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

Input:
"I am sorry my sister has caused you such trouble."
Selim's older brother, as the leader of the pack, took one step forward as he spoke. His manner and speech were stiff and formal.
These people were so clumsy that, though they had powers that surpassed any human, they struggled to earn enough to eat as mercenaries. And once, her older brother had said something toward Holo that was much too straightforward, courting her displeasure. Though she knew she was mostly the reason for this, it was hard for him to shake the bad first impression.
"She is not any trouble at all. Selim is a hard worker."
"But she is in your care now. For you to indulge her so—"
"Are you saying this is a point of honor for your bloodline?"
There were six in the pack including Selim, but they were all small. Even if they did surround Holo, a fight with them would be over in a flash.
But that is perhaps why they placed so much emphasis on honor.
"...With all due respect."
Selim's brother awkwardly hung his head.
Holo sighed—what a job he has done.
"On my companion's orders, I am simply here to search for new springs. Since we have come so close to her home, we merely took the opportunity to pay a visit along the way."
"B-but—"
"So we may come to visit occasionally. There is no need for such drastic good-byes. I shan't mind if you take your time when we come."
Due to how honest he was, it seemed he could not argue when faced with such pretext.
He looked back and forth between the ground and his sister several times before he finally faced Holo in defeat.
"...As you wish."
"Good. Then shall we soon call it a day?"
After she finished speaking, Selim came to her side without hesitation. She could tell by the air around her that whatever had been causing her gloom was lifted.
Until recently, these siblings had never been separated, living and growing up as one. Her family may have not been as prepared to send Selim off to work alone at the bathhouse as they thought.
It was not exactly for that reason, but it was because she knew this that they would come again soon. As she and the young white wolf were about to head back to the bathhouse, Holo suddenly stopped.
"Ah, I forgot to mention."
A shock ran among Selim's friends.
"You shall not dig up this spring without my knowing. Let me do as I please."
***
"Or is this water you found?"
"N-no."
"Then I shall be using this for a while."
This time they actually set off, traversing the dark woods at a brisk pace.
Selim followed silently. Holo still felt a bit of stiffness, or perhaps it was fighting spirit, around the younger wolf, but she was getting used to the bathhouse, and once her family's lodgings were settled, she might relax more. Selim was well-behaved, but she had a strong heart that was evident in her profile even now.
And Holo was simply excited to make that spring hers. Once it was finished, she could jump in during the daytime in her wolf form without any hesitation even during the busiest seasons.
She would keep it a secret from her companion for a while.
When she imagined that, she was a bit thrilled for some reason.
"Lady Holo."
Selim spoke again when they finally arrived at the bathhouse.
"Thank you."
Selim gave her thanks quickly, after returning to her human form. Though she was slender, her body was different from that of Holo's daughter, and she quickly covered it with clothes she had prepared beforehand.
It did not seem like she considered Holo's meddling as a bother, so Holo only shrugged.
"I do not mind as I also have found something to look forward to. But you must sleep now or else work tomorrow will be a pain."

Output:
Though her companion was completely useless on his own, before she had a chance to notice, he had the power to bring all sorts of people together.
He was not the person who stood shining at the front of battle, but he had a good character for rallying the pack. Confident in her ability to judge others, she returned to the bedroom.
She did wonder at least once if he would be awake waiting for her, but there her companion was, sleeping soundly.
She crawled into the bed and just stuck her cold hands and feet on him.
He opened his eyes in surprise, and after he groaned for a moment, he greeted her.
"Urrghhh...Welcome back."
"I'm home."
Holo clung to him and closed her eyes, drifting off into sleep in an instant.
Possibly due to the village of Nyohhira's typically festive atmosphere, the Festival of Saint Alzeuri was rather quiet and simple affair. They did not even construct a huge statue and march around with it in a pompous parade. They converted the communal shed into an impromptu church and the villagers gathered there to offer prayers, followed by a feast afterward. The most festival-like part of it all was how every single candle inside the shed was lit.
In the festivals of larger towns, associations competed to see who could donate the largest and greatest quantity of candles in order to display their wealth, but here, the number of candles they lit was a prayer for how hot the bathwaters would be. Of course, vain people could be found anywhere, but if the large candles prepared in service of their vanity were offered to warm the springs that bubbled up in the village, then people welcomed it. There were more than a few merchantlike characters who were fine with virtually anything, as long as others' money worked in their benefit.
Holo, who was once called a god and oversaw the harvest of wheat in a village, could only shrug her shoulders in response to that truth of the human world. It was Selim's first time seeing the festival, so she watched with great interest, but Holo paid the ceremony no mind and smacked her lips appreciatively over the food.
The Festival of Saint Alzeuri was a marker that signified the guests for the next season would start arriving. Though it was not nearly as busy as winter, there were still quite a number of summer patrons. A tense excitement ran through the air but also a feeling of tedium at the coming of another noisy, lively season.
"Hello! Is the master in?"
An energetic voice came from the entrance to the house. It had been three days since the start of the festival.
Though he did not quite seem to be a herald, it still likely signaled that someone of high rank was on their way. It was surely a servant sent to give a preliminary announcement.
"Abbot Harivel will be arriving tomorrow morning. Is everything in order?"
"We've been waiting for you. Everything is prepared."
The servant was satisfied with Holo's companion's response, then happily took the rare opportunity to soak in the baths without any hesitation before his master came.
Holo was ready for the coming battle, but there was an odd expression on her companion's face.
"What is it?"
This Harivel came every year. He always behaved well and paid generously during his stay. Myuri was excited every year to see how long that long, white beard of his had grown.
Even her companion was usually happy to see him. Their guest did not generally inspire such facial contortions.
"Hmm? Oh no, it just feels like he's a bit early this year."
"Early? Perhaps he simply could not wait."
This was a hot spring village on the threshold between paradise and the mortal world. Those who came here to escape the fetters of worldly affairs always looked like they were going off to hell when they left.
"That would be nice, but..."
He may have been nervous that it was now finally time to part with his lazy days.
Holo felt proud when she thought that, as she expected, he was no good without this wisewolf by his side.


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

Input:
Though her companion was completely useless on his own, before she had a chance to notice, he had the power to bring all sorts of people together.
He was not the person who stood shining at the front of battle, but he had a good character for rallying the pack. Confident in her ability to judge others, she returned to the bedroom.
She did wonder at least once if he would be awake waiting for her, but there her companion was, sleeping soundly.
She crawled into the bed and just stuck her cold hands and feet on him.
He opened his eyes in surprise, and after he groaned for a moment, he greeted her.
"Urrghhh...Welcome back."
"I'm home."
Holo clung to him and closed her eyes, drifting off into sleep in an instant.
Possibly due to the village of Nyohhira's typically festive atmosphere, the Festival of Saint Alzeuri was rather quiet and simple affair. They did not even construct a huge statue and march around with it in a pompous parade. They converted the communal shed into an impromptu church and the villagers gathered there to offer prayers, followed by a feast afterward. The most festival-like part of it all was how every single candle inside the shed was lit.
In the festivals of larger towns, associations competed to see who could donate the largest and greatest quantity of candles in order to display their wealth, but here, the number of candles they lit was a prayer for how hot the bathwaters would be. Of course, vain people could be found anywhere, but if the large candles prepared in service of their vanity were offered to warm the springs that bubbled up in the village, then people welcomed it. There were more than a few merchantlike characters who were fine with virtually anything, as long as others' money worked in their benefit.
Holo, who was once called a god and oversaw the harvest of wheat in a village, could only shrug her shoulders in response to that truth of the human world. It was Selim's first time seeing the festival, so she watched with great interest, but Holo paid the ceremony no mind and smacked her lips appreciatively over the food.
The Festival of Saint Alzeuri was a marker that signified the guests for the next season would start arriving. Though it was not nearly as busy as winter, there were still quite a number of summer patrons. A tense excitement ran through the air but also a feeling of tedium at the coming of another noisy, lively season.
"Hello! Is the master in?"
An energetic voice came from the entrance to the house. It had been three days since the start of the festival.
Though he did not quite seem to be a herald, it still likely signaled that someone of high rank was on their way. It was surely a servant sent to give a preliminary announcement.
"Abbot Harivel will be arriving tomorrow morning. Is everything in order?"
"We've been waiting for you. Everything is prepared."
The servant was satisfied with Holo's companion's response, then happily took the rare opportunity to soak in the baths without any hesitation before his master came.
Holo was ready for the coming battle, but there was an odd expression on her companion's face.
"What is it?"
This Harivel came every year. He always behaved well and paid generously during his stay. Myuri was excited every year to see how long that long, white beard of his had grown.
Even her companion was usually happy to see him. Their guest did not generally inspire such facial contortions.
"Hmm? Oh no, it just feels like he's a bit early this year."
"Early? Perhaps he simply could not wait."
This was a hot spring village on the threshold between paradise and the mortal world. Those who came here to escape the fetters of worldly affairs always looked like they were going off to hell when they left.
"That would be nice, but..."
He may have been nervous that it was now finally time to part with his lazy days.
Holo felt proud when she thought that, as she expected, he was no good without this wisewolf by his side.

