Dantalian no Shoka:Volume1 Chapter7

A loud roaring made the night sky vibrate.

The sky was covered by leaden clouds.

The light of this month's first moon did not brighten the ground. Instead, the ground was enfolded in darkness like at the ground of the deep sea.

Thunderous roars were raining down on it like thunderbolts. And high in the sky, a swarm of white-winged airplanes was flying, producing this sinister ventilation sound.

To be exact, large-sized two-motored military biplanes with giant wings---

Bombers, sent from the enemy country beyond the sea to invade them.

At last, black clumps were thrown off the bombers one after the other.

These were clumps of steel, packed with explosive and death.

The giant bombs fell on the ground and spread fire and destruction.

The shock waves swept the buildings away without mercy and its flames burnt down the streets.

This silent town had changed to a hell, filled with the cries and screams of its citizens.

The town was burning down tragically and crimson flames illuminated the night sky red.

There was a single girl at an elevation outside the town who was watching this tragic sight in blank amazement.

"Ah... Ahh...," she stumbled with a voice as hoarse as the one of an aged woman.

It was a voice of despair.

Fire was burning down her home town - changing the landscape she had loved to mere ruins. And enveloping her dear friends and family in it---

The only thing that remained when the bomber formation had passed was a town in fire.

The girl dropped powerlessly on the grass that had become wet by the night dew.

Right after that,

"...!"

She noticed someone approaching her and looked up quickly.

A shadow could be seen walking towards her calmly with the wildly burning fire behind it.

No, there were two of them. One had the silhouette of a young man.

And the other one was formed like a little girl.

She could not recognize the face of the girl because of the backlight. But it was clear to her that this girl had to be tremendously beautiful - and that she was wearing strange clothes---

The girl was holding a single book in front of her. The letters of an unfamiliar language were engraved in its old and staled leather cover.

Finally, the both of them stopped in front of the anxious girl.

"You needn't cry," the young man told her with a calm voice and smiled. "If something's been broken, you just need to build it once again. Right?"

The little girl handed her book wordlessly to the man, upon which he held it out to the girl on the ground.

She looked up to it absent-mindedly. Then, she accepted the book, reaching out her hands unconsciousnessly, and asked back,

"...What is this?"

It was the little girl who answered her. Her silver chain brushed the old lock she was wearing and produced a cold sound.

"It is a phantom book... a book written for your sake."

"...My book... a phantom book...," the girl repeated those words while looking down at the book.

And at the time she raised her gaze again, the two of them had already disappeared.

Chapter 5 - The Book Burners
Extra Episode 01: Bibliocaust

1

An unusual type of motorcycle was driving along the dusty road.

The large-sized bike was equipped with a large displacement two cylinder engine and on its right side was a side car with windbreak. It was an American side car for military use.

The bike was riden by a big man. He was wearing a long coat that resembled a cassock and rough leather boots that looked like a cowboy's. His strange clothes made him look like a churchman but also like a bounty hunter.

His age was probably in the late twenties.

Surprisingly, he had a quite graceful face. But due to his grimly closed lips, he seemed rather hard to approach. His gray hair was neatly tied behind him and his eye brows were wrinkled like those of a pondering philosopher.

Buried in the seat next to him was a beautiful girl at the age of about 16 or 17.

Half of her face was covered by big, blindfold-like goggles, but one could still recognize its prettiness. Her skin was white as snow, her hair long and silver. She seemed almost doll-like, which made her seem with a handcrafted fine work.

The road was leading to a little town by the bank of a lake.

It was a town with a calm mood and houses made of stone since olden days.

On the other side of the lake was a big factory from which a long chimney towered up to the dusky sky. Several warehouses for the products of that factory could be seen on the outskirts of the town.

At last, those two strangely dressed persons on the motorcycle arrived at the narrow street along the warehouses.

While driving the motorcycle along, the man peeked into each of the many, complicated intertwined side streets.

This course of action resembled more a hunting dog that's chasing its prey down than a stranger who's gone lost.

Then, after cutting several corners, the driver suddenly slowed down his motorcycle.

A slender shape could be seen standing at the center of a crossroads in front of them, surrounded by highly built warehouses.

"Stop! You there, stop right now!"

It was a young woman with a fearless face. Her hairstyle was plain like a man's and so were her clothes, though seeming convenient.

She spread out her arms, blocking their way, and called out to the driver.

Her attitude did not imply friendliness, but neither did she seem like a robber.

The only weapon she was wearing was a baton.

The driver let out an annoyed sigh and put on the brakes wordlessly.

