Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf Episode 18 Review: What Can Lawrence Do?

Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf Episode 18 did nothing to relieve us of any anxiety. Let’s recap what happened in the 18th episode.

Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf Episode 17 Recap

Lawrence finds himself in a difficult situation after his argument with Holo. He realizes she won’t listen to him anymore and might seek out Amati, who is willing to stay with her. To clear his mind and devise a plan, Lawrence visits his merchant friend to discuss the market prospects for the next day. They both anticipate a rise in the price of pyrite, which would lead to significant profits for Amati.

Despite this, Lawrence is determined to find a way to devalue pyrite and prevent Amati from buying Holo. He is desperate to keep Holo for himself, knowing she has become eager for companionship after losing her place to return to. Amati, deeply infatuated with her, will likely stay with her until he discovers her true identity. Therefore, Lawrence sees no other option but to attempt to crash the pyrite market, causing substantial losses for Amati.

Lawrence devises a complicated but potentially effective plan to achieve this. He approaches Amati with a wager that, on the surface, seems to put Lawrence at a disadvantage. However, knowing Lawrence’s experience and cunning from previous dealings, it’s clear he wouldn’t enter a losing bet. To execute his plan, Lawrence needs to buy a significant amount of pyrite quickly, even if it means resorting to illegal sources.

Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf Episode 18 Review and Recap

In this episode, we find Lawrence even more desperate than he used to be because of his dire situation. He must secure a lot of pyrite within a very small amount of time. But it is not as easy as almost everyone has already stockpiled plenty of pyrite themselves. Thus, he must go for the illegal route and find a way to get his hands on these goods as soon as possible.

There is only one place where he can still buy some illegal pyrite, and it is none other than Dian, the lone alchemist who can help him out. As she belongs to the alchemist community, many people avoid her kin. This is why Lawrence knows that he can get the pyrite that he needs from her.  But, before that, he will have to go to Batos and make him agree to his idea. Normally, Batos would have declined his request, however, he knows that Lawrence is not just doing this for profit, but for something else altogether and thus, he agrees.

His problems do not end here. When Lawrence goes to Dian, he is informed that there is already a buyer who has asked for the pyrite he is seeking. Dian assures him that she will try to negotiate with the previous customer and see what she can do, but she cannot promise anything for now.

After that, he meets his friend Marc, and it is here where he really realises what wrong choices he has made over the past few days. He also politely chastises him and makes him agree to his faults, and Lawrence understands he was being stubborn with his feelings.

Verdict

Today’s episode was pretty anxiety-inducing, as we become closer to the idea that Holo might actually leave Lawrence. Lawrence, now agrees that he should have been more frank with his partner, but perhaps everything is too late. In the next episode, we will be able to see whether Lawrence wins or fails miserably.

Also Read: Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf Episode 17 Review: Holo Might Leave Lawrence