There was no one else in the house. Nor was there any indication of anyone else having been there.

Kino, coat removed, sat down on a chair. On the side was Hermes, stood up on the center stand.

"Here you go."

The man placed a mug cup on the table.

"It's tea made from the herbs in my garden. I don't know whether it'll be to your tastes, but it's a popular drink in this country."

Kino took a whiff of its fragrance.

"It smells interesting. What kind of tea is it?"

"It's called Dokudami Tea."

Hermes, hearing that, shouted reflexively,

"Doku... isn't that poison!? There's poison in it!? Don't drink it, Kino!"

Kino, although without speaking rudely like Hermes did, refrained from drinking it. Peering into the mug, Kino then asked the man for confirmation.

"Poison tea, is it? Will it be safe to drink for someone who's never had it before?"

The man chuckled, then went on,

"You two really are outsiders-- Ah, sorry for laughing. I wasn't intending to mess with you. Dokudami doesn't mean it's poisonous. It means to cure or stop poison... Ha ha ha, now that I think about it, anyone normal would've been weirded out if they were offered poison-something tea for the first time. Besides... how do I sa... y..."

The last word was no good. As the conversation went on, his smiling face changed not to neutral, but rather one that was on the verge of tears; in the end, he let out a cry and broke into a sob.

Kino and Hermes, clueless about what had just happened, watched over the crying man for a short while.

The man let his streaming tears fall, snorted once every few moments, then slowly spoke again.

"I wonder how many years it's been... since I last held a conversation like this... with other people... Ten years, maybe... No, perhaps even longer..."

After a short while, Kino spoke up.

"Could you tell me your story?"

The man removed his glasses, wiped his tears, and blew his nose. Then, while nodding repeatedly,

"Ah, of course, no problem. I'll tell you all about it. Why the people of this country don't meet face to face with each other."

The man wiped off the last of his tears. He then put his glasses back on and looked at Kino in the face. Letting out a slow breath, he then began to speak.

"Let's see... simply put, in this country, we all perceive other people's pain. That's why we all don't meet face to face with each other... No... I meant, we can't meet face to face."

"Perceiving other people's pain?"

"What's up with that?"

The man took a sip of his tea.

"You two, have your parents ever said something along these lines to you before? To grow up to be a person that understands other people's pain. Such that you would know what others dislike, and that you wouldn't do things that would hurt them. Or, have you ever thought something like this before? That it would surely be so wonderfully convenient to know what others are thinking?"

"Yes! I have! Just when we were on the way here, when Kino was... Jeez..."

To the man's question, Hermes pounced on the opportunity to answer. It happened so fast that Kino wasn't given any chance to make a statement.

"Sorry about that, Hermes."

Kino spoke in a disinterested tone, as if to cover up Hermes' remark.

"The people of this country believed it in earnest. Right from the olden days, it's the machines that do most of the work in this country, enabling the people to live in comfort. Food was abundant; the country, safe and affluent. Because of that, the people ended up having more free time than they could imagine, so they turned to using their brains to challenge various things. Things like discovering new formulae, going full blast on scientific pursuits, creating works of literature and music. Then on one occasion, a group physicians who were studying the human brain made a certain revolutionary discovery... They discovered that if we developed the unused portions of our brains, we would be able to communicate directly with our thoughts."

"Directly communicating thoughts?"

Kino asked with a dubious expression. Hermes also asked,

"What's that mean?"

The man continued.

"For example, I'd think [hello] in my head. The greeting would be transmitted to people near me. It's not just the simple things though, like, when I'm sad for something, the sadness would also be immediately transmitted to people around me. Those people would comprehend my sadness, show me compassion, and together we could think up a solution. Or, as another example, a mother would be able to sense the pain and happiness of her baby, even though it can't speak. It's like telepathy, crudely speaking."

"I see." "Hm~m."

Kino and Hermes responded simultaneously.

"The people of this country praised it, calling it a wonderful discovery. With it, people would be able to mutually communicate to the bottom of each other's hearts. We would come to a deeper mutual understanding. So far, we have been communicating with an outdated method called language, one that is noisy and without any guarantee of being conveyed accurately! ...That was what we all thought. And so, to give all humans that ability, we searched for a way to easily develop our brains, eventually producing the medicine. We all took it."

