CHAPTER TWO

The following day, Col awoke before dawn. It was the time of night when the moon still shone brightly and the mountain air was at its coldest.

Those around him often praised him for being a hard worker who did not mind waking up early, but the truth was, he was sleepy. To him, it was all for show. As he mentally reviewed the list of duties he had to do today at the bathhouse, he realized something odd.

Outside, he could hear voices and footsteps on gravel.

And above him was an unfamiliar ceiling, and he was in a different bed.

“…Ah.”

He remembered that he had left on a journey.

Then, when he moved to get up, he realized there was another person in the bed. It was Myuri, who only behaved when she was asleep. He had put her to sleep in the other bed, so she must have switched during the night.

It was hot under the covers, thanks to her body heat and fluffy tail.

They had argued over this and that last night, and the reason Myuri wanted to travel was most likely because she was bored of the village. Though she worried about him with some reluctance, the worry itself was real.

Her silver hair looked strangely dewy even though it was not wet or oiled. If he ran his hands through it, the strands would slip through his fingers. Holo was proud of the beautiful lay of the fur on her tail, but Myuri’s pride came from this color that she inherited from her father.

As he stroked her head, her animal ears twitched. But there was no sign of her waking. She probably would not wake up if he shook her shoulders. He smiled slightly and got out from under the blanket.

He opened the window, and it was cold enough outside to freeze his breath, though there was no wind or snow.

There were already people moving about in the square, which had been busy late into the night, and the riverbeds beyond it. They were probably heading out to catch the morning markets in the watershed towns.

He closed the shutters, put on his coat, took his scripture in hand, and went down to the first floor. The ice in the back well had already been broken, so he scooped up some water into a tub and washed his face and brushed his teeth with the smashed end of a tree branch, then did his daily recitation of the scripture. Other guests came to wash their faces as he did so, and they took advantage of the situation by bowing their heads to his recitation, taking it as protection for the road. It was like catching rain in a tub, but he did not dislike the frank practicality of the merchants.

The problem was that even though he did his recitations for longer than usual, the sun still had not risen, and he had no work to do afterward. He grew bored, and that troubled him slightly.

In the end, since it would also be a waste to do nothing, he headed to the riverside and helped with the loading and unloading of cargo. When the sky began to lighten, he returned to the room.

“You work too much, brother…”

He finally managed to wake Myuri, who could sleep through any disturbance, and when he recounted all he had done so far, she fussed about his excessive zeal.

Though she sat up straight, her eyes would not open because of how tired she was. She hugged her tail for warmth and yawned loudly.

“This is what it means to travel with me. Are you giving up?”

Her ears stood up straight as she struggled to open her eyes.

“N-no fair!”

“It is fair. All right, put your ears and tail away and wash your face. Get ready quickly or I’ll leave you behind.”

“Sheesh!”

She puffed up her cheeks and tail, then retrieved a handkerchief and other things from her bag. Upon closer inspection, there were two combs and three brushes. He could not see what she needed so many for. As he pondered questions more difficult than those of theology, Myuri left the room with an odd parting comment.

“I’m going to groom my hair in the baths.”

When he turned toward her, the door had already closed.

Then, before long, she came running back in.

“B-Brother, where are the baths?!”

“The baths?”

“Th-there’s nothing but a well, and…and when I looked inside, th-there was ice in it…I can’t wash my hair without the baths!”

Myuri was half in tears, and like a priest hearing a profound complaint, Col lifted his head. After that, he nodded slowly as if he deeply agreed.

Hot spring water bubbled up everywhere in Nyohhira, to the point that it was disposable. Myuri was born and raised there. There were many stories of noble girls who left their manors for the first time and discovered how blessed they had been, but he did not imagine such a tale would play out before his eyes.

It would be a lie to say he did not gain a slightest sadistic enjoyment from it.

“There are no baths here. This isn’t Nyohhira.”

“Oh…”

“Is this too hard? If it is, then you can…”

“I won’t quit! I won’t!”

Myuri declared her intentions and, with wide strides, stomped back out into the hallway.

It was a strength of hers that she was not easily discouraged, at least.

The hair care that the dancer Helen told Myuri about consisted of the following: After combing the hair out, go over it carefully with a long-haired brush and a short-haired brush, both made from the mane of a horse, and then a brush made of pig’s hair. Col thought it odd that so much brushing did not instead damage the hair, but at any rate, it was practically self-harm for Myuri to wash her hair while it was so cold out.

When she returned to the room, her lips were blue, and she was shivering.

“…Honestly.”

He removed his overcoat and covered her with it.

“And while you were performing ablutions outside, a letter came.”

Out of some respect, he used the term “ablutions” for her willpower to wash her hair in ice water simply for appearances’ sake. He, of course, also meant it sarcastically, so she eyed him spitefully.

“Wh-wh…what…achoo! L-letter?”

“It seems to have come by boat from Nyohhira.”

It apparently could not reach them the night before, so it spent the night at a checkpoint farther upstream and came on the first vessel out that morning. A considerable amount of money had been paid for its delivery, so the captain who brought it mistook the missive for an important, confidential letter of a noble.

“It’s from Lawrence…and Holo.”

He opened the letter, read the inside, and could not help a wry smile. Myuri, curled up inside the coat that was clearly much too big for her, tilted her head like a kitten. Col handed the letter to her, and she made an unreadable smile. Though it had taken extraordinary effort to teach her, she was able to read to a certain extent as a result.

In the letter, there were countless spelling mistakes to show that Lawrence was panicking as he asked about Myuri’s safety, stating that he would go get her as soon as possible, but a large X had been mercilessly drawn over it.

Then, something else was written in the margin with unique handwriting.

“‘T-take care of,’ Broth…Achoo!”

“It says, ‘Take care of Myuri,’” he responded with a sigh, and Myuri returned the letter, sniffling and teeth chattering. “I was slightly hoping they would stop you.”

Holo had brushed aside Lawrence’s opinions, though he was the head of the household. This family would certainly be one of strong women.

“Spare the rod and spoil the ch…Hachoo!”

He looked at Myuri, and after she sniffled, a wide grin that displayed her canines appeared on her face.

“I’m the one who should be spared.”

Myuri was about to protest when she sneezed loudly again.

After writing a response to Lawrence and Holo, they ate the previous night’s leftovers as breakfast. They left a letter with the innkeeper, finished their preparations, and headed to the riverside. A fire was still blazing there, so Myuri dried her damp hair. Passing boatmen smiled at the sight, thinking she had fallen into the well.

They bargained around to find a vessel to take them to Atiph, and eventually they struck a deal to travel on a boat loaded with firewood, chickens, and other cargo for scheduled deliveries to towns along the way. It had little space for carrying passengers, which the captain treated as a side job, so it was nowhere near a comfortable ride.

But the sun finally rose and warmed their bodies, and Myuri, who had been preening herself like a little bird beside him, was napping, perhaps out of boredom. It was pleasant.

He could imagine what was happening in the bathhouse right about now and who was doing what. Perhaps this was what it meant for Col to leave the life he had led for more than ten years. And though he had promised Myuri he would come back in order to soothe her, there was also a good possibility that he would not. Lawrence and Holo had sent him off understanding that. He could only be thankful to have met such good people.

As he sat consumed with his thoughts, the boat sailed downstream. The current was gentle, and the river was wide. This journey of two, which had happened so completely against his will, ended its second day without event, and the third day was the same.

Myuri also wanted to wash her hair on the morning of the third day, but she had learned her lesson to some extent and came up with the idea of first boiling water in the inn’s kitchen. However, she also made the shocking discovery that she would need money for fuel and coal. Maybe she had never imagined that it cost money to have hot water.

In the end, she washed her hair in a half-frozen well, but this time she adjusted her approach and finished with minimal shivering. He was looking forward to seeing what she would try next time.

Before long, the stones on the riverbed grew fewer in number, and the grassland views became more frequent. Gently sloping plains stretched out all the way to the mountains that were faintly visible in the distance. It seemed they had reached the Dolan Plains. Col became drowsy watching the scenery, but it was terribly exciting for Myuri, who had grown up high in the mountains. She excitedly stared at the view and waved to the travelers walking along the riverside roads.

Then finally, beyond the sloping plains, the town of Atiph came into view atop a small hill, along with its famous checkpoint.

“…!!”

It was difficult just to keep Myuri from suddenly standing up in the boat, so Col was worried that her ears and tail might come out. She gave a wordless cry in enthusiasm, and he had trouble gently prying off her tight grip on his arm.

“Brother! The town! So big! The river! It’s true! The chain!”

It was like she forgot how to form full sentences in her excitement.

But he was genuinely surprised to see the very thing their other captain had described, looming over them with more presence than he had imagined. It was not the kind of chain that was used to keep vaults closed—each link was big enough that Myuri could fit her arm through it. Each joint was lined up neatly and the chain hung above the pair.