Output:
Unlike real war, no one would die if she made an error.
It was partially a joke, but Selim seemed quite relieved.
The following day, a familiar elderly priest arrived at the bathhouse.
"Oh, Sir Lawrence. Thank you for having me again this year."
The old priest had a strong physique even in his old age, and though he was bald, a white beard overflowed from his chin, which made him look even bigger. He embraced her companion and, seeing Holo, embraced her, too, with the smile of a gentle old man.
Finding her face buried deep in that fuzzy beard, she gained a slightly better understanding of why her companion and little Col always wanted to do the same with her tail.
"Is your daughter out hunting now?"
"Well..."
As he heard the story of Myuri and little Col, Harivel's face quickly flushed red.
"Oh, that's exactly it! That's what it is!"
Then, as though his own excited voice surprised himself, he placed his hand on his chest and whipped back and forth to look between his attendant and Holo's companion.
"Erm...Father? Why not come inside for now? You must be tired after your journey."
"Ah yes, you have my thanks. But oh, I had wondered if that was the case when I heard the rumors, but oh my..."
The large, bearded elderly priest walked energetically to the dining hall and sat in a chair, still buzzing with excitement.
Their guest was restless even in his seat, but when he saw Selim bring him a drink, he showed her a smile; he stood out even among their most amiable patrons.
"You've hired a new girl, I see. Thank you."
He stated his gratitude, took several sips, then he sniffed and looked at Holo's companion.
"The young priest I've heard so much about from the Kingdom of Winfiel who's causing the commotion is Mr. Col, then."
Though he had given the details of their activities in a letter, it was rather hard to know what little Col was up to when Spice and Wolf was nestled so deep in the mountains. And little Col always governed himself with humility and modesty.
She exchanged glances with her companion. It seemed the journey was not as insignificant as his letter had made it sound.
"He's translated the scripture into the vernacular, forced an indulgent archbishop to repent, and even had the stubborn folk from the rural areas, who are sometimes under suspicion of heresy, awaken to a new, righteous faith. Oh, I'll be, when I first met him, he was still only this big!"
His thick hands motioned to a height just above his own head.
Little Col grew up quickly, and when he surpassed Holo in height, she recalled how she was proud of him but also a bit sad.
"Is...Col causing problems for you?"
Her companion's grave expression did not seem like an act.
Little Col was certainly angry with the Church organization, which had the world under their thumb, and how rotten they had become; he had ventured out from the mountains in order to fix that. And those who came to this bathhouse were high-ranking members of that very Church.
"Oh no, of course not. If there are those who feel like he's causing problems, it means they must also be ashamed of themselves."
The old priest spoke decisively. The serviceman who was Holo's companion was clearly relieved, but there was something within the old priest's beard that was not so easily satisfied.
"I must say, however."
As he uneasily rubbed his thick beard, the old priest glanced at his attendant, and he retrieved something odd from his wicker chest. It was a huge bundle of rather dusty parchment.
"It is certain that many people heeded their conscience and followed the teachings of God. Even I, who is still unknown, think so, even though my discipline is not perfect. That being said, that does not mean there are no problems."
"O-oh."
There was such a large pile of parchment on the dining table that they could hardly see one another's faces.
Holo did not know why the old priest had come to the bathhouse so early, but it seems the reason was within the parchment.


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

Input:
Unlike real war, no one would die if she made an error.
It was partially a joke, but Selim seemed quite relieved.
The following day, a familiar elderly priest arrived at the bathhouse.
"Oh, Sir Lawrence. Thank you for having me again this year."
The old priest had a strong physique even in his old age, and though he was bald, a white beard overflowed from his chin, which made him look even bigger. He embraced her companion and, seeing Holo, embraced her, too, with the smile of a gentle old man.
Finding her face buried deep in that fuzzy beard, she gained a slightly better understanding of why her companion and little Col always wanted to do the same with her tail.
"Is your daughter out hunting now?"
"Well..."
As he heard the story of Myuri and little Col, Harivel's face quickly flushed red.
"Oh, that's exactly it! That's what it is!"
Then, as though his own excited voice surprised himself, he placed his hand on his chest and whipped back and forth to look between his attendant and Holo's companion.
"Erm...Father? Why not come inside for now? You must be tired after your journey."
"Ah yes, you have my thanks. But oh, I had wondered if that was the case when I heard the rumors, but oh my..."
The large, bearded elderly priest walked energetically to the dining hall and sat in a chair, still buzzing with excitement.
Their guest was restless even in his seat, but when he saw Selim bring him a drink, he showed her a smile; he stood out even among their most amiable patrons.
"You've hired a new girl, I see. Thank you."
He stated his gratitude, took several sips, then he sniffed and looked at Holo's companion.
"The young priest I've heard so much about from the Kingdom of Winfiel who's causing the commotion is Mr. Col, then."
Though he had given the details of their activities in a letter, it was rather hard to know what little Col was up to when Spice and Wolf was nestled so deep in the mountains. And little Col always governed himself with humility and modesty.
She exchanged glances with her companion. It seemed the journey was not as insignificant as his letter had made it sound.
"He's translated the scripture into the vernacular, forced an indulgent archbishop to repent, and even had the stubborn folk from the rural areas, who are sometimes under suspicion of heresy, awaken to a new, righteous faith. Oh, I'll be, when I first met him, he was still only this big!"
His thick hands motioned to a height just above his own head.
Little Col grew up quickly, and when he surpassed Holo in height, she recalled how she was proud of him but also a bit sad.
"Is...Col causing problems for you?"
Her companion's grave expression did not seem like an act.
Little Col was certainly angry with the Church organization, which had the world under their thumb, and how rotten they had become; he had ventured out from the mountains in order to fix that. And those who came to this bathhouse were high-ranking members of that very Church.
"Oh no, of course not. If there are those who feel like he's causing problems, it means they must also be ashamed of themselves."
The old priest spoke decisively. The serviceman who was Holo's companion was clearly relieved, but there was something within the old priest's beard that was not so easily satisfied.
"I must say, however."
As he uneasily rubbed his thick beard, the old priest glanced at his attendant, and he retrieved something odd from his wicker chest. It was a huge bundle of rather dusty parchment.
"It is certain that many people heeded their conscience and followed the teachings of God. Even I, who is still unknown, think so, even though my discipline is not perfect. That being said, that does not mean there are no problems."
"O-oh."
There was such a large pile of parchment on the dining table that they could hardly see one another's faces.
Holo did not know why the old priest had come to the bathhouse so early, but it seems the reason was within the parchment.

Output:
His long preliminary statement was a request for him to keep a secret.
At any rate, Holo's companion glanced at the pile of parchment out of the corner of his eye, and he was perplexed.
"...Are they...permits?"
"Indeed. This includes our monastery, our daughter monastery, grandchild monastery, and their daughter monastery."
Holo once heard that the point of monasteries building other monasteries was similar to a master craftsman ordering all his apprentices to build additional workshops. Both took a percentage of those profits.
Piled on top of the table was a vast treasure firmly in the hands of the old priest.
"These permits are...well, they certainly seem like too much for us if you look closely. God commands us to share what we have. There are also Mr. Col's activities, and I've heard there is now the tendency to re-recognize God's true teachings, and..."
He faltered, his conscience, vanity, and pride all struggling with one another.
"In other words, you wish to lift a weight from your shoulders?"
"Yes! That's right! To lift a weight! Why, thank you, Master Lawrence!"
The former merchant that he was changed his manner of speech from a moral matter of right or wrong to one that suggested he simply wished to rid himself of the burden weighing him down.
"However, these were permits supplied by our monastery and our dependent institutions, originally for the salvation of our souls. We cannot just simply give them up, either...But then, I remembered that you were once a famous merchant, Master Lawrence..."
Holo could see that her companion was translating the old priest's words in his head.
"So you wish for me to give this to someone who needs this the most?"
"Oh, God! Bless this wise bathhouse master!"
It was as though the Father wished to make the first move in selling his treasure before he was deemed greedy but nevertheless wanted the highest price possible for it. This annoyed Holo slightly, but her companion's expression as he exchanged a firm handshake with the old priest suggested it was not as bad as she thought, so there must have been a way for them to benefit from it somehow. In any case, if they profited from this and she could have more food at dinner, then she had no argument.
She extended her hand and plucked up a piece of parchment and saw grandiloquent designs and rows of picturesque letters.
"Is this similar to what you once had?"
She showed it to Selim, who stood next to her. Selim and her family, in a land far south, obtained a certain permit for a mountain and came all the way to the north.
"It's similar, but...ours was not as fancy as this."
The young wolf whispered softly to Holo. That meant there were likely unimaginable things written down on this one piece of paper, and there was a whole mountain of more just like it.
Holo did not know that much about the human world, but the majority of its inhabitants were poor people who lived day to day.
No matter what it was, keeping everything for oneself was not good.
Her thoughts got that far, but then she corrected herself in her heart.
She counted everything else separately from the love her companion gave her. Her daughter, Myuri, should be satisfied with what she could wring out from little Col.
"And of course, I will look into the contents of these permits and see if they may be of any use."
"Thank you so much."
The old priest spoke solemnly, as though praying to God, and then suddenly continued.
"So may I go ahead into the baths?"
This was a village in the space between nirvana and the mortal world.
A place to brush off the dust of earthly life.
She should have expected it, but her companion had become totally engrossed in the permits.
When he had time during the day, he would make short trips back to the bedroom and roll open some parchment, and after supper, he would quickly return to the bedroom and do the same. She noticed he had been waking up rather early, too, and of course, he was rolling open parchment.


