Kino's Journey - Visual Novel 1

The Country of Memories -Their Memories-

A story from the journey of a human, Kino, and a two-wheeled vehicle, Hermes.

Do you remember what is it that has been forgotten? -Don't Forget to Forget!-

"So, what caused it?"

To the motorrad's (Note: Two-wheeled vehicle. Refers to only ones that cannot fly) question,

"It's unclear, they said. Looks like it all happened too suddenly. One day several decades ago, someone went to see what was up, and it turned out that absolutely everything was wiped clean."

The rider answered.

The top and side of the motorrad's rear wheel were fully loaded with travel luggage, such as boxes, bags, sleeping bags, and reserve fuel. The rider was wearing a black vest over a white shirt, a hat with a visor and ear flaps, and goggles over the eyes. One of youth, likely aged not long past the halfway point of teenage years.

A hand persuader holster (Note: Persuaders are firearms. In this case, a handgun) hung from the right side of the waist; inserted in it was a large caliber revolver. To the backside of the waist was another persuader, this one an automatic type.

The motorrad was running along the single road down the desolate, dry earth.

The radiant sun shone strong at its zenith, surrounded by the deep blue sky. The region of thoroughly flat land was dotted with spindly shrubs and grass, giving a slight contrast of color to the otherwise light brown earth.

Beyond the path of tightly packed dirt, the way ahead became hazy as it swayed in the mirage.

"So, the deserted country ended up being visited by one traveler after another. Ironic eh, Kino?"

The motorrad said. The rider, referred to as Kino, nodded and said,

"Up until then, the residents were apparently very gossipy and not at all welcoming to outsiders. And so, since there's no longer anyone in there, the abandoned buildings were free for the exploring, and the abundance of food and water were free for the using, making it an inexpensive place to live in."

"Hm~m."

"And that's why, Hermes, I thought we should check it out, even if it might end up being a round trip."

With Kino having said so, the motorrad, referred to as Hermes, muttered in agreement.

"So about the cause, maybe--"

"Maybe?"

"A traveler or someone of the sort who was armed with a revolver took offense at the treatment they received and went on a rampage?"

"Ha ha ha."

Kino laughed, eyes narrowed under the goggles. What immediately followed was, with tightened lips, speech in the tone as if greeting the bereaved family at a funeral.

"That's not something to joke about, Hermes."

"Right. Sorry."

===

Beyond the road, from right under the horizon, city walls came into view.

Riding toward it, one feature after another became identifiable, starting from its gray color, a rough outline of its build, how the stones were constructed, and finally, the location of the gateway. The gateway had no gates, nor were there any guards in the guardhouse to the side.

"There really isn't anyone here."

Hermes spoke up. Kino did not stop Hermes, slowly riding through the gateway just like that.

The city wall boasted great height and thickness. The gentle curvature indicated that the country was indeed a grand one.

Making their way through the long gateway path of chilly atmosphere, the country of greeneries spread before them.

"Whoa." "This is awesome."

Kino and Hermes exclaimed simultaneously.

In complete contrast to the outside world, the inside of the country was full of green foliage. The main street which extended from the gateway to the country's center was lined with trees, and to both of its sides were waterways, ones with water still flowing down them. Houses could be seen to the sides, each of their hedges left to grow rampant.

Kino shifted Hermes' rear wheel before bringing the vehicle to a stop. As the engine was cut immediately to conserve fuel, only the gentle sounds of the wind and rustling leaves could be heard.

In the houses visible amid the greenery, there were no signs of human presence. Those abandoned stone houses stood silently, their window frames either badly deteriorated or fallen off. Their yards grew rampant with not only weeds, but also assortments of burly trees.

"I wonder why?"

"Who knows..."

Once again, Kino and Hermes conversed between themselves, yielding no answers.

Starting up the engine, Kino then rode down the main street. Street lights and traffic lights, none turned on, passed by overhead.

Riding along, Kino said while observing them,

"What a nice place. There's no one here, but there won't be any problem when it comes to food."

In the wide lake that spread on from the roadside, the water surface rippled with numerous silhouettes of fish, and from the trees within the vast plantation, fruits of vivid yellow hung down in abundance. Perhaps because the seeds were transported out, the fruit trees' territory now spreaded beyond the plantation.

"How about settle down here, Kino?"

"I'll think about it."

