Inside a forest, there was a single road.

It was a dark forest, dense with tall conifers. The earth was damp and overgrown with ferns.

A path ran perfectly straight from east to west, as if cutting through the forest. It was a wide road. The remains of the stone paving laid out a long time ago stretched on, its gray surface full of cracks.

A single, tiny tree sprout grew out from the gap opened by the cracks.

It was a seed that was transported some way or the other, fell on top of the soil in the crack by chance, and grew.

The tiny bud that sprouted from the seed was illuminated by the bright sunlight that was streaming in, unhindered, in the middle of the road.

On this road ran a lone motorrad (Note: A two-wheeled vehicle. Only to note that it cannot fly).

The motorrad’s front and rear wheels trampled on the tiny sprout.

It passed there in an instant, without leaving any trace.

The motorrad ran westward on the cracked road.

Boxes were attached on both sides of its rear wheel, on top of which was a bag as well as a sleeping bag. A silver cup dangled from the bag, shaking from the minute vibrations of the vehicle.

Its rider was a young person, around mid-teens.

She was wearing a black jacket fastened with a wide belt on the waist. On her right thigh was a holster for a hand persuader (Note: A persuader is a gun. In this case, a pistol) containing a revolver. There was also an automatic-type behind her waist.

On top of her short black hair was a hat. It resembled a pilot’s hat, with a brim at front and ear flaps on both sides. Strapped on it was a pair of silver-framed goggles that was peeled in places.

Eventually, the rider tapped the motorrad’s tank.

“I see it,” the rider said.


—

Inside the forest, there was a green wall.

It was the tall wall surrounding a country. It drew an elegant curve with a smooth upward arc protruding to the outside. Its sides were lined up with pillars placed on equal intervals, and was completely covered with a dense growth of dark green ivy.

The motorrad stopped from a place where the entirety of the wall could be seen.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen walls like this,” the rider said, still straddled on the motorrad.

“Yeah, it’s amazing. Its structure is also unusual,” the motorrad agreed.

After this, the rider silently stared at the wall for a while.

“What’s the matter, Kino?” the motorrad asked.

A light smile lingered underneath the goggles of the rider who was called Kino.

“That I would be able to see such things, that I would come this far… A long time ago… I wouldn’t even dream of it as a child. But saying that after all this time feels a bit…”

“Hmm. Well, no one knows what the future holds. As they say, ‘the lesson ahead is on underworld’.”

“… ‘The road ahead is an unknown world’[2]?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

With this, the motorrad fell silent.

“I wonder if it’s the right thing… or not…,” Kino muttered. “Well, let’s get going, Hermes.”

The motorrad called Hermes answered, “Okay.”

Kino hit the gears, and they slowly rode towards the gates.


—

“The world… is going to end?”

“The world is going to end. At the dawn of the day after tomorrow.” The female immigration examiner answered Kino’s question, and continued, “But if you still want to, we’ll grant you a three-day stay. That is, if you wish to face the end of the world in our country…”

Kino looked at the female examiner’s serious expression.

The calm and collected female examiner in her late twenties sat alone inside the room at the middle of the thick walls.

“You say the world is going to end, but how is that going to happen?”

“We don’t know that.”

“Huh?”

“But everything in this world is going to end, including our lives of course. It can’t be helped. It’s definite. Absolute. Inevitable,” the examiner answered gently.

“Um… How did you know?” Kino asked.

“That’s a very good question,” the female examiner nodded, and answered with confidence,

“Because of the prophecy.”


—

Immediately upon passing through the gates, the town illuminated by the evening sun could be seen with one sweep of the eye.

The blurry haze of the wall at the other end could be seen; a gigantic circular wall inclined towards the gentle slope to the center of the country. Wide roads stretched out radially, with alternating farmlands and residential areas in between. There was much greenery left, orderly lined up with houses made of logs with brick chimneys that stand out. Several big buildings and a lake shining golden from the light could be seen at the center.

“The interior is also nice.”

Hermes agreed to Kino’s remark, and said, “Yeah, those log houses are quite pretty. The arrangement, which made use of the terrain, was also well done. ——However, this will all end on the day after tomorrow. Because of the prophecy.”

“Prophecy, eh…,” Kino muttered.

The female examiner didn’t give any explanation as to what the prophecy was, and who told them about it. With a philosophical air, she repeated and reassured them that the world will be destroyed. There’s nothing that could be done about it, as it was based on a completely accurate prophecy.

And then she started to cry all of a sudden. After that, it was futile to try and ask her about anything, so Kino gave up and passed through the open gates.

“What are we going to do, Kino?”

“For the meantime, maybe we should look for a place to stay. Let’s ask someone,” Kino said as she went astride Hermes. Without starting the engine, she lightly kicked off the ground and descended the slope. Like this, she directed Hermes towards a nearby street.

It was a wide street lined up with shops on both sides. However, none of these shops was open, and there was no hustle and bustle of people. There was not a single vehicle running on the street.

“It reminds me of a country in mourning,” Hermes said.

They noticed an old man seated on top of a wooden box, gaze fixed at the dim sky. They asked where they could find a hotel. The old man said nothing and only pointed at a relatively large building a bit ways off.

When they reached the hotel, they knocked at the closed entrance. After some time, the middle-aged owner came out with surprise painted on his face.

After hearing out Kino, the man spoke, “Oh, so you’re a traveler who came just now…. It’s true that my house is a hotel…” Then he asked until when they planned to stay in the country. When Kino answered his question, “The day after tomorrow…? Ah, so your journey will end in this country, huh? That’s too bad.”

The owner told them the same thing as the immigration examiner.

Kino told him that it didn’t matter, so the owner guided them to an elegant and spacious room. He opened the closed sliding door and wiped off the dust on top of a desk. When Kino asked for the cost of the room,

“There’s no need for that. The world is about to end, so money is useless. Please enjoy your stay,” the owner said and left.

Kino unloaded the luggage from Hermes. Then she took off her own jacket and sprawled herself across the bed.

“The world is going to end the day after tomorrow, they say… What could that ‘prophecy’ be all about?”

By the time Hermes asked, Kino was already fast asleep.