“C-captain! Are you sure it won’t fall?” Myuri asked, having regained some composure, and the captain, with sloping shoulders and a mustache under his nose, spoke without a smile.

“It falls once a year, and the boats get caught in it and sink. It hasn’t fallen yet this year, so we’re still in danger. Can you swim?”

Myuri’s face twitched, and she clung to Col, then peered up at the chain.

“She will believe you, so please don’t tease her.”

“Wha—?”

Myuri was shocked, and the captain laughed.

“Can you see the nests the birds of passage leave in the links?” Col pointed, and Myuri’s mouth fell open as the chain passed directly above them. “If it fell and the water washed it clean every year, it would not be like that.”

“The chain doesn’t fall, but shit does all the time. You’re putting yourself in danger looking up with your mouth open.”

Myuri quickly shut her mouth when she heard the captain’s warning.

Their boat joined many others and headed for the pier. There were too many of them, so they had to wait their turn. Everyone was unloading here and seemed to be bringing back a mountain of salted herring in return. When they finally reached the pier, Myuri wearily watched the loading of the fish onto the boats.

“I’m so glad I’m not with the fish. I don’t even want to look at salted fish anymore.”

Herring was abundant, so it was cheap. During the winter, it was laid out on every table in every house from the coast to the mountains and elicited considerable moaning. This was the fish that kept them fed every winter, and it would be distributed at every cargo ship’s next stop.

“Well, the smell is already bad…”

Myuri must have been having a bad time, since her good sense of smell was due to her wolf’s blood. Even for a regular person like Col, he could clearly smell the fishy scent wafting from the barrels here and there in the port.

Though this time, he could only think of how delicious it smelled.

“Let’s have salt-grilled fish tonight. It’s a different kind of taste from salted fish.”

“Aww…I wanted red meat…”

Myuri grumbled in disapproval of their journey’s meals as they cut through the crowds at the pier and exited the port, but then she suddenly became quiet.

“What’s wrong?”

Col glanced at her, and she was gaping up at the sky. She stared at the stone fortress with seabirds lined up snugly on it. It was the first time she had ever seen a town outside Nyohhira in her life.

“Myuri, you’ll be in the way if you stop there.”

He pulled her hand, and she finally moved, but something else immediately stole her attention.

“Brother, look! That person has so many dogs!” She pointed to a dockhand carrying a barrel, and the pack of dogs following behind him. “Is that a dog herder?”

“Dog herder?”

“There are goatherds and shepherds all over the world, right?”

Following that logic, of course there would be dog herders somewhere in the world.

“I don’t know much about dog herders, but that barrel probably has salted herring in it. The dogs are after the salt that might spill out.”

“Ohhh.”

Seabirds circled noisily above Myuri as she stood in wonder, and a cat curled up on a stack of wooden crates. Everything was new and exciting in the commotion of the port, and she busied herself asking what this and that was with each step she took. Then, her eyes sparkled whenever she heard the answer, and she listened enthusiastically to his every word. And though she had grown cheeky lately, seeing her like this reminded Col of the straightforward and cute Myuri from so long ago, and so he relaxed.

However, explaining every little thing would not get them anywhere, and they still had preparations to make upon entering the town. First, they had to find a money changer to ensure they had cash to do shopping in town. When he finally decided to pull her along so that they could move forward—and since he was trying to get a hold of Myuri, he was not watching where he was going—they ran into someone.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Flustered, he apologized to a girl wearing a kerchief around her head. She was relatively tall, and slender arms extended from her emphatically rolled-up sleeves. She was wearing an apron, so perhaps she was the daughter of a shipping agent. Her pale hair, faded from the salt of the sea, matched her particularly beautiful chestnut-colored eyes.

Her gaze met Col’s, and she smiled. But out of the blue, she quickly latched onto his arm.

“Not at all! I welcome good-looking people like you!”

“Huh?”

“You’re a traveler, right? Is this your first time to the town of Atiph? Do you have an inn for the night? If you loiter around here, the touts from nasty inns will drag you in.”

“Wh-what? Um—”

She rambled to him about so much all at once, and suddenly the girl’s chest touched his arm. Her supple flesh had received a splendid upbringing in the spirit of meat, fish, and the seaside.

“Our inn is clean and safe. We’ve just unloaded some new wine, our beds have marvelous linen without any mites or lice, and any girl you choose will be yours. What, priests like yourself are fine, too! All the girls are the devout lambs of God, so God will overlook this. So just get married for a night and then divorce the next day.”

“Th-that’s, um…”

Col knew immediately that it was the kind of inn that provided companionship with a girl in exchange for money. Any port town, teeming with famously boisterous sailors and the rich who gained all their money from trade, would have any number of these sorts of inns. The girl pressed her chest more firmly against his arm this time and drew close to his face as though she would whisper in his ear. He did not know what sort of incense she was burning, but he could smell the sweet scent of fresh bread. He could not look straight at the girl.

“Heh-heh, it’s kind of cute when your face goes red like that. Hey, where did you come from? Did you come by boat from the south? Tell me all about your journey at the inn,” the girl said and tried to pull him along by his arm. No, I am not a priest, and we have plans to stay at a different inn—his words echoed vainly in his head.

All the same, when he tried to stand his ground, he felt his other arm being pulled in the other direction.

“See, our inn is over…Ah, huh?” The sheep she had caught did not budge, so she turned back toward him dubiously. “Oh, what, is that your daughter?”

He looked, and there was Myuri, hugging his other arm and glaring daggers at the girl.

“I’ve never seen you before. Whose turf are you from?”

The girl’s expression changed from a pleasant one for customers to a dangerous one. She said “turf,” which likely meant she thought that Myuri was in the same industry as she was. Myuri’s outfit did not suggest she was the daughter of an honorable baker.

“N-no, this is the daughter of my employer, and we have reason to be traveling together,” Col said before things became complicated. The girl stared, comparing herself and Myuri three times before she finally let go of his arm.

“The reason you smell so strongly of sulfur must mean you’re headed home after plenty of fun in Nyohhira. I see.”

She nodded all-knowingly, and there was no doubt she was mistaken, but it would be too much trouble to correct her.

“Then, don’t worry about the inn, but could you exchange some money for me?”

“Exchange money?”

“Since you came down the river, you should have small coins, right?”

The tout girl changed the subject suddenly, and Col grew a bit flustered.

“We’re having trouble since we don’t have enough change. Of course, I’ll give you a little something for the exchange fees. Like a kiss on the cheek or letting you lay your head on my lap…”

And again, she slid closer to him, and Myuri literally growled.

“It’s a joke. But really, could you give me just a little? We’re really in a bind.”

She probably spoke to clueless travelers like this to cheat them out of change at an unfair rate.

“I’m sorry. We were just going to the money changers ourselves,” he informed her, and she did not pursue the matter further. “I see. Then you shouldn’t get money changed outside the city walls. The ones without a mat aren’t licensed, you know. They’ll overcharge you so much, so be careful. You seem too honest…Well, you have a little supervisor with you.”

The girl cackled, and as Myuri gave her a little wave, she turned on her heels. She no longer had any interest in them as she looked around and purposefully bumped into a different passing young man. He seemed honest and kind, perhaps coming into town from one of the nearby farming villages.

Their conversation was the same as the one Col had earlier, and just as the young man was about to apologize, she pressed her chest against his arm and drew her face close to his ear. Col and Myuri could easily tell from the side that this honest-looking young man was freezing up.

This method was not often praised, but Col admired her enthusiastic salesmanship and wit.

“I swear!” There echoed a cold, sharp voice. “You really can’t do anything without me.”

He turned around to see Myuri’s exasperated expression. Col once again turned his gaze to the young man—the girl would not hear his confused excuses. She gripped his arm, then simply dragged him off. The weak would be hunted.

“And you were all blushy!”

“I wasn’t b-blushy,”Col retorted, flustered, but Myuri was eyeing him in disdain as she snorted.

“They were just a bit big.”

“Huh?” he asked, and Myuri let go of his arm, instead taking his hand. Hers was a small hand and so was her height and her shoulders and her waist—many parts of her were small. Perhaps she had released him because she was embarrassed of what she had been pressing against his arm, especially compared to the other girl. Of course, he did not point any of this out and pretended not to notice.

Instead, he said, “But you did save me. I give you my thanks.”

Displeased, Myuri stared up at Col before suddenly smiling, like a sign flipping upside down.

If they stood around idly, another predator might turn their fangs on them. Quickly, they walked off, and Myuri, generally satisfied after staring at the activity in the port, spoke up.

“And, Brother? What are you doing here? Preaching on a street corner?”

