Kino no Tabi:Volume13 Chapter1

“A Tale of Olden Days” —Choice—

There were a vast number of people in a wintry land.

It was a desolate terrain with nothing but stones and craggy earth in sight. The extensive ripples of gently-sloping hills culminate into a valley, which though not deep, bars the view of distant lands.

Wispy clouds accompanied the noon sun with its feeble glow as it hung low in the sky. The temperature was also low, allowing chunks of ice to remain unmelted within the puddles of water that dotted the ground.

And in this kind of place were people, with bodies so thin, and wearing drab clothing despite the cold weather. There were many men among them, but there were also women. There were also children and elderly.

There were indeed a lot of people. Just from what could be seen, there were more than a thousand of them, all with emaciated bodies. Only their eyes gleamed brightly in search of something.

And every single one of them gripped crude weapons in their hands.

They were farming tools—sickles, hoes, bludgeons, kitchen knives, handmade arrows made from thin wood, and so on.

All of these objects could barely serve as weapons. But those who couldn’t wield them and women whose arms lacked strength held on to stones picked up from the ground.

They walked as one big mass while scattering their gazes around their surroundings, as if in search of something they lost in this barren land.

—

And there were souls who spied on this crowd with their binoculars.

A pair of humans peeked through their binoculars as they lay on top of a hill in a place hundreds of meters away, camouflaged by a sheet with the same color as the ground.

The circular field of view reflected the crowd of people in search of something with weapons in their hands. The dark mass that covered the ground was slowly but steadily heading towards their direction.

“They scoured this territory just as we thought. No matter how you look at it, they don’t seem to be in a mood to negotiate. If we get caught by them, we’ll be torn limb from limb.”

One of the humans spoke. It was the voice of a young man. His worry-free tone did not match the grave things he just said.

“Then there’s no need to hold back. Let’s go according to plan. I’ll leave the wheels to you.”

The other person replied. This time, it was a woman’s voice. Like the one before it, it also had a calm and detached tone.

“Right. —Let’s get to work.”

The pair got up from the sheet and slid down the hill’s slope with their boots.

The first was a slightly short and handsome man, dressed in a leather jacket and a .22-caliber automatic hand persuader (Note: A persuader is a gun. In this case, a pistol) hanging from his left hip.

The other was a beautiful woman with long, glossy black hair tied up behind her back. She wore a winter top coat, and a .44 large-caliber revolver adorned her right thigh. Goggles hung down from her neck.

The two headed down to the bottom of the valley, where a vehicle awaits.

It was a sparkling new four-by-four pick-up truck.

It had big tires attached to its long suspension and sturdy-looking iron pipe guards on its front. The driver’s compartment behind the vehicle’s hood can seat two people, and right behind it was a long platform bed. The light-green vehicle had not the tiniest scratch.

There was an object just about the size of a person on top of its platform. As it was currently covered with a sheet and secured with a rope, one could not tell what it was.

When the pair had gotten closer to the truck, a face suddenly peeked out from the open window of the left-hand passenger seat. The person who had been lying down in it rose up.

“What are you doing?! We don’t have time to relax!”

It was a middle-aged man who looked to be around his fifties. His portly frame was garbed in an expensive-looking business suit and wool coat, ill-fitted to his surroundings.

The man shouted, his face ridden with anxiety and impatience, “Hurry up! What are we gonna do if someone shows up in that nearby valley?!”

While settling down on the driver’s seat, the young man quickly spoke up, “It’s all right. Those guys aren’t carrying any firearms.”

Then he fastened his seat belt and advised the middle-aged man to do the same.

The middle-aged man also fastened his seat belt and started to turn the crank that shuts the glass pane of the window.

“Leave the windows open,” the man in the driver’s seat cautioned.

“B-but what if stones or arrows fly in?”

“The chance of those objects striking you is much lower compared to that of the glass getting hit. If it does, the glass will shatter and you’ll get injured. And it would be even worse if I get hit.”

“...”

The middle-aged man returned the window to its open position.

The young man installed a tiny wireless radio to his ear and stretched the microphone to the front of his mouth. He turned on the switch and started to communicate with the woman who climbed the truck’s platform at the back.

“Master, can you hear me?”

