After returning from Helena's place, Lawrence was surprised to see that someone was there waiting for him at the inn. Lawrence walked up to the caller, a rather large man with a big stomach sitting at one of the tables in the dining area. It was Elsa's traveling companion, the bookseller who had taken her up to Lenos with him.

The bookseller extended his hand, and Lawrence shook it, eyeing him awkwardly as he wondered what this person could possibly want from him.

The bookseller had made his trip to Lenos in order to get a loan from a trading company. Lawrence sat across from the man as he talked, wondering why a random stranger was telling him all this, and having come over to where he was staying just to do so as well. Then the man gave the name of the company he wanted to get his loan from, and Lawrence groaned.

It was the people he'd "lent" Holo to as collateral the last time he was in Lenos.

Lawrence had stopped by their trading house to pay them a courtesy call. It was one of the annoying little rituals one had to do in business, as it was very important for a merchant to be seen as a polite, courteous person who remembered his previous contacts. Given the rather special circumstances in which he had done business with them the last time, however, this annoying ritual had become downright unpleasant. In fact, Lawrence wanted nothing more than to never have to deal with the company ever again.

Meanwhile, in Elsa's village, Lawrence had developed a reputation as a person who could get unlikely things done. After the meeting in the traveling goods shop, the bookseller must have followed Lawrence around, since there was no other way he could have figured out that Lawrence knew the representatives at the trading company.

Lawrence didn't want anything to do with a person who employed such suspicious methods to gather information, and he got up to leave the table.

"Well, good luck with that loan."

Lawrence began to walk away, but as he was turning to leave…

"You don't look like a local. Just someone passing through."

"Well, that's what traveling merchants do, isn't it?"

"You seem awfully secretive about what you're doing."

"That's none of your business, is it?"

"You're heading north, aren't you? And you don't want people to know."

Lawrence stopped in his tracks. No, he didn't. Relatively few people ever ventured north, and the ones who did usually did so for religious, business, or military reasons. He wasn't doing it for any of those. Anyone who found out about his trip would be asking questions. And anyone who asked enough questions might find out about Holo's secret.

The bookseller wanted Lawrence to serve as a reference for his loan application. If Lawrence agreed, then the man would surely get his loan. However, the responsibility for the loan would then lie on Lawrence's shoulders, and it would be his professional reputation at stake.

The bookseller was looking for a loan in order to finance his own expedition to the north. He was looking for some rare book on mining techniques so that he could stop some mining company from strip mining the north. The book was rare and valuable enough to more than pay back the loan he needed. The techniques listed in the book were illegal, so there would be no legal repercussions from stealing the book. The plan was financially feasible enough.

The problem was that in order to ensure that the money was spent properly, Lawrence would have to personally accompany the bookseller on his expedition.

It would take up to several months to find the book.

…

Holo got up and stepped away from the table. She silently trudged back upstairs without making a sound as she made her way back to the room. Col and Elsa were on one bed, and the two of them immediately sat up as she entered the room. Holo ignored them and floated over to her own bed, quietly settling down, her eyes glazed over.

The rest of that evening passed in a blur. Holo didn't remember a thing.

She was feeling somewhat back to normal the next morning. To her shock, Lawrence was talking to the other girls, thanking them for their time together. And suddenly, one by one, all of these newcomers that Holo couldn't stand left the inn until finally, it was just her and Lawrence and Col, plus Elsa as an additional guest.

Holo and Lawrence didn't talk much that day. Col and Elsa spent a lot of time together. Perhaps their similar backgrounds gave them something in common to talk about, but Holo began to get jealous.

It wasn't until that evening when Holo finally cornered Col by himself.

"He-e-e-y-y-y-y-y, Col, let's go take a bath together~"

Holo dragged Col to the washing area before he could even protest and tore his clothes off. Col stood, naked and blushing, his back against the wall as Holo overpowered him, giggling and drooling as she stood right in front of him and took off her clothes.

Col's face now turned bright red as he beheld Holo's slender, pale body. This was the first time that Col had gotten a really good look at her naked body, and he began to grow hard as he stared at her beautiful breasts, slender waist, and long, lean legs.

Holo grabbed Col by the cock, handling it like a leash as she led him into the bath. Col blushed, his young, sensitive cock leaking pre-cum as it was clutched by Holo's hand. He shivered with fear as Holo rubbed him down the back, kissing him on the nape of his neck. Holo giggled as she pinched his nipples, playing with them as she began licking and nibbling his ear.

Holo began scrubbing Col down, thoroughly cleaning him as she laughed, her lips centimeters away from Col's ear. She rubbed him down with both her hands, cleaning his slender, flat chest and thin, toned stomach. Holo could feel her entire body growing hot as she touched Col, and finally, she grasped Col around his cock and began scrubbing down his shaft.

"Miss Holo, I can clean myself…"

"No, no, Col. Don't worry about a thing, OK?"

Holo cleaned off every inch of Col's dick, peeling back Col's foreskin as she rinsed it in water, rubbing her fingers across the head of his cock. She then scrubbed Col's balls, gently kneading him as his erection began to twitch and slap against his stomach.

