Instruction: Given first part of the popular LightNovel spice and wolf as input, continue the story the best you can.

Input:
It was scandalous to hide such a wonderful thing from her.
She asked Hanna with her mouth full of the crunchy sugared ginger, "Is this all?"
"He said to make sure to give only a little bit at a time."
It was exactly how he would have treated their daughter, Myuri. She almost wanted to demand Hanna give her more, immediately, lots more, but then that would only acknowledge his point that she would eat it all once she laid eyes on it. She had to avoid that as the wisewolf.
That being said, it was difficult to resist its charm.
She had been fighting with that parchment for a while, and her mind felt like it was melting.
To have this sweet and spicy food after all that was almost violent.
Even a wisewolf would roll over in surrender.
But before she did that, she spoke, managing to maintain a semblance of reason.
"C-come now, it may go bad if we do not eat it quickly, aye?"
"Sweets don't spoil so quickly."
"Then bugs and mice—"
"These will be fine buried in the ice room."
There was no one in the bathhouse who could contest Hanna about food.
If she persisted, Holo felt like she would even be able to eat the bowl itself.
"Ooohhh..."
"Why not eat it slowly? You'll be able to enjoy it longer that way."
"You fool. I may also enjoy it all at once!"
Hanna sighed in exasperation.
But she was right, and the inside of her mouth was rather hot.
Heartbroken, she pushed the wooden bowl away toward Hanna, in a way that she did not have to look at it.
"Put it away..."
"My, how prudent of you. Very well then, I will go put this away before you change your mind."
"Ah!"
Then, in a moment of weakness, Holo reached out and took one piece. Hanna smiled, slightly aggravated.
"Let me just say this now, but I am going to hide this in a place you can't find, so don't come looking for it."
Hanna said the same thing Holo did when she scolded Myuri. She wondered if it was because they were two peas in a pod.
"You fool."
"I am not a fool. I would not be happy to find my pantry in complete disarray because you went looking for it. I will put a tight lid on this, so even that great nose of yours will be no use."
"Urgghhh..."
In a bathhouse, the greatest monetary costs were related to food, so her companion had given Hanna tremendous authority. It was almost as though it was difficult to tell who was master of the house when they were in the kitchen together.
Not only that, he also asked her to be strict with Holo and Myuri.
The kitchen was filled with things they could immediately gnaw on, but those were more akin to traps meant to distract them.
"I am working so hard, and yet such cruelty..."
Holo spoke reproachfully, but Hanna did not give the bowl back to her.
"Well, I don't know about that, but I heard that it will be of great help once you finish all that work you are doing. Once that's squared away, you can ask for sugar or anything else you'd like."
"Of course I plan to. But I do not know when it will be over."
It was not an act when she laid face-first on the table.
Guests were starting to arrive and musicians had returned to the bathhouse, so it was quite lively. As long as the guests had songs and dancing, they could spend the entire day in the baths, which meant she and her companion could leave them alone.
Once this was routine, there were some extremely hectic moments but also stretches of time with nothing to do at all.
But now, during her idle hours, she was pouring all her energy into those sheets of parchment. If she did not, then it would never end, and if they received more requests in the future, it was possible the work would not be finished at all until the fall.
Of course, they could refuse to do anything that was too much for them, but the guests were rushing to unburden themselves, all thanks to little Col and Myuri's adventure, so they could not say they had no responsibility.
And her companion had said with a grave expression that if they accept the work now, it would lead to other things later.

Output:
"But what does that fool plan to do with all that money he will be making?"
Holo murmured to herself, her cheek still pressed to the table, as she watched Hanna put the candy away. Business at the bathhouse was going smoothly. Perhaps he was thinking about another matter. No, it could not be for buying honeyed peaches for her. That sort of foolish mistaken priorities had died down since they opened the bathhouse.
She did not know, but what she did know was that she had to focus on her own portion.
"Well, let us begin!"
She gulped down the rest of the wine Hanna had poured for her and headed toward the bedroom.
Her companion was absent because he had some work to do in the village, but she could tell by the lingering scent that he had been poring over the parchment until the very last moment.
She took the blanket draped over the back of the chair, hugged it, and sniffed it. It was filled with her companion's scent.
"...Heh."
In combination with the wine and effects of the ginger, her body was filled with warmth. She looked out beyond the open window, the faint melody of a musician's instrument and singing drifting in.
It was a quiet, fair afternoon.
She lay down on the bed for a quick nap, and her consciousness drifted away instantly.
And so, about the permits.
There were permits for mining gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, mercury, sulfur, and a myriad of ores that included the above. There were also permits for trading them, as well as others for weighing them. There were permits for grading them. Permits for appointing someone to inspect them. Permits for exempting them from inspection.
Wheat, barley, rye, and oats were divided into different classifications depending on the town, with various taxes relating to each, and unlike other crops, straw that was used as fodder would also be treated separately. If it were to be used for ale, then it would not be recognized as food but as alcohol, and it fell under the classification for permits regarding wines, ciders, and distilled items. Related to that was yet another struggle as to what the definition of alcohol was. There were permits that allowed the holder the right to ignore the definition and privileges to appoint a specific examiner from a specific town in the event of a dispute over it.
There were similar collections of permits like this for meat, fish, furs, metal products, wood products...It was endless.
"...Is the human world just a bottomless swamp?"
Without even the energy to raise her voice to express how she resented this and was unwilling to do any more, Holo muttered to herself.
"You've gotten the hang of how the world works. Look, there's only a little left."
There was no need for her to think that her companion's face, lit by the candlelight, was looking any older. Instead, as their work continued, he grew livelier and livelier as he recalled the past.
"Look, it's a permit for managing furs in Lenos," and "Huh, I didn't know there were rights for managing the dockworkers in Kerube," and "There's a permit for importing gold in Ruvinheigen. We wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble back then if only we had this." As he brought up this and that, his eyes shone.
Other permits indicated ties she had never noticed before between so many different towns, and her companion's skin was much brighter than after drinking or eating any sort of food.
Even in his sleep, he mumbled about it. "Since this town and this town protect the privileges between them for that product...You could make a lot of money if you buy it in that town...Heh-heh..."
But as she stole glances at him as he did so, with parchment open before her, she was starting to enjoy it.
Whenever he found a place-name where they had once ventured together, far, far away from Nyohhira, he would light up. She did not mind, because she was the same.


Instruction: Given first part of the popular LightNovel spice and wolf as input, continue the story the best you can.

Input:
"But what does that fool plan to do with all that money he will be making?"
Holo murmured to herself, her cheek still pressed to the table, as she watched Hanna put the candy away. Business at the bathhouse was going smoothly. Perhaps he was thinking about another matter. No, it could not be for buying honeyed peaches for her. That sort of foolish mistaken priorities had died down since they opened the bathhouse.
She did not know, but what she did know was that she had to focus on her own portion.
"Well, let us begin!"
She gulped down the rest of the wine Hanna had poured for her and headed toward the bedroom.
Her companion was absent because he had some work to do in the village, but she could tell by the lingering scent that he had been poring over the parchment until the very last moment.
She took the blanket draped over the back of the chair, hugged it, and sniffed it. It was filled with her companion's scent.
"...Heh."
In combination with the wine and effects of the ginger, her body was filled with warmth. She looked out beyond the open window, the faint melody of a musician's instrument and singing drifting in.
It was a quiet, fair afternoon.
She lay down on the bed for a quick nap, and her consciousness drifted away instantly.
And so, about the permits.
There were permits for mining gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, mercury, sulfur, and a myriad of ores that included the above. There were also permits for trading them, as well as others for weighing them. There were permits for grading them. Permits for appointing someone to inspect them. Permits for exempting them from inspection.
Wheat, barley, rye, and oats were divided into different classifications depending on the town, with various taxes relating to each, and unlike other crops, straw that was used as fodder would also be treated separately. If it were to be used for ale, then it would not be recognized as food but as alcohol, and it fell under the classification for permits regarding wines, ciders, and distilled items. Related to that was yet another struggle as to what the definition of alcohol was. There were permits that allowed the holder the right to ignore the definition and privileges to appoint a specific examiner from a specific town in the event of a dispute over it.
There were similar collections of permits like this for meat, fish, furs, metal products, wood products...It was endless.
"...Is the human world just a bottomless swamp?"
Without even the energy to raise her voice to express how she resented this and was unwilling to do any more, Holo muttered to herself.
"You've gotten the hang of how the world works. Look, there's only a little left."
There was no need for her to think that her companion's face, lit by the candlelight, was looking any older. Instead, as their work continued, he grew livelier and livelier as he recalled the past.
"Look, it's a permit for managing furs in Lenos," and "Huh, I didn't know there were rights for managing the dockworkers in Kerube," and "There's a permit for importing gold in Ruvinheigen. We wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble back then if only we had this." As he brought up this and that, his eyes shone.
Other permits indicated ties she had never noticed before between so many different towns, and her companion's skin was much brighter than after drinking or eating any sort of food.
Even in his sleep, he mumbled about it. "Since this town and this town protect the privileges between them for that product...You could make a lot of money if you buy it in that town...Heh-heh..."
But as she stole glances at him as he did so, with parchment open before her, she was starting to enjoy it.
Whenever he found a place-name where they had once ventured together, far, far away from Nyohhira, he would light up. She did not mind, because she was the same.