Kino and Hermes rode on, headed for the group of buildings that came into view up ahead. 

Birds of a kind unknown to them saw them off from atop the fruit trees.

Buildings of excessive elegance lined the center of the country.

The buildings were massive, wonderfully constructed from a great quantity of lavishly polished stone. Stone statues of peculiar life forms stood conspicuously on the pointed roofs. Each building was neatly arranged in evenly divided plots of land. 

The road, wide enough for as many as ten cars to run down side by side, led to a crosswise intersection. Compared to the magnificent urban district, the motorrad looked awfully tiny as it ran along kicking up faint clouds of dust.

But there was no one else there. Nor were there any cars running.

At the center of the intersection, Kino brought Hermes to a stop, stood up, and turned around and around, both in body and line of sight.

The buildings flowed away to the side, then other buildings appeared, then they would flow away as well. Beyond them was only the unchanging azure sky.

"......"

Finding amusement in it, Kino spun around five more times,

"......"

And what followed was lightheadedness.

"You better not get on me in that state."

Hermes said.

===

Kino and Hermes began exploring the city.

It was true that residents of the country were nowhere to be found. Nor were there any other travelers.

When Kino alone entered a building that seemed to be a theatre of sorts and inspected the stage, Hermes complained that it was unfair.

When they happened upon a plaza where underground water still flowed into the reservoir, and after confirming that the water was clean, they decided on their lodgings for the night and committed the location to their memory.

In a building that seemed to have formerly been a store, shattered glass could be seen on the interior, and several tens of machines with monitors and other electronic appliances were scattered on the floor.

A large stone statue holding a sword, unknown whether it was of some hero or king, had its sides tangled in ivy, covered from the elbow of its right arm down. Hermes commented, in a tone of enjoyment, that it was as if the statue was being eaten.

Kino and Hermes then continued their exploration.

"Oh, I'll be darned. This place definitely had it rough."

They happened upon a building in which all the desks and chairs were wrecked indiscriminately; perhaps the place was laid waste to by a prior hostile traveler or someone of the sort.

"But this is perfect timing for us. I do feel a tad bit guilty toward the people who made the chairs though."

Kino decided to use them as firewood for the cold night. Suitable pieces were chosen, then piled up on a board which seemed to have formerly been a door overhang.

"I'm going to check it out. Be back in a bit."

Having said that, Kino carefully ascended the spiral staircase of a tower which adorned the exterior of a tower. Atop the tower built in the park, a scenery which seemed to encompass the whole country spread forth.

After a while, Kino descended and described it to Hermes, prompting the motorrad to resent the fact that the tower had no elevators. And once again, the motorrad complained that it was unfair.

As if to pacify Hermes, Kino told the motorrad of seeing a building that looked interesting, erected away from the country's center, and that they should go check it out. Its structure was like none other, being comprised of simple, wide, large, rectangular shapes. Kino deduced that perhaps it was a monument or a special building of the sort, and that Hermes might be able to get inside, saying that the motorrad probably wouldn't get bored if it could see what's in it.

"Your concern is much appreciated~~"

"You are very welcome."

After all was said and done, Kino and Hermes rode down the main street, finally arriving at the location. The building was simply rectangular, as if it was a box. There was not a single window on its undecorated outer walls.

[NATIONAL LIBRARY]

At the building's entrance was a large plaque, with those words engraved into its surface in large letters.

Hermes read the words of smaller letters under it. As they were well-engraved into hard stone, they were still legible even after many passing decades.

"Let's see, We shall safeguard all books and other storage mediums, such that they are eternally preserved here as our memories. --That's what it says."

Kino immediately proposed that they went in, to which Hermes replied,

"Me~h. Books aren't interesting."

Kino pushed the slightly disgruntled motorrad along using the cart slope, then passed through the broken glass door to get inside.

The building's interior was like a warehouse of bookshelves.

Amid the chilly atmosphere, lines of bookshelves, each of them reaching all the way up to the low ceiling, seemed to go on endlessly. Neither the oil lamp in Kino's hand nor Hermes' headlight could illuminate all the way to the end of the path. Furthermore, this was still just the first floor, and this should be the case for all other floors as well.

"So all these are books or magazines, huh. They sure gathered a lot of stuff."

Hermes said in an astounded tone. At the same time, the luggage was unloaded, then hid by the entrance, which no longer had someone at the reception.