"Could you answer me some questions, please?"

The woman approached them easefully after confirming that the motorcycle had stopped.

Her back was stretched and her look fixed at a certain height. It was the way of walking of a person with experience in hand-to-hand fighting.

"...Who are you?" the driver asked plainly, gazing at her with a disagreeable look.

"I'm Mabel Nash. A police officer," the woman introduced herself proudly.

"A police officer? You are?"

"Yes. Oh, is this the first time you meet a policewoman?"

"Yeah," the driver nodded bluntly.

Mabel laughed awkwardly.

"I see... well, since a few years women are hired as police officers as well in this district. For one thing there was a lack of manpower due to the war, for another thing there are some circumstances... besides, I've heard policewomen aren't rare at all in the capital or the southern regions, right?"

"...And what does this policewoman want from me?" the driver asked, uninterested in her talk.

"We received a report. Actually, I would be off duty today, you know... but I was asked by an acquaintance," said Mabel and smiled wryly. She looked surprisingly sociable when she was smiling.

"...a report?"

"Yes. Someone reported that a strange man is riding about in the town on a motorcycle with a young girl in the sidecar."

The driver grimaced fretfully.

"Do you want to tell me that... I am that strange man?"

"Umm, I suppose so... I mean...," Mabel muttered and peeked at the girl in the sidecar.

The girl in there was still wearing goggles, moving not a single bit.

She had originally listened to their conversation curiously, but now her shoulders suddenly started to tremble. Her long silver hair waved and a muffled laughter arose from in between her beautiful lips.

"Hrhrhr... who else would fit that image better than you, Hal?" she said with a sadistic voice that didn't fit to her graceful appearance.

"Shut up, trash."

"Were you unaware of it yourself? Or did you even think you were cool?"

"I told you to shut up."

"Umm... please, you two...," Mabel hurriedly interrupted them before they would get out of control. Then, she looked at the girl in the sidecar and stiffened. She had noticed the weird clothing of the silver-haired girl just now.

She was wearing a white outfit that covered her entire body.

At various places of the robust cloth leather belts were sewed in and tied up tightly, restraining her movements. The only body parts she could move freely were the parts above her neck and everything ahead of both her wrists. It looked almost like a straitjacket used to transport a fiendish criminal. Her dress may have been decorated with frills and laces, but it was doubtlessly made to constrain her.

And all over this straitjacket one could see the dim glance of old locks.

Countless locks were binding the belts of her straitjacket, firmly sealed. She was being treated inhumanly - there was no other way to put it.

"What is with... those clothes?" Mabel cowled sharply at the driver.

"Don't mind her. She's wearing it on her own accord."

"Eh?"

"I'm just adapting to your preferences!" the constrained girl looked up to Hal and laughed out, enjoying Mabel's disturbance.

Hal wrinkled his forehead and asked, "What do you mean by my preferences?"

"Don't play dumb... you love such stuff really, don't you?"

"I am not in the slightest interested in your clothing."

"There he goes again... Don't sham this frantically just because you're in front of a woman. You perv."

"Shut up, trash," ordered Hal the silver-haired girl, scowling at her moodily.

Mabel had been taken aback by those two abusing each other at first and had been just gazing at them. At last she got a grip on herself again and turned to Hal.

"Who... who are you guys? You don't seem to be from this country, but you aren't ordinary travellers, either, right?"

"I am Hal Kamhout. She is Flam... Flamberge. We came to this town to search for someone."

"To search for someone?"

"Yeah," Hal nodded, "a young man who travels together with a girl. I don't know about the man's clothes, but the girl should be wearing a lock - just like the trash here. Furthermore... she owns strange books."

"Books?" Mabel said, narrowing her eyes cautiously.

"Is there some clue you can think of, officer?" Hal asked her calmly.

The policewoman shrugged her shoulders, "Phuu...," and explained, "Well, I don't know if you ask me all of a sudden... Are those books valuable or something?"

"Such books have no worth," Hal declared firmly.

Mabel gazed at him for a moment with a testing look.

"Tell me... are you a clergy?" she suddenly said as if the penny had finally dropped.

Hal's clothes looked like a priest's robe after all and, on top of that, he had tied a staff to the side of his motorcycle. This staff was huge at that and had a censer embedded in its tip. Mabel couldn't imagine that anyone would use such an unpractical staff anywhere but at some kinds of religious rites.

Also his strangely insolent attitude, which didn't suit his young appearance, seemed kind of clergy-like to her. However.