Output:
It had all been so hectic that she was the first one to say no, she had had enough. It was her wish that put an end to her companion's journey. Then, her companion granted her wish, and though he did seem a bit regretful at the time, now he did not seem to feel much anguish over his choice at all.
Essentially, her companion was simply enjoying the nostalgia with a distant gaze.
Even though she knew it was her own selfishness, it was not fun.
She wanted him to recall their old travels with a face that yearned terribly for it.
Then she would have an excuse to be angry at him. Do you never learn your lesson?
Then she could have said this to her companion.
"If you wish to go on a journey again, I—"
It was when she was writing down a place-name on a permit regarding salt tariffs as she listened to her companion grow excited about some complicated permit, which nullified the privilege to pass through the checkpoint on Roef River without paying taxes.
He fell silent, and Holo suddenly realized that her thoughts had escaped through her mouth.
***
She looked up, and he was staring at her with a strange expression on his face.
"...'Tis nothing."
She dropped her gaze back to the salt permit. He did not say anything right away, and after gazing again at the permit he had been so excitedly reading out loud, he spoke quietly.
"I'm not going on a journey."
She knew that.
That was why she could not let the next part of her sentence be bitter words.
"Hey."
He continued.
"You've been hiding something from me, haven't you? Ever since Selim came."
She was shocked. The fur on her ears and tail stood on end.
And yet, her only response was this.
"Whatever do you mean?"
He lightly scratched his nose, and—had he held back a smile?
"I know."
His hand landed gently on her head.
"Because you're my wife."
She shivered uncomfortably, as though a soft woolen thread tickled the inside of her ear.
Her chest clenched painfully, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"...Fool."
"But you really did seem to be in a good mood, so I honestly wasn't sure what it could be. You were getting along well with Miss Selim. If I wasn't careful and bothered you about it, you looked like you would get really angry at me, so I didn't say anything."
He was carefully studying her face. She could not look back at his.
***
They both kept quiet, and silence fell over them.
Her companion released the breath he had been holding, then leaned back in his chair.
It creaked as he did.
"It feels like things have gotten stale since Myuri and Col left."
The bathhouse was silent.
"Are you bored of life here?"
There was a slight smile on his face.
"No, of—"
This is the bathhouse her companion worked so hard to bring together. It was their house and a place to call home. There was no chance he would wish to leave that all behind and go traveling again.
But she could not finish her sentence, and he even asked her if she wanted to go on a journey not too long ago.
She did not know herself very well.
"I do not know..."
She spoke honestly, and her companion seemed amused.
"I've come to notice lately how old I've gotten, but you're still young."
"...Huh?"
Her pitiful voice was starting to become a cry at the back of her throat.
She looked at him, and his smile was growing bigger and bigger. That meant her expression must have really been on the verge of tears.
"That's what I thought when I was watching Myuri—so that's what it means to be young. And that it wouldn't be surprising if a certain someone who is like a mature wolf got bored of life in the bathhouse, too."
"That's..."
She barely spoke, then shook her head. Hard.
"I have not grown bored. Not at all."
The inside of her heart, however, was not serene. There certainly was a tempest of irritation that every day was so similarly fulfilling.
No matter how she thought about that, it was indulgent and selfish and not something her companion could do anything about.
She could not stop or turn back time.


Instruction: Given first part of the popular LightNovel spice and wolf as input, continue the story the best you can.

Input:
It had all been so hectic that she was the first one to say no, she had had enough. It was her wish that put an end to her companion's journey. Then, her companion granted her wish, and though he did seem a bit regretful at the time, now he did not seem to feel much anguish over his choice at all.
Essentially, her companion was simply enjoying the nostalgia with a distant gaze.
Even though she knew it was her own selfishness, it was not fun.
She wanted him to recall their old travels with a face that yearned terribly for it.
Then she would have an excuse to be angry at him. Do you never learn your lesson?
Then she could have said this to her companion.
"If you wish to go on a journey again, I—"
It was when she was writing down a place-name on a permit regarding salt tariffs as she listened to her companion grow excited about some complicated permit, which nullified the privilege to pass through the checkpoint on Roef River without paying taxes.
He fell silent, and Holo suddenly realized that her thoughts had escaped through her mouth.
***
She looked up, and he was staring at her with a strange expression on his face.
"...'Tis nothing."
She dropped her gaze back to the salt permit. He did not say anything right away, and after gazing again at the permit he had been so excitedly reading out loud, he spoke quietly.
"I'm not going on a journey."
She knew that.
That was why she could not let the next part of her sentence be bitter words.
"Hey."
He continued.
"You've been hiding something from me, haven't you? Ever since Selim came."
She was shocked. The fur on her ears and tail stood on end.
And yet, her only response was this.
"Whatever do you mean?"
He lightly scratched his nose, and—had he held back a smile?
"I know."
His hand landed gently on her head.
"Because you're my wife."
She shivered uncomfortably, as though a soft woolen thread tickled the inside of her ear.
Her chest clenched painfully, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"...Fool."
"But you really did seem to be in a good mood, so I honestly wasn't sure what it could be. You were getting along well with Miss Selim. If I wasn't careful and bothered you about it, you looked like you would get really angry at me, so I didn't say anything."
He was carefully studying her face. She could not look back at his.
***
They both kept quiet, and silence fell over them.
Her companion released the breath he had been holding, then leaned back in his chair.
It creaked as he did.
"It feels like things have gotten stale since Myuri and Col left."
The bathhouse was silent.
"Are you bored of life here?"
There was a slight smile on his face.
"No, of—"
This is the bathhouse her companion worked so hard to bring together. It was their house and a place to call home. There was no chance he would wish to leave that all behind and go traveling again.
But she could not finish her sentence, and he even asked her if she wanted to go on a journey not too long ago.
She did not know herself very well.
"I do not know..."
She spoke honestly, and her companion seemed amused.
"I've come to notice lately how old I've gotten, but you're still young."
"...Huh?"
Her pitiful voice was starting to become a cry at the back of her throat.
She looked at him, and his smile was growing bigger and bigger. That meant her expression must have really been on the verge of tears.
"That's what I thought when I was watching Myuri—so that's what it means to be young. And that it wouldn't be surprising if a certain someone who is like a mature wolf got bored of life in the bathhouse, too."
"That's..."
She barely spoke, then shook her head. Hard.
"I have not grown bored. Not at all."
The inside of her heart, however, was not serene. There certainly was a tempest of irritation that every day was so similarly fulfilling.
No matter how she thought about that, it was indulgent and selfish and not something her companion could do anything about.
She could not stop or turn back time.

Output:
As her words became stuck in her throat, he smiled a bit sadly.
"Did the wolves all show off together? What was it like with Miss Selim?"
He was worried about her. He would listen to her. Not only that, he was always within her reach. And he would not be around forever.
If she had to say it someday, then she should say it sooner than later.
She swallowed something that was lodged in her throat, and slowly, she opened her mouth.
"I have not grown bored with life in the bathhouse."
"Mm-hmm."
He nodded, then reached out to the desk and cut the wick of the candle with scissors. The fire on the candle would be bigger and burn brighter.
"And?"
"I am used to repeating routine. I...I once watched the wheat grow for hundreds of years, after all."
An endless cycle of seasons, time that would not come back.
"I am happy now. So happy."
She gripped her companion's hand on the desk, and he playfully wrapped his fingers around hers.
"However...Nothing changes from day to day. Tomorrow will be the same as today, and the day after that will be the same as tomorrow, and what happened last month is the same as what happened that month last year, and next month will be the same as that month next year, aye? 'Tis even more obvious now after that fool Myuri and little Col are gone."
Her companion's fingers gripped her pointer finger a little too tightly.
His skin was much softer than it had been when he was a traveling merchant.
"If I were to let myself surrender to this happiness, all these precious days will melt away in my memory...Though the wisewolf I may be, I cannot remember everything. I have grown terrified of that. Because..."
Then she suddenly looked at his face.
No matter how hard she studied it, that face was still something she would no longer be able to see one day.
"Because..."
"I can't stay by your side forever."
Her companion spoke and kissed her on the forehead.
They both knew that, so they had not dared say a word about it. They tacitly agreed to pretend they did not know. Back during the events in Svernel, thanks to Selim and her brother, they had faced it for the first time in a long time.
He ruffled her hair and continued.
"Even after we're gone, you should go live in the inn that Selim's family runs...It's insurance, at least. Cargo you lose won't always come back."
To Holo, her companion was like a young boy, just recently born, and he was smiling calmly.
"I know that. So I've thought about a lot of things on my own. I didn't say anything because you'd get mad if I did, but I'm always thinking about all the things I can leave for you."
She gulped and looked back at him.
Though she was so happy he worried about her, she was indescribably sad that he was concentrating on the end.
These two feelings clashed with each other in her throat, and it pained her so.
If he had said anything to her about it, she would not have been able to bear the agony and certainly would have grown angry.
Do not think of such things!
"But you're a lonely person, the kind to fall asleep during the day clinging to a balled-up blanket. You definitely need something to keep yourself from shivering in the cold."
"Hah?! I—I—I was not..."
Her ears stood straight up in rage, and her cheeks quickly turned red. Though this would never happen if she were in her wolf form, this body was much too small for such big emotions.
"And, well, I had an idea, and am working hard on it, but thanks to Col and Myuri, that plan looks like it'll be accelerated."
"...Hmm?"
His hand wrapped around to the back of her head, and he kissed away the tears welling in her eyes.
The feeling of his beard pressing roughly on her skin proved that it was not a dream.
"I see...Then...then why did you decide to undertake this work? It has been bothering me. Do you simply wish to save money? What will you do with all that money?"
"I can't bring gold into heaven, you know."
"It can't be...for me?"