“No, I won’t be doing that. For the most part, I’ll be helping Heir Hyland.”

“What was it? Our Book of…”

So she did overhear. There was no reason to hide it now.

“Our Book of God.”

“What is that?”

“It’s our plan to translate scripture into common language.”

“Oh, I see,” she said, though her expression suggested she did not see at all.

Col looked at her in shock, and she giggled in response.

“The scripture is written in the script of the Church. In ancient times, the words of the prophets were written down for posterity, but since the Church spread all over the world, very few priests were able to read the original script as a result. It’s said that was when God granted us the script of the Church.”

“Huh. How long ago is ancient times? Before Mother was a kid?”

Unwittingly, he glanced around, but he relaxed, doubting anyone would come and seriously question them.

“That is a good question. Perhaps it could be.”

“Huh.”

Her interest lay in an odd part of the story, but the main topic was elsewhere, so he cleared his throat and steered the conversation back.

“Anyway, the scripture is written in the orthography of the Church, but that’s not what we usually use. Few can read and write even the common script we use every day.”

Myuri made a disgusted face, likely recalling how she was sometimes roped to a chair, forced to learn how to read and write.

“Because of that, only a small number of people can read the scripture. So if you go to a church, the priest will interpret the teachings written in the scripture for you, and it’s been this way for a very, very long time. However, lately, it’s been agreed that this is not a good thing. So our plan is, instead of only the priests of the Church one-sidedly reading and interpreting the righteousness of God’s teachings, we will enable many people to read the scripture directly, and each person will decide for themselves what is right.”

“So Our Book of God?”

“Yes. Isn’t that a wonderful name?”

Myuri stared at Col with those beautiful eyes, then spoke.

“Brother, you treat me like a child, but you’re plenty childish yourself.”

“What?” he asked in return, but she only smiled mischievously.

Although, it was true that Our Book of God would be filled with the elements of adventure and challenge, enough to make his nostrils flare with enthusiasm.

“So you’re going to write a book.”

“Frankly speaking.”

However, translating the scripture was easier said than done. It was brimming with vague and metaphoric language, and interpretations differed from one theological scholar to the next. In addition, there was a lot of jargon that was not used in daily life, so translating it would not be straightforward.

What was more, Col was aware of the reality that devout faith was not the only force driving their plan forward. It was nothing if not a strategic maneuver, born from the current standoff between the pope and the Kingdom of Winfiel that had continued for too long. It was a way for the kingdom to prove that the pope was wrong and to cut his feet out from under him. As anyone could clearly see, when he held the scripture in one hand and glorified asceticism in front of a magnificent cathedral with a giant bell tower, what he preached and what he practiced were different. However, since the people could not read the scripture, it was difficult, if not impossible, for them to point out his misdeeds.

Of course, it was clear that the Church strongly opposed their plan. As long as the scripture was not written in a common language, they could limit the number of people who could access it, and they could keep the uneducated masses ignorant. Our Book of God was a plan that would give the Church quite the headache.

Yet, on the Kingdom of Winfiel’s side of things, there was an earnest and practical reason for undertaking this plan. Since church doors had been ordered closed all throughout the country, the government had to give people the power to conduct baptisms, weddings, and prayers for funerals on their own.

Hyland, who came up with the plan for Our Book of God, really did have keen insight. The reason the Debau Company decided to support the kingdom was likely due to his intelligence.

However, it was also fair to say that this was the last resort of a cornered people. The suspension of all religious activities was a terrifying measure. As a loved one lay expiring on their deathbed, even if one wished to pray for their passage into heaven themselves, only a priest could do that. One could not receive God’s blessings for their joyous wedding, an event that marked a major turning point in anyone’s life. The Church was the one that carried out weddings, so no one could even get married officially in the first place. The pope had annulled all of it simply due to his desire to collect taxes. What did he even think of others’ lives? God’s love was free; his teachings were not for collecting tithes.

Col thought that yes, it was the pope who was wrong. If they condoned his tyranny, all that they believed was right in the world, and God himself, the root of that righteousness, would be taken from them.

“Brother.”

As he mentally conversed with himself, Myuri pulled on his sleeve.

“You look scary.”

“…I was thinking. What is it?”

“The port ends here. Where are we going? That town on the hill?”

The area around the port was much more developed than the town in the distance and contained numerous large buildings. There were warehouses that were also trading companies or shipping agents. The structures continued behind them, and beyond the paths were clusters of questionable shops where the girl from earlier pulled the young man to. And just as she said, some people were standing on the street corners, no mat beneath them, exchanging money. There were also blacksmiths’ and woodcutters’ workshops, so the port could already be called its own town.

However, they could see the size of the town from where they stood at the beginning of the paved road leading from the port up the hill. Scaffolding was set up here and there along the wall, so it seemed it was still expanding.

If the Debau Company had a trading house in Atiph, it would be there.

“Let’s go into town.”

“Yay!”

“Yay?”

He gave Myuri a questioning look. She turned away, but he knew what she was thinking.

“We will not be shopping or eating.”

“Aww…But I saved you from a predator!”

“Th-that’s…I refused as well myself.”

He cleared his throat, and Myuri cheekily shrugged.

“First of all, we do not have infinite funds.”

“I could earn money by dancing in a bar.”

He glared at her, and she simply shrugged again, moving one step away from him. It was likely that she actually could earn money that way, and that bothered him.

“Luxury is the enemy.”

“I think abstinence is the enemy of a fun life.”

He glared again, but this time she smiled back.

The sides of the road from the port to the city walls were already packed with stalls.

On the path of trials given to the prophets by God, the temptations of the devil lay at every step.

Oh God, grant me protection.

He braced himself and swore again his vows of abstinence.

Atiph was a lively town, but it was a different sort from Nyohhira.

Loud shouts rose from anyone and everyone—as lively as if they were all running at full speed.

“Hey, get outta the way!”

“Who the hell put these crates here?!”

“Herring! Come get your herring! Fresh, unsalted herring!”

“You there, Mr. Traveler! How about a short sword to protect yourself? This masterpiece could even slice through a cow!”

Col had thought he was knowledgeable about the outside world, but it hit him that what he knew was from more than ten years in the past. Such hustle and bustle made him dizzy.

“Myuri, are you all right?”

The crowd jostled them about, stifling them with the heat of so many bodies, and the smells of fish and blood from the butchered sheep and pigs on the side of the streets wafted around them, as did the scent of the meat deep-frying in oil while the smoke of charcoal fires filled the air.

He worriedly called out to her, just when she had finished eating fried eel.

“Heh?” she responded, jumping out of the way of a cart loaded with cages that were stuffed with chickens, and patted a passing dog on the head as she spun. It seemed it did not take her very long to get used to the excitement of the town.

“Ooh! I want to eat that next!”

She pointed at a shop displaying its meat pies.

“…Fried eel from the mouth of the river, black pudding, tripe, what’s next?”

“The small fried crabs were really good with salt. The fresh salt-grilled herring was better than I thought it would be. Herring isn’t just something to throw out.”

He was ashamed of himself for giving in to Myuri’s pleading.

“Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins. Do you know how much this cost? All the small change we brought from Nyohhira is gone now…”

It seemed every shop was short on change this time of year, and whenever he handed over a larger coin to pay, the owner showed a clear frown. Perhaps the tout girl had asked to exchange money not for extra savings, but truly because she was in a bind.

“We’ll just do our shopping with silver, then. If we buy enough, we won’t need any change.”

“Myuri!” he scolded, and she stuck her fingers in her ears and averted her gaze.

“You should’ve gotten a farewell present from Father, so why are you being so stingy? If gluttony is a sin, then what about being such a miser?”

“Ah—”

She typically seemed to ignore his lectures, but since she did actually remember them, it would be hard to deal with her. Miserliness was not one of the seven deadly sins of wrath, gluttony, lust, greed, envy, pride, and sloth, but it was still sinful.

“…I am not being a miser. This is moderation.”

“What’s the difference?”

She was not asking because she did not know—she was asking because she knew it would trouble him. If her ears and tail had been out, they would probably have been wiggling happily.

Though it a shame for someone who wanted to be a priest, Col used his trump card.

“No means no.”

Myuri blew a raspberry and turned away in a huff, but perhaps thinking it was time to stop, she did not harass him anymore.

Col evaluated the opportunity, then spoke.

“And you really must do something about your appearance.”

“Huh?” Myuri had gone quiet, gazing around at the shops, wondering what to have him buy her tomorrow, and she sounded surprised. “What? Isn’t it cute?”

She seemed slightly hurt.

“…This is not about whether it’s cute or not.”

“So? It is cute, right? Good.”

She giggled happily, and he nearly gave in to her.

“It may look good on you.” He tried again and managed to continue speaking. “But it stands out too much. If we are to continue traveling, you need to change. I’ll get something else for you.”