"I am not a clergy. I am a book burner," Hal said point-blank.

This position was unfamiliar to Mabel. At least there was no priest title with that name in the western church. Mabel was clearly bewildered, but Hal made no move to explain it any further.

"Well, whatever... anyway, so you aren't causing this girl here any harm, right?" she asked after sighing resignedly, turning around to the constrained girl.

The silver-haired girl took off her goggles with her hardly-moving arms and looked up to Mabel with a calm smile.

Then, a mischievous grin flashed on her breathtakingly gorgeous face.

"Don't worry. That's his way of showing love."

"Stop talking crap and shut up," Hal urged her in a low voice, obviously annoyed.

He was expressing himself rather rudely, but it was obviously not just him one-sidedly abusing her.

After confirming this Mabel said, "Alright. Sorry to have bothered you."

When she waved her hand and was about to walk away, "Wait," Hal stopped her. "There is also a question from my side."

"What?"

"I want to buy gasoline. Is there a shop in the near where I can buy some?" Hal said and looked down to the tank of his bike. Apparently there wasn't much fuel left because he had rode around in town all day, searching for someone.

However, Mabel shook her head regretfully.

"There are no gas stations in this town. Private automobile aren't that widespread yet... but a traveling merchant comes here the day after tomorrow. You should be able to buy some from him."

"I see... got it," he nodded promptly.

In contrast, Mabel looked worried and asked, "What are your plans? It's quite a distance to the next town, you know?"

"Aha. Then we will have to camp," Hal said without flinching.

"Again?!" the constrained girl complained annoyedly.

Mabel couldn't suppress a small laugh when she heard that.

"Uhm... if you'd like, you could stay overnight at my place?"

Hal turned his expressionless gaze to Mabel. He seemed to fail to grasp her intention.

Mabel made an effort to sound brightly and added, "My home may be small but preparing a bed and some food should be no problem!"

"Why?" Hal asked straight ahead.

She searched for words and then said, "Well, it's my job to protect the public order after all... and don't you agree it's safer to have someone suspicious be right by my side rather than to leave him to himself?"

The constrained girl listened silently to Mabel's flustered explanation for a while, looking at her. Then, she raised a naughty laughter and pointed at Hal.

"Did you fall for him?"

"O-Of course not!" Mabel shouted hysterically.

Hal just gazed silently at those two, showing no expression in particular.

2

The town at twilight. Hal and Flamberge were walking on a street in the shopping district, led by Mabel.

The street was full with people going home from work, people shopping and shopkeepers at their market stalls.

But mysteriously, the scene didn't give off a lively impression. Certainly, one could hear the yells of the workers, who were lifting heavy luggage, or the fancy marketing phrases of the shop assistants. The shopkeepers were also talking happily to their customers and the laughs of playing kids resounded in the street. There were even people chatting together at the side of the street while drinking some liquor.

And yet, all of this seemed feigned somehow. It was almost like watching the actors of a bad play.

Next to Hal, who was gazing grimly at those people, the constrained girl Flam scoffed. "Now should you call this town lively or gloomy?"

"Don't forget that we're on the countryside here. Everybody is earnest," Mabel said, protecting the people of this town.

After sneaking a peek at her, Hal looked around at the buildings. Then he murmured, "An earnest rural town, huh...? There are noticeably many brothels, though."

"Isn't that your type?" Flam said chuckling and pointed at a nearby building.

Below a gaudy signboard, which made the type of the shop clear at one glance, a young woman was appealing to men, exposing her skin generously. The shop was enveloped by a dissolute mood which didn't fit to such a little remote town at all.

"Well... that's because there was a weapon factory, you see..." Mabel stammered an excuse.

"A weapon factory?" Hal asked after having turned around calmly.

"During the war it was lively there with military people and migrant workers. And the same can be said for here... well, and thus the prostitutes gathered, aiming for that," Mabel said with a regrettable tone and shrugged. "To tell you the truth, that's why I was employed as a police officer. Police men can have a quite hard time dealing with trouble about brothels."

"I see," Hal nodded seriously.

The constrained girl looked up to him and raised a sardonic chuckle.

"A town with lots of brothels, huh... you must be happy that we came here after hearing those rumors! Aren't ya, Hal?"

"Don't try to misrepresent the facts," Hal replied with a scowl.

"What rumors?" asked Mabel, cocking her head.

After letting out a short sigh, Hal said: "Apparently there are many who go missing in this town, huh?"

"Eh?"

Mabel blinked surprisedly. He didn't mind her and continued.

