Kino's Journey - Volume 1, Epilogue

Epilogue: In the Forest・a -Lost in the Forest・a-

At night, in the forest.

There, thick trees stood in rows, their branches and leaves forming a canopy. In daylight, the leaves were bright green, but now they were black.

Next to the roots spreading throughout the ground, the small lingering flame of a bonfire flickered.

Amid the dimness created by that flame, Kino sat there, body wrapped in a coat, back leaned against a curved surface created by a tree's thick trunk and roots, eyes closed.

A short distance away from the bonfire stood Hermes, all luggage unloaded. Metallic parts twinkled with reflections of the flame.

"Kino? You still awake?"

Hermes asked in a whisper.

"Yeah. I'm awake."

Kino gave a prompt reply.

Hermes then spoke in a lower tone than usual.

"Motorrads are at their happiest when they're running. Going on a journey means running every day. Therefore, traveling is very fun."

"Ah-huh? What's with this, all of a sudden?"

Kino asked, apparently surprised. Hermes then spoke in a tone resembling those of teachers,

"Don't you know, Kino? It's called syllogos."

"...Syllogism?"

"Yeah, that."

Having said that, Hermes then went silent.

"What of it?"

Kino asked, showing curiosity in the topic that Hermes had brought up.

"Well, I just got a little curious about it. That if that's the case, then why do humans travel, you see?"

Hermes asked in an unusually earnest expression.

"Humans? Or just me?"

Kino asked a question in return, also in an earnest tone.

"First, humans."

Let's see..., Kino murmered, then,

"They want to go somewhere they've never been to before. Want to see things they've never seen. Want to eat things they've never eaten. Want to talk to people they've never met before... Those kind of things. Should be pretty simple."

"Yeah. That's not difficult to understand."

Hermes said, seeming to make sense of it.

"I see. It might be more complicated in a practical sense, but that's an easy way to put it."

"Then what about you, Kino? Why do you keep on traveling? I mean, I know that you don't have a place to go back to. But I think you've been met with a lot of cruelty, even nearly killed, and faced countless hardships on the road... Don't you ever think about settling down in one place? With persuader skills of your level, just about any place will hire you. There were a lot of ways to make a living back at Master's place as well."

After Hermes said all that in one go, Kino replied in a quiet tone,

"You're right. It's as you said in that aspect, Hermes."

Hermes waited a brief while. Then, seeing that Kino isn't saying anything more, asked a question.

"Then, despite that, what's the reason for you to keep on traveling?"

Without answering that question, Kino's slender figure rose up. Left hand gripping Woodsman, right hand throwing dirt onto the bonfire.

The barely lingering embers vanished.



Afterword

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