Myuri had a reason and an excuse for everything, but when he spoke with her seriously, she listened carefully.

She took another look at her outfit and tilted her head.

“If you insist, I’ll change, but…why? Everyone compliments me!”

“That’s why.”

As with the tout girl’s misunderstanding earlier, whenever Col paid for something Myuri bought at a stall, he could feel the gaze of the shopkeeper boring into him. He was walking around with a gaudily dressed girl who was young—perhaps too young—and buying her food. Perhaps it would be a different story if they were garish young nobles, but he had asked Lawrence for traveling clothes that were fitting for a priest. In no way was this respectable.

Col laid this out for Myuri in detail, and with a tired expression, she seemed to acquiesce.

“I don’t care how others see me…but I don’t want cause you trouble, Brother.” Myuri sighed, then said, “So how should I dress?”

“Traveling women generally have two options for dress: a nun or a boy.”

“Mother dresses like a nun sometimes, doesn’t she? That one that’s long with lots of frills and lots of cloth.”

“Even when she was traveling long ago, the nun dress suited her.”

“So that would look good on me, too.”

Holo, the avatar of a wolf who would live for centuries, had the appearance of a young girl and stayed that way for years. And as Myuri grew, she and her mother had become two peas in a pod.

“Perhaps. Unlike you, Holo is calm and dignified.”

“Hey!”

That is exactly what is different between them, he said to himself.

“I want something that’s easy to move around in. And…I don’t want to compete with Mother.”

It seemed that girls were vain and prideful.

“Then we’ll ask someone at the Debau Company to prepare a helper boy’s outfit for you.”

“What would happen if I were a prettier boy than you?”

He could only smile dryly, but Myuri got the shape of her face from her mother. Boy’s clothes would surely suit her.

And it was much more difficult to spot a woman dressed as a man than the other way around.

“Well then, let’s go,” he said.

“Okay.”

The town of Atiph sat on a hill on the south side of the river that flowed from east to west. The town square was at the highest point of the hill, and in typical southern style, all the town’s important buildings, such as the church and town hall, encompassed it. Trade flourished here, so there were probably many southerners in the town’s leadership.

According to what Col and Myuri heard at the stalls, the Debau Company’s trading house was along the main street that extended from the square—fitting for its size. Perhaps someone who was familiar with the area would take the less populated back roads, but it was their first time here, so they followed the major avenues for the moment and decided to head for the square.

The money changers might be there, too.

“Whoa…,” Myuri murmured in awe and peered up at the magnificent church standing before her.

The stone fortress at the port had also captivated her, but perhaps stone buildings themselves were new to her. The biggest buildings in Nyohhira were only three stories, and they were all made of wood. The church before her eyes was easily five stories tall, and the bell tower extended well above that. It was of a truly imposing scale.

“Hey, Brother…did they make this by stacking up each rock, one by one?”

“Yes. It takes considerable effort, but the harder they work, the more the strength of their faith shows. It is also a huge honor to quarry the heavy stone that will be used in the construction of a church. If you examine it closely, you can find the names of the people who donated carved into the stone.”

“Wow…”

“Why don’t you take a look? I need to replenish the change that a certain someone used up.”

Myuri slowly lowered her gaze from the church to him, a wide grin on her face.

“Make sure you exchange a lot.”

She was not shy about her wants.

“Just kidding. I would worry if you got lost, so I’ll go with you.”

“…”

Col looked at her as she stood next to him, and she truly seemed to be enjoying herself. He found himself smiling rather than sighing at her carefree attitude. Perhaps one could say he had no choice but to smile.

Then, they headed to the money changers, who sat on straw mats laid out around the statue of the Holy Mother in the center of the square. Not only travelers, but also a constant stream of townspeople were visiting them, perhaps to exchange money for shopping, and the money changers were frowning as they placed metals and coins on the scales. Among them, the pair found a money changer who had just gotten through his queue, and they called out to him.

“I’d like to exchange some money.”

“All right, what do you need?”

There were no niceties—it was straight to the point. Col hurriedly pulled out his wallet and produced a single white silver piece.

“I’d like this in bronze dip, please.”

“The coin of the sun, huh? That will be thirty bronze dip pieces.”

“What?!”

Unwittingly, he yelled in surprise. The bronze dip was a piece of thin copper that was in circulation in this area, and one coin could buy about one piece of bread or one cup of ale. On the other hand, the silver coin engraved with the image of a sun was the strongest of its kind in this region, since it was also used for long-distance trade, and it was enough to feed a family of four for a week, with enough left over for a special treat on the Sabbath.

Before Col left, the owner of the bathhouse, Lawrence, told him about the exchange rates for all major coins, and he had said that this would gain him at least forty pieces—or if luck was on his side, then fifty pieces of bronze.

He thought perhaps they were being taken advantage of because they were travelers, but before he said anything, the money changer spread open the roll of parchment in his hand and recited the contents.

“An announcement from the city council: In view of the recent shortage of change, the city council has regulated the exchange rate between the silver coin of the sun and bronze dip as one to thirty.”

He seemed used to the complaints of travelers.

“We appreciate a healthy economy, but because of that our supply of currency can’t keep up. That’s the case in other towns, too.”

The money changer rolled up the parchment and placed it under the platform holding the scales.

“See, there’s a big church in this town. Everyone’s gone and put their change in that donation box of theirs.”

Without looking, he pointed to the church with his thumb.

“On top of all that tax, you have to wonder what they’re doing with all the coins sitting in that box…Oh, you’re a traveling priest, huh?”

The money changer was not as apologetic as his words might suggest, and he grinned.

“So what will it be?”

“Ah…yes. Please.”

“Thanks.”

Col handed him the silver, and the money changer inspected the front and back, weighed it against raw silver on the scales, and finally handed him a bundle of bronze coins. There were exactly thirty. Perhaps the tout girl really was in trouble, and the stall owners did not want to give him change.

And Myuri’s shopping for food became much more expensive.

“Young man, be sure to tell them they at least shouldn’t let all that change sit in the box. The Church nowadays is all about money, money, money. We need the Kingdom of Winfiel to work hard.”

Col could only smile dryly, and he put the coins away into his coin purse before leaving the money changers behind.

However, his heart began to race not when the money changer criticized the Church, but when he mentioned the Kingdom of Winfiel. Hearing the dissatisfaction of the townspeople directly felt like an endorsement of his mission.

How could the Church save the souls of the people after oppressing their livelihoods?

“Where to next, Brother?”

He responded with force.

“To the Debau Company.”

He needed to meet up with Hyland quickly.

Stirred by a sense of purpose, he pulled a bewildered Myuri along and marched onto the main street.

Going south along the large road from the square, there appeared a block of similar-looking buildings. The first floor was always an unloading zone for cargo, and banners hung proudly from the second-and third-floor walls. These buildings belonged to the large commercial firms that held the reins of the town’s economy. Among them, he found the familiar banner of the Debau Company.

“Oh…I’ve seen that design somewhere.”

Myuri tilted her head.

“It was on the silver piece we just exchanged.”

“Oh.”

While the Debau Company was still a mercantile organization, it also issued the high-value silver debau on its own terms. The design on the face of the coin was that of a sun, and it was often called the “coin of the sun.”

“That is a currency they could produce all thanks to your parents’ efforts.”

That was apparently the final uproar to liven up the journey of the merchant and the wolf avatar. Col truly thought they were amazing people, but this did not seem to click with Myuri herself.

The Debau Company building was a wide structure facing the street, and the first floor was an unloading zone. Merchants carrying packages that were larger than Col’s body and wagons piled high with cargo were constantly coming and going.

The beggar-looking man crouching in a corner of the unloading area was likely watching to make sure no one was trying to steal things amid the commotion in exchange for charity. In addition to thieves, there were also stray cats and dogs that roamed around town, hoping to feed on pigs and chickens that ultimately strayed too far from their owners. He felt a slight pang of nostalgia, as it reminded him of when he was a wandering student, getting by with similar work.

“Hey, hey, you’re in the way just standing there! If you want donations, try somewhere else!”

A man in the unloading area, steam rising from his bare upper body, shooed them away like he would a dog or cat.

“Ah, I need to pass on a message to the master of the house.”

“Hah?”

“Please tell him my name is Tote Col. My plans to go to Lenos have changed to Atiph.”

“Hmm?”

The man gazed at him suspiciously, but he shrugged his rough shoulders and disappeared inside.

And before long, he returned.

“Come in, he says. Who are you? A friend of that big shot?”

So it seemed that Hyland was already here.

He thanked the man, and they continued farther inside the unloading area.

