Sora wa hateshinai kokoro no kagami dakara ne
Mainichi iro o kaeteku utsushidasu you ni
Shiroku haita kemuri kumo ni natte
Koboresou na namida kakushite ite
Shinjiru mono ga kowareteku toki ni wa
Me o tojite negau
Hitori-kiri de nemurenai yoru ni ochitemo
Yami no naka ni hitomi tojite
Hoshi no kagayaki ni mimi o sumashiteru
Yuzurenai kara hadashi de mo hashiri-tsuzukeru
Aoi sora no tsuki no you ni
Hakanasa idaite te o nobashitai
Why do you continue the journey, Kino?
Even though you encounter things like this...
There's no real reason.
No real reason?
Sometimes I feel that
I may be a hopelessly stupid and narrow-minded person.
That maybe I'm a terribly dirty human being.
I don't know why,
but I feel that way sometimes.
But at times like that,
I always feel the whole world is beautiful
and realize how much I love it.
So,
even when something like this happens,
I still want to continue to the next encounter and to the next discovery.
Is that a satisfactory answer?
To be honest with you, I didn't really understand.
I think that's fine.
Do you?
I may not really understand it, either.
I may be hesitating.
Maybe I'm continuing the journey to understand it better.
Oh, well. I'm going to sleep.
We'll need to go quite far again tomorrow.
Good night, Hermes.
Good night, Kino.
A Peaceful Land
What's that, Kino?
Haven't you ever seen human corpses, Hermes?
Not that.
I wanted to know why there are so many mummies lying around here.
It's too haphazard for a grave yard, I guess...
Welcome to Veldelval, traveler.
I'm Kino.
This is Hermes, my partner.
Please let us enter the country for sightseeing and rest.
How long are you planning to stay?
Three days.
We'll leave the day after tomorrow.
Three day stay.
It's finished.
Please go on through.
That was so easy.
Yes.
Because this country is at peace now.
Oh, that's right, Kino.
Do you have any Persuaders?
Yes.
Is it prohibited to take them into the country by any chance?
If you have Persuaders like these, you must be quite skilled.
Fourth level. Has a black belt.
I'm so impressed.
You may bring them in if they are for your protection.
But I'm sure you won't need them.
This country is safe.
All the citizens also like to live peacefully and quietly.
I'm sure you'll like it too.
Yes.
Oh, they're old stuff.
We've just left them for decorative purposes.
That reminded me.
If you're sightseeing,
you should go to the History Museum.
It'll tell you a lot about this country.
Thank you very much.
I'll go there.
It doesn't look like a country where they live peacefully.
Not necessarily.
These were used in the past
and they apparently don't need them anymore.
How did that happen?
I don't know about that,
but it hardly looks like a country at war.
What?
Oh, it's a military drill.
See?
Good! Next! Take aim!
After all, we're having a war tomorrow.
What?
I can't count on what you say, Kino.
Next!
Take aim! Fire!
There you go!
Stop it!
Wait for me!
So, this is the History Museum.
Oh, no. It's a war,
but it won't pose any danger to travelers.
Don't worry.
It's not like the wars of former times.
What do you mean?
If you want to know more about it, let me think...
You should go to the History Museum.
I think the curator there will gladly tell you all about it.
Welcome to our History Museum.
I am the curator.
When people started living in this inhospitable land for the first time,
it was only a small settlement consisting of several dozen people.
By building a water channel and reclaiming the land,
our ancestors developed the town greatly.
Commerce and industry developed even further
and consequently, the castle walls were also expanded.
The basics of our country's development, still applicable today,
were formed during this period.
I imagine it was quite hard work
to build a country out of nothing.
Our country is built upon our ancestors' effort.
But a country growing big doesn't always bring good things, traveler.
Once a country becomes large,
it ends up needing contact with other countries.
Some of them are unfortunate encounters.
Now, starting here is the area of modern history.
The first war against Relsumia, a neighboring country,
started 192 years ago.
It began with a dispute over the ownership of the hilly area
that lies between the two countries.
In truth,
it might have been a problem that could have been solved diplomatically.
But when two races with different languages, religions, customs,
and everything else become neighbors,
it was easy for them to view each other with hostility.
The war continued to escalate.
Along with this, new weapons were developed
and many people died.
As both countries warred off and on,
they would repeatedly exhaust national resources
and ended up calling cease-fires without clear victors.
This kept repeating until 15 years ago.
Did you say until 15 years ago?
Yes.
This country seems very prosperous and stable now.
Are you no longer fighting your neighboring country?
We no longer kill each other.
What happened 15 years ago when you suddenly found peace?
That would be explained in the next corner,
but I'm afraid we don't have any time left today.
How long are you staying here?