Kino then opened the doors of one of the bookshelves. The inside was indeed cramming with books, however,

"......"

When Kino picked off one of the books, an expression of mixed feelings appeared on the traveler's face. And when the book was carefully opened, the expression changed to one of bitterness.

"What's wrong, Kino?"

Saying nothing, Kino held the book for Hermes to see, and the motorrad said, seeming to understand,

"Well, this isn't unnatural. The air conditioning had stopped functioning, and who knows how many decades it's been. I'm sure the humidity of rainy seasons must have gotten in. Worst case, the underground floors are probably filled with rotten puddles."

The book was one with splendid binding, but most of the pages had blackened with mold and decay.

Kino tried examining other books, then asked how Hermes was doing, to which the motorrad answered,

"Pretty hard, I guess. I can make out some faint letters in places, but... can't read them all."

Kino put the books back into the shelf. As Kino slid the shelf to the side, several volumes of the decaying books tumbled off. They fell to pieces and scattered at Kino's feet.

"...... No good, huh. Would've been interesting to learn what kind of country this place was, even if only a little bit."

Kino did not pick up the books that had fallen to pieces. Hanging the lamp on Hermes' handle, they then steadily proceeded onward.

Paying no mind to Hermes' expressions of disinterest, Kino examined the bookshelves as they went along. 

Although there were some things that could still be looked at such as simple photograph books, most of the books were useless. Their pages had either rotten away or were stuck together, and would be torn apart if they were turned.

Perhaps there were prior travelers who had done the same things, apparent from spots with charcoal piles where books had been taken off the shelves and piled up high on the floor then set on fire, perhaps as signs of mischief or hostility.

Kino let out a few small sighs, deciding that it was about time to stop the search. In the end, there wasn't a single book that could be read properly.

Kino pushed Hermes along, headed toward the exit. It would be terrible if they were to lose their way in the lines of identical bookshelves, but they managed to safely make their way to a place they recognized as somewhere near the entrance. Right there,

"What about that room?"

Hermes said, signaling Kino to look at the door hidden deeper into the building. Kino stood Hermes up on the motorrad's stand, then slowly opened the door. After confirming the room's safety, Hermes was then pushed inside. 

The room was another a storage purposed for preservation. Likewise, the white walls of the room were lined with rectangular gaps, making them resemble bookshelves. However, what had been contained within the transparent cases were not books, but rather round, thin, silver sheets that resembled plates.

"They're memory discs, aren't they? --You know, we've seen them before. The thing that can record stuff like music and videos."

Hermes said as Kino peered into the collection of discs. However,

"These are no good, too..."

The cases were cracked, all of them broken in one spot or another. The discs themselves were bent, broken, badly scratched, or had their surfaces peeled off; there was not one of them that was in a usable state. They hadn't been damaged by anyone, but rather deteriorated naturally. 

"Even the books were that bad, so there's no way stuff that are more fragile like discs could be kept for that long, Kino. Even if there's a machine that lets us see what's in these discs, they're useless like this."

While looking at the discs reflecting the lamp light, Kino muttered,

"So there's no longer a way for anyone to know the memories of these people, huh..."

===

Kino pushed Hermes along all the way to the end of the room before turning back. While pushing and pulling on the handles, Kino's back pushed against the wall several times before somehow managing to turn around.

"Wait! Kino, try knocking on the wall behind you."

Hermes cried out all of a sudden.

"Wall?"

Kino repeated the word, stood Hermes up on the motorrad's stand, then took the lamp off the handle and shone light onto the wall. There was only a white, seamless surface there. Kino tried knocking on it lightly in various spots, and the same sound was produced from all of them. Hermes immediately pointed out, however,

"There, the last spot you hit was different from the rest. There's something in there. A cavity, maybe?"

With all that said, Kino took interest in it, stroking around the wall. The search went on for a while, but nothing was found. Even so, Kino continued the search, and before long,

"There it is..."

What had been uncovered was the cover of a crevice, one so very small indeed. Kino tested various things on it before finally sliding it open. Inside it was a keyhole. Deciding to get it open no matter what since they had already come all the way here, Kino took out two small metal wires and inserted them into the keyhole, moving them around subtly and carefully. At a glance, one would think the traveler was a thief.

