The next morning...

When I woke, the note stuck in my room now read [LAST DAY].
I went down to the first floor and caught hold of my parents' attention. They were not allowed to initiate a conversation with me, but it was fine if I were the one who spoke first.

I rewound everything I'd thought about the night before,

"I don't want to have an operation to become an adult. Is there any other way to become one? A way to become an adult and keep being my current self?"

And ended up saying everything so inadvertently.

Those words were to radically change the course of my destiny... And Kino's as well.

As they heard that, my parents produced an expression as if they were experiencing a nightmare. My father suddenly started to yell,

"You fool! Do you even realize what you're saying!? You wicked child! Y-- You-- Are you making fools of those who had the operation to become splendid adults!? Taking us adults for complete fools!? Do you plan to stay a brat your whole life and never grow up!?"

As if the melody part was being passed on to another instrument, my mother followed up, her manner of speaking like a lashing whip,

"Apologize to everyone, ×××××! Apologize, I say! Apologize! To your father! To everyone! Say sorry to all the adults in this country! Beg them to forgive your foolish whims! Tell them you're mistaken about what you just said! Tell them you'll never say such a thing ever again! Now!"

Thinking about it now, the two of them must have gone completely hysterical.

It was serious business for them, to the point that they did not write it off as a mere child spewing nonsense. The fact that, up until then, no one had been able to oppose going through the operation-- that they had been forced to receive it-- made them convince themselves that it was a wonderful thing. A defense mechanism to protect their peace of mind, I suppose.

Not that I was in a position to make such comments, having not received the operation and all.

"Why would you suddenly say such things? Who in the world taught you these sub-human ways of thinking!?"

My father continued to yell, as if he had gone mad.

Back then, I was so taken aback that I did not even have the intention to answer. But if he were to calmly think it over like an adult should, I'm sure he would figure that it was the traveler, Kino.

Hearing the commotion, nearby adults began to gather around.

"Is something wrong?"

"What's happening?"

"You all are being so loud..."

The adults spoke to my parents in a reproachful manner, telling them it was unacceptable for adults to behave the way they were doing. However, my father declared,

"Apologies! Truth is, my foolish daughter suddenly started saying the most frightful of things-- She wishes not to undergo her operation tomorrow..."

And in response, those adults...

"What? Inconceivable! It's all because you raised your child the wrong way! It's your fault!"

"You can say that again! Wishing to become an adult without an operation... That's heresy!"

"What do you take the magnificent operation for!? You might be a kid, but some things are unforgivable!"

They began to shout, as if something inside them had been broken.

"W-- we do beg your pardon. All this is the doing of our unworthiness..."

Saying that, my parents apologized profusely under the surrounding pressure, then turned to glare at me,

"You have brought shame upon us, saying those stupid things! ...Ah! It's that filthy traveler! He's the one who put these foolish ideas in your head!"

Finally realizing it, my father pulled me along as he went all over the place in search of Kino.

Kino was outside the entrance. Standing beside him was the motorrad, shining like new as if it had just been bought. The same motorrad that had been junk the day before last. Kino's oversized baggage was strapped tight to the back seat, shaking in perfect sync with the engine's vibrations. The back wheel didn't touch the ground, instead spinning while suspended in the air. Draped across the seat was the brown coat Kino had been wearing when he came into town. It was slightly cleaner now.

My father screamed at him,

"Hey, you there! Damn filthy traveling bastard!"

As if he already saw it coming, Kino ignored the name-calling. With that, my father sprang up in a fit of rage, screaming in unintelligible words. He sounded more like a barking dog.

Kino looked my way and said quietly,

"This is what the operation gets you? Perhaps you're better off without it, after all."

"You! YOU!"

My father pointed at Kino, spittle and froth flying from his mouth as he shouted. Finally, Kino looked at my father and asked, "What is it?"

"Don't 'what is it' me! On your knees, now! And apologize... to me, to my wife, and to all of the people of this country... Apologize, I say!"

"Apologize? What for?"

Kino asked back in an expression of calmness. In answer, my father howled in unintelligible words once again. His face was red, and his whole body shook. I looked at him-- at a person who identified as a 'proper adult'.

