Kino no Tabi:Volume11 Chapter5

The Country With the School

— Assignment —

Along a forested path ran a Motorad (note: a two-wheeled vehicle; meaning it doesn’t fly).

On either side of the back wheel were two black boxes, and on the top was a pipe-frame carrier, though nothing was loaded on it.

The driver was a young human. The early teens, it seemed, with short black hair. Wore a hat that covered the collar and ears, goggles on the eyes, and a black jacket.

A fat belt wrapped about the driver’s waist and on the right thigh, in its holster, was a revolver-type Hand Persuader. (Note: A Persuader is a gun; in this case, it is a pistol.)

And on the front of her body, one Persuader able to shoot canister shots hung off a strap. Painted in black, the long cylinder tube and heat sink, full of holes, atop the barrel were two features that particularly stood out.

Under a blue sky and through a forest of green with the sun illuminating the right hand side, the Motorad sped through and raised a cloud of dust.

The forest path ran straight on, enabling an excellent outlook, and the driver drove the Motorad on with considerable speed. At times, she readjusted the slipping Persuader on the front of her body.

“Hey, Kino.”

The Motorad spoke to its driver. This person named Kino responded.

“If it’s about the speed, I’m not going to drop it, Hermes. I want to get used to going fast for long hours.”

“No, that’s all fine with me.”

This Motorad named Hermes spoke and then,

“Not that—where are we going today? Shopping?”

“Didn’t I say?”

Kino slowed down. They lurched at this decrease in speed and once the engine quieted down, Kino spoke.

“School.”

“School?”

“Yes. I’m going to a certain school in this country we’re headed to for five days.”

“Well, why?”

“Master said there’s a skill taught there that no other school teaches. It’s a great chance, so go, she said. If it’s an opportunity to ‘become stronger,’ I’ll do anything.”

“Hmm. So that’s how it is.”

“That’s why the next few days, we’re going to be traveling this much distance.”

“As a Motorad, that’s great. The weather around this time is pretty nice.”

“And makes good driving practice.”

So saying, Kino opened the accelerator again.

Hermes accelerated off on the hard-packed earth.

As soon as they left the forest, tall walls greeted them. They were grey and large and surrounded the country with great breadth.

It was a little before noon. The sun was approaching its zenith and warming the ground as it did so.

Kino stopped Hermes before a sentryman holding a rifle in front of the gate. She let down the kickstand and removed her goggles.

“Good morning. Nice to meet you. I’m Kino. This is my partner, Hermes. Please allow us in.”

After giving the proper greetings to the two sentrymen, Kino went around to the bag on the back wheel and drew out a letter.

The one more advanced in years, past his fifties, took this letter.

He opened it, read it, and then—

“Alright, understood. Come in.”

—quickly gave his permission.

“However, we have a very strict inspection for people possessing Persuaders. In your case, we’ll hold it until you leave.”

“Understood.”

Kino assented, removing the canister shot Persuader from her body and ejecting its nine bullets. They and the revolver at her hip whose barrel, cylinder, and grip she soon disseminated were placed in a box prepared by the sentrymen.

“You have an impressive type… Sorry for this procedure, but in one part of our vast country, there are terrorists displeased with the government who are growing rampant there. It’s noted on the map, so be careful not to approach it. Any other location is fine. —oh, and speed limits, too. Break it and you’re fined.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

Kino pushed Hermes through the gates.

After seeing off the vehicle and the person, the younger sentryman turned to his superior.

“Uh…are you sure?”

He answered his subordinate, What about him?

“Who is that boy?”

“Who knows? It’s the first time I’ve met him.”

To such a quick response,

“……”

Did the subordinate say nothing.

“But it’s an introduction letter from that old lady. Can’t reject it.”

“By ‘that old lady,’ do you mean the one who lives deep in that forest…that one everyone is scared of?”

“Who else is there?”

“Was he her grandson, maybe?”