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

Input:
His long preliminary statement was a request for him to keep a secret.
At any rate, Holo's companion glanced at the pile of parchment out of the corner of his eye, and he was perplexed.
"...Are they...permits?"
"Indeed. This includes our monastery, our daughter monastery, grandchild monastery, and their daughter monastery."
Holo once heard that the point of monasteries building other monasteries was similar to a master craftsman ordering all his apprentices to build additional workshops. Both took a percentage of those profits.
Piled on top of the table was a vast treasure firmly in the hands of the old priest.
"These permits are...well, they certainly seem like too much for us if you look closely. God commands us to share what we have. There are also Mr. Col's activities, and I've heard there is now the tendency to re-recognize God's true teachings, and..."
He faltered, his conscience, vanity, and pride all struggling with one another.
"In other words, you wish to lift a weight from your shoulders?"
"Yes! That's right! To lift a weight! Why, thank you, Master Lawrence!"
The former merchant that he was changed his manner of speech from a moral matter of right or wrong to one that suggested he simply wished to rid himself of the burden weighing him down.
"However, these were permits supplied by our monastery and our dependent institutions, originally for the salvation of our souls. We cannot just simply give them up, either...But then, I remembered that you were once a famous merchant, Master Lawrence..."
Holo could see that her companion was translating the old priest's words in his head.
"So you wish for me to give this to someone who needs this the most?"
"Oh, God! Bless this wise bathhouse master!"
It was as though the Father wished to make the first move in selling his treasure before he was deemed greedy but nevertheless wanted the highest price possible for it. This annoyed Holo slightly, but her companion's expression as he exchanged a firm handshake with the old priest suggested it was not as bad as she thought, so there must have been a way for them to benefit from it somehow. In any case, if they profited from this and she could have more food at dinner, then she had no argument.
She extended her hand and plucked up a piece of parchment and saw grandiloquent designs and rows of picturesque letters.
"Is this similar to what you once had?"
She showed it to Selim, who stood next to her. Selim and her family, in a land far south, obtained a certain permit for a mountain and came all the way to the north.
"It's similar, but...ours was not as fancy as this."
The young wolf whispered softly to Holo. That meant there were likely unimaginable things written down on this one piece of paper, and there was a whole mountain of more just like it.
Holo did not know that much about the human world, but the majority of its inhabitants were poor people who lived day to day.
No matter what it was, keeping everything for oneself was not good.
Her thoughts got that far, but then she corrected herself in her heart.
She counted everything else separately from the love her companion gave her. Her daughter, Myuri, should be satisfied with what she could wring out from little Col.
"And of course, I will look into the contents of these permits and see if they may be of any use."
"Thank you so much."
The old priest spoke solemnly, as though praying to God, and then suddenly continued.
"So may I go ahead into the baths?"
This was a village in the space between nirvana and the mortal world.
A place to brush off the dust of earthly life.
She should have expected it, but her companion had become totally engrossed in the permits.
When he had time during the day, he would make short trips back to the bedroom and roll open some parchment, and after supper, he would quickly return to the bedroom and do the same. She noticed he had been waking up rather early, too, and of course, he was rolling open parchment.

Output:
"Can you read?"
With a straight face, her companion shoved some parchment toward her. It seemed he was rather enjoying himself, so she could not refuse him and the bags under his eyes. More than anything, she wanted him to finish his work and come back under the covers; the night was still cold during this season.
And so she read the contents of the parchment, sorting each permit sheet by region and purpose. There were many place-names she was unfamiliar with, but she found them rather easily, searching for them on the map in the bathhouse. That map was something that Myuri, who yearned to go on a big adventure around the world, had pestered every guest to draw out, wondering where they all had come from. It was something her rather easily bored daughter carried on for a long time, and disregarding its accuracy of the details, it had become a rather rich map once put together.
The permits were interesting in and of themselves.
Though she worked earnestly, there were of course difficulties.
"...Anyway, there are much too many."
As she recounted the work from the past few days, Holo placed her front paws together firmly on the ground, flattened her shoulders down, and assumed a posture where she bent her back forward. Then, she planted her back paws on the ground, lowered her behind, and stretched.
Finally, she shook out her body and felt like her blood finally started circulating again.
Sitting in a chair and doing nothing but reading brought about a different sort of weariness than working on mending.
After she had shifted into her wolf form outside the bathhouse, her mood greatly improved.
"That fool is having far too much fun."
She sighed, and her breath still puffed white in the cold.
"I am sorry for having you help us."
Selim, who was bending over, scratching her behind with her nose, immediately adjusted her posture and bowed her head deeply.
"Oh no...I am sorry I have not been much help..."
For once, her words were not a show of simple humility.
"I do not mind. You have enough work during the day. I only ask you help occasionally. Were you to be enthusiastic about this, I would earn more work as well."
Selim smiled slightly and gazed up at the waning moon.
People did not walk about in the woods without a full moon, but in their wolf forms, Holo and Selim could rely on the scent of the trees and the earth to get far enough.
"But I'm learning a lot. I can truly feel how large the world is."
"Hmm? I heard you all were once in a town so far south that my companion had never even heard of it."
She should learn how big the world was with her own feet. When Holo spoke with that in mind, Selim smiled weakly.
"It was the sort of journey where we ate the grass on the side of the road, captured wild rabbits, and merely walked along while staring down at our feet. We couldn't think of anything but putting our right foot out, then our left foot next. When we arrived at the northlands from the south, the only thing we noticed was that the color of the roads was slightly different."
She may have been modest in some regards, but when Holo looked back on her own journey, there were similarities.
Though she had lived for so long, she felt as though she had been looking at the same things the entire time.
The growing wheat and the clouds floating across the sky.
That all suddenly changed only after she met her companion.
"I, too, spent all my years looking at a similar sight."
Selim smiled weakly.
Then together, they ran out into the mountains. They were going to meet Selim's family, but it was not for her sake. She had grown used to her work, and though she would still get discouraged when she made mistakes, Holo no longer needed to worry about her. And so when they occasionally left the bathhouse at night to go beyond the mountains, it was simply for work.
"The smell of sharpened metal unsettles me."


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

Input:
"Can you read?"
With a straight face, her companion shoved some parchment toward her. It seemed he was rather enjoying himself, so she could not refuse him and the bags under his eyes. More than anything, she wanted him to finish his work and come back under the covers; the night was still cold during this season.
And so she read the contents of the parchment, sorting each permit sheet by region and purpose. There were many place-names she was unfamiliar with, but she found them rather easily, searching for them on the map in the bathhouse. That map was something that Myuri, who yearned to go on a big adventure around the world, had pestered every guest to draw out, wondering where they all had come from. It was something her rather easily bored daughter carried on for a long time, and disregarding its accuracy of the details, it had become a rather rich map once put together.
The permits were interesting in and of themselves.
Though she worked earnestly, there were of course difficulties.
"...Anyway, there are much too many."
As she recounted the work from the past few days, Holo placed her front paws together firmly on the ground, flattened her shoulders down, and assumed a posture where she bent her back forward. Then, she planted her back paws on the ground, lowered her behind, and stretched.
Finally, she shook out her body and felt like her blood finally started circulating again.
Sitting in a chair and doing nothing but reading brought about a different sort of weariness than working on mending.
After she had shifted into her wolf form outside the bathhouse, her mood greatly improved.
"That fool is having far too much fun."
She sighed, and her breath still puffed white in the cold.
"I am sorry for having you help us."
Selim, who was bending over, scratching her behind with her nose, immediately adjusted her posture and bowed her head deeply.
"Oh no...I am sorry I have not been much help..."
For once, her words were not a show of simple humility.
"I do not mind. You have enough work during the day. I only ask you help occasionally. Were you to be enthusiastic about this, I would earn more work as well."
Selim smiled slightly and gazed up at the waning moon.
People did not walk about in the woods without a full moon, but in their wolf forms, Holo and Selim could rely on the scent of the trees and the earth to get far enough.
"But I'm learning a lot. I can truly feel how large the world is."
"Hmm? I heard you all were once in a town so far south that my companion had never even heard of it."
She should learn how big the world was with her own feet. When Holo spoke with that in mind, Selim smiled weakly.
"It was the sort of journey where we ate the grass on the side of the road, captured wild rabbits, and merely walked along while staring down at our feet. We couldn't think of anything but putting our right foot out, then our left foot next. When we arrived at the northlands from the south, the only thing we noticed was that the color of the roads was slightly different."
She may have been modest in some regards, but when Holo looked back on her own journey, there were similarities.
Though she had lived for so long, she felt as though she had been looking at the same things the entire time.
The growing wheat and the clouds floating across the sky.
That all suddenly changed only after she met her companion.
"I, too, spent all my years looking at a similar sight."
Selim smiled weakly.
Then together, they ran out into the mountains. They were going to meet Selim's family, but it was not for her sake. She had grown used to her work, and though she would still get discouraged when she made mistakes, Holo no longer needed to worry about her. And so when they occasionally left the bathhouse at night to go beyond the mountains, it was simply for work.
"The smell of sharpened metal unsettles me."