Truth be told, I saw no difference in that look of his from mine when I'd cried and screamed after having a fight over mundane things with my friends.

As my father poised for more yelling, or perhaps more howling,

"Now, I must ask you to leave it at that."

Someone called out to my father. That person was a high-ranking official in the country.

Back then, I didn't know what the official title was, being so hard to remember and all. But the person was an official, that's for sure. Appearing as one among the crowd of adults who had gathered around the commotion without me noticing, the official initiated a conversation with Kino,

"Dear traveler, every country, every household-- they all have their own distinctive customs. You understand, do you not?"

Kino answered,

"Yes, I understand."

"This country, too, has its customs. They are not to be meddled with by your activities. Am I wrong?"

The official asked, and Kino shrugged, saying,

"Well, that's true."

He then took a quick look around at his surroundings.

"I was just thinking about making my departure soon. I have a feeling that I'm going to be killed if I stay any longer."

He said, seemingly cracking a joke.

"Are there any procedures I must go through before leaving?"

The official told him there were no such things, then continued,

"If you head straight that way, you will reach the gate; it is open. You will be able to leave through there. At any rate, being killed is an unthinkable scenario, since you have entered this country through official procedures. Until you are through the gate, your safety is guaranteed. This is the Country of Adults, after all."

The official said, pointing at one of the streets which extended past the motorrad.

Kino turned toward me, crouched down, and said as he looked into my face,

"This is goodbye, then, ×××××."

"You're leaving already?"

I asked him, why not stay for two or three more days? In the case that I ended up receiving the operation, I wanted to know what attitude would I be having toward Kino when I talked to him afterwards. I wanted to try talking to Kino after becoming an adult.

However, Kino said,

"It's my policy to stay only three days in any one country. I can learn almost everything about most countries in that length of time, and if I take longer than that, I won't be able to visit as many new countries... Goodbye. Be well."

I lightly waved at him, and Kino started climbing aboard the motorrad. But then my father approached me, carrying a long, thin kitchen knife. My mother was right next to him. Kino turned around.

My father looked at the official. The official nodded.

I was clueless as to why my father would bring a kitchen knife outside, when standing right before me, no less. I found the sight to be quite comical.

Kino asked the official,

"Why is that man carrying a kitchen knife?"

The official, in a tone completely unchanged from before, spoke the most ridiculous of things,

"Let me explain to you, then, as a special case. It is for the disposal of his daughter."

Color drained from Kino's face. I did not immediately understand what was happening, however. I only heard Kino's voice of surprise,

"What?"

"Like I said, disposal. The girl has denied the magnificent operation and disobeyed her parents-- disobeyed those above her. We can not afford to leave such a child to her own devices. Children are, at all times and in all cases, the possessions of their parents. Parents created their children, and it is within their natural rights to dispose of their failed creations."

With the official saying that, I finally realized that I was going to be killed. But even though it was true that I knew it, and that I did not want to die, there was nothing I could do about it. I looked up and saw my father looking back down at me in disdain,

"A flawed creation..."

He grumbled.

"Dear traveler. It is dangerous here. Please step aside."

The official said, and at the same time, my father brandished his knife and made a lunge at me. The blade could be seen shining in silver. Ah, how beautiful, I thought.

Kino rushed in from the side, attempting to restrain my father.

At that moment, as my world went silent and time slowed down to a crawl, I looked on, realizing that the knife would stab me before Kino would reach my father.

Thank you. But you won't make it in time.

Time crawled on in the silent world. The knife was about to pierce right through me when my father twisted it to his left side. The blade turned from its vertical position to horizontal. As Kino dove in, it caught him in the chest, and pierced right through.

"GAH--!"

Sound returned, and I heard Kino's strange cry. Kino was leaning against my father, as if clinging on to him. The tip of the kitchen knife could be seen protruding from Kino's back.

Kino fell over face-up, knife and all, with a dull thud. He laid still. I knew he was already dead.

Unable to think, I took a few steps away, my back colliding with the motorrad.

Silence persisted for a short while. Then, my father...