Instruction: Given first part of the popular LightNovel spice and wolf as input, continue the story the best you can.

Input:
As her words became stuck in her throat, he smiled a bit sadly.
"Did the wolves all show off together? What was it like with Miss Selim?"
He was worried about her. He would listen to her. Not only that, he was always within her reach. And he would not be around forever.
If she had to say it someday, then she should say it sooner than later.
She swallowed something that was lodged in her throat, and slowly, she opened her mouth.
"I have not grown bored with life in the bathhouse."
"Mm-hmm."
He nodded, then reached out to the desk and cut the wick of the candle with scissors. The fire on the candle would be bigger and burn brighter.
"And?"
"I am used to repeating routine. I...I once watched the wheat grow for hundreds of years, after all."
An endless cycle of seasons, time that would not come back.
"I am happy now. So happy."
She gripped her companion's hand on the desk, and he playfully wrapped his fingers around hers.
"However...Nothing changes from day to day. Tomorrow will be the same as today, and the day after that will be the same as tomorrow, and what happened last month is the same as what happened that month last year, and next month will be the same as that month next year, aye? 'Tis even more obvious now after that fool Myuri and little Col are gone."
Her companion's fingers gripped her pointer finger a little too tightly.
His skin was much softer than it had been when he was a traveling merchant.
"If I were to let myself surrender to this happiness, all these precious days will melt away in my memory...Though the wisewolf I may be, I cannot remember everything. I have grown terrified of that. Because..."
Then she suddenly looked at his face.
No matter how hard she studied it, that face was still something she would no longer be able to see one day.
"Because..."
"I can't stay by your side forever."
Her companion spoke and kissed her on the forehead.
They both knew that, so they had not dared say a word about it. They tacitly agreed to pretend they did not know. Back during the events in Svernel, thanks to Selim and her brother, they had faced it for the first time in a long time.
He ruffled her hair and continued.
"Even after we're gone, you should go live in the inn that Selim's family runs...It's insurance, at least. Cargo you lose won't always come back."
To Holo, her companion was like a young boy, just recently born, and he was smiling calmly.
"I know that. So I've thought about a lot of things on my own. I didn't say anything because you'd get mad if I did, but I'm always thinking about all the things I can leave for you."
She gulped and looked back at him.
Though she was so happy he worried about her, she was indescribably sad that he was concentrating on the end.
These two feelings clashed with each other in her throat, and it pained her so.
If he had said anything to her about it, she would not have been able to bear the agony and certainly would have grown angry.
Do not think of such things!
"But you're a lonely person, the kind to fall asleep during the day clinging to a balled-up blanket. You definitely need something to keep yourself from shivering in the cold."
"Hah?! I—I—I was not..."
Her ears stood straight up in rage, and her cheeks quickly turned red. Though this would never happen if she were in her wolf form, this body was much too small for such big emotions.
"And, well, I had an idea, and am working hard on it, but thanks to Col and Myuri, that plan looks like it'll be accelerated."
"...Hmm?"
His hand wrapped around to the back of her head, and he kissed away the tears welling in her eyes.
The feeling of his beard pressing roughly on her skin proved that it was not a dream.
"I see...Then...then why did you decide to undertake this work? It has been bothering me. Do you simply wish to save money? What will you do with all that money?"
"I can't bring gold into heaven, you know."
"It can't be...for me?"

Output:
"Even if I left you money, wouldn't you just turn every coin into booze as you cry all by your lonesome or show no interest in it at all and instead crawl into a field of wheat?"
"Wh—? You—"
"Well, I do want to leave some money for the earthier Myuri, though."
He looked at her as she sat speechless, then smiled gently.
"That's why I want to leave you something that you would never let go, even when you're dozing in the sun or curled up around a blanket on a cold, quiet night. Well..."
For some reason, he stopped there, then scratched his head in embarrassment.
"I wanted to do that. It's been busy, and I'm not really used to it..."
Not getting his point, she groaned in irritation, and he smiled and apologized repeatedly, then carried on.
"It was a book."
"...A book?"
He shrugged.
"You said it a long time ago. Tell the beautiful tale of your journey with me."
She did feel like she had said that once before. That was how legends of times long past were passed down for future generations.
"But there's only so much word of mouth can do. Just look at this pile of permits. The world is full of things that can't fit inside one person's head."
Though they had visited many places on their journey together, there were so many invisible rules that they could never see. And that was just one small part of it all.
"Everyday life is the same. If you look closely, there are small differences among similar days, and sometimes, those little things can be really enjoyable. Like when that leech stuck to your wrist."
For some reason, when he pointed that out it embarrassed her, and she placed her hand over the mark to cover it.
"I thought it would be a good idea to write all those things down. Remember, you read a lot of things like that in Elsa's library, at the church in the village that worshipped the snake god?"
She finally recalled. She had done that. In order to find out where Yoitsu was, in order to find her old friends, she read countless old tales in that musty cellar. They were tales that someone wrote down to tell what had happened in the past.
"I wanted to write with as much detail as I could. Something others might not understand if they read it but that only you would enjoy. And then you can look back later and see that yesterday and today—last year and this year—really were different, right?"
"M-mm...'Tis...true..."
She nodded, and her companion reciprocated the gesture, satisfied.
But the expression that appeared on his face afterward was slightly embarrassed.
"But that said, I've been writing a bit when I have the time, but...ah... All I can write about is trade, and since Myuri was born, all I can write about are stories about her."
And then, she realized.
"Ah, so that is what you have been writing from time to time?! 'Twas not complaints or grudges?!"
She questioned him in surprise, and he smiled wryly.
"It's been a handful taking care of Myuri...But they weren't complaints. Even our arguments make me laugh when I read back on them."
When she finally understood what it was, she felt like she would collapse. Certainly, he occasionally wrote down what had happened that day as if transcribing the events. He had even recorded their quarrels, so she thought he was preparing something for when they fought later. What a milksop of a male she thought he was!
"But we're not rich enough to prepare all that paper, and there is literally no time to write anything down during the busy seasons."
It seemed their conversation had come full circle, back to the parchment on the desk.
"So you are saving for that?"
"Yes. It's usually nobility that hires monks to write down what happened in the past. Even then, only the biggest towns produce annual chronicles for their own prestige. But it was people from the monasteries who brought in this parchment work we're doing."


Instruction: Given first part of the popular LightNovel spice and wolf as input, continue the story the best you can.

Input:
"Even if I left you money, wouldn't you just turn every coin into booze as you cry all by your lonesome or show no interest in it at all and instead crawl into a field of wheat?"
"Wh—? You—"
"Well, I do want to leave some money for the earthier Myuri, though."
He looked at her as she sat speechless, then smiled gently.
"That's why I want to leave you something that you would never let go, even when you're dozing in the sun or curled up around a blanket on a cold, quiet night. Well..."
For some reason, he stopped there, then scratched his head in embarrassment.
"I wanted to do that. It's been busy, and I'm not really used to it..."
Not getting his point, she groaned in irritation, and he smiled and apologized repeatedly, then carried on.
"It was a book."
"...A book?"
He shrugged.
"You said it a long time ago. Tell the beautiful tale of your journey with me."
She did feel like she had said that once before. That was how legends of times long past were passed down for future generations.
"But there's only so much word of mouth can do. Just look at this pile of permits. The world is full of things that can't fit inside one person's head."
Though they had visited many places on their journey together, there were so many invisible rules that they could never see. And that was just one small part of it all.
"Everyday life is the same. If you look closely, there are small differences among similar days, and sometimes, those little things can be really enjoyable. Like when that leech stuck to your wrist."
For some reason, when he pointed that out it embarrassed her, and she placed her hand over the mark to cover it.
"I thought it would be a good idea to write all those things down. Remember, you read a lot of things like that in Elsa's library, at the church in the village that worshipped the snake god?"
She finally recalled. She had done that. In order to find out where Yoitsu was, in order to find her old friends, she read countless old tales in that musty cellar. They were tales that someone wrote down to tell what had happened in the past.
"I wanted to write with as much detail as I could. Something others might not understand if they read it but that only you would enjoy. And then you can look back later and see that yesterday and today—last year and this year—really were different, right?"
"M-mm...'Tis...true..."
She nodded, and her companion reciprocated the gesture, satisfied.
But the expression that appeared on his face afterward was slightly embarrassed.
"But that said, I've been writing a bit when I have the time, but...ah... All I can write about is trade, and since Myuri was born, all I can write about are stories about her."
And then, she realized.
"Ah, so that is what you have been writing from time to time?! 'Twas not complaints or grudges?!"
She questioned him in surprise, and he smiled wryly.
"It's been a handful taking care of Myuri...But they weren't complaints. Even our arguments make me laugh when I read back on them."
When she finally understood what it was, she felt like she would collapse. Certainly, he occasionally wrote down what had happened that day as if transcribing the events. He had even recorded their quarrels, so she thought he was preparing something for when they fought later. What a milksop of a male she thought he was!
"But we're not rich enough to prepare all that paper, and there is literally no time to write anything down during the busy seasons."
It seemed their conversation had come full circle, back to the parchment on the desk.
"So you are saving for that?"
"Yes. It's usually nobility that hires monks to write down what happened in the past. Even then, only the biggest towns produce annual chronicles for their own prestige. But it was people from the monasteries who brought in this parchment work we're doing."