"Everyone?"

Hermes asked, without a moment's delay.

"Everyone. We all wanted to stand on the same level as all the others. We wanted to evolve. We didn't want to be left behind. And sure enough, in a sense, we have evolved..."

"What happened then?"

Kino unconsciously leaned forward. The man, making only a slight expression of sadness, started telling his story in an indifferent tone.

"From this point on, let me tell you my personal experience... I took the medicine. The next morning, when I woke up, something like [Are you getting this? Are you getting this?] jumped into my head. There was no one in the room. It was surprising, to really be getting messages from someone else while we were away from each other. Of course, it doesn't mean the words [Are you getting this?] were transmitted into my head. It felt like I was thinking [Are you getting this?] myself. Right when I thought [I got it!], the feeling [I got it too! This is amazing!] came back. Then, when I received [I'm at your door,] I hurriedly went outside, and my lover at the time was standing there. The telepathic power-granting was a success. We both were so happy, so happy indeed... we exchanged the feeling [I love you] countless times. Makes me want to laugh, thinking about it now."

At that point, the man stopped talking for a moment and sighed.

"We thought we were the happiest people in the world... At the time, that is. We began living together, and a few days passed. Then... that one time, I saw that she was watering my herbs a little too much. And I thought. [Huh? I already warned her the other day. How many times do I have to tell her until she gets it?]. At the same time, I intended to say 'that's not it' gently. But before I could say it, she glared at me. And a reply immediately got in my head. [What!? How many times? Do you take me for an idiot!?]."

"......"

"That's right, it got transmitted to her. The things I didn't want to convey. Getting her reply so suddenly, I thought, [What's going on here? Why'd she have to get so mad for something like that?]. Then her response came, [Something like that? Something like that, huh? That thing that's a big deal to me, is it just nothing to you!?]."

This time, a faint appeared on the man's face. It was one of self-mockery.

"After that, it was nothing but telepathic fights. Truth is, she's always had an inferiority complex, believing she wasn't as smart or well-educated as I was. I'd been with her for so many years without noticing it at all... Naturally, I'd never noticed that she thought I was probably aware of it. She left behind the thought [I can't stand being together with an unfeeling, cold-blooded elitist like you!] and just went away. Left alone, I just stood there, dumbfounded. It's laughably outrageous. Precisely because we could mutually communicate straight to each other's hearts, we came to detest each other to the point of no redemption. But it was good that we ended with just that funny story... At the same time elsewhere, someone died in an accident. The person's thought while on the verge of death were transmitted to the people who rushed to help, driving them all mad. In another place, there were two politicians who'd been working together up until then, but in truth, both of them were planning on betraying the other some day; those thoughts slipped out, and a fight to the death ensued right in the congress. It ended up getting called off after they got hurt though. In schools, everyone exchanged answers with each other, making exams pointless. Ah, which reminds me, there was also someone who got a lawsuit for attempted rape and public obscenity just by approaching a young woman."

"......"

"Well, those kinds of things probably happened all over the place. Within just a week or so, the city fell into a state of panic."

"What happened after that?"

Kino asked. The man answered, straightforward as can be,

"It was then that we all finally realized how terrifying it is for us to know what others are thinking. Our own thoughts. The thoughts of others. Letting them all out in the open was no evolution. Well, coming to that realization could be an evolution in itself though... Or was it just plain old progression? 'If one were to know the pain of others, they will be able to show compassion toward those people. People will come to hold a deeper mutual respect for each other.' --What a big fat lie. It amounts to nothing but loss, after all, for someone to perceive pain at times when they are not the one in pain themselves. Nor does it make pain go away from the person who is the source of such feelings... There was only a single solution to this chaos. People had to isolate themselves from each other. If we were a few dozen meters apart, far enough that we couldn't hear each other's voices, the thoughts would also not reach..."

"I see... So that's why."

Hermes spoke, seeming completely satisfied.

