Ch.14Report on the Fall of Innocence (1)

# “(…) Not only ordinary people but even scholars who pursue knowledge often confuse ‘history’ and ‘historical studies.’ This error doesn’t stem from temporary misunderstanding but from deeply rooted prejudice—the prejudice that ‘historical studies is merely the dispassionate enumeration of past events.’

They believe ‘the essence of historical studies is to embellish and taxidermy history.’ They preserve the external appearance of the beast called history while removing its rotting, stinking innards, eyeballs, and blood. The result is a ‘taxidermied history’—perfect, ideal, and even elegant, without odor or dripping fluids.

From such a perspective, historians are nothing more than servants polishing the medals and trophies of the past.

But I think differently. Historical studies should be considered part of ‘scholarship.’

What is scholarship? It refers to knowledge meaningful to all of us living in this land today. Being meaningful doesn’t simply refer to the common sense essential for survival, like baking one more loaf of bread for today’s meal.

The aim of historical studies is deeper. It concerns perspective and definition. It is the study of identity—asking from what perspective we should view ourselves and the world, and how we should define them.

Some creatures are so enormous that only after riding horseback for a long distance can one finally see their entire form. And some forests are so deep and dark that only after passing through moonless nights, fog, and packs of wolves, and climbing mountains covered with eternal snow, can one finally behold their refreshing entirety.

Time is vast, and the present is too close. Only after boarding the ferry called ‘age’ and drifting along the river of time can we finally speak about what we have passed through.

However. Even so. This doesn’t mean ‘what is seen from afar is right and what is seen up close is wrong.’ That would be excessive tyranny.

It simply means that some things—no, all things—can only be spoken of after time has passed.

The true record of those known to the world as the Seven Heroes is precisely such a case.

We remembered them as heroes. We praised them. We placed our hopes in them, and the Empire willingly shared the glory of the laurel crown with them.

Those seven heroes—from different regions, different social standings, and even including non-Imperial citizens—showed a dream of unity and solidarity: that only when everyone in the world, not just the Empire, becomes one can the most terrible demons be driven away.

But alas, we had also forgotten.

We had forgotten that they too were human. We had forgotten that saints are accompanied by martyrs, and that beside miracles there are lambs that must bleed. Blinded by glory, we didn’t know how much blood stained our hands and how many tears we were treading upon.

But we had to drift for much longer before we could know this. (…)

– Excerpt from the preface of ‘A Report on the Fall of Heroes, Addressed to All Imperial Citizens (Draft)’ (by Anna Kommodus, Dean of the Imperial Capital Academy)”

* * * * *

A few days after Kain and Lily left the capital, they were still riding in the mail coach.

A mail coach is, as the name suggests, a means of transporting mail. Mail doesn’t feel muscle pain.

This means that while mail coaches consider the safety of the mail, they don’t consider human comfort from the design stage. Even if it’s a coach modified for the secret mission of a Security Bureau agent.

It was an exhaustingly tiring journey. The kind of pain that feels like a barrage of jabs even when just sitting or lying down. It was fortunate that Lily and Kain were accustomed to such journeys; an ordinary person would have been covered in bruises by now.

The fortunate thing was that they only used the Imperial central roads.

The Imperial central roads are like the aorta or vena cava of the Empire—vital arteries. Most are established in the middle of open plains, with Imperial army checkpoints and mounted patrol guards making regular rounds.

If they had passed through lands of nobles like Electors and Dukes, they might have been legally extorted by bandit knights: “Give us half of what you have, and we’ll escort you safely.” At least on the Imperial central roads, they wouldn’t experience such unpleasantness.

Kain and Lily continued southward through Imperial direct-rule cities. When they needed to rest, they briefly left the coach at the post office and found an inn. The post office did have free accommodations for coachmen, but with doors banging open and shut every two hours, it was impossible to get proper sleep.

“How would you like the rooms? Two singles or one double?”