Output:
She was happy that nothing seemed to have changed between now and then, and at the same time, her chest tightened.
"And?"
"First, monasteries deal with the paper. If we gain their gratitude, then we can get it for cheap."
She nodded in a bit of exasperation at how obvious he was.
"Then, there is a special reason as to why we want to gain the gratitude of the people at the monastery. And that is..."
He turned his gaze to the desk and pulled out a certain piece of paper.
But that was not a permit but a memo Holo had written for herself.
"This. For handwriting."
"Handwriting...?"
"You still aren't very good at writing, no matter how much time passes."
***
She sat up straight, as though someone had stepped on her tail, and grabbed his beard.
"Ow, ow, don't get—don't get mad!"
"You fool! I may not be very good, but it is not illegible!"
Though her companion was the same, she truly did not understand the merits of the written human language. She was not good at writing and would not deny that. It was simply a fact that she could not write well.
She could only imagine that it was thanks to her human limbs, and it sincerely angered her when he pointed out her inability. There was nothing she could do about it.
"No, wait, wait. At first, I thought it was because you weren't used to reading and writing. But you're surprisingly dexterous with other things. So when I saw Miss Selim write, I had a thought."
"Her?"
She was surprised to suddenly hear Selim's name.
"Miss Selim's handwriting is, well...bad."
"She is also slow at reading, no?"
"Yeah. And then there's all the mistakes she's made."
***
Choosing the wrong twine, mixing up the candle boxes, tripping on herself, falling over, dropping things—how were these all related?
And how was all that related to gaining favor from the monastery?
Were they going to pray to God?
But what?
"You all don't have very good eyesight."
"Huh?"
She was caught by surprise.
There was no way that was possible.
"Th-that cannot be so. I see perfectly well. And I am perfectly free in a dark forest."
"Then write this letter down. Just as you see it, okay?"
He pointed to a single letter. It was one she knew and could write easily. After a quick circle, there was a line that extended out to the right; then at the end of that there was a quick curve down and to the left.
She thought she did it quite well.
"Did you really write it how you see it?"
"Mm."
His shoulders moved up and down as he breathed.
"The letter you copied was Miss Selim's writing, and it's a little bit off."
"Wha—?"
"You're not this bad at writing. That's why I was unsure at first. But Miss Selim really is bad. I think that's the reason why she trips all the time. She's gotten better recently, but that's probably because she remembers where everything is now. Or maybe from the scent."
Now that he mentioned it, she recalled the dark forest. Of course. She was always relying on her nose and ears to run in her wolf form.
Then, after her surprise died down, a sudden bout of sadness settled over her. That was because it meant she had never truly been able to see her companion's face all that well.
And on the other hand, there was also the fact that she had never felt like her vision was an inconvenience.
As a feeling of confusion akin to anger demanded to know what that meant, her logic found a path.
Since she had only ever known the world from behind these eyes, she had just assumed that this was normal.
But what was she to do about it?
"And then what? Should I pray to God, like little Col, so that my eyes may get better?"
"No. That's why we'll go to a monastery."
He made a circle with his index finger and thumb, then placed it over his eyes.
"Glasses."
"Glasses?"


Instruction: Given first part of the popular LightNovel spice and wolf as input, continue the story the best you can.

Input:
She was happy that nothing seemed to have changed between now and then, and at the same time, her chest tightened.
"And?"
"First, monasteries deal with the paper. If we gain their gratitude, then we can get it for cheap."
She nodded in a bit of exasperation at how obvious he was.
"Then, there is a special reason as to why we want to gain the gratitude of the people at the monastery. And that is..."
He turned his gaze to the desk and pulled out a certain piece of paper.
But that was not a permit but a memo Holo had written for herself.
"This. For handwriting."
"Handwriting...?"
"You still aren't very good at writing, no matter how much time passes."
***
She sat up straight, as though someone had stepped on her tail, and grabbed his beard.
"Ow, ow, don't get—don't get mad!"
"You fool! I may not be very good, but it is not illegible!"
Though her companion was the same, she truly did not understand the merits of the written human language. She was not good at writing and would not deny that. It was simply a fact that she could not write well.
She could only imagine that it was thanks to her human limbs, and it sincerely angered her when he pointed out her inability. There was nothing she could do about it.
"No, wait, wait. At first, I thought it was because you weren't used to reading and writing. But you're surprisingly dexterous with other things. So when I saw Miss Selim write, I had a thought."
"Her?"
She was surprised to suddenly hear Selim's name.
"Miss Selim's handwriting is, well...bad."
"She is also slow at reading, no?"
"Yeah. And then there's all the mistakes she's made."
***
Choosing the wrong twine, mixing up the candle boxes, tripping on herself, falling over, dropping things—how were these all related?
And how was all that related to gaining favor from the monastery?
Were they going to pray to God?
But what?
"You all don't have very good eyesight."
"Huh?"
She was caught by surprise.
There was no way that was possible.
"Th-that cannot be so. I see perfectly well. And I am perfectly free in a dark forest."
"Then write this letter down. Just as you see it, okay?"
He pointed to a single letter. It was one she knew and could write easily. After a quick circle, there was a line that extended out to the right; then at the end of that there was a quick curve down and to the left.
She thought she did it quite well.
"Did you really write it how you see it?"
"Mm."
His shoulders moved up and down as he breathed.
"The letter you copied was Miss Selim's writing, and it's a little bit off."
"Wha—?"
"You're not this bad at writing. That's why I was unsure at first. But Miss Selim really is bad. I think that's the reason why she trips all the time. She's gotten better recently, but that's probably because she remembers where everything is now. Or maybe from the scent."
Now that he mentioned it, she recalled the dark forest. Of course. She was always relying on her nose and ears to run in her wolf form.
Then, after her surprise died down, a sudden bout of sadness settled over her. That was because it meant she had never truly been able to see her companion's face all that well.
And on the other hand, there was also the fact that she had never felt like her vision was an inconvenience.
As a feeling of confusion akin to anger demanded to know what that meant, her logic found a path.
Since she had only ever known the world from behind these eyes, she had just assumed that this was normal.
But what was she to do about it?
"And then what? Should I pray to God, like little Col, so that my eyes may get better?"
"No. That's why we'll go to a monastery."
He made a circle with his index finger and thumb, then placed it over his eyes.
"Glasses."
"Glasses?"

Output:
She could not picture it very well, but it did not seem like he was lying.
She nodded, relieved knowing something like that existed, and her companion placed the circle he made with his fingers onto her eyes.
"From what I've heard, you put it on your face like this. They say the price jumps up because they have to make the glass bigger, and it's difficult to polish, but you can see all the little details in the world."
Then, she could put everything she saw and everything she had been unable to see until now into writing.
Like storing snow in the ice room or a squirrel burying a nut.
On the other side of his finger circle, her companion smiled proudly.
For some reason, he seemed closer than usual.
"We probably can't get it immediately because they go on your face, but we can likely find something that can make the words in your hand bigger. And then a lot of paper. Once we have that and you've practiced writing again, you can record anything you want to remember."
It was not about waiting for a big incident she would never forget, but collecting the little things that happened every day. Of course, she just simply could not remember, and it was not because she hated daily life in the bathhouse. She loved everything that happened throughout the days.
The problem was, all those memories would spread out thin if she let them be, and it would only wet her stomach if she laid down in them, like that tepid puddle.
By putting them in writing, she could keep them warm.
"I'll work as hard as I can to buy paper and ink, so you just need to write so much that you can't read it all. You won't get bored if you write so much that you forget the beginning by the time you reach the end, right?"
She did not know how much of that was a joke and how much was serious.
She did not know how effective it would really be, but it was something that he had thought so hard about for her, and it made her so happy she wanted to cry.
"But...If I spend all my time writing, would I not miss things I want to write down?"
"I'm honestly more worried whether you'll actually do it every day or not, since you get bored so easily."
She pouted with her lips and glared at him, but he took it with a calm smile.
"But you'll have ink and paper. You'll have glasses. And once you can write, you should be fine, right? If you get anxious, make those tools your weapons. Scrub past the hazy darkness with your pen, and wipe it away with your paper."
Had he known about the well of darkness inside of her all along?
"An ancient monk once said..."
Her companion had aged a bit since they first met, and he spoke with a more mature expression than it had once been.
"...give a man a fish, and he is fed for the day. But teach him to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
She showed her respect to the reckless man who spewed lectures to the wisewolf, and she grinned, baring her fangs.
"I do want fish. And honeyed peaches, as well."
"I know. That's why I'll be busy every day."
Then, at that moment, she could not hold herself back any longer as she leaped at him, and the upper right part of her forehead crashed into his cheekbone. There was quite a loud thud, and her companion groaned, but she did not mind.
That was because there was no doubt that it was her heart that was in the most pain.
"You fool."
Those were the words that emerged from the bottom of her heart.
"You fool..."
She said it again, and her tail swished about.
Her heart was now bursting with happiness and love for her companion, and she almost said that she did not need glasses or anything of the sort, but she had learned. Much like the seasons, moods change. As long as she had the weapons he chose for her, she could beat back the blackness that seeped out once in a while.
"I do wish for glasses. But I do not need anything so big."
"Mm...Huh? But you should have them anyway, right? And Miss Selim can use them, too."


