Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf, Vol. 8, page 18
“I’m sorry. I’ve found delight in seeing others’ shock ever since then.”
Lutia took one look at Canaan’s innocent smile and sighed.
“I still don’t understand why boys think that way.”
Canaan blinked, and Myuri laughed.
They were invited to the armory on the fourth floor of the Green Gourd, and Canaan’s attention went straight to all the bookshelves, just as Col’s had.
“Wow… So these are the books people use as textbooks, I see.”
“It can’t be much of a surprise to you, since you came from the library of legend.”
“But it is! We have plenty of books on our shelves, of course, but they’re dark, and most of the tomes remain sleeping. It is hard to tell which books still live on in society and which ones are dead. So to interact with others and learn which books they read brings me the same sort of joy one feels when laying eyes on new growth peeking out from the snow, knowing there is still life in this world.”
Lutia gave an awkward smile when he offered that astonishingly purple metaphor, and Myuri began to mumble it in repetition, as though trying to memorize the turns of phrase.
“Well? Seeing the Twilight Cardinal standing next to someone from the Holy See makes me feel like I’m looking at a bowl of ice-cold water sitting next to boiling-hot oil.”
To mix them together would be disastrous. They needed to be careful how they handled them, and they needed to ask the chef exactly why they had been put together.
“Please rest easy on that regard. Those of us working in the archives are not well-liked within the Holy See. We like every word and every phrase to be precise as a part of our work, which should help you understand our positions.”
While honesty was a virtue in God’s eyes, it was not necessarily so within the structure of the Church.
“I see. And that’s why you’ve chosen the Twilight Cardinal to be your ally.”
With a dry smile, Lutia jerked her chin up, urging Canaan to continue.
A person from the Holy See had appeared with the Twilight Cardinal; they were clearly not here for fun.
“Master Col has informed me of the widespread problem regarding the framework of academic instruction in this city. This outrageous practice has gone on for too long. I am certain God would be delighted to see your spirit in this fight against evil, Miss Lutia.”
Lutia was slightly embarrassed to be greeted with such passionate praise.
“If you are in need of assistance, we would be more than happy to assist you, too.”
“You would?” Lutia asked.
Canaan nodded, full of confidence.
“We are but powerless bookworms, but we each have the strength of one hundred in the world of books and academia. By joining the professors’ guild here, we may be able to offer classes and degrees to the poor students.”
“………”
Lutia must have been ready, to a point, for some sort of surprise.
But it seemed Canaan’s proposal far surpassed what she was expecting.
“Though I am not entirely clear on the details on how to join the guild, many of us have plenty of academic training and knowledge. And of course, we have no use for expensive tuition fees or gifts in exchange for degree conferment. You need not worry about textbooks for us, either, since we have plenty of idle tomes in our archives. We would be happy to be lodged anywhere—any place is nicer than that dark archive. We may even give out benefices if it turns out our long history of academic studies turns out to be a help to others.”
Canaan spoke confidently and quickly, and Lutia stood there, listening, with bated breath.
“What do you think?” he asked. “I believe we can help you, Miss Lutia.”
He smiled. Not the sort of smile that seemed fake when Col had first met him in the Kingdom of Winfiel, but one that genuinely believed in the future.
Col could easily understand why Lutia was perplexed. Col had to admit he also felt a bit overawed.
“Lutia.”
Lutia’s head whipped around to look at Col as his voice brought back her to reality.
“You may think this to be an extravagant suggestion. Even I wasn’t sure if we should solve all your problems with such a feat of strength.”
Despite how much they had run about in confusion in search of a way to solve these problems, a solution he had not even considered had arrived at their doorstep in one neat package.
He somewhat recalled a fable of a rabbit being thrown to a hungry wolf; Lutia made the same face as the wolf did in that tale, and nodded vaguely once, twice.
“Lutia.”
He called the bewildered wolf’s name again.
“And in the meanwhile, would you mind if you shared with me the names of the pure-minded scholars who sympathize with your cause, the ones you have been in communication with? I would like them to assist us in our fight against the Church, and would welcome the chance to convince them to join our cause.”
He was not going to invite them to teach in Aquent, in the slim hopes they were ready for the trouble, but to instead fight alongside them when they faced the Church.
“Of course, we will be careful not to cause you any trouble, Miss Lutia.”
Lutia was, ostensibly, here to study ecclesiastical law, and she could not join in the fight against the Church. They had to avoid the Green Gourd being seen as a secret base for those fighting against the Church, for the sake of the other students’ futures.
“Oh, there is one other thing I’d like to share with you.”
Lutia seemed dizzied by the way all the new information came rushing at her, but Canaan added even more to the deluge.
“Master Col has seen the immoral conduct by the boys that call themselves the southern eagles. I recommend contacting their parents with regards to their behavior. Since I believe they are the sons of high-ranking clergy and well-known nobility, I believe a letter with the Holy See’s seal would have an immediate effect.”