"Heh heh..."

He was laughing. Then he went on to say,

"Uh-oh? This person jumped in between us, and the knife meant for killing the brat stabbed him instead. What judgement should we have on this incident?"

I knew full well that my father was giving a half-baked excuse. The other adults there must have known, too.

The official started speaking,

"Mm-hmm. The traveler did jump in so suddenly, so I suppose there is nothing that can be done. It was not as if you were intending to kill him-- This is an accident. A very unfortunate accident. You are not guilty. Is that not right, everyone?"

The adults around them agreed unanimously and chimed in, "That's right." "No mistaking it." "How unfortunate of him."

"Buh--! But of course!"

My father said, happy and relieved.

Although I knew I was soon to be killed, for me to die without receiving the operation to become a 'proper adult,' I was glad.

Right before my eyes, I witnessed my father attempting to pull the knife out of Kino-- out of Kino's corpse. But it would not come out, so my mother gave him a hand. The hilt was covered in blood, so they wrapped it with a piece of cloth and pulled, little by little, SHNK! SHNK! SHNK!

Thinking about it now, I feel as if that time frame was Kino's final gift to me.

As my parents worked together on the pulling, a little voice from behind entered my ears. It sounded like the voice of a younger boy.

"Have you ever ridden a bicycle?"

I whispered back,

"I have."

Then I heard the following:

"You'll die if you stay here, right?"

I answered,

"Yeah. But I'd rather die than stay alive and go through the operation. It's all the same anyway."

SHNK! SHNK! SHNK! SHNK! SHNK!

By this point, about half of the kitchen knife was out.

"Hm~m... So you want to die?"

To the question, I have an honest answer,

"I'd like to not die, if I had a choice."

"Then,"

The little voice said,

"Take the third choice."

"What's that?"

SHNK! SHNK!

Almost all of the knife was out. But I felt perfectly calm, listening on the complicated things the little voice suddenly started saying,

"First, jump on the motorrad behind you. Grab the handle with both hands and hold tight. Twist your right hand toward yourself and lean your body forward. Think of it as a fast, heavy bicycle."

SCHWNK!

The knife slid out of Kino's corpse, and my father and mother fell over backward. Ohh, the adults around them cried out in alarm, then proceeded to laugh without restraint. Blood gushed up like a fountain for a brief moment, then subsided.

"If I do that, then what?"

To the little voice, I asked loudly. The surrounding adults looked at me with a dubious expression on their faces. My father held the bloodstained kitchen knife tightly in his bloodstained hands, looking at me with a smile on his face. I saw the condition my father was in at the time as absolutely repulsive, but I felt no fear. I am not like him.

"Run away!"

I heard the voice, now loud and clear. Spinning around and leaping onto the motorrad's seat, I caught a mere glimpse of my father rushing toward me.

As I had been told earlier, I twisted the right handgrip and leaned forward.

THUMP, the motorrad landed on the ground in front of it. At the same time, the engine roared to life, VROOM! My body was thrown backward. So as to not fall, I clung on tight to the handles.

The crowd of adults dispersed, each one of them stepping back.

It was then when I realized that I was riding a motorrad by myself. I steadied the handles lightly, just like when I rode my bicycle down a bumpy road. Although this road was a flat one, the speed kept increasing, more and more. It felt strange, but I got used to it soon enough.

"You're doing good! Keep it up!"

I could still hear the voice.

"Hold the tank firmly with your thighs. That'll keep you steady. From now, shift the gears just as I tell you."
I did as I was instructed. Suddenly, the wind blowing at my face became more intense, sending tears streaming from my eyes. The gate came into view before me, becoming bigger and bigger. When I heard a strong woosh, the gate passed over my head.

Outside the gate, on the grass-covered plain, a single tawny path extended onward. From the day I was born, this was the first time I had ever been out of the country.

The wind stung my eyes, but I soon came to pay it no mind.

Breaking into an exhausted sob, I rode on.

===

I don't even know how much time had passed.

"Hey, don't you think we've gone far enough?"

I came back to myself following the sudden initiation of a conversation.

"Do what I tell you from now."