Instruction: Given first part of the popular LightNovel spice and wolf as input, continue the story the best you can.

Input:
She could not picture it very well, but it did not seem like he was lying.
She nodded, relieved knowing something like that existed, and her companion placed the circle he made with his fingers onto her eyes.
"From what I've heard, you put it on your face like this. They say the price jumps up because they have to make the glass bigger, and it's difficult to polish, but you can see all the little details in the world."
Then, she could put everything she saw and everything she had been unable to see until now into writing.
Like storing snow in the ice room or a squirrel burying a nut.
On the other side of his finger circle, her companion smiled proudly.
For some reason, he seemed closer than usual.
"We probably can't get it immediately because they go on your face, but we can likely find something that can make the words in your hand bigger. And then a lot of paper. Once we have that and you've practiced writing again, you can record anything you want to remember."
It was not about waiting for a big incident she would never forget, but collecting the little things that happened every day. Of course, she just simply could not remember, and it was not because she hated daily life in the bathhouse. She loved everything that happened throughout the days.
The problem was, all those memories would spread out thin if she let them be, and it would only wet her stomach if she laid down in them, like that tepid puddle.
By putting them in writing, she could keep them warm.
"I'll work as hard as I can to buy paper and ink, so you just need to write so much that you can't read it all. You won't get bored if you write so much that you forget the beginning by the time you reach the end, right?"
She did not know how much of that was a joke and how much was serious.
She did not know how effective it would really be, but it was something that he had thought so hard about for her, and it made her so happy she wanted to cry.
"But...If I spend all my time writing, would I not miss things I want to write down?"
"I'm honestly more worried whether you'll actually do it every day or not, since you get bored so easily."
She pouted with her lips and glared at him, but he took it with a calm smile.
"But you'll have ink and paper. You'll have glasses. And once you can write, you should be fine, right? If you get anxious, make those tools your weapons. Scrub past the hazy darkness with your pen, and wipe it away with your paper."
Had he known about the well of darkness inside of her all along?
"An ancient monk once said..."
Her companion had aged a bit since they first met, and he spoke with a more mature expression than it had once been.
"...give a man a fish, and he is fed for the day. But teach him to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
She showed her respect to the reckless man who spewed lectures to the wisewolf, and she grinned, baring her fangs.
"I do want fish. And honeyed peaches, as well."
"I know. That's why I'll be busy every day."
Then, at that moment, she could not hold herself back any longer as she leaped at him, and the upper right part of her forehead crashed into his cheekbone. There was quite a loud thud, and her companion groaned, but she did not mind.
That was because there was no doubt that it was her heart that was in the most pain.
"You fool."
Those were the words that emerged from the bottom of her heart.
"You fool..."
She said it again, and her tail swished about.
Her heart was now bursting with happiness and love for her companion, and she almost said that she did not need glasses or anything of the sort, but she had learned. Much like the seasons, moods change. As long as she had the weapons he chose for her, she could beat back the blackness that seeped out once in a while.
"I do wish for glasses. But I do not need anything so big."
"Mm...Huh? But you should have them anyway, right? And Miss Selim can use them, too."

Output:
"She should use them. I do not need them."
He looked a little disappointed, but it was certainly out of kindness. He was taking many things into consideration, like her being able to better see scenery.
But she had been like this for hundreds of years.
Her world was nothing if not the world she saw now.
"Shall I tell you why?"
She looked up, and his face was next to hers.
"For future reference please."
She grinned.
"If I could see well, I may notice that I am not fond of your face. I would prefer not to be so disappointed after all this time."
An unpleasant frown appeared on his face.
It was enough just knowing that.
"However, I found you in this world without relying on glasses in the first place."
His eyes opened wide, and having been outdone, an irritated expression crossed his face.
"That's true, I'm not sure if I'd like it if you became even more sharp-sighted."
He was still a cute little boy if he could say things like that out of spite even now.
"Then I'll get something for Miss Selim to read, and that might be expensive glasses, though, so don't get mad, okay?"
"It depends."
"You know..."
His annoyed face was so adorable, she could not help but grin.
"Honestly...It's for work. If I gave Miss Selim glasses, she might get better at reading and writing, since she does seem eager to learn. She's patient, so I could ask her to do all the things that Col did, like writing accounts for purchases and expenditures, letters to guests, and even write letters for business in town. That would make things a lot easier for me."
"Will you not ask me?"
She could read and write all the same.
Well, she knew why he would of course ask Selim to do work and not herself.
But she asked purposefully anyway. She should be familiar with all the things on this desk. There were records of agreements they could not see. If she could see the threads that connected her and her companion when she found herself lost, then there was nothing to worry about.
He looked at her and sighed, tired.
He may have truly been exhausted.
Because—
"There's no point in me being free if you're busy."
Because her companion loved her, and he was always working his hardest.
"Heh."
She laughed at how spoiled she was, and she laughed at how strangely, terribly relieved she was.
"Heh-heh, ah-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha...! You fool, what a fool you are."
"Of course I am."
He laughed, too, and for a while they did nothing but laugh together before finally sighing in unison.
It was a strange interval of neither routine nor boredom.
"Well then, should we finish up the rest of this?"
He spoke purposefully as though he was smoothing things over.
"Mm, let us square it all away."
It felt like they had had the same conversation a thousand times in the past.
But now, she no longer feared being unable to tell them apart.
"Oh, right."
"Hmm?"
As she grasped a pen, she spoke.
"Little Col mentioned it a lot. Books and such need titles. Shall we title this one after you?"
He looked at her for a little while before a slight smile appeared on his face.
"What's the name of this house?"
"Hmm? Indeed, 'twould be the best."
Memories of her time with her companion. Memories she could never forget. She would fill her book with as many of them as she could.
A tome overflowing with happiness, like the season of life and blossoms and the bubbling waters of their home—a Spring Log.
It would become something that anyone would look at with a dry smile and shrug their shoulders in exasperation.
***
Long time no see. Isuna Hasekura here. This is the newest Spice & Wolf novel in about eight months. Sorry to keep you waiting. Since this is a series I've already finished, I hope to put out more at around this pace. Please stick with me at this leisurely pace.


Instruction: Given first part of the popular LightNovel spice and wolf as input, continue the story the best you can.

Input:
"She should use them. I do not need them."
He looked a little disappointed, but it was certainly out of kindness. He was taking many things into consideration, like her being able to better see scenery.
But she had been like this for hundreds of years.
Her world was nothing if not the world she saw now.
"Shall I tell you why?"
She looked up, and his face was next to hers.
"For future reference please."
She grinned.
"If I could see well, I may notice that I am not fond of your face. I would prefer not to be so disappointed after all this time."
An unpleasant frown appeared on his face.
It was enough just knowing that.
"However, I found you in this world without relying on glasses in the first place."
His eyes opened wide, and having been outdone, an irritated expression crossed his face.
"That's true, I'm not sure if I'd like it if you became even more sharp-sighted."
He was still a cute little boy if he could say things like that out of spite even now.
"Then I'll get something for Miss Selim to read, and that might be expensive glasses, though, so don't get mad, okay?"
"It depends."
"You know..."
His annoyed face was so adorable, she could not help but grin.
"Honestly...It's for work. If I gave Miss Selim glasses, she might get better at reading and writing, since she does seem eager to learn. She's patient, so I could ask her to do all the things that Col did, like writing accounts for purchases and expenditures, letters to guests, and even write letters for business in town. That would make things a lot easier for me."
"Will you not ask me?"
She could read and write all the same.
Well, she knew why he would of course ask Selim to do work and not herself.
But she asked purposefully anyway. She should be familiar with all the things on this desk. There were records of agreements they could not see. If she could see the threads that connected her and her companion when she found herself lost, then there was nothing to worry about.
He looked at her and sighed, tired.
He may have truly been exhausted.
Because—
"There's no point in me being free if you're busy."
Because her companion loved her, and he was always working his hardest.
"Heh."
She laughed at how spoiled she was, and she laughed at how strangely, terribly relieved she was.
"Heh-heh, ah-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha...! You fool, what a fool you are."
"Of course I am."
He laughed, too, and for a while they did nothing but laugh together before finally sighing in unison.
It was a strange interval of neither routine nor boredom.
"Well then, should we finish up the rest of this?"
He spoke purposefully as though he was smoothing things over.
"Mm, let us square it all away."
It felt like they had had the same conversation a thousand times in the past.
But now, she no longer feared being unable to tell them apart.
"Oh, right."
"Hmm?"
As she grasped a pen, she spoke.
"Little Col mentioned it a lot. Books and such need titles. Shall we title this one after you?"
He looked at her for a little while before a slight smile appeared on his face.
"What's the name of this house?"
"Hmm? Indeed, 'twould be the best."
Memories of her time with her companion. Memories she could never forget. She would fill her book with as many of them as she could.
A tome overflowing with happiness, like the season of life and blossoms and the bubbling waters of their home—a Spring Log.
It would become something that anyone would look at with a dry smile and shrug their shoulders in exasperation.
***
Long time no see. Isuna Hasekura here. This is the newest Spice & Wolf novel in about eight months. Sorry to keep you waiting. Since this is a series I've already finished, I hope to put out more at around this pace. Please stick with me at this leisurely pace.