“No, as far as I know, she’s always lived alone. Rumours say she picked him up while the kid was lost in there.”

“What’s up with that…? Besides, what kind of lady is she, anyway?”

“That is something I heard from the captain some time ago. He heard it from the regimental commander, who heard it directly from the general. Might as well tell it to you, too. Not to patronize, you understand. It’s for your own sake that I’m saying it.”

“Okay.”

“‘If you’d like to live a long life, don’t ever look into it.’ —that is all.”

“…… I wonder what’s for dinner today.”

“Beats me. Hope it’s fish.”

Within the curved walls of the country, woods and fields stretched to the very horizon. Sparse houses dotted the landscape here and there.

Kino spread out the map the sentryman had given her, took a note from her jacket, compared the two, then concluded,

“Okay. Go straight for a while, and then left at the second intersection. After pushing forward for a while, there will be a small town. There’s our destination.”

Kino flipped the two papers over and showed them to Hermes.

“Yup. No mistake about it.”

Kino replaced the map and note and then sped Hermes off.

“Okay, hello everyone. Today, we’ll be having a new student in our class. This here is Kino. Kino, this is our class. Altogether, twelve people. They’re about the same age as you, some are older. Now everyone, say hi.”

“Hello. My name is Kino.”

“I think you can all guess, but Kino wasn’t born or raised here. There’s a big forest outside this country, right? She lives with a granny there who takes care of her. But that’s something that should never get out of this room. From today, we’ll begin our afternoon classes. Let’s get along and work hard together. Just because Kino doesn’t look like you doesn’t mean you can shun her. Every person lined next to you is your friend. Is that clear? —Okay, then we’ll start class. Kino, please take the desk and chair over there. Work hard to catch up to us, okay?”

“Yes. My best regards.”

The sun began to slant in the forest through which Kino and Hermes drove through, shadows cast on their left.

Just like in the morning, the canister shot Persuader was strapped to the front of her body, and just like in the morning, she drove prodigiously fast. The sound of the shrill exhaust resounded through the trees.

“So! How was school today!”

Hermes asked in a loud voice. Hearing no reply, it repeated the question.

“Huh? —Aah! It was fun!”

Kino screamed her reply, too. At the insane speed she was driving at, the trees and leaves at either side washed by in her goggles.

“What’d you learn?”

“How to make stuff!”

“What kind?”

So asked Hermes. When Kino elaborated on the “stuff,”

“Huh. That sounds pretty fun.”

“It was fun. Pretty interesting. The people in the class weren’t that open, so I felt kind of left out, but…I think that’s just because I’m nervous. Everyone worked seriously and listened to the teacher, and during recess, we got along fine. They think hard and consider their futures seriously. Probably because they belong to the country.”

“Hm, hm. And the teacher?”

“She’s a good person! She’s still twenty, has blonde hair, and she’s pretty. Very kind. She laid everything out for me today. She doesn’t talk too fast and it’s easy to follow her. There were a lot of terms I didn’t know that I had to ask about, but she explained them to me without looking frustrated with me. So I understood everything in that class.”

“Hmm.”

“When Master told me to go to school all of a sudden, I wondered why, but it’s a lot more fun than I expected.”

“That’s wonderful. Your awaiting chauffeur, however, was nothing but bored. There was a wild dog who was about to mark my tires, for crying out loud.”

“What does that mean?”

“It was about to pee on me. That’s why I hate dogs. Although it whimpered off when I yelled at it.”

“Huh? If you’re too loud, you’re going to be seen, you know.”

“Relax. I screamed so high that humans wouldn’t be able to hear me.”

“…… What’s that?”

“I don’t feel like explaining it. Next time, maybe. It must be nice to teach something to someone.”

“…you and Master and the teacher all know so much. There’s still so much I don’t know, huh…”

“That’s alright. It’s all from here on, here on.”

“Well…yeah. Plus, we’re going tomorrow and the day after that. The class will end in five days as planned, so until then.”