“I can.”

The wired voice reached the man’s ears, and because the engine hasn’t been started, the real voice coming from the back as well.

On top of the platform, the woman who was wearing the same device on her ear and goggles over her eyes was carefully untwining the rope that fixed the sheet behind the truck.

“Will it really be all right?!”

The man stuck out his face from the window and shouted.

“That’s what we’re hired for.”

The woman answered calmly as she removed the sheet with both hands.

——

Two days before.

The black-haired woman and the slightly short but handsome young man arrived to this country’s gates in their tiny, shabby vehicle.

As this country in the middle of a desolate wasteland held a vast territory, its circular walls seemingly stretched out straight towards both directions.

The pair of travelers requested entry for rest, sightseeing and replenishment of their supplies, but the immigration inspector and sentries asked them to turn back with downcast eyes, reasoning that they were too preoccupied with other matters.

When the two insisted inquiring about their circumstances, the immigration inspector reluctantly explained.

This country was under the rule of a dictator for many years, but its citizens were living in poverty, and its politicians were corrupt and acted out of self-interest.

At the same time, the gap in wealth between the ruling classes and the majority of the population was wide. It was only natural for dissatisfaction to take its root among the people and eventually bring forth unrest and uprisings.

Until that moment, the government suppressed them by force. However, even that has reached its limits. In the past few days, the citizens who have become part of the upheaval joined riotous attacks to the police stations and town halls.

The insurrections all over their wide territory were more than they could handle, and right now, their government was in the verge of collapse.

For the time being, people serving under the ruling class, including the inspectors and the sentries, were torn between escaping the country and joining forces with the masses.

They were not exceptional enough to be able to survive after throwing away their homeland, but they were not sure whether they would be accepted by the revolting masses. And the time for making this life and death decision was drawing near.

“And that’s how things are. Please don’t take it badly. If you value your life even a little, please stop insisting on entering this country.”

“Things are looking great. It seems like there’s a chance of making money here, Master.”

“It seems like it. Let’s go in.”

The pair of travelers readily ignored the inspector’s kind words and earnestly requested once more to enter the country.

“Which are you? Travelers... or looters?”

The appalled examiner gave up on his duty to decide, and called his superior to await instructions.

After a while, the inspector returned to the travelers with an exceedingly dubious expression.

“I have received orders from my superiors... If you are skilled, he would like to hire you for an assignment. It’s a dangerous job, but if you are interested, he would give you permission to enter the country.”

——

“I never thought it would be a job to help a politician escape.”

The male traveler said as he twisted the truck’s key and fired the engine into action. The brand-new truck’s engine started without a hitch and its smooth exhaust noises reverberated.

“As expected, if you’re running away, the earlier the better.”

“Shut up! I’m not asking for your opinion! You only have to take me safely to the walls!”

These angry words were the response to the traveler’s playful talk.

“I know, I know. That’s our job after all,” the traveler replied. Then he stepped on the clutch pedal with his left foot, and took the gear lever in his left hand.

“Shall we go then?!”

—

“There’s a faint noise of an engine over there!”

“Okay! Let’s check it out!”

These words were handed down from one insurgent to another, and the mass continued to move as a group and headed swiftly to the wide valley before them.

So as to make escape impossible, they scattered to the center and at both sides of the valley. The group at the front lines had the most strength—men armed with cleavers and axes.

“Once it comes out, stop the vehicle even if you have to cling to it! If we go at it all at once, we can knock it over! Don’t let those bastards get away! Remember all those years of resentment! We can only be satisfied once they’re torn into pieces!”

“Yeah! We’ll beat them even if it kills us!”

Right after crying out these valiant words, the form of the truck appeared from the shadow of the valley, about three hundred meters in front of them. It was headed straight towards them.

“Here it comes!” “It’s them!” “Kill them!” “Don’t let them pass!” *Roaaar!*

Having found their game, they bounded while issuing mighty cries. All of them rushed forward without delay.

The truck that slowly began to accelerate, and the charging insurgents. Both sides are in the verge of clashing.

The truck was like a green speck to the black mass of rushing insurgents. The green speck looks like it would be engulfed by simultaneous attacks of the black mass from the bottom and from both sides of the valley.