We're leaving the day after tomorrow.
I'm available anytime before then.
In that case,
I can show you the answer tomorrow.
Please see for yourself how we created and maintain the peace.
What are we going to see?
A war.
You're Kino and Hermes, right?
The curator told me about you two.
I'll be your guide today.
Please get on this Hovy.
We can't traverse that bumpy wasteland in a vehicle with wheels.
Please come on board.
That's the Relsumian National Defense Army.
Relsumia is the neighboring country
that you fought against for nearly 200 years, correct?
Yes, it is.
We're going to have a war against them now.
Oh, don't worry.
No soldier will die.
It's different than the old wars.
And now, the 185th Relsumia-Veldelval War will commence!
They are Tatatans, the tribal people that live around here.
See! Please watch this.
This side of the line is for us and the other side is Relsumia's battlefield.
Oh, it's going to start!
Time is up!
The war is over!
The final results will now be announced!
Scoring ten to nine, the winning country is Veldelval!
All right!
We did it, Kino and Hermes!
They'll be so excited when we get back home!
Did you see yesterday's war, Kino?
Yes, we did.
Now the mystery of the mummies has been solved.
Is that your so-called war?
To me, it looked like nothing more than the massacre
or execution of the Tatatans.
But that is our version of war.
I remember the old war very well.
Many people died during the war that kept on going tirelessly for years.
Many people.
I had a family.
A husband and four sons.
They were my priceless treasure, but...
The one who lost his upper body just now was my husband.
The children volunteered one after another to avenge their father.
First, my second son, Sotos, was shot.
The next day, Datos stepped on a mine and was blown to pieces.
Utos, my eldest, was blown away along with enemy soldiers by friendly fire.
My youngest, Yotos, was the last one remaining.
He went off promising to come back alive,
but he never returned.
I desperately thought about how such a meaningless war might be avoided.
And I submitted an idea.
Is that the war I saw yesterday?
Yes.
Nothing would change, if I only insisted on stopping the war.
Humans naturally possess competitiveness, hostility, and cruelty,
so there needed to be a way that they could vent these feelings effectively.
When I announced this idea,
there happened to be a woman in the other country,
who had coincidentally come up with the same idea.
That was 15 years ago.
After that, the two countries formed an agreement
and discarded weapons that were too deadly.
There would be no point in wiping out the Tatatans, after all.
Thanks to that, the national defense budget could be reduced greatly.
And this is the most important thing.
Since then, we have never had a war
where there were casualties in either of our countries.
This is the end of the History Museum tour.
Thank you for your time.
May I ask you a question?
Yes, you may.
What happens to the Tatatans who are killed?
I believe they also have their lives and families.
Please try calculating it out.
The number of casualties among the Tatatans
is so little that it is incomparable
to the number of victims in the war of the past.
Besides...
Besides?
Are there any alternatives that could replace it?
If you have one, please let me know.
Sacrifices must be made for peace, Kino.
And that sacrifice absolutely cannot be our children.
Thank you for the story.
Not at all. It was my pleasure.
Well, then...
Ms. Curator,
I do not know if you are wrong now
or if the people of the past were right.
Once you become a little older,
you will understand how I feel.
Do you think so?
Once you become pregnant and feel the warmth of your child...
I'm sure.
Of course, I feel sorry for the curator because her family was killed,
but I'd still say no thanks to that kind of peace.
There's something on the ground, Kino.
They're travelers' bags.
So many of them...
Kino!
Do you want something from me?
You will now come with us to our village
and there, you will be torn limb from limb in front of our eyes
and you'll die for us.
Why is that?
For our revenge.
I am not of that country.
I know that, traveler.
We hate that country.
We are massacred for no reason and we cannot even bury our loved ones.
But we cannot win even if we fight.
So, we do not care who it is.
In this case, it is you, who just happened to pass this way.
We must torture and kill anyone we can
to satisfy our desire for revenge, even if it is only a little.
I understand how you feel,
but I do not want to die.
I will not forget about your people.
Now, if you'll excuse us...
Oh, Kino.
Don't you need to go to the neighboring country?
No need for that, Hermes.
Touku de furidashita ame
Dareka ga nurenagara sotto furueru
Mori ni mayoi sora ni yorisou
Kuni o tazune hito to yukikai
Soshite tabi wa owaranai
So the beautiful world...
Doko kara kita doko made yuku
So the beautiful world...
Nagareru mama sekai o hashiru
Kino's Journey
A Kind Land
Where do you like best among all the countries you visited?
I'm not sure if is the one I like best,
but the first one I recall is that country.
That country?
There, I was treated with kindness enough for many other travelers.
That's why I've never forgotten the people's smiles
and the girl who has the name of a flower.