Difference between revisions of "Kino no Tabi:Volume9 Chapter10"
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| − | ==An Old Tale -Tea Talks-== |
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| − | [[File:Kino no Tabi v9 216-217.jpg|thumb]] |
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| − | ===A Land that Wants the Young Man=== |
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| − | A long, long time ago, two people and a dog were on a journey. |
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| − | One of the two people was a young man who always wore a green sweater. He was a kind and understanding person who had lost his home to a tragedy. |
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| − | One of the two people was a little girl with white hair and green eyes. She said very little, and at the time, she did not like many things in the world very much. |
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| − | The dog was large and clever, and had long, soft white fur. He could also speak the language of humans. |
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| − | The two people and the dog had been brought together by strange circumstances as they traveled together. They left the beach on a buggy, starting an aimless journey in search of a country to call home. |
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| − | The buggy drove across the great, wide plains. |
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| − | And one day, the two people and the dog arrived at a certain country. |
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| − | "Please, traveler! Please settle in our country, we beg of you!" |
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| − | The people of the country pleaded desperately with the young man. He was very surprised, because the country was filled with women. |
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| − | "Please, stay with us!" |
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| − | He listened to the people and learned why they needed him so much. They said that, for some reason, boys were no longer being born in their country. It had been so long that there were almost no men left now. |
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| − | The young man thought for a moment. He still had not made a choice about the kind of country he wanted to live in, but he always wanted to settle in a place that would need him. He began to think that it would not be so bad to help the people by staying. That is, until they said this: |
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| − | "I'm afraid we don't need any more women in our country. We cannot accept that girl." |
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| − | What followed was a great commotion. |
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| − | The young man insisted that the girl be allowed to join him, because he was responsible for her well-being. But the women would not allow it, unable to bear increasing the female population. |
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| − | Things soon got out of control. They began to think, all they had to do was capture the girl and throw her outside the country. Or perhaps they would just murder her instead. |
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| − | Countless women leapt at the girl, carrying kitchen knives and rolling pins. |
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| − | The girl did not stand for it. She never said a word, but instead she tossed many hand grenades into the crowds, which exploded with a flash and a terrible noise. |
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| − | The young man did his best to protect the people so no one would get hurt, and ended up the most severely injured himself. |
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| − | The two people and the dog fled the country on the buggy. "Ouch," The young man said, as they drove across the plains. There was blood flowing from his mouth. There was a bruise on his forehead. His sweater was torn in places. |
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| − | The girl looked at him from beside him and quietly whispered, |
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| − | "Thank you." |
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| − | With all her heart. |
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| − | But the sound of the engines seemed to have drowned out her voice. |
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| − | <=> |
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| − | === A Land that Wants the Girl=== |
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| − | The next country they visited was a small kingdom nestled in a valley. |
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| − | The young man asked if he could be allowed to work and live there for a time. But unfortunately, their rules did not allow foreigners to settle there. In the end, they only received permission to stay for three days as they rested and bought supplies for their journey. |
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| − | The people explained that travelers were very rare in these parts. So the King treated the two people and the dog as his personal guests. Not only did he provide them with lodgings, he also invited them to a luncheon with his family. |
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| − | Before the luncheon began, the young man sat at a corner of the large table and began to look around. When the white dog asked him why, the young man answered that he was worried that the King was perhaps living in excessive luxury, treating his people badly. |
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| − | "What do you think?" The dog asked. |
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| − | The young man answered that things didn't seem to be as he feared. The people loved the King and his leadership. "I am glad to hear that," the dog replied. |
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| − | Soon, the King, the Queen, and the Prince arrived. The luncheon began. |
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| − | The King introduced the travelers to his subjects. The young man greeted them politely with impeccable manners. The people were shocked, because they had assumed that travelers would be rude and boorish. |
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| − | The Prince was a boy about ten years of age. Partway through the luncheon, he got off his seat because he was bored. He began wandering the hall with the butler in tow. His eyes met the little girl's. |
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| − | "Hello. I am the Prince of this country." |
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| − | "…" |
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| − | "When I grow up, I will do my very best to rule my people with kindness." |
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| − | "…" |
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| − | "Our country is a wonderful place. I have a great responsibility ahead of me." |
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| − | "…" |
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| − | The girl said nothing. She just looked at the Prince quietly. But the Prince seemed to be having fun. The King, also quite happy with the sight, began asking the young man about the girl. |
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| − | "She has been abandoned by her parents and left without a home." The young man said. "We are traveling together in search of a place we could settle in together." |
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| − | "Then I have the perfect idea!" |
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| − | The King delightedly proposed that the girl marry his son. The Queen and the other subjects all agreed, saying it was a wonderful idea. |
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| − | The young man was a little surprised. But being so thoughtful, in his heart he also thought that this would be the best for the girl. |
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| − | "What do you think? I don't think it's a bad idea." He said to the girl, who was still staring at the Prince. |
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| − | She answered him with a punch. She balled up her hand into a fist and hit the young man square on the jaw. |
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| − | Ignoring the shocked young man and the astonished people, the girl looked back at the Prince. She waved her pale hand and simply said, |
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| − | "Bye-bye." |
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| − | "Of course. Let's meet again." The Prince replied. |
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| − | The girl dragged along the confused young man, who was still clutching his jaw, and left the luncheon hall. The dog followed them. |
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| − | The two people and the dog soon left the country. |
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| − | <=> |
