[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 21

“Listen carefully and start the engine, Sayuri-san. If you mess up, the engine’s really done for.”

“Got it. Pull lever 37, right?”

“No, you need to pull the cord in the seventh slot under lever 3. Keep pulling until it starts. Here we go!”

I shoved the rod into the crankshaft and spun it as fast as I could.

Kiriririring.

The engine didn’t make a single vibration or sound. I kept spinning.

Kiriririring.

No response. I decided to keep going until my hands gave out.

Kiriririring.

“…We’re screwed.”

“Right?”

The engine was toast.

Not only was the electric motor shot, but even starting it manually with the crank was impossible. The last-ditch method to revive the engine, as outlined in the Engineering Department’s T-163 Mikael Coastal Artillery System Operation and Strategy Manual, had failed.

Hifumi-chan had become an immobile fortress in an instant.

Sure, it still had firepower, but for some reason, it was now a 45-ton stationary tin can battery. Romantic, maybe. But when it’s my vehicle, that’s a different story.

After all the trouble we went through in the city, we drove for hours more, so I was somewhat resigned to it. We must’ve covered 300 or 400 kilometers, at least. About ten minutes before we stopped, it started clunking suspiciously, and I thought, Oh, it’s gonna die soon.

Luckily, the engine wasn’t completely dead, so once this scorching heat cools down, it should start up normally. The problem is, that’ll take a few days.

I hung the rod back in its place and left the engine cover open to cool faster.

Sayuri-san was tending to Ritsuko-chan, who’d come down with heatstroke. I approached our junior lying in the shade, and saw Ritsuko-chan’s entire body flushed red.

“Ritsuko-chan, how’re you feeling? Any better than earlier?”

“Does it… look like it?”

“No.”

Ritsuko-chan gave a weak smile. She didn’t seem to be improving yet, but with ice packs plastered all over her, she shouldn’t get worse. If her condition takes a turn, we’ll rush her to a hospital.

So.

I thought we were escaping Abydos, but what the hell is this?

Don’t say that—it’s like rubbing salt in an open wound.

I thought the elevated highway stretching into the sky would lead to another academy. I never dreamed we’d end up on Abydos’s ridiculously vast outer loop, heading deeper inland.

The map didn’t even show this properly, but it’s my fault for blindly taking the ramp.

What do I do? Forget Nagisa-sama worrying about us—the real issue is that we haven’t heard a peep from the checkpoint for days. The old saying “no news is good news” doesn’t apply to a checkpoint where trouble’s always brewing.

In Millennium, there wasn’t a single place without communication, not even unstable spots. But Abydos, true to its reputation as a fallen academy, has no cell service anywhere. I brought a map to prepare for GPS issues, but I didn’t anticipate the phone problem.

In short, we’re trapped.

In this vast, endless desert.

“…I miss the checkpoint.”

“Me too.” Two voices echoed.

Whoa, what’s this?

Both of them answered at the same time.

Sunaookami Shiroko let out a deep breath.

She was taking a break while patrolling on her bicycle. She’d been riding with more enthusiasm than usual today, and her uniform was soaked with sweat. To shake off the persistent discomfort, Shiroko had to drink more water than usual.

The reason for her extra zeal today was obvious: to find the truck that had caught everyone’s attention during the street battle with the Gehenna Prefect Team.

Scouring dozens of kilometers around Abydos High School for the truck had many reasons, but Shiroko’s own personality played a big part. Shiroko was a desert wolf—a curious wolf.

She was curious.

That massive vehicle—self-propelled artillery?—that hadn’t been there the day before. Where did it come from?

It was huge, so how could it move so fast?

What kind of circumstances drove the student in the driver’s seat to speed through a fierce street battle without so much as a glance?

She was curious.

So, she was going to find it.

The truck had taken the highway toward Abydos High School. Since it headed toward the heart of the Abydos region, it couldn’t have left the area yet and was likely near the school building.

Shiroko climbed back onto her bike. It was too early to feel tired. It was just past lunchtime.

If she couldn’t find it, so be it, but she planned to keep searching until her appointment at the ramen shop with her seniors and juniors. If her stamina ran out, she’d send up a drone—whatever it took to take in her surroundings.

Hoshino-senpai had said that if she kept this up, she’d probably sleep for days. Nonomi suggested using Nephthys’s services instead, while Serika and Ayane asked why she was putting herself through so much trouble.

The answer to all of it was the same as before.

She was curious, so she wanted to know.

And so, Sunaookami Shiroko pedaled with determination.

“…My ears are itching. Is someone talking about us?”

“That’s just a superstition. If anything, it’s probably the checkpoint kids wondering when the heck you’re coming back.”

