Chapter 1: Land of Sports -Winners and Losers-

A single motorrad (Note: A two-wheeled vehicle. It cannot fly) travelled on a precipitous mountain path.

Black containers were attached to both sides of the back wheel, each of which contained a bag full of travelling equipment and supplies.

Due to its steepness, trees had been unable to grow on the mountain path, evident in the piles of fallen trees surrounding the path.

The path was exceedingly narrow, to the point where a single vehicle could just barely squeeze through it. 

If a car came along the path from the opposite direction, the two vehicles wouldn’t even be able to scrape past each other. 

Past the shoulder of the road was a precipitous cliff that dropped down at a 90 degree angle, continuing all the way to the valley floor. Beyond that lay a body of water, but it was too far down- falling down the cliff would unmistakably result in death. 

Along the path, riding under the clear, summer morning sky, were two individuals.

“Scary, isn’t it.”

“It’s definitely scary. Let’s go slowly.”

While the driver and the motorrad conversed, they moved along at a leisurely pace, carefully making their way forward.

The boyish driver looked rather young, most likely in her teens. 

She wore a hat with flaps hanging down from the brim, covering her ears, and sported goggles around her eyes. 

She had on a black leather jacket, its collar open to let the wind blow across her exposed neck. Several pouches were fastened to her wide belt. Hanging from her right thigh was a Hand Persuader (Note: A Persuader is a gun. In this case, a revolver), tucked inside of its holster. 

A single small, automatic Persuader was equipped behind her back. 

“Thank goodness it’s not rainy season…” the driver said while steering the handle carefully.

The motorrad replied, “Uwa-. If it were rainy season, this dangerous mountain crossing would be impossible. Since it’s Kino, I bet you’ll say something like ‘Even though I can’t see the country just up ahead, in my mind I can already see the shining morning sun reflected on the gleaming figure of the castle walls, and in them, the people’s beaming faces that can never be taken away from them.'” 

“I’d never make such a weird speech like that. Also, it’s way too long.” The driver named Kino replied without hesitation. Then, seeing the path straighten out ahead of them, she increased her speed just a bit. 

“In just a bit, we’ll be going to the top of that ridge. There, the basin between the mountains should be visible.”

“It’s been a long time hasn’t it? Since we’ve traversed a mountain this difficult.”

“It’s quite troublesome. But I hear the basin is filled with fertile land, and that there are several strong countries nestled within it. It seems like a place where we can really relax. The trip will be worth it, Hermes.”

The motorrad called Hermes replied. “If that’s true, then that’s good. But isn’t it possible that there’s a lot of fighting between the people there? After all, they say that in a crowded place, there’s no way fights won’t break out.”

“I’m not sure, but that’s probably not the case.”

“In the end, ‘we won’t know if we don’t go,’ is what that person would always say, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Shishou (T/N: Shishou = “master”) would always say something like: ‘At a country, you won’t know anything until you see it, and even when you see it, you won’t know anything until you reflect on it.'”

While conversing, they headed towards the ridge and began the climb to the top. 

They finally made it just past noon. 

It was a perfect observation spot, where the unbroken view of the huge basin was visible.

There, the scenery transformed abruptly from a rocky, mountainous region to one covered with lush, green forests. There were several small rivers and lakes of various sizes. Just from their point of view, three countries were visible based on  the circular, grey walls surrounding each one.

By the time they made it down the mountain path, another half a day had elapsed. upon the reaching the edge of the basin, Kino and Hermes made camp for the night.

Kino stretched out a tent near a gently flowing river. “Let’s visit the countries one by one starting tomorrow.”

“It’ll be an enjoyable experience, won’t it, Kino?”

They slept until the rising sun. 

The next morning, they travelled along a narrow path through the forest towards the closest country.

The guard stood at the entrance of the walls, holding a spear. As for his attire, at best you could call it old fashioned, at worst you could call it ancient.

“Seems like their technology isn’t very advanced, huh?”

“Seems that way, Kino.”

“If they don’t have fuel for us, it’d be rather troubling.”

“For sure.”