Merchandise of all kinds had been stacked high, and after a step up was a reception desk, large enough to sleep on, with a blanket covering it. At the moment, that wide desk was also piled with coins and parchment, and there was a man buried among it all, writing. A large canvas hung on the wall behind him. Painted there was a larger-than-life angel, watching quietly over the merchants as they worked.

Such an impressive painting also stole Myuri’s attention, but she did not seem moved or intimidated; instead, she tilted her head questioningly.

“I didn’t know angels counted money, too. But why a sword? Is it a threat to keep them working?”

The angel held a sword in her right hand and the scales in her left. Col found himself smiling at her interpretation.

“The sword means justice, and the scales mean equality. But…it doesn’t quite seem that way, does it?”

It seemed even more so because everyone was working as though something was driving them forward. It was just like being in the middle of a roaring hearth. He had thought he had a thing or two to say about diligence from working in the bathhouse, but his job in Nyohhira was nowhere as trying as this. This was the speed at which the world moved.

He felt like scale deposits from the hot spring water had caked on him after living for ten years in the mountains, and they were slowly being chipped away.

“Ah, Sir Col, is it?”

The building was teeming with people no matter how far they continued in, and a well-dressed merchant called out to him. He wore clothes of a green cloth, dyed from what Col did not know, which gave him the air of a nobleman and signaled that he was the kind of merchant who only participated in major deals. His mustache was also groomed so that the ends bent sharply, like the horns of a bull. The man probably shaped them every morning with egg whites.

“I received your message and came here. I am Tote Col.”

“The chief in the main branch told me to take care of you. I am Stefan, head of this trading house.”

They shook hands, and Stefan, who was certainly twenty-some years older than Col, turned his attention to Myuri, of course.

“And this young lady?”

“Hello. I am traveling with my brother due to certain circumstances. I am Myuri.”

She introduced herself clearly and with a smile as though this was expected. She acted so naturally that Stefan simply seemed to accept it. Such things did happen.

“We have prepared a room for you. Do you mind sharing?”

“Not at all. I hope we don’t cause you too much trouble…”

“Nonsense. You treat us with the utmost respect, Sir Col.”

The elegantly dressed Stefan was treating them with the highest level of etiquette, so Myuri’s eyes widened in surprise. However, the Debau Company was deeply obliged to Lawrence and Holo, so it was just trickling down to Col.

“Is Heir Hyland already here?”

“Yes. Heir Hyland arrived two days ago by boat and has just returned from a meeting with the trade association—”

Stefan was cut off.

Just as he heard the sound of many footsteps coming from even farther in the unloading area from a connecting hallway, people stepped to the side, as though the sea were being parted. The person who appeared was of high status, accompanied by an attendant—his standing was immediately obvious because of the tailoring of his clothes and the air that surrounded him, which were clearly different from everyone else’s. Or perhaps it was the shape of the face that drew even the gazes of men or the bright, eye-catching golden hair that displayed the blood of nobility. One could see why the legend of the golden sheep still existed to this day in the Kingdom of Winfiel.

It was Hyland himself.

“My, Heir Hyland.”

Stefan interrupted himself and saluted, and Hyland stopped the man with the palm of his hand, as though commanding him to stand at ease.

Then, he turned to Col and smiled as if seeing an old friend.

Hurriedly, the boy copied Stefan and lowered his head.

“You seem to be in good spirits, Heir Hyland.”

“And you have not changed, Sage Col.”

Hyland was younger than he was and, with that unique, hoarse voice, deliberately called him “sage.” The title of sage was one of power bestowed by the Church, and most of those who bore it were in universities. He could never imagine himself with such a title, but when Hyland said it, he almost believed it. Stefan and Hyland’s assistant seemed surprised, and he could not help but blush.

“You jest. The title of sage is an awesome one.”

“Then why be so formal?”

Hyland spoke with a teasing grin.

“Col, I am no match for your scholarship, and we will be relying on your skills. However, it is not your job to curry favor with me.”

He had said something similar when they debated at the bathhouse, but while a part of it was Hyland’s honesty, another part of it was perhaps a plea.

When he spoke of currying favor as a job, the courteous Stefan appeared not to know what he was talking about, to an unnatural extent.

“All right. I have always spoken like this, however.”

“Very well.” Hyland smiled a boyish, innocent smile, then continued with a wry one. “And who is this girl? Why is she here?”

“Hiss!”

Myuri poked her head out from behind Col, baring her teeth at Hyland.

“Ha-ha, lively as always. Mr. Stefan, we had sugar and blueberry candies, yes? I want to give her some.”

Stefan had been watching them blankly, but as the master merchant that he was, he immediately nodded politely.

“Then later for supper,” Hyland said, then walked off briskly.

His attendant followed after him, and Col felt as though the heavy air had suddenly lightened.

That must be the noble presence.

“Myuri, do not be so rude.”

Myuri was glaring at Hyland as he exited the building, and when Col spoke, she puffed her cheeks and looked away.

“But I’ll take the candy.”

She grumbled, even more dissatisfied, and Col nudged her in the head, sighing in exasperation.

Their room was on the third floor. It was typically meant for merchants who were visiting the company. There was only one bed, so the boy who brought them there offered to prepare another one, but they could not ask so much. In addition, Myuri was not a bad sleeper, so it did not bother Col terribly. Of course, he also did not see her as a member of the opposite sex.

Therefore, instead of a bed, they asked for a disguise for Myuri.

“Hey, Brother?”

As he reached into his bag and retrieved several worn pens and a heavily annotated copy of the scripture, Myuri called out to him.

“Where are we right now? This is a world map, right?”

Myuri was standing in front of a large diagram hanging on the wall.

The map had been drawn on a single piece of leather, and it was big enough to wrap around Myuri. It was not the parchment of a sheep but probably of one entire young cow.

“We’re around here.”

The southern metropolis, where the pope resided, was in the middle of the map. Using that as a guideline, Atiph would be quite far in the upper left corner.

“Where’s Nyohhira?”

“Up the river from Atiph here.”

He pointed to the edge of the map, under the beard of a decorative sun with a human face.

“Ah-ha-ha. It’s the edge of the world.”

“And yet, people there are leading lives just as active.”

“You traveled a long time ago too, right, Brother? Where was that?”

“Let’s see…,” he answered honestly, but Myuri’s curiosity was endless. A knock at the door interrupted them, so he happily broke off.

“Myuri, stop staring at the map and come change.”

What arrived were the set of boy’s clothes and the sugar and blueberry candies that Hyland mentioned to Stefan.

“Oh, wow!”

Of course, it was not the boy’s clothes that excited her. Her ears and tail popped out so forcefully he could almost hear it, and when she flew forward, he quickly spun her around.

“You may eat after you change.”

There was a fair difference in their heights, so once he held the tray of candies above his head, Myuri could not reach them. She looked at him sadly, but when he shook his head, her expression suddenly became quite cross. With that rapid change in her visage, she snatched the clothes up.

“Sheesh, what a pain…”

Grumbling, she went to change, and as she carelessly shucked off her clothes, he of course left the room.

“What? But you always see me in the bath!”

Myuri sounded puzzled, but that was not the problem. He leaned against the door and sighed.

Her mother, Holo, almost never hesitated to show skin, which was of course expected from the embodiment of a wolf.

And so it would be shameful if he protested too much and appeared to have wicked feelings, but upon further consideration, no, she should be a virtuous maiden.

However, when he saw Myuri naked without the clouding steam of Nyohhira, it was a little different than he imagined. At some point, the hard angles on her thin and rather muscular-looking body had begun to disappear. Though she was not quite fully matured, he could probably predict what was to come.

While he was joyful at the thought of how she was properly growing up, he also felt a bit sad for some reason.

“My bashful brother, I’m changed!”

As he waited, absentmindedly eating candy, he heard her rude call from the other side of the door.

When he opened the door and entered the room, a pretty young boy was standing there.

“Eh-heh-heh. What do you think?”

“…I’m shocked. Appearances really are important.”

While the fine make of the clothes certainly had something to do with it, the starched trousers and slim-fitted sleeves, the spotless, thin vest, and the long sash wrapping around her waist made her into the very image of a young boy who took orders beside a great merchant.

“But what should I do about my hair? I guess I can just tie it up like yours, huh?”

Though Col was growing his out because it was too much of a bother to cut it, Myuri’s hair was much longer.

“It may be best to braid it nicely.”

“Okay.”

She brought the chair from under the desk over to where Col was, then reached out and snatched the tray of candy from him. After that, Myuri sat in the chair, her back facing him.

“Mm.”

It was as though she was commanding him to braid her hair. He did not have the energy to be angry.

He retrieved a comb from Myuri’s things and began running it through her hair while she happily stuffed her face with candy. The strands had a strange texture—soft and slightly cool to the touch. There was quite a lot of it, so he set about making two braids and then twisting them together.

“Still…This is all such a pain.”

