Holo:
Ah! So this is the port town of Pazzio?

It looks like they have delicious things to eat!

Lawrence:
Hey...

Holo:
What?

Lawrence:
I don't understand why you don't have to hide your face.

Holo: 
Are you implying something?

Lawrence:
Nothing. It's just you've been that village for hundreds of years. Shouldn't there be a legend about you turning into a girl?

Holo:
"At certain times Holo will appear in the village in the form of a pretty young woman.
And she is always seen as a mid-adolescent. A lovely figure.
She has long, flowing hair as well as wolf's ears and a beautiful dark brown tail with a splash of white at the end.
In return for the keeping of her secret, she promises to make the villagers' harvest rich next year."

Lawrence:
Sounds like you.

Holo:
Even if I did reveal everything, they would only be as skeptical as you were.
Unless I show my ears and tail, they will have no idea.

Lawrence:
No, I suppose not.

Holo:
They will not notice. After all, they do not remember me anymore.

Lawrence:
And for both our sakes, I hope you're right about that

Holo:
I am sure it will be fine.


Holo:
Oh! This town is exactly what I was hoping it would be!

Lawrence:
Do you see those apples? They look pretty good, don't they?

Holo:
They do! Oh, they smell absolutely wonderful!

Lawrence:
Yes, they do.  
Actually an old acquaintance of mine dealt in apple futures. (deal in futures: 先物取引をする)

Holo:
Hmm?

Lawrence:
He put more than half of his assets toward it.
I don’t know where those apples were from, but his investment would have probably more than doubled by now.
I should have gone that route too.

Holo:
Yes, I am sorry you did not.

Lawrence:
Well, you know, the risk was high. If I were him I'd've used a vessel.

Holo:
What? A vessel?

Lawrence:
Yeah, I mean if it got wrecked, you could end up losing everything, including your life.
But if all went well, you could stand to make an extraordinary profit.

Lawrence:
You okay?

Holo:
Well…

Lawrence:
So what you do is rent a vessel. The shipment size is decided based upon the amount of money paid.

Holo:
Mmm... apples, apples... oh please, can I…?

Lawrence:
Well, so that's what you want.
Go buy as many as you want with this.

Who buys that many apples?

Holo:
You are the one who told me to buy as many as I wanted.

Lawrence:
Maybe you just don't have enough self-control.
Remember, you're gonna have to earn those meals, you know.

Holo:
You tricked me!
You were only pretending not to notice I wanted them, well, were you or not?

Lawrence:
I have to admit it feels kinda nice to know what people are thinking sometimes.

Holo:
Those are mine!

Lawrence:
Hey, it was my money!

Holo:
I am Holo the wise wolf.
I can earn this money back quickly.

Lawrence:
Which is a good thing! Because I had originally planned on using that silver coin to cover our room and board.


Lawrence:
How could you eat that much!

Holo:
Apples are the Devil's fruit. They are full of the rich and sweet temptation from Hell.

Lawrence:
If you're such a wise wolf, why don't you have more control?

Holo:
You might lose things due to appetite, but it is not as if holding back is beneficial.


Lawrence:
Our client today is in the big building right there.

Holo:
Oh, their entrance is rather large, but if you are comparing the size of whole structure, I am sure there must be bigger buildings.

Lawrence:
They're the third largest trading company.
But it's actually only a branch of even larger trading company who is based out of a country in the far south.
Because they're new to this area, they have a tendency to pay higher prices when they're buying things.
But more importantly…

Holo:
They receive various information from their other branches as well as their main store, correct?
And since they run their business across borders, it is possible they would hear of a change in the currency market also.

Lawrence:
...E-exactly. We're going to ask them if they heard anything about what Zheren said to us, maybe confirm it.

Staff:
Welcome to Milone Trading.

Lawrence:
I've been here before. I sold wheat about three years ago.
Today I was hoping you would buy some fur from me.

Staff:
Yes. Yes, I'm sure that will be fine.

Assessor:
For using our services today we thank you very much.
Your name is Craft Lawrence, isn't it?

Lawrence:
Yes, it is. I am honored that you remembered me.

Assessor:
We are honored you came back. They told me you were here because you wanted us to purchase some of your fur.

Lawrence:
That's right. There are a total of seventy.

Assessor:
Nice. These are very good marten furs.
With all the different crops having rich harvest this year, we haven't had that many of them come in.

Lawrence:
I'm sure all the farmers were too busy working the land to go hunting.
Yet, look at how many I brought for you.