Whenever an innkeeper asked, Lily would bow her head deeply, and Kain, as if not wanting Lily to finish speaking:

“A dou—”

“Two single rooms!”

he would declare confidently. When the innkeeper would look at them with blank eyes, Kain would place his money pouch on the table with a thud. That was the end of it. What business owner would listen to anyone but the paying customer?

Thanks to this, Kain could leisurely familiarize himself with Anna’s instructions and secret contact methods in his single room.

As expected, Anna’s letter was written in special ink that only revealed its contents when held close to fire, so private time was absolutely necessary.

The problem came next. Three nights ago. According to protocol, he went out to the inn’s courtyard with a candle to burn the documents, and Lily saw him.

“Is that…”

“What?”

“A love letter?”

“Yes.”

The next day, Lily didn’t say a word. Instead, she glared at Kain with fierce eyes. And at the inn they stayed at two days ago, there were no single rooms.

Lily was about to call for a double room with an expression that said “this time for sure,” but Kain, as if saying don’t even dream of it:

“Let’s take the common lodging.”

and paid the money. As a result, they had to spend the night with a deranged band determined to unite the world with lutes. It was a band that had somehow crossed the Imperial border, even including northern pagans.

But after drinking more beer than eating appetizers and singing to their hearts’ content, such things ceased to matter. Even people from neighboring rooms who came to complain ended up eating meat and drinking alcohol with one heart and mind.

It was fun, but Kain and Lily boarded the coach with swollen faces.

The coachman and horses had been changed in the meantime. A fortunate thing. If it had been the previous day’s coachman, he would have grinned lecherously, assuming “they must have had quite a night.”

Kain examined the map.

It would take just one more day to reach the Otranto Blockade Monastery. They would leave the mail coach in the nearest city, Marburg, rent horses, and then it would be about half a day’s journey.

Though tired, he couldn’t sleep. No matter how safe the road, one couldn’t let down their guard. Right now, Lily staring at him sullenly was actually scarier than any unknown bandit.

So Kain took out a book he had already read several times. It was a story about the Seven Heroes. Of course, he couldn’t concentrate at all, as Lily was staring at him with a gloomy face.

“If you have nothing to look at, read a book. Or look at the scenery outside.”

“I’ve already read all the books, and sightseeing is boring.”

“You’re not even glancing sideways now.”

“I want to see something beautiful and wonderful too. Is it wrong to be a little greedy?”

“If that’s the issue, you’d be better off looking in a mirror.”

“I don’t have a mirror…”

Lily’s face turned bright red as she answered reflexively. Kain snickered.

“What are you so curious about?”

“Was it really a love letter?”

“Is that so important to you?”

“Yes.”

Lily looked genuinely serious. Kain cleared his throat.

“…It wasn’t a love letter. It was mission instructions. I just burned it after memorizing everything.”

Lily’s eyes narrowed.

“Hmph. Liar. I don’t believe you.”

“What now?”

“Then why do you insist on separate rooms? Were you trying to write back to a hidden lover? Or were you trying to secretly read another love letter?”

Kain felt like he’d been hit with a hammer. Since the incident at the Academy, Lily had become twisted. Perhaps she was experiencing delayed adolescence.

“No… it’s obvious, isn’t it? Even if we’re agents working together, do we need to sleep in the same room? A man and a woman?”

Lily turned her head sharply. She looked just like a child throwing a tantrum.

“Do I even look like a woman to you?”

It was childish. If he said no, she’d probably say, “Then it’s fine if we sleep together tonight, right?” And if he said yes, who knows what would happen.

She was like a child who had meticulously dug a trap and then peeked out from behind a pillar. Finally, Kain put down his book.

“You know the story of the Seven Heroes, right?”

Lily had predicted he wouldn’t fall for it and would change the subject, but the context shift was so much more abrupt than expected that she momentarily fell for it.

“I know it. It’s a story anyone would know, even if they’re not from the Empire. Ten years ago, a Demon King appeared in the wasteland between the Eastern Merchant Alliance and the Empire, who were at war with each other, and the Seven Heroes defeated the Demon King.”

