Torah Church Torah Chief, Kiriko Strife
“LOVEL Sinclair: sophomore at St. Rollins Academy’s High School Division, who has resided in the Academy’s dormitory since eight years ago. Excellent grades, excellent behavior. Serves as the student council secretary… Interesting,” Kiriko remarked, lifting her eyes from the charge sheet she was reading off. “Is all of this information correct, Lovel Sinclair?”
“Yessiree, it’s correctomundo,” Lovel sulkily responded from her seat opposite Kiriko. A cold, hard desk was stationed between them.
They were inside the “special confession room” on the third-floor of Torah Church. Lovel hadn’t stopped moping since they brought her to the dreary, tasteless room, also known as the Interrogation Room.
Spinoza observed her from where he leaned against the wall and raised a questioning eyebrow at her behavior. “Your attitude and the report on you sure don’t match up, though. Aren’t you supposed to be a prim and proper young lady from our prestigious academy?”
“Obviously I’d be on my worst behavior after what I’ve been through. I became a wanted person by the Rabbis just for visiting the Church during off-hours, then I was kidnapped in the mouth of some Amber Golem, and the cherry on top has gotta be that I’m being treated like some sort of hostage and was threatened into a deal to cooperate with your investigation,” Lovel ranted. “Even somebody as cheerful and upbeat as I am would be pissed off after that! I’m no saint, okay?!”
“Well, that makes sense.”
“Please don’t be so easily convinced, Torah Lord Spinoza. Besides, this girl is no prim and proper young lady,” Kiriko reprimanded, running her eyes over the charge sheet. “The report says, ‘She was raised by a single mother on Chest Island who passed away eight years ago. She has since been raised as an orphan at the Academy dormitory.’ She has neither the personal history nor the behavior befitting of a noble young lady.”
“Shut your trap. I don’t deserve to be spoken of that way by you, old crone.”
“I don’t deserve to be called an old crone by you either, little girl. Call me Torah Chief.”
“Okay, EFFING Torah Chief.”
“Just so you know, I’m a proponent for equal rights between men and women. The next time you cuss at me, I’ll smack you good and proper, regardless of your gender.”
“Doesn’t that count as witness abuse? Isn’t that a crime? Or are you above the law?” Lovel taunted.
“I don’t balk at committing crimes in order to keep justice.”
“Woooow, should you really be a Torah Chief with those dangerous thoughts?”
Neither Kiriko nor Lovel would back down. Spinoza couldn’t watch them at each other’s throats any longer, so he cut into the conversation. “Now, now, don’t fight, ladies. You’re scaring me. Back to the point. Lovel, why did you, a young lady raised at the Academy, have the cube?”
“I stole it from Jair. How many times do I have to repeat myself to you people?”
“Then where did this Jair fellow obtain it?”
“I don’t know that much. He probably got it from the mastermind pulling his strings.”
“Mastermind…? Where did that come from? Jair isn’t the only one behind this?”
“Yup, it seems like he has accomplices. I saw another guy’s face, but I didn’t know who he was. Don’t know his name either.”
Lovel’s story was full of ambiguity and bizarre parts that made it sound fabricated. Kiriko questioned her anyway, to be sure. “Assuming what you say isn’t just some wild fantasy on your part, what’s this Jair after?”
“Taming Sephiroth and using him to destroy the Church’s Great Bell Tower—at least, as far as I know.”
“Taming Sephiroth?! Do you people even fathom what a monster Sephiroth is?!” Kiriko lashed out.
“I know,” Lovel answered, despite being unsettled by Kiriko’s reaction. “Isn’t it a dangerous Silver Golem the Church manufactured four years ago?”
“You call such limited knowledge knowing…?!” Kiriko’s brow twitched. She restrained her voice and said tightly, “That thing is more than just a mere Silver Golem. It’s a weapon created to murder people. No—it’s a monster, unrestrainable by human means. And that cube is the key to activating the monster Sephiroth. It is an item neither you nor anyone else should ever possess.”
“I understand that much too. But Jair is capable of using it. And, most likely, I am as well.”
“Are you insane…?! How would you two be capable of such a feat?!”
Lovel kept silent. She appeared to hesitate over her answer. Finally, she shook aside whatever was holding her back and muttered, “…Whether you believe it or not, if Jair’s left unchecked, he’ll bring about the destruction of the Torah Church. He’s going to rip this land from God’s protection and make the Golems throughout the islands go berserk. I just want to prevent that.”
Lovel’s expression was dead serious. She pleaded, “So, please, let me see Mister Grinzam. I’m positive he’ll be able to stop Jair—”
“Unfortunately, former Torah Lord Arusrad Grinzam passed away.”
Lovel trembled at the news. “…He passed away? How?” she asked in a thin voice coated in disbelief.
“He betrayed the Church and stole our cubes. He was punished for his offenses.”
“How can that be…?!”
“On that note, I’ve wanted to ask why you know about former Torah Lord Grinzam.”
Lovel’s head sunk and she didn’t answer for a long, painful time. “A long, long time ago, when I was really little, he took care of me. I was positive he would be the one to take care of all of this too…” she muttered, more to herself than Kiriko. Then she lifted her head and captured Kiriko in her intense gaze. “If Mister Grinzam is gone, then I need to request your help. Please stop Jair. If he gets the cube, he’ll—”
“If you want our help, answer me this. Where did the red cube you had go? We couldn’t find it during the body check we conducted at the time of your arrest.”
“Eh? U-Uh, I wonder where it went off to… I honestly have no idea. Maybe I dropped it during the battle at the refinery?” Lovel tilted her head and seriously contemplated the question. Kiriko exhaled a deep, long breath.
“It appears you aren’t willing to cooperate with this investigation. We will take a short break. I will be back to squeeze the truth out of you,” Kiriko said, standing from her chair. She left the interrogation room with Spinoza.
Spinoza locked the door from the outside. “What do you think about Lovel’s story, Kiriko?”
“Too much of her testimony is shrouded in ambiguity. She might be hiding something… Let’s hurry and conduct a more precise interrogation.” As she responded, a young Rabbi ran down the hallway toward her.
“I have an important report for you! A man’s body washed up on Head Island’s northeastern coastline.”
“A body? Whose is it?”
“We don’t know. His face was crushed…”
Kiriko frowned and looked to Spinoza. He thought it over for a moment before answering. “Have the body autopsied right away. He may be related to this case.”
“Yes, sir!” the young Rabbi replied before running off.
Kiriko watched his back grow smaller down the hallway, quietly thinking, while things currently look peaceful on the surface, there’s a chance something sinister is brewing under the surface on our Head Island.