"Indeed it is. In other words, everyone in this country ended up with pure, genuine, unexaggerated anthropophobia. But after that, and as a result of all that, machines have become even more advanced, enabling us to live in this country even in this state. That's why even now, in this forest, everyone is living alone in their houses, isolated from each other. Each in our own little space, doing the things only each one of us enjoy... There have been no children born in this country for nearly ten years now. It's probably falling to ruin soon enough. But that'll be after I die, so there's no use in worrying about it."

The man stood up and pressed a switch on the machine behind him. Music streamed forth. An electric fiddle, playing a soothing melody.

Kino listened for a while, then said,

"It's a wonderful tune."

Hearing that, the man faintly smiled.

"I very much like this song. It was quite the fad in this country ten-odd years ago. When I listen to it, I would be deeply moved, and I would also think, 'When others listen to this song, would they also be emotionally moved like I am?'. I used to listen to it together with my lover. She said it was a good song, but I wonder, what did she truly think of it? And now, I wonder what your thoughts on it are, Kino. But no, I do not want to know the answer."

Having said that, he closed his eyes.

After a short while, the song ended.

===

"Well then, Kino. This might not be something I should say to a persuader expert, but be careful on the road."

The man said, standing in front of the house's garage. Kino, now with hat and goggles put on, left Hermes' engine idling. Exhaust note resounded noisily.

"Not at all. I'll be careful."

"You too, Hermes."

"Thanks."

"I was so happy, getting to talk to you two. I only wish I could have met you all on your first day here, but... That can't be helped, I guess."

Saying that, the man shrugged and smiled.

"Thank you for the tea. It was very good."

Kino said and got on Hermes, leaned forward, and kicked away the stand.

Hermes was ready to take off as the gear was shifted.

But then,

"Ah! Wait! Can I have another word? There's only one more thing I want to say."

The man said, panicking. Kino stopped Hermes' engine. The surroundings fell into an abrupt silence.

The moon took another step toward Kino and Hermes, then took a deep breath.

"Ah-- um! If you don't mind, wou-- would you like to live here for a while? It's safe here, and aside from not meeting anyone, it's a very nice place to live in. You could settle down here and do whatever you like. And what about you, Hermes? You could also use the town as a base for your travels. Kino, if you're fine with it, you could live with me..."

With the man saying all that so bluntly, Kino stared at him for a while, before declining with a shake of the head.

"I'm sorry, but... I want to continue my journey."

With Kino saying that, the man went on restlessly,

"I-- I see... No-- I mean-- Sorry for having said some weird stuff. No-- um-- well..."

He was all flustered. His face had gone all red.

Saying nothing, Kino started Hermes' engine and looked at the man's face.

When their eyes met as the man raised his face up, Kino smiled.

The man was surprised to see that, but before long, he also made an awkward smile.

He lightly waved his left hand.

Still smiling, Kino's head tilted lightly.

Then, facing back forward, Kino took off on Hermes.

Watching the motorrad drive away, a certain thought came up in the man's mind.

===

Shortly after exiting the country, Kino and Hermes were riding on a road amid the grassy field. The sun was already low in the sky, and soon it would be in Kino's eyes.

"Kino~ Your eyes met with that guy's for a bit at the end, yeah?"

Hermes suddenly asked.

"Hm? Ah..."

"Was it the love-love thingy?"

"Huh? What's up with that?"

To Hermes' banter, Kino replied with a bitter face.

"I was on the edge of my stand, thinking you might be marrying that man."

With Hermes having a serious voice this time around, Kino laughed,

"Of course it's nothing like that."

"Okay then."

Having said that, Hermes went silent for a while, before muttering,

"But really, to think he's fallen for Kino. That guy has some weird tastes."

The motorrad ran through the road in the grassy plain.

After a little while, Kino suddenly spoke up, as if recalling something.

"When he looked at me for the last time, I have a feeling that he was directing his thought at me, saying [don't die]."

"Hm~m. And?"

"And so I replied, [thank you]."

Having said that, Kino slipped out a chuckle.

"I see. But was it conveyed accurately to the other side?"

As Hermes asked, Kino gave a clear answer, while still smiling,

"Who knows?"