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| − | === A Land that Wants the Dog === |
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| − | Afterwards, they arrived at a lakeside country that was neither large nor small. |
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| − | On the outside it was a very normal country. The young man knocked on the guardhouse door by the gate. One of the guards stepped out, and the young man prepared to ask the man if they could enter. But suddenly, |
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| − | "Whoa!" |
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| − | The guard cried at the top of his lungs. The two people and the dog were shocked. |
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| − | The guard pressed a button on the wall. A siren wailed as the gate began to open. |
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| − | The guard then fell to his knees on the spot and bowed his head at the white dog standing beside the traveler. |
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| − | "Your Dogship!" |
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| − | The two people stood there, terribly confused. But in the next moment, they were almost knocked to the ground by the crowd that emerged from the gates. As soon as the gates opened, a throng of people swarmed outside, crying, "A Divine Dog!" "His Dogship!" "Eek! A Divine Dog!". |
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| − | The people surrounded the white dog and prostrated themselves. |
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| − | "Welcome, Your Dogship! Please, come inside!" |
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| − | The white dog was led into the gates by the crowd. The young man and the little girl had no choice but to leave the buggy outside and follow after them. |
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| − | When they entered the country, they saw a large square filled with even more people. The crowd was only getting larger. |
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| − | It was so packed that they couldn't even see an inch of the ground. The white dog was ushered onto the podium at the centre of the square, to a great many cheers that shook the earth. Soon, everyone knelt where they stood and bowed their heads. |
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| − | The young man stood beside the podium, confused, and the girl remained as quiet as ever beside him. |
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| − | "Thank you for bringing His Dogship to us!" |
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| − | The young man asked what in the world was going on. |
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| − | "Did you really have no idea? Then this must be fate! This is magnificent!" |
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| − | The young man had to ask for an explanation again before getting an answer. According to the citizen, this country had worshipped dogs for a very long time, but several years ago, the dogs were all wiped out in a plague, leaving the people in anguish. |
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| − | "Your Dogship! Please stay with us from this day forth!" |
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| − | "What shall I do?" The white dog asked the young man. |
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| − | "I leave the decision to you, Riku." The young man said. |
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| − | "How dare you speak so impudently to His Dogship?!" |
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| − | The young man was arrested on the spot. Two burly men restrained his arms. The young man did not put up any resistance, even though he could fight them off if he pleased. |
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| − | "…" |
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| − | The girl quietly approached the dog and pointed at the young man. Perhaps she was trying to tell him to do something. |
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| − | "Your Dogship! We shall put this insolent man to death immediately! Please forgive us!" One person said. The dog pompously told them to wait. |
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| − | "An execution is only a waste of time. You shall expel that man from the country." |
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| − | "…" |
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| − | The little girl's fist lightly made contact with the dog's head. |
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| − | "How dare you?!" |
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| − | The girl was also arrested. "What shall we do with her?" the people asked, and the dog commanded them to expel her from the country as well. |
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| − | Several men lifted the young man and the little girl straight off their feet and tossed them outside the gates. |
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| − | "You'd better be thankful to His Dogship for His merciful judgement!" |
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| − | The gates began to close. But just before they shut completely, the white dog leapt off the podium and darted between people's feet, jumping outside. |
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| − | As the people watched in shock, the heavy gates slammed shut. |
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| − | The young man and the little girl were waiting on the buggy. |
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| − | "Is this all right, Riku?" The young man in the driver's seat asked, amused. |
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| − | "…" |
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| − | The girl in the passenger seat waved the dog over without a word. |
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| − | The white dog climbed onto the buggy and sat between the girl's knees, and gave a pompous command. |
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| − | "You may start the buggy." |
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| − | The girl's tiny fist connected with the dog's head. She embraced him from behind and set her chin down on the top of his head. |
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| − | "You're quite heavy, Ti." The dog said. |
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| − | "…" |
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| − | The girl said nothing, still clutching the fluffy dog. The young man laughed and started the buggy. |
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| − | "Open up the gates, quickly!" |
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| − | "What's taking you so long?!" |
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| − | "Oh no! His Dogship!" |
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| − | They could hear a huge commotion taking place inside. The buggy quickly departed from the country. |
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| − | <=> |
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| − | "The end." |
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| − | "Huh, already?" |
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| − | "Please tell us more! I wanna hear more about the traveler and the girl and the dog!" |
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| − | "That's all for today, children. There are still so many more stories to tell about the two people and the dog, but we can't listen to them all at once without spoiling the fun." |
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| − | "Aww…" |
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| − | "Man…" |
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| − | "I'll tell you more next time. Don't you worry, it'll be even more fun, I promise you." |
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| − | "Really?" |
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| − | "You promised, okay?" |
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| − | "Of course." |
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| − | "Then we'll come back another time!" |
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| − | "We'll see you later!" |
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| − | "Come back anytime. Take care, now." |
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| − | "Okay!" |
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| − | "Bye!" |
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| − | "Goodbye, children." |
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| − | "…Granny?" |
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| − | "Yes, dear? Did you forget something?" |
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| − | "No, there's this traveler on a motorrad here to ask you for directions. Wanted to ask you about our country, too." |
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| − | "Oh my, that's quite unusual. I'll be right there. I wonder who it could be?" |
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| − | <nowiki>-----</nowiki> |
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