Kino no Tabi:Volume13 Chapter5

“Land of Necessity” — Entertainer —

A motorrad (Note: a two-wheeled vehicle; only denotes that it cannot fly) was running on a prairie in the midst of a brilliant spring.

An immediate view of the surroundings reveals a string of green hills with the vivid green of young leaves covering the incessant land like a carpet.

The scenery was occupied mostly by the beautifully clear sky, with the morning sun radiating upon everything.

Several balls of clouds resembling silk floss floated neither too low nor too high in the sky. A gentle wind blew from time to time, sending a ripple throughout the prairie.

Nothing was spared from the greenery, not even the surface of the dirt road, which was in the process of turning into a light verdant shade from its dull brown. However, the sturdy blades of grass were soon run over without mercy by the wheels of the passing motorrad.

On both sides of the motorrad’s rear wheel were two boxes, on top of which was tied a satchel and a sleeping bag. It ran through the westward route with a speed neither fast nor slow.

“I was just thinking of practicing my shooting…,” the rider of the motorrad muttered.

The rider was young, around mid-teens, with big eyes and a fearless expression.

She wore a brimmed hat with flaps that covered her ears, and silver-framed goggles on her eyes. She wore a black jacket fastened at the waist with a wide belt.

Several pouches lined the belt, and hanging from it over at her right thigh was a holster with a hand persuader (Note: a persuader is a gun, in this case a pistol), in particular a large-caliber revolver, inside. Also, a slim automatic was installed sideways at the back of her waist.

“There’s no tree you can use to hang the target. Maybe you should pass for today, Kino.”

The motorrad replied from below. True enough, though the blades of grass must number up to hundreds of millions, there was not a single tree in sight.

The rider called Kino answered as she trampled on the grass with the motorrad.

“I can’t do that. Constant practice is very important.”

“Even though you’re already so good?”

“You’ll get rusty in no time if you laze around, so you should exercise and practice every day even for a while. That’s what Master used to say. I’m sure you know it too Hermes. When I haven’t driven for a while, you tell me how much I’ve gotten bad, right?”

The motorrad called Hermes agreed, then added, “I understand that it is necessary. But there’s not much you can do when the essential requirement called a tree does not exist anywhere.”

“You’re right,” Kino replied.

“That’s why the only way out of your problem is to give up for today and rush ahead, Kino.”

“Yeah—no wait, I still have the option to hang the target from your handlebars.”

“I have complete confidence in your skills, Kino. But if by a one in a million chance, you miss and hit me, what are you going to do?”

“Exactly the reason why I have to practice—so that never happens.”

“Why do I feel like that doesn’t answer my question?”

“Well anyway, I hope we find a tree.”

“It would be great if we see one.”

The conversation died down after a while as Kino and Hermes continued to run through the prairie.

And when they arrived at the top of the hill concealing the view ahead,

“Ah!” “Ah!”

Kino and Hermes exclaimed at the same time.

At the bottom of the gentle slope, amidst the level prairie, was without a doubt, a tree.

It stood in solitude amidst the prairie, with its branches spread out sideways.

—

Kino fired.

Along with the roar, the barrel of the revolver ‘Canon’, which she held in her right hand, bounded upwards. The characteristic white smoke of the liquid propellant unfurled in an instant, and soon vanished.

The .44 caliber round cleared the roughly twenty-meter distance in no time.

It hit the iron plate that was hung from the tree’s branch with a thin rope. Sparks flew, and a neither low nor high-pitched sound echoed. The second bullet fired in succession hit just beside the first one.

The iron plate did not swing to and fro, nor shook intensely left and right, but swayed as it softly gyrated.

From behind Kino, Hermes noted with amusement, “It looks just like a hanged man, Kino!”

“…That’s a pretty accurate description, but I’m not sure how to feel about that comparison, Hermes,” Kino said, and with her right hand holding Canon still outstretched, she raised the hammer with her thumb.

She aimed, and fired a third shot.

It hit the center of the target, and the roar and the clanging of the metal was heard once more.

“And that’s the finishing blow,” Hermes added.

“Again that example is—”

Amidst her protest, she let loose another three shots for a total of six.

While waiting for the pan to settle down, Kino disassembled Canon.

She slid the central parts sideways, completely drew out the barrel forward, and removed the lotus root-shaped cylinder. Then she took out a cylinder filled with bullets from her pouch and placed it in.

She returned the ready-to-fire Canon to the holster once more.

“Done? Let’s go!”

“Not yet.”

As she answered, Kino pulled the slim automatic called Woodsman from the back of her waist with her left hand.

While releasing the safety with her thumb, she nimbly raised her arm forward, and rapid-fired three rounds. Dry shots resounded in succession, and the golden bullet casings glittered as they danced in the air one after the other.

The swaying pan received all the bullets, humming with each hit.

Kino replaced the safety and returned Woodsman to its holster.

She let her right hand down limply, then drew it again as fast as she could and took an accurate aim at the target.

Then again. Kino repeated this sequence for a total of three times. The last casing flied out, and the slider that was making its round trip throughout the shots finally stopped in its recoiled position.

“I guess that would do.”

Kino inserted a fresh magazine inside Woodsman, closed the slide, replaced the safety, and returned it to its holster. Then she removed the tiny sponge-like earplugs from both of her ears.

“Kino, you sure are serious when it comes to practice.”

“Well, that’s because this is about the only thing I can’t have others do for me.”

Kino replied as she walked towards the tree to retrieve the target that was swinging to and fro.

And using the bag on top of Hermes’ rear carrier as a platform, she proceeded with a quick maintenance of Woodsman.

She took out new bullets from the box and refilled the empty magazine. She also checked whether or not the mainspring of the magazines from her pouches have become loose.

As far as one could see, no animals nor people were in the prairie. Nevertheless, soon after finishing the maintenance check on Woodsman, Kino also began Canon’s upkeep. She packed liquid propellant and bullets into its freshly used-up cylinder.

“With that, we would be perfectly fine even if the next country happens to be dangerous!” Hermes said to Kino while waiting for her to finish the chore.

“Setting aside the issue of whether we would be ‘perfectly fine’ in that kind of situation, it’s still better to always have preparation and presence of mind—at least that’s what Master always said.”

Kino answered as she carefully set in the detonator at the back of the cylinder. The detonator is a tiny propellant-filled metallic cap, which when hit by Canon’s hammer, will create a spark that will ignite the propellant and cause the persuader to fire.

“Now that I recall it, some guy I met before told me this. ‘You may feel assured by that persuader by your side, but that very object represents your fear.’”

“Fear?”

“According to that person, constantly preparing in the anticipation that you will be attacked is rooted from fear and anxiety towards other people. And so, if you trust the other party, neither of you will have any need for these things, and quarrels can be avoided.”

“I see. So what he wants to say is that you’re a coward, Kino. What did you tell that person?” Hermes asked.

Having finished her work on the persuader, Kino slightly lifted the hammer with her right hand and rotated the cylinder.

Then she answered.

“That’s precisely the point. I am always afraid. Because it is people who kill people.”

“I see. By the way, is that person someone from a country, or outside?”

“I’m sure you know the answer to that yourself, Hermes.”

“Of course.”

“He’s from a country with decent public order. If you’re going to settle down, better pick a country like that. Hopefully, the same is true for the country we will arrive in,” Kino said.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t know much about the next country?”

“The only thing I heard was that there’s a big country at the western plains. However, that was according to a traveler who came there three years ago, and because that person wouldn’t speak so much about it for some reason, it’s not exactly the most reliable information.”

“It would be very disappointing if that country doesn’t exist.”

“I haven’t lost hope yet,” Kino answered as she returned Canon inside its holster with a practiced hand. Hermes jested,

“It’s not only a question of ‘hope’. There’s no use hoping for something that doesn‘t exist in the first place.”

“But you know, not giving up until the very end isn’t a bad thing.”

Kino returned the maintenance tools back in the box, and returned the sleeping bag on top of her luggage. Finally, she checked whether she has left anything behind, and,

“Let‘s go.”

