Kino no Tabi:Volume8 Chapter4

“A Land Saved” — Confession —

There was once a traveler named Kino. Despite her young age, she was very skillful with persuaders (Note: A gun), and almost no one could surpass her.

Kino’s companion in her travels is a motorrad (Note: A two-wheeled vehicle. Only to note that it cannot fly) called Hermes. Hermes’ rear back seat was converted into a carrier and loaded with lots of luggage on top. Because Kino is a traveler, she goes around visiting various countries.

—

Once, Kino and Hermes arrived in a certain country.

Inside a forest thickly grown with trees that will make your neck hurt if you try to look up at their tops, there was a green wall covered profusely with ivy—it was as if it was deliberately being hidden from view. The season neared the end of spring. It was neither warm nor cold, and a pleasant breeze was blowing.

“It’s just as the rumors say, Kino.”

“Yeah, if we weren’t told about this country, we would never have found it.”

—

At the gates, Kino asked for approval to stay for three days. And as she was a rare visitor, she was warmly welcomed and was soon given a permit by the sentry. The gates opened with a clatter.

What was seen upon passing through the gates was the last of the forest, with the scenery suddenly transforming into an open and level land. There was a meandering expanse of fields and pastures, and groups of domestic animals grazing leisurely on the grass. It was a little country with a population comparatively smaller than its vast land, and doesn’t seem to have seen much advancement in science. Since it was almost evening, small streams of smoke could be seen rising out from the chimneys of log cabins here and there.

“It seems like a good country,” Hermes said. Kino agreed, and then decided to look for an inn.

Kino asked around when they arrived at the center of the country, which had many buildings. But there was nothing like an inn in this country to which almost no traveler ever comes. Out of kindness, they were allowed to borrow one room in the large wooden building that seemed to be the town hall, as it was the gathering place of the residents. Kino was able to sleep under sheets after a long time.

—

The next morning.

“Jeez, so noisy—”

Hermes, who normally wouldn’t wake up even if you kick him hard, was roused with a loud noise coming from the streets.

The noise that drifted into the streets from a megaphone tied to a telephone pole was a voice accompanied with a peculiar melody. The voice had an odd accent, with words repeating over and over again like an incantation. It was completely incomprehensible. Even the background music was so bizarre, it would make one wonder what the composer looked like.

Kino, who woke up at dawn as usual, was already finished practicing with her persuader and physical exercises, taking a shower, and eating her breakfast, which was portable rations due to the lack of a cafeteria in this country.

“What a wonderful country. —I didn’t have to smack you awake, Hermes.”

“This isn’t a joke. What in the world is happening here? Ah, there it goes again.”

“I’d like to know myself. We’ve been to many countries before and have seen a lot of things, but it’s the first time there’s something like this. So, let’s go check it out today.”

And so Kino and Hermes left the building to go sightseeing.

And immediately, they were surrounded by people.

—

Upon being surrounded by the residents, the first thing that surprised them was the strange bamboo garments that they wore. Everyone was dressed in clothes that Kino had never seen in any country before. But it was unfathomable as to what kind of purpose the person who made it had in mind.

Then they all spoke, asking Kino one after the other whether they performed their religious ceremony well…or not.

“Religious ceremony?”

Kino cocked her head as she did not understand the question’s meaning, so the people explained.

What they were performing was a religious ceremony. First, they wanted to ask whether the traveler was a ‘believer’, as this religion was supposedly widely accepted in many countries, and has a fairly large amount of followers. If it were not the case, as she must have witnessed the ceremony in some other country, they would like her to tell them whether their own version of the ceremony was good. Wouldn’t it be too embarrassing to show it to adherents from other countries? Would it make them closer to God? They asked unanimously.

“Kino?” Hermes asked.

“Um—” Kino began. The people paid attention. “It’s a pity, but I came from a small country and I didn’t know about this ceremony. Moreover, I merely drop by in the countries I visit, so I don’t have enough time to get acquainted with their culture. I’m really sorry to let everyone down.”

What he was about to say was completely different, so Hermes remained silent.

The strangely-clad residents of the country were fairly disappointed by these words, but they soon pulled themselves together, and said that since it can’t be helped, Kino can just get to know the religion in this country.

And so Kino spent the time until lunch hearing from various people about their wonderful religion, its incomprehensible doctrine, and the ceremony, which could only be described by the word ‘weird’. Hermes was asleep the whole time.