"I heard that more than 80 people disappeared during the two years after the end of the war. That's quite an extraordinary number, considering the population of this town."

"80 people...?" Mabel grumbled in amazement and turned pale. She strained to form a smile, but she only managed to make her lips quiver. "You heard a lie... that can't possibly be."

"What makes you so sure?" he asked back in a voice void of emotion.

"Don't forget that I'm a police officer! I would definitely know if something like that really happened in this town. In the recent years not a single person got missing or died. At the most, you could say that some of the elder people who had been ill for a long time deceased in a hospital far away in another town---" Mabel clearly tried hard to explain.

But Hal came straight to the point.

"Most of the people who went missing aren't from here. They are travelers, merchants and other passer-bys."

"You almost make it sound as if the inhabitants of this town would attack any stranger who passes by, don't you?" Mabel frowned, offended. Then she continued with an angry voice: "In that case, the next target would be you two."

"I hope so at least," he nodded with a serious mien.

Mabel gazed at him in disbelief at first, but she could not find a single sign of a joke.

She then sighed, getting a grip on herself again, and looked seriously up to him.

"Perhaps, did the people you're searching for... also go lost in this town?"

"Who knows?" murmured the strangely-clothed man and pressed his staff stronger, which made the metallic staff creak lightly in his hand.

"You don't know?"

"That's why we came here. To investigate if it has something to do with them."

"Aha," Mabel nodded slightly.

Then she stopped in front of a house. Despite being old, it could be called a well-built 3-storey house. Stone stairs led to the entrance, which was decorated with simple but pretty carvings.

"We're there!"

Mabel ascertainedly walked up the stairs and showed them in, pointing at the door. The house was apparently her home.

"Such a house despite living alone? Quite uptown, aren't ya? Does it pay to be a corrupted police officer?" Flam asked, impressed.

"I ain't corrupted!" Mabel sulkily pursed her lips. "And I'm not living by my own either."

Making a slightly proud face, she opened the door. Her home wasn't as luxurious as it looked from outside, but still it was plenty broad.

Right in front of the entry hall was a stairway, leading to the second floor, and on the right hand side was the living room in which a stove was burning. A woollen sofa was placed in front of that stove and on it was an old couple.

They noticed Mabel's arrival and turned slowly around.

"Welcome home, Mabel."

"You must be tired, Mabel."

They spoke stiffly, which resembled the sound of rusty gears, and smiled. That smile, however, seemed as artificial as the smile of a mechanically moved puppet.

But Mabel ignored their unnatural behaviour and smile back at them.

"Hello everybody. I've brought some guests with me. Two travelers called... eeh, Hal and Flam."

The two old persons turned around to Hal. With the exact same expression. Then they smiled again artificially.

"I see. Welcome."

"I see. You must be really tired from the journey."

They seemed as if they were repeating a set of decided phrases. Hal didn't pay attention to them and turned around to Mabel instead.

"Who are they?"

"They are my grandparents. Then there is..."

Mabel looked at the stairway.

From its landing one could hear the footsteps of someone going downstairs. The steps had a light sound to them, implying a rather low body weight. Eventually, a little head appeared over the handrail.

It was a little girl, around 12 or 13 years old. Her face almost looked like Mabel's made younger.

"Who are you?"

She darted a reproving look at Hal and Flam with her hazelnut brown eyes.

"Paty." Mabel called the name of the girl, letting her know that she is behaving impolite. Then she turned an awkward smile to her guests.

"She's my little sister Patricia. Paty, these people are Hal and Flam. I decided to let them spend the night here---"

"What did you come here for?" Patricia shouted snappily, ignoring the friendly gesture of her elder sister. "Leave! Just get out already!"

She then dashed up the stairs without leaving them time to even respond to her. After a few moments, one could hear a door closing upstairs. Patricia had shut herself in her room.

"Paty! Wait a moment... Paty!"

Mabel ran away, following her little sister.

After gazing at the disappearing woman Flam sighed with a frown. "That girl sure behaved badly. Maybe she noticed that you're a perv that's dead keen on little girls, Hal?"

"I'm neither a pervert nor keen on little girls. I do, however, think that this might be interesting---" Hal answered Flam, contrary to custom, seriously.

"Mh?"

The confined girl looked up at Hal, raiding her slender chin. Her light, silver eyes became narrow as a cat's.

"At least that girl seems to have enough emotions to dislike me," murmured Hal, almost keeping a straight face.

Bathing in the light of the stove, the front of the silver staff flickered like flames.

3

[in translation]