She straddled Hermes and kicked the starter, bringing the engine to life.

“Okay! On to the country that may or may not be there!”

Kino answered as she launched Hermes off, “I‘m positive it exists! —And there I‘ll be able to eat lots of delicious food, and sleep on clean white sheets in a nice hotel.”

“Yeah! And I‘ll get fuel, oil, and parts for free! I‘ll also get maintenance from a skilled mechanic! Also for free!”

“Yep. Let‘s not give up on dreaming ‘til the bitter end.”

—

Kino and Hermes continued on their path, trodding on the grassy road.

“It isn’t here, huh?”

“I‘m sure it is.”

“But there‘s nothing.”

“There will be.”

“Then where is it…?”

“It’s here…maybe, hey look!”

By the time they saw the walls before the horizon they‘ve been aiming for, it was already way past noon.

—

Beside the huge entrance to the tall walls was a tiny hut, which was, of course, the guardhouse beside the gates.

“Kino and Hermes! We welcome you to our country! We would like to ask you a few questions before we give you your entry permit. Please answer with all honesty.”

Kino and Hermes were questioned by the middle-aged man who was the country’s immigration officer.

First was their purpose, and the number of days of their stay, as well as,

“What kind of weapon do you have?”

The immigration officer asked this, and not the usual “Do you have any weapons?”

Kino showed the man Canon on her right thigh and Woodsman from behind her waist. She also divulged that she‘s carrying plenty of knives all over her person.

“Wow, that revolver is quite old but looks well-kept for its age.”

The stiff countenance of the officer transformed. With curiosity and interest clear to be seen on his face, he continued on to the next question.

“Have you ever returned fire when your life or possessions have been targeted? To be quite blunt, do you have any experience in killing a person?”

Kino affirmed, and answered that she had done so plenty of times.

“Can you give a rough estimate?”

“I don‘t keep count,” she answered.

“Very well… please wait a moment.”

The officer stood up from his seat and vanished to the back of the room.

I wonder what‘s up? Kino and Hermes muttered. They waited together with the guards who dared not move a muscle from their standing posts.

Eventually, the officer came back in a rush and declared with open delight, “You have been approved! As you requested, you will be allowed to stay for three days. Why not stay longer? You can relax here for as long as you wish!”

Kino said that three days was enough.

“Is that so… Well you can take all of your weapons with you. And if you wish to carry them constantly while sightseeing, you are free to do so.”

Hermes then asked if the citizens were allowed to carry firearms inside the country, and if shootings were common. However, the officer quickly shook his head.

“Oh no. Ordinary citizens are prohibited from carrying persuaders. Only soldiers and police officers are allowed to have them. It‘s not like hunting is possible within the walls.”

The heavy gates slid upwards with a dull grating sound.

With this loud noise at the background, the officer‘s words of caution reached Kino‘s ears.

“The public order in this country is not bad at all. In fact, it is very good. But there are a few crooks who act hostile towards rare travelers, and even make attempts at their lives. Obviously, having our guests targeted will tarnish our country’s reputation. Even so, our police can’t keep constant watch all the time, so please be prepared to defend yourself. That is the reason why we allowed you to keep and carry your weapons.”

—

When they have finally passed through the gates, the country was already bathed by the rays of the evening sun.

Even though the size of the country was something they have expected even before setting foot beyond the gates, it was so wide that they couldn‘t see the opposite side of the walls from where they stood.

The fields were lined up in an orderly manner on both sides of a perfectly straight road. Just like on the other side of the walls, not a single tree could be seen.

Kino and Hermes rode without further need to step on grasses as they proceeded along a perfectly paved road, keeping on its left side.

Once they passed the fields, they saw the neat rows of houses, and soon the huge town spanning the heart of the country came into view.

The road widened into two lanes. Here and there were cars running using electricity, and there were traffic lights at the intersections.

“Hmm, well done. So even a country like this may not be known in other parts, huh?” Hermes commented as they ran.

“I told you it’s here,” Kino replied with a smile.

After passing through the residential area, they entered the part of the town lined up with buildings. And when it was beginning to get dark, they finally arrived at the entrance of the lavish hotel that was recommended to them by the immigration officer.

“Welcome traveler!”

And they were welcomed by the owner of the hotel, who took the pains to personally come out and greet them at the entrance.

Kino and Hermes boarded a huge elevator and were guided to the room at the topmost floor of the ten-storey building.

Kino said that she did not need such a gorgeous and expensive room. However,

“There‘s no need to worry. The country will shoulder all of the expenses.”

The owner told her this with a grin.

“Do you wish to have dinner? We can prepare you a light meal, a full-course meal, or whatever it is that you like.”

—

“Oh dear. There‘s more food coming?”

While Hermes looked on in shock, Kino ate, to her heart’s content, all the dishes served to her one after the other.

After resting for a bit after the meal, Kino soaked for a good while in the bathtub. She turned in her clothes for laundry, and changed into the pajamas provided by the hotel.

“The food was so great… I‘m glad I came here…”

While seated on the huge bed covered with pristine white sheets, Kino looked outside the window at the evening scenery offered by the orderly rows of buildings in the town.

Hermes spoke from behind.

“But this treatment you’re receiving is really suspicious. Maybe all that food earlier was a marital offer?”

“… Final supper?”

“Yes, that‘s it!”

Hermes fell silent for a moment, and then,

“They say death row convicts are given a nice supper on the night before their execution.”

“Sounds like bad news,” Kino muttered without a drop of worry in her tone.

“What are you going to do if that were really the case?” Hermes asked in a tone equally devoid of seriousness.

“In times of trouble—”

“Yeah?”

“Whatever, I‘m gonna sleep now.”

Kino flipped off the switch at her bedside, closing the curtains of the enormous windows, and threw herself into the bed.

“‘Kay, good night.”

—

The next morning, that is, the second day since they entered the country—

Kino woke up at dawn.

She did some light exercises, took a shower, and changed into the clean clothes that were washed the previous night.

Upon opening the curtains, she was greeted with a beautifully clear sky that was only beginning to brighten up.

Kino carried her bag to the center of the large room and emptied it of its contents.

Her neatly folded brown coat, the tiny and dirty tent, the sleeping bag that was full of patches, the portable cooking stove that had clearly been used for a long time, a mug with dents all over, a tin can containing tea bags, a portable light with scratches all over it, and so on.

Kino began to sort and consolidate her various luggage and implements, and repaired the items that needed it.

Lastly she lined up her assortment of knives.

“Maybe I should attend to this for once.”

She moistened the blades with water and sharpened them thoroughly on a grindstone.

The rays of the rising run filtered through the window and glistened on the sharpened blades.

“That’s rare of you to do. It must be going to rain spears today.”

Were Hermes‘ first words for the day.

“I say you waking up this early by yourself is a miracle in itself, Hermes.”

Kino answered as she sharpened a slim-bladed type.

“Maybe it is. —Morning, Kino.”

Kino turned to Hermes,

“Good morning, Hermes.”

—

After eating a breakfast that was ten times grander than her usual fare,

“I‘m so stuffed… I don’t want to move anymore.”

“Laziness is bad for humans. Although eating plenty at breakfast and lightly for dinner is only natural for animals.”

“Then maybe I should relax the whole day in my room. The way animals do.”

“You‘ll get fat. Trust me. Especially because your typical eating habits consist of frugal meals.”

“I’ve got no choice then… shall we take a stroll?”

“When we find a mechanic, don‘t forget to have my oil changed, okay?”

And so Kino and Hermes went for a stroll around the country.

Just like the previous day, Kino wore her black jacket and fastened it at the waist with a belt. She then installed the pouches containing spare magazines and her two persuaders in their respective places along it.

She left most of her luggage in the hotel room, and only placed a few tools inside the boxes at Hermes‘ side.

“Kino, Hermes, are you heading out?”

Just as they were about to exit the lobby, the owner called out to them.

He handed Kino a thin, folding plastic object.