Once they were out of the water and on the wooden benches, Holo's teasing became even more aggressive. She cupped her hands around his balls and continued to play with them as she wrapped her other hand around his cock and began jerking him off. Col's entire body tightened up as Holo molested him, and she ran her long, wolf tongue across his face, giggling as his dick gave a cute little twitch.

Holo nudged Col down onto the bench, laying him out on his back as she climbed on top of him. Her hand still wrapped around his cock, she now began to lick his nipples, her blood-red eyes staring straight at him as she curled her lips into a devilish smile. Col blushed, and he twitched one more time as he came all over Holo's hands, staining both of their freshly cleaned bodies.

Holo giggled, her pussy growing wet as she watched Col's vulnerable face. She pressed her face into his chest now, nuzzling him as she started rubbing his cock again. His semen was thick and fragrant, and its strong smell assaulted Holo's sensitive nostrils. She could feel her nipples grow rigid now as she rubbed her entire body against Col's torso, and she was shocked as Col immediately grew hard in her hands once again.

Holo's breathing became tense and hurried, and her hand moved again, stroking his cock once more as it hardened into a full erection. She opened her mouth wide, grinning as she exposed all of her sharp, white teeth, and licked Col across the face as he came almost immediately, the thick, warm cum bubbling up from between Holo's fingers once more.

Holo refused to stop, her hands working Col's slippery, soft dick until it stiffened up once again. Col now whimpered at the stinging pain. Holo now let out another stream of pussy juice as she rubbed him, moaning as she listened to Col's soft cries. He had another orgasm, letting out yet another spurt of semen onto Holo's hands.

Holo blushed, gazing at Col with awe as she held her hand up to his face, showing off how much he had come. Col moaned and began to grow flushed as Holo licked her lips and began cleaning her fingers off. His cock grew erect once more, throbbing with pain from overwork as he watched Holo gobble up his jizz.

Holo then grabbed Col by the waist and lifted his legs up in the air as she flipped him over into a reverse somersault position, exposing his asshole.

Col trembled as Holo shot him a hungry, menacing glare. Then, flickering her long, flat tongue between her lips, she leaned in and spread Col's ass cheeks apart. Extending her tongue into a point, she entered Col's asshole, slipping her tongue deep inside his anus as she began to penetrate him. Col tightened up, his face frozen in a look of fear as Holo eyed him, her lips curled up in a ravenous, psychotic grin. His cock instantly became erect as Holo dominated him, thrusting her tongue deep into his asshole until she was sliding up against his g-spot.

Holo then pulled out, her tongue dripping. She blushed as she stared at Col's swollen, gaping asshole. Then, with her hot, sticky fingers that were still wet with saliva, Holo rubbed against his anus, her own asshole twitching and puckering in excitement.

She slipped her fingers inside Col's asshole, penetrating him. Col began to moan, his legs twitching at the pain and pleasure as he tightened his hole around Holo's fingers. Suddenly, he came violently, his cock spraying everywhere as he nutted on his own body, drizzling his own chest and completely glazing his face. His balls began to shake and convulse, and he arched his back as his cock gave in for a round two, spraying even more semen all over the benches as he came again, nutting so violently that his stomach began to churn and a tiny bit of vomit seeped out from his mouth.

Col lay against the bench, teary eyed, his whole body still sweaty and shaking as he went through the aftershocks of his orgasm. Holo blushed, her pussy now completely flushed and sensitive from the sight of Col's adorable orgasm. Grasping Col by the back of his head, she leaned in close, her chest pounding with anticipation, as she kissed him.

The two of them made out, thrashing their bodies against the bench as they wriggled against each other's bodies. Holo's pussy instantly began leaking out more juices, and Col's thick, flaccid coil hardened up once again. They rubbed their bodies against each other, rubbing chest against chest, nipple against nipple, their pubic hairs intermingling as they thrust their tongues into each other's throats.

Holo and Col sat up, their lips still connected by a long, thick string of drool, as the door to the bath opened. Lawrence stepped in, and Holo and Col immediately pulled away from each other.

"Holo, I need to talk to you."

Col slipped past, gathering his clothes, dressing himself quickly as he avoided eye contact with Lawrence before hurrying out of the room. Once they were alone, Lawrence grasped Holo by the shoulders and stared her in the eyes.

"Holo, I'm going to find a way to get out of this."

"W-What?"

"I'm not going to vouch for that guy's loan, and I'm not going north with him."

"Wait, what? W-What are you saying? W-Why are you telling me this now!? We're in the bath!"

"Holo, I promised I would take you up to Yoitsu! I won't back down from that promise. I'm telling you right now that I'll do anything it takes to get out of this and go up to Yoitsu together with you. I'm sorry I ever thought of leaving you!"

Lawrence grabbed Holo by her naked body and hugged her close. Holo was shocked to see that she was crying as she felt Lawrence's embrace. She hugged him back, pressing her face against his hair as she sobbed quietly, and without realizing it, had begun to speak:

"Nushio…please do it. Please get out of this…nushio…I don't ever want to leave you…Nushio, please!"