Output:
They either must have been laboring quite hard or did not understand how to use them, but they were having a hard time because the ones they had were growing dull quickly, so Holo and the others sharpened the tools for them. Of course, they were not sharpening them at the bathhouse but commissioning a craftsman in the village for the work; in exchange, Selim's family had been sharing a portion of the game they caught in the mountains.
Until recently, Myuri and little Col hunted for the bathhouse, and their yield comprised the majority of their meat supply. Once those two had gone, they either had to buy meat from a hunter in one of the nearby communities or from town at the bottom of the mountain, but Holo's stingy companion insisted that they be frugal when it came to meat. In the end, there was a reason why this wisewolf could not do the hunting.
The animals of the forest held Holo in veneration, perhaps because she could not completely hide her wisewolf majesty. They occasionally depended on her to mediate territorial disputes and to care for animals that escaped, injured, from hunters.
It felt wrong to slaughter them. If she did go out to hunt, the deer would all line up, lie on their sides, and, with sad expressions, ask her to eat them.
On the other hand, Myuri and little Col faced the animals as humans with bows and traps. They both understood that it was a battle of wits and power between hunter and the hunted. Of course, when the animals of the forest came for a dip in the baths, they shared a tacit understanding with one another that it was a truce.
And so, their exchange with Selim's family was a lifesaver.
"Oh, 'tis bear today."
They always met with Selim's family by the spring Holo was in the middle of making on the second mountain.
Today, lying there was a magnificently large bear with pitch-black fur.
"We wished to exist peacefully together, but..."
Selim's brother and the rest of her family were waiting for them in their human forms, and he spoke with a pained expression.
They intruded on the mountain and were trying to attract humans to make money, so it was more or less inevitable that they would clash with the residents of the forest. It was no different for the animals that lived here. Even this large bear, before establishing his territory, most certainly took it by force from someone else.
But even though they were aware of all those details, it still pained them.
Though it annoyed Holo slightly, it also pleased her. That sort of sincerity would certainly serve them well in an inn for pilgrims.
"At the very least, please enjoy his meat and use everything, down to the bone. May we have the tools? We'll handle the bear, as always."
"Mm-hmm. Thank you."
Holo glanced at Selim, and she had her family remove the baggage she carried on her back, then shook her head and body to fix the lie of her fur.
Watching from the corner of her eye as they each took up tools and set about flaying the bear, she put her feet into the ill-shaped spring, still in her wolf form.
The water vein really was quite far underground, because even after a bit of digging, there was still only a little water. Not only that, it was bubbling up onto plain, flat ground, so the piddling amount was spread out wastefully thin, its temperature much too cool.
There was a proper reason as to why Nyohhira thrived in the place that it did now.
It did seem like she would finally get everything out of the way, but in the end, it appeared unlikely the situation would take any favorable turns. With what she had, only the bottom of her stomach would get wet if she tried to lie down.
"It might spring up all at once if I dig somewhere."
She walked along in the water, then suddenly mud swirled up and became white and cloudy. She dug at it with her claws, searching for the water hole, but she could not find anything.
"Do even your claws come up empty-handed, Lady Holo?"


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

Input:
They either must have been laboring quite hard or did not understand how to use them, but they were having a hard time because the ones they had were growing dull quickly, so Holo and the others sharpened the tools for them. Of course, they were not sharpening them at the bathhouse but commissioning a craftsman in the village for the work; in exchange, Selim's family had been sharing a portion of the game they caught in the mountains.
Until recently, Myuri and little Col hunted for the bathhouse, and their yield comprised the majority of their meat supply. Once those two had gone, they either had to buy meat from a hunter in one of the nearby communities or from town at the bottom of the mountain, but Holo's stingy companion insisted that they be frugal when it came to meat. In the end, there was a reason why this wisewolf could not do the hunting.
The animals of the forest held Holo in veneration, perhaps because she could not completely hide her wisewolf majesty. They occasionally depended on her to mediate territorial disputes and to care for animals that escaped, injured, from hunters.
It felt wrong to slaughter them. If she did go out to hunt, the deer would all line up, lie on their sides, and, with sad expressions, ask her to eat them.
On the other hand, Myuri and little Col faced the animals as humans with bows and traps. They both understood that it was a battle of wits and power between hunter and the hunted. Of course, when the animals of the forest came for a dip in the baths, they shared a tacit understanding with one another that it was a truce.
And so, their exchange with Selim's family was a lifesaver.
"Oh, 'tis bear today."
They always met with Selim's family by the spring Holo was in the middle of making on the second mountain.
Today, lying there was a magnificently large bear with pitch-black fur.
"We wished to exist peacefully together, but..."
Selim's brother and the rest of her family were waiting for them in their human forms, and he spoke with a pained expression.
They intruded on the mountain and were trying to attract humans to make money, so it was more or less inevitable that they would clash with the residents of the forest. It was no different for the animals that lived here. Even this large bear, before establishing his territory, most certainly took it by force from someone else.
But even though they were aware of all those details, it still pained them.
Though it annoyed Holo slightly, it also pleased her. That sort of sincerity would certainly serve them well in an inn for pilgrims.
"At the very least, please enjoy his meat and use everything, down to the bone. May we have the tools? We'll handle the bear, as always."
"Mm-hmm. Thank you."
Holo glanced at Selim, and she had her family remove the baggage she carried on her back, then shook her head and body to fix the lie of her fur.
Watching from the corner of her eye as they each took up tools and set about flaying the bear, she put her feet into the ill-shaped spring, still in her wolf form.
The water vein really was quite far underground, because even after a bit of digging, there was still only a little water. Not only that, it was bubbling up onto plain, flat ground, so the piddling amount was spread out wastefully thin, its temperature much too cool.
There was a proper reason as to why Nyohhira thrived in the place that it did now.
It did seem like she would finally get everything out of the way, but in the end, it appeared unlikely the situation would take any favorable turns. With what she had, only the bottom of her stomach would get wet if she tried to lie down.
"It might spring up all at once if I dig somewhere."
She walked along in the water, then suddenly mud swirled up and became white and cloudy. She dug at it with her claws, searching for the water hole, but she could not find anything.
"Do even your claws come up empty-handed, Lady Holo?"

Output:
The bear had been skinned in an instant and was now being divided into parts with a large hatchet.
Regardless of her skinny arms, Selim was apparently quite adept at skinning, likely because of how skillful her hands were.
"If the flow of water has always been weak, then digging it up will create nothing but a lukewarm puddle."
Now, as Selim stood in the spring in her human form, the water only reached up to her ankles.
It might be faster to simply search for a different spring.
"Lady Holo, it's all finished."
She turned around at the voice, saw the bear pelt drying on a tree branch, and realized the meat was already wrapped in large, smooth leaves that grew in swamps. If they took the fur back to the bathhouse, then the townspeople would grow suspicious as to who went hunting and when, so that was the only thing they left Selim's family to take care of, and they would sell it in town when they went down the mountain. They were very close to what could be called Nyohhira's business competitors, so they could not maintain their relationship publicly.
"Then put it in the sack. Should I carry it back in my mouth, it may disappear before we arrive."
"Because it is quite greasy. Understood."
As they smiled and began to pack it away, Holo spoke to them.
"Ah, be sure to take your own portion. Game is to be enjoyed by all."
They were silent and ended up giving all the meat to Holo. It irritated her slightly, but their stiff formality was also rather adorable.
Selim had carried the baggage on the way here, and Holo carried it on the way home.
Holo lay on her stomach, and as Selim's family adjusted the bag filled with meat on her back, she gazed at the pathetic puddle of water. She had looked forward to making a bath in secret, then telling her companion once she was finished, but it seemed she would have to start this project over from the beginning.
It was not that she was unsatisfied with the baths currently available at the house. Neither was she so desperate for one that she could visit freely in her wolf form.
Despite that, she realized how utterly disappointed she was as she stared at the puddle of water on the forest floor. She was also a bit surprised at how disheartened she felt.
"...Holo? Lady Holo?"
"Mm."
She realized that Selim and the others were all looking at her. They must have called to her countless times.
"Apologies. I was thinking."
"About the bath? If so, then we can search the mountains for you."
What a fool I am, she thought to herself.
"There is no need. I simply wish to fool around with my claws and fangs once in a while. Digging holes and such."
"Is that so?"
"Well then, we shall return home before it gets too late. You have work tomorrow as well, no?"
She stood, and the cloth bag was indeed tied firmly around her neck with rope. She could guess by the weight on her back that there was quite a large amount inside. Hanna would surely be glad, but when she considered how they would have to process the meat by drying and salting it, she thought it a bother.
"Oh, may I ask one thing?"
"What is it?"
"Do you have any requests for the next hunt? This time was unusual in that it was bear, but we were wondering if you tire of the usual deer."
She was impressed—they were an attentive bunch.
"Let me see."
What came to mind were smaller animals, like pheasant and squirrel. Smaller game did not have much meat on them, but they were deliciously loaded with flavor.
While she did not mind how hardworking the family was, they were not very adaptable. They did not seem to be adept at making traps for smaller animals, so she refrained from mentioning it.
"No, I am fine with deer. My companion is also quite grateful he does not have to order any deliveries."
"Very well."
Selim's older brother and the rest of her family bowed their heads, like foot soldiers seeing off a king. With a wry smile, Holo looked toward Selim before they ran off.