Kino and Hermes made their way to the entrance and requested a permit to stay for three days.

Thereupon, the handsome, middle-aged man spoke. “Oh? Mr. Traveller wants to visit the countries in the basin! If that’s so, you came at a great time!”

Upon asking the guard what he meant by that, the guard replied, “The Great War which happens once every four years will occur! A fierce, intense battle is about to begin!”

Kino and Hermes, after spending the allotted three days at the country, spent half a day travelling to the neighboring country, where they asked again for a three day permit. 

In both countries, the technology was stunted. Though the engines in the countries ran on steam power, one way or another, they managed to secure fuel for Hermes.

“Uwa-, perfect timing!”

“It only happens once every four years, after all!”

“What a stroke of luck.”

“I’m looking forward to the Great War!”

This kind of talk could be heard throughout all countries.

After spending three days apiece at two more countries, Kino and Hermes-

-met other travellers.

There were seven travellers who rode on horses. Their ages ranged from the twenties to the forties. They were a well-organized group. 

Each of them was well built and sturdy. They wore matching clothes, each donning a hat with a wide visor, jeans, and a leather vest. They had weapons that seemed outdated to Kino- things like knives and hatchets. 

“How surprising. A single young boy, travelling on that iron horse. What a big world this is,”

The man who spoke appeared to be the leader, as far as Kino and Hermes could tell. He was a bearded man who seemed to be in his forties. 

Then, he told them about their group. Upon hearing rumors of the countries in the basin, and ascertaining them to be true, they thought they could do some kind of business with them and made a long detour here. 

They had trekked from the western mountain range and arrived just today. Then, just as they had left their campsite, they had run into Kino. Having just come down from the mountains, they hadn’t gone to any country yet. 

“Since the countries will be occupied for some time, it will be difficult to do business. The five powerful countries of the basin will be participating in the ‘Great War’ starting from the day after tomorrow,” Kino reported to them. 

“That-that is… what in the world-…What kind of story is that?!”

The faces of the leader and the rest of group blanched as Kino relayed what she had learned in the countries. 

The five powerful countries of the basin had been at war since written history. 

Once, there was a drought. People scrambled to collect water and ended up fighting for farmland and forest resources. 

Countries would often fight each other; however, at that time, two countries formed an alliance and launched an attack on the other nations. In response, the remaining three countries hastily formed an alliance and repelled the attackers.

But to say that the three allied countries were on good terms would be very wrong. Soon after, they began to argue over which country had contributed the most in defending the attack and which country was the strongest, and, with the alliance breaking down very quickly, they too began to fight.

It was said that the brawny soldiers during those times engaged in hand to hand combat. 

However, having just fought a war, all the countries were devastated, and it was said that if they continued down that path they would mutually assure each other’s destruction. For that reason, a rational council was established. 

The council debated and argued without an end in sight. Then, a certain individual, or possibly many people, suggested: “Wouldn’t it be good to settle the issue with sports?”

They didn’t want to reach the point of murdering others, but they also didn’t want to be good friends with each other, and, if possible, they wanted to fight. Each country’s people thought that.

Thus, the “each country’s quarrels will be settled with sports” decision was reached 52 years ago.

In the beginning, disputing countries had one on one matches with each other. However, around 40 years ago, the countries, in one way or another, agreed to come together and participate in a sporting competition dubbed the “Great War”.

When they held a test trial, it received a lot more support than they initially predicted, and apart from a few troubles here and there, it concluded successfully. The countries then began to hold the contest regularly once every four years. 

Due to this, nowadays, the countries fight for supremacy in the Great War.

In the event that an international dispute occurs, barring those that involve great criminal activity, the country who placed higher in the last Great War would have their voice take precedence.

Thus, the day in which the “Great War” would commence, a day that occurs only once every four years, steadily drew closer.

Directly in the center of the basin, on the banks of the largest lake, the sporting ground was established. The designated competitors and their support staff gathered, as well as a huge, chosen audience. 

Kino and Hermes as well, having received special permission, planned to tour the event-

For that reason, they didn’t enter a country, and ended up camping. 

