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Kino's Journey Volume 1 Chapter 3
Kino's Journey - Volume 1, Chapter 3
Three Men on the Rails -On the Rails-
The forest was one full of giant trees.
With trunks as thick as double beds, they stood tall like pillars of a shrine, except that they were scattered around without any sense of regularity.
If one were to look up, they would see nothing but the color green. The lowest branches and leaves were twenty meters above ground, completely obscuring the sky. Since no more than the dimmest sunlight ever hit the ground, no grass grew on any surface. The black, damp, bare earth spread forth endlessly. It was a world of glaring unnatural contrast between black and green, created by nature itself.
"I don't really like riding in the woods. You know why, Hermes?"
The speaker, standing beside one of the giant trees, had short hair, and was fifteen to sixteen years of age.
The person was of slender figure, wearing a black jacket with a belt wrapped around the hips. For such a thin waist, the belt was a thick one. On the hip's backside and the right thigh were holsters. Inside them, persuaders (Note: Persuaders are firearms. In this case, handguns) were kept in place.
Right to the side was a single motorrad, (Note: Two-wheeled vehicle. Refers to only ones that cannot fly) leaning on its center stand. One without a rear seat, but rather a carrier. Bound on it was a somewhat dirty bag. Its engine was still active, its rear wheel left spinning idly.
"Is it the hairy caterpillars, Kino?"
The motorrad, referred to as Hermes, replied.
"That's not it... Well, that's one thing. The main thing is, it's easy to lose your sense of direction in a forest. You might think you're heading west, but before you know it, you ended up heading south. Not seeing the sun also makes it more difficult."
Said the person, referred to as Kino, while putting on a hat with a small visor and flaps that covered both ears.
"Sense of direction, huh."
"That's right, Hermes. If we head due north, we'll be out of this forest of giant trees. Then, we should come across a road."
"Should, huh."
Kino took out a compass from the chest pocket, stepped away from Hermes, and confirmed the direction of north.
"Let's go."
Kino looked back once more to confirm that nothing was left behind. And also to confirm that the luggage fastened to Hermes, and the coat tied on top of them all, did not fall off.
With gloves fitted back on, Kino mounted on Hermes and leaned forward, then kicked up the stand. At the same time, the clutch was squeezed. The brakes were checked by running ahead for a short while. Lastly, the goggles were strapped on.
Kino took off on Hermes.
Then, after going ahead only a short distance, they stopped.
Kino got down from Hermes, stepped away shortly, then confirmed their bearings with the compass.
Kino then jumped back on, ran ahead for a short while, stopped, stepped away shortly, and confirmed the direction. The same process repeated over and over.
"Gah, what a drag..."
Even while complaining as such, Kino never cut any corners in the process; it was done with great precision.
"Your efforts are much appreciated."
Running onward after finishing the hundred-and-eighth direction check, amid the black and green, Kino noticed a white line in the direction they were headed towards. Before long, it widened vertically, becoming a radiant band of light.
Kino throttled down the speed. At the same time when the rider's eyes were adjusted to the brightness, the motorrad went past the last giant tree, at last leaving the forest.
At the north end of the forest, there was no road.
What appeared before Kino was none other than an ordinary, overgrown, dense jungle.
"Nope, no road. Did we go the wrong way?"
Hermes grumbled.
"No... We'll probably be fine. Look,"
Kino signaled Hermes to look downwards.
Amid the overgrown grass, a reddish brown strip of something thin could be seen. A short space apart from it was another one. Lined side by side like that, they must be...
"Rails! Railway tracks!"
"Correct."
Kicking the ground, Kino slowly pushed Hermes backwards.
"When the person who gave us the directions said, 'A motorrad will make it. You'll...
Three Men on the Rails -On the Rails-
The forest was one full of giant trees.
With trunks as thick as double beds, they stood tall like pillars of a shrine, except that they were scattered around without any sense of regularity.
If one were to look up, they would see nothing but the color green. The lowest branches and leaves were twenty meters above ground, completely obscuring the sky. Since no more than the dimmest sunlight ever hit the ground, no grass grew on any surface. The black, damp, bare earth spread forth endlessly. It was a world of glaring unnatural contrast between black and green, created by nature itself.
"I don't really like riding in the woods. You know why, Hermes?"
The speaker, standing beside one of the giant trees, had short hair, and was fifteen to sixteen years of age.
The person was of slender figure, wearing a black jacket with a belt wrapped around the hips. For such a thin waist, the belt was a thick one. On the hip's backside and the right thigh were holsters. Inside them, persuaders (Note: Persuaders are firearms. In this case, handguns) were kept in place.
Right to the side was a single motorrad, (Note: Two-wheeled vehicle. Refers to only ones that cannot fly) leaning on its center stand. One without a rear seat, but rather a carrier. Bound on it was a somewhat dirty bag. Its engine was still active, its rear wheel left spinning idly.
"Is it the hairy caterpillars, Kino?"
The motorrad, referred to as Hermes, replied.
"That's not it... Well, that's one thing. The main thing is, it's easy to lose your sense of direction in a forest. You might think you're heading west, but before you know it, you ended up heading south. Not seeing the sun also makes it more difficult."
Said the person, referred to as Kino, while putting on a hat with a small visor and flaps that covered both ears.
"Sense of direction, huh."
"That's right, Hermes. If we head due north, we'll be out of this forest of giant trees. Then, we should come across a road."
"Should, huh."
Kino took out a compass from the chest pocket, stepped away from Hermes, and confirmed the direction of north.
"Let's go."
Kino looked back once more to confirm that nothing was left behind. And also to confirm that the luggage fastened to Hermes, and the coat tied on top of them all, did not fall off.
With gloves fitted back on, Kino mounted on Hermes and leaned forward, then kicked up the stand. At the same time, the clutch was squeezed. The brakes were checked by running ahead for a short while. Lastly, the goggles were strapped on.
Kino took off on Hermes.
Then, after going ahead only a short distance, they stopped.
Kino got down from Hermes, stepped away shortly, then confirmed their bearings with the compass.
Kino then jumped back on, ran ahead for a short while, stopped, stepped away shortly, and confirmed the direction. The same process repeated over and over.
"Gah, what a drag..."
Even while complaining as such, Kino never cut any corners in the process; it was done with great precision.
"Your efforts are much appreciated."
Running onward after finishing the hundred-and-eighth direction check, amid the black and green, Kino noticed a white line in the direction they were headed towards. Before long, it widened vertically, becoming a radiant band of light.
Kino throttled down the speed. At the same time when the rider's eyes were adjusted to the brightness, the motorrad went past the last giant tree, at last leaving the forest.
At the north end of the forest, there was no road.
What appeared before Kino was none other than an ordinary, overgrown, dense jungle.
"Nope, no road. Did we go the wrong way?"
Hermes grumbled.
"No... We'll probably be fine. Look,"
Kino signaled Hermes to look downwards.
Amid the overgrown grass, a reddish brown strip of something thin could be seen. A short space apart from it was another one. Lined side by side like that, they must be...
"Rails! Railway tracks!"
"Correct."
Kicking the ground, Kino slowly pushed Hermes backwards.
"When the person who gave us the directions said, 'A motorrad will make it. You'll...