But when the distance between them shortened to about two hundred meters, the truck stopped.

And then,

Pon, pon, pon, pon, pon, pon, pon, pon.

Consecutive noises like that of air escaping from somewhere echoed in the valley.

“W-what’s that sound?”

An insurgent who has broken off from the front lines tilted his head in bewilderment. And the moment he casually lifted his head, he noticed black objects flying towards their direction.

They looked like dots amidst the light blue sky. Lined up in a row, drawing loose parabolic trajectories and flying towards their direction. About one second later,

“Are those stones?”

The man has made a magnificently wrong guess, and the moment he cried out to his comrades to evade, the objects exploded.

The objects as big as fist-sized stones crashed into the ground at the insurgents’ feet one after another. At the same time, they exploded and scattered metal fragments with intense force.

Most of the fragments stuck to the ground and slightly dug up dust and soil, but the rest of them pierced through the humans around them.

Bobobobobobo-boom.

There were succeeding low explosions—

“Aaagh!” “Guh!” “Gaah!” “Ugh!”

—mixed with piercing human shrieks.

When the noises of the first round of explosions have vanished from the valley, and after the breeze has carried away the dust, the scenery revealed the corpses of tens of people, decorating the ground like a red flower that has just bloomed.

And then the screams of twice as many people echoed all around.

—

On top of the truck’s platform, the woman was seated on a tiny chair.

And enshrined right before her was the weapon that murdered numerous people but a few moments earlier.

At the center of the platform, sitting on a base welded from thick metal pipes, was a machine—a box and tube combined. It was around one meter in length.

Attached across the machine was a big box, which in turn was connected to a metal belt that carried ample amounts of 40mm grenades.

It was a rapid-fire grenade launcher—a machine capable of firing off grenades in quick succession. The grenades fastened to the belt were fed to the machine one after the other and fired in a fully automatic manner.

And atop the platform along with it was the tiny seat for its “gunner” and “battery” and the box for its ammunition. It was capable of rotating a full 360 degrees to fire at any direction.

“I see. That weapon is as rough as I imagined. I’m not a fan of flashy things, but it’s definitely the most suitable choice for this kind of situation. It’s well-made for a prototype. It would’ve been nice if they could mass produce it.”

The traveler on the wheels said in a half-amazed and half-admiring tone.

“Ee...”

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man right next to him was stiff and agape from the added shock of witnessing this bloodbath on top of his nervousness in his risky attempt to escape. The air coming in from the wide open window was cold, but his face was drenched in sweat.

Seeing the man’s profile, the traveler initiated a light-hearted chat.

“Come on, don’t be that bothered.”

“About what?” The man turned to the traveler.

“About the folks dying out there. No matter how many of them die, it’s not like you would feel the slightest pain or prickle.”

“Wha...! ...” The man was about to raise an objection, but his mouth did nothing but flap open and close.

The traveler continued, as if in admonition. “But I’m right, ain’t I? Even if we hear the shrieks of humans with their bowels jutting out from two hundred meters away, do we feel our stomachs burning from pain? True, there are people out there crying out with their arms impaled by shrapnels, but do we feel an ounce of pain from our own? No one can understand the pain of another. Why, did you know how much pain the starving people suffered while you enriched yourself with bribes? Don’t mind them.”

“...”

“We’ll do our jobs properly. To take you to the gates as planned, we won’t hesitate to kill all of these people—these ‘revolutionaries’, these ‘dissenters’, or whatever you want to call them. You didn’t hesitate to hire people—that is, us—to kill them, now did you? I understand perfectly how you feel. There’s a high chance that soldiers and government workers would ally with the masses at a crucial moment, after all.”

“...”

“Rest assured. Myself aside, the woman behind you is an expert.”

Upon these words, the woman behind replied, “Quit the idle talk. It’s about time for them to move.”

“Ro-ger.”

The male traveler looked ahead and gazed at the faces of the people.

From two hundred meters away, he could discern the glares and fearless countenance of the people who had just witnessed their comrades get killed in cold blood.

Except for the people caring for the injured, everybody else tightened their grips on their weapons and started to move.

Using hand signals, they issued instructions to the crowd to not gather too closely and scatter wide enough to surround their enemy.