True enough. Who’d dare badmouth the buttstock-senpai? Let’s focus on the food.

It was a stroke of luck that there was a diner nearby. I was worried we’d starve eating only military rations and crackers, but there was a ramen shop just a block away. Thanks to that, we escaped a famine on par with the great Philius starvation.

I gave a whole bowl of ramen to Ritsuko-chan to sip on the warm broth. Sayuri-san and I are sharing one. I wanted to eat a whole bowl myself, but Sayuri-san insisted we share because she’s “on a diet.”

As if she’s the type to gain weight from eating.

“Senpai, you just insulted me in your head, didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t. I was just thinking how good this ramen is.”

“…Suspicious.”

As expected from someone from high society—her intuition’s sharp.

But sharper than her intuition is the ramen we’re slurping down. The owner’s got skills. I underestimated him, thinking he was just some Shiba Inu guy. The broth is clean, the toppings are generous, and the chashu melts in your mouth. A sprinkle of chili powder, and it’s exactly my style.

The important thing is, even though Ritsuko-chan’s ramen and mine are the same menu item, the portions are noticeably different. The Shiba Inu owner probably gave us extra since it’s our first time.

This is the kind of diner that’s truly great. Delicious food, great service—how could it not have regulars? It’s empty now because it’s midday, but come quitting time, it’ll be packed with exhausted workers.

“Munch munch… Senpai, why don’t we have places like this in Trinity?”

“Maybe we just haven’t found them. Who knows, there might be a diner hidden in the middle of a forest, doing business in secret.”

“How would they make money then?”

“How should I know?”

Sayuri-san glared at me, her expression screaming, Is this really our senpai?

I mouthed, It’s me.

Her face scrunched up even more.

“Sayuri-san, even I get a little scared when you stare like that.”

“That’s the point.”

Sayuri-san turned her head primly and walked off toward Ritsuko-chan, who’d already emptied her bowl.

That’s harsh.

Ding-a-ling.

“Master, I’m here!”

“Oh, Serika-san’s here. Your apron’s ready at the counter, so put it on and come in.”

The diner’s door opened, and the bell rang loudly. Since we were the only customers, my eyes naturally drifted over.

It was a single student. Dark blue uniform, bright blue tie, perky ears, and… an Abydos student ID?

Abydos?

No, I must’ve seen it wrong. Abydos’s symbol is a giant sun inside a triangle. If I look closer, it’s probably something else… Wait, no, it really is an Abydos student ID.

What the heck?

Abydos, which started declining decades ago and is now on the brink of extinction, has students so rare they’re practically urban legends.

They’re so rare that posting a poorly photoshopped Abydos High School student ID on a big community site would instantly make it a viral post. To student ID collectors, an Abydos ID is practically legendary.

If this were Trinity, I’d assume it was some kid trying to post a fake for clout. But this is Abydos. It’s only natural to think there’d be Abydos students in Abydos High School’s jurisdiction, but most people wouldn’t assume that.

This is getting interesting.

“Sayuri-san, Ritsuko-chan, look over there. An Abydos student ID.”

“Huh? No way, Abydos has been gone for ages… Wait, it’s real?”

“That’s wild. Should I go talk to her?”

“No, no need to stir things up. We’ll have a story to tell when we get back to the checkpoint.”

Kuromi Serika had never received this much attention since starting her part-time job at Shibaseki Ramen.

Sure, the diner filled up every evening, and she was the poster child for the place. Whenever she messed up, customers cheered and encouraged her, which always caught her off guard. But this attention was different from the fond, parental gazes of most customers.

It was pure curiosity.

From the sparkling eyes of the three students staring at her, Serika felt a curiosity so intense it bordered on madness.

Since there were no other customers, she’d have to face that raw curiosity until her seniors arrived.

Serika was torn. She wanted to ask why they were staring at her like that. She wanted to vent this feeling, which was closer to embarrassment than annoyance. She wanted to know what they were whispering about.

Finally, the black-eared girl opened her mouth.

“Uh, could you tell me why you’re staring at me like—”

Ding-a-ling.

Unfortunately for Serika, the door opened at the exact moment she tried to question the mysterious students.

Her seniors and Ayane-chan had planned to come for a late lunch, and this was exactly that time. Serika panicked.

“—Haha, oh, hi, seniors, Ayane-chan, you’re here?”

“Ehe, Serika-san’s flustered as always.”

Hoshino-senpai teased Serika a little. She tried to retort as usual, unfazed.

But Shiroko-senpai was busy examining the strange students. With her signature blue eyes gleaming, she said:

“I found you.”

“Huh?”