Kino's Journey - Volume 1, Afterword (Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko Edition)

Note: This afterword was newly written for the Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko release of Kino's Journey Volume 1, replacing the original Afterword -Preface-.

Afterword -Preface-

Hermes: "And with that, we're in the Afterword! Kino!"

Kino: "......"

Hermes: "Wake up!"

Kino: "W-what is it, Hermes? ...Isn't it still the middle of the night? Did a dangerous animal come out or something? No, that can't be -- we're in the middle of a wasteland. Oh, check out the moon. Beautiful."

Hermes: "Yeah, nothing but the moon to see around here. But get this -- we're in the Afterword."

Kino: "Huh? Afterword? Isn't it the place where the author comes out to greet the readers or leave a message and the like?"

Hermes: "Normally, yeah. But our author isn't normal, you see."

Kino: "I won't deny that."

Hermes: "And with all that said, let's get the Afterword started. Got anything you wanna say?"

Kino: "Nope."

Hermes: "Alright, Afterword's over! ...Not! We can't leave the rest of the pages blank!"

Kino: "How about we leave it for the readers to draw some pictures?"

Hermes: "That sounds nice! ...Is what I'd like to say, but what if this book ends up in a library?"

Kino: "Oh yeah, you're not supposed to doodle in a library's book... Huh? I'm feeling a sense of déjà vu... Has this talk about not doodling come up before?"

Hermes: "Maybe."

Kino: "Well, anyway, good night."

Hermes: "Don't sleep yet! At least explain to the readers what this book is about!"

Kino: "Eh, they should already know, seeing that they're here."

Hermes: "C'mon, think of the people who start reading a book from the Afterword!"

Kino: "Aren't you supposed to read it last?"

Hermes: "Our author is the kind of person who reads it first, apparently. He's not normal, after all."

Kino: "I won't deny that."

Hermes: "So, yeah, advertisement time! Do your thing! Explain what kind of book this is to the people who start reading from the Afterword!"

Kino: "Let's see... Each story starts with me and Hermes visiting a country, and at the end, we leave. That's it."

Hermes: "So short!"

Kino: "Was there any way I could've explained more than that?"

Hermes: "Hmm... Nope."

Kino: "I know, right? Our activities are different each time -- it all depends on what each story's country is like."

Hermes: "And of course, there's no way we wouldn't leave at some point."

Kino: "If we never leave, it wouldn't be a journey, after all."

Hermes: "How about we try that next time? The title might even be changed to 'Kino's Sojourn,' you know?"

Kino: "That's a good idea. You won't have to run as much, so you'll get to stay in the garage. I'll even put a cover over you."

Hermes: "Yeah, I dunno... We should just continue our journey! Yeah!"

Kino: "You heard Hermes -- Our journey will continue."

Hermes: "Aye, aye."

Kino: "And now I sleep. We have a long way to go tomorrow."

Hermes: "Good night, Kino."

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