Editing Dantalian no Shoka:Volume2 Chapter1 (section)

===2===

After walking along the slope for a while, their surroundings suddenly opened out into a larger area.

There was no definite boundary between the village and the forest. As soon as they walked out from the forest, the houses of the villagers were immediately there.

It was a village that blended in well with its surroundings. It was slightly bigger than what they had imagined, but from the number of the houses there seemed to be fifteen houses or so.

The houses were dispersed in the village. Every house was surrounded by a small portion of the field. Pastures were found on the steep side of the hill where domestic animals stayed.

There were few level areas in the village, instead there were gentle, rolling mounds, so there were many potholes in the ground. Although this place may not be suitable for dwelling, but this caused no impact on this beautiful scene.

The rays of the setting sun fell on the steep slope that was covered with green vegetation.

On both sides of the narrow path, many different species of nameless wild flowers bloomed.

“What a pretty village.”

Huey couldn’t help but say.

“It’s only a rural area with nothing at all.”

The woman in traditional clothing replied politely in embarrassment.

Because she couldn’t bear seeing Dalian’s tired appearance as she transverse the unfamiliar path, she had suggested that they rest at her house. According to her self-introduction, her name was Thalia and she lived in the village by herself.

Thalia led Huey and Dalian to a mortar house in the center of the village.

This seemed to be Thalia’s house. Although it was not a large building, but it seemed to be older than the other houses in the village, there were incomprehensible symbols of the door and pillars. It was the same pattern as those on her clothes.

“Don’t tell me you are the head of this village, Thalia?”

Huey asked her with an expression of surprise. But Thalia shook her head, smiling,

“No, I am only an herbalist.”

“Herbalist?”

“Yes. Other than that, there are some times where I do some of the work of an official. In this rural area, there aren’t many people who can read the holy scripts.”

“Oh… I see.”

Huey nodded his head, understanding.

Herbalists referred to people who collected plants that were of medicinal value and sold them or prescribed them to patients. And in this rural community, they held the medical knowledge passed down from their ancestors, and they were talented, precious people who took the position of doctors in the community.

Most of the time, what they inherited, apart from their knowledge of herbs, also included the ancient cultural beliefs. The strange flower patterns on Thalia’s clothes were most likely remnants of ancient magic.

After they entered Thalia’s house, they were more convinced by the interior that this was a place where a modern herbalist would live in.

On the shelves that occupied one wall, there were many bottles and phials containing medicines; grasses and roots were suspended in the air to be dried. And ancient texts that holding recordings of knowledge regarding plants were slotted at the shelves, they were covered with dust.

Dalian flitted around the house, interested and she even wanted to reach out to touch those books, but she quickly stopped herself. Because she caught sight of a simple earthenware pot, there was something that Thalia had left there after eating—sugared fried bread.

Just like that, Dalian stared unmovingly at the fried bread. Her mouth was half-open, a pitiful expression on her face, as if she were a dog whose dinner had been postponed.

“That, if you don’t mind… Please eat.”

After seeing Dalian’s actions, Thalia spoke. Dalian’s eyes gleamed momentarily, but she pretended as if nothing had happened and coughed to cover it. Then she picked up the fried bread casually, thanking Thalia and suddenly took a big bite of the bread.
[[Image:Dantalian_no_Shoka-vol2-p21.jpg|thumb|Dalian suddenly took a big bite of the bread.]]

When Thalia saw how happy Dalian was from where she had been standing behind her, she smiled too.

During this scene, Huey looked out of the window, planning to pretend that he had not seen anything.

“Are you looking for the house of the head of the village?”

Seeming to misunderstand Huey’s actions, Thalia asked carefully.

“No, it’s not like that.”

Huey frantically shook his head.

“But I wanted to ask you something, the Lord of this village is John Calobos, right? I heard that these mountains belonged to him.”

Towards Huey’s question, Thalia nodded in affirmation.

“Yes, that’s right. There is also the Lord’s villa in this village.”

“Then, about the case involving Mister Calobos’s house in the city, does this village know of it?”

Thalia tilted her head and looked at Huey, seeming to be troubled. But Huey only lowered his head and said:

“Mister Calobos died six months ago, the cause of his death was because his house had caught fire.”

Thalia who was about to pour hot water for Dalian, almost couldn’t get a good grip of the kettle because she was too shocked.

“It was a huge fire, the whole house was burnt to ashes. Including his family and his servants, nearly twenty people died in that fire. The cause of the fire is unclear although investigations are undergoing, but there are rumours spreading that it was arson.”

“Arson?” 

Thalia couldn’t help but swallow, and Huey scrunched his eyebrows, feeling a little startled.