Output:
I am prospering even as I write this afterword, so I am as happy as can be as the original author.
Thank you very much to all who came.
What else...I have nothing to write about...My days are spent either changing oxygen into carbon dioxide or getting excited over Friends. But Friends is good. Now I only have a little bit left, and I'm very sad that it will be over. Just recently, I cried over the story between Toki and the professor. It's amazing no matter how many times I watch it.
Now I remember. I've moved a bit away from the city, and now I commute by train. At first, I poked around on social games on my smartphone, but once I started reading, the number of books I had ballooned. I don't have the will or strength to read for two hours straight, so it was too bothersome for me to open a book, but if I just think about reading for ten or so minutes, I can get through a lot. The start is always hard to get through.
So I've been reading some popular stories I've been hearing about. They're all so good it pains me. It makes me want to work harder.
I imagined that once I read some new books, I would challenge myself with older novels that I'd never read but only heard of, but there are too many hot new books. I wonder when I'll get around to that.
And those are the sort of days I've been having.
My page is all filled now, so I'll end it here. I will see you in the next book.
Isuna Hasekura
Download all your Fav Light Novels from Just Light Novels
***
Like a sharp ax stroke, she woke with a start.
The rapid heartbeats she felt while still under the covers were likely the traces of some sort of nightmare. This had been going on for a few days now.
Selim stared at the ceiling, breathing slowly. Then she closed her eyes. You can relax here, she told herself. She was sleeping in a room that had a real roof, nestled in a bed with proper linens that bugs wouldn't crawl out from. The blankets were soft and warm. A faint, sweet smell clung to them, perhaps from perfumed oil. It was a blessed environment that would've been unthinkable during her long journey.
Through an odd bond, she had ended up living here in the hot spring village of Nyohhira at the end of her wanderings that had started in the south. The fact that she had managed to get a job at one of the more respected bathhouses, Spice and Wolf, wasn't so much good luck as it was a small miracle.
That was why when she first started working at the bathhouse, she only ever had nightmares. They were the sort of dreams where she'd do something like sneak into the storage shed of a village she'd found during her travels, hoping to finally catch a wink of sleep, only to find herself engulfed in flames instead.
Haunted by her fears and unable to believe her good fortune, Selim had continued to brace herself, suspecting that everything would come crashing down sooner or later.
That all stopped when the cold part of the year in Nyohhira, which dragged on and on in the far reaches of the northlands, finally gave way to the greener season of renewal.
If asked whether her work was tough, Selim would say it was certainly not easy, but neither was it harsh. She had taken jobs in the past from the merchant companies of large cities, the farming villages out in the countryside, and the noble villas established in bucolic lands. Working in a bathhouse was like a combination of all three.


Instruction: Given first part of the popular LightNovel spice and wolf as input, continue the story the best you can.

Input:
I am prospering even as I write this afterword, so I am as happy as can be as the original author.
Thank you very much to all who came.
What else...I have nothing to write about...My days are spent either changing oxygen into carbon dioxide or getting excited over Friends. But Friends is good. Now I only have a little bit left, and I'm very sad that it will be over. Just recently, I cried over the story between Toki and the professor. It's amazing no matter how many times I watch it.
Now I remember. I've moved a bit away from the city, and now I commute by train. At first, I poked around on social games on my smartphone, but once I started reading, the number of books I had ballooned. I don't have the will or strength to read for two hours straight, so it was too bothersome for me to open a book, but if I just think about reading for ten or so minutes, I can get through a lot. The start is always hard to get through.
So I've been reading some popular stories I've been hearing about. They're all so good it pains me. It makes me want to work harder.
I imagined that once I read some new books, I would challenge myself with older novels that I'd never read but only heard of, but there are too many hot new books. I wonder when I'll get around to that.
And those are the sort of days I've been having.
My page is all filled now, so I'll end it here. I will see you in the next book.
Isuna Hasekura
Download all your Fav Light Novels from Just Light Novels
***
Like a sharp ax stroke, she woke with a start.
The rapid heartbeats she felt while still under the covers were likely the traces of some sort of nightmare. This had been going on for a few days now.
Selim stared at the ceiling, breathing slowly. Then she closed her eyes. You can relax here, she told herself. She was sleeping in a room that had a real roof, nestled in a bed with proper linens that bugs wouldn't crawl out from. The blankets were soft and warm. A faint, sweet smell clung to them, perhaps from perfumed oil. It was a blessed environment that would've been unthinkable during her long journey.
Through an odd bond, she had ended up living here in the hot spring village of Nyohhira at the end of her wanderings that had started in the south. The fact that she had managed to get a job at one of the more respected bathhouses, Spice and Wolf, wasn't so much good luck as it was a small miracle.
That was why when she first started working at the bathhouse, she only ever had nightmares. They were the sort of dreams where she'd do something like sneak into the storage shed of a village she'd found during her travels, hoping to finally catch a wink of sleep, only to find herself engulfed in flames instead.
Haunted by her fears and unable to believe her good fortune, Selim had continued to brace herself, suspecting that everything would come crashing down sooner or later.
That all stopped when the cold part of the year in Nyohhira, which dragged on and on in the far reaches of the northlands, finally gave way to the greener season of renewal.
If asked whether her work was tough, Selim would say it was certainly not easy, but neither was it harsh. She had taken jobs in the past from the merchant companies of large cities, the farming villages out in the countryside, and the noble villas established in bucolic lands. Working in a bathhouse was like a combination of all three.

Output:
That being said, Selim was never struck by anyone while they yelled at her to work more, nor was she ever condescendingly handed a piece of moldy bread after a day of grueling hard labor. Even if she made a mistake in her work, her kind boss never got mad but instead investigated what caused the mistake in the first place and even improved her working conditions based on what he figured out.
Selim turned over onto her side, and when she shifted her gaze to the desk beside her, there she saw further proof of her boss's intelligence and kindness. A round, polished piece of curved glass glinted as it caught the moonlight filtering through a small gap in the window. It was part of a device called spectacles—carefully shaped pieces of glass that let her clearly see even the smallest of writing once she wore them over her eyes.
She had had no idea that her eyesight was not as good as others'. All this time, she had simply assumed that she ran into things, often mistook objects, and wrote words incorrectly because she was dim-witted.
When her boss and bathhouse owner Lawrence first handed the spectacles to her, she had been so happy and excited that she spent the whole night reading under the moonlight.
The night Selim received the spectacles was the same night she first wished she could work in this bathhouse forever. The exact moment was when she peered up at the golden moon through the lenses.
But...
Selim closed her eyes and sighed. She had been feeling down as of late.
Her dreams were becoming horrible ordeals again. To be specific, she had started having a different sort of nightmares from the ones she had before.
"Phew..."
Selim was fed up with her own weakness. She was sure that if her older brother saw her like this, he would no doubt scold her.
But...Selim wanted to make excuses. She buried her face in her pillow and squeezed it tight. She tried to stamp out her unease that way, but of course it didn't work.
As she continued doing her best to quiet her troubled heart, through her window, she heard footsteps and a bucket being tossed into a well.
It seemed like the first one to get up was the head of the kitchen—Hanna.
Simply preparing breakfast and making preliminary arrangements for serving the food for the rest of the day was a massive undertaking. Selim had to help her.
Just as she was about to sit up and leave her bed, she buried her face in the pillow and sighed into it one last time.
Once she had completely expelled every last bit of breath, Selim lifted her head and rose in resignation.
Today was the start of another day.
Morning duties included drawing water, cleaning, and kindling the fires—plus, bread making happened every other day when there were guests in the bathhouse and every four days during the off-seasons.
Selim had kneaded some dough, let it rest, and then headed off to the village's communal bread oven to bake the bread once the sun began to rise.
Anyone who wanted to bake bread usually brought just enough kindling to bake their own portions, but the oven would be cool at the start of the day, so whoever went first had to bring extra fuel. Anyone arriving afterward would not need as much, since the oven would already be warm. That was why the villagers drew straws to determine the order.
Of course, her boss and bathhouse owner Lawrence would never be angry with her for drawing the short stick. While that was not specifically the reason, Selim always preferred to go first. The reason was that the crowd that gathered around the oven was made up of village women who loved to gossip and pry.
Selim, who had appeared out of nowhere near the end of winter, was a prime target for them.
And Spice and Wolf was home to an inexhaustible number of other topics.
"I'm back."


Instruction: Given first part of the popular LightNovel spice and wolf as input, continue the story the best you can.

