[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 17

*Back to original plot now

When I came to Millennium Science School for a vacation, there were a few things I did exceptionally well.

The one I’m most proud of is loading up the cargo space behind Hifumi-chan’s driver’s seat with heaps of cocoa powder and pre-made black tea. When we passed through Trinity’s campus entry office, the office manager asked if we were going to export something, and we ended up laughing for nearly five minutes straight, infected by a laughter virus.

Now, I’m handing out cocoa to the juniors from what’s either the Game Development Club or the Game Creation Club—I can’t tell—and sipping black tea myself. I brought nearly half of the cocoa powder from the checkpoint building, but the juniors are devouring it at an alarming rate. At this rate, we might need to source cocoa beans from Millennium itself.

The root of all these problems lies with the Engineering Club members, who’ve been out of contact since the Toyomi incident last time. Their clubroom door has been locked for almost two weeks now. The area in front of it is filled with protesters practically begging them to open the door, offering money.

I’m worried that if I go in there to take Hifumi-chan as they requested, I might end up getting lynched by Millennium students. If the Engineering Club finds out that the reason they were ignored was because of a truck from a “backwater” Trinity girl with inferior tech, what would they do?

I think I know.

Beep-beep, beep-beep. Before I know it, Ritsuko-chan, who somehow joined the Game Creation Club, is locked in a showdown with Momoi. She always claims it’s a “one-shot kill” match, but she wins and loses alternately, so the final round never seems to end.

To me, it just looks like she wants to play games, but, you know, there’s that thing.

“If you say it out loud, it’ll hurt their feelings.”

“They did contact us… What did you say, senpai?”

“Nothing. By the way, how long are those kids going to keep playing games?”

“Who knows? Ritsuko-chan was up all night exploring dungeons with Midori yesterday.”

“…She didn’t sleep?”

Sayuri-san nodded.

Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes weren’t, so she must be pretty worried. Ritsuko-chan crossed a line. As her senior, it’s truly sad that a junior violated the agreement. Since she didn’t listen, it’s time for enforcement.

Steeling myself, I stood up. I strode forward and grabbed Ritsuko-chan’s shoulder. The blonde junior, sensing her fate, trembled violently. When she weakly turned her head, a single tear glistened in her eye.

It’s fine. With Ritsuko-chan’s mentality, she’d cry even if she lost one more round. For the greater good, a senior shows no mercy.

“Ritsuko-chan, what time is it?”

“…Eight o’clock.”

“I clearly went to bed before midnight, but what time did you sleep last night?”

“…Um… Two? No, it was two. Yeah, two o’clock.”

“Don’t lie. Your senior knows everything.”

I tightened my grip on her shoulder. It wasn’t quite bone-crunching, but it must hurt a lot. At least it’ll wake her up and get her head working properly.

Ritsuko-chan looked at me with a terrified expression. From her face, it seemed like she was thinking, I’m screwed, should I tell the truth or not? When I gave her a knowing smile, she caved.

“…I didn’t sleep…”

“Then what do we do?”

“…Fine, I’ll turn it off…”

Despite Momoi’s fierce resistance and a half-hearted anti-checkpoint protest, it was disbanded in 30 seconds. Anyway, both Ritsuko-chan and Momoi had dark circles under their eyes, so I planned to make them sleep.

They’re not kids. If they’d gone to bed early at two like Midori, it’d be so much better. What’s so great about gaming all night? It just makes you exhausted the next day, and if you doze off for a bit, 30 minutes pass in a flash, throwing off your schedule…

Wait a second. Didn’t Sayuri-san say Midori was up all night dungeon-crawling with Ritsuko-chan?

I shot Midori a suspicious glance. She flinched, and I spotted dark circles under her eyes. There were definitely no such shadows last night.

“Midori.”

“Y-Yes!?”

“Tell the truth and go to sleep within 30 seconds, or I’ll cut your cocoa ration starting tomorrow.”

“…I’ll sleep.”

See? She listens so well. What a great, smart kid.

Of course, earlier, Yuzu-san, who was sipping cocoa, threw her gaming console in a panic and ended up trembling in a closet. For the health of the many, the mental health of a few must be sacrificed. Unavoidable, probably.

Finally, contact came. Yes, the damn contact finally came.

It’s obviously impossible to push through the crowd demanding a display of scientific greatness, so they told us to come through the back door they prepared for seminar emergencies. I was dumbfounded when I saw the door, located not near the clubroom but kilometers away.

Good heavens, who builds a mini-monorail to a back door? As expected of tech-obsessed maniacs, their contingencies are thorough.

“Senpai, keep it down. What if they installed voice-recognition mics here?”

“What could they do? Just in case, I brought an L85 and a few mags. Don’t worry.”

“That’s not a real gun.”

I couldn’t argue back.

As expected of Sayuri-san, no one at the checkpoint can match her in logically pressuring others. If we’re talking sheer intimidation, I’m better, but both Sayuri-san and Ritsuko-chan classified my “pressure” as coercion.

