Wolf and Virtuous Scales

Wolf and Virtuous Scales is the eighth episode of the first season of the Spice and Wolf anime.

Synopsis
Lawrence and Holo travel to the town of Poroson, where Lawrence sells the pepper he received from the Milone Trading Company to the Latparron Trading Company. During the exchange, Holo reveals that the buyer is attempting to swindle Lawrence. In exchange for not reporting the swindler, Lawrence receives more profit than he originally expected and demands from Latparron the option to buy double that amount on margin. In fairness, he asks for high-quality armaments as he expects to quickly make another tidy profit and repay his loan to Latparron by selling this product at nearby Ruvinheigen.

On the road to Ruvinheigen, Lawrence and Holo talk about future profit from their cargo of arms and discuss why more portable goods like spices, gold, or jewels are not better options. The Church heavily tariffs gold that comes into their territory, and being caught evading this tariff brings serious penalties. They pass a group of travelers who warn them of mercenaries from the north on the main road. Detouring to another path, they come across a female shepherd and stop to greet her, though Holo is less than enthusiastic because of the instinctive hostility between shepherds and wolves.

Differences from the Light Novel

 * Holo and Lawrence visit Poroson for two nights instead of only a few hours in the morning.
 * Holo is not shown extorting mutton and wine from Latparron in exchange for her silence.