“What, do you mean the effort required in taking care of you?”

“Nuh-uh!” Myuri said, leaning backward over the chair to look at him upside down. “I mean how I have to hide my ears and tail and how I have to hide that I’m a girl.”

“That’s how the world is. Come now, sit up straight.”

He poked her head, and she obediently fixed her posture. It had been a while since he braided her hair, and it was surprisingly entertaining. She used to always pester him to braid her hair. As he recalled how she had eventually stopped doing that, she spoke up again.

“Hey, Brother?”

“What is it?”

He finished one braid and took hold of the next section of hair. He combed through it again, but Myuri did not continue.

“Is something wrong?” he asked again, and the hand she had been eating candy with stopped moving. She spoke in a tone of voice he could not read.

“Is there a place on that map where I don’t have to hide my ears and tail?”

His hands stopped automatically. He looked up, and before the sitting Myuri was the massive world map. Even a large town like Atiph only occupied one corner of the map, and it was doubtful if Nyohhira was even on it. The world was so big and filled with endless possibilities.

And then, he realized it.

Perhaps that was the very reason Myuri wanted to leave Nyohhira.

“That’s…”

But his words caught in his throat.

Myuri was almost never let out of her room in the bathhouse until she was old enough to know what was going on. When she was, everything but her face was completely wrapped in cloth. Her parents explained to those around her that she was weak and could not handle the steam from the baths, but it was, of course, to hide her ears and tail.

By the time she understood what was what, her mother, Holo, told her about her heritage, the concept of demonic possession, and that if they were found out, they could no longer stay in Nyohhira.

He remembered it like it was yesterday, the day she learned the truth and how she came crying to him with her questions.

“Will no one want to be my friend anymore?”

As someone who dreamed of being a priest, it was clear how he should answer: When you are in pain, when you are sad, when you feel lonely, if you lift your eyes to the sky, you will see your own eternal companion. However, at that time, what he said was something else.

“At the very least, no matter what happens to me, I will always be your friend.”

That day, Myuri learned that the world was a dark, cold place and desperately searched for something to rely on. He sensed that, in order for his words to reach her heart just then, he needed conviction sturdier than any stone. His gut had told him he needed to tell her he believed in her—words that he could speak with full confidence. He could not even speak for her father, Lawrence, much less for a god who had yet to look his way. As long as he was speaking only for himself, it was a solid promise.

Then, Myuri had smiled. “I’m glad,” she said, smiling.

Ever since then, Myuri had accepted her fate, learned how to hide her ears and tail, and lived in Nyohhira as a (questionably) regular girl. He thought she had gotten over it a long time ago, but perhaps it was not so easy.

“That’s…”

His hands that had been braiding her hair were still stopped.

He had a sense that lies and consolation would convey themselves to her through his hands.

More than anything, it would be rude to her to underestimate her as someone who could be easily tricked.

“That might be difficult.”

The world was supported by the Church, as the pope’s throne was in the center of the map. Even in places that respected local legends, it was still a gamble as to whether or not nonhumans would be accepted.

“Myuri, but—”

“It’s okay,” Myuri said, bending back and looking at him again. “Like Mother has Father, I have you. Right?”

Her smile was more mature than it used to be. She was purposely twisting her body in a strange way, and he realized it was her way of being considerate by hiding her seriousness.

“…Right. I’m surprised how well you remember, considering you never listen to what I say.”

Like Col himself and Lawrence, there would always be people who understood. She would be fine as long as she found companions like that.

Myuri closed her eyes and furrowed her brows, baring her teeth at him. Leaning back, she seemed about to fall, and he hurriedly caught her, but apparently she had trusted him to do just that.

Her eyes still closed, Myuri had a relatively calm expression on her face.

“Then it’s all right. We’re always together.”

She opened her eyes, smiling shyly, and sat up straight.

“Come now, Brother, hurry up and braid my hair. I want to see the attractions in town.”

“Attractions? We did not come here for fun, you know,” Col scolded her.

Though her thin shoulders shook in laughter, from behind, Myuri seemed a little lonely. Unlike her mother, Holo, she had not lived for hundreds of years. Though she could catch the biggest of adults off guard in an argument, she was still very much the young girl that she appeared to be. From here on, she would experience many troubles and hardships. He could not protect her from them all, but he wanted to do what he could.

He wove his feelings neatly into Myuri’s hair.

Neither of them could say a word.

They spent the time in silence.

Once Myuri was done preparing, they went to see Stefan and ask about Our Book of God, but it was just as crowded in front of the office as it had been in the unloading area.

“Brother, what is this?”

A wide variety of individuals stood in front of Stefan’s office in the innermost part of the first floor, from the well-dressed to those clothed not so nicely, and they all wore grave expressions on their faces. Many were accompanied by attendants, and with the chore boys of the Debau Company darting among them taking orders, it was much more congested than necessary.

From what Col could hear from the chatter, it sounded like they had come to make various requests.

“The seasons are about to change, so perhaps everyone is here for their expenses.”

There were people from nearby villages who had come to borrow money to replenish the stock used up during the winter and others from craftsmen associations who wanted to have their purchasing allowance increased. There were also merchants who had traveled a long distance from faraway lands on trading vessels and came offering souvenirs.

Winter had long finished by this time of year in the south, and time was now moving again. The northern towns and villages, where ports and roads would freeze over during the winter, needed to fill their emptied storehouses, too, and prepare for festivals while getting ready to plant seeds for spring.

The seasons changed for everybody, but that did not mean goods were distributed evenly.

And so people gathered at large companies like this in the hopes of gaining even a slight advantage.

“Is everyone here to see him? Such an important person came out to meet you, Brother.”

“Have you reconsidered your opinion of him?”

“Yeah. I was just thinking how Mother and Father helped out in such an amazing place.”

Myuri smiled at him, and he smiled in return.

Several moments later, she said happily, “Don’t be so pouty, Brother.”

In between the exchanges, Col had caught hold of a boy and explained their business. Typically they would wait their turn, but no matter how he figured, nobody was going in order. A group of men, clearly from another country—with cloth wrapped around their heads, gold decorating their necks, and skin darkened from the sun—had just come from the back when they were called into the office.

Was it money? Authority? Importance?

God would not punish Col if he used Hyland’s influence, as well as Lawrence and Holo’s connections.

The helper boy wove through the crowd and entered the office, and he returned before long.

“Everyone came rather suddenly, so they will be processing the large volume of requests now.”

He could not blame them. It was due to all this commotion.

“Then we shall gather people and tools.” The priest-in-training declared his intentions before continuing on. “Shall we handle the payments?”

“We will take care of all your expenses, Sir Col.”

“You have my thanks,” Col replied, then signaled to Myuri with his eyes and left the packed building.

It was just as clamorous outside, but without a roof, the supply of air seemed infinite.

“Wow, Brother, did you hear that?”

Once outside, that was the first thing Myuri said.

“They said they’ll foot the bill. So you don’t need to worry about your savings.”

“We are not going shopping for food.”

“Aw, why?”

“Footing the bill is a sign of respect. We should act in a way that is deserving of that respect. If we constantly demand payment for street food, what do you expect they’ll think of us?”

“Um…That we’re hungry…”

“…”

He sensed something like a headache coming on and simply walked forward for the moment.

“Moderation is not simply cutting down on amounts. It is a moral duty to control yourself so that you are not steered by your whims—what you want to eat, drink, or buy,” he said. He also suddenly hit upon the difference between moderation and stinginess. “And so being a miser is not regulating yourself, but being especially absorbed in gaining any sort of thing—in this case, coin. Do you understand?”

He heard once that sermons were meant for the enlightenment of oneself as well as the people, but this was the first time he saw how firsthand.

“Kind of, I think…”

Myuri caught up to his side and seemed even more displeased.

“So you can’t gain anything from moderation, right? So why do it?”

“Ah.”

This was not one of the questions she asked knowing it would catch him off-balance. He knew immediately when she was simply expressing doubt. Yet her very straightforward query had incredible depth to it.

Why? For what reason?

Legitimate-sounding responses reached the tip of his tongue, but they all felt wrong.

As he walked deep in thought, a wagon nearly ran him over. The one who grabbed his sleeve and used all her weight to pull him back was none other than Myuri.

“Brother, you dummy!”

“I’m sorry.”

However, he was not apologizing about the cart. He was sorry for his inability to answer her simple question.

The importance of moderation was, of course, promoted in the scripture, as well as taught as a virtue, but many things that were considered good were not written there. When he considered why temperance was right, he got the sense that a reason did not exist.

If it did, then there was only one.

“Because, perhaps, it just seems like it’s the right thing to do.”

Myuri regarded him with a dubious expression.

“I’m sure some people cannot stand it, but even they most likely understand the goodness of moderation itself.”