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

Input:
The bear had been skinned in an instant and was now being divided into parts with a large hatchet.
Regardless of her skinny arms, Selim was apparently quite adept at skinning, likely because of how skillful her hands were.
"If the flow of water has always been weak, then digging it up will create nothing but a lukewarm puddle."
Now, as Selim stood in the spring in her human form, the water only reached up to her ankles.
It might be faster to simply search for a different spring.
"Lady Holo, it's all finished."
She turned around at the voice, saw the bear pelt drying on a tree branch, and realized the meat was already wrapped in large, smooth leaves that grew in swamps. If they took the fur back to the bathhouse, then the townspeople would grow suspicious as to who went hunting and when, so that was the only thing they left Selim's family to take care of, and they would sell it in town when they went down the mountain. They were very close to what could be called Nyohhira's business competitors, so they could not maintain their relationship publicly.
"Then put it in the sack. Should I carry it back in my mouth, it may disappear before we arrive."
"Because it is quite greasy. Understood."
As they smiled and began to pack it away, Holo spoke to them.
"Ah, be sure to take your own portion. Game is to be enjoyed by all."
They were silent and ended up giving all the meat to Holo. It irritated her slightly, but their stiff formality was also rather adorable.
Selim had carried the baggage on the way here, and Holo carried it on the way home.
Holo lay on her stomach, and as Selim's family adjusted the bag filled with meat on her back, she gazed at the pathetic puddle of water. She had looked forward to making a bath in secret, then telling her companion once she was finished, but it seemed she would have to start this project over from the beginning.
It was not that she was unsatisfied with the baths currently available at the house. Neither was she so desperate for one that she could visit freely in her wolf form.
Despite that, she realized how utterly disappointed she was as she stared at the puddle of water on the forest floor. She was also a bit surprised at how disheartened she felt.
"...Holo? Lady Holo?"
"Mm."
She realized that Selim and the others were all looking at her. They must have called to her countless times.
"Apologies. I was thinking."
"About the bath? If so, then we can search the mountains for you."
What a fool I am, she thought to herself.
"There is no need. I simply wish to fool around with my claws and fangs once in a while. Digging holes and such."
"Is that so?"
"Well then, we shall return home before it gets too late. You have work tomorrow as well, no?"
She stood, and the cloth bag was indeed tied firmly around her neck with rope. She could guess by the weight on her back that there was quite a large amount inside. Hanna would surely be glad, but when she considered how they would have to process the meat by drying and salting it, she thought it a bother.
"Oh, may I ask one thing?"
"What is it?"
"Do you have any requests for the next hunt? This time was unusual in that it was bear, but we were wondering if you tire of the usual deer."
She was impressed—they were an attentive bunch.
"Let me see."
What came to mind were smaller animals, like pheasant and squirrel. Smaller game did not have much meat on them, but they were deliciously loaded with flavor.
While she did not mind how hardworking the family was, they were not very adaptable. They did not seem to be adept at making traps for smaller animals, so she refrained from mentioning it.
"No, I am fine with deer. My companion is also quite grateful he does not have to order any deliveries."
"Very well."
Selim's older brother and the rest of her family bowed their heads, like foot soldiers seeing off a king. With a wry smile, Holo looked toward Selim before they ran off.

Output:
"We were wondering if you tire of the usual deer."
It suddenly occurred to her that just maybe she was so disappointed over the worthless puddle of water because she was bored of life in the bathhouse.
As she thought Impossible to herself, her drifting off as she plucked buds from wild vegetables and imagining wild things in her drowsy state sprung fresh from her memory.
Life in the bathhouse was not dissimilar from life in the wheat fields in that she repeated the same things over and over again. What was it that she was hoping to see from Selim in the first place? She was honestly hoping the girl would stir up some trouble.
Anyone could get used to anything. She understood that. She knew that quite well, but that was different from being satisfied with it. Whether or not she could stand it was also another question.
As she told herself she was not that unsatisfied with her current life, something about that was just her own insistence. There was no way today was much more exciting than the day before.
As these thoughts churned in her head, her legs moved forward and carried her all the way to the main house. It was the same as time passing as she idled away.
Selim returned to her human form, and as the young girl undid the bagful of meat hanging from her neck, Holo started to feel restless. If she spent all her days idly like this, she wondered if she would end up like that puddle. She wondered if, even though she would be warm, she would not be a lake and not a river but a place that others could only get their feet wet.
And then, in decades, when everyone was gone, her wet fur would chill her and she would sneeze alone.
She had spent over ten years living in the bathhouse, and she was confident her relationship with her companion had deepened so much that it irritated her. But at the same time, nothing was new anymore. Ever since Myuri was born, every day was like being swept up in a storm, but that only daughter of hers had left the bathhouse with little Col.
She could foresee that their lives from now on would be a repetition of the same things over and over.
Could she recall what she did yesterday, the day before, and the day before that? Would anything happen from here on out that would stay in her memory if she looked back in a hundred years? She grew anxious there was not enough happening if she hoped to bathe in plentiful warm memories.
As she thought about this and that, she tossed the meat hanging from her neck into an underground ice room on the bathhouse grounds. The mounds of snow in the winter could not keep in the summer, but she could enjoy the ice as much as she wanted if they stuffed it in the ice room. It could be called the wisdom of an extraordinary person, but even the squirrels in the woods fervently buried their nuts in the fall.
And she should be doing the same, should she not?
With sleepy, bleary eyes, Selim returned to her room.
Holo saw her off, then returned to her own.
She placed a hand on the door, and faint candlelight was visible through the uneven gaps in the wood. Breathing through her nose, she could smell her companion, the unique scent of tallow burning, parchment, and the smell of ink that reminded her of little Col.
Behind the door, her companion was eagerly sending a pen flying across the page, a blanket draped over his hunched back.
"Oh, welcome back."
He noticed her and turned around, and though he looked tired, he seemed to be rather enjoying himself.
But that familiar face, too, was a bit different from what it had been when she first met him. It was not just the light of the candle; she could most certainly make out the age on his face. Though life in the bathhouse was an endless repetition of the same things, the flow of time was not.
And baths that once had plenty of water, too, would one day dry out, become a puddle that could only wet one's feet, and even that would eventually vanish.


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

Input:
"We were wondering if you tire of the usual deer."
It suddenly occurred to her that just maybe she was so disappointed over the worthless puddle of water because she was bored of life in the bathhouse.
As she thought Impossible to herself, her drifting off as she plucked buds from wild vegetables and imagining wild things in her drowsy state sprung fresh from her memory.
Life in the bathhouse was not dissimilar from life in the wheat fields in that she repeated the same things over and over again. What was it that she was hoping to see from Selim in the first place? She was honestly hoping the girl would stir up some trouble.
Anyone could get used to anything. She understood that. She knew that quite well, but that was different from being satisfied with it. Whether or not she could stand it was also another question.
As she told herself she was not that unsatisfied with her current life, something about that was just her own insistence. There was no way today was much more exciting than the day before.
As these thoughts churned in her head, her legs moved forward and carried her all the way to the main house. It was the same as time passing as she idled away.
Selim returned to her human form, and as the young girl undid the bagful of meat hanging from her neck, Holo started to feel restless. If she spent all her days idly like this, she wondered if she would end up like that puddle. She wondered if, even though she would be warm, she would not be a lake and not a river but a place that others could only get their feet wet.
And then, in decades, when everyone was gone, her wet fur would chill her and she would sneeze alone.
She had spent over ten years living in the bathhouse, and she was confident her relationship with her companion had deepened so much that it irritated her. But at the same time, nothing was new anymore. Ever since Myuri was born, every day was like being swept up in a storm, but that only daughter of hers had left the bathhouse with little Col.
She could foresee that their lives from now on would be a repetition of the same things over and over.
Could she recall what she did yesterday, the day before, and the day before that? Would anything happen from here on out that would stay in her memory if she looked back in a hundred years? She grew anxious there was not enough happening if she hoped to bathe in plentiful warm memories.
As she thought about this and that, she tossed the meat hanging from her neck into an underground ice room on the bathhouse grounds. The mounds of snow in the winter could not keep in the summer, but she could enjoy the ice as much as she wanted if they stuffed it in the ice room. It could be called the wisdom of an extraordinary person, but even the squirrels in the woods fervently buried their nuts in the fall.
And she should be doing the same, should she not?
With sleepy, bleary eyes, Selim returned to her room.
Holo saw her off, then returned to her own.
She placed a hand on the door, and faint candlelight was visible through the uneven gaps in the wood. Breathing through her nose, she could smell her companion, the unique scent of tallow burning, parchment, and the smell of ink that reminded her of little Col.
Behind the door, her companion was eagerly sending a pen flying across the page, a blanket draped over his hunched back.
"Oh, welcome back."
He noticed her and turned around, and though he looked tired, he seemed to be rather enjoying himself.
But that familiar face, too, was a bit different from what it had been when she first met him. It was not just the light of the candle; she could most certainly make out the age on his face. Though life in the bathhouse was an endless repetition of the same things, the flow of time was not.
And baths that once had plenty of water, too, would one day dry out, become a puddle that could only wet one's feet, and even that would eventually vanish.

