A dialogue from 『狼と香辛料』

Question

ロレンス：　俺、いや、俺達は商人だ。儲かれば何でもいい、笑うのは金が入ってから、泣くのは破産してからだ。そして俺達は笑うんだ。

ホロ：　ああ　すっとした。ま、ここ数百年まともに会話しとらんのじゃ喜怒哀楽に脆くなっとる。これでぬしの前で二度泣いたがな、ぬしの前でなくても泣いたじゃろう、何か言いたいか分かるかや？

ロレンス：　勘違いするなと

ホロ：　うむ

ロレンス：　俺も稼ぎのために相手してやってるんだからな。ミローネ商会が話を持ち掛けてくるまで逃げることが俺達の仕事だ。その最中にめそめそされると、足手まといになる。だから泣いてるのがお前じゃなくても、俺は…

(ロレンス sees ポロ's cunning smile)

ロレンス：　お前…ずるくないか (conversation interrupted; new scene)

I think I understand everything in this dialogue except why ロレンス comments that ホロ is ずるい. The 役割語 and style of speech are clear; so is the story context. ホロ's 口癖 and 語尾 are uncommon and somewhat difficult but don't really affect comprehension.

ロレンス comforts ホロ, telling her she shouldn't be sad that she is no longer needed by the villagers, and then says "We are business people, so we only cry when we lose money." (paraphrased) But I am not sure what happens in that moment when their eyes meet and ロレンス notices a crafty grin on ホロ's face. Why is ロレンス embarrassed in that moment? What does ロレンス say in the line immediately prior to that moment that could be the reason?

This is from the anime, so there isn't any descriptive text. Also I unwittingly cut the last line 「ん、雌の特権じゃろ」from ホロ. In order to avoid contradicting @cats' answer (@cats' answer mentions "your last line"), I will leave that line here.

Why did you hide the previous two sentences and the following sentence? The answer you want is in there. — naruto, Mar 27 '21 at 02:25
@naruto I suspect this may be a transcription from the anime, not the light novel. — Setris, Mar 27 '21 at 02:36
Yes! I was just typing a reply with the preceding lines. I will edit the question and make it clear that the dialogue is from the anime which doesn't contain any descriptive text as is presented in the answer. The preceding lines are not relevant. I did unwittingly cut out one line, which I only realized after reading the answer. However, that line only makes it clear that it is a flirting scene, but didn't help me understand the subtleties of their exchange. — Eddie Kal, Mar 27 '21 at 02:43

score 5 · Answer 1 · edited Mar 27 '21 at 02:26

At least from the one source I could find, there are some supplementary lines that may clarify things.

だから俺の前でないてるのがお前じゃなくても、俺はーー

と、その先のロレンスの言葉は出なかった。

ホロが傷ついたような顔をして、ロレンスの方を見つめていたからだ。

「・・・・・・お前、ずるくないか」

「ん、雌の特権じゃろ」

いけしゃあしゃあと言うので、ロレンスはかるkホロの頭を小突いたのだった。

At this point they're basically flirting... She's trying to act like she would cry in front of everyone because she hasn't had a real conversation in a long time, so he isn't special, and he's trying to act like he would comfort anyone crying in front of him, using the "crying doesn't make money" line, so she isn't special. She acts hurt, he says your last line (which should make sense now), and so on.

Thanks! This makes much more sense! +1 I think the anime gives this part nothing more than a lick and a promise with a lot of details missing. So basically it goes something like this? She puts on a sad look (in the anime it is more like a little unhappy look) and he sees that realizes: "Oh, so you said you didn't care. But when I say something similar you get hurt." — Eddie Kal, Mar 27 '21 at 01:46

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 27 '21 at 03:26

To supplement @cats's answer, I'd also like to take a look at how this scene plays out in the anime.

In the anime, Lawrence says だから泣いてるのがお前じゃなくても、俺は but stops himself mid-sentence when he sees Holo's reaction:

A somewhat judgmental and not too happy expression (in the light novel she is described as looking hurt by what he said) -- which elicits お前、ずるくないか from Lawrence because while he took her ぬしの前でなくても泣いたじゃろう in stride, when faced with this expression he probably can't help but feel a little bad. And then it is in response to his slightly troubled reaction that she brings out a cunning smile a few moments later.

For reference, here is how this scene plays out in the light novel, in which one gets a better sense of how this is really just a lighthearted back-and-forth between the two of them.

A dialogue from 『狼と香辛料』

2 Answers2