The next morning.

Kino woke up at dawn.

She lightly moved her body and performed the maintenance on the revolver she called ‘Canon’ and the automatic she called ‘Woodsman’. She then took a shower after practicing her quick draw several times.

Kino ate her breakfast of portable rations while looking at the sun rising from the walls.

Then she slapped Hermes awake and went out sightseeing. She slowly rode through the town.

At the main street, the dispirited people sat dazedly in chairs in front of the shops. They looked at Kino and Hermes, then averted their gazes disinterestedly.

“What’s the matter with them?” Hermes muttered.

“Everybody’s so lifeless… except for a few.”

Kino suddenly stopped Hermes at the middle of the road. She quickly kicked down his side stand.

“Hmm? Why is th—— Whoa!” Hermes exclaimed as he noticed.

From the side of the road, a young man holding a metal pipe ran towards Hermes. His eyes were bloodshot. The people around looked on in surprise.

Kino stood before the man who brandished his weapon overhead. The man aimed for Kino and swung down the metal pipe.

Kino twisted her body and sent out a low kick. It connected with the man’s legs. The man fell forward, his body hitting the road.

Kino stepped on the collapsed man’s hands and took away the metal pipe. Then she pushed on the man’s back strongly.

The man faced to the side and shouted at Kino.

“Damn it! I’ll kill you! Damn it!”

“What’s his problem——” Hermes muttered.

“Damn… damn…”

The man was sobbing. A middle-aged man among the onlookers spoke to Kino.

“Miss traveler, I’m very sorry. We’ll deal with him and won’t let him do any more foolish things, so can you set free that young man?”

“……”

Kino looked at the apologetic faces of the people around her. Then, she moved away the metal pipe from the young man’s back. As directed by the middle-aged man, the young man, who was still crying, was carried off.

“I’m very sorry. Recently, there were many young ones who started to act violently out of despair…. Your skills really came in handy. We are truly sorry,” the middle-aged man apologized.

“Could it be because of the end of the world?” Kino asked.

The man nodded. “That’s correct. The young ones felt strongly that they have not yet done everything in their lives. They couldn’t accept it…. But it couldn’t be helped. I too have resigned myself to this fate, yet I’m still scared.”

“Hey, what’s that prophecy about, anyway?” Hermes asked. The man slightly taken aback,

“What, so you didn’t know?”

“Yes. If you can, please tell us about it,” Kino said, and the man guided them to a nearby shop.


—

The shop in the dining hall was lined up with tables and chairs made out of logs. The people who had nothing to do and had gathered there looked at Kino and Hermes. As the lights were not turned on, it was dim, and only the quiet rotation of the ceiling fan was noticeable. At the counter, bottles of liquor were placed for everyone to drink whenever they wish.

The man introduced Kino and Hermes. Kino sat in a chair and Hermes was propped beside her on his center stand.

“It seems that miss traveler here doesn’t know the full story behind the prophecy,” the man said. The people around murmured in surprise. They began to speak as though they were having fun.

“If that’s the case, then an accurate explanation is in order.” “Without knowing the reason, you can’t come into terms with the fact that the world is going to end.” “I agree. This person even took the pains to face the end of the world in our country.” “We should also explain to her about our country’s excellent scholar.” “Let me in, too.”

They assembled around, carrying their seats.

“If I may be so bold, I’ll tell you the story,” the man who served as their guide spoke as he faced Kino. Then he told the people around him to point out any mistakes.

“First, let me tell you about our great book of prophecies, and the person who deciphered it — the scholar our country is very proud of,” the man said, and the people around nodded.

“Book of prophecies?”

“What kind of book?”

Kino and Hermes asked.

“It’s a pity, but it is unknown as to who and when it was written. All we know is that it’s a book containing very strange words, and that it was published a long time ago in some country. Its incoherent writing style would make one think that it was a diary made by someone insane. But the truth is… it’s a book of prophecies that accurately predicts the dreadful fate of this world. And the person who saw through it, and was successful in deciphering it, is our country’s great scholar, the priest of the southern district,” the man answered.

