Description: Kino stops by a store in the middle of nowhere and joins the store owner for tea, asking about the ingredients before taking a drink. The owner drinks some first to prove it's safe, and understands the importance of caution. Kino and Hermes then ask various questions about the shop: why it's in the middle of nowhere (it's a nice location), and because his homeland forbade him from setting up a shop. Customers visit the shop every hundred days or so, but the owner still has yet to sell anything.
The owner then begins to showcase his wares. In particular, a navy blue suitcase... that is actually a high-power bomb. Kino is understandably surprised by this, especially when the owner goes on to explain that he sells only high-power bombs and nothing else. Not only that, but the bombs are so powerful, they could completely blow up an entire country in one shot, even spewing a powerful toxic chemical to kill any human who didn't die instantly from the explosion. Apparently it utilizes nuclear fusion, though at this point Kino looks somewhat lost until they recall that it's more commonly known as a "hydrogen bomb."
They discuss the bombs for a while, the owner offering a buy one get one free deal, but Kino has no need for hydrogen bombs, so they decline. The owner himself has no need for the bombs; he just likes the idea of making something worth buying. They offer to trade for food and supplies, but the shopkeeper doesn't consider those goods and offers them freely on the house, preparing lunch to eat together and telling Kino to drop by again if they ever need a hydrogen bomb once it's time for them to leave.
Note: the original Japanese does not particularly gender Kino, and by default most people tend to assume Kino is male upon sight, so assume cases of "Miss" etc. are just some polite referral to Kino (one official translation uses Mx.) unless otherwise noted.
Day 386
Description: Kino stops by a store in the middle of nowhere and joins the store owner for tea, asking about the ingredients before taking a drink. The owner drinks some first to prove it's safe, and understands the importance of caution. Kino and Hermes then ask various questions about the shop: why it's in the middle of nowhere (it's a nice location), and because his homeland forbade him from setting up a shop. Customers visit the shop every hundred days or so, but the owner still has yet to sell anything.
The owner then begins to showcase his wares. In particular, a navy blue suitcase... that is actually a high-power bomb. Kino is understandably surprised by this, especially when the owner goes on to explain that he sells only high-power bombs and nothing else. Not only that, but the bombs are so powerful, they could completely blow up an entire country in one shot, even spewing a powerful toxic chemical to kill any human who didn't die instantly from the explosion. Apparently it utilizes nuclear fusion, though at this point Kino looks somewhat lost until they recall that it's more commonly known as a "hydrogen bomb."
They discuss the bombs for a while, the owner offering a buy one get one free deal, but Kino has no need for hydrogen bombs, so they decline. The owner himself has no need for the bombs; he just likes the idea of making something worth buying. They offer to trade for food and supplies, but the shopkeeper doesn't consider those goods and offers them freely on the house, preparing lunch to eat together and telling Kino to drop by again if they ever need a hydrogen bomb once it's time for them to leave.
Note: the original Japanese does not particularly gender Kino, and by default most people tend to assume Kino is male upon sight, so assume cases of "Miss" etc. are just some polite referral to Kino (one official translation uses Mx.) unless otherwise noted.