Highlights
- Holo and Kraft venture into a new business opportunity, facing a risky currency exchange with potential high profits.
- Holo’s all-knowing ears detect lies in a merchant’s offer, providing an advantage in the unpredictable market venture.
- Despite painful pasts, Holo and Kraft forge a deep bond, looking past their people’s history to form a unique relationship.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, Episode 2, “Mischievous Wolf and No Laughing Matter,” now streaming on Crunchyroll.
With Kraft and Holo embarking on their new journey together in the Spice and Wolf reboot, the two are set to run into all sorts of financial affairs. Kraft Lawrence has already proven to be a shrewd merchant, and with Holo the wise wolf by his side, the two are bound to become an unstoppable duo. Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf’s latest episode focuses on this very aspect, as Kraft and Holo run into their very first business ordeal.
Apart from the economic side of the show, Holo and Kraft have begun to forge a more intimate bond, with the two slowly revealing a few glimpses of their lives to one another. The complexities of their dynamics are also slowly becoming apparent, as both characters have suffered at the hands of each other’s kind.
A New Business Opportunity
With Holo’s eventual goal of reaching her homeland in the North, the two set out on their new adventure. Holo and Kraft have a long way ahead of them, with several entrepreneurial opportunities awaiting the astute merchant and his wise wolf. The first of these escapades has already emerged as Kraft was presented with an opportunity to make a considerable profit through currency exchange.
A merchant named Zheren lets Kraft in on a rumor about a silver coin circulating in the market that is set to be replaced with a new coin with a higher silver concentration. While the two coins are currently being sold at the same price, the new variant will eventually be sold at a significantly higher price in other nations. The only catch is that the merchant would want a chunk of the profits for himself.
The All-Knowing Wolf
Holo mentions that her ears can foretell imminent disasters and even catch lies and deceit from others. As deceptive practices are commonplace in business, having Holo’s all-knowing ears serves as a considerable advantage for Kraft. Zheren’s offer in the field of currency speculation is always a gamble, as chances of losses are extremely high in such an unpredictable market.
My ears can hear the coming of disasters and catch various lies. They’ve saved many a friend from danger!
Apart from the risks associated with the practice itself, Holo also detected a lie in the merchant’s statements. While it’s unclear what part of his offer was the lie, Holo and Kraft are more concerned about the reason behind his lies. Despite the risks involved, Kraft and Holo are still willing to test the waters with this crafty merchant.
Kraft’s Business Instincts
Even without Holo by his side, Kraft is an exceptional merchant as he proceeds with caution and tact in all of his dealings. This affair is no different, as Kraft states that even without the wise wolf’s discernment, he would have acted like he was interested in Zheren’s offer, as it could potentially lead to a profit. In the case of a loss, Kraft would have uncovered an illegal money-making scheme, meaning both outcomes would result in future business opportunities.
Even with her insight, however, Holo instructs Kraft to act as if he is interested in the business deal. While Holo doesn’t elaborate further, Kraft trusts her reasoning and her wise judgment. Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf has merely scratched the surface of the economic affairs of this world, and with this intriguing business prospect, the series is heading towards a lot more exposition regarding the financial dynamics of this fantasy world.
A Shared History of Pain
Kraft and Holo are both presented as extremely mature characters, and even with Holo’s playful antics, her wisdom still shines through. However, it seems that this growth is on account of a past laced with pain and trauma for both characters. Kraft reveals that he has been a victim of wolf attacks several times, even losing someone he knew to those animals.
Holo has suffered similar pain at the hands of humans, though she refuses to elaborate further on her past. She merely states that humans and wolves have hunted each other, and while both sides view each other as a threat, they simply wish to protect their own kin.
How Does Kraft and Holo’s Past Shape Their Relationship?
Kraft and Holo come from two entirely different lives, with a shared trauma from each other’s kin to top it off. Despite such a glaring difference between the two, it’s certainly intriguing to witness Holo and Kraft come together and form a bond that goes beyond societal constructs.
Humans are a source of fear for us. That’s why we think about how to best humans when they enter out forests.
The added fact that both Holo and Kraft have suffered at the hands of each other’s people further adds nuance to their relationship, as the two willingly choose to look past these arbitrary elements. With Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf just two episodes in, Holo and Kraft’s dynamic has already become quite profound, and if all goes according to the source material, the narrative is set to become all the more gripping.
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