“…”

He asked himself again, ignoring Myuri as her dubious expression shifted to a worried one.

Perhaps it was wrong to simply pursue an idea on the basis that it was a given.

He had a feeling there was an ancient philosopher who had proclaimed that goodness was defined as what was natural.

“However, if that were the case, what would become of vowing abstinence…?”

A marriage was cause for celebration, but priests encouraged suppression of the natural desire that came with it.

Was being free of want natural?

Who would agree that abstinence was natural?

“Hmm…”

When one questions all that they have accepted as normal, they may find once unthinkable things lying in wait on the path ahead of them. As he stood in the street, pondering, someone pulled on his sleeve.

There was Myuri, looking ready to cry.

“Brother…I won’t be so selfish anymore, so please forgive me…”

“What?” he replied, and she frantically clung to him. He did not know what she had been saying to him, but she seemed to think the way he had stopped and stood still was a reaction to her desire to shop for food. He looked down at Myuri holding him, and a thought flickered across his mind.

Maybe next time she would grab his hand.

“Oh, I was just thinking too much,” he said and placed his hand on Myuri’s head, ruffling her hair to calm her down. But due to her unexpected question, his mind ran in circles like a bird that could not find a tree to land on.

Despite his restless, vague discomfort, he was a bit excited to see where the bird would go.

The town was divided into districts with the square in the center, so anyone who became lost could simply find the bell tower that was visible from anywhere and head to the plaza. The layout was impressively logical.

Col walked, Myuri was in tow and no longer appealing for food, and they made their way toward the craftsmen’s district. Appropriate for the port town that Atiph was, there were a great many woodworking studios. And under the eaves of a workshop that cut and whittled, thick black tree resin was being brushed onto lumber. Col thought that Myuri, who had hidden in a barrel meant for that resin, would frown at the familiar smell, but she watched the work intensely.

“So that’s how they use it.”

“They apparently use it for waterproofing and to protect against mold. When trading vessels go to distant lands, or ships go off to war, they use it for packaging meat so it doesn’t go bad.”

“Huh. It has a smoky scent, so maybe it would taste good.”

I see, it depends on your perspective, he thought.

They continued farther down before arriving at an area that worked with furs. In the open-air first-floor workshops, there were artisans working on each stage of tanning the hides and crafting leather cord.

There was a neat line of warm-looking ermine furs, and he wondered which nobles would buy them.

As they continued, they arrived at a shop that had a giant cow hide hanging on the wall facing the street, which the owner must have been using in place of a sign.

“Is that what they used for the map?”

Myuri sniffed the hide, and a man fiddling with the handle of a razor in the workshop noticed them.

“Do you need somethin’?”

Myuri whispered to Col, “We could probably sell his fur,” and he had to suppress his smile. The fellow was indeed a hairy craftsman, big both sideways and lengthways, a complete bear of a man.

“You don’t often see a young priest and an errand boy from the Debau Company together. Are you looking for something to write on?”

Col jabbed the mischievous Myuri in the head and cleared his throat before speaking.

“I need scrap paper, ink, parchment, and talc.”

He would grate the talc and then rub it into the uneven parchment in order to flatten it.

“All right, leave it to me!…is what I want to say, but we just got a large order for parchment yesterday, so we’re in the middle of making more now.”

The crafts-bear shrugged his shoulders, reached out to the parchment on the worktable, and waved it.

“I need to make five sheets out of this. Your average craftsman can get about three, though.”

He casually boasted about his skill, but five sheets was rather impressive. Parchment was made from the hide of animals, so unlike paper made from old rags, how thinly it could be cut depended on the maker’s skill.

“Are other workshops also busy with similar orders?” Col asked, and the crafts-bear stared at him blankly before bursting out into laughter.

“You must be from a big city. The only ones that deal in parchment and stationery around here are our workshop and our group. This ain’t the kind of town with thousands of notaries constantly ordering parchment.”

“I see…”

If so, then what happened?

He groaned, and the crafts-bear seemed to have suddenly realized something.

“Wait, now that you mention it, that order from yesterday was supposed to be delivered to the Debau Company.”

“What?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Now I remember. A whole troupe of nicely dressed folk came and asked for all the paper we had…I was so happy we sold out of parchment that I forgot.”

At the news that a well-dressed group had asked for all the paper they had to be delivered to the Debau Company, Col could only think of one possibility.

As it crossed his mind, a thin old man with a white beard, the exact opposite of the bearlike craftsman, appeared from inside the shop.

“Oh, customers, I see.”

“Oh, Old Boss, who was it that made that big order yesterday?”

“Ah? Your brain can only ever think about how fine you can slice leather, eh? You’ll never be able to do business like that. The request was from a noble from the Kingdom of Winfiel.”

So it was Hyland.

“Really? What’s an island noble doing here?”

“Geez…Haven’t I told you to go show up at association meetings? Their kingdom and the Church are in a dispute over tithes, remember? The kingdom thinks those taxes are absurd, and that nobleman is their spokesman. He’s come to convince Atiph’s Church that they should work together. And it appears he wants to make nice with the townspeople first, so he’s having meetings with every association. That’s where I’ve been all morning.”

“Oh. Huh…”

The crafts-bear was clearly not interested, as he was glancing down at his razor. Watching them, Col empathized more with the old bearded man.

“Huh? Is that all you have to say? Idiot. If that nobleman succeeds, we won’t have to pay taxes to the Church anymore.”

“Oh, that’d be great. They always say the pope’s feasts are extravagant. It would be nice if we didn’t have to pay for their luxuries.”

It was a coarse way of saying it, but what the crafts-bear said was likely exactly how the townspeople felt.

“But what does that have to do with the order?”

As he stroked the blade of the razor, the old bearded man thumped him on the head without hesitation. There was a solid thud.

Then, the old man turned to face them, squinting as if they were shining bright.

“If you’ve brought along a boy from the Debau Company, does that mean you’ve come to help that nobleman?”

“Ah, yes.”

“My, I’ve known about the kingdom for a long time, but today I learned so much at the meeting. Especially that Heir Hyland is such a wonderful person. He dreams up ideas I could never imagine,” the old man said. He shook Col’s hand and took the opportunity to grasp Myuri’s hand as well, bowing deeply.

“Us lowly people honestly never thought either side, whether the Church or the kingdom, had anything to do with us. But I never imagined that the scripture would be translated into the common language nor that we would be asked to look directly upon the words of God! Oh, what a wonderful thing this is.”

As the old man spoke, he began to choke up.

“Pardon me…At any rate, though we’ve had enough of the pope and the Church’s luxury and lack of restraint, we’re not in a place to fight back. This is a port town. Only God knows if there will be an accident at sea. If we were ordered to cease all religious activities, the root of life in this town would wither away. Ordinary courage is not enough to send ships into the pitch-black sea to be ravaged by the cold winds of winter. And accidents never stop. If you live in this town, you will most certainly have someone who works with the sea in your family.”

After negotiations with the cathedra in Lenos failed, there was more than enough reason to switch over to Atiph instead. The locals bestowed upon ships the name of saints and carved images of the Holy Mother or icons of angels onto the bows for protection on their voyages. Anyone who saw the haul of cod and herring caught in the port could understand they had a great number of fishermen. In addition, this was not like the warm, mild seaside towns in the southlands. Beyond this town was a frigid, gray sea, where there was no chance of survival for people who fell off a boat.

“It is truly an honor for us to assist directly. As you can see, I’m already so old, and this bear can only be relied upon for his skills.”

Apparently, everyone looked at the craftsman and saw a bear. Myuri lowered her head, trying to suppress her laugh.

“We’ve got scribe friends that we’ve already talked to, so leave the copies to us. As soon as you make progress on your translation, we’ll make more and more of them, and we’ll let everyone know how ridiculous the Church is!”

This old man and the townspeople had no reason to doubt the protection of God. They were simply dissatisfied with the corrupt practices of the Church’s inner circle, who were God’s representative on earth.

Col once again recognized that what the Kingdom of Winfiel was doing was not barbaric, but necessary.

The world he believed in lay just beyond this.

God’s true teachings were what Hyland was aiming for.

“Let us work hard together,” he said, gripping the old man’s hand in return.

“Myuri, have you now come to understand how amazing Heir Hyland is?”

He posed his question to Myuri on their way back from the workshop, and she nodded, albeit reluctantly.

For the rest of the day, they walked around town for a little bit. They spent some time looking at the city walls under construction and the gray sea from a hill before returning to the trading house.

That night, they were invited to a dinner that Stefan presided over with Hyland as the guest of honor, and they discussed things that were neither good nor bad. However, as Col watched the goings-on at the supper, he sensed something other than flattery in Stefan’s courteousness toward Hyland.

