, having so many branches in different places, it could provide valuable information.
    His aim was to dig up information akin to the story he’d heard from the young merchant Zheren. Who better to ask about currency exchange than traders who routinely crossed borders to do business?
    After securing lodgings for the two of them, Lawrence trimmed his beard and set out.
    The Milone Company was the fifth building from the docks and the second-largest shop in the area. It had a huge gate that faced the docks to accommodate wagon traffic, which made the shop seem even bigger at a glance. Commodities of all kinds were piled around the gates, as if to show off the company’s prosperity. It might have been their peculiar way of competing with the local businesses, which could trade on their longstanding local connections and didn’t need flashy displays to prove they were turning a profit.
    Lawrence stopped his wagon at the loading area, and presently an employee came out to meet them.
    “Welcome to the Milone Trading Company!”
    The smart-looking man tasked with unloading had a neatly trimmed beard and hair. Normally a trading company’s unloading dock was a chaotic swirl of bandit-like men shouting this way and that—Milone was an exception.
    “I’ve sold wheat here before, but today I have furs to sell. Will you take a look?”
    “Yes, yes, but of course! The man inside and to the left will be happy to see you.”
    Lawrence nodded and with a flick of the reins drove the wagon inside. Around the area were stacked all sorts of goods—wheat, straw, stones, timber, fruit, and more. The staff was quick and efficient, which is how the Milone Company was successful even in foreign countries, a fact that would impress any traveling merchant.
    Even Holo seemed impressed.
    “Ho there, sir, where are you headed?”
    The two were watching the busy loading and unloading in the shop but stopped at the sound of the voice. They looked in its direction and saw a large man with steam rising from his suntanned body. He didn’t seem like the man Lawrence had been directed to find, but he was certainly huge.
    “Is he a knight?” Holo said under her breath.
    “We’re here to sell furs. I was told to come to the left side of the shop.” Lawrence met the man’s eyes and smiled.
    “Right, then, I’ll just take your horse. This way, if you please.”
    Lawrence did as he was told and angled his horse toward the man. The horse snorted. Apparently he sensed the man’s vitality.
    “Ho-ho, a good horse, sir! He looks stout of heart.”
    “He works without complaint; I’ll say that much,” said Lawrence.
    “A horse that complains—now that would be something to