“Do you really not know… Hasn’t anyone communicated with the village?”

“No one came. We only felt that it as a while since we last saw the lord, Missy hasn’t said anything either.”

Thalia’s words surprised Huey.

“Who is the ‘Missy’ that you are referring to?”

“Miss Florence is the only daughter of the lord. She has been staying at that villa for a very long time.”

“The daughter of Mister Calobos? Then is she in this village presently?”

“Yes. Although we do not have many opportunities to meet her, but we can glimpse her silhouette through the windows sometimes. She is a very beautiful person.”

“…”

Huey held his breath, starting to think and not speaking. Then he breathed out deeply.

“Is that so… So that rumour was true.”

“Rumour?”

“The person that I know of has a person he knows, who was a merchant who traded frequently with the Calobos. That person once said that he saw the daughter of Mister Calobos in the village at the foot of this mountain. But this was one month ago…”

“Oh…”

Even though Huey had explained himself, Thalia still had an uncomprehending expression.

To reach the village at the foot of the mountain from here, although it was a dangerous slope, but it was not far away, and if it were by horse, a trip there and back could be made in a few hours. She probably thought that even if it were the daughter of Mister Calobos, if she went to the village at the foot of the mountain to relieve her boredom, it was not a noteworthy matter.

But Huey continued to narrate in a low voice with a serious expression.

“There are people who suspect her to be the arsonist and murdering Mister Calobos.”

“Missy she?”

Thalia couldn’t help but shout in surprise, but she immediately smiled and shook her head.

“How can that be. That is impossible. Missy has been staying here for a few years. And I heard that she came here because her body was weak, so she came here to seek treatment.”

“Even so, it doesn’t mean that she is unable to return to the city, right?”

Huey’s voice was emotionless, and Thalia started to look with him in suspicion and said:

“Are you the police? Did you come here to arrest Missy?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s not like that.”

Huey laughed bitterly, shrugging.

“Let me start from the beginning. We are here for a book.”

“A book?”

Thalia asked with a startled expression. Huey nodded slowly.

“It is commonly known as the '''Dark Green Book'''. It is an important book that Mister Calobos bought back from the west. I thought that it had been burnt along with his house… But the merchant that I mentioned earlier saw that book. He said that when he saw Mister Calobos’s daughter, she seemed to be holding on to that book.”

“So for that book, the two of you specially came to the mountains?”

Thalia’s suspicion was not erased.

“Every family has their secrets.”

Huey’s tone seemed helpless.

“Where is the lord’s villa?”

Dalian who had been quietly eating the fried bread suddenly asked.

This cold but sudden voice made Thalia turn around frantically.

“That, it is in the northern forest…”

What the herbalist was looking at, was a window facing the north.


Just as she had said, on a hill near the big forest, was a lonely building.

And the reason why Huey and Dalian had not spotted it earlier was because the whole house was like the trees in the forest, covered heavily with green.

Even if it were the outer wall made of bricks or the tall, large walls of the compound, they had been thoroughly covered with vines.

Because of that, the house blended in with the background, and made the outline of the house nearly unnoticeable.

The plant covering the entire villa appeared to be thorny vines. Although the matter of the lord, who liked aristocracy, planting roses in his villa was not strange, but from this large amount it was very unusual.

“Is that the villa?”

Huey looked at the building covered with thorny vines and asked.

“Yes… But, please try not to go near it.”

Thalia warned them, seeming to be a little troubled.

“Why? Does that Missy have a bad temper?”

“No… Although it is not that, but the layout of the land near there, even the locals would get lost easily. Many people went to that villa but they have never returned.”

Thalia’s words made Huey shake his head speechlessly.

“Why would Mister Calobos want to build a villa there…”

“I don’t know… It probably isn’t because he didn’t want anyone to leave or enter there easily, and Missy herself as almost never come out from that villa… Maybe it is to prevent criminals from breaking in, so he purposely chose that kind of place.”

As Huey listened to Thalia’s explanation, he walked nearer to the window to inspect the house.

Under the light of the setting sun, the grey walls were painted bright red.

Even the top of the clock tower that was covered with vines, had a beautiful pattern.
The window of the clock tower was open.

He didn’t know if it was because the interior of the clock tower was dark and could not be distinguished, under the reflection of the light rays, he vaguely saw a girl’s figure by the window. It was a girl wearing an elegant dress with a swan design.

“What a pity, it isn’t sleeping beauty… Is she the holder of a Phantom Book, Dalian?”

Huey asked jokingly. But Dalian did not reply.

Thalia looked at them uncomprehendingly, muttering:

“Phantom Book?”