The sky is boundless, because it's the mirror of my soul
It changes colors everyday, as if it's reflecting my heart
The white smoky haze turns into clouds
Concealing my tears that seem about to overflow
When something I have faith in begins to fall apart
I close my eyes and make a wish
Even on a night when I'm alone and can't fall asleep
I just close my eyes in the darkness
And find myself listening closely for the radiance of the stars
I'll keep running, even barefooted, because I can't give this up
And like the moon in the blue sky,
I want to embrace my transience and reach out my hand
The world---
is not beautiful.
Prologue
In the Middle of the Desert · a
It's impossible to start a journey like this.
If we leave now, we can still make it,
so let's go back to master's place.
Sure, it's your choice if you want to dry up out here, Kino.
But what's going to happen to me?
I don't want to end up buried in the sand
with a mummified version of you.
I've had enough!
You know, God...
The God of Travelers probably wants to tell you
that it's impossible for you to go on a journey.
Maybe so...
So, in that case...
Rejected.
Sheesh, you're so stubborn once you've made up your mind.
But I think you should decide pretty soon.
Do you go back to master's place,
or do you continue running and turn into a mummy?
I don't like the sound of either.
Kino, the most important thing for a traveler is decisiveness.
That holds true for both rookie and veteran travelers.
Am I wrong?
Kino?
Hermes...
What's wrong?
The most important thing for a traveler
is what saves the traveler after struggling to the bitter end.
What's that?
That's luck.
Land of Visible Pain
I figured something like this would happen!
What would happen?
We've been tricked by that fake map dealer!
A "map made from measurements taken just a month ago," my butt!
We can't even see the next country over! And what's this cliff doing here?!
Yeah, but we should be able to go straight here...
That's why I'm saying we got tricked.
But it was accurate up until here.
Hey, I can see it.
That's the country!
The map is right after all.
Hey, that guy up there is thinking of turning you into lunch.
Now that you mention it, I'm pretty hungry too.
Have you ever felt jealous of birds?
Everyone and everything has a certain place in life, Kino.
Neither motorrads nor people were made to fly.
Whenever people see birds flying through the sky,
it's said that they get the urge to go on a journey.
Who said that?
I forget.
So, do you keep traveling because you saw birds too?
I'm not sure.
Never mind that, I'm hungry.
Kino, don't tell me you're going to suggest going there.
Hermes, I don't think I'm the kind of traveler
to make a road for myself where one doesn't already exist.
Hearing that makes me feel very relieved.
Have you...
ever felt jealous of birds?
I guess you really should trust people.
What's this all of a sudden?
This map was correct a month ago.
Oh, I see.
The world is constantly changing.
And you can't expect it to stay the same, even for a second.
If that's true, there's no need for you to go on a journey, Kino.
Even if you stay in one place,
you'll still be able to keep experiencing the world!
I would think that a motorrad's purpose in life is to go places, isn't it?
A traveler's purpose in life is to travel.
Okay, then...
What do you plan on doing?
There's a road.
If you can call it that.
Seeing birds flying through the sky urges
one to go on a journey.
Who said that?
I forget---
"Customs Inspection Center"
Looks like I'll finally get to eat lunch.
You can't know that for sure yet.
I like to be optimistic.
Excuse me...
Welcome, traveler.
The Customs Inspection is about to begin.
Please answer a few short questions.
Huh?
"Please type how many are in your party
and the length of your stay".
One human.
Don't forget about me.
One motorrad.
For three days...
It took care of everything.
What a useful machine, huh?
But there's no people around.
What if there's no one in the town, either?
No way.
Welcome, traveler.
Please take this.
What is it?
A traveler's guidebook?
Please enjoy your stay!
I will! Let's see, for food...
This really is a hospitable country.
That was great!
Did you enjoy your meal?
Yeah! It was very good.
Thank you!
Thank you very much.
Let's see, I wonder how much I owe?
Wow!
How was it?
It was good.
That's it?
And very cheap!
What?!
Kino, are you sure we can stay at such a gorgeous place?
The thing is, it's REALLY cheap
or at least it should be.
What?!
Is this really it?
You're sure that the price you mentioned is correct, right?
Are you sure you aren't mistaking me for royalty or something?
I won't be able to pay, even if you charge me a lot later!
Please make yourself at home.
Cheapskate.
What are we going to do tomorrow in a country with no people, Kino?
I'll think about it tomorrow.
Good night.
Let's go.
Canon and your other gun, umm...
The "Person of the Forest."
Yeah, that one!
Did you finish cleaning them?
Long ago.
We might not meet anyone today either.
But it looks like that won't inconvenience us.
What if we just established ourselves here?
You could be king, Kino.
I'm not the type.
Oh, so you know.
If you were the only person living here in this country...
If you were the only one, yeah?
I wonder what it would feel like?
Just as I thought, there's no one here.
Nothing wrong with having at least one country like this in the world.
As long as the travelers who come here don't run into any trouble.
I found someone.
Huh? What?
There are people here.
But it seems like everyone is closed up inside their homes.
There's not one person who's outside of their house.
And what's more...
What's more?
Everyone is alone.
Not one person is with their family.
We're going to leave this country tomorrow, right?
Because your rule is to stay three days, no matter what country we go to.
That's long enough to figure out what kind of place any country is.
Plus, if we stayed longer, we wouldn't be able to go to as many countries.
Ever since we took off from master's place,
I've seen many different countries with you, Kino,
but there was only one place where you tried to stay longer than three days.