“This serves as a map of this country. However, for our country’s protection, you may not take it out of the walls. We will have to collect it from you later, so please be careful not to lose it.”

“I understand. I‘ll be using this then.”

Kino and Hermes looked at the map together, and asked the owner where they could find a mechanic.

The owner took the map for a second and marked it with a pen.

“There are many car repair shops lined up along this street in this area,” he explained as he handed back the map.

Kino took it back with a word of thanks, and left amidst the respectful send-offs from the owner and the hotel attendants.

As soon as the automatic doors closed, the owner lifted his head. He was smiling.

Then he yelled out with a voice loud enough to be heard across the lobby.

Now everyone! Time to tune in to the TV!

—

As opposed to the electric cars soundlessly crowding the streets, Kino and Hermes rode, accompanied by the roar of Hermes‘ engine, which was by no means quiet.

“This is kinda awkward.”

“Don’t sweat it, it’s not gonna hurt anyone. And besides, look.”

When they stopped before a stoplight, Kino looked at a rectangular box affixed beside the traffic lights and stared back at the lens buried in its center.

“Surveillance cameras. I‘ve been seeing those all over the place for a while now. This type has a pretty wide range, with almost no blind spots to speak of,” Hermes said.

“This country probably keeps its peace and order with the help of those cameras. But that only means that we are also under constant observation.”

When the lights turned green, Kino slowly loosened the accelerator and gently accelerated.

“That must be to prevent you from taking advantage of the free food,” Hermes said.

—

[This is kinda awkward.]

[Don’t sweat it, it’s not gonna hurt anyone. ]

The hotel owner observed this scene through a monitor. The crisp image captured by the camera, and the clear voices picked up by the high-end microphone flowed from the huge screen.

The camera chased after Kino and Hermes who were constantly on-the-move. When it could no longer do so, another camera would take its place.

[And besides, look.]

Kino turned towards the camera.

—

Kino and Hermes first headed to the street lined up with car repair shops.

As they were told, there were plenty of shops in the area. And among the shopkeepers calling for their attention,

“Let‘s go with that mister over there.”

Hermes had personally chosen the shop where he would have his maintenance and oil change done.

And as expected, since the country would shoulder all expenses,

“I feel like my axle has gotten heavy.”

“Please replace my wires. My plugs and tires too!”

Hermes made one request after another.

It took several hours, until finally it was time for lunch.

“Ah, I feel so refreshed!”

“Refreshed?”

“Metaphorically speaking, you know.”

Amidst another send-off, Kino and Hermes left the repair shop and rode the streets again.

“Why did you choose that shop? Indeed, the mechanic was quite skilled,” Kino asked Hermes.

“I ‘saw’ his skills. That mister’s hands were quite dirty. Didn‘t you see the oil stuck in his fingernails and in the creases of his palms?”

“No, I didn’t notice.”

“They‘re grimy. That only means he doesn‘t leave the dirty work to other people. It‘s proof that he does the repairs himself.”

“I see… he ‘gets his hands dirty‘ so to speak.”

“It only shows that you don‘t do maintenance work yourself. You should learn from that guy.”

“Sure, if you‘re fine with getting damaged.”

“Um, it‘s always best to leave the work to pros, after all.”

“I think so too.”

As the topic of the conversation changed, Kino and Hermes arrived at the center of the country.

There was a park, made green by the grass and lawn but without a single tree in sight. The entrance to the park was lined up with food carts.

Wondering if there was a festival of some sort, they asked around and learned that the food carts service employees working in a nearby office block.

“Now that you know, why don‘t you eat here too? This fried bread goes well with cinnamon!”

“Oh! It’s the traveler! You won‘t be able to find our meatball noodles anywhere else in this country! Come and try it!”

“Traveler! We have delicious hotdogs over here! You can have as much cheese and veggie toppings as you want!”

“Don’t just eat, have some drinks too! Here have this tea. How much honey do you want in it?”

“You’ll forget about leaving this place once you’ve tasted our deluxe ice cream!”

Before the place got crowded for lunch, Kino swept through the row of shops. She did not turn down their invitations.

—

After enthusiastically gorging herself with food,

“Ah… I‘m stuffed…”

Kino distanced herself from the food carts that were slowly collecting a crowd, and lay sprawled on the lawn inside the deserted park.

“You eat too much.”

Hermes spoke to Kino from the paved walkway, not too far away from where Kino lay.

The sky was perfectly blue without a single cloud in sight, and the air was warm. Kino, whose eyes were fixed on this scenery, answered back,

“But I feel kinda weird, Hermes.”

“That‘s because you ate a lot last night and this morning too. Your stomach’s fuller than usual. If you continue that kind of lifestyle, you‘ll gain weight from all the excess calories.”

“Then I should do some exercise… But that can come later.”

“If you sleep right after eating too much…”

“I know, I know. I‘ll turn into a cow, right?”

“Yep.”

—

A man was approaching Kino and Hermes.

He looked to be around his fifties, with the hairline of his short hair visibly receded. He was thin and wore light-brown overalls. He held a pair of huge garden scissors with his right hand, while he carried a cloth sack in his left.

The man initially walked along the paved path, but suddenly changed direction towards the lawn when he reached Hermes. He walked towards Kino as he trampled on the grass.

“Are you the traveler?” the man called out in a loud voice as he steadily approached Kino, who had removed her gaze from the sky to look at him.

Kino slowly got up, and locked gazes with the man.

“Yeah.”

She brushed her pants as she stood up.

“Oh, I‘m sorry for waking you up.”

The man appeared apologetic as he stopped in his tracks, only five meters away from Kino.

He turned his gaze towards Hermes.

“So you came here using that motorrad? That‘s amazing. I also hope to leave the country someday on a journey with a vehicle like that,” he said with profound fascination. Then his face became serious as he went on, “But before I can do that, there‘s something I‘ve got to do first.”

Without taking her eyes off the man, Kino assumed an air of interest, and answered,

“Really now?”

“Yeah,” the man muttered. At the same time, he dropped the sack by his feet.

“And that is to kill you!”

Screaming, he opened the scissors as far as it could, and charged towards Kino with its blades.

—

[And that is to kill you!]

The man‘s voice resounded from the enormous speakers beside the monitor.

At the right side of the monitor was Kino with her back turned from the audience.

And at the upper left was the man, brandishing the scissors not at a tree branch, but towards Kino‘s neck.

When there was only half the distance remaining between Kino and the man, a white smoke arose from Kino‘s right thigh. At the same time, the speakers transmitted a heavy, explosive roar so loud it felt like it would break.

With his battle cry frozen into his expression and voice, and with his hands still tightly clutching the giant scissors, the man fell forward.

One blade of the scissor pierced into the soft soil of the lawn, and the other skewered the body of the man who fell on it.

There was a dull thud as the man slumped on the ground,

“Guh…”

And a gasp escaped the man‘s lips as he tried to lift his head,

“Aah… ugh…”

Groaning, the man was able to lift his head ever so slightly—

*Thump*

But it soon fell, and the man never moved again.

Someone watching, almost glued to his screen, cheered.

“J-just a single hit…! Amazing! This is great!”

—

Kino waited several seconds after killing the man.

After she was certain that the man has completely stopped moving, she returned Canon, the persuader she just fired from her hip, back to its holster.

“Kino, when did you become suspicious of the guy?” Hermes asked from where he stood.

“The moment I saw him,” Kino answered indifferently.

“Eh, how come?” Hermes asked, this time sounding thrilled.

“Because of those huge garden scissors.”

“Hm? Oh I get it! That thing is absolutely useless in a park without a single tree. In the first place, it doesn’t make sense for such a tool to exist in this country.”

“Good grief… It turned out just like how the officer said,” Kino sighed.

“It‘s a good thing they allowed you to carry around your persuader.”

“You bet.”

“So, what about your interrupted nap?”

“That chased the sleep from me. —Oh right, we‘ve got to call the police or something.”

“Don‘t bother, Kino.”

“Hm?”

Once Kino shifted her gaze away from the corpse, she saw police in navy blue uniforms rushing frantically towards them.

