Editing Kino no Tabi:Volume2 Frontispiece

On top of a hill, within a forest, a Sniper layed waiting.
Armed with a powerful long range Persuader built for snipping, he scanned the forest with a sniper scope with night vision capability.
Movement at a serine lake within the forest had caught his attention.
A man was playing by the water, oblivious to the presence of the sniper. The sniper looked on, slightly surprised for a moment then bringing his rifle to bare on the man.
The man was short but rather good looking, but the next moment he would be dead and tainting the lake a bloody red.
The sniper slowed his breathing to reduce any shaking in his hand. After he was ready, his finger reached for the trigger.
“Please don’t do that.”
The sniper heard a sharp determined voice speak behind him, he turned and came face to face with a women.
She wore thigh fitting clothing with a head full of long hair the color of a raven. She was beautiful with out a doubt, while in her right hand was a large caliber revolver Persuader aiming at his head.
“Sorry to have frightened you, and please don’t move. If I miss, it would waste my ammo and gun powder.”
“Why do you want to kill me?” the sniper asked guardly.
The women smiled, her Persuader never moving an inch.
“Because you have killed those who have entered the forest. The friends and family of the victims wanted you dead.”
The sniper replied tensely now, “So you are here to kill me then.”
The woman nodded and the sniper continues.
“What are you waiting for then?”
A painful look appeared on the woman’s face, “Good Question.”
“Actually, at the same time I took on this assignment, I had agreed to another contract from some people from the same country. They paid me equally to not kill you because they wished that everything would remain unchanged. Although most people hate you, there are some who are grateful to you. For removing their enemy, letting them receive their inheritance early, releasing those with incurable diseases and allowing some to start anew. So there are people who wish you to remain alive.”
“Really.”
“I was indecisive on what to do as I traveled and scouted you out. I still can’t make up my mind right now.”
“If that’s the case…”
“If that’s the case?”
“If that’s the case, then please give me an order. Before this, I would kill all who I found, after this I would only kill a person upon a certain count. That way, the number of death would drop yet there will still be victims. As to this count, it is up to you to provide.”
“Good.”
The women gave the sniper a number, due to the nature of how this number was agreed upon, we will not be disclosing what this number is.

The woman left the sniper on the hill and returned to the forest.
At the lake, the man was swimming naked in its water. On seeing the women, he ran toward her crying.
“Master! What took you so long! I thought we were done for.”
The women stood rooted to her spot and told him to shut up and put on his pants.
As the man pulled on his pants, he turned to face the woman.
“We are still alive, this means you killed him right?”
“Nope.”
The man leaped when he heard that, accidentally putting both legs into the same leg of his long pants causing him to trip and fall.
The woman calmly explained to him about the deal made between her and the sniper.
“B… but that means death is now a fixed ratio.”
The woman barely gave the matter any thought and she walked toward their car, a run down little vehicle on the verge of falling apart. The man rushed hurriedly behind to join her.
Once inside the car, he asked.
“What now? We can’t return because we didn’t kill the sniper and yet we didn’t let him continue killing unchecked. We can’t receive any reward from either side.”
“I know.”
The women smiled elegantly and started the engine.
“Since we already have the down payment from both party’s, let’s just disappear with it.”
“…”
The man was about to reply but the woman ignored him and steped hard on the gas.
The moment the car jerked forward, a bullet come flying toward them striking and splitting a tree where the car was just seconds ago.
But the car has already left.
Today, the forest still remains, and the sniper still remains waiting on the hill top.