| ShortSummary
| - Lawrence realizes that he has to drop the price of pyrite or risk losing Holo to Amati. After receiving the information on Amati's assets, Lawrence finds Amati and proposes a deal based on credit, which will result in profit for Amati if the price of pyrite rises or losses if the price of pyrite falls. Amati accepts the deal after Lawrence appeals to his chivalry and causes him to doubt that Holo will agree to his marriage proposal. Unable to enlist Mark's help to purchase the pyrite necessary to pull off the deal, Lawrence turns to the alchemists in the belief that they should have a large amount of pyrite that he can purchase.
- Lawrence enlists the help of the Milone Company to counter Zeelen's scheme. However, men from the Medioh Company, Zeelen's associates, try to ambush Lawrence and Holo at night. Holo and Lawrence flee to the Milone Company but Holo acts as a diversion so Lawrence can escape to safety. After arriving at safety, Lawrence is told that Milone Company has all the information needed to defeat the Zeelen and the Medioh Company's plan and no longer needs Lawrence. To compound Lawrence's problems, a letter arrives from Medioh informing him that they know Holo is a wolf and are prepared to hand her over to the church.
- In front of the Merchant Guild, Amati challenges Lawrence, proclaiming he will pay for Holo's falsified debt of 1,000 silver coins and then propose to her, certain that she will leave Lawrence. Lawrence researches Amati, discovering that his plan to pay back the debt relies on the sale of pyrite. Back at the inn, Holo discovers and reads a letter for Lawrence containing an explanation of the legend about the bear that destroyed Yoitsu. When Lawrence returns, she claims that he knew Yoitsu was destroyed the entire time and he has now grown tired of her. Her fit of rage prompts Lawrence to leave the inn.
- Lawrence and Holo make their way to the chilly port town of Renos, known for its wood and fur. As he enters the town, Lawrence is given a tablet to identify him as a foreign merchant, allowing him to trade in the town. Intrigued by the town's history and legends, Lawrence decides to investigate. They settle into the local inn, where the innkeeper tells them about people who may be able to help them, including a man named Ligro, who was part of a strange gathering witnessed by Lawrence and Holo upon entering the town. They also meet a mysterious cloaked stranger, who Lawrence mistakes as male. Holo corrects him and jokingly chides him for having eyes for another woman.
- Holo and Lawrence visit the port in Renos, where they sit down for a meal. Holo uses her sharp senses and informs Lawrence that foreign fur merchants are unable to sell their wares, resulting in some unrest. However, she becomes inebriated from the meal and has to rest. Lawrence, meanwhile, visits a local bar to gather information and learns that the entire town is on edge due to some issues with the fur trade. After dinner, Lawrence goes to talk with the innkeeper but is interrupted by the arrival of the mysterious cloaked stranger, who introduces herself as Eve Bolan. She and Lawrence briefly chat, and she tells him that they should chat further if their interests coincide.
- Even in light of the chaos caused by the coup, Eve and Lawrence decide to continue with their plan. While Eve goes to reserve a ship, Lawrence leaves Holo with the traders and receives the gold according to the deal. However, when he meets with Eve in the inn, Lawrence decides to pull out. Eve threatens to murder him, since he discovered Eve had a cunning plan involving the Church to earn a huge amount of money. Eve knocks him out, but leaves him a deed to an inn, which he then uses to buy back Holo. In the face of Holo's apparent fury, Lawrence declares his decision to forgo his dream and keep traveling with Holo.
- Instead of taking Holo to the festival as planned, Lawrence is taken by fellow merchant Batos to meet Dianna Rubens, an alchemist, to learn more about Yoitsu. She tells Lawrence of a legend about the bear that destroyed Yoitsu and also of a large wolf near the town of Renos who called herself Holo of Yoitsu. Later when sharing a drink with Mark, Lawrence becomes jealous of Amati, fearing he may be trying to steal Holo away from him. When they both return to the inn, Holo reveals how she lied to Amati, telling him she travels with Lawrence because she owes him a large debt. She also recounts how Amati and a crowd of other festival-goers haggled over pieces of pyrite, greatly inflating their price.
- Lawrence sets off to Ramtra with Nora, Holo, and Liebert, a Remerio businessman, to smuggle gold. Halfway through the forest, they are attacked by wolves, but Nora keeps them at bay. Upon arrival at Ramtra, Liebert retrieves a bag full of gold and the group begin their return trip. In the forest, they are surrounded by wolves again, this time led by a young wolf deity. Lawrence tells Nora and Liebert to go ahead. After they leave, Lawrence reluctantly departs as well to let Holo deal with the wolves. He waits for her near the edge of the forest but is attacked, tied up, and left for the wolves by three men from the Remerio Company, who hope to keep all of the profits from the smuggling for themselves.
