ORIGINAL STORY BY ISUNA HASEKURA
I wonder if Mr. Lawrence will be okay?
It won't be easy.
He'll need a crazy amount of pyrite, or he won't have a chance.
We'll have to pray that Diana's messenger comes.
If he becomes desperate and sells an insufficient amount of pyrite,
it'll only fire the people up even more and move them to put
themselves on the waiting list because there is more pyrite to buy.
If that happens, the value will rise even more.
So Mr. Amati can pretend to sell pyrite
just to test Mr. Lawrence's patience.
Exactly.
You're pretty smart.
Where is Holo?
Another name is on the waiting list.
I bet the price is going to rise again.
Maybe I should buy some now too.
How much more can it even rise?
No way! It has gone up that much?
I assume it's going to go up 20% by noon.
I shouldn't have given up and just bought some.
It's still going up little by little, huh?
If I remember correctly, Amati has
800 silver coins worth of pyrite.
What'll happen if it goes up 20%?
It'll be worth 960 coins.
If that happens, I'm sure he will immediately scrounge up
the remaining 40 silver coins from his belongings
and successfully fulfill his side of the contract.
Before the "poison" of selling on margin
can take effect on him.
"The poison of selling on margin"?
Where is Ms. Diana's messenger?
If Holo was with Amati this whole time,
she may have shared quite a bit of knowledge with him.
Oh! Oh!
Oh! Oh...!
Another buyer.
-At this point... -I can't wait any longer!
No, it will go higher, I'm sure.
How much is it now?
-It will, I swear! -Go for it!
Oh, no...
So was it really
Amati who made a deal
with Ms. Diana?
But even if Mr. Amati wins,
Mr. Lawrence still gets money, right?
That's exactly right.
So, from a merchant's perspective, that is a success.
But he will also lose something very big.
Because it's something that you cannot buy again,
no matter how much money you pay.
Why not sell it?
No, I'll wait and see.
I know it's going to go higher!
Are you trying to rely on
the alchemists' stockpile?
I thought you signed the contract because you already had a seller!
Unfortunately, I didn't have the time.
Someone else has already come here to buy some.
I will do the negotiating.
Where will I be able to meet you
for sure tomorrow?
-The waiting list isn't moving. -What about the sellers?
-There's no hope... -Another one is on the waiting list!
-Wow, how far is this going to go? -Keep it going!
This is no time to be working!
You didn't mind giving me up for 1,000 silver coins.
Man, I should have waited!
He's looking for someone too?
-Someone's selling! -It's a seller!
-Is it Amati? -How much?
How will the price change?
Excuse me! Sorry!
-Please let me through! -What in the world?
Oh, uh...
Another buyer!
Everything that guy sold is gone already.
That was quick.
Is the status quo changing?
-Is it time to sell? -No, it's still time to buy.
It's fluctuating like crazy today.
Holo!
S... Sorry.
Oh, it's you.
Someone came by our store and asked
if he could pay for the wheat using those rocks.
-How much? -250 coins.
Bring it as soon as you can.
-Hurry! -Yes!
-Another seller! -I need the price to go higher!
There are more sellers now.
I'm going to buy. Now is the time!
The price isn't getting any lower.
Amati bought 500 coins worth
of pyrite from Lawrence.
But he only has the bond and not the actual product.
The actual product will be given to him this afternoon.
Do you understand what that means?
It's easy to sell bonds for items that may rise in value,
but nobody will buy bonds for items that will drop in value.
That's exactly right.
Nobody will go anywhere near something so risky.
Once the market value drops and pyrite goes back to being just a rock,
the bond that he spent 500 silver coins on
will be nothing but scrap paper.
Whoever has it last will go bankrupt.
That's right.
That's the poison of selling on margin.
I think it hit its limit.
-Whoever can wait now will win. -It's good enough. I'm selling mine!
Please hurry up, Landt!
-It's time to sell. -Ms. Holo?
-Before it goes down... -Ms. Holo!
-Another buyer! -How much was it?