Output:
Had she truly been prepared for this, she should have been able to enjoy everything until the end without any doubts.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
She did not respond to his perplexed words, closed the distance between them with long strides, and embraced him from behind.
He did seem a bit surprised, but he must have thought it was one of her typical whims.
He did not say anything in particular as he reached back with both hands and stroked her head.
"You're really cold. You going to take a dip in the baths before going to sleep?"
"...Mm. You smell quite sour."
"Huh?"
Though he probably was not that lazy, her companion hurriedly sniffed his own sleeve. He smelled rather sour from the scent of the ink. Of course, she had purposefully said it in a way so he would misunderstand.
"So, the baths, yes?"
She let him go and took a step back.
Ever since coming to Nyohhira, where they could enter the baths at their leisure, he, too, began to keep himself tidy and clean. When he had lived in the wagon on the road, he had maintained nothing but a rough sense of cleanliness.
Though he was concerned about his body odor even now, he took the time to lean back in his chair, grab the fur blanket on his shoulders, stand, and stretch.
"Ooohhh...Nngh. Hahhh...I used to be able to work all night long once."
He said it like a joke, but it was true.
And then one day, he would not open his eyes again.
What was she to do about that?
She felt herself freezing before nature's providence, but at the very least, he was here now before her eyes.
There was so much she could do.
First, she would not think too hard or too deeply about it and enjoy her time with him. She had forgotten this general rule when she first began her journey with him, and it had brought on quite a lot of trouble.
"We have received bear meat from Selim's friends. Why not use that for energy?"
"Oh, bear, huh? I don't know when it was, but I heard that the best part of a bear is its paw. I wonder if that's true."
"The paw? How does one eat that?"
As they chatted about such frivolous things, they made their way toward the baths.
But as they walked together, she had to be careful not to grip his hand too tightly.
Though she was supposed to be happy, she was bitter that this was not enough for her.
And again the next day, she was plucking buds from wild vegetables.
She would be doing this work until the snow disappeared from the mountains.
She always considered this work to be a chore, but now she also thought that she should not be using her time for this.
She needed to stock up on as many memories as she could, so that she would be ready for the cold, harsh days alone that waited for her.
In order to do that, she needed to make events, the ingredients of memory, bubble up like hot springs.
"Are you in a fight with the Sir?"
Hanna asked this casually, looking at the buds in the basket.
"F-for what reason do you ask?"
Holo was so shaken that her wisewolf name could have practically wept.
Hanna shrugged.
"Your plucking is a bit sloppy."
"...We are not fighting."
If she had a bigger body, she could easily hide the things in her heart, but so much ended up seeping out from this little frame.
And it was true that they were not fighting, so she found herself annoyed at Hanna's exasperated expression.
"More importantly, there is a pile of bear meat in the middle of the ice room. Please add plenty of meat to the pot today."
She mentioned the news as she was about to head off to her next work, then she stopped.
"Do not say anything odd to him. We are not fighting, after all."
Though that made it seem like they really were fighting, having her companion be attentive to her in that sort of way was a bit different from what she had hoped.
She was not unhappy with their current situation. She just wanted to spend time naturally, having fun.
"Okay, very well. Understood."
Sometimes, she wondered if it was Hanna that was the one who was twice her age.


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

Input:
Had she truly been prepared for this, she should have been able to enjoy everything until the end without any doubts.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
She did not respond to his perplexed words, closed the distance between them with long strides, and embraced him from behind.
He did seem a bit surprised, but he must have thought it was one of her typical whims.
He did not say anything in particular as he reached back with both hands and stroked her head.
"You're really cold. You going to take a dip in the baths before going to sleep?"
"...Mm. You smell quite sour."
"Huh?"
Though he probably was not that lazy, her companion hurriedly sniffed his own sleeve. He smelled rather sour from the scent of the ink. Of course, she had purposefully said it in a way so he would misunderstand.
"So, the baths, yes?"
She let him go and took a step back.
Ever since coming to Nyohhira, where they could enter the baths at their leisure, he, too, began to keep himself tidy and clean. When he had lived in the wagon on the road, he had maintained nothing but a rough sense of cleanliness.
Though he was concerned about his body odor even now, he took the time to lean back in his chair, grab the fur blanket on his shoulders, stand, and stretch.
"Ooohhh...Nngh. Hahhh...I used to be able to work all night long once."
He said it like a joke, but it was true.
And then one day, he would not open his eyes again.
What was she to do about that?
She felt herself freezing before nature's providence, but at the very least, he was here now before her eyes.
There was so much she could do.
First, she would not think too hard or too deeply about it and enjoy her time with him. She had forgotten this general rule when she first began her journey with him, and it had brought on quite a lot of trouble.
"We have received bear meat from Selim's friends. Why not use that for energy?"
"Oh, bear, huh? I don't know when it was, but I heard that the best part of a bear is its paw. I wonder if that's true."
"The paw? How does one eat that?"
As they chatted about such frivolous things, they made their way toward the baths.
But as they walked together, she had to be careful not to grip his hand too tightly.
Though she was supposed to be happy, she was bitter that this was not enough for her.
And again the next day, she was plucking buds from wild vegetables.
She would be doing this work until the snow disappeared from the mountains.
She always considered this work to be a chore, but now she also thought that she should not be using her time for this.
She needed to stock up on as many memories as she could, so that she would be ready for the cold, harsh days alone that waited for her.
In order to do that, she needed to make events, the ingredients of memory, bubble up like hot springs.
"Are you in a fight with the Sir?"
Hanna asked this casually, looking at the buds in the basket.
"F-for what reason do you ask?"
Holo was so shaken that her wisewolf name could have practically wept.
Hanna shrugged.
"Your plucking is a bit sloppy."
"...We are not fighting."
If she had a bigger body, she could easily hide the things in her heart, but so much ended up seeping out from this little frame.
And it was true that they were not fighting, so she found herself annoyed at Hanna's exasperated expression.
"More importantly, there is a pile of bear meat in the middle of the ice room. Please add plenty of meat to the pot today."
She mentioned the news as she was about to head off to her next work, then she stopped.
"Do not say anything odd to him. We are not fighting, after all."
Though that made it seem like they really were fighting, having her companion be attentive to her in that sort of way was a bit different from what she had hoped.
She was not unhappy with their current situation. She just wanted to spend time naturally, having fun.
"Okay, very well. Understood."
Sometimes, she wondered if it was Hanna that was the one who was twice her age.

