Wolf and a New Beginning

Wolf and a New Beginning is the 13th and final episode of the first season of the Spice and Wolf.

Official Synopsis
"Lawrence settles the score with those who betrayed him and finds that even in a life based on profit and debt, some things are more valuable than others."

Plot
Lawrence burns the ropes binding him and reunites with Holo. She refuses to tell him what she did to placate the wolves' wrath, though Lawrence deduces that she made a show of submission to the forest's resident wolf deity to avoid further dispute. Holo is unsurprised by the Lemerio Company's betrayal and chides Lawrence again for being too nice and protecting her clothes instead of running away on his own.

While Holo prefers to exact revenge on their betrayers, Lawrence convinces her to first save Nora and Enek, who the Lemerio Company also plans to kill. Holo changes into her wolf form. With Lawrence riding on her back, she catches up with Lemerio's men and Nora, who is still oblivious about the betrayal and their plan to murder her. Holo routs the men and captures Liebert, who reveals that Hans Lemerio betrayed them at the very beginning because the payout for the three would be too much.

After punching Liebert unconscious, Lawrence tells Nora that he will entrust the gold to her and let her decide whether to complete the smuggling. He explains that they could run with the gold and split it among the three of them, but it would mean the end of the Lemerio Company. Its employees and their families would likely suffer for it and seek vengeance, making the three targets. Without the company's cooperation, there also would have been no gold in the first place. However, if they finish smuggling the gold into Ruvinheigen, the payout would be ten times greater, more than enough for themselves and to save the Lemerio Company. Lawrence and Holo agree to meet with Nora at the city's east gate at dawn if she continues with the plan.

As they make their own way back to Ruvinheigen, Holo asks Lawrence to tell her everything, recognizing that he was not entirely truthful with Nora. He reveals that when he retrieved the gold, he saw it was only worth about 100 lumione gold coins, one-sixth of the intended 600 lumione that was agreed upon. It was likely the most that the Lemerio Company could provide and a sign of how dire the company's situation truly was. If they just split the gold with Nora, it would only be enough to cover his debts with no profit, but if they smuggle it to increase its worth to about 1000 lumione, it would be just enough to save Remelio Company.

Back in the city, Lawrence finds Hans Lemerio alone in his office and extorts him to buy the gold from them for 500 lumione over a period of ten years with a 10% interest (i.e., 50 coins) and, to ensure that he does not try to renege on the terms, has him write out a contract of bond for it with the Lohen Merchants Association as the creditor. This also allows his guild to conveniently deal with the contract obligations for the next ten years instead of him alone. Thus, the Lemerio Company gets the smuggled gold for the immediate incoming sale of 1000 lumione, creating seed money to save it from bankruptcy.

Next, Lawrence meets Jacob, who is relieved and impressed by his escape from bankruptcy. Lawrence cashes in the contract from Lemerio immediately to cover his debts and Nora's compensation of 20 lumione, leaving his finances nearly unchanged after such an ordeal.

After reassuring Holo of his devotion and seeing Nora and Enek off as they leave the city for good, Lawrence continues on his journey with her.

Characters

 * Kraft Lawrence
 * Holo
 * Norah Arendt
 * Enek
 * Marten Liebert
 * Hans Remerio
 * Jacob Tarantino

Differences from the Light Novel and Manga

 * Holo does not accompany Lawrence to help intimidate Hans Lemerio with her wolf form.

Differences from the Manga

 * Far more armed men attempt to fight Holo during her rescue of Nora and Enek.