I protested that pressure doesn’t start with a few bullets to the head, but they shut me down, saying that knowledge only applied in the Council of Nicaea era. Since Gehenna kids’ definition of “pressure” aligns more with mine, we called it a draw.

Anyway, a silent monorail—how fascinating. It’s comparable to the loop railway I ride back to the dorms. Did they build that too? Of course, with frequent delays and shooting incidents, it’s not exactly quiet in that sense.

I wonder when we’ll arrive. It didn’t seem that far in terms of distance. Complaining about the snail-like speed of this monorail compared to the loop railway might make me seem impatient, so I’ll keep quiet. Maybe it won’t take as long as I think.

Outside the window, lights flashed by in succession, like a transformation scene from a kids’ cartoon I watched as a child. The Engineering Club members seem to have a knack for this kind of romanticism. You can tell from that railgun thing I saw last time or how they pour all their effort into our truck.

Why is that?

“Don’t even say that out loud.”

“It’s not enough to make them mad. Instead of nagging me, do something about Ritsuko-chan.”

“She’s not saying anything… Wait, when did she fall asleep?”

“Not long ago. I think we’re almost there, but if we don’t wake her now, she’ll be half-asleep when we arrive. Shake her a bit.”

Ritsuko-chan, who burned through the long hours between midnight and dawn in a showdown with the Saiba sisters, had completely burned out. She was fast asleep, sprawled on a surprisingly warm seat, blissfully unaware.

Sayuri-san tapped Ritsuko-chan’s body. No response. She looked like a corpse. This time, Sayuri-san grabbed her and shook her hard. She made a weird noise, so I thought she woke up, but it was just sleep-talking. Frustrated, Sayuri-san grabbed Ritsuko-chan’s cheeks and pulled them sideways. Ritsuko-chan’s eyes opened. Success.

“Ughhh… Wh-What…?”

“I went through hell to wake you, and now you look at me, you idiot!”

Sayuri-san clearly had a lot pent up, even beyond this incident. Ritsuko-chan’s cheeks turned into mochi. She flailed, but she was no match for Sayuri’s grip.

If this were their usual dynamic, they’d probably repeat this for five minutes straight. That is, if the monorail hadn’t stopped and the door hadn’t opened.

“…What are you guys doing?”

“Oh, you’ve arrived! We’ve been waiting. For reference, let me briefly explain the monorail you’re riding…”

“…”

Nekozuka said nothing. Her mouth opened slightly, so physically, she might’ve said something, but it was long drowned out by Ritsuko-chan’s frantic cries for help and Toyomi’s rapid-fire, 4.1-inch Millennium-style explanatory barrage.

With nothing to say, I raised both hands and shrugged. Shiraishi-senpai patted my head, signaling understanding. Ritsuko-chan’s cheeks, now bright red, resembled mochi stuffed with strawberries.

The interior of the Engineering Club’s clubroom had changed significantly since my first visit.

The project blueprints scattered everywhere, half-built machines, and miscellaneous junk had all been cleared away. It seems they did a major overhaul to focus on modifying Hifumi-chan.

We reached a security door at the far end of the clubroom. Shiraishi-senpai swiped a card, and with a beep, the door opened. I’m not jealous of this kind of thing. Trinity has security doors too. Even the checkpoint has devices that open doors after identifying someone.

Of course, the fact that it’s manually operated is a top secret.

“Come on in. I guarantee you’ll be shocked.”

“Utaha-senpai, Kotori-chan, we put everything we had into this.”

“If you’re amazed, give us a signal! We’ll start explaining once you’ve calmed down!”

Nekozuka placed a hand on my shoulder, proudly flashing a V-sign. Toyomi was buzzing with excitement, eager to explain.

We entered the dark interior of the room. In a space with no light source, it felt like not a single photon was reaching my visual cells. What did they prepare that required a darkroom? Regardless, it’s clear they’re brimming with anticipation for our reactions.

Sayuri-san followed me closely, gripping my hand tightly out of fear. Our fearless, chatty junior, meanwhile, let out a “Wahhh!” and charged deeper inside.

“…All I can see is a silhouette.”

“Oh, we’re about to turn on the lights. Kotori, please.”

“I was just about to! Three, two, one!”

Clunk.

The sound of machinery reverberated through the darkroom. I questioned why the lights and machinery were linked one-to-one, but it’s the Engineering Club. I let it slide.

As the lights came on, my visual cells, unadjusted to the sudden change, glitched out momentarily. I covered my eyes, shouting for mercy, when I heard Ritsuko-chan’s gasp.

“Woooow—”

“…”

Ritsuko-chan, the opposite of Sayuri-san in personality—ignorant but strong. She’s like Mika-sama.

Anyway, as time passed, my eyes adjusted. I lowered my calloused hand and looked at Ritsuko-chan, who was already admiring something, and then at what was behind her.

Something came into view. Hifumi-chan’s form… her form… Wait, is that really our Hifumi-chan?