Kino had to put up with this ordeal, but her mood lightened up when she was invited to a big house to eat lunch along with the other people.

During their after meal tea, one middle-aged woman talked to Kino.

“It’s such a relaxing and heart-warming religion, so it was proclaimed official quickly.”

“Huh? Since when was it propagated in this country?” Hermes asked.

The answer they gave was unexpected. It appeared that this religion was only spread in this country about ten years ago, and only a lone missionary who happened to arrive in the country did the work. However, it spread throughout the country in no time at all. If he had so wanted, this missionary could have obtained a luxurious life or immense political power. But he was not greedy, and even now, he chose to live in a small house at the edge of the countryside, and lives a quiet life while meeting with his believers from time to time.

“If it were not for that man, I believe this country would have become worthless. No, it may be that this country would have been gone by now,” said one man.

“What do you mean?” Kino asked.

The man explained as a representative of the crowd. Ten years ago, this country fell into a so-called ‘dark age’. No crop was harvested, animals could not reproduce, bad weather continued on end, a strange ailment befell the people, children did not listen to their elders, so on and so forth.

“That’s exaggerated,” Hermes blurted out without thinking, but the people were dead serious.

Weariness and despair spread among the people, and just when everybody was on the verge of giving up, he came—a missionary disguised as a worn-out traveler.

‘If you can, please do as I say. —You will gain peace in your soul.’

He began to preach with these words. Originally, they had a native religion, but no one had any idea when it started. However, when it did not help them in their hardships, the citizens readily abandoned it and embraced the new faith. They prayed desperately, conducted ceremonies, and implored with all their might.

“And then a miracle occurred.”

From then on, the harvest became fruitful, the livestock multiplied, the illness faded away, the weather calmed down, the children listened to their elders. The country was showered with blessings, and each person regained their health, both in mind and body.

“I see,” Kino said as she was taking a bite out of her tea cake.

“T-t-t-t-t-t-t-there’s trouble!” A lone man leapt into the room with a pallid face.

“I don’t know what happened, but you don’t have to be that flustered. God is watching us, you know.”

The man was admonished by the others to collect himself. However,

“But! The missionary w-w-w-wanted to m-m-meet with the t-t-t-traveler, just the two of them!”

“What!” “What did you just say?!” “No way!” “Are you kidding?!”

Everyone went in a panic.

—

“It is extremely rare for him to see anyone else other than a representative. This is such an honor, so don’t you dare be disrespectful!”

Being told such, Kino and Hermes headed towards the house of the missionary.

They rode around the country, following behind a man’s tractor. The people who were doing farm work waved their hands as they passed through the fields and crossed the pastures.

“You just have to go straight through here. I’ll be on my way. —I beg you; please do not show him any discourtesy.”

Having parted with the guide, Kino and Hermes also went beyond the outskirts of the country, and entered the path towards a reforested area.

Upon doing so, they soon found a small log cabin that stood silently among the trees. As they were informed, it was the missionary’s house.

—

As Kino stopped Hermes’ engine, a lone man went out of the house.

Dressed in ordinary shirt and pants, it was a middle-aged man with a passive expression. Both his face and body were slim; his face was cleanly shaved and he had no beard.

“… I’m glad you came. I welcome you along with your motorrad.”

The man spoke gently to Kino and gestured for her to come. They entered the log cabin, and then she set Hermes beside the table on his center stand.

The man invited Kino to sit down, and sat opposite her. He joined his hands in front of his face. And then, he gave Kino a straight, intense glare.

The first thing the man said was, “Did you tell?”

Neither Kino nor Hermes understood what he meant.

“If you did, I will have all of the citizens go after you, and you will not be able to get out of this country alive,” he then said.

This time Kino somehow understood his meaning, and asked, “About what?”

“About that religion I taught them,” the man said, and Hermes understood.

“I knew it. You’re a fraud.” For a moment, the man trembled, surprised with Hermes’ blunt words. Hermes was unfazed, and continued, “What you mean to say is, we are not supposed to tell what we have seen or heard.”

“I haven’t said anything yet. —But, I don’t think they would believe what I would say,” Kino said.

“But, if you say anything I will kill you. I will never let you out of this country alive. You can count on it.”

“I’m not going to tell. Hermes too!”