“As for me, I’d prefer running along the road than sleep in the woods all day.”

“When we get back, I’ll tell Master about what I learned. —oh! I learned something else amazing about Master.”

“What?”

“She teaches all that she knows, and whatever she doesn’t know, she sets out to learn it and then teaches whoever is willing to learn it. So she knows exactly what she doesn’t know. —I think that’s amazing.”

“I seeee. But to think there was a school in that country that taught this. I’m a bit surprised. But Kino.”

“Hm?”

“Learning it is fine and well, but is it practical?”

“I wonder… I really don’t know.”

“Oh, what.”

“But when I first started to learn the alphabet, I thought, ‘Is this ever going to be useful? Rather than learn all this, I want to go play outside with everyone, I want to learn how to climb a tree.’ —But now, I don’t think that anymore. I learned the alphabet, and that allows me to read lots of interesting books. So in the same way, I think what I’m learning now will be useful someday.”

“I see. Although Motorads don’t ever have to know how to read for a lifetime.”

“…Hermes, what’s a Motorad’s lifetime like?”

“That’s tough to explain.”

Then the fast sailing Kino and Hermes turned into an intersection in the forest.

After running the road for some time, a log cabin appeared. One part of the forest was cultivated into fields, and it was there that it singly stood. From the chimney trailed smoke signaling a meal.

Kino cut through the field and stopped Hermes in front of the log cabin. An old woman soon appeared from the house.

She wore an apron, thin and her golden hair tied back. By her hip was a short-barreled revolver in its holster.

“Welcome back, Kino.”

“Hello, Master.”

The old woman called Master stepped down from the wooden deck onto the road and asked Kino if she used her canister shots. Kino replied in the negative.

“Then let’s go around to the field and try shooting the scarecrows, as usual.”

“Okay!”

Kino nodded and took off with Hermes. After proceeding a little ahead, she stepped the brakes on Hermes’s back wheel. The vehicle angled up sharply and rolled on the wheel, turning around to face the other direction.

“Let’s go, Hermes.”

“Be gentle.”

Kino took off with Hermes. She accelerated fast and by intervals increased the gears.

When they passed by the front of the log cabin, Kino let both hands go. Still straddled on Hermes, letting the momentum push them on, she grabbed the canister shot Persuader hanging in front of her body and unlatched the safety.

Then she lightly raised herself up and turned herself left.

Deep in the field, bordering the forest, stood five scarecrows. Constructed of wood, each one wore a metal pan like an apron.

Kino fired.

The nine canister shots waved out and struck the scarecrows, sparks and shrill sounds rising from the metal plates.

Kino skillfully avoided the recoil and quickly used her left hand to pump out the shots as she fired in rapid succession. Rumbling sounds rippled through the forest one after the other. A flock of birds close by had flapped away.

In the time she crossed the field Kino had fired five direct shots, all of which struck the scarecrow in places that would have been fatal to humans.

When she crossed the field Kino set her hands on the handlebars and quickly set the brakes, turning the vehicle around once more.

She accelerated again, this time aiming to the right and spinning around with her hanging Persuader.

She shot again.

The remaining four shots hit four of the scarecrows. The last bullet ejected, the shells from the nine canister shots rolled on the ground.

Once Kino gradually returned to the front of the house, the old woman commented in a pleased fashion,

“Excellent. You’ve become good.”

Kino stopped Hermes and stopped the engine. She let down the kickstand and got off.

“How was school, Kino?”

When she asked this,

“It was fun,”

Quickly replied Kino.

“Well, let’s have dinner, now. It’s sausage stew tonight.”

While seeing off a smiling Kino,

“No, I ain’t envious at all,”

Muttered Hermes to itself.

The next morning. The second day of travel.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Granted permission by the guard, Kino and Hermes entered the gate.