And even then,
we ended up staying there for three days too.
It's probably a lie.
The reason why I only stay for three days in any one country.
I'm afraid I'll settle down, if I stay too long.
Because if I settled down,
I would cease to be a traveler.
Because if I settled down,
I would cease to be a traveler...
Once we get out of this little forest,
the traveler's guidebook only said the area beyond is the "outskirts."
Whoa...
They don't seem to like us very much.
All right! Come on now!
Hey! Move, darn it!
Excuse me...
Hello...
That was a bit extreme.
I don't suppose you're...
Yes?
You can't tell what I'm thinking?
Not at all.
Me, either.
It's just as I thought.
I can't tell what you're thinking, either.
Oh, I see!
You're a traveler!
No wonder we can't read each other's thoughts.
But it's been years since I've talked to someone like this!
If you don't mind, may I ask you a question?
Why is everyone in this country locked up all by themselves?
This place is the "Land of Visible Pain".
The Land of Visible Pain?
You were told that when you were a kid, weren't you?
That you should be considerate of other people's pain?
The reason we hurt others is because we don't understand their pain.
If we all understood each other's feelings,
there would be no more conflicts.
That's what we thought.
Who's "we"?
All the people in this country.
We've had advanced machine technology for a long time now
and machines have done most of the work around here.
The scientists used that technology to make an epochal invention.
One that stimulated a part of the brain that wasn't being used,
to transmit our thoughts directly to one another.
Transmit thoughts directly?
So it's like topology, right?
Telepathy?
Yeah, that!
When communicating our thoughts, words are imperfect.
It's full of holes everywhere.
Just like with the word "beautiful", you cannot communicate
exactly how beautiful you feel something is.
But a group of our country's best scientists made that possible.
If you drank the liquid machine that they developed,
you would be able to understand the thoughts of others without words.
We thought that was a wonderful thing
and people all across the country drank it.
All across the country... Meaning everyone?
Think about it.
If everyone else is communicating their thoughts to one another,
but you alone are left out of the loop,
you'd feel pretty uneasy, wouldn't you?
You could feel secure as long as we were all connected to each other.
That's what everyone thought.
What happened after that?
I'll tell you about what happened to me.
At that time, I was in love with a certain woman,
but I couldn't tell her how I felt.
The moment I drank the liquid machines,
her feelings came pouring into me.
We shared a mutual love for one another.
I thought we were the happiest people in the world.
But our life together soon fell apart.
She was very much into raising flowers,
but I didn't really have any interest in that.
I was very much into music,
but she was similarly disinterested.
Tense situations followed one after another.
We would deliberately think of unrelated things
to keep the other from reading our thoughts,
but even the very fact that we were doing so would be communicated.
Don't you know people hate you?!
What are you saying?!
You really don't know how to do anything!
You're such an idiot!
You're being too cocky!
I know!
Even the smallest things you didn't like about someone came across
and it only succeeded in amplifying hatred on both sides.
And this hatred pierced us like thorns.
Soon, we realized what a horror it was
to be able to read other people's thoughts and be read yourself.
Even when you weren't in pain yourself, you could still feel the pain of others,
and there was nothing positive about that.
There was only one thing to do,
and that was for us to distance ourselves from each other.
Just as you can't hear each other's voices
once you're a few dozen meters apart,
we had to distance ourselves enough so we couldn't read each other's minds.
To this day, I'm scared of meeting anybody.
That's probably how the others here feel too.
Thanks to the machines, we can still lead our lives without any trouble.
Being confined to your own space, you find ways to entertain yourself...
Because in the end,
if you understood the pain of others,
you just couldn't live a normal life.
Since then, many years have passed with no children born in this country.
I imagine this country will eventually die out.
After that, those machines will probably
continue going on by themselves forever.
That was a lovely song.
It's a song she and I used to listen to often when we first met.
She told me she liked it too, but...
I wonder what the truth was?
Because after we both drank the liquid machines,
we never played this song again.
I was so happy I had the chance to talk to you guys.
The pleasure was all mine. Thank you very much. Goodbye.
Excuse me!
Would you mind talking for a while longer...
Oh, I know!
If you want to, why don't you try living here with me?
Hermes too! It's safe here and everything...
How about it?
No.
I would like to continue on my journey.
Oh, okay.
You're right. I apologize.
Do you think this is it?
Probably.
Kino, you know how you were gazing at each other at the end?
Huh?
Oh, that.
Were you all lovey-dovey?
Huh? What's that about?
I was worried there. Watching you two,
I thought you were going to marry him or something.
When he gave me that last look, I felt like he was thinking,
"Don't die, okay?"
And?
So I answered with, "Thank you."
I see, but I wonder if he accurately got the message?
I'm not sure...
The world is not beautiful; and that,
in a way, lends it a sort of beauty.
It has begun to rain in a far off place
And in it, someone shivers softly as they get wet
Losing myself in the forest, I nestle up to the sky
Visiting countries, coming and going among people
And the journey will never end
So the beautiful world...
Where did I come from? How far will I go?
So the beautiful world...
I travel the world, going where the currents take me
Kino's Journey
A Tale of Feeding Off Others
Kino, what kind of things do you like?
Let's see, a hotel with a shower, a soft and fluffy bed,
warm soup, steak, fois gras, fish meuniere, cake for dessert...
You're just listing food names now.
What do you think about rabbit stew?
I don't hate it, but I think I'm going to hold off eating it for a while,
because it reminds me of their red eyes from that one time.