Kino no Tabi:Volume10 Frontispiece2

“Ti’s Wish” —Get Real!—

My name is Riku. I am a dog.

I have long, fluffy white fur. I always look like I’m smiling, but it does not necessarily mean that I am. I was just born that way.

Lord Shizu is my master. He is a young man who always wears a green sweater, lost his hometown in some complicated way, and is currently traveling via buggy.

Our companion is Ti. She is a quiet girl who is fond of hand grenades, lost her hometown in some complicated way, and became a part of us.

—

We emerged through a field of waving summer grass, and by the time we got to the country, they were holding festivities.

It was an annual celebration for the harvest, so the people there were excited. Lord Shizu went off to find some sort of town hall to get permission to stay and see if the place met his qualifications for permanent residence. Aside that, it was merrymaking as far as the eye could see.

Ti and I walked on the main street. There was a drawing of a figure on a huge brick building on whose body were pasted many metal sheets, making it a plate of armor. Each sheet had writing in charcoal.

We listened to the people talk and managed to gather that they wrote their wish on these sheets. Putting up the wish during the festival would make it come true, it seemed.

Looking up, there were hopes from—

“I hope I get a raise,” “I hope my crops flourish next year, too,” “I hope my grades improve,”

—to—

“I wish for good health for my family,” “I wish for a healthy baby,” “I hope he loves me, too.”

Etc., etc. They were all modest yet selfish wishes.

“Well, now—travelers? Here’s a sheet. Write a wish.”

Lord Shizu passed off that privilege to Ti. I suggested that he wish to find a country that would accept us, but—

“I’d rather act than wish.”

So he said, leaving Ti and me here to find someone who could tell him about immigration in this country.

“…”

Charcoal and metal sheet in her hands, I explained to a blank Ti that she was to use them to write a wish. Then I asked if she could write.

“…”

Silent, she began writing. I suppose that was my answer.

Gripping the charcoal, Ti wrote her wish in splendid letters:

“I hope everyone’s wishes come true.”

I was genuinely shocked. It was the most excellent thing I had ever seen out of her.

“…”

The silent Ti handed the sheet over to a countryman.

“Ohh, this is marvelous!”

The middle-aged man smiled broadly and handed it to the person in charge of mounting them. He too commented the same and began climbing the ladder.

Ti’s wish was pasted up and became another scale in the armor.

I looked up at Ti and said, “That was a very kind and wonderful wish, but what was the reason for it? Could you tell me?”

I thought that she would say nothing, but then she dropped her gaze to mine and replied.

“Because it will not work anyway.”

—

Lord Shizu returned. It seemed immigration was not possible.

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