…

Holo left the bath and re-entered the room. Col and Elsa stared up in shock. Col pulled the sheets over his body while Elsa straightened up, sitting up on the bed and clearing her throat as she adjusted her robe, her lovely bare feet sticky and wet, her long, perfect toenails glistening.

Holo ignored them and flopped down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She thought she'd decided to give up on Lawrence once and for all. And yet, she had come back to Lawrence as soon as he'd promised to stay with her. Col barely even registered in her mind anymore, and she didn't notice as Col fumbled to put his clothes back and and joined Elsa in leaving the room.

In fact, as Lawrence came in a few minutes later and settled down on the bed next to Holo, she could feel a slight skip in her chest. Holo could feel the tears coming down again, and she finally ended her day of the silent treatment by wrapping her hands around Lawrence's waist as she fell asleep.

…

Holo was woken up by Lawrence the next morning. Without a word, she nodded as they got up and prepared to negotiate with the bookseller and the trading company.

They arrived at the dock around half an hour later, where the bookseller and a representative from the trading company were waiting. There, Lawrence presented his plan. Instead of financing an expedition to forcibly seize the book from the mining company that currently possessed it, they would send in money orders from multiple shell companies and flood them with fake orders until the mining company ran out of bullion. At that point, the bookseller would come in as a representative of the Lenos company and take in all of the money orders in exchange for the book. Furthermore, because of the large supply of raw metal there, the value of bullion was far lower in the north than it was in Lenos, and the trading company would end up with a large profit from arbitrage after they had finished filling out the legitimate orders.

Finally, since the trading company and the mining firm currently had a special arrangement, the bookseller would not need to bring cash. There was no need for a loan, and Lawrence wouldn't have to accompany him on the trip.

The bookseller and the company representative glanced at each other.

"This is quite the scheme you've thought up, Mr. Lawrence."

Lawrence smirked.

The company representative then glanced at Holo. Remembering the abandoned inn that Lawrence had given up in order to retrieve this girl, he looked back at Lawrence.

"You're doing this for her, aren't you?"

Lawrence smiled and grasped Holo's hand without answering, which took even Holo by surprise.

…

The two of them returned to Col and Elsa cuddling in their bed. After a very brief discussion, it was agreed that Col would join Elsa on her journey once she had parted ways with the bookseller. That would mean that Lawrence and Holo would, for the first time in almost two months, be alone again.

Holo couldn't quite believe this, even as they spent the day first celebrating Lawrence's deal with the trading company, then retrieving his wagon and horse, which had been stored at a stable since the last time they were in Lenos. It still hadn't completely registered with her later that evening, when:

"Come on, get up and pack your bags. We're going to leave tomorrow, remember?"

"Wait, what?"

"Holo…"

"Oh, right. Sorry…"

Lawrence smiled and sat down on the bed next to Holo.

"Holo, I promised you, didn't I? I promised you that I would take you home myself. I don't want to leave you. I meant that, and I still do. I'm going to take you back to Yoitsu, and then I'm going to stay with you. Holo, I love you."

Holo stood still. She had heard those words just the day before, but upon hearing them again, now accompanied by reality rather than promise, she fell on her knees to the ground, tears overflowing her eyes.

"N-Nushio! NUSHIO-O-O-O-O!"

Holo began to sob, pushing her face against Lawrence's lap. Lawrence bent down, embracing her. It felt like a dream. Holo clung to Lawrence and cried in his chest. She didn't have to say anything more to express her joy; it was already apparent. So she used the time to simply savor this moment alone with her nushio.

…

The four of them stood outside the city walls with two sets of wagons, Col and Elsa next to one, and Lawrence and Holo next to the other. The two couples stared at each other as they said their goodbyes.

"We wish you the best of luck up north," said Elsa.

"Thanks. And the best of luck finding your replacement at the church," said Lawrence.

Col waved at Lawrence and Holo.

"Goodbye, Mr. Lawrence. Bye, Miss Holo. Thanks for bringing me along for the last few weeks. It's been fun."

Lawrence nodded. "Of course, Col. Best of luck on your travels with Elsa, OK?"

Lawrence and Holo waved one last time as they got in their wagon. Elsa waved back with one hand as she placed the other on Col's crotch, smiling as she petted him on the balls. Col blushed, his cock growing into a semi as he obediently followed Elsa onto their wagon, and the two traveling groups parted ways.

As Col and Elsa disappeared into the horizon, Holo felt as if she had been freed from a set of binds.

…

The two of them would go through one last adventure alone, where once again, they were drawn into intrigue and fights. Holo met the descendant of one of her fellow pack members from long ago. Lawrence was stabbed in the leg.

Yet at the end of it all, Holo lay on top of Lawrence in the snow.

"You're the kind of person to hold to a contract, if not a promise. So how about it?"

It was in this way that Holo promised Lawrence, and Lawrence promised Holo, that they would always be together.