The leader of the group, having heard the story thus far, replied. “Somehow, well… what shocking countries…” blurting out his honest thoughts on behalf of his entire group.

Kino informed them of what she knew just as she had heard.

Fighting techniques, ten types of techniques total.

The reason for so many events was because each country specialized in different types of sports, and, in order not to favor a particular country, this was decided 40 years ago:

“Each country will propose an event that they believe they have the best chance at winning.”

“Apart from those events, 5 events will be drawn from a lottery.”

“Five chosen events and five random events, for ten events total and ten possible points. In that way, the rankings will be determined.”

Once per four years, the “Great War” will commence.

The ten events of this “Great War” would be as follows: 

“Tug of War” – Competitors will pull against each other with a rope

“Javelin Throwing” – Competitors will compete to throw javelins the farthest

“Horseback Riding (navigating obstacles)” – Competitors will race horses across a series of hurdles

“Archery” – Competitors will shoot targets from various distances

“Long-Distance Running” – Competitors will race around the lake’s circumference once

were the events chosen by the countries.

For those chosen by lottery:

“Darts” – Competitors will throw darts at targets

“Swimming” – Competitors will race across the lake

“Tree Climbing” – Competitors will climb tall, straight trees

“Carrying Sandbags” – Competitors will race carrying heavy bags filled with dirt

“Long Jump” – Competitors will jump after an initial running start

were those five events.

Both men and women representatives would compete in the events. 

To ensure fairness, an equal number of judges would be selected from each country. 

“I see… Then, that farce-, rather, ‘Sporting Competition,’ would we be able to watch it?”

“I don’t know, but since it’s allowed for me, how about you try asking for permission?”

“I see. It’ll probably be boring, but maybe we’ll be able to get some business ideas. For the time being, we’ll try watching it.”

Several days later,  the sounds of the crowd could be heard at the established location:

“Woahhhh! How wonderful!”

“There! Go for it! Go for it!”

“Damnit! -Go! Grab it!”

“Too bad! What should I bet on next?”

The excited voices of the crowd rose as they cheered on the competitors.

Kino and Hermes joined the fray as well.

“Uwa- that person is amazing! He jumped so far!”

“Look, Kino! They’re climbing the tree with the rope tied around it! Kino can also do that!”

“Those people, they’ve been running for so long!” 

“That strength! Is he even human?”

Hermes exclaimed excitedly, while watching just about every competition. 

The competition, which had started in the morning, became fiercely heated, then ended. Immediately afterwards, the point totals were announced. 

The final result was that the last country which Kino hadn’t yet visited received the most  points, becoming the winner. 

In both “Long-Distance Running” and “Swimming,” they had achieved the best times. 

The other countries were immensely disappointed, but acknowledged their defeat. Despite being greatly saddened, they donned a cheerful expression and returned to their respective countries. 

Kino and Hermes, meanwhile, headed towards the country of the winners.

In addition, the group that Kino had met earlier, who had enjoyed the competition greatly, also applied to visit the country, saying they wanted to “see what was going on.” They  followed the athletes, filled with spirit and victory, into the country. 

Upon entering, a large clamor rose up in the country. 

People all over raised shouts of joy. A commemoration parade and festival began. It was already far into the night, but the streets were still filled with noises of celebration. 

Kino, taking advantage of the celebration, treated herself to the most delicious food. 

“Ah, so this is what you came here for. Kino is very lucky for the winning country to be the country you haven’t visited yet,” Hermes commented absentmindedly. 

The rest of the group also unreservedly treated themselves to wine and food, tossing aside formalities with the country’s residents. 

Kino and the group leader, along with a tour guide, sat at the guest table eating a meal.

The group leader remarked to the guide, “Your runner and swimmer were truly incredible. I was really surprised at their strength and agility. Are they always training?”

The guide, who appeared to be the same age as the group leader, puffed his chest out and proudly answered.

“That’s correct! Our athletes don’t have any other job besides sports. Of course, our country supports their living expenses and training with its budget. Our regular citizens are not allowed to leave the castle walls, but our athletes are different. After all, it’s necessary for them to train outside the walls. It’s a great honor to be chosen as an athlete, so many of our citizens aim for that, ceaselessly training day and night-“

“I see, that makes sense. Ah, I just have one question.”