—

“He’s dead.”

“I see. We‘ll call for the disposal team.”

The police personnel who rushed at the scene first confirmed the man‘s condition.

Then the one who looked to be the highest-ranking among them spoke to Kino.

“This is really unfortunate, traveler. Are you all right?”

“I‘m fine. What about the interrogation?”

“That would be unnecessary. There is proof that this man has attacked you without any provocation. Once we communicate with headquarters, we can confirm this from the footage taken by the surveillance cameras, and your actions will be deemed as legitimate self-defense.”

“Why of course,” Hermes chimed in.

“We know that you are busy so we shall not take any more of your time, traveler. Please leave the rest to us, and carry on with your sightseeing,” the police officer continued.

“Okay, I‘ll leave it to you then.”

Kino said, and pushed Hermes along as she walked away from the scene.

—

When Kino and Hermes were completely out of view, the police started to chat amongst themselves.

“Would you look at this. A single shot to the chest, right where the heart is,” a young officer remarked.

“And the speed with which that weapon was drawn…,” the man who apologized to Kino replied.

“That fellow probably never missed a single shooting practice.”

“That‘s not enough to be able to do something like this.”

“What do you mean?”

The more experienced officer faced the younger one.

“That traveler can instantaneously react to a fatal threat.”

“And that means?”

“When faced with danger, a normal person‘s initial reaction is fear. That results in a momentary immobilization, preventing the person from immediately reacting to the danger.”

“I see…”

“But that traveler was different. He swiftly determined the appropriate plan of action to protect his own life, and carried it out calmly and with indifference. That has nothing to do with skill in using a persuader.”

“Then how did that traveler learn to do that?”

“There is only one way.”

“Which is?”

“To have your life in danger.”

“…”

“I‘m sure that traveler has faced mortal danger countless of times before now. And he managed to survive each and every single one of those threats. He either escaped, or otherwise—”

“Killed?”

“Of course. Otherwise he wouldn‘t be alive right now.”

“… Well that‘s amazing. But personally, I wouldn‘t want my family to experience such a thing.”

“Same here. Not only our families. I won‘t allow anyone from this country to experience that. And that‘s the reason why we and the army exist.”

——

Kino and Hermes rode the streets again after leaving the park. After a while,

“Why books?”

“Because they make you smarter.”

They found a bookstore in the enormous shopping district.

“It‘s not like you‘ll buy any because we can‘t carry those with us. And reading in a bookstore isn‘t exactly a nice thing, you know.”

“I won‘t take long.”

Kino stopped Hermes at the parking area beside the street, took off her hat and goggles, and inserted them between her belt and waist before finally entering the shop.

“This place sure seems deserted though.”

Left by himself, Hermes muttered as he looked around and noted the noticeable lack of people in the shopping district.

—

The glass door opened with the clink of a bell, and Kino entered the store.

“Oh, if it isn‘t the traveler! Please, take your time.”

The young female shopkeeper sitting behind the counter just next to the entrance greeted Kino.

The long and narrow interior of the shop was lined with ceiling-high shelves that continued well into the inner part of the room. There were no signs of other customers.

Kino acknowledged the greeting with a short hello, and turned her gaze to the rows of bookshelves.

She proceeded to the deserted inner area through a narrow aisle illuminated by a light bulb. It was narrow to the extent that two people passing through would brush with each other. Fortunately, nobody else was there at the moment.

After a while of browsing the titles, Kino settled with a picture book on edible grasses, and was about to begin reading it when,

“…”

She heard the clinking of the bell, prompting her to look at the direction of the sound.

The counter by the entrance, which was visible beyond the rows of bookshelves, was empty. The sound of the bell signified not someone entering the shop, but someone leaving it.

Kino turned her attention back to the opened book in her hands.

“Ah, so this one can be eaten if boiled carefully…”

Kino went on to read a few more pages inside the shop that has grown even quieter.

“…”

Then she heard the bell clink for the third time.

When she took a glimpse at the entrance, this time she saw a person.

It was a woman in her forties. She wore an apron on top of a green dress—it almost seems like she had stopped in the middle of housework just to visit the bookstore. She also had a shoulder bag with her.

“Oh my, is the shopkeeper not around?”

Right after stepping inside the store, the woman muttered, not talking to anyone in particular.

“She went out a while ago,” Kino replied with a rather loud voice.

“Oh, aren‘t you the traveler? Why, welcome to our country!”

The woman said, smiling from ear to ear as she headed straight for the aisle in between the shelves.

“…”

Kino closed the picture book and neatly returned it back to its place in the shelf.

“I‘ll probably get scolded if I get these books dirty.”

—

[I‘ll probably get scolded if I get these books dirty.]

The microphone picked up the voice clearly and delivered it through the speakers beside the monitor.

Meanwhile the monitor displayed the footage from the camera hanging from the ceiling, showing everything that was taking place in the aisle.

Kino was at the right edge of the screen, facing the camera. The woman was approaching from the entrance with a smile on her face.

Kino moved, disappearing to the right of the screen. Soon after,

[W-wait! Hold it right there!]

The woman’s face suddenly took on a murderous expression as she broke into a run.

She revealed the huge cleaver from the shoulder bag she was carrying, and gripped it with her right hand.

The woman was still visible in the screen, but the camera changed to Kino, who ran to the innermost part of the store and quickly moved to an adjacent aisle.

Kino dashed for the entrance. This time the camera switched to the footage taken by the surveillance camera installed near the entrance.

Due to the intense sunlight filtering through the glass door and windows, Kino‘s running figure became blurred.

“What‘s wrong with this thing! Show me what‘s happening!”

Someone watching yelled, growing impatient at his monitor.

[I won‘t let you get away!]

The maddened howl of the woman, who had not found Kino at the interior of the shop, was heard along with her hasty footsteps on the floor.

Kino appeared on the monitor. She was in front of the brightly lit entrance, being shined upon by the rays of the sun.

[There you are! Don‘t you move from that spot!]

Ignoring the woman‘s words, Kino began to open the door.

[…]

And realized that it was locked.

At the same time,

[Waaaaaaaaa!]

She noticed the woman charging towards her, brandishing her cleaver up high.

Kino turned around, her glare never leaving the woman closing in, as she reached her right hand to her waist.

And without taking hold of Canon‘s grip placed there, she placed her palms by her belt, stretched out her left leg in a sweeping motion, targeting the the woman’s feet.

In her sliding position, Kino used the soles of her left boot to catch on the woman’s left shin.

[W-wah!]

In her attempt to bring down the cleaver towards Kino, the woman lost her balance, still propelled by the force of her dash. She passed obliquely over the crouched Kino.

And not able to stop herself, she crashed head first towards the glass door, the cleaver still held tightly in her grasp.

The sound of breaking glass as well as the sound of the woman’s large build distorting the door frame was heard.

Kino immediately turned around as she stood up, and stepped back to the aisle away from the door. Having entered the now blurry interior of the shop, she vanished from view except for her feet.

Along with the sound of the glass sheet smashed into tiny bits on the floor,

[Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa……]

Were the woman’s groan, which sounded like a muddled snore.

[Gaaaa… A-]

This suddenly faded out, and the footage quickly changed to a different camera.

It was not an image of Kino. Instead, it showed the footage of the glass door entrance as taken from the outside.

There was the bookstore’s glass door, the upper part of which was impaled with the woman’s limp body. Both of her arms sagged lifelessly, the cleaver finally free from her grasp.

No wounds could be seen.

Only the deep crimson blood sluggishly flowing from the throat of the woman, whose dangling body quivered slightly from convulsions.

The bright red blood poured from her arms and down the door like water gushing from a waterfall, eventually transforming the color of the floor mat on the doorstep that read ‘Welcome’.

“Ahahahahaha! That hag got her neck arteries gashed by broken glass! This one’s a goner for sure! A goner!”

Someone watching cheered, delighted by the unexpected development.

