I was correct, judging by her reaction. She leaned back just a little and bit her lip. “I…was told…that when an Integrity Knight is summoned to earth, Stacia removes her memories of Heaven…and that when the evil ones of the Dark Territory are vanquished, and I have completed my duty as a knight, I will be returned to the holy place…and remember my parents and siblings again…according to…the pontifex…”
Her normally crisp voice faltered and trailed away. Suddenly I knew. Somewhere deep in Alice’s heart, in a place she wasn’t aware of, she was desperate for her family memories. That must have been why she had reacted so powerfully to the mention of Selka’s name.
Choosing my words carefully, I explained, “Only a part of what Administrator told you is true. Yes, your memories were kept from you. But it wasn’t because of Stacia; it was the pontifex herself who did it. And it’s not your heavenly memories that are hidden but your human memories, of being born and raised here. It’s the same for all the other Integrity Knights, too, like Eldrie. He’s the son of a noble house in the Norlangarth Empire. He won the tournament this year and earned the honor of being made into a knight.”
“No…that’s a lie! My apprentice, Knight Thirty-One, could not be a descendent of the decadent nobles…”
“Listen to me: When we defeated Eldrie in combat, it wasn’t because we killed him. Did you see any major wounds on him? My partner remembered his real name, Eldrie Woolsburg, and that stimulated his memories of his mother. He wanted to remember her, but he couldn’t. That was because Administrator took that memory out of his soul and keeps it at the very top of the cathedral.”
“…His memory…of his mother…?” she murmured, lips trembling. Her eyes were wandering on empty air. “Eldrie’s…noble…human…mother…?”
“And that doesn’t just go for him. I’d bet at least half the knights are champions of the swordfighting tournament, and the majority of those would be noble children who were raised with the best possible education with the blade. The noble houses receive considerable wealth and status from turning their children over to the Axiom Church. That system has been in place for over a century now.”
“…I can’t believe it…I just cannot accept the story you are telling me,” the Integrity Knight said, shaking her head like a stubborn child at the notion that the Axiom Church and its knights weren’t utterly divine. “Not all the upper nobles in the four empires are like this, but many lead slothful and decadent lives. It is why we Integrity Knights are necessary to protect the human lands. And now you claim…that Eldrie and others in the knighthood…are actually from those degenerate noble houses…? It is not possible. I cannot believe it.”
“The reason those noble families are decadent is because the Axiom Church gave them too much prestige and power. But because of that privilege, their children grow up with excellent instruction in swordplay and sacred arts. In rural villages, children are given their callings at age ten and barely ever have time to practice fighting with swords, by comparison. And only the most gifted of those noble children can appear in the Four-Empire Unification Tournament, and the single champion of that event is invited to Central Cathedral. Have you ever met one of those champions within the cathedral?” I asked.
Alice looked away, uncertain, and shook her head. “No…but there are many monks, nuns, and their apprentices living on the lower floors…so perhaps those champions are down among them, enriching their lives through study…”
I nearly spoke up on the spot to deny that but thought better of it. Eugeo and I had come straight up the stairs to the fiftieth floor after we’d retrieved our swords from the cathedral’s third floor—with only the distraction of the child knights Fizel and Linel around the twentieth floor—and we hadn’t encountered any of the holy workers. But I could still speculate about their source.
My suspicion was that the majority of the monks and nuns undertaking the basic duties of the Axiom Church weren’t hired from the outside but were born and raised within the Church, just like Fizel and Linel. Administrator probably viewed them like practical-use production models she could replicate.
Alice wouldn’t know about that dark side of the organization, I figured. I didn’t need to bring up the idea and tax her mind more than necessary.
“No, you’ve met champions of the tournament. You’re just not aware of it. All the Integrity Knights’ memories are being manipulated and adjusted by Administrator on a constant basis, not just during the ritual.”
“Nonsense!” she shouted, raising her head. “That is impossible! The holy pontifex would never toy with our memories the way you describe…”
“She is!” I shouted back. “You’re not just missing your memories of the tournament champions…You also don’t remember the criminals you’ve brought back to the tower!”
“C-criminals…?” she said, faltering. I stared right into her face, which was pale even in the moonlight.
“That’s right. Yesterday morning, you brought my partner and me here on your dragon from Swordcraft Academy. You remember that, don’t you?”
“…I would not forget it. You were the first ones I have ever been ordered to escort to prison.”
“Yet, Deusolbert Synthesis Seven didn’t remember you. When eight years ago…”
I paused, then steeled myself to say the name.
“…he was the one who took young Alice from Rulid Village in the far north, himself.”
She went whiter than the marble wall. Her bloodless lips quivered, and she croaked, “Rulid…That’s my true hometown…? And Deusolbert escorted me from there as a criminal…? In other words, I once violated a taboo…? Is that what you are saying?”