“Go ahead.”

“That Great War-, well, I think it’s really wonderful that war was replaced by an international sports competition. Because of this, I heard that the five countries got rid of their armies, but is that really true? It seems so sudden that I almost don’t believe it…”

“It’s true! There’s no point in having something you don’t need, after all. As the Great War continued to occur, not just our country but other countries as well, began to think, ‘Ah, though I despise the other countries, only competing with them in sports is fine.’ The leaders of the countries all came together and started a meeting, and year after year, gradually, they began reducing the size of their armies. In present day, the organization called the ‘army’ no longer exists. The police are the ones in charge of maintaining the peace.”

“How should I say it… These countries… are really surprising to be honest…”

“What do you think? Do you have anything to sell?”

In reply to the guide’s question, the group leader chuckled. “Ah, I got it. Next time I return, I’ll bring it. I hope you’ll look forward to when that time comes.”

Kino returned to the inn at midnight, but the celebrations continued until dawn. 

Two days later.

The three day permit that Kino and Hermes received had expired, and they left the country. 

It was another beautiful day, and there wasn’t a single cloud in sight.

Passing through the entrance, they found themselves walking along the road in the middle of the basin once more. The path was broken up by small creeks here and there. None of them had bridges. 

Each time, Kino would roll up her trousers and put on boots. Then, entering the water, she’d check its depth and hardness of the river floor.

“Mm. That much is fine. But make sure you don’t fall.”

“Got it.”

From there, Kino would remove all the luggage from Hermes and cautiously let him cross, before crossing herself, carrying the luggage. Then, she’d pack it again. 

Repeating this process countless times, by the time they slowly made their way towards the bottom of the basin, it was already past noon. After a short while,they finally reached the mountain path.

“Hah, I caught up to you.” The group leader, riding a horse, spoke up from behind Kino and Hermes. “Aren’t horses great? They can cross a river easily just like that,” he said a bit proudly. 

Kino shifted Hermes to the side of the narrow road. 

The group leader didn’t pass Kino, however, instead saying, “Just earlier there was a pond. Want to take a break there and have some tea?”

They were at a quiet pond, surrounded by a dense forest. The surface of the lake reflected the clear, blue sky. 

Sitting with Kino were the seven men, drinking tea. 

As they made small talk, the men expressed their thoughts on the Great War. They said that they were lucky to have seen such a curious thing, and had enjoyed themselves. 

Hermes asked them about their hangover. 

“Ahh, as one would expect, since a day has passed we’re alright now. If it weren’t for our hangover though, we would have left yesterday.”

To the group leader’s words, Hermes responded without delay: “You want to send an army over as fast as possible, huh.”

All at once, the men’s faces showed anger. 

“As I thought, that’s really the case huh… It was just Hermes’s hypothesis though,” Kino said with a carefree attitude. 

With a slight twitch on his face, the group leader spoke. “Ah, I give up… We didn’t stand a chance against such a great detective. I really hate a wise horse like you, you know,” he said, praising Hermes. 

“Thank you!”

“Haha! My pleasure. -For future reference though, I have to ask. How did you find out?”

While the group leader questioned Hermes, Kino sat drinking tea quietly, listening to the conversation.

“Well, there were various things?”

“Let’s hear about those various things.”

“To start off, the look in everyone’s eyes was extremely harsh. Normal merchants don’t usually make that kind of face. I wasn’t sure what you were hiding, but I thought that you seemed like good people.”

“Fumu… Anything else?”

“Your bodies are exceptionally built, aren’t they? With every one of your members like that, you were probably either well-trained athletes or soldiers.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“There’s not a single female among you guys either, which is a little strange. It’s necessary for a travelling group to let a woman in to help maintain the peace. Of course, by that I mean being in charge of the cooking. Well, if it’s a group of soldiers however, the chain of command won’t break. So a group solely consisting of men isn’t bad at all.”