—

While watching the now lifeless body of the woman, who only a few seconds earlier got herself embedded in a glass door, and a few seconds before that, entered the store in pursuit of Kino,

“What in the world is up with this place?” Hermes muttered. “Well, it's fine as long as Kino doesn't complain of not being able to read in peace.”

The few people walking around the desolate shopping district soon heard the sirens of police cars.

—

“We can’t apologize enough… Having a guest who had just entered the country be involved in an incident like this—”

A middle-aged police officer, different from the one they met from the park, apologized profusely to Kino again and again, as he wiped the beads of sweat dribbling from his face.

Kino stood beside Hermes, casting a sidelong glance to the other police officers taking pictures of the corpse clinging from the glass door.

“The surveillance cameras inside the store caught everything on tape. You will not be held liable for anything, traveler. As for this woman’s motives, we will have to make a detailed investigation to find out… At any rate, I am very much relieved that you are not injured.”

“This is the second time today. Do your citizens have something against travelers or something?” Hermes commented, prompting the police to reply apologetically,

“No, not at all! —A country with a population as huge as ours will definitely have one or two people with a few loose screws, don’t you think? We also heard about what happened in the park. We can’t apologize enough… Please leave everything to us, and enjoy your tour.”

Saying the same thing as the previous police officer.

“Okay, I’ll leave it to you then.”

Kino replied as she had before, and pushed Hermes along as she walked away from the scene.

—

“Let’s call it a day and go back to the hotel, Kino.”

“I was thinking of that too… but if we go back, we don’t have anything to do.”

“Go nap. That’s one specialty of yours that you love, right?”

“I wouldn’t call it a specialty… Anyway, if I take a nap, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, and that would be a waste.”

“You’re a cheapskate even with that?”

“Other than that, if you get yourself busy during the day, your dinner will taste delicious.”

“So that’s what you’re after!”

Kino and Hermes rode along the streets during this exchange.

It was a road beside the green belt intervening the residential area and the office block, in the suburbs a short distance from the center. It was lined up with equally-spaced street lights made to look like old, traditional gas lights.

The green park covered with grass but no trees was situated in a long and narrow area, and continued along the length of the road.

It was already past noon. The weather was perfect, yet there were no other cars on the road, nor any signs of people in the park.

Inside the park, they found a small hut made into a shop, with tables and chairs lined up in front of it.

“I wonder if that’s a teahouse? Just perfect. Let’s go rest there for a while.”

Kino dropped Hermes’ speed.

“Because it’s free?”

“Well, there’s that too.”

Kino veered the handle towards the paved walkway, and got off the street. She quickly cut the engine and alighted, pushing Hermes into the park entrance.

As Kino expected, the hut was a tiny cafe. The shopkeeper—a young man around twenties listening idly to the radio—hastily opened the window of the counter when he saw Kino approaching.

“W-welcome! —Oh! It’s the traveler…”

“Can I have some tea?”

“Of course! The country will pay for everything so it’s free!”

From the assortment of teas, Kino picked a variety she wasn’t able to try during lunch. The shopkeeper also offered her a selection of desserts, but she turned them down and only accepted two chocolate chip cookies.

Kino propped Hermes on his stand beside one of the vacant tables, then seated herself and waited.

She removed her hat and goggles and hung them on Hermes’ handles.

“Thank you for waiting. Here it is.”

Soon the shopkeeper came with a pot and a cup on a tray.

After inquiring about the tea’s contents, Kino began to drink.

Then Hermes asked after the shopkeeper left,

“Any poison?”

“Doesn’t seem to have any. It’s delicious, though.”

—

The young shopkeeper who returned to his hut closed the door and locked it in a flurry.

And then,

“Haah…”

His body quivering, he crouched and grabbed the receiver of the telephone on top of the shelf. Clutching it tight, he crawled into the interior of the shop. Surrounded by the shelves containing cans of tea and other ingredients, he pushed the buttons on the phone with trembling hands.

[Yes?]

Without even ringing once, the person on the other line answered.

“U-um…”

Through the chattering of his back teeth, the shopkeeper only managed to squeeze these sounds.

[We see him. Thank you for your cooperation. It would be best if you remain where you are. No matter what happens, don’t show your face.]

—

Under the blue sky, Kino drank her tea in ease.

After finishing her second pouring of tea from the pot, and just when Hermes was talking about caterpillars and stringed musical instruments,

“You have a guest. Look behind you.”

Kino slowly looked back at Hermes’ urging.

An old man was walking in the park.

He looked to be really old, beyond eighty years of age.

He was completely bald, and had a thin body, with his back slightly bent. He wore overalls and a checkered shirt, something likely to be worn by a manual laborer or peasant. He was pulling a cart, which though small, looked heavy because of the large portable plastic storage tank on top of it.

The old man slowly approached Kino and Hermes. His wrinkle-ridden face held a stern look.

“So the next one who wants to try his luck is this guy, huh?”

Hermes said in his usual tone, making it hard to discern if he was joking or being serious.

“Well then— maybe we should get going now that I’ve finished my tea.”

Saying this in her normal tone, Kino immediately stood up. She put on her hat, and let her goggles hang down her neck.

Then she pushed Hermes and walked towards the exit of the park, away from the old man.

Soon after,

“H-hey you! You with the bike!”

The old man yelled and ran, his actions showing clear desperation. However, he couldn’t move fast due to the heavy cart he was pulling along.

“W-wait! —Stop! Don’t you run from me! I’m going to kill you! Stop! Get back here so I can kill you!”

The old man yelled a second time.

“Hey, he’s asking you to stop, you know?”

“Good grief. This isn’t funny.”

Kino answered, continuing to push Hermes. Once at the park’s exit, she stopped. Then she straddled Hermes and started the engine.

“Come on—let’s run.”

—

[Come on—let’s run.]

Kino’s voice resounded from the speakers beside the monitor.

The camera installed on the street lights picked up the image of the walkway beside the park with Kino straddling Hermes and starting his engine. The monitor displayed the image at an angle from above.

Kino rode off with Hermes, and plied the left side of the perfectly straight road.

After a while, the camera switched views.

Kino and Hermes appeared from the upper portion of the monitor, proceeding downwards, out of the monitor. After they left,

The cursing old man, now short of breath, appeared at the same scene in the monitor, dragging along his cart.

The old man stepped out of the walkway into the middle of the road, and glared daggers at the direction Kino and Hermes disappeared to.

[Stop running, you coward! Coward!]

He began to yell insults as he pleased. The next moment, he was hit from behind by a car riding at a furious speed.

The tiny car appeared at the middle of the screen in an instant, carelessly bumping into the old man without even making an effort to dodge, and ran to the front of the screen and out of view.

The old man’s body rotated along its length three times, and spun slowly in the air before finally falling, head first, to the ground.

There was the sound of something splitting and breaking, and the screen was splattered with red blood and scattered brains.

And at the right side of the screen, the plastic tank had been knocked off beside the street, its liquid contents strewn flashily.

The cart fell last, creating a tiny spark that made the fluid burst into flames.

The crimson flames occupied half of the right side of the screen, while the rest became covered with darkness.

The flames spread at the feet of the old man, and in no time, his shoes, trousers and legs became mercilessly consumed by the blaze. Yet, the old man did not move.

“So that geezer was about to splash gasoline!”

Someone watching said, utterly amused.

—

“I wonder if it’s safe now.”

Kino has run for around two hundred meters, yet the landscape around her hasn’t changed much. She stopped Hermes to the left.

“Nope. It’s best to continue running. We have one more guest.”

Hermes said. When Kino turned around, she noticed the billowing black smoke from afar,

“Whoa.”

And a car speeding straight towards them.

—

The camera was switching repeatedly.

The screen focused on the road beside the park. Soon Kino and Hermes appeared, riding from the right to the left edge, accompanied with the sound of the engine‘s roar altered by the Doppler effect. Three seconds later, the tiny car followed, only its tires audible.

This kind of footage was repeated four more times.

[There have been countless attempts on my li——, but this is the first time someone tried to run me over with a car. Usually they‘d use a pers——er or a knife.]