And their destination was a single point.

“H-hey...they’re not running away...”

The man in the center of that point finally managed to say a word. He was sweating as heavily as ever, and pointed at the people pressing near through the front glass of the vehicle.

“I-if we kill a lot of them at the beginning, they should realize our strength and turn tail and escape, right? Isn’t that how it’s supposed to play out?”

“Yeah, but it seems like they have quite the fighting spirit. From here on, no matter how many get killed, they won’t stop until you, that means us too, get bathed in blood. No matter what happens, they are determined not to let the old system return, it seems. What commendable will!”

“Eek—! Stop praising them and do something!”

“Of course. Master, shall we execute plan number two?”

The traveler replied first to the man, and then communicated with the woman behind via the wireless. Then, without waiting for an answer, he suddenly launched off the truck.

The four wheels slid in a moment, and the truck started to pick up speed on the frigid ground. It proceeded in every which way except backwards, and as there was nothing else but the furiously charging crowd, it plunged without mercy into the mass of people.

“W-what are you planning to do?! Are you planning to send us flying? But the car would be stopped even if we jump on only one perso... Ee! Eek!”

The middle-aged man screamed, visualizing his unsightly demise from thousands of arms clinging to the truck, struggling to beat him and tear him to pieces. The vibration from the ground was conducted to the vehicle’s interior and sent to him.

The truck proceeded straight forward. To the eyes of the man, the people out to kill him were closing in with unworldly speed. But in reality, those that approach—

Pon, pon, pon, pon, pon, pon.

—were greeted by grenades hovering over their heads.

The line of attack was almost level. The woman on the platform fired the grenades straight ahead, and the projectiles exploded one after the other right in front of the truck.

All humans in the vicinity were cut up to pieces by the fragments, or otherwise converted into a red mist from a coincidental direct hit.

If her aim missed by a hair’s breadth, a grenade might fall nearby and harm them, but the woman continued to fire without a care.

Moreover, the fired grenades fell accurately into locations far enough from each other so as to achieve the most effective damage.

In this manner, the truck created a red path from the cluster of humans that tried to surround it.

The grenades fired incessantly, and when it has finished turning the humans into a pulp, it has created a red road around twenty meters across.

“Just what you would expect from Master. Amazing job. I’ll have to do my best too—”

Without paying any mind to the chaos around him, the male traveler stepped even harder on the accelerator and plunged forward.

The four tires further mashed the strewn meat beneath it to pieces.

The pipe guard split the head of someone who only had his upper body left.

The vehicle’s frame sent flying a man who ran and tried to save his comrade several meters away.

The front wheels and the rear wheels shushed the groans of the fallen humans that got trampled underneath it.

The truck ran swiftly, itself transformed into a dangerous weapon. Thick lumps of blood decorated the windshield, and the mingled scent of blood and gunpowder wafted through the side windows.

“Eeek! Eeek! Eek!”

The middle-aged man raised plenty of unpleasant screams.

During that moment, a grenade that came flying blew up a man right before them. He died, fell, and was crushed beneath the wheels. The vibration from it was sent to the man’s bottoms.

“Aaaaaah!”

“There’s no need for you to be afraid. Everything’s going well.”

The traveler said as he drove. He said this while running over human bodies as if he was running over grass on a grass-covered plain.

His tranquil disposition was like that of a man driving a milk delivery truck.

As the group of people beside the advancing groups were not being hit by the grenades, they chased after the truck with all their might, but was no match to the vehicle’s speed.

The truck continued to run through the dark mass, creating a red road by itself.

Amidst the shaking of the vehicle,

“Eeeek... aaack...”

The middle-aged man’s shrieks, which now sounded like bawls, continued.

All along, the traveler continued to talk to the man beside him cheerfully.

“If you can, you should watch it. Right now, we are killing tens, no, hundreds of men all for your sake. Having someone kill another for your life is an unforgettable experience you know. Whoops—”

Something dropped on the truck’s hood with a thud. It was the head that flied high in the sky after its dismembered owner received a direct hit from one of the grenades.

The head, distorted from the impact, smashed when it fell on top of the car’s hood. As a result, its brains scattered and one of its eyeballs flied out, meeting the gaze of the man sitting on the passenger seat.