“That’s right. Any questions up until now? Any? Well then, everyone already knows the fundamentals, now. I’m glad I have so many bright students. Huh? Even if I flatter you guys, nothing good’s going to come of it, you say? That’s true. In the first place, where did you learn that sort of talk when I haven’t taught you that, eh? —Kino, you learn just about as fast as everyone else, if not faster. At first, I was worried that with a new environment where all we do is learn, you might fall behind, but that’s not the case. You’re excellent.”

“Thank you.”

“This class has had twelve excellent pupils for a long time, but now we have a thirteenth, don’t we? —Eh? Nothing good, after all? Ahahaha, I know that. —That’s all for today. Next class will be the day after tomorrow, which is your day off. During that time, I suggest you review what you’ve learned so far, because we’ll be starting slightly more complicated tasks next time. Goodbye, everyone. Careful on your way back—”

And two days later.

“Hey, here you are again.”

Granted permission by the guard, Kino and Hermes entered the gate.

“Everyone, the most important thing about construction isn’t the dexterity of your hands. We aren’t here to make wristwatches, you hear? More important than that, in fact the most important thing of all is, from start to finish, making the product accurately. Properly made objects that work reflect the personality of the person who made it. It’s pointless to assemble objects that have no real-life application. While you shouldn’t make them, in class, it’s okay. If something goes wrong, I’ll help you think through why it didn’t work. Then all you have to do is make sure you don’t repeat the same mistake the next time you build it. Now, let’s run a check of everyone’s work. —Oh, that’s good. Very well-made. —This, too. Wonderful, you followed exactly what I said. —Oh, if you don’t pass the cord through here, it’s going to snag. But other than that, it’s looking good. We’ll fix that later. —Mm-hm, very good. —Kino’s…ah, you have some parts you need to fix. This part shouldn’t be visible from the outside. Let’s hide it. And hide the seam, too. You can let this tip out, but let’s hide that for now, too. —It’s fine. If you fix these parts, yours will also work, Kino. No need to look so worried.”

“Teacher, I have a question.”

“Yes, Kino.”

“About the way you loop this cord, can you thread it through the top, too?”

“Good question. That’s a case-by-case basis. The issue would then depend on where you would wear it on your body. If you were to put it over your belly, then yes, thread it through the top. For your back, through the bottom.

“I see. I got it. Thank you very much.”

“Any other questions? —Oh! Everyone’s making excellent progress! It seems like your diligence is rubbing off on everyone, Kino.”

“—so yeah, I got praised by her.”

“That’s great, Kino.”

“I’ll be going again tomorrow. After two more times, it’s done!”

“That’s wonderful. When you’re done, take it home and show me, okay?”

“Okay.”

Those two days later, Kino attended school on Hermes,

“Kino, do your best.”

Kino was praised by her teacher,

“You wanna piece of me, then come get it!”

And a dog was yelled at by Hermes.

“Everyone! This class is finally over! I’m very proud of all your efforts.”

Kino was in the classroom she had been commuting to for five days. In the remodeled classroom nestled in this otherwise old building, the concrete pillars were chipped here and there, and the windows had no glass but, rather, were boarded up. Though many light bulbs dangled, it was still dim. Including Kino, thirteen boys and girls sat in chairs and desks bearing obvious scars of frequent repair. With the exception of Kino, who wore a white shirt, the others also wore clothes with distinct patches.

Before every individual, on the top of their desks, lay a bag.

Leather and cloth, backpack and cross-shoulder and handbag, there were all sorts of bags. Its slightly bulging appearance suggested the presence of something inside it.

They were undoubtedly not top-of-the-line products, but all exuded an aura of handmade care, diligently put together.

Before Kino was a light beige cross-shoulder bag. As expected, it too had a distinct bulge, something the size of a rather large lunch box.

“We’ve finally done it, haven’t we! Here we are, with not one failure in sight! There’s nothing more for me to teach you! The last thing to do is to take the bag home and show it to your mother and father, brother and sister—show it to everyone in the world! They’ll definitely love it!” In front of the sewing machine on the teacher’s desk, a beautiful woman with her golden hair tied back declared this proudly. Every pupil broke out into smiles.

