The Unenterable Country -- Reasonable -- Originally from Novel 6, Frontispiece Story by: Keiichi Sigsawa Art by: Kuroboshi Kouhaku Translated by: Ming-Ling (Tama-Neko) Email: kino@DELETETHISPARTming-ling.net Website: Passport to the Beautiful World ( http://kino.ming-ling.net ) Do not repost without my permission. ==================================== It was a spring day. At the gates to the country, a traveler was knocking. The traveler was a young person, wearing a brown overcoat on top of a black jacket. Short black hair was under the brim of a cap and goggles. A hand persuader (a type of small arms - a pistol) hung in a hip holster. The traveler had come to this place riding a motorrad (a two-wheeled vehicle which cannot fly but moves in the direction it is pointed). "I would like to enter this country," said the traveler, upon which the gatekeeper raised an eye and said, "You can't! A person like you isn't allowed to enter, no exceptions! Please leave immediately!" The traveler asked for a reason why, upon which the gatekeeper answered, "It's because you carry a persuader! Before, when people carrying persuaders entered the country, it led to outrageous incidents! All sorts of problems! Henceforth, anyone who carries a persuader and wants to enter this country is turned away. So, now that you've heard the reason, please leave immediately." The traveler asked, "If I left my persuader at the gate, would I be able to enter this country?" The gatekeeper scowled, "It's been decided that you cannot enter! People who carry persuaders aren't right in the head! Even if you threw it away, it wouldn't be possible for you to enter!" The traveler unfortunately quit trying to enter the country, and left with the motorrad. It was a summer day. At the gates to the country, a traveler was knocking. The traveler was a young person, wearing a black jacket with the sleeves folded up like a vest over a white shirt. Short black hair was under the brim of a cap and goggles. A hand persuader hung in a hip holster. The traveler had come to this place riding a motorrad. "I would like to entry this country," said the traveler, upon which the gatekeeper raised an eye and said, "You can't! A person like you isn't allowed to enter, no exceptions! Please leave immediately!" The traveler asked for a reason why, upon which the gatekeeper answered, "It's because you came here riding a motorrad! Before, when people riding motorrads entered the country, it led to outrageous incidents! All sorts of problems! Henceforth, anyone who arrives on a motorrad and wants to enter this country is turned away. So, now that you've heard the reason, please leave immediately." The traveler asked, "If I didn't turn on the motorrad's engine, would I be able to enter this country?" The gatekeeper scowled, "It's been decided that you cannot enter! People who ride motorrads aren't right in the head! Even if you threw it away, it wouldn't be possible for you to enter!" The traveler unfortunately quit trying to enter the country, and left with the motorrad. It was an autumn day. At the gates to the country, a traveler was knocking. The traveler was a young person, wearing a wide belt strapped over a black jacket. Short black hair was under the brim of a cap and goggles. A hand persuader hung in a hip holster. The traveler had come to this place riding a motorrad. "I would like to entry this country," said the traveler, upon which the gatekeeper raised an eye and said, "You can't! A person like you isn't allowed to enter, no exceptions! Please leave immediately!" The traveler asked for a reason why, upon which the gatekeeper answered, "It's because you're wearing a black jacket! Before, when people wearing black jackets entered the country, it led to outrageous incidents! All sorts of problems! Henceforth, anyone who wears a black jacket and wants to enter this country is turned away. So, now that you've heard the reason, please leave immediately." The traveler asked, "If I took off the jacket, would I be able to enter this country?" The gatekeeper scowled, "It's been decided that you cannot enter! People who wear black jackets aren't right in the head! Even if you threw it away, it wouldn't be possible for you to enter!" The traveler unfortunately quit trying to enter the country, and left with the motorrad. It was a winter day. At the gates to the country, a traveler was knocking. The traveler was a young person, wearing thick winter gear over a black jacket. Short black hair was underneath a fur cap and a single-lense goggle. A hand persuader hung in a holster around her side. The traveler had come to this place riding a motorrad. "I would like to entry this country," said the traveler, upon which the gatekeeper raised an eye and said, "You can't! A person like you isn't allowed to enter, no exceptions! Please leave immediately!" The traveler asked for a reason why, upon which the gatekeeper answered, "It's because you carry a persuader, came riding a motorrad and are wearing a black jacket! Before, when people carrying persuaders, riding motorrads and wearing black jackets entered the country, it led to outrageous incidents! All sorts of problems! Henceforth, anyone who carries a persuader, rides a motorrad and wears a black jacket and wants to enter this country is turned away. So, now that you've heard the reason, please leave immediately." The traveler asked, "If I left my persuader at the gate, didn't turn on the motorrad's engine and took off the jacket, would I be able to enter this country?" The gatekeeper scowled, "It's been decided that you cannot enter! People who carry persuaders, ride motorrads and wear black jackets aren't right in the head! Even if you threw them away, it wouldn't be possible for you to enter!" "That's too bad. I've got many splendid pelts from rare animals in the forest, but I guess I can't sell them in this country." The traveler unfortunately quit trying to enter the country. As the traveler turned to leave, the gatekeeper stopped her and said, "Well... if you think about it, it's dangerous to travel without a persuader and a motorrad is a really convenient thing to ride when you're on the move. The black jacket is pretty chic, and really suits you. In this cold weather, it'd be mean to send someone off. Please, come in." "Really? Then I won't hold back." And the traveler entered the country.