“Fumu. Anything else?”

“Mm. The final nail in the coffin was when a group of middle aged men tried to return home as fast as possible after only visiting a single country. If you were merchants, even if you were pressed for time, or even if you were hungover for two days, you’d visit all five countries. After all, if the countries had differing tastes, you could sell a greater variety of goods if you went to all the countries.. Above all else-“

“Above all else-?”

“There might have been rare things you could buy in those countries. No way a merchant would pass up a chance like that. And thus that concludes my evidence.”

“Good grief… I surrender. We still have a ways to go before we reach your level, huh.”

The group leader shrugged his broad shoulders. Then,

“Did you guys hear that? Next time, use this as a reference!”

The six men let out chuckles.

The group leader, turning towards Kino and Hermes, boldly said, 

“Well there’s that. We are scouts from the army of a certain country. We were searching for a ‘benevolent country’ somewhere. I thought we’d ask for some ‘gifts.’”

“You were looking to plunder some place weren’t you? Even though you guys should be working-“

To Hermes’s sarcastic words, the group leader replied, “This is our ‘work.’”

Then, 

“The countries in this basin, they’re exactly the kind of prey we’re looking for. Since they decide their strength based on a sports competition, they got rid of their armies? How idiotic! Did they think that, since the mountains are so precipitous, that not a single person would dare attack them?”

His men laughed at those joyful words.

“When we return to our country, we’ll gather as many men as we possibly can, and we’ll climb this mountain again. Although it’ll be a difficult task, knowing that the enemy is completely unarmed will raise morale.”

“You may be right.” Kino, who finished her tea, spoke.

Seeing Kino, a man spoke up. “Group leader! What should we do about Kino? Now that they know about what we’re doing, wouldn’t it be better to kill Kino?”

The other three men, seemingly agreeing with that sentiment, slowly got up. They reached for their axes at their waists.

The group leader contentedly remained sitting, and replied, “Stop that. Can you not see the Hand Persuader on that boy’s waist?”

“However, we have an overwhelming advantage here!”

“Even if that’s true, if any of you die for the sake of killing just one person, then it’d be pointless.”

“But, we don’t know from which country that person is from! They might report what we’re doing!”

“Why would they do that?”

“Ha?”

“They won’t do anything. -This kind of traveller doesn’t involve themselves in unrelated business. Whatever happens to these countries, after they leave, they won’t know or care about it.”

Hearing the leader’s words, the men looked at each other and cautiously sat down again.

Seeing Kino remain silent, Hermes spoke. “I understand very well. This group isn’t comprised of merchants, merely simple passerbys, is what I should have said.”

“From now on, say that.”

The group leader passed his cup to his subordinate and stood up. “Alright, break time is over. In order to deliver this good news, we must hurry back to our fatherland!”

Every member swiftly rose, and gave a sharp bow towards the leader.

The group leader turned towards Kino who was sitting nonchalantly. “Goodbye, coolheaded young boy.”

The group saddled their horses, and began riding away. As they watched the group depart, Hermes asked Kino, who was drinking a second cup of tea, “Is it okay, Kino? To not say anything.” 

“I won’t say anything,” Kino replied. “Hermes also understands, right? I’m the kind of traveller who doesn’t involve themselves in unrelated business. Whatever happens to those people after we leave, we won’t know about it.

“Good grief. Then, how long are you going to wait here?”

“Let’s see…”

Kino turned her gaze towards the sky. While looking at the blue sky, she replied to Hermes’s question. “Around two more cups of tea?”

“You’re drinking way too much, Kino. You might as well just take a nap.”

On the banks of the lake, Kino drank just one more cup of tea. 

From there, she walked idly around the lake, relaxing.

She leisurely organized her bag, cleaned up the remains of her campfire, and, riding on Hermes, departed. 

As they travelled along the path amongst the woods, towering mountains gradually came into view ahead of them, and the path slowly changed into an uphill slope. 

When the path reached the base of the mountain, at the edge of the basin:

“Ah. I figured as much.”

“…”

The seven men had been killed.

Kino, riding Hermes, slowly approached the corpses.