The reality was a bit more complex, but what Lily said was what ordinary Imperial citizens knew.

“And?”

“Well, I heard the Seven Heroes all had different backgrounds. Different ages, experiences, and even some who weren’t Imperial citizens. But they united with one heart and mind to defeat the Demon King. It’s also a story that’s becoming popular again among Imperial subjects recently.”

“Two of those Seven Heroes were attacked by someone. They’re alive, but barely—just literally alive. They were brutally attacked. We’re on our way to find out who, why, and how someone did this.”

“Who was attacked?”

“The first was the Apostle of Temperance, Abbot Arius. He’s said to be alive, but I don’t know where the Pope has hidden him. So we’re now on our way to meet the second victim, Archbishop William, the Knight of Chastity. We’ll return the coach in Marburg, gather our belongings, then switch to horses and go to the Otranto Blockade Monastery. Since this is an incident involving an Imperial hero, the Pope said he would participate in this case. Not exactly good news.”

Lily agreed.

Even if the White Blood Knights appear to have little interest in secular power, religious matters are a different dimension. Moreover, the White Blood Knights have deeper bad blood with the Pope than with the Emperor. The armed conflict between the Holy Grail Knights and the White Blood Knights is still famous.

“Who, and why? Why would someone go out of their way to attack heroes from 10 years ago? What’s the reason? And how could they do it? It’s not just one person who was attacked.”

“Then…?”

“I don’t know about Arius, but Archbishop William’s party numbered over 50. Moreover, 30 of them were well-armed and trained soldiers. I saw sketches of how they were attacked… they looked like animals run over by carriage wheels.”

Lily’s expression became serious.

“You said ‘like animals run over by carriage wheels’?”

“Yes.”

“In the sketches, were there any signs of being cut, severed, or pierced?”

Kain looked at Lily in surprise. These were things he himself had failed to notice due to the grotesqueness of the sketches.

In fact, the questions Lily was asking Kain were the obvious ones he should have thought of during his meeting with Anna. But then again, both Anna and Kain had been angry.

“I don’t remember the details. To be honest, it was very shocking. But there weren’t any. At least not that I saw.”

“Then it was a blunt weapon.”

Lily answered immediately. She was living up to her name as the second daughter of a renowned swordsmanship family. Though stammering and amazed, Kain told Lily about the damage.

Archbishop William, 30 spearmen from the Mercy Knights. 17 servants and employees, two parish priests, one monk, and two nuns—all literally crushed but still alive. However, the Archbishop’s condition was even more severe.

“…This is a bit gruesome, but Archbishop William had his ribs piercing through his body. Would that still be from a blunt weapon?”

“It’s highly probable,” Lily recalled.

“During horseback training, it sometimes happens when you fall off a horse incorrectly. Cases where broken ribs tear through the flesh. However, if they tear the lungs, fatal consequences occur. Even if one somehow survives, if the lungs can’t function properly, the body slowly stiffens. It’s like being trapped alive… in your own body. But…”

“But?”

“It’s strange. I can understand attacking Hero William and the 30 spearmen, but there’s no reason to attack the servants, employees, priests, monks, and nuns. The fact that they all were left alive and attacked only with blunt weapons…”

Lily’s eyes filled with bewilderment.

“Lily, what do you think? What does this seem like to you? Why would this… person or beast or whatever it is, do such a thing?”

“I’m not sure.”

But Lily bit her lip slightly, as if something was bothering her. Kain remembered Lily’s answer and reaction in his mind.

While it’s dangerous to make assumptions before seeing something, in this case, it’s closer to a hypothesis than a preconception. A hypothesis that can be judged right or wrong. If one looks with the intention of seeing something, rather than looking without knowing anything, one can gain more than expected.

And a day and a half later, at the Otranto Blockade Monastery, Kain and Lily verified their hypothesis.

It was a cruel confirmation.