Assessor:
Yes, now let's see. You said there were seventy of them?

Lawrence:
Yes, that's right.

Assessor:
Then, since we've done business before, how does this sound?
One hundred thirty two coins.

Lawrence:
One hundred thirty two…? Which coin?

Assessor:
Trenni silver coins.

Lawrence:
Furs like these come once every few years. Maybe even once a decade.
I'd like you to take a look at their fine gloss that survived intact the cold rain we had on the way here.

Assessor:
The gloss is very nice,coat too.

Lawrence:
They are also uniformly excellent, which is hard to come by. (come by: 入手する)
Personally, I am hoping to keep a good relationship with your company.

Assessor:
Of course our company definitely feels the same way.
Well, then if we take our future friendship into account, how about one hundred and forty?

Lawrence:
Yes …, forty. Huh?   
Excuse me just a moment.

Assessor:
Yes.

Holo:
I do not know the market. How good is that price?

Lawrence:
It's pretty good.

Assessor:
So can I assume that we have a deal?

Holo:
One hundred forty Trenni silver coins? Is that indeed what you said?

Assessor:
Uh... yes. Yes it is. One hundred forty Trenni silver coins, that is correct.

Holo:
I gather you are surely a very exceptional merchant.
Yes, and that has to be why you pretended not to notice. We cannot afford to underestimate you.

Assessor:
Oh, ma'am, I apologize, but I am not entirely certain what you mean.

Holo:
I'm sorry. Lawrence, why are you being so mean to him?

Lawrence:
That… wasn't my intent. Why don’t you tell him then?

Holo:
Please sir, take one. Now, I would like for you to smell it.
What do you smell?

Assessor:
This scent! It smells like fruit to me.

Holo:
Precisely.
Were you aware that the forests are also full of fruits this year?
These furs belong to the martens who resided in such forests until recently.
Since they could eat their fill of this sweet fruit, 'tis only natural they should smell as sweet.

Assessor:
Yes. I smell it!

Holo:
When they were flaying their skins, it took two grown men to do it and even then the task was difficult, because the martens' muscles were so incredibly firm.
You may see it. Go ahead. Give it a good tug. Harder!
It is strong just like that of a fierce animal.
It is warm as is the sunshine in spring.
If you were to hold it over you during rain, It would repel the water and protect you.
Imagine for a moment there is one piece of clothing which smells this sweet--only one such piece for sale among so many that make you wrinkle your nose from their oppressive scent.
There is no question that it would sell for an exorbitant price.
Now, knowing this, what kind of price would you be willing to pay?

Assessor:
Two hundred, two hundred Trenni silver coins.

Holo:
Hmm...

Lawrence:
Two hundred!

Holo:
How about three Trenni silver coins per one piece of fur? That is 210.

Assessor:
Um, I will …

Holo:
Lawrence, are there other companies?

Assessor:
Oh, no, no, no, that's fair. We will take them for 210 coins.

Holo:
Oh, well, of course, if you insist.


Part B

Holo:
Cheers! Wine is definitely the best!
What is wrong? You should drink. It is my treat after all.

Lawrence:
Tell me. Have you ever worked as a merchant before?

Holo:
Oh no, I am sorry if I hurt your pride. I did not mean to do so.
There was a merchant who passed by the village a long time ago.
I was using his methods. So do not worry; it was not something I could have done on my own. (do one's own: 自力でする)
Relax, your pride can remain free and clear.

Lawrence:
You know what; I never really noticed it at all. Not at all.
I rolled up and slept on those furs last night, but I don't remember smelling anything.

Holo:
Well, you would not have. It was because of the apples I had purchased.

Lawrence:
You lied to him?

Holo:
It was his own fault anyway.
Oh, do not groan. After all, I am sure he is happy to learn this method. Am I right?

Lawrence:
Yeah, probably.

Holo:
If you only get upset when you are tricked, you will not go very far.
A professional would get impressed and think, "Perhaps I could sell it that way, too."
By the way, did you accomplish what you had set out to do?

Lawrence:
More or less. Unfortunately it seems I haven't heard any stories about a country that'll be reissuing silver coins.

Holo:
Oh.

Lawrence:
Well, there might be a trick to Zheren's story.
But as long as I gain, I guess that's all the really matters.


Zheren:
And now here's to our reunion. Cheers!
I'm amazed. You're both drinking very good alcohol.
I guess this means you must have done well with the furs.

Lawrence:
Yeah.

Zheren:
Congratulations! This means my share's going to increase too.

Lawrence:
Enough of that. Come on.