Output:
"Oh, would you prefer garlic or ginger in the pot today?"
Holo seriously pondered the question for a moment and answered, "Garlic."
Next, she made her way to the back of the house.
As she got closer, the peculiar smell of raw meat enveloped her. It was a mysterious thing that it smelled good enough to make her drool when it was being cooked but so horrendous when boiling in a pot.
Behind the building was Selim, stirring the pot, an expression on her face that suggested she had given up on everything.
"Come now, I have come to help. Go breathe some fresh air and take a rest."
"Lady Hol...Guh, cough, cough—"
Selim spoke through her nose, and her eyes were even watering. She said a bit of thanks, handed the mixing stick to Holo, and unsteadily walked off. Her sense of smell was much better since she was young, so it must have been even more painful for her.
They were separating the plentiful fat from the bear meat with heat for the making of tallow candles.
After she mixed it well, there was still the job of picking out fragments of meat and bone that got into the mixture. If they were lazy about that, then that would cause extra smoke and foul odors once it was used as a candle. Her lungs would be thick with the smell of fat for a while.
It was typically little Col and his dull sense of smell or Myuri, as a punishment after she pulled a prank, who did this work, but now that they were shorthanded, there was no one left to do it except herself and Selim.
She added wood to the fire, mixed the pot, and scooped out some debris that caught her eye.
The first time she did this, she was so impressed to see this was how candles were made that she did not really mind the smell, but now it was just another part of her routine. It was nothing but a bother.
If they had to make candles, they should make the better smelling beeswax ones.
While she daydreamed about the nice scent of honey, she also had to struggle against the reality before her. This was not the only work she had to do.
"Hmm...Once the candles are done, next is checking on the rest of the cheese."
Spring was also the season of cheese. In preparation for the next season, they had to place an order with a craftsman specifying what kind of cheese they wanted. There were many types: Some kept for a long time and others went bad quickly; there were ones that were easy to make and ones that were more complicated.
They also had to consider the fact that it was not something they would only place on their own dinner table but also serve to patrons.
As their first guest came much earlier than they expected, they had to place their order quickly, otherwise they would have to serve leftover cheese from the winter. The guests would immediately notice any inferior substitutes, and it would spawn rumors.
"And then...ah yes. Once we order the cheese, I must braid thread from the wool we received. Then I must mend all the frayed ones, like that and that and that...Ah! Foolish Myuri lost the weights for the threads, did she not?! Were there replacements in the shed...? Oh yes...I must clean the shed, otherwise bugs will start breeding by summer...'Tis only the bugs that do not listen to me...What should I do about that? Oohh..."
As she swirled the fat around in the pot, so many thoughts swirled around in her head.
She missed living on the road, relaxing and napping in the bed of the wagon.
No, she was only this busy because little Col and Myuri were gone.
On the other hand, she was now painfully aware of the sort of degenerate lifestyle she had been living.
This was what it meant to have no time to worry, but she shuddered when she thought about life continuing in the same manner forever.
She did not hate work itself.
She only wanted to avoid suddenly realizing that she had let all the good times pass.
"I must do something about this..."
That sad, trickling basin she had found in the mountains was stuck in the back of her mind.


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

Input:
"Oh, would you prefer garlic or ginger in the pot today?"
Holo seriously pondered the question for a moment and answered, "Garlic."
Next, she made her way to the back of the house.
As she got closer, the peculiar smell of raw meat enveloped her. It was a mysterious thing that it smelled good enough to make her drool when it was being cooked but so horrendous when boiling in a pot.
Behind the building was Selim, stirring the pot, an expression on her face that suggested she had given up on everything.
"Come now, I have come to help. Go breathe some fresh air and take a rest."
"Lady Hol...Guh, cough, cough—"
Selim spoke through her nose, and her eyes were even watering. She said a bit of thanks, handed the mixing stick to Holo, and unsteadily walked off. Her sense of smell was much better since she was young, so it must have been even more painful for her.
They were separating the plentiful fat from the bear meat with heat for the making of tallow candles.
After she mixed it well, there was still the job of picking out fragments of meat and bone that got into the mixture. If they were lazy about that, then that would cause extra smoke and foul odors once it was used as a candle. Her lungs would be thick with the smell of fat for a while.
It was typically little Col and his dull sense of smell or Myuri, as a punishment after she pulled a prank, who did this work, but now that they were shorthanded, there was no one left to do it except herself and Selim.
She added wood to the fire, mixed the pot, and scooped out some debris that caught her eye.
The first time she did this, she was so impressed to see this was how candles were made that she did not really mind the smell, but now it was just another part of her routine. It was nothing but a bother.
If they had to make candles, they should make the better smelling beeswax ones.
While she daydreamed about the nice scent of honey, she also had to struggle against the reality before her. This was not the only work she had to do.
"Hmm...Once the candles are done, next is checking on the rest of the cheese."
Spring was also the season of cheese. In preparation for the next season, they had to place an order with a craftsman specifying what kind of cheese they wanted. There were many types: Some kept for a long time and others went bad quickly; there were ones that were easy to make and ones that were more complicated.
They also had to consider the fact that it was not something they would only place on their own dinner table but also serve to patrons.
As their first guest came much earlier than they expected, they had to place their order quickly, otherwise they would have to serve leftover cheese from the winter. The guests would immediately notice any inferior substitutes, and it would spawn rumors.
"And then...ah yes. Once we order the cheese, I must braid thread from the wool we received. Then I must mend all the frayed ones, like that and that and that...Ah! Foolish Myuri lost the weights for the threads, did she not?! Were there replacements in the shed...? Oh yes...I must clean the shed, otherwise bugs will start breeding by summer...'Tis only the bugs that do not listen to me...What should I do about that? Oohh..."
As she swirled the fat around in the pot, so many thoughts swirled around in her head.
She missed living on the road, relaxing and napping in the bed of the wagon.
No, she was only this busy because little Col and Myuri were gone.
On the other hand, she was now painfully aware of the sort of degenerate lifestyle she had been living.
This was what it meant to have no time to worry, but she shuddered when she thought about life continuing in the same manner forever.
She did not hate work itself.
She only wanted to avoid suddenly realizing that she had let all the good times pass.
"I must do something about this..."
That sad, trickling basin she had found in the mountains was stuck in the back of her mind.

Output:
Working in a business like that would surely have its own difficult tasks every day. And living in a town meant being around the eyes of humans, so she would have to worry about how they would treat her since she could not hide her ears and tail and did not age.
"Mmm..."
She groaned, and much like how her dissatisfaction was coming to a boil, bubbles floated to the surface from beneath the churning fat.
That being said, she was looking forward to when Selim grew used to this work and eliminated some of the hustle and bustle. Or maybe when Selim's family was finished building their lodgings, they could hire another one of them once they had settled.
Indeed. She had to be patient for a while. And then she could start thinking about how she could make more memories with her companion.
She insisted this to herself.
"Well, soon we shall strain this and make the candles."
She tapped the mixing stick on the edge of the pot, called Selim over, and began their work. All jobs would eventually end as long as they worked at it. Another guest arrived in the afternoon, and finally the sun set.
After finishing dinner, she returned to their room in relief, and there, her companion stood frozen before the desk.
"What is the matter?"
She wondered for a moment if Myuri had doodled on the parchment on the desk, but she then remembered that she was off traveling.
As she wondered what it might be, her companion turned around, and his expression was apologetic.
"Before you get mad, let me apologize."
"...Hmm?"
He continued.
"The new guest also brought in parchment."
Behind him, the bundles of parchment had doubled. If one person had an idea, then it seemed someone elsewhere had the same.
Though she was impressed that little Col and Myuri's journey was making such large waves throughout the world, her companion's face was dismal, so there had to be more to it.
"Is that all?"
When she asked, he released the breath he had been holding in—strangely, almost as if he had been saved—then slowly shook his head.
Perhaps it was difficult for him to broach the subject by himself.
"...Others staying elsewhere came over earlier, wanting to talk about the same thing."
***
Their relaxing, affectionate time together at night. Apparently, she would be unable to request it for a while.
But such a pile of work could also be called a notable incident. If she looked back after a while, it might very well become a memory she could recall clearly. And she was glad it was something she could do together with him. Sitting beside each other, she could keep the lid on that dark well tightly shut.
It was not so bad when she thought of it like that.
"Well, we have no choice. Aye?"
So she spoke brightly, and he seemed disappointed.
"What? Did you wish for me to get angry?"
He was always much too straightforward at times like this.
"There won't be any time for you to take a nap..."
"You fool."
She smiled, closed the door, and quickly walked over to the desk.
The amount of parchment piled on the desk was intimidating.
"And we may make quite a lot of quick coin, no?"
"It should be enough for our troubles. Ask me for anything. We can probably get honeyed peaches."
He spoke of a luxury item that was practically worth its weight in gold.
Her former merchant companion was handing her a blank contract, so this job must truly contain great prospects.
"Mm. I shall think about it."
"But there aren't infinite amounts of money."
He did not forget to warn her.
She shrugged and stepped on his foot lightly.
"Well then, shall we get started?"
"Yeah. We can't even waste time this late in the day. If we don't manage this well, even more of the same work might come our way."
"Shall we allot some to Selim?"
She wondered if they should add another duty on top of what the young wolf already had, but her companion looked a bit troubled.
"I'd want her to help, but..."
He spoke vaguely, and after glancing at the door, he drew close to her ear and whispered.