“Well, now is when we’ll part, but I trust that every one of you will fulfill your purpose wonderfully!”

A firm assent now followed her voice.

“One last point. This doesn’t directly have to do with the class, but there’s something else I’d like you to learn. Please listen.”

Twenty-six eyes focused on the teacher’s face. She slowly met every gaze, and then, “We wonder, what is the most important thing that leads to success in life? I, personally, believe that is your ‘conviction.’ ‘The power to accomplish what I want to do, what I set my mind on’—that is vital to your life. You must base your actions on this conviction. When you do, someone is bound to ask you, ‘Is that the right thing to do?’ —But, you mustn’t falter. Your heart must not waver. You mustn’t let it waver. Hold fast to your end goal and race forward! Until now, I’ve told you not to lie in class, haven’t I? But after this, when you go into the outside world and you begin to base your actions on your convictions—it’s okay to lie. Above all, hold fast to your beliefs. Even if it will grind your soul to bits, stand still and fight!”

The teacher trembled all over as she orated passionately. In the finale, with a wide smile reminiscent of a flower in full bloom,

“But, I know that you can do it. Everyone here can do it. —Class, you’ve graduated. Congratulations!”

Kino put the light beige shoulder bag into the box at Hermes’s back wheel,

“I’m back, Master.”

And returned to the log cabin in the forest.

Before the entranceway, within the cry of the birds and a madder red sky,

“I’ve done it, Master!”

The old lady saw the bag, looked inside, and said,

“I see. Now they use this sort of timber and construction, don’t they?”

Kino then showed it to Hermes,

“I see. So it allows you to pull the string that way.”

Who was also just as impressed.

The next day, before noon.

“Then let’s begin. Kino, carry the bag.”

“Yes, Master. I have it here.”

Kino and the old lady carefully deconstructed the device and checked its construction.

“I see. This makes for good reference. You’ve done well, it’s put together nicely. We’ve even got the details diagrammed, so let’s try putting it back together.”

“Sure!”

As if it never was taken apart, everything was set back in place.

That noon.

Two people and a vehicle entered the forest away from the house.

Kino hung the light beige bag on a branch connected to a tree trunk. The original cord leading out from the bag was tied to another longer string.

And at the other end of that thread stood the old lady and Hermes, hidden behind another tree trunk.

“Are you ready, Master?”

“Yes, any time.”

“Hermes?”

“I’m fine, too.”

“Here goes, then. I hope it goes well!”

Kino yanked hard on the string. A short snap could be heard as the string left the bag.

“Shhh” went a sound as white smoke poured of the bag for two seconds.

Then it exploded.

The high-power military bomb exploded. The nails set around it shot off in all directions and cruelly stabbed through the hearts of neighboring trees.

The blast wove through the forest and whipped up the fallen leaves.

The tree from which the bag was suspended from had its trunk gouged out by the bomb. At the same time that the black smoke cleared, it collapsed into the woods.

Pounding the forest, the roar of the detonation too threw up the avians called birds and faded in the sky.

“Success! It exploded like it should have!”

“That’s awesome.”

The old lady told the excited Kino and Hermes,

“Then we ought to tell the teacher, shouldn’t we? How about visiting the country again tomorrow? I have things I want you to buy, so let’s do that, too.”

The next day.

Kino and Hermes left the house early and covered the distance in a flash, arriving at the gates just before noon.

Just like before, they sought that little town.

Just as they reached the heart of these low, clustered buildings and turned the corner of the back road.

“Oh, the school’s…”

“Oh?”

Before Kino’s eyes, a little ahead on the road, the “school” building was being destroyed. A giant bulldozer covered the already huge pile of rubble and mercilessly ran down the building.

Kino pushed Hermes out from the back road and stopped in front of the building.

It was surrounded by many armed policemen.