Zheren:
Yeah.

Lawrence:
You will sell me the information as to which silver coins will be revalued.
And in return, you want a share of the profit I make as your payment.
That's the right idea?

Zheren:
Yeah.

Lawrence:
Is the story about the silver coin's revaluation true?

Zheren:
I'm not …, well, okay. This is actually something I'm guessing it, based on a little bit information I got in the mining town where I live.
I mean if you ask me, I'm pretty sure you can trust it, but … there's no absolute in business though, right?

Lawrence:
If you would have told me that you had no doubts at all, I would have turned you down immediately.
So... what's your share gonna be?

Zheren:
Oh, yeah.
Ten silver coins for the information, Trenni coins, plus I'd like to have ten percent of your total profit.

Lawrence:
That's rather modest, don’t you think?

Zheren:
True. Problem is, if you fail, I won't be able to do anything about it.
In exchange for keeping my share small, I don't want you to hold me responsible, if you happen to lose.
I mean, I'd return the ten silver coins for bad information, of course.

Lawrence:
Right, that sounds good enough to me.

Zheren:
This is just great.
Now, do you think we could go see a notary public, say, first thing tomorrow morning?

Lawrence:
Of course, that makes perfect sense.

Zheren:
To our profit then!

Zheren and Lawrence:
Cheers!


Holo:
Farum silver coin!

Lawrence:
No, that one's a fake Marinne silver coin.

Holo:
But I thought that was this one over here.

Lawrence:
That's a later version of Bishop Radeon silver coin.
Don't worry. You'll learn more as you use them.
I think we should continue after you've sobered up.

Holo:
No! One more time!

Lawrence:
If you insist. Now, then I'll start from here, so try to listen carefully.
Trenni silver coin.
Philing silver coin.
Lute silver coin.
Fake Marinne silver coin.
Farum silver coin.
Bald King Ranbalt silver coin.
Mitzfing Cathedral silver coin.
Fake Mitzfing Cathedral silver coin.
St. Mitzfing silver coin.
And this one…

Holo:
I am finished! Good night.

Lawrence:
Good choice. You are a wise wolf.

:Holo
Humph, I do not understand why there are so many of those coins.
How confusing. Just stupid!

Lawrence:
New countries emerge and others fall.
In addition provincial power holders and church authorities issue them out for no particular reason.
On top of that you have to add in all the counterfeiting.
The Lute silver coins actually used to be called fake Trenni silver coins.
Did you fall asleep?


Lawrence:
From the very beginning, you've given me good information. So thanks.

Zheren:
No, I should be thanking you.
All right, I guess I'd better get going now.

Lawrence:
Right.

Zheren:
Yeah, go! Make a killing! And you, stay beautiful, ma'am!

Holo:
Even when that boy leaves, he is ever noisy.


Holo:
So this is the silver coin in question?

Lawrence:
Yes. It's a pretty trustworthy currency in this area.

Holo:
Trustworthy?

Lawrence:
There are hundreds of different currencies. The amount of gold or silver in them changes around all the time.

Holo:
I see.

Lawrence:
The face value of the currency is actually higher than the value of the gold or sliver within the coins.
So if you don't trust it, you can't use it for business.

Holo:
I understand, I think.
All right then, have you yet learned anything with the information you received on this coin?

Lawrence:
Not really.
But I have a better idea of what might be going on.
Are you all right?

Holo:
Yes, I would like to eat that, please.

Lawrence:
What?


Holo:
Now then, what do you think might be going on with the coins?

Lawrence:
Do you remember which one this is?

Holo:
Hmm? Philing silver coin!

Lawrence:
That's right. The silver purity of this coin is high, so it's very popular in the market right now.
It's right up there with Trenni silver coins.  ( be right up there with: 肩をならべている)

Holo:
Hmm, it seems to me it does not matter what the era, the currencies reflect the country's power.

Lawrence:
Correct. If the market's conquered by a foreign currency, they might as well have lost a war.

Holo:
So in order to defeat their rivals they will increase their silver purity.

Lawrence:
Yeah, which means it's possible Zheren might be telling us the truth after all.

Holo:
Well, my ears are not exactly omnipotent.
What? Did you think I would get upset with you?

Lawrence:
Yes, I did.

Holo:
The only thing that might upset me is you assuming something like that.


Holo:
All right, where are we going now?

Lawrence:
One of my acquaintances is a money dealer.

Holo:
A money dealer?