As I was being instructed, I frantically fumbled around, doing things like pulling on a lever with my left hand and moving my right foot at something, and the motorrad gradually slowed down. When the timing seemed good for stopping, I stuck out my feet.

On a bicycle, my toes would have lightly touched the ground and all would be well, but this time, my soles felt an overwhelming weight; I momentarily paused in confusion, my body heeling over to my left.

"Uwah--!"

I heard the voice. My left hand was dragged down as it still gripped the handle, and I fell to the ground. At the same time, a 'GACHUNK!' could be heard.

"Oh, the cruelty. Who on earth was the one who committed such a cruel act?"

To voice asked in jest, directing the question at me, laying on my back and looking up at the sky. The empty, blue sky.

Then, I rose up. Taking a look around at my surroundings, I saw that I was standing in the center of a field, where red flowers bloomed in profusion.

The field was a wide one; when I looked back along the rut that the motorrad's wheels made over the flowers, I could no longer see the country in which I was born.

"Kino..."
I muttered. The images of Kino's final moments, lying face-up with the kitchen knife through his chest, flashed in my eyes, then faded away.

Oddly, I was not sad at all.

I shed no tears. Perhaps they had already been used up for the time being.

I was not in pain, nor was I feeling happy. I simply stood there in a daze.

"S'cuse me!"

I could hear a voice from near my feet. I looked down, and saw the motorrad lying on its side.

"You're a cruel one, you know that?"

"Come again?"

"I'd like to be stood up right about now, if you please."

It was then when it first crossed my mind that the owner of the voice had been the motorrad all along.

"Ah, so it was you."

I said, and the motorrad sounded a little angry,

"Ah-huh, isn't it obvious? There's nobody else here, is there?"

"Right. Sorry."

"No need to say sorry; I just wanna stand up."

The motorrad acted up like a spoiled child all of a sudden; I found it strangely amusing.

I did as the motorrad asked, crouching down and pressing my chest against the seat, then pulling it up with all my strength.

Red flower petals scattered.Then I put my foot on the protrusion near the rear wheel and applied pressure on it, pushing it down as the motorrad stood up. The motorrad moved backward over the stand and didn't topple over again when I let go.

"Thanks."

The motorrad expressed its gratitude in good manners.

"You're welcome."

I answered in kind.

"Things got real dangerous back there, didn't it?"

The motorrad said, but for a second, I had no idea what it meant. Then I remembered the knife, shining bright. It was as if I had recalled a lost memory from years long past.

"It sure did... Thank you for saving me."

I said, and the motorrad replied,

"Same goes the other way. If I'd been left there, who knows what would have happened to me? You really saved me by riding me out here, Kino."

Hearing that, I thought for a moment about the 'pact to help each other out'. Then, curious as to why I was being called what the motorrad just called me, I asked,

"What did you just call me?"

"Hm? I called you Kino."

"Why?"

"When I asked you your name a moment ago, you said Kino, didn't you?"

"I'm--"

I intended to say my name, but I felt as if that name was no longer one of my own. That name of mine, a child who lived in that country without a care in the world. A child who believed one had to have an operation when they turned twelve in order to become a 'proper adult'.

That person no longer existed in this world.

So I said, as I trampled on the red flowers, taking a step closer to the motorrad,

"I'm... Kino. My name is Kino. It's a nice name, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I like it. Say, what about my name? Got anything?"

The motorrad asked, and I thought back to the name both of us had decided on.

"Hermes. Your name is Hermes. The name of old Kino's friend."

"Hm~m, Hermes... Not bad, I guess.

Hermes said, then proceeded to repeat that name again and again, "Hermes... Hermes, huh..." Liking it, I'm sure. Hermes then asked me,

"So, what're we gonna do now?"

We stood there, in the center of a sea of red.

All the while, I had no answers.

===

Afterwards, we decided to first head for a nearby country, but we ended up getting lost in a forest. There, we met a certain elderly person by chance, and were taught various things. If I hadn't met that person, I wouldn't have ended up becoming who I am now, I'm sure. I hold sincere gratitude for that person, so much that they could not be expressed in words.


But that is another story for another time