“………”
It was like skinning a rabbit with a butcher’s knife.
Col almost felt bad when he thought about the parents receiving reprimands for their children’s misconduct coming directly from the center of the world’s faith.
“Miss Lutia.”
Col called her name for the third time, and she looked to him like a lost girl caught out in a sudden downpour.
“I was shocked, too,” he said.
Lutia no longer had the strength to even pretend to smile, and she only gave a weak nod.
CHAPTER FIVE
Lutia’s mind was filled with the sudden revelations, and since she was in contact with a diverse array of scholars, she said she needed a little time to gather herself—and her list.
And so Col and the rest of his entourage decided to return to the inn, but Myuri suddenly declared she had something to discuss about saving the kids and noted she would be staying at the Green Gourd.
Col knew he had forced her to wait for quite a while already, and he could no longer hold her back by saying it was too early. And since Canaan was here, it seemed as though many problems would be solved at once, so he figured she wanted to put together a wild plan sooner rather than later.
“Don’t ask too much from Lutia and cause her any trouble, okay?”
When he reminded her, she turned away in a huff, but he thought this was perfect—he had plenty to talk about with Canaan on how to approach the upcoming ecumenical council and the vernacular scripture. If the two of them grew excited over things Myuri could not appreciate, she would doubtlessly become grumpy.
After reminding her one more time not to cause Lutia too much trouble, they left the Green Gourd and were greeted by the brilliant sun at its apex in the sky. Canaan’s face beamed even brighter.
“Master Col, we must thank God for the gorgeous weather!”
As Col watched the way Canaan’s positive emotions overflowed from him, he was slightly—just ever so slightly—thankful he was not a girl.
And so they returned to the inn. He and Canaan spoke at length about the scripture, and around the time they were adding new ideas and better interpretations for the translation to their letter to Hyland, the evening bell rang, signaling the closing of the markets. The sun was red and sat on the horizon, waiting to dip below it.
They still had to send the letter, so they went to check on Le Roi, only to find the bookseller sitting in a daze, much like Myuri was after her second nap of the morning, and he wore a shameful expression.
Since it seemed as though he had finally sobered up, they handed him the letter they had penned together. Canaan still seemed like he had a lot more to say, so Col thought about having dinner with him, but Myuri was still not back yet.
She was not the sort of girl to worry about bothering them, perhaps on the thought that they were still busy talking, so it was unlikely she came to the room and then turned back. If she were still playing military general with Lutia, then it was perhaps about time to go drag her away for food.
Those thoughts roamed his mind as they made their way down the stairs. At the bottom, the innkeeper, who seemed to be talking to a guest, turned to look at them.
“Perfect timing. There’s a message for you.”
“For me?”
The one speaking to the innkeeper looked like one of the youngest students. He rushed over, his expression tense, and Col was shocked when he said familiar names.
“Is this a message from Myuri and Miss Lutia?”
Col turned to look back at Canaan, wondering if this was on purpose.
“Sh-she says they have a plan, so please come to the old chapel.”
When the child said that, Col had a general idea of what he was talking about.
He could imagine Myuri being so engrossed in talking about saving the kids that coming to tell Col herself felt tedious. At worst, there was a chance she was causing Lutia all sorts of trouble, like saying she wanted to put their plan into motion that evening.
Col looked to Canaan, and Canaan nodded.
“Very well. We will go there at once.”
The young boy relaxed, relieved, and rushed off into the darkening city.
“Good grief… I never know what to do with that tomboy and her lack of patience,” Col said with a sigh.
Canaan smiled, clearly sympathizing with Myuri. “Perhaps when she heard the boys were captured, she must have remembered how she felt when you were kidnapped, Master Col.”
Though it did make sense when he pointed it out, Col had to wonder if part of all this was because the search for the children had stimulated her wolf instincts. She had always loved hunting.
“Personally, I would prefer if she refrained from doing anything dangerous,” he said, his shoulders dropping.
Canaan gave him a considerate smile and then turned to his personal guard.
“Could you look after Master Le Roi for a little while? I believe the city may grow dangerous.”
The taciturn guard looked between Canaan and Le Roi, somewhere above them, and then shrugged in compliance. Though the bookseller could be right in the middle of all the action and still emerge unscathed if he were in his usual spirits, he was more of a concern when he had just sobered up.
But Col also wondered if there was another reason as to why Canaan had assigned his guard to Le Roi. Canaan was slowly showing Col his true colors, and Col now knew he was a lot like Myuri. And he was sure the young archivist thought that, as a man, having his guard stay close the entire time made the excitement all the less satisfying.
And so they set out onto the streets of Aquent as it transformed into a turf of drunken students. Col and Canaan chatted about academics in a manner more like a student than any other student in the city, and eventually neared the ruined chapel that served as Lutia’s hideout. However—
“Hmm?”
They made their way down the dim street and came to the old chapel, only to find the door was still locked.