- After Lawrence procures a certificate from the guildmaster, he goes to an armor company to sell his armor. To his horror, he discovers that the armor market has crashed and that he now holds a very large debt and worthless goods. Faced with an ultimatum to pay back the debt in two days or be rendered bankrupt and thus be thrown out of society entirely, Lawrence desperately tries to find merchants willing to lend him money, but each and every one turns him down. He realizes the merchants are unwilling to aid him because of his unmarried relationship with Holo, and, in a fit of rage, takes out his frustration on her. Even after Lawrence tries to apologize to her, Holo tells him that she is heading back to the inn for now.
- Lawrence and Holo arrive in Patzuille and prepare to sell fur before meeting with Zeelen. Passing through a street lined with shops, Holo purchases a large quantity of apples which leave a scent on the furs, allowing Lawrence and Holo to sell the furs at a higher price to the Milone Company. That night, Lawrence and Holo meet with Zeelen and finalize their partnership the following day, only later learning the purity in the silver has decreased, contrary to Zeelen's claims.
- Lawrence scrounges a few coins, but he has nowhere near enough to repay his debts. He attempts to give them to Holo as an apology for his earlier behavior, but she rejects them and chides Lawrence for being too nice and not blaming her for his situation. The next day, the pair goes to Lawrence's debt collector and proposes gold smuggling to get out of debt. Since the debt collector's company has already failed and is also pressed for money, Holo drives him into a corner and he agrees with their scheme. Lawrence and Holo later meet with Nora and tell her about their plan to smuggle gold in her sheep's stomachs, and, after some smooth-talking by Lawrence, she agrees.
- Lawrence burns the ropes binding him and reunites with Holo. She refuses to tell him what she did to placate the wolves' wrath, and then chides him again for being too nice and protecting her clothes instead of running away on his own. After being told of Liebert's betrayal, Holo transforms into her true form. With Lawrence riding on her back, she catches up with their betrayers and Nora, who is still oblivious about the betrayal and their plan to murder her. Holo routs the men but spares Liebert, who reveals that Remerio betrayed them at the very beginning because the gold procured was only one-sixth of the intended profit. Lawrence uses this information to blackmail the president of the Remerio Company, extorting 500 gold coins over a period of ten years. Lawrence does, however, allow them to keep and use the smuggled gold to save the company from bankruptcy. After reassuring Holo of his devotion, Lawrence continues on his journey with her.
- Lawrence and Holo travel to the town of Poloson, where Lawrence sells the pepper he received from the Milone Company. During the exchange, Holo reveals that the man buying the pepper is attempting to swindle Lawrence. In exchange for not reporting the swindler, Lawrence receives more profit than he originally expected. While traveling to the church city of Rubenhaigen, Lawrence and Holo talk about future profit from the armor he received from the merchant and the illegality of smuggling gold. They pass a group of travelers who warn them of mercenaries from the north. Continuing on the road, they come across a female shepherd and stop to greet her, though Holo is less than enthusiastic because of the instinctive hostility between shepherds and wolves.
- To gain access to the alchemists' quarter, Lawrence asks Batos for a password to meet Dianna. Upon his arrival, Lawrence is told that the pyrite has already been sold on credit. Dianna, however, agrees to sell Lawrence pyrite instead and tells him that she will handle negotiations and contact him upon their completion. The next morning, Lawrence goes to the exchange with Amati and receives fourteen gold coins, equivalent to 300 silver coins, in accordance with their deal. The price of pyrite continues rising, worrying Lawrence.
- Lawrence and Holo go see Ligro and are at first awed by the magnificent garden behind his house encased in large glass windows. Ligro brings them downstairs where Holo picks out a few books containing old legends from the north for Lawrence to carry back. Lawrence and Holo spend an enjoyable night together, though Holo later confesses that she is afraid of being separated from Lawrence at the journey's end. After Holo goes to sleep, Lawrence chats with Eve about her business ventures, but she surprises him by asking whether he would like to sell Holo.
- Lawrence participates in the pyrite market, selling small quantities several times to combat the rapidly rising prices, but to no avail. Lawrence's original plan falls through when Dianna's messenger informs him that the negotiations did not go as planned. In despair, Lawrence all but gives up before he is spurred on by Mark's apprentice, Lant. When Lawrence goes to sell his remaining pyrite, Holo also sells a large bag purchased from Dianna, since she was attempting to help Lawrence from the beginning. The market quickly turns to selling, dropping the price of pyrite and causing Amati huge losses. He fails to fulfill his portion of his challenge to Lawrence and gives up his marriage proposal to Holo as a result. Holo and Lawrence realize what they mean to one another and the two grow closer as they decide to continue traveling together to find Yoitsu.