“How did you know that it contained prophecies?” Kino asked.

“Forty years ago, the priest investigated that book out of a half-hearted interest, and discovered a dreadful thing. The number of pages and lines correspond to the year and month of a certain incident, which was then described by the text using metaphors and characters rearranged into code. To his dismay, the priest deciphered other pages… and then…,” the man took a big breath.

“And he discovered many, many, many, many, many more similar prophecies…,” the man said seriously as if he had just discovered it himself. The people around him gasped.

Kino looked around, then asked, “What makes it so definite?”

Not only the man, but the people around answered one after another.

“One hundred and ninety-eight years ago, this country was struck by a severe famine. It was written there…”

“It was precisely stated there how our king 122 years ago would suddenly die from a mysterious illness. Even the fact that it was a disease that makes the nose fall off!”

“There was also that enormous chestnut harvest that troubled us 87 years ago! That was also foreseen by the book! How frightening…”

“There’s also that prediction about the queen mother fracturing her foot from falling off a horse 143 years ago.”

“It also accurately described that it will rain on the day of the bloodless revolution that would throw away the monarchy, 54 years ago; as well as the fact that the king would spend the rest of his life as a gardener!”

“Also, about the great flood brought about by heavy rains on the autumn 44 years ago. The water in the lake could not be used for half a year. The number of characters even revealed the water level!”

“That fire in the northern district 25 years ago. Not only did it predict that it will happen, the number of houses burned down was also written. And about the 89-year old grandma living there, too! When I heard about that, it sent shivers down my spine!”

“That on the winter 23 years ago, twelve wanderers would drift by our country, was also magnificently predicted. And it also foretold that the name of the sole immigrant among those vulgar people who would obtain permanent residency would start with ‘te’… It made big news that time.”

“Nineteen years ago, a chemist wearing a blue shirt killed many people by mixing up poison. That was also prophesied, down to the color of the person’s shirt…”

“The hail that fell early in the summer ten years ago that sent a huge blow to farming families; I remember it so well…”

“That’s not all! Even the syrup we make from the sap of the trees——”

For a while, each person would speak, continuing as long as he wished.

“Um… Did the prophecies occur after the priest discovered that they are going to happen?” Kino asked.

The man shook his head matter-of-factly. “No. After they have occurred, the priest would soon discover that it was prophesied.”

“Huh? Then that means he could interpret it as much as he——”

Hermes’ speech was interrupted by Kino’s kick to his engine.

“I see. I understand up to this point. And what about tomorrow’s prophecy?”

The man’s and everybody’s faces clouded once more upon hearing Kino’s question.

“The prophecy for tomorrow… was written as the last sentence of that book. According to the priest, it was written this way: ‘After the night the nineteenth full moon passes through the sky, the world will end at the rising of the sun. There is nothing we could do except to smash the green plate.’ The green plate here refers to our custom of giving a green plate as a birthday present. This means, ‘There will be no more births. There is nothing we could do but mourn.’”

“Then, in that book’s ‘afterword——”

Hermes’ speech was interrupted by Kino’s kick to his frame.

The man spoke. “It was around thirty years ago when this prophecy became evident. It seems the priest hesitated to announce it, but in the end, he decided that he could not deceive us and made it known to the public…”

“It must have been quite a surprise.”

“Ah, everyone spent a month in lamentation. However, there’s no doubt about the accuracy of the prophecy, so we could only resign ourselves to our fate. The priest’s words were ‘to live life to the fullest until that day comes’. But among us, there were some who despised ‘the future’ as a result…,” the man said.

A middle-aged woman drinking behind him spoke. “And that’s already tomorrow…. Time flows so quickly. Soon, the only thing left for us to do is to gather and drown ourselves in alcohol.”

“Don’t say that…,” another person said gloomily.

“Even if we were told ‘to live life to the fullest until that day comes’, it’s not really a simple thing to look for something to live for…. It’s really sad.”

“I see…,” Kino nodded meekly.

“What are you going to do, miss traveler? There’s only a day left though,” the man asked.

“I guess I’ll do some shopping,” Kino answered.