[Well—— Among countries with high volume of traffic this —— happen every day. Be—— be careful.]

Kino and Hermes’ voices were transmitted in choppy portions.

[Scary——]

[You bet——]

[B— you know, that car can‘t catch up to us with that speed.]

[What do you mean?]

[That kind of electric car was constr—— in a way so that no matter how much you ram its accele—— pedal, it’s speed won’t go beyond a certain limit. So, we can go on with this game of tag forever.]

[That sounds like good news, but we can‘t ke—— with this for long. Once we reach the city pro—]

Eventually, the perfectly straight road they‘ve been traversing for a while appeared to be heading towards an intersection.

The monitor displayed footage of the intersection. At the four corners of the cross-shaped junction stood thick iron posts from which the traffic lights were hanging.

Kino, who appeared on the screen, hit the brakes all of a sudden. Their speed dropped at once.

This was followed by Hermes‘ voice.

[Eh? What are you doing?]

Without answering the question, Kino maneuvered around the post at a slow speed, then stopped. The next instant, the car came crashing into the post.

The car that was maintaining a considerable speed in its pursuit of Kino and Hermes charged the moment it found an opportunity, and as a consequence, crashed into the post that was right in its path.

There was a strong, explosive sound as the entire frame of the car sank into the post and its rear end left the ground.

The post warped from the impact, and lurched to the side of the car with an unpleasant creak. At the same time, the rear end that momentarily took to air fell back on the road.

The camera switched once more, now taking a view of the driver‘s seat of the car from overhead. There was a white, sturdy looking balloon that inflated from the steering wheel, which prevented the driver from pitching forward.

[Oh it‘s an airbag. Must have learned a lesson from that lady earlier.]

Hermes‘ impressed remark was heard, though he wasn‘t visible in the monitor.

The balloon soon shrunk, as if giving the camera a chance to show the driver‘s current state.

The one fastened with a seat belt on the smoking driver seat was a young woman. She looked to be only in her mid-twenties. It was an undeniably beautiful woman, with long brown hair now a dishevelled mess, and whose short pants and tank top leaves little of her skin unexposed.

The woman slowly lifted her head, and looked beyond the front glass that was now riddled with cracks. And when she realised that she crashed on nothing else but a post,

[Damn!]

She cursed as she all but kicked the door open, and jumped out of the car.

[She‘s tougher than she looks.]

The camera switched again just when Hermes‘ comment was heard.

On the right side of the screen, the woman could be seen getting out of her car, while on the left side was Kino, still astride Hermes.

The woman limped for a few steps before finally finding her balance. She looked left and right, searching for Kino, and found her in no time. She then cried out,

[H-help me! Please! My car‘s brake didn‘t work!]

“Hey, hey! That‘s obviously a lie!”

Someone watching spat, evidently outraged.

“There’s no way the traveler would believe that lie!”

[Okay, I‘ll help you.]

“Huh…?”

[I‘ll call the police for help, so please stay where you are.]

The screen showed Kino’s composed expression, as well as her right hand on the ready over the revolver on her waist.

“Ahaha! So that‘s not it!”

Someone watching roared in laughter.

While the woman onscreen howled back,

[Don’t mess with me!]

As her back was facing the camera, her expression couldn‘t be seen.

[What exactly do you mean by that?]

Kino asked.

[I mean it exactly as I said! You! Do you even know what you want to do with your life?]

As she screamed, she turned to the back of the car and opened its trunk. The interior was dark and obscured from view.

[People like you should just go to hell! That way, I can finally attain happiness! You understand, don’t you?]

The woman shoved both of her hands into the trunk, and grabbed hold of something.

[Anyway, no one would mourn for someone like you even if you die, right?]

The object she was clutching was something long and narrow, hidden inside a cloth bag. Kino slowly pulled out Canon from its holster.

[I, on the other hand, am young and beautiful. My life—]

As she spoke, she dropped the bag at her feet, at the same time taking out its contents. The long and narrow something was a shotgun. And as she posed and pointed it towards Kino,

[Is only beginning!]

There was a bang.

Kino‘s right hand was outstretched, holding the revolver she had just fired. White smoke unfurled on the left side of the screen in an instant, and soon vanished.

Meanwhile, on the right side was the woman, with blood gushing out of her forehead. She had dropped her persuader, and collapsed right into her car‘s trunk.

There was a dull thud, and the woman‘s torso vanished into the darkness of the trunk. Only her lower body remained under the light of the sun.

[Hm— A bit different, but almost the same as that woman earlier.]

Hermes commented.

[…]

Kino wordlessly waited for a few seconds before finally deciding to return Canon to its holster.

“Alright! That was really cool! You‘re the best, Kino!”

Someone shouted.

—

Kino and Hermes waited until the police arrived.

“Haven’t we had enough? Let’s just leave the corpse and go back to the hotel.”

Hermes said, but Kino only sat on him and patiently waited. The bare legs sticking out of the car’s trunk did not so much as twitch.

Soon the police cars arrived in swarms, accompanied with their blaring sirens. A yet again different set of people stepped out from the cars.

“I can’t possibly apologize enough traveler…”

Their representative apologized to Kino again and again.

“It’s the third time today. Wait, if we include that fishy old guy, it’s the fourth.”

Hermes said, prompting Kino to ask the police about the old man.

“When he went out to the streets, it seems that he was hit by the car this woman was driving.”

“Oh my. Did he die?” Hermes asked.

“Well… yeah.”

“So he wasn’t able to go after us. That’s great isn’t it, Kino.”

“Most certainly. —By the way, it is getting dark, traveler. Maybe you should go back to the hotel?”

“…”

Kino considered the officer’s words for a while before answering,

“I guess I should do that. However, I’m worried I’d get attacked again on my way back. May I request for police escort?”

“Of course!”

The police answered, his expression of utmost delight.

—

The sky was beginning to show the signs of evening.

While the blue sky was busy transforming into a madder red hue, Kino and Hermes rode the streets, flanked by police cars like some cash transport vehicle. Soon they entered the city and were back at the hotel. No one attempted to attack them the entire time.

Leaving the saluting police officers behind, Kino and Hermes entered the lobby, and was greeted by the owner’s ear-to-ear grin.

“Welcome back! How did your tour went?”

“It was really fun!” Hermes answered.

“It was really tiring,” Kino replied, then returned what she has borrowed.

While taking back the map, the owner asked with a worried look on his face,

“We have finished preparations for dinner. But I’m worried that you might have lost your appetite—”

“No, I’ll have some. The same as yesterday’s, if that’s all right.”

Smile returned to the owner’s face, who gladly answered,

“Just as expected! Of course, please sit back and relax!”

—

The next morning, that is, the morning of the third day since they entered the country—

Kino woke up at dawn. The weather was just as clear as the previous day’s.

Inside the large room, she loosened her body with some exercise, and proceeded with her quick draw routine with Canon and Woodsman.

She showered long, as if reluctant to part with it, and wore a white shirt fresh from the laundry.

She gathered her luggage and put them in her bag, and completed her preparations for departure. Then she waited for a while before breakfast.

After finishing the breakfast that was even grander than the previous day’s.

“The most natural thing to do. As an animal.”

Those were Hermes‘ first words for the day.

“So, I wonder what‘s going to rain down this time.”

“No idea. Morning, Kino.”

“Good morning, Hermes.”

—

“You‘re leaving already? That’s a real pity. The next time you visit, please come to our hotel again.”

After the hotel owner saw them off, Kino and Hermes went on their way.

First, they stopped by a store to get some fuel and portable rations. The shop was yet to open, but when its shopkeeper heard the sound of the motorrad‘s engine, he quickly came out of the store.

“Please take this with you! This! And this one too!”

They were all traveling supplies.

“That thing’s about to burst, you know?”

Kino crammed the bag full with as much stuff as Hermes could carry.

There were much more vehicles riding the streets compared to the previous day. And, many times over, as they rode their way to the western gates,

“Traveler, please come again!”

“You were really amazing!”

“You‘re the best!”