“E-eeeeeek!”

He gave a shriek as if he himself was shot, and soon fell quiet.

“Oh?”

The traveler glanced at his side and saw that the middle-aged man has fallen unconscious, his head hanging as if he was crestfallen.

“Finally calmed down. Sweet dreams.” Then he talked to the woman behind thru the wireless, “Master, I’ll shake the truck to the sides a bit.”

And then the man gave a sudden jolt to the steering wheel. From the force of turning sideways, the truck swayed and the head on top of the hood slid off, leaving only sticky clots of blood.

—

“Don’t let them escape! Kill those devils!”

“Kill them! Those bastards who treated us like insects!”

But no matter how much they screamed and chased—

There was no longer any means for them to stop the truck.

The truck proceeded straight across the crowd through all the splinters and blood and meat scattered about, like a drill.

It cut through the helpless humans at full speed and finally broke through.

Receiving screams and roars behind it, grenades fired in succession came out from the back of the truck.

These exploded not among the crowd, but farther ahead of them, rolling up a thick cloud of dust.

—

When the sun has greatly inclined to the west,

The truck arrived at the gates guarded by numerous sentries.

The blood that clung to the car’s frame dried up from the dust that enveloped it, painting a mysterious pattern on the brand-new truck. Dried chunks of meat also clung to its front and lower portions.

The traveler in the driver’s seat rested his elbows on the window frame while holding the steering wheel in a loose grip.

The female traveler sitting beside the platform who held the grenade launcher only inches from the edge, finally let it slip from her grasp.

The truck stopped.

“Boss! We have arrived!”

Like a taxi driver, the male traveler called out to the man in the passenger’s seat, who finally woke up.

“Boss! Are you all right?” The sentries rushed over and opened the door, shouting this.

“Ah...” The ‘boss’ looked around as if he didn’t know where he was, but eventually, “Yeah, I’m fine...,” he finally realized that he had arrived to a safe place. Then he quickly asked,

“My family? What happened to my wife and child?!”

A high-ranking sentry answered, “They’re safe! All went well for your family! We have protected them and now they are on standby outside the gates. Please hurry!”

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man hurriedly tried to get off the truck.

“I see. So the plan is to escape out of the country with all your riches together with your family and supporters and live a new life someplace, eh?” The traveler happily said to the middle-aged man, whose face still did not show any signs of relief. He slowly turned his face,

“...”

And gazed at the male traveler in silence.

But the one who spoke in his stead was the sentry. With a sharp tone, “Hey! We thank you for successfully breaking through the blockade and taking the boss here! The family also safely escaped because of the disguise! But that doesn’t give you the right to criticize and meddle with our actions!”

The man replied with his usual light tone, “Please don’t misunderstand. I wasn’t trying to pry or criticize you. In fact, I would like to commend you.”

“Commend?” the sentry asked.

“Yes. Once you’ve decided that your country is no longer good enough, escaping with your most prized possessions is not a bad thing at all. In fact it’s a wise thing to do. I know because I also escaped from my country.”

“I see... so you too...,” the middle-aged man finally said something to the male traveler.

“Well, life throws surprises. And it’ll continue to, as long as you’re alive.”

His eyes narrowed a little from these words. And then, “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing me and my family here... To that woman in the back, as well.”

“You’re welcome.”

“If we meet again someday, I will welcome you with all my heart.”

“If fate wills it. Hey, ain’t your family waiting?”

The middle-aged man no longer said anything. He only nodded once, removed the seat belt and got off from the truck.

He met gazes with the woman standing beside the platform but said nothing, and walked away, protected by the sentries.

Without looking back, he passed through the tiny door in the walls, which couldn’t be distinguished as one at first glance.

—

“Now, what are we going to do, Master?”

Two humans and a truck were left alone before the stretch of walls in the middle of the wasteland.

Apart from them, there was nobody else left. All of the guards also fled from the country. Only the scattered footprints were left on the ground.

The woman got off the truck’s platform and sat on the passenger’s seat. The man asked, “Shall we run along the walls and leave this country quietly without getting involved further in the conflict? If we sell that truck and weapon in the next country, we’ll have enough earnings.”

