Wolf and the Calm Before the Storm

Wolf and the Calm Before the Storm is the second episode of the second season of the Spice and Wolf anime.

Synopsis
Hoping to learn more about the road ahead, Lawrence meets with an alchemist who is familiar with the region's folktales. Later, Lawrence grows uneasy when he notices how much time Holo is spending with a local merchant.

Plot
Lawrence receives mail belatedly warning him of the recent crash in the arms market. He offers the letters to Holo, who claims to not know how to read.

Instead of taking Holo to the festival as planned, Lawrence goes to meet fellow merchant Gi Batos to be introduced to Dian Rubens, a reclusive alchemist and chronicler, to learn more about Yoitsu. On the way, he encounters Fermi Amarti, who offers to show Holo around Kumersun for the day. Lawrence accepts, happy to have someone entertain Holo.

Batos brings Lawrence to Rubens. She tells Lawrence of a legend about the bear that destroyed Yoitsu and also of a large wolf who visited the nearby town of Lenos and called herself Holo of Yoitsu. Lawrence gleans more clues about Yoitsu's location from the tale, and Rubens agrees to send more information if she finds it.

Afterwards, while sharing a drink with Marc Cole, Lawrence hears that rumors have started after Holo is spotted with Amarti. Marc warns that Amarti may compete for Holo's affections, and Lawrence cannot help but feel a twinge of jealousy. However, when they both return to the inn, Holo appears unaffected by Amarti's gifts and sweet talk. She reveals how she misled Amarti by telling him that she travels with Lawrence because she owes him a large debt after he saved her. She also shows the fur muffler and pyrite cube that Amarti gave her and recounts how he and a crowd of other festival-goers had haggled over pieces of pyrite, greatly inflating their price.