Pedestrians and drivers alike showered them with such greetings. And among the words they received,

“Thank you!”

Was the most numerous of all.

“Thank you?”

Kino tilted her head in wonder, while Hermes could only ask,

“Kino, what did we do in this country?”

“Ate lots of food.”

“There‘s no way they‘d thank you for that. What else?”

“Killed three people.”

“That must be it!”

Hermes said, though whether he was joking or not couldn‘t be discerned from his tone.

“…”

Kino narrowed her eyebrows underneath her goggles.

Kino and Hermes continued down the road and soon exited the city. They passed through the residential area and ran among the fields, until they finally arrived at the western part of the country where the gates were. The gates and the walls were being scorched in the heat of the bright morning sun.

“I would like to proceed with the exit procedures.”

Just when Kino approached the guards before the gates, the door beside it opened.

“Hello there, Kino!”

A man came out from it, greeting them delightedly.

“Oh hi, mister.”

“Hello, Hermes. I‘m glad to see both of you doing well!”

It was the immigration officer who had welcomed them only the day before last.

—

“Okay, we‘re done with the procedures. Thank you for visiting our country. We‘re truly glad to have you!”

They were inside the guardhouse facing the outer gates. The immigration officer sitting at the other side of the table said this with a smile, and sought a handshake from Kino.

“…”

Kino hesitated but accepted the hand offered to her. Then she asked,

“Will you tell me now why those people attempted to murder me?”

“…”

The immigration officer‘s eyes widened in surprise.

“Well… you got us,” he said, embarrassed. “Even if I feign ignorance, you two won‘t believe me anyway, I suppose?”

“No.” “Nuh-uh.”

Kino and Hermes answered at the same time.

“It can‘t be helped. Fine, I‘ll tell you. We‘re actually not allowed to talk about this inside the country, but since this place is technically ‘outside’ , I‘ll make an exception.”

And so, the officer ordered the guards to exit the room, leaving him alone with Kino and Hermes. Only then did he speak again,

“You were really a great help!”

Not expecting such a reply, Kino only tilted her head.

“Help with what?” It was Hermes who asked in her stead.

“With those four people yesterday. Though in the end you only killed three of them.”

“…”

After pondering for a while, Kino asked, “Those four who attacked me yesterday… just who are they?”

There was an immediate reply.

“They‘re death row convicts.”

—

“This is going to be a long story.”

The immigration officer started off. He placed his elbows on the desk, and rested his chin on his joined hands. Then he continued, his tone that of amusement.

“I was telling you the truth when I told you the other day that the peace and order in this country is very good. There is little gap between the rich and the common folk, and as you might have noticed, the surveillance cameras scattered all over the country are pretty effective in curbing the number of crimes. Such incidents rarely occur. However, ‘rare’ doesn’t mean ‘never’. Otherwise, this country wouldn‘t have any need for police or jails.”

“I understand. Please go on.”

“And we do have corresponding punishments for these criminals—from fines and penal servitude, to the heaviest of all, which is death penalty. However, in any era, the issue of death penalty has always been suffused with various problems.”

“I presume there are people who were against its ‘inhumane’ methods?”

“That‘s right, Hermes. Those who criticize it stress the cruelty of the methods used as their main driving point. But this was rebutted with a proposal that suggests everyone think of less cruel means. As a result, ever since the country’s founding, the death penalty system changed over and over again.”

The immigration officer then proceeded to enumerate various examples.

First was burning at the stake—a simple and easy method they used in ages past.

However, it was considered brutal because the person dies a slow death. Also, it was a waste of precious fuel.

And so they next chose an approach that did not require a drop of fuel—beheading by sword.

However, if the one going to perform it wasn’t skilful enough, the convict might not be decapitated in one swing. In that case, both the criminal’s agony and the pressure on the executioner became too heavy to bear. Clearly, beheading by sword was considered no less cruel, and was also trashed.

And so the next method they adopted was death by guillotine, a machine that was designed to reliably separate the head from the body, and cause instant death.

However it was much difficult to use in practice. It was employed for some time, but ultimately, it was decided that it was no different from beheading by sword, and was discontinued.

After the guillotine followed death by hanging. It seemed a really simple and efficient method that they thought would finally work.

However, there were numerous occasions that ended in failure because of the rope breaking. Also, too weak a force would cause a slow death, while too much would make the head come off. These, among a slew of other problems, led to the cessation of the practice.

Soon a method utilizing electricity—the electric chair—was discovered. They readily applied the idea, counting on the science behind it.

However, there were many failures on account of the differences in physiques, and it proved surprisingly difficult to bring about instant death using it. There were even claims from the electric company, demanding that their commodity not be used for such purposes.

After that, they next implemented the use of lethal injection. It was allegedly a peaceful method, as a fatal dose is only injected after a drug-induced sleep, making the person feel as little pain as possible.

However, the effects also widely varied depending on the person’s constitution. And the idea of doctors—who are supposed to be saving lives instead of taking them—performing or supervising the procedure rolled up quite a fuss in the medical field.

Last was death by shooting, a method considered convenient and economical because of its use of relatively low-cost bullets.

However, the pressure on the one doing the shooting was too heavy. There’s the worry of executioners who would try to miss on purpose, or use blank cartridges—although that can be distinguished from the presence or absence of recoil. And indeed, there was a time when none of the shots reached their mark.

—

“And that’s the gist of it—. No matter what idea we came up with, dissenters would pop up one way or the other.”

Hermes asked, “Let me ask just to make sure. Even after all that trouble, there was no move to abolish the system altogether?”

“Let me see. At the present, the faction against death penalty has never gotten the majority of the parliament. That’s because there came a popular view in our country of death penalty being a ‘legitimate self-defense’.”

“What do you mean by that?” Kino asked.

“I’ll try to explain, but this is more of a mentality that has deeply penetrated into the masses’ mindset, rather than a collective agreement over what is right.”

With this prudent preface, the immigration office continued the explanation.

“At some point, circumstances gave rise to the right of ‘legitimate self-defense’. This means that you are excused from responsibility for killing someone—a criminal—who is about to carry out his or her crime upon you.”

“Uh-huh. Just like what happened with Kino yesterday.”

“That’s right. However, that there is a ‘criminal’ only means that there was a ‘victim’ who was not able to defend themselves. Even though this right of ‘legitimate self-defense’ should have been able to protect the people, there are still victims. That’s why the country, basically everyone, thought they should enact this right in the victim’s stead, even after the crime. That is, to do the last thing the victim wasn’t able to do—that is our definition of ‘death penalty’.”

“Hmm.”

“Basically, you shall have your right to legitimate self-defense whether you want it or not,” the immigration officer said.

“So what you’re saying is, this country’s death penalty system has something to do with what happened to me yesterday?” Kino asked.

“Exactly. In recent years, the faction opposing the system came up with two more arguments. The first was, ‘take pity on the jail guards who are asked to commit murder’. Well, killing people is part of their work. No matter what kind of method was used, it is true that it is a rather taxing profession. So to speak, it was then necessary to pay heed to the care of the minds of the jail guards who are ‘obligated to kill people in place of others’.”

The immigration officer paused. And then,

“The other one is, ‘because the convicts, too, are human, their hope should not be snuffed out completely’.”

“Huh?”

“Hope? What do you mean?”

Kino titled her head, while Hermes questioned. The immigration officer answered plainly,

“The dissenters said— ‘Humans live off of hope. When the death penalty is decided, all hope is being taken away from the convicts. That is much more cruel than taking their lives away. Even if it is necessary to kill them, you should at least keep their hopes alive. A death penalty system that fails to do that is defective, and should be abolished’. That’s their line of reasoning.”

“Okay,” Hermes said. While Kino asked,

“And that was accepted by the citizens?”

“Well, it penetrated bit by bit. In the end, to allow the perpetuation of the death penalty system, it became necessary to address these two issues: ‘to not lay this heavy burden on any citizen’ and to ‘let the convicts keep their hopes alive’. We need a system that keeps the above arguments in mind. It was a tough problem, and many people thought long and hard about it.”