Input:
That being said, Selim was never struck by anyone while they yelled at her to work more, nor was she ever condescendingly handed a piece of moldy bread after a day of grueling hard labor. Even if she made a mistake in her work, her kind boss never got mad but instead investigated what caused the mistake in the first place and even improved her working conditions based on what he figured out.
Selim turned over onto her side, and when she shifted her gaze to the desk beside her, there she saw further proof of her boss's intelligence and kindness. A round, polished piece of curved glass glinted as it caught the moonlight filtering through a small gap in the window. It was part of a device called spectacles—carefully shaped pieces of glass that let her clearly see even the smallest of writing once she wore them over her eyes.
She had had no idea that her eyesight was not as good as others'. All this time, she had simply assumed that she ran into things, often mistook objects, and wrote words incorrectly because she was dim-witted.
When her boss and bathhouse owner Lawrence first handed the spectacles to her, she had been so happy and excited that she spent the whole night reading under the moonlight.
The night Selim received the spectacles was the same night she first wished she could work in this bathhouse forever. The exact moment was when she peered up at the golden moon through the lenses.
But...
Selim closed her eyes and sighed. She had been feeling down as of late.
Her dreams were becoming horrible ordeals again. To be specific, she had started having a different sort of nightmares from the ones she had before.
"Phew..."
Selim was fed up with her own weakness. She was sure that if her older brother saw her like this, he would no doubt scold her.
But...Selim wanted to make excuses. She buried her face in her pillow and squeezed it tight. She tried to stamp out her unease that way, but of course it didn't work.
As she continued doing her best to quiet her troubled heart, through her window, she heard footsteps and a bucket being tossed into a well.
It seemed like the first one to get up was the head of the kitchen—Hanna.
Simply preparing breakfast and making preliminary arrangements for serving the food for the rest of the day was a massive undertaking. Selim had to help her.
Just as she was about to sit up and leave her bed, she buried her face in the pillow and sighed into it one last time.
Once she had completely expelled every last bit of breath, Selim lifted her head and rose in resignation.
Today was the start of another day.
Morning duties included drawing water, cleaning, and kindling the fires—plus, bread making happened every other day when there were guests in the bathhouse and every four days during the off-seasons.
Selim had kneaded some dough, let it rest, and then headed off to the village's communal bread oven to bake the bread once the sun began to rise.
Anyone who wanted to bake bread usually brought just enough kindling to bake their own portions, but the oven would be cool at the start of the day, so whoever went first had to bring extra fuel. Anyone arriving afterward would not need as much, since the oven would already be warm. That was why the villagers drew straws to determine the order.
Of course, her boss and bathhouse owner Lawrence would never be angry with her for drawing the short stick. While that was not specifically the reason, Selim always preferred to go first. The reason was that the crowd that gathered around the oven was made up of village women who loved to gossip and pry.
Selim, who had appeared out of nowhere near the end of winter, was a prime target for them.
And Spice and Wolf was home to an inexhaustible number of other topics.
"I'm back."

Output:
When she placed the basket filled with fresh bread onto the kitchen counter, the stout woman stirring the pot with a ladle, Hanna, glanced over at her.
"Why, hello. Good work out there."
Hanna peeled back the cloth over the basket and nodded, satisfied. Selim was relieved to see that she had baked the bread to perfection this time as well. Her nose was better than the average person's, so she could generally tell what was going on in the oven without looking. The only reason she would ever burn the bread would be because she lacked the skill and was too slow to take it out of the oven.
"I'm always impressed, Miss Wolf. It's not undercooked, and it's not too brown. We could put you to work in a bakery right away."
"Only if I'm seeing to the timing of when to take the bread out of the oven. I might be able to keep track of baking by the scent, but I haven't the strength to knead so much dough," Selim said with a troubled smile, and Hanna returned it with a grin of her own.
At a glance, Selim seemed like any other young woman in the village, but that was an illusion.
Her true form was a white wolf, a resident of the forest who would live longer than any human.
"Right. You need to put on a little more weight, Selim. Your breakfast is there."
Selim's arm probably was not even half as thick as Hanna's.
There was plenty of work in the bathhouse that involved manual labor, and if possible, she wanted to be sturdier for those duties.
That being said, Selim wasn't much of a big eater, either because she had spent a long time on the road subsisting on the bare minimum or because that was her natural preference. She usually didn't have much of an appetite in the morning, either. Still, sitting on the kitchen table was some bread made of wheat and rye accompanying a serving of vegetable soup and some salted meat.
Selim brought over a chair and grabbed a spoon—Hanna had gone through the trouble of cooking, after all, and eating properly could be considered part of her job—but then she stopped.
As she thought about how she needed to eat quickly and move on to her work for the day, a hand reached out to her from behind.
"I mixed boiled goat's milk with wine, then stirred in some honey and breadcrumbs. You'd prefer that, right?"
Selim turned around; it was Hanna.
"Th-thank you..."
The mixture was much like a drink given to sick children, but it was also undoubtedly nutritious.
And its sweet aroma eased her tense throat.
"You've been out of sorts for a while now."
Hanna spoke with a tired smile as Selim sipped the sweet, rich goat's milk.
Selim unconsciously tensed her shoulders, and Hanna laughed, shaking with mirth.
"I'm not criticizing you. You're diligent, Selim. You think too much sometimes."
Hanna put her hands on her hips and emitted a tired sigh.
Today was not the first day that Hanna had been worried about her.
"But..."
As Selim was about to speak, two people noisily entered the kitchen. One was a tall and lanky young man and the other a short and stout middle-aged man. The first held a sieve filled with vegetables gathered from the mountain and the second, a basket filled with beans. It was clear they had been preparing ingredients.
"Miss Hanna, we finished bringing in the vegetables and shelling the beans...Oh, good morning, Miss Selim."
"G-good morning..."
With the wooden bowl of goat's milk in hand, Selim shrank down and slinked toward a corner of the kitchen.
"Wow, the bread smells great."
As the shorter man idly commented on the aroma, the taller one promptly put away the sieve and basket they had carried in.
"Miss Hanna, what should we do next? We turned the cheese over earlier and scrubbed the surface with salt water. The cider cooled overnight, so maybe we should leave it by the fireside for a while."
"Thanks, you two. Maybe I'll have you make some jerky for the owners," Hanna responded magnanimously and retrieved a large blade from a shelf.
Selim watched nervously, but Hanna spoke boldly.


Instruction: Given first part of the popular LightNovel spice and wolf as input, continue the story the best you can.

Input:
When she placed the basket filled with fresh bread onto the kitchen counter, the stout woman stirring the pot with a ladle, Hanna, glanced over at her.
"Why, hello. Good work out there."
Hanna peeled back the cloth over the basket and nodded, satisfied. Selim was relieved to see that she had baked the bread to perfection this time as well. Her nose was better than the average person's, so she could generally tell what was going on in the oven without looking. The only reason she would ever burn the bread would be because she lacked the skill and was too slow to take it out of the oven.
"I'm always impressed, Miss Wolf. It's not undercooked, and it's not too brown. We could put you to work in a bakery right away."
"Only if I'm seeing to the timing of when to take the bread out of the oven. I might be able to keep track of baking by the scent, but I haven't the strength to knead so much dough," Selim said with a troubled smile, and Hanna returned it with a grin of her own.
At a glance, Selim seemed like any other young woman in the village, but that was an illusion.
Her true form was a white wolf, a resident of the forest who would live longer than any human.
"Right. You need to put on a little more weight, Selim. Your breakfast is there."
Selim's arm probably was not even half as thick as Hanna's.
There was plenty of work in the bathhouse that involved manual labor, and if possible, she wanted to be sturdier for those duties.
That being said, Selim wasn't much of a big eater, either because she had spent a long time on the road subsisting on the bare minimum or because that was her natural preference. She usually didn't have much of an appetite in the morning, either. Still, sitting on the kitchen table was some bread made of wheat and rye accompanying a serving of vegetable soup and some salted meat.
Selim brought over a chair and grabbed a spoon—Hanna had gone through the trouble of cooking, after all, and eating properly could be considered part of her job—but then she stopped.
As she thought about how she needed to eat quickly and move on to her work for the day, a hand reached out to her from behind.
"I mixed boiled goat's milk with wine, then stirred in some honey and breadcrumbs. You'd prefer that, right?"
Selim turned around; it was Hanna.
"Th-thank you..."
The mixture was much like a drink given to sick children, but it was also undoubtedly nutritious.
And its sweet aroma eased her tense throat.
"You've been out of sorts for a while now."
Hanna spoke with a tired smile as Selim sipped the sweet, rich goat's milk.
Selim unconsciously tensed her shoulders, and Hanna laughed, shaking with mirth.
"I'm not criticizing you. You're diligent, Selim. You think too much sometimes."
Hanna put her hands on her hips and emitted a tired sigh.
Today was not the first day that Hanna had been worried about her.
"But..."
As Selim was about to speak, two people noisily entered the kitchen. One was a tall and lanky young man and the other a short and stout middle-aged man. The first held a sieve filled with vegetables gathered from the mountain and the second, a basket filled with beans. It was clear they had been preparing ingredients.
"Miss Hanna, we finished bringing in the vegetables and shelling the beans...Oh, good morning, Miss Selim."
"G-good morning..."
With the wooden bowl of goat's milk in hand, Selim shrank down and slinked toward a corner of the kitchen.
"Wow, the bread smells great."
As the shorter man idly commented on the aroma, the taller one promptly put away the sieve and basket they had carried in.
"Miss Hanna, what should we do next? We turned the cheese over earlier and scrubbed the surface with salt water. The cider cooled overnight, so maybe we should leave it by the fireside for a while."
"Thanks, you two. Maybe I'll have you make some jerky for the owners," Hanna responded magnanimously and retrieved a large blade from a shelf.
Selim watched nervously, but Hanna spoke boldly.