“No. We’re going back.”

“Going back? Where?”

“To that crowd before.”

“Didn’t we just break through? ——Why?”

“We’ll hand over this truck.”

The man’s face was painted with disbelief when he heard the answer.

“But why?”

“Just a whim.”

“... Well, I guess it’s going to be troublesome to drive it to the next country. But even if we give it to them, they will still attack us.”

“That depends on how the negotiation goes. We’ll give them this truck in exchange for our safety. They have tasted the power of this thing, and in the current circumstances, they must want it badly.”

“I guess that’s true, but... what if the negotiation fails, and they try to take it back solely by force?”

“When that happens, all we need to do is to kill everyone.”

“I see...”

The man considered for two seconds and immediately came to a decision.

“Let’s do that then. I’ll leave the negotiations to you.”

* * *

“Then... what happened after that?”

Inside a lone log house in a forest, a girl asked.

The snow was falling quietly outside. The flames in the fireplace gave warmth and light to the room.

The old woman who was asked this question answered in a deliberate tone.

“After that, we handed the truck over to them. Of course at first they were furious, but through negotiations with their representative, their side came to understand that this was a better course of action. When we delivered it, we drove them over to the gates and escaped outside the moment it was handed over to them.”

“Just as the student said, you could have sold it in another country, but why did you hand it over?”

The old woman answered, “That armed truck will increase the military force of the masses, allowing the conflict to end in a short amount of time. As a result, there should be fewer casualties, and the survivors can focus their efforts in building a new country.”

“I see. —But because you left the country right away, you can’t confirm if things really turned out that way.”

“I guess you’re right, but it’s fine. I just thought it would be nice if it did happen.”

“I wonder what happened? And did the politician and his family escape safely?”

“Who knows. Maybe, maybe not. It’s not something that I can find out now. Most people don’t witness the consequences of their actions.”

“...”

“So, it’s possible that the politician’s family died in the middle of their harsh journey. Also, we can’t be sure if the people who received the truck led their citizens well.”

“Life is...painful, isn’t it?”

“That’s right, Kino.”

“Master, do you think there is a place where everyone can live with smiles on their faces?”

“No. That’s why at least...”

“At least...?”

“Smile whenever you can, even if it’s just you.”

* * *

“And this truck?”

“This is the armed truck mounted by the father of the revolution, our first president. This is the most important exhibit of our revolution’s memorial hall.”

The query of a young man wearing a green sweater and a sword by his waist was answered by a guide—a man wearing a business suit.

Behind the young man was a big white dog and a tiny girl with a sour expression.

The guide explained fluently:

When the powerless masses obtained this armed truck, their military might increase at once, and they were able to put an end to the revolution in a short time. The time and casualties spent was minimized and the reconstruction of the country went smoothly.

“As to the story of how this top secret weapon, which was only in development stage at that time by our munitions factory, came into the hands of the president, it is vital to learn of an account about ‘two travelers’. One day—”

After his lengthy explanation, the guide asked the young man,

“Traveler, do you know anything about those two? Even a rumor would do. It’s quite an old story, but have you heard anything about them?”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve never heard it before.”

The young man answered with a shake of the head.

* * *

“And then...he escaped?”

“Yes. My grandfather ran away to this country, barely escaping with his life.”

The question of a young traveler wearing a black jacket and a revolver by her right thigh was answered by a woman in a business suit who looked to be in her thirties.

The motorrad parked beside the traveler commented, “He was an immigrant, but he was able to become a politician? And this country’s president, no less.”

“That’s right. I wasn’t able to meet my grandfather, but according to my mother, after they were accepted in this country, he worked himself to the bone and was eventually accepted as a politician, and devoted his life to the good of this country. She said it was his atonement for not being able to make his people happy in his home country, and an offering to the people who died at that time. It was also gratitude for those two.”

“Oh, to those two travelers who risked their lives to let him escape?”

“...”

The woman asked the silent traveler,

“Traveler, do you know anything about those two? Even a rumor would do. It’s quite an old story, but have you heard anything about them?”

“I’m sorry but I’ve never heard it before.”

The traveler answered with a shake of the head.

And her lips formed a faint smile.

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