Before the immigration officer who was effecting a scholarly air,

“I get it!”

“You mean, people like me, that is, travelers…”

Hermes and Kino replied in turn.

“Indeed, how insightful! This country’s death penalty system thus makes travelers kill the convicts. We call it the ‘TravelPen’, short for ‘traveler death penalty system’!”

The immigration officer’s excited chatter was met with Kino’s indifferent question,

“Specifically?”

“It’s really simple. When a traveler comes to visit, all of his or her actions are recorded by surveillance cameras. At the same time, a police vehicle containing all of the convicts follow. And when they have come to a place with as little people as possible, they will spur on the criminals, ‘This is your final hope. If you can do a good job in killing that traveler, your death sentence will be lifted, and you will be allowed to choose between deportation and a fixed-term sentence.’ They could have refused, and just choose the death penalty, but as we expected, they fled off in high spirits. The order was decided by drawing lots.”

“I see. Then what about those weapons they have? Those were quite dangerous. There was a car too,” Hermes asked.

“Of course the police assigned them weapons that give them the littlest chance of victory. And if they turn against the police with those weapons, they will be shot on sight.”

“Then you could just have suggested they do that from the start.”

“Well that poses a number of problems.”

“The result will be the same.”

“That’s true, but as you can see, no one can lie because the surveillance cameras are everywhere.”

“And the opposing faction accepted this?”

“Perhaps they haven’t. But because the arguments they presented were all addressed, they have been laying low. Of course, I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.”

“I see.”

“It’s not good for humans to stop thinking. There should be a constant flow of ideas.”

While listening to the conversation going on between Hermes and the immigration officer, Kino was thinking. Then she asked,

“When was this system decided on? Was this the first time?”

The officer answered immediately.

“No. This is the fifteenth year since then, and now is the fourth time.”

“Up until now, were any travelers killed?”

The officer grinned, and threw the question back to Kino.

“Surely you know the answer to that?”

“Yeah, I guess. —None, right?”

“Of course! Upon entry, we make sure of the skill of the traveler. They should have a weapon, and should have experience in killing to defend their selves, and should have no qualms as to using force to protect their lives. To be specific, it should be someone tough enough to still be able to eat dinner after killing three people in a day.”

“Kino, he’s praising you,” Hermes said.

“In short… those four yesterday were sent after me armed with the littlest of luck, and whose only ‘chance’ was to get killed by me?” Kino asked in response to the immigration officer.

“Yes. It would be strange otherwise. Those four are death row convicts after all. For the country, they are not to be allowed to live any longer. Failing to kill convicts is the same as allowing your good citizens to be killed.”

“But didn’t you say it yourself? That they have almost no chance of winning?” Hermes asked.

“Of course we don’t tell them that. There’s no need to tell them such a thing. The only requirement is to not take away their final hope. And you Kino, are a perfect target. Seeing that you are young, they would think it is a piece of cake to take you down. It would make them very happy.”

“Oh,” said Hermes. “But if this has happened three times in the past, and even though there was not a single one who was freed by killing a traveler, why would they still choose to do it? Don’t you think they would have noticed already if no one has succeeded thus far?”

“That’s simply because they feel that they can do it because they have no other choice. Humans are prone to resorting to reckless methods when they are cornered. For instance, in a burning building, a lot of people would think they can jump safely from a high floor because the ground ‘doesn’t look high enough to be fatal’.”

The immigration officer continued.

“Just to let you know, I’ll tell you about those four convicts yesterday. The first guy was a serial rapist and murderer. Under the guise of a school teacher, he threatened his students with violence if they exposed him. After several years, there was one female student who was brave enough to sue him. He killed her and threw her corpse in an incinerator. The second one, though she may look like that, was actually also a serial killer. She was jealous of her more affluent friends, so she called four of them to a party and mindlessly stabbed them to death. The third one—the old man—used poison. He owned a restaurant, but when his business weakened due to competition, he poisoned the cooking pots of a rival restaurant, which caused two customers to die and eight more to become seriously ill. And finally, that young woman set fire to the house of her lover who refused to divorce his wife, killing all six family members including a baby. She pretended to be in the fire, but her lie was soon uncovered.”

“Quite the busy bunch, huh.”

The immigration officer returned a bitter smile. “That’s a bit harsh.”

“What about false charges?” Hermes asked in jest.

“Well, as I mentioned above, there is very little chance of that. As you have seen yourself, this country is full of surveillance cameras, so everything can be proven shortly in an investigation.”

“I see. But this doesn't eliminate people who commit crimes, no?”

“Sure, that may be true. Humans are such weak creatures after all. But you know, all we have left are people who were sentenced to death one or two years ago, so I believe our public order is heading to a great direction, though I only hear rumors about other countries’ circumstances so I really can’t compare. I am just relieved that the enforcement of the penalty has gone without a hitch. Since your stay was short, we had you kill four people in succession. And you did a great job.”

The immigration officer smiled. Then his expression tightened as he continued with utmost seriousness.

“I believe most of our citizens would agree that this is a wonderful system. —First, a great majority of our people approved this method. Because none of our citizens had to sully their hands, the guilt over the executions has also lessened. Moreover, the convicts can live their lives without fearing the day of their execution. The only thing they could think of until their deaths is that they could still be saved depending on how well they perform. They continue to live with such strong hopes in their hearts. That’s why the prisoners are still very energetic even while in detention. And finally, the families of the victims can watch as the travelers give the criminals their unsightly end. It was most certainly a gratifying sight. By the way, only citizens above a certain age were allowed to watch.” “So it was broadcasted after all,” Hermes said. The immigration officer beamed with excitement,

“I forgot to say, everything was aired live. Yesterday’s special must have garnered wonderful ratings! I know because the moment you went out of the hotel, the people disappeared from the streets! I myself was watching everything from a monitor. You were really cool, Kino!”

Kino asked the immigration officer, “Wait… you mean those who ‘approved’ it were…?”

“Of course! —You were allowed to use your persuader to your heart’s content. Wasn’t it refreshing?”

“No.”

Was Kino’s quick response.

“Oh, I guess it was rude of me to assume. But that’s only because most of the travelers who came here previously said that. In fact, the one who came three years ago said after the explanation, ‘Is that all? I can still go on. Let me take care of all the convicts!’”

“It depends on the person.”

“Well, perhaps. Then let me put it this way—‘You shall end up in a situation where you will have no other choice but to kill in order to protect your life, that is, in the name of self-defense. But in exchange for that, you shall be given fabulous lodgings and a splendid feast, as well as maintenance for your motorrad and plenty of travel supplies, all free of charge.’ In fact, you have already received these things. Travelers who weren’t selected for this task weren’t able to enjoy such treatment. Wasn’t it such a profitable deal?”

“…”

Kino fell silent.

“It’s a good thing you were chosen, Kino. And even if you feel differently, it sure was a big deal for me!” Hermes said.

Kino took one breath, and answered firmly, “I take whatever I can whenever possible. —However, I will not go back to this country ever again.”

“Oh, what’s the matter? —The next time you come, we were thinking of asking for your services again. A feast is waiting for you, you know.”

Kino answered, “I ended up not having any free time even during my ‘leisurely walk’.”

“Well, there isn’t much to see in our country anyway. But… even if your specialty is killing, we won’t force you if you don’t want to do it.”

The immigration officer shrugged. Kino waited several seconds before she spoke again.

“I do not enjoy taking lives. All the more, having others watch me kill them like it’s some spectacle.”

The immigration officer gave a firm nod.

“I see. I understand what you’re trying to say. I admit that we may have offended you. However—”

“However?”

“We will continue this death penalty system because it is a necessity.”

“A necessity?”

“Yes. Kino, you killed them because it was necessary for your own survival, right? You had to do it whether or not you enjoyed killing.”

“…”

Kino did not answer the question. The immigration officer smiled,

“It’s the exact same thing.”

Back to Chapter 4

Return to Main Page

Forward to Epilogue