Output:
Her provocative grin suited the stout woman well.
The two men who had come to the kitchen exchanged glances and smiled wryly.
"No, ma'am, of course not. There certainly was a time when I was new to it, though."
"Ha-ha-ha, you make it sound like you've been thoroughly seasoned by the world."
"What are you trying to say, hmm?"
As the two men casually traded banter, they took armfuls of deer meat and the large knife out the back of the kitchen.
After seeing them off, Hanna turned around to Selim.
"That's the right attitude to have, if you ask me. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't want any unnecessary concern, either."
***
Selim looked up at Hanna with wide, rounded eyes but, in the end, dropped her gaze back down to the bowl in her hand.
That pair from earlier was one of the reasons why she had been feeling down lately.
It wasn't that she particularly disliked them or anything. She simply was not sure how she should interact with them.
That was because Selim was the embodiment of a wolf, and they were the embodiments of a rabbit and a sheep.
"I might be a bird who's fine with only nuts and fruits for my meals, but I won't lose to the mistress when it comes to food."
The proud Hanna also wasn't human and neither was the bathhouse master Lawrence's wife, Holo. She was a wolf, much like Selim, and she had once been known as the wisewolf, a legendary being with a massive, towering stature brimming with dignity. Selim owed her a great debt, and since Holo and her husband asked for nothing in return, Selim decided she would have worked for them until her body was ground into dust, even if Holo had been a mouse.
Still, there was no doubt that Selim found comfort in both of them being wolves.
Then eight other nonhumans came along.
At first, they simply visited the bathhouse as guests—but for some reason would end up helping out for a little while. Yet, they were all horses, rabbits, sheep, and birds—all people who ate greens, nuts, berries.
More than just being a wolf, there were plenty of other ways Selim found herself incompatible with the others. For one thing, they did not eat meat during meals, yet she, Holo, and the master, Lawrence, ate their kin.
She knew that these people were well traveled and worldly. They would not be shocked or resent others for such a thing. Otherwise, they never would've come to the bathhouse where Holo the Wisewolf was rumored to be in the first place.
In which case, asking them to make meat jerky and handing over an ax as Hanna had done shouldn't have been any different from asking for fish jerky.
Of course, it wasn't like Selim didn't want to work with them. As a rule, bathhouses were busy, and it was dizzying when guests were visiting during the summer. The coming winter would be peak season here in Nyohhira, too. If anything, she was thankful for the extra sets of helping hands.
However, the reason Selim shrugged in front of Hanna was because of something else.
"Well, I guess you don't exactly look like someone who's got a knack for giving orders."
When Hanna smiled wryly, Selim sighed. It was the same as all the other things that followed her to bed. She had completely forgotten about the contents of the bowl she was still holding while murmuring quietly.
"What are Lady Holo and Mr. Lawrence thinking...?"
It went without saying that she adored Holo and Lawrence. They had saved her when she was just about to be turned adrift from lack of planning and bad luck after coming all the way north on nothing but a faint sliver of hope. And even if they had not, their personalities were enough for her to love them on their own merits.
However, perhaps it was because they had lived a real fairy tale—a human merchant and wisewolf went on an epic journey, hand in hand, and came to open a bathhouse here in the northlands in the end. There was something fantastical about them, and they had announced something so far-fetched and out of the blue one day.


Instruction: Given first part of the popular LightNovel spice and wolf as input, continue the story the best you can.

Input:
Her provocative grin suited the stout woman well.
The two men who had come to the kitchen exchanged glances and smiled wryly.
"No, ma'am, of course not. There certainly was a time when I was new to it, though."
"Ha-ha-ha, you make it sound like you've been thoroughly seasoned by the world."
"What are you trying to say, hmm?"
As the two men casually traded banter, they took armfuls of deer meat and the large knife out the back of the kitchen.
After seeing them off, Hanna turned around to Selim.
"That's the right attitude to have, if you ask me. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't want any unnecessary concern, either."
***
Selim looked up at Hanna with wide, rounded eyes but, in the end, dropped her gaze back down to the bowl in her hand.
That pair from earlier was one of the reasons why she had been feeling down lately.
It wasn't that she particularly disliked them or anything. She simply was not sure how she should interact with them.
That was because Selim was the embodiment of a wolf, and they were the embodiments of a rabbit and a sheep.
"I might be a bird who's fine with only nuts and fruits for my meals, but I won't lose to the mistress when it comes to food."
The proud Hanna also wasn't human and neither was the bathhouse master Lawrence's wife, Holo. She was a wolf, much like Selim, and she had once been known as the wisewolf, a legendary being with a massive, towering stature brimming with dignity. Selim owed her a great debt, and since Holo and her husband asked for nothing in return, Selim decided she would have worked for them until her body was ground into dust, even if Holo had been a mouse.
Still, there was no doubt that Selim found comfort in both of them being wolves.
Then eight other nonhumans came along.
At first, they simply visited the bathhouse as guests—but for some reason would end up helping out for a little while. Yet, they were all horses, rabbits, sheep, and birds—all people who ate greens, nuts, berries.
More than just being a wolf, there were plenty of other ways Selim found herself incompatible with the others. For one thing, they did not eat meat during meals, yet she, Holo, and the master, Lawrence, ate their kin.
She knew that these people were well traveled and worldly. They would not be shocked or resent others for such a thing. Otherwise, they never would've come to the bathhouse where Holo the Wisewolf was rumored to be in the first place.
In which case, asking them to make meat jerky and handing over an ax as Hanna had done shouldn't have been any different from asking for fish jerky.
Of course, it wasn't like Selim didn't want to work with them. As a rule, bathhouses were busy, and it was dizzying when guests were visiting during the summer. The coming winter would be peak season here in Nyohhira, too. If anything, she was thankful for the extra sets of helping hands.
However, the reason Selim shrugged in front of Hanna was because of something else.
"Well, I guess you don't exactly look like someone who's got a knack for giving orders."
When Hanna smiled wryly, Selim sighed. It was the same as all the other things that followed her to bed. She had completely forgotten about the contents of the bowl she was still holding while murmuring quietly.
"What are Lady Holo and Mr. Lawrence thinking...?"
It went without saying that she adored Holo and Lawrence. They had saved her when she was just about to be turned adrift from lack of planning and bad luck after coming all the way north on nothing but a faint sliver of hope. And even if they had not, their personalities were enough for her to love them on their own merits.
However, perhaps it was because they had lived a real fairy tale—a human merchant and wisewolf went on an epic journey, hand in hand, and came to open a bathhouse here in the northlands in the end. There was something fantastical about them, and they had announced something so far-fetched and out of the blue one day.

Output:
That was the reason why Selim barely ate, kept having nightmares, and did nothing but sigh as of late.
One morning, after Selim had woken up, ready to work hard to serve her bosses, Holo had informed her of a change.
"Listen, we shall be leaving on a journey until spring or summer next year. Will you run the bathhouse for us while we are away? Not to worry—you will have eight new pairs of hands to help!"
The very ones who saved Selim and her companions after they all drifted north were none other than Holo and Lawrence.
She couldn't say no to any request of theirs.
"Well, I guess it would be a shock for anyone, suddenly being told you're in charge of a bathhouse. Those two live in their own fairy tale, after all." Hanna's words were a slight comfort. This was her way of being considerate. "Still, they're leaving you in charge because from their perspective, there's no problem. Sir Lawrence is a merchant who's mastered the ways of the human world, and Lady Holo goes without saying—she's the wisewolf. Of course, she acts cute in front of Sir Lawrence, but...she's sharp. They're not the kind to ask for anything unreasonable."
Logically, Selim understood what Hanna was saying.
She was probably right.
But there was something she could not quite swallow.
"But I just can't shake the feeling that they have the wrong idea...that they're overestimating me..."
"Really? I don't think it can be considered anything less than good fortune that you've started working here."
Selim looked to Hanna, who shrugged and started counting with her fingers.
"Look, you work from dawn till dusk without complaint, rarely taking breaks. Moreover, you can read and write. Even work involving numbers can be trusted to you. That's not something I can do. I can't count past ten."
Selim doubted that was true, but Hanna never budged from the kitchen, so perhaps she had the temperament of an artisan who wanted to focus on only one thing.
"Plus, you settled in as Col's replacement in the blink of an eye, taking over all that difficult writing stuff, no?"
Selim did not know Col personally, but she could tell by the neat writings he left behind that he was methodical, capable, and likely a very kind young man.
"That's...only because they generously taught me how to do bookkeeping and put in orders..."
"No, no, you heard how Col was. He was a pushover when it came to both Lady Holo and young Myuri. They sometimes made him add unnecessary extras to our orders. Their things used to occupy a whole shelf here in the kitchen just to keep them hidden from Sir Lawrence, and boy, did that bug me. All of that came to a grinding halt when you took charge, Miss Selim."
Selim had never met Lawrence and Holo's only daughter, Myuri. From the stories she heard, Myuri seemed to be a wolf pup in her prime as a prankster, but that just went to show she was truly Holo's daughter.
To Selim's understanding, once she had taken charge of the books, all that sly business came to an end. Since Selim was a fellow wolf, there were appearances that had to be upheld.
"And to top it all off, you can make candles. You can do the mending. You know how to handle cheese, and you can brew liquor."
"We lived with meager means while constantly on the move, so that's all just..."
"What're you talking about? I sometimes chat with the cooks in the other bathhouses, and they're all full of chumps who won't even peel a single onion."
Is that how it is?
Selim was weak, so she tried to compensate by working as hard as she could, all so she wouldn't be a burden on her older brother and the others.
She had never considered it extraordinary, so to be complimented for it was like listening to fish talk at the bottom of a lake.
"Anyway, those two figured that the bathhouse would be fine in your hands, Miss Selim."
"Sigh..."
Selim was still not convinced, doubting she would be able to keep the bathhouse running properly.