Lawrence:
Realistically a person can't tell the purity of currency just by looking at it.
The reason why a coin's popularity goes up or down is because people are sensitive to a change in purity.
To the extent they consider a little change a big one.
So when the currency has a big change, there's always an indication.
You don't have to memorize it. Not right now anyway. But don’t worry, I can keep explaining it.

Holo:
In other words, if the currency creator wants to make a major increase in purity, he first
increases the purity a small amount in order to measure people's expectations.
And judging by the reaction he will wait until the right time to make the big increase.

Lawrence:
Yeah… you pretty much got it.


Weiz:
Lawrence!

Lawrence:
Hey, Weiz.

Weiz:
Long time no see! Ooh!

Lawrence:
Okay…

Weiz:
Hello, what's your name?

Holo:
My name? Oh, my name is Holo.

Weiz:
Oh, beautiful!
Lawrence, so have you slept with her yet?

Lawrence:
No, of course I haven't!

Weiz:
Then you won't mind if I do.
It's a pleasure, my dear.

Holo:
What is happening...?

Lawrence:
I have some business to discuss with you, Weiz.
Do you have the Trenni silver coin that's been issued recently?

Weiz:
Not possible. We handle them every day and still can't tell.

Lawrence:
What about melting it down to check it?

Weiz:
Absurd! There's no way I can do that.

Holo:
Would you mind if I took a little peek at it?

Weiz:
Of course, sure.

Holo:
You appear to be very naughty.
Give me just a moment, please.

Weiz:
Holo, come on now, you can't tell them apart.
I've heard among highly experienced dealers, a handful can tell by doing that.
But I really think it's just a myth.
What you got?

Holo:
Um, I cannot tell.

Weiz:
No, I suppose you couldn't tell. Don't worry about it though.

Holo:
He is a very interesting man.

Lawrence:
He is an incomparable womanizer.

Holo:
Really?

Lawrence:
So go ahead and tell me about the purity. Increased or not?

Holo:
What makes you think I know anything about the coin's purity?

Lawrence:
I saw your ear move a little.

Holo:
Perceptive!

Lawrence:
Although I was a bit surprised you didn't mention it back there.

Holo:
Well, I was thanking you.

Lawrence:
What?

Holo:
Come on now, tell the truth. You were a little jealous.
It was a thank-you for that,
Do not get upset though; men are all jealous idiots.
And women are stupid too to feel happy about it.
It's true there are idiots everywhere.

Lawrence:
Come on, what was the purity?

Holo:
Oh, yes, that. Well, it was not by much, but the newer the coin was, the duller the sound became.

Lawrence:
Really, so duller, the purity must be decreasing then.
Maybe Zheren lie to us after all.
Making a profit with decreasing currency is really a waiting game.
If you buy back when the value goes down, there will be a difference.
When the market price eventually catches back up, that's where you profit.
But it doesn't happen overnight.
I just don't see how Zheren can expect to gain any money this way.

Holo:
Yes, I think you might have been tricked.

Lawrence:
You really think so?

Holo:
I really think so.

Lawrence:
Okay, so you think I was swindled out of my money then. Is that it?

Holo:
In the worst case, he gets nothing. That is all.
Even when the value of the silver coin goes down and you lose, all he has to do is return the money he originally received from you.
But on the other hand, the value could go up too.
Then he would receive a share of the profits.
He has the chance to make money without paying anything or risking a loss.

Lawrence:
Well I'll be.

Holo:
Humans are rather smart, are they not?

Lawrence:
Yes, they are.

Holo:
Lawrence?

Lawrence:
Hmm?

Holo:
Is a decrease in purity something abnormal, or is it more commonplace?

Lawrence:
Common, but they try to be careful to make sure it stays at the same level.

Horo:
Yes, and this, it is a deal about silver purity which appeared out of nowhere.
Coincidence or not?
Curious, nonetheless. When hunting prey, we sometimes climb the trees.
From that point of view we can see our prey's unexpected hiding places.
In this way we look at things from a different angle.

Lawrence:
What do you mean? What angle?

Holo:
Think about it for a minute.
What if it is not the young man who is doing the scheming?
He did not necessarily have to earn his profit from that person in the direct manner either.
For example, someone might have offered him money to simply propose a suspicious deal to you and he was paid with the money you gave him.

Lawrence:
Yes, it's the deal. This is more than a simple trick to make me believe I'm profiting from some coins!

Holo:
I suppose the new angle worked.

Lawrence:
Let's go!

Holo:
Hey! Where are we going this time?

Lawrence:
Milone Trading Company.