- Eve explains the plan to Lawrence: they will sell Holo to gain cash, which they will then use to buy the fur in town. The fur will then be sold in turn at a profit, and Holo will be bought back. After Lawrence explains it to Holo, she also agrees to the plan, hoping Lawrence will be more selfish and use the profit to achieve his dream. Later, Lawrence's digging around town reveals that Eve is trading in salt and that the church in town is aiming to become more powerful in the region and Eve had a disagreement with the bishop but Lawrence and Holo resolve to go with Eve's plan nonetheless.
- After negotiating with the leader of the Milone Company, Lawrence strikes a deal, rescuing Holo with the help of the Milone Company. Once freed, Holo tells Lawrence that Chloe has joined forces with the church and intends to turn Holo over to break away from the past when people depended on the favor of deities like Holo to survive. Noticing Holo's escape, Chloe and the other church members begin to search for the pair, slowly encircling them.
- Just before Lawrence departs, the shepherd, Nora, asks him if he would hire her as an escort to protect the party from wolves. After a conversation with Holo, Lawrence does so and the group heads off towards Rubenhaigen. Upon arrival, Lawrence parts ways with Nora to sell the armor in his cart. As Lawrence passes the initial inspection and pays the tax for the two armor sets, he finds the city government reluctant to receive armor as payment. Lawrence and Holo head to the guild that he is a member of and are greeted warmly inside.
- Holo and Lawrence are slowly surrounded by Chloe and the Medioh Company. A pursuer stabs Lawrence, slowing him and eventually causing him and Holo to become trapped. Chloe tries to convince Lawrence to hand over Holo in exchange for his life, but he refuses. To protect Lawrence, Holo transforms into her wolf form and rampages through their pursuers before disappearing as Lawrence blacks out. He awakens in the Milone Company headquarters, where he is informed that despite the vast profits, there were also vast losses in the coin venture, so there is little money left for him. Lawrence takes his payment in pepper but soon receives a bill for new clothes and apples. After realizing that Holo is still around, Lawrence reunites with her and they agree to continue their travels together.
- While in the town of Patzuille, Lawrence decides to purchase a better set of clothes for Holo. However, Lawrence only has a gold piece, too large denomination to purchase clothes. They return to Weiz, intending to exchange it for silver and agree to meet later at a tavern for drinks. Lawrence uses a "secret technique" to buy clothes for Holo that were once worn by a noble. He first buys cheap blankets at an inflated price to buy the expensive clothes at an extremely cheap price, made even cheaper by Holo's charm. Though the clothing merchant makes a profit on the blankets, he loses money on the entire deal because of the more expensive clothes.
- While taking refuge from the rain inside a nearby church, Lawrence and Holo meet a traveling merchant named Zeelen, who tells Lawrence of a plan to trade old silver coins for new ones to make a profit. Holo later tells Lawrence she sensed Zeelen lying, though neither she nor Lawrence know why he lied. The next day, Lawrence agrees to meet with Zeelen in the port city Patzuille to discuss further plans. After departing with Holo, Lawrence recounts how he was attacked by wolves 'about eight times' in the forest. Holo defends the wolves' actions and Lawrence flares up in anger. After a lull in the conversation, Lawrence asks Holo if she has ever eaten a human, but she refuses to answer.
- Lawrence and Holo travel to Kumerson, where a pagan festival is taking place. Upon arrival, they meet Fermi Amati, a young merchant and Lawrence's fellow guild member. Amati, who seems smitten with Holo, helps them get a room in the trading company, where Holo drinks too much on the first night and has a hangover the following morning, during which Lawrence sells the nails in his cart to his friend Mark. That night, Lawrence asks Holo a few questions about towns neighboring Yoitsu and ascertains that it will probably take another year or two to reach it. Lawrence suggests that they can split up once they reach the town of Niohira, since it would only take Holo two days to reach Yoitsu from there, but he quickly regrets his lack of tact.
- The trading company wishing to purchase Holo proposes to pay with 60 gold coins instead of 2,000 silver coins because of their inability to procure the necessary silver, and Lawrence agrees to the deal. While celebrating the deal, Eve reveals she had been purchased and married to a merchant. She tells Lawrence and Holo to cherish their experiences together. Back at the inn, Holo suggests they should end their journey after she is sold since Lawrence has almost realized his dream of becoming a shop owner, and Lawrence's efforts to dissuade her fail. The next morning, they return the books borrowed from Ligro, pausing to converse with a nun residing in Ligro's home. Suddenly, Eve arrives and says there has been a coup d'état, leaving them surrounded by a rebellion.
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