-I can't see! Move out of the way! -That was a huge purchase!
The price went up again.
I don't think I can wait anymore.
-Will it keep rising? -It's reaching its limit.
If I go now, the buyer's waitlist isn't too long.
If I sell all the pyrite that I have on me...
I'm selling!
-A seller? -That much?
-That will affect the market. -Did I miss my chance?
No, it'll still rise. You still have a chance.
If I get
400 coins worth of pyrite from Ms. Diana right now,
I can definitely affect the market value.
If the messenger comes now...
Mr. Lawrence!
I'm sorry for the wait.
This is 250 silver coins worth.
-What's the matter? -Oh...
If I want to be safe,
I should wait for Ms. Diana's messenger but...
But...
-Is that person really going to come? -Huh?
That's right...
I already
gave up on that, didn't I?
If I'm going to take a gamble...
I have to do it now, before they start buying.
Another big transaction!
What's the price now?
I told you!
It wouldn't have gone up this much.
-If you had given up that time. -You're right.
-It's a price support. -That's an all-time high!
-What happened? -It's time to buy!
There are more buyers.
It changed the status quo of the market.
In that case...
I'll have to wait for Ms. Diana's messenger.
Look!
Holo...
There's no doubt about it.
Amati knows about the poison of selling on margin.
Mr. Lawrence!
I don't have time.
Please, hurry! Please!
Are you Mr. Lawrence?
You are Mr. Lawrence, right?
Y... Yes.
I have a message from Ms. Diana.
"The negotiation fell through."
"They did not agree to sell it."
That is what Ms. Diana says.
She says, "I apologize for disappointing you."
If you will excuse me.
Mr. Lawrence.
Mr. Lawrence!
Sorry...
You went through a lot of trouble for me, huh?
No...
It was nothing.
Can you tell Mark
that my plan failed?
Well, I'm getting 1,000 silver coins from Amati,
so I should be happy as a merchant.
Here, take this for yourself.
Mr. Lawrence!
Are you going to give up?
My master always tells me that merchants must not
give up easily!
He says, "The god of money-making
does not bless those who pray."
"He blesses those who don't know when to give up"!
I...
fell in love with
Ms. Holo at first sight.
But my master told me
that if I said that in front of you,
you would knock me out!
Yeah.
I would like to.
If anyone deserves to be punched,
it's me.
I had forgotten...
People who don't know when to give up,
are usually the kind of people who have
insane wishful thinking.
I forgot that I was one of those people.
Merchants create plans, make predictions,
and compare those with facts to do business.
Selling "this" will result in "that."
Buying "that" will result in "this."
Hypothesizing like that is important.
But the thing with hypothesizing is that the possibilities are endless.
So when you think of too many possibilities, it makes you hesitate.
Every business opportunity starts to look too risky.
In order to refrain from hesitating,
you need to have a guidepost.
That is the only thing a merchant needs.
If you can trust that guidepost,
then even if it points you in a crazy direction...
you must believe in it.
I think.
Once I sell the rocks at the stall,
go and spread that rumor I told you.
Yes!
Do you believe in god?
I'm counting on you!
You're back?
I'm selling.
I'm selling this too.
You fool.
Look at that amount!
I'm sorry.
-Hey! -Unlike a certain someone.
-She was a beautiful mature woman, right? -Come here!
-He's selling! -How much is he selling?
You've got to be kidding!
-That's a huge transaction! -It's going to crash!
-I'm selling too! -Move!
Hey! Hurry up!
In the end,
Amati didn't lose out on too much.
He seemed to suffer more emotional damage than anything.
That's what you get for trying to take someone else's woman.
That's what he was told.
I wanted to dump him in a more savage way.
Huh?
I will never forgive him for saying those words!
-What did he... -Don't you dare ask me what he said!
Don't worry, I won't.
So? Don't tell me you think that.
-That this is the end of the story. -Huh?
I'm sorry.
Do you really know what you need to be sorry about?
I know.
I think I do.
Entering into that contract with Amati
was a completely self-centered decision.
Wasn't it?