Police cars and trucks were parked on the wide thoroughfare, and behind the caution tape, residents watched the scene with gloomy expressions.

Once they glimpsed Kino and Hermes, they brightened up a little, then once again feigned an apathetic countenance.

Crumbling with each explosion, the back of a young, blonde woman was visible before the building.

She was surrounded by several policemen, her hands cuffed behind. Quiet, she gazed at the dying building.

“That’s…the teacher.”

So whispered Kino to Hermes.

“Oh my. I wonder what happened?”

“Let’s ask.”

Kino pushed Hermes up to the tape and spoke with a young policeman.

“Excuse me, what happened?”

“Hm? —aah, you must not be from these parts. It’s best if you leave this town soon. Wouldn’t blame ya.”

He began with that upfront, and without paying any attention to the residents in Kino’s immediate vicinity,

“The police crushed one of the terrorist cells. This dump of a town was a hideout. It’s such a poor place here that it gave rise to a low-down group who thought to overthrow the government through dirty tricks.”

Kino pointed to the back of her teacher.

“Um, who’s that pretty woman caught there?”

“Her? Might not look like it, but she’s one of those terrorists.”

“Huh. What was she caught for?”

Hermes asked in place of Kino.

“You wouldn’t believe it…”

Muttering with a sour face, the policeman answered.

“She was running a ‘school’ in this crummy building. Was teachin’ little boys and girls your age how to make a high-power, hidden bomb.”

“Hmmm. And then?”

“And then…yesterday. Those boys and girls pretended to go on a trip to the government district in the heart of the country. And…they set off the bombs in crowded buildings and marketplaces along with themselves. All twelve. Suicide terrorists, they’re called.”

“Why? Did they think life sucked or something?”

“Who knows. They were raised by these terrorists, so who knows what went on in their heads. Crazy loons who think dying by terrorism is their ‘faith.’ It’s obvious they were encouraged by their parents, relatives, and siblings, even for this bombing! Now we have the casualties exceeding a hundred. Over twice that number are howling in rage. Bastards these terrorists are! —One way or another, we pinpointed this building and apprehended her.”

“So that’s how it is.”

So Kino replied indifferently.

“She’s going to be executed soon. If we just put her prison, there will be other terrorists demanding to let her go, so we were under strict orders to shoot her once we got her.“

The building became completely reduced to rubble. The roar of the bulldozer faded.

Ordered by the police to mount the black truck parked off to her side, the teacher turned to the residents.

She turned,

“……”

Met her eyes with Kino’s—

And slowly smiled.

The young officer, watching his colleagues take the terrorist past his eyes, asked Kino,

“Do you know her?”

Kino replied firmly, in a voice even the teacher could hear.

“No. How could I?”

Quietly and with a satisfied smile, the teacher let herself be pushed by the policemen towards the truck.

She entered with the officers into the load-carrier of the windowless truck and presently disappeared from everyone’s sight.

To take care that the residents would not barge in, the officers stood guard with Persuaders.

After some time, only policemen covered the road. Before the eyes of the silent people, an officer wearing a black mask appeared from the driver’s seat. In his hands was a large caliber rifle.

Coming around to the back of the truck, he loaded one large bullet into the gun.

Taking his stance, he aimed inside the load-carrier, whose door was still open.

He fired.

The oppressive sound reverberated off the buildings.

“Withdraw!”

Under the order, the police returned to their respective vehicles. The bulldozer heading the line, the cars and trucks leave the city.

When the black truck was the last to leave, a body was thrown out from the back. The face looked gouged out, and the corpse of blonde, bloodied hair floated in the air before hitting the ground. A bone snapped.

After the line of cars left, the people gathered around the corpse.

They gently turned its face upwards and folded the hands over the breast. They glanced at the absent face.

And altogether, they raised a great cheer. From each mouth cried worship of the woman as their hero.

In this town rung with shouts, the motorad and its driver were gone.