It was not a problem, since Col had received a key from Lutia, but that meant the ones who had summoned them here were yet to arrive. And that was strange. Perhaps they were still running around the Green Gourd, preoccupied with planning their rescue mission.
As Col knew he would be scolding Myuri later tonight, he unlocked the door and stepped inside.
“This is a very old kind of chapel,” Canaan remarked.
The boy stood by the altar and squinted up at the faint shadow left behind on the wall where the crest of the Church once hung, the rest of the wall around it bleached by the sun.
“It was apparently originally the small church for this parish. It was abandoned long ago, however.”
“This reminds me of the archives at the Curia. I can smell books, but only faintly.”
Canaan inhaled, as though recalling a distant memory, and this shocked Col.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised… There is a repository of books hidden here, in fact.”
“Hmm?”
Canaan blinked, and after a few moments of hesitation, he turned around to look at Col, eyes wide and pleading in his request to see them. Col could not help but smile wryly, because he seemed quite a bit like a more ladylike Myuri.
“Do you see the indent in the floorboards?”
As Col thought about how he could never really scold Myuri when she snuck into the pantry to sneak bites of honey, he and Canaan peeled back the floorboard. Though Le Roi had deemed the books practically worthless, that did not seem to be much of a matter to Canaan. The moment the books appeared, he sat on the floor and began reading.
The sun was setting by the second, so the inside of the chapel had grown rather dark. Col laughed—he could at least wait until he put on a light. He found candles in the corner of the chapel.
But as he was about to light them, he realized he had nothing on hand to do so. That, and the candles were made of cheap tallow, which meant the soot would give off a particular smell that might cling to the books, especially since the windows were closed, so he decided to not light them after all.
Col placed his hand on the window, figuring they could get a bit of moonlight if they opened it, but he stopped.
“Myuri?”
But it was not. There were one, two unfamiliar figures deep in the alley. More he did not recognize.
He left the windows open a crack, as they were, then silently made his way back to Canaan.
Canaan was pulling out one book after another and flipping through them—all of them deemed nigh worthless by Le Roi. He must have found something good, because he turned to Col with a beaming expression and opened his mouth to speak.
Col pressed his finger to Canaan’s lips to silence him and looked around the old chapel.
This was not a very large building, and there was only one small connecting space. Buildings like these had high ceilings, and the skylights were often out of reach. The sun had long since dipped behind the horizon, the alleys were dark, and Col was not a wolf.
He regretted leaving Canaan’s guard back at the inn, did his best to suppress the loud beating of his heart in his ear, and put his mind into motion.
“Master Col?”
Canaan was perplexed. Col nodded and pointed.
“Stand down!”
The door was kicked open and people flooded in.
“We received reports of a heretic! In the name of God—”
Those that marched in suddenly stopped, as though swallowing their words.
“…Where did they go?”
The poorly built chapel creaked and rattled as feet fell onto the warped floorboards.
There were three, no—four, of them. Something heavy and hard jabbed the chairs, and there came the sound of something dragging along the floor. One of them was armed with a spear.
Col briefly wondered if they were soldiers from the Church, or perhaps the city, but quickly realized their voices were much too young for that.
Whenever the reddish flame from the candle moved, their shadows moved.
“They’re not here…”
“But the door was unlocked, right? Maybe they escaped from one of the back windows?”
“No, no one came out from the windows.”
After the conversation, one who must have been the captain of the small squad stamped on the floor.
Canaan started to cry out, but Col clamped his hand over his mouth and waited still, silently.
“Damn it! Are they pulling our legs?!”
“No, first we should go back and check the nearby roads. Even if they did escape, the sun is down. They can’t have gone far.”
The ones who had strong-armed their way into the chapel quickly left, and their footsteps grew distant.
Even after he could no longer hear their footsteps, Col waited there as he counted to three hundred. There were scenes just like this in the knight tales Myuri wrote every night.
“…I think we’re all right now,” Col whispered to Canaan, and he pushed up the floorboard.
He sat up from his horizontal position in the small storage area beneath the floorboards. It was good to know they were safe, but when he saw that the books stacked in a pile in the corner were untouched, he was relieved. He had been nervous, wondering if the soldiers had kicked and scattered the papers in their frustration, but he supposed that was because this was an academic city.
He crawled out of the hole, but Canaan remained lying perfectly still in the space beneath the floorboards where the books had been hiding.
“Archivist Canaan,” Col said to get his attention.
Canaan’s wide, unblinking eyes suddenly squeezed shut, then cracked open a sliver.
“I forgot to pray to God…”
Just a few months ago, it would have been Col who would have remained curled up in the hole, and an exasperated Myuri the one to try to drag him out.
Col extended a hand to Canaan to help him up and brushed the dirt from him.
“It is simply experience.”
Since he had done the exact same in a burning room, he had been able to act immediately.
Canaan looked up at him with an odd expression, one of both fear and respect.