Basically, my biggest mistake was not trusting in you.
You adorned yourself with white feathers
to let me know that it was you
who bought pyrite from Ms. Diana.
And while we lost sight of you,
you were receiving the pyrite from her.
But when Amati sold his rocks,
I thought you were setting me up.
Excuse me?
Explain yourself!
I thought it was a tactic to make me act rashly.
And if the price shot up like that,
I would have had to buy the pyrite I owed Amati
at an exorbitant price.
I thought you were completely on Amati's side.
But that wasn't the case. You had actually
persuaded Amati to sell, knowing that he was inexperienced
with these transactions.
By doing that, you were telling me
that Amati had enough pyrite on hand,
so I should hurry up and sell it all off.
Isn't that right?
My goodness...
Before that,
you signed your name
and stamped the certificate that Amati prepared.
That was... Well,
you did that to make it easier for me to get angry.
Right?
That time, I was on the second floor and...
Never mind that! Continue!
You told me back in Ruvinheigen,
to just tell you how I honestly feel,
rather than try to be clever.
You said that if we vent it out, we can solve issues faster.
That's where I took the first wrong step.
When you became distraught over Yoitsu,
you apologized to me at the end.
I'm sorry...
I took that as a rejection.
But really, you apologized because you came to your senses.
-Isn't that right? -You fool!
As they say, no good comes from a fool who overthinks.
All the hard work I put in was wasted because of you.
And you even had the audacity to think that I sided with the enemy?
And to make matters worse, you became so obsessed
with your contract with that boy.
It's true that we haven't known each other for very long.
But still, I felt like
we were connected by a pretty strong bond.
Was that just my imagination?
Or do you
really...?
I want to continue traveling with you.
Up until now, my whole life has revolved around business.
And it will always be like that.
So just keep in mind that I'm not very sharp
when it comes to anything else.
But I still want to travel with you.
Then...
What am I to you?
I can't possibly put it into words.
Where did you learn such a cheesy line?
You like cheese with dried meat, don't you?
I hate it!
I have a question for you too.
How were you able to get Ms. Diana to sell you pyrite?
That boy was keeping me updated with everything that was happening,
so I pretty much knew what you were trying to do.
Your plan itself was quite impressive, so I don't mind
commending you for that.
And so about Diana...
I went to her place for a different reason.
A different reason?
I was able to locate her from the scent of the letter.
It stank like a hot spring and that was hard to endure, though.
I told her,
"Make up a fake story
and tell him that Yoitsu might still exist somewhere else."
However, that little girl dared to reject my request.
Oh, really?
Jeez... I swallowed my pride and explained my situation
and was this close to getting her to agree to my request,
but that's when you appeared.
Excuse me.
Instead of minding her own business,
she came up with a plan.
She said that I should test your resolve.
Acting like she knows everything...
Yes. See you soon.
Goodbye.
-Good luck. -Huh?
These ears of mine picked up that silly question of yours too.
I have a question.
You can ask me anything.
Are there any stories of pagan gods and humans...
becoming a couple?
Yes. There are many.
Apparently, there are many stories about gods and humans
becoming couples.
If you are up to it, I don't mind.
In exchange,
be gentle with me.
Just kidding.
After talking to that girl, I'm not in the mood.
Did you notice that girl is not human?
Huh?
There were so many feathers scattered in that room, weren't there?
Those are her feathers.
Really?
She is actually a bird that is larger than you.
She fell in love with a traveling monk
and spent many years
building a church with him.
But the monk grew suspicious of her, as she did not seem to age at all.
I'm sure you can imagine what happened after that...
I want to go back to my homeland. Even if
it no longer exists.
Okay.
Humans sure like putting on a show.
Yeah. It's impressive.
Shall we join them?
-Sure... -I don't mind.
I can engage in something as passionate as those burning dolls.
Maybe I can if I get drunk enough.
If you get drunk too, who is going to take care of me?
You fool!
Next time, "The Girl From the Church and Boy Who Mills."
Subtitle translation by: Kiko Morita