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

Input:
Working in a business like that would surely have its own difficult tasks every day. And living in a town meant being around the eyes of humans, so she would have to worry about how they would treat her since she could not hide her ears and tail and did not age.
"Mmm..."
She groaned, and much like how her dissatisfaction was coming to a boil, bubbles floated to the surface from beneath the churning fat.
That being said, she was looking forward to when Selim grew used to this work and eliminated some of the hustle and bustle. Or maybe when Selim's family was finished building their lodgings, they could hire another one of them once they had settled.
Indeed. She had to be patient for a while. And then she could start thinking about how she could make more memories with her companion.
She insisted this to herself.
"Well, soon we shall strain this and make the candles."
She tapped the mixing stick on the edge of the pot, called Selim over, and began their work. All jobs would eventually end as long as they worked at it. Another guest arrived in the afternoon, and finally the sun set.
After finishing dinner, she returned to their room in relief, and there, her companion stood frozen before the desk.
"What is the matter?"
She wondered for a moment if Myuri had doodled on the parchment on the desk, but she then remembered that she was off traveling.
As she wondered what it might be, her companion turned around, and his expression was apologetic.
"Before you get mad, let me apologize."
"...Hmm?"
He continued.
"The new guest also brought in parchment."
Behind him, the bundles of parchment had doubled. If one person had an idea, then it seemed someone elsewhere had the same.
Though she was impressed that little Col and Myuri's journey was making such large waves throughout the world, her companion's face was dismal, so there had to be more to it.
"Is that all?"
When she asked, he released the breath he had been holding in—strangely, almost as if he had been saved—then slowly shook his head.
Perhaps it was difficult for him to broach the subject by himself.
"...Others staying elsewhere came over earlier, wanting to talk about the same thing."
***
Their relaxing, affectionate time together at night. Apparently, she would be unable to request it for a while.
But such a pile of work could also be called a notable incident. If she looked back after a while, it might very well become a memory she could recall clearly. And she was glad it was something she could do together with him. Sitting beside each other, she could keep the lid on that dark well tightly shut.
It was not so bad when she thought of it like that.
"Well, we have no choice. Aye?"
So she spoke brightly, and he seemed disappointed.
"What? Did you wish for me to get angry?"
He was always much too straightforward at times like this.
"There won't be any time for you to take a nap..."
"You fool."
She smiled, closed the door, and quickly walked over to the desk.
The amount of parchment piled on the desk was intimidating.
"And we may make quite a lot of quick coin, no?"
"It should be enough for our troubles. Ask me for anything. We can probably get honeyed peaches."
He spoke of a luxury item that was practically worth its weight in gold.
Her former merchant companion was handing her a blank contract, so this job must truly contain great prospects.
"Mm. I shall think about it."
"But there aren't infinite amounts of money."
He did not forget to warn her.
She shrugged and stepped on his foot lightly.
"Well then, shall we get started?"
"Yeah. We can't even waste time this late in the day. If we don't manage this well, even more of the same work might come our way."
"Shall we allot some to Selim?"
She wondered if they should add another duty on top of what the young wolf already had, but her companion looked a bit troubled.
"I'd want her to help, but..."
He spoke vaguely, and after glancing at the door, he drew close to her ear and whispered.

Output:
Unlike her usual jobs during the day, she did seem to be a bit clumsy when it came to this. She had made quite a few reading and spelling mistakes.
"She works hard during the day, so she's probably tired at night."
Little Col displayed his odd enthusiasm for studying by chasing away his nighttime sleepiness with sand in his mouth or munching on raw onions. It would be cruel to expect that much from Selim.
But something occurred to Holo.
"But when we go to trade on the other side of the mountain, she is never that sleepy."
Selim did seem a little tired when they set out on the way home, but she did not appear to be falling asleep.
"It's probably a matter of her strengths and weaknesses, right? She probably gets sleepy looking at writing. Myuri's the same."
When he spoke their daughter's name, she understood.
"I am as good as anyone when it comes to this."
"That's not much to be proud of. Well, you can read, but when it comes to writing...Don't you think the Wisewolf of Yoitsu should be a bit better at writing?"
He hit her where it hurt, earning him a glare from her.
"I have improved quite a bit. This form of mine is temporary anyway. 'Tis not much I can do if my hands do not work well."
"Even though you can grab meat so quickly from the pot?"
She bared her fangs, and he looked away, pretending not to notice.
"You fool. Learning letters does not fill the stomach!"
"...Myuri says the same thing, doesn't she?"
"I beg your pardon?!"
She scolded her mumbling companion, and he shrugged cheekily.
"Look, come on, let's get working."
He was never constantly cornered the way he used to be.
And she did not hate this sort of bickering.
"Honestly, you fool."
As she murmured that, she placed a chair next to his and stuck to his side. Of course, they shared the blanket as it draped over both of their backs. This was not bad at all.
She cemented in her memory that this moment had happened.
As she did so, she took the first piece of parchment into her hand.
There was the thud of wooden utensils being set down, and Holo opened her eyes.
It was after lunch, and the unoccupied Hanna had brought her something.
"Good work today."
"...Wine, how unusual."
Holo lifted her head from the table, and her nose twitched at the scent of the warmed wine, steam still rising from it.
Hanna was normally concerned with cost so it was curious for her to offer wine so freely.
Then, just as Holo was about to gratefully reach out to take the cup.
"Hmm, this is...?"
There was a wooden bowl, and it was filled with things she had never seen before.
"It's a gift from a guest. The Sir told me to serve some for you when he went out."
It was candied something or other. Sugar could be obtained by boarding a boat in town at the bottom of the mountain and heading downstream, then changing vessels after arriving at the open sea and traveling farther south, eventually reaching a port in a sunny country where the sea was a clear green and it was summer for more than half the year, all to trade with someone who had come by boat from an even more southern point.
If sugar was harvested from the earth like salt, then she would not mind living there and spending all her days licking the ground.
It was that delicious of a sweetener, but she was caught by Hanna's words.
"...You hid this from me?"
Hanna only shrugged innocently.
"He said you might end up eating it all if I showed it to you once."
"That fool!"
I am not Myuri, she thought to herself as she grabbed a piece, finding the sweet in her hand quite strange.
Whatever the fruit was, it was cut into round slices and had been seasoned with sugar, but the shape was odd.
She had never seen such a fruit like this before, but when she put it in her mouth, she was shocked.
"'Tis ginger?!"
"It's still cold when the sun isn't out, so it will also warm you up."
"Mm-hmm...Mmm..."


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

Input:
Unlike her usual jobs during the day, she did seem to be a bit clumsy when it came to this. She had made quite a few reading and spelling mistakes.
"She works hard during the day, so she's probably tired at night."
Little Col displayed his odd enthusiasm for studying by chasing away his nighttime sleepiness with sand in his mouth or munching on raw onions. It would be cruel to expect that much from Selim.
But something occurred to Holo.
"But when we go to trade on the other side of the mountain, she is never that sleepy."
Selim did seem a little tired when they set out on the way home, but she did not appear to be falling asleep.
"It's probably a matter of her strengths and weaknesses, right? She probably gets sleepy looking at writing. Myuri's the same."
When he spoke their daughter's name, she understood.
"I am as good as anyone when it comes to this."
"That's not much to be proud of. Well, you can read, but when it comes to writing...Don't you think the Wisewolf of Yoitsu should be a bit better at writing?"
He hit her where it hurt, earning him a glare from her.
"I have improved quite a bit. This form of mine is temporary anyway. 'Tis not much I can do if my hands do not work well."
"Even though you can grab meat so quickly from the pot?"
She bared her fangs, and he looked away, pretending not to notice.
"You fool. Learning letters does not fill the stomach!"
"...Myuri says the same thing, doesn't she?"
"I beg your pardon?!"
She scolded her mumbling companion, and he shrugged cheekily.
"Look, come on, let's get working."
He was never constantly cornered the way he used to be.
And she did not hate this sort of bickering.
"Honestly, you fool."
As she murmured that, she placed a chair next to his and stuck to his side. Of course, they shared the blanket as it draped over both of their backs. This was not bad at all.
She cemented in her memory that this moment had happened.
As she did so, she took the first piece of parchment into her hand.
There was the thud of wooden utensils being set down, and Holo opened her eyes.
It was after lunch, and the unoccupied Hanna had brought her something.
"Good work today."
"...Wine, how unusual."
Holo lifted her head from the table, and her nose twitched at the scent of the warmed wine, steam still rising from it.
Hanna was normally concerned with cost so it was curious for her to offer wine so freely.
Then, just as Holo was about to gratefully reach out to take the cup.
"Hmm, this is...?"
There was a wooden bowl, and it was filled with things she had never seen before.
"It's a gift from a guest. The Sir told me to serve some for you when he went out."
It was candied something or other. Sugar could be obtained by boarding a boat in town at the bottom of the mountain and heading downstream, then changing vessels after arriving at the open sea and traveling farther south, eventually reaching a port in a sunny country where the sea was a clear green and it was summer for more than half the year, all to trade with someone who had come by boat from an even more southern point.
If sugar was harvested from the earth like salt, then she would not mind living there and spending all her days licking the ground.
It was that delicious of a sweetener, but she was caught by Hanna's words.
"...You hid this from me?"
Hanna only shrugged innocently.
"He said you might end up eating it all if I showed it to you once."
"That fool!"
I am not Myuri, she thought to herself as she grabbed a piece, finding the sweet in her hand quite strange.
Whatever the fruit was, it was cut into round slices and had been seasoned with sugar, but the shape was odd.
She had never seen such a fruit like this before, but when she put it in her mouth, she was shocked.
"'Tis ginger?!"
"It's still cold when the sun isn't out, so it will also warm you up."
"Mm-hmm...Mmm..."

Output:
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.