Before long, with faint sound, the keyhole turned. This time, part of the wall sprang open, as if it was a cover. Kino hurriedly stepped aside, and the cover struck Hermes' rear carrier, raising quite a loud knocking sound.

"Ouch."

"......"

Kino carefully shone the light from the oil lamp at the opening in the wall. What was contained within was...

"Disc..."

Only a single disc, to be precise.

The disc had been stored in a transparent case, which had been stored in a larger transparent case, which had been stored in a larger case, which had been stored in an even larger case, and another, and another--

It gave the impression of those souvenir dolls which contained smaller dolls inside. The disc in the case, protected by layers upon layers, was not bent, nor broken, nor scratched, nor peeled; it glittered brilliantly as it reflected the light of the lamp.

"Awesome. This one is probably still usable."

Hermes said in a tone that suggested an extent of excitement.

"That's because it's stored securely under so many layers. Looks like the space between each case is filled with some kind of special liquid as well."

For a short while, Kino observed the case without saying anything, before muttering,

"I wonder what it is..."

"Hmm?"

"I wonder what's been preserved in this disc? --This one is probably the single most important disc, after all."

"That's likely."

"I wonder what manner of footages are locked away? Lively townscapes from times of prosperity? Or an ordinary child of some family, at a birthday party filled with laughter?"

"Who knows?"

"One day, if someone were to look at what's inside this, they would be the one to carry on a memory of someone from this country. But how many years will it be before then? Several decades? Or centuries?"

"Who knows?"

"But only one thing is certain."

"What is?"

"That someone won't be us. Let's leave it hidden here until then."

"That, I approve."

Kino slowly closed the cover, and the cover of the keyhole as well.

The wall reverted to how it once was, and it would be difficult for Kino to even find the keyhole cover once again.

Kino pushed Hermes along, leaving the room. The discs in the room reflected the light of Kino's lamp, twinkling in a wavering yellow gleam.

And so, when the door was closed, the room was once again shrouded in complete darkness.

In the thousands, tens of thousands, millions, or perhaps even more...

An utterly stunning number of stars spread forth, blanketing the night sky. There was no moon; only twinking stars, each doing everything in its power to make its presence known.

On a sheet spreaded on a plot of grass that could have formerly been a flower bed, Kino laid under the sleeping bag spreaded out as an improvised blanket. Hermes was parked to the side, on stone pavement. Near them were remains of a bonfire.

"One day--"

Kino spoke up.

"One day, if the stories of you and me-- of our travels together-- were to remain preserved as memories, wouldn't it be nice... Stories of when we were back at Master's place, too. So that people could look at them and know what they're all about. Like that disc."

"That's unlikely."

With Hermes saying that, Kino chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's unlikely. --That's why, at the very least, as long as I'm still alive, I'll keep the disc of this country safe in my memory. The disc which I couldn't see the memories of. Just that, I'll remember."

"Right, then. So what's the plan for tomorrow? Don't tell me we're staying here for two more days?"

"No, it's fine. We'll leave right when I get up. Still, it was interesting. I'm glad I came here. But this time let's go to a country with people."

"Roger."

===

After Kino and Hermes took their leave, the rainy season arrived in the region.

The country was drenched throughout, and so the rainy reason took its leave. The dry season arrived once again, and so did another traveler, who came to the country by automobile.

He found the national library, explored it just as Kino had, and was disappointed all the same by the worn-out books.

Eventually, he happened upon that room, and was also disappointed by all the broken discs.

Near the wall in one corner of the room, he picked up a small plate which his foot brushed against.

It likely fell off a year prior, right when the cover on the wall sprung open, but went unnoticed by those who were here at the time.

He flipped it over once before reading the letters carved on its surface.

"In accordance with the 'book burning prohibition law,' storage mediums shall not be destroyed. This disc, too, shall remain. However, contained within are footages of the most vile, most evil, and most bizarre crimes and obscenities; inspection of such footages shall be permanently prohibited, and they shall be sealed away for eternity. ~National Library~ --That's what it says. Which one is it referring to? Or does it apply to all of the discs that are being stored here?"

He asked the dog that accompanied him here, and the dog answered that, regrettably, it does not know the answer.

As the traveler looked at the lines of numerous discs in the rooms, he produced an expression of mixed feelings, and muttered to himself,

"Well, at any rate... It's no longer possible for anyone to see what's in them."

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