“Perhaps. Speaking to the townspeople, everyone seemed surprised that I was staying in the Debau Company trading house. Sir Stefan, the master of the house, apparently shares a hometown with the pope, you see, and has a deep connection through sending them goods. It’s unbelievable that he would accommodate one who would oppose the Church such as myself. Sir Stefan has reluctantly let me stay because management told him to. Merchants like him are more concerned about the profits before them than righteousness. Even in the absence of tithes, if the Church were to lose its funds, then the number of business transactions would decrease accordingly, and that is as far as his thoughts take him.”

After supper, Hyland called the pair to his room. Col was more concerned during supper about keeping a smile on his face, so he did not clearly remember what he ate. Myuri had brazenly stuffed herself with food, and at first was reluctant to go, saying she could not move, but when she learned there would be candy, she came along shamelessly.

“So the Debau Company is not a monolith, after all,” said Col.

“Such a big company is the same as a country. It would be impossible to unite them in consensus, to say nothing of their status as merchants. They go round and round more than weather vanes on the roof.”

Lawrence, whom he always greatly respected, was a former merchant, so Col simply let it go with a smile. “However, when I went to the craftsmen’s workshop to arrange for the paper, I listened to their story and was convinced. The ceasing of all religious activities really is wrong.”

“I was surprised, too, talking to all the associations in town, since their responses were so much different from those in Lenos. It was as though I’d become a savior.”

Hyland spoke with a coarse voice and a smile, bringing wine to his lips.

“Though this was originally pagan land, this is a town founded when those from the south came by boat and settled here. They fear the world outside their walls. They believe there are monsters hidden in the depths of the sea and that there is nothing that humanity can do about it. There is a stronger appreciation for God here compared to other places. That being said…”

Hyland affectionately crinkled his eyes, resting his chin in his hand and setting his arm on the armrest of the chair as he watched Myuri. She showed no interest in the teachings of God as she cradled a tray of dried sugared apples and munched on them. The plethora of sugared fruits was available because of the many rich people who needed to divert themselves from the boredom on long sea journeys.

“Most people act for material gain. They cannot stand having to pay taxes.” Hyland playfully eyed Myuri, who had tagged along when she heard there would be candy. “You saw the city walls under construction, yes? And the impressive paved road from the port.”

“It’s a wonderful town.”

“To be more precise, it is currently struggling to become a wonderful town. They are suffocating under the tax that has been levied on them. For all the activity it sees, this town is not very rich.”

There was likely information from the Debau Company about that.

“In addition, the cathedra in this town has a short history and low standing within the Church. More importantly, the archbishop here has never been placed in the church of a town with a good economy.”

The smiles of those in high ranks were sometimes terribly cold-blooded.

“He rises and thinks that all the money that comes through the Church is for himself. And yet, the townspeople all say that he is a hard worker.”

Greedy yet fervent in his work for the Church—the two did not connect in Col’s head.

Hyland looked at him and chuckled.

“Col, you should look beyond the world of books, too.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“What I mean is that a longsword has its advantages, but you cannot use it like short sword.”

Hyland poured more wine into the cup and spoke.

“I’m sure he cannot tell the difference between the church and his home. So though he is wholly committed to his sacred work for himself, on the other hand, he considers the church his own and lives so deep in selfishness. It’s likely that he does not even see it as selfishness. But from the outside, it’s clear. They say the most affluent woman in this town is the archbishop’s wife, after all.”

“That’s…”

“Of course, she’s not his official wife, but everyone knows it. That being said…”

Hyland shrugged.

“There is no honor in attacks against me as an illegitimate child.”

It was not uncommon for nobles and royalty to reach out to women who were not their wives, and the similar activities of priests who vowed to stay single were an open secret.

That was how it was.

“However, the archbishop here has not quite managed to do it successfully. My father was forced to marry the pope’s niece or something like that, but the people saw true love between him and my mother. And even from my perspective, he is quite charming.”

Hyland’s words hinted at something, but Col understood what he wanted to say.

“On the other hand, because the archbishop is so dedicated to his work, he often becomes overbearing. It is necessary that he be used to wielding power, but it seems he does not understand. He is strict with the sins of capriciousness and adultery, but the people wonder what right he has to say such things considering his own actions. When he preaches of moderation, one can only listen with a smile.”

The bear of a craftsman had also said that the suppers at the church were always extravagant.

“And yet they recognize the passion for his work when he cries for someone’s passing, cries in the joy of a wedding, cries at birth. That is why the people wish to do something about these twisted feelings they have for the Church. The clergy are worryingly two-faced: They live in licentiousness with the money gained from the heavy taxes on the people, yet they are reliable when it comes to their holy work.”

“It is not that the people don’t want to respect them.”

“Or rather, to borrow the words of God, they want to love them. Well, perhaps ‘esteem’ might be better.” Hyland smiled.

Once the water of faith flowed properly, the world would become clearer.

“That is why the Our Book of God plan is so well received among the people. Some are already pestering me to show them any part that has been finished.”

“When I went to the workshop to prepare paper and ink, the boss there was cheering me on.”

Hyland smiled and gave a signal to his chamberlain waiting in the corner of the room. Then, a young man around the same age as Col, with the airs of a civil servant about him, handed him a bundle of parchments.

“My father agreed with this plan from very early on and is in the process of gathering all the idle priests throughout the country. For the most part, in the name of lecturing on God’s teachings. They cannot eat if they do not work, and they have a favorable view of my father, so it is going well, it seems. However, those living in their ivory towers have some trouble when it comes to the vernacular. They eagerly want to hear the opinions of opposing scholars.”

He did not say “sage,” but it still made Col uncomfortable to hear “scholar.”

As though he had noticed his feelings, Hyland chuckled.

“Col. I, too, recognize humility as a virtue, but you will find that how others around you see you very much depends on who speaks up first.”

He was telling him to be proud of himself.

“I will devote myself to it.”

Hyland smiled in relief.

“The translation is going well, and parts from earlier are written on this parchment, but I need you to move it along, too. Once I send it home, it will be a great help to them.”

It was awe-inspiring, but this was what it meant to face a grand prospect. Col braced himself and took the parchment. Translating the scripture into the common language would educate the people, and it might be fair to call it one of the battles for correcting the ridiculousness of the Church. When he thought about how this work would be his weapon, his shield, it felt much heavier.

“I understand,” he replied with strength, and Hyland smiled, satisfied.

“And I expect you to work hard for all the candy the young lady has eaten.”

With a kind gaze, Hyland watched Myuri lick the sugar off her fingers over an empty tray. As they all watched her while her finger was in her mouth, even she seemed a bit uncomfortable.

“The only ones who have ever done such a thing in my presence are clowns protected by privilege and their daughters.”

“I sincerely apologize…Myuri!”

Col scolded Myuri, and she ducked with a defiant look.

“No, that’s all right. We are sticking our necks into a fight against authority. Authority makes people blind and takes away their ability to think. Not to mention their courage to call out oddities when they see them. I do not lie when I say I expect great things from you. So…can you read?”

Myuri stared back blankly at Hyland’s question.

“Letters. Not the Church’s script.”

“Ah yes, a little,” Col answered for her, and Hyland rejoiced.

“I see. Then, I’m sure this is quite boring for young ladies like you, but I want you to look over the scripture. I’m sure you may perceive some truths that are much beyond us.”

Myuri wore an expression of slight pride, but Hyland was likely overestimating her.

“Heir Hyland, you say that, but—” Col began to give advice.

“It’s not flattery. I feel something about her. The mistress of the bathhouse I stayed in was the same…Perhaps she’s from some sort of distinguished house?”

He was startled when he heard Hyland’s speculation. If Holo and Myuri’s bloodline were to be called a distinguished house, then it would quite literally be something beyond human comprehension. Including supernatural beings in the establishing tales of a family line was done by only the highest of the many high-status royal families in the world.

“See, Brother? People that know, know.”

However, Myuri had puffed out her chest, unaware of his worry. There was no hint of humility.

“Ha-ha-ha. This young lady here understands how the world works.”

Had her tail been out, it would have been swishing right about then.

“Don’t take it at face value,” he warned her, but she did not show any sign of responding.

“Well, I won’t investigate. It is in the scripture, too.”

Hidden things would someday be let loose.

He could not tell if it was a good thing at this point in time.

“And I have confidence in you.”

He heard Hyland as someone who stood above others, taming his vassals. It was not that he held any contempt for Hyland himself, as he was a noble, but if he did not warn himself that he and Myuri were different, they would be swallowed whole. Hyland was an enchanting person, and it would be wonderful if he could become a priest with his own cathedra under the man’s dominion.

However, he wanted to cooperate as much as possible without self-interest. At stake was something far greater than the profits of any individual.

“To the first step of righting the world.”

Hyland cheered and raised high a glass of wine.