“My tongue might slip.”

“Then I will have to leave you behind—”

“I was lying. I’m not saying anything. I don’t have any reason to do so.”

The man took one long breath, and grunted,

“I see… Then, it’s all right.”

—

There was silence for a while.

“Is that all you have to say to us? If so, then we will go back to our sightseeing,” Kino said.

The man said yes, and nodded, and Kino stood up from her chair. But soon the man seemed to have changed his mind, and stopped them. He put his joined hands on his forehead.

“It’s all…a ridiculous sham… It was just something I said in the spur of the moment; just some random speech I came up with… Ah…”

“…”

The man began his monologue, his head still hung down. Kino silently looked down on him. Just behind her, the motorrad named Hermes asked a question.

“Mister, if you were not a ‘missionary’, then were you originally a traveler?”

“That’s right… I was a traveler, a wanderer… Ten years ago, I arrived in this place, where no one would have thought a country existed.”

“What was your reason for lying? Did you intend to deceive them?”

“No… At the beginning I was all alone, and I really needed help. Then on the roadside, I saw a girl all worn-out. I told her,

‘If you say this, you’ll feel better. It’s a prayer from my country.’

“Without giving it a thought, I taught her a charm…something my grandmother used to say to me to cheer me up when I was just a child. I thought it would be nice if that child feels better from it…”

The man’s spiel continued. The girl, just as the man had hoped, felt much better upon reciting the words with a strange ring in them; words she had never heard before. Though it was a mere psychological effect, the family of the child made a big deal out of it, and spread rumors. Soon, the poor who were exhausted of their lives began pouring into the same room where Kino and Hermes stayed in the night before, to visit the man.

“If only I stopped that time…if only I told them it was all a lie…”

Furthermore, the man thought of a fitting incantation, as well as a religious ceremony modeled after some callisthenic exercises he had learned back in his childhood.

“That family taught it to their neighbors, and soon it became popular in their whole village.”

The fad in this village spread bit by bit to the whole country, and soon, more and more people came to visit the man, seeking to learn about this ceremony.

“I couldn’t tell them the truth…”

The man boldly declared to the people who relied on him:

‘I will teach everyone about this religion ‘×××××’, which has saved a great number of people in my own, and in many other countries!’

With all his might, the man spread to everyone in the country the teachings he came up with, the ceremonies he fabricated one night he couldn’t sleep, the religious melody he composed out of thin air, and the festival outfit he happened to see in a country he visited one time.

“… How naïve! How foolish these beings are!”

The man snarled, his hands still fixed on his forehead.

“I see, it was a very interesting story—” Hermes began, “But, what exactly do you intend to accomplish by telling us all this? Do you want Kino to get you out of this country? Do you need help in escaping?”

The man lifted his face to this question. Kino, who had been silent all along, became slightly surprised when she saw the man’s face.

“How preposterous!”

So said the man, his face smiling, and his eyes beginning to get blurry with tears. It was a wonderful smile.

“I don’t want to leave this country! To leave here you say?!” the man declared as he parted his firmly joined hands and curled them tightly into fists.

“Oh? —But why?”

“That’s because—” the man answered with a smile, but was only able to say this much before his words trailed off. He placed his fists on the table.

Before Kino and Hermes who looked on in surprise, tears began to flow down from the man’s eyes like waterfalls. The tears streaked down his cheeks and fell to his knees.

“That is…that is… I-It was because…I was saved by this country…” The man said brokenly as he cried.

“I…did not wish to go on a journey… I just couldn’t bear to stay in my home country… It’s just that…I was born to a family of low social standing… I was abused and scorned my whole life… I couldn’t stand it anymore—”

The man raised his fists from the table. He lifted his gaze and spread his arms apart. It was as if he was trying to seize the sky.

“Then, I stumbled upon this country. A country that needed me! A country I was meant to save!”

Neither Kino nor Hermes said anything, and only looked at the man who gazed up at the sky with tears gushing forth from his eyes.

“This is a wonderful country! I was saved by this country!”

—

Soon Kino left the log cabin, pushing Hermes along. The man couldn’t see their backs behind his tears, which fell from his eyes like waterfalls.

“Indeed…I don’t believe in God or the like… But! But if there really is a God…please let me stay in this country like this. The land that I saved…please do not take it away from me. I just want everything to stay as they are… Oh, God—”

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