The first corpse lay in the forest.

He had been a young man. An arrow had pierced the back of his throat. A single arrow, which reached from his side into his throat, gave the man no chance to even scream before he had died.

“What excellent marksmanship, right Kino? They killed the first man without a sound, so that he wasn’t even able to alert the others.”

“Ah… it was one of the archery athletes, wasn’t it?”

They moved leisurely to the next corpse, which was further up the path. 

Two wide lances had skewered his body from sides of his stomach, forming a splendid “X” shape. 

“Fumu. This man was also attacked from behind. From what I can see, the lance seems to have been thrown from quite a considerable distance away.”

“I understand, Hermes. Since it was the javelin throwing athlete from before, it was probably pretty easy for him to accomplish, right?”

The next two bodies were just a little further into forest, lying side by side.

Both of them had been struck on the head by boulders, and remains of blood, broken skull shards, and brains leaked out from their heads, and they had fallen near each other.

“Mm, the rocks were dropped from high above the trees.”

“Seeing the man killed by a lance, these two must have fled here huh…”

“Ah, it’s those athletes who climbed the trees. It’s possible that they were alreadyin the trees, but that’s probably not it.”

“So they saw the men fleeing, and climbed up this huge tree…I guess.”

“Exactly. If it was those athletes, they would have climbed this tree in no time at all.”

The fifth body was floating in a nearby pond.

In the middle of the forest, there was a large pond, and in the center of it was the body, drifting face down. It floated there without movement.

“Seems like he got dragged in there, Kino.”

“The swimming athlete probably ambushed him here. When he fled here, he attacked him from underwater…”

“Yup yup. Pretty easy for him.”

The sixth body was hung in the middle of the forest.

A thick rope was tied around the middle of his body. His abdomen had burst open due to the pressure of the rope, and his innards spilled outwards. 

“He probably fled here on a horse, and they caught him with the rope.”

“How skillful… the ambusher must have held onto that rope with all his might…”

“It was surely very painful for him.”

The last remaining corpse would be that of the group leader. They wandered around looking for it but…

“Nothing here, Kino.”

“Nothing huh.”

“Since he has the luck of being a soldier by his side, you think he managed to escape?”

“No, I don’t think that happened. Since they were using horses to follow them, I’m certain that there was no way to escape.”

“Well, since the pursuers possess such horsemanship, I guess you’re right. As a side note, it seems they didn’t kill the horses of the men, but instead brought them back with them, huh?”

Eventually, as they continued travelling, the forest ended and they came upon the foot of the mountains.

“Ah, there it is Kino.”

“…”

They came across the corpse of the group leader. 

The body lay on the side of the road with the feet pointing away from it. The lower half of the body was crushed by many rocks, but most of its shape still remained intact. Each eye had been stabbed with three small arrows.

“Mm, how vile. They blinded his eyes, then tortured him by placing rocks one after another on top of his body.”

“It was those athletes who carried sandbags… I guess.”

“Probably. The ones who were stationed in each country to keep an eye out for him were probably the long distance runner athletes. They ran to report the news, almost like homing pigeons.”

“Good grief.”

When Kino said that, she closed her eyes lightly. To the men, Kino offered a silent prayer.

Great detective Hermes faced the group leader, for whom it was too late to hear anything, and spoke.

“You guys ought to have realized it, you know. The possibility that the countries’ people had figured out you guys already. Also, even though these countries are always trying to outmaneuver each other, if there’s a common enemy, they’ll cooperate for the time being. And, one more thing.”

Kino, who had finished her prayer, followed up Hermes’s words.

“Each country was training athletes so diligently so that when the need arose, each country could become a formidable fighting force.”

“Well, it’s like killing two birds with one stone, isn’t it?”

“That’s true… This basin, it’s always been like this huh.”

“Next time we come here, how many Great War’s do you think will have passed? Which contests do you think they’ll hold?”

“Who knows. But I plan to look forward to whenever that is,” Kino replied smoothly. 

While surveying the area, Kino thought of another worry.

“Though until then… we should really bury these bodies…”

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