[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 22

Hayase Yuuka was, as usual, grumbling endlessly.

As the treasurer of Seminar (the student council of Millennium) and a powerhouse at Millennium, her workload grew exponentially in proportion to her authority.

She always needed coffee to survive. Without downing bitter espresso, fatigue would overwhelm her, lulling her to sleep.

Yuuka thought to herself:

Why the hell am I stuck doing this kind of work?

Let’s think about it. 

President Rio is holed up in her office doing who-knows-what, and Koyuki got herself locked in a disciplinary room for issuing bonds recklessly. In the entire student council, minus those two absentees, only two remain: Yuuka herself and Noah.

Oh, that makes sense.

One lacks the authority to take charge, and the other shouldn’t be trusted with work. Yuuka had no choice but to accept her situation.

Ring-ring-ring-ring!

A phone rang from the next room.

“Yuuka-chan, it’s a call from the Engineering Department. They’re asking for you,” Noah called out.

“Alright, I’m coming!” Yuuka replied.

The phone was ringing with impressive vigor. How many decibels would that be?

Yuuka entered the room and picked up the receiver.

“This is Hayase from Seminar.”

“Hey, Yuuka-chan. It’s me.”

A familiar voice came through the receiver—Shiraishi Utaha, her senior.

That’s odd. The Engineering Club rarely contacted her directly.

“What’s up?” Yuuka asked.

“Well, uh… could you approve some additional funding? We got a commission, but we went a bit over budget during development…”

It was the usual request.

The Engineering Club was always short on funds. Obsessed with developing new tech without worrying about costs, their budget leaked like a sieve.

There hadn’t been a single time they didn’t ask for extra funding. How much would it be this time? Probably ten million yen at most, right?

Yuuka sighed. “How much do you need?”

“Uh, about… seven hundred million yen…”

Silence fell.

But it wasn’t a long silence, because—

“W-WHAT?! SEVEN HUNDRED MILLION?!” Yuuka’s shocked scream echoed through the entire Seminar office.

 

Scratch, scratch.

“It’s itchy again. At this point, I’m starting to think someone’s really talking about us, Sayuri-san,” Hikari said.

“For the hundredth time, that’s just a superstition,” Sayuri-san replied.

Haha.

Sayuri-san’s inability to play along with a simple joke was worrisome. How would she manage in the real world later in life?

Though, to be fair, there was only a one-year age gap between them.

Hikari turned to look out the window. Desert, desert, and more desert. Nothing but yellow sands.

Yellow sands under a clear blue sky. Buildings dotted here and there, like fries stuck in a hotdog.

If students were brought here to see this view, they’d surely exclaim something. Some would gasp in awe, others would sigh in disappointment, but a travel-loving student might sincerely say:

“It’s beautiful.”

“Right? I knew Ritsuko-chan would say that.”

As expected of their Ritsuko-chan. The blonde junior had woken up that morning, pressed her nose to the window, and let out a string of awestruck exclamations. It had made Hikari chuckle from the start of the day.

Hikari folded the blue mat she’d used as a bed and pushed it against the wall. Ritsuko-chan, meanwhile, left her mat untouched for a few minutes until she got a playful bonk on the head. Sayuri-san’s mat, however, remained untouched due to her fierce protests.

Speaking of mats, Hikari had discovered something unbelievable the previous night. There was a feather sticking out from a frayed edge of one mat. And it was a duck feather.

Animal fur in a gym mat? And not just any fur, but duck feathers, of all things?

What was this, some remnant of Abydos’s extravagant spending?

“Hikari-chan, you slept on a mat too, huh? Those mats are, like, relics from when Abydos High School was still thriving,” Hoshino-senpai said with a grin.

“I get that, but… how long have you been sleeping here, Senpai?” Hikari asked.

The pink-haired girl tilted her head and let out another “Ehe.” That wasn’t going to get her out of this one.

Last night, Hikari had definitely locked the classroom door. So how had Senpai gotten in? The lock was still intact. And while counting the mats, Hikari noticed an extra one—where had it come from? Had Senpai climbed through the window and brought it along?

But that raised another issue. They were on the second floor. Could someone as petite as Senpai, barely 150 cm tall, even climb up?

It was also surprising that Sayuri-san hadn’t woken up to the noise. She was a light sleeper, after all.

“Now that I think about it, when I woke up briefly at dawn, Hoshino-senpai wasn’t here,” Sayuri-san said.

“Sayuri-san, how about you tidy up your mat?” Hikari suggested.

“…No way. It feels so nice to lie on,” Sayuri-san protested.

“I get that feeling, Sayuri-san,” Hoshino-senpai chimed in.

“You need to explain yourself before you start sympathizing!” Hikari retorted.

With no other choice, Hikari resorted to forceful measures. She lifted Sayuri-san, blanket and all, off the mat, while Ritsuko-chan swiftly folded it up. Despite Sayuri-san’s fierce resistance, Hikari and Ritsuko-chan’s determination won out.

Surprisingly, dealing with Senpai was easier. Under the silent pressure from Hikari, Ritsuko-chan, and a begrudging Sayuri-san who didn’t want to be the only one left out, Senpai got up on her own. Her protests of “Trinity underclassmen are so mean!” were quickly shut down.

“Still, this is too much! I’m supposed to sleep two hours later than this!” Senpai whined.

“I’m a public servant, Senpai. If I slept in like you, my head would be on a platter,” Hikari replied.

“But this is Abydos, Hikari-chan!”

“It’s a habit, Senpai. And we can’t just leave you here. Come on, go wash your face.”

Hikari hoisted the lethargic Senpai onto her back and left the classroom.

Their destination was just the next building over. A short walk across sandy paths and a few stairs would get them there.

As they descended the stairs, Senpai finally explained.

“…So you did climb through the window? Is that even possible?” Hikari asked.

“It’s easier than you think. I bet you could do it, Hikari-chan,” Senpai replied.

“I’d throw out my back trying. No thanks, I wouldn’t even attempt it.”

Stepping outside, Hikari looked up at the sky. Just as clear as it had been through the window. No halo around the moon last night, and her back wasn’t aching, so it probably wouldn’t rain today.

Next to the building where they’d spent the night stood a slightly larger structure—the branch campus of Abydos High School. Though called a branch, it was practically the main campus now. In terms of size, it could rival the main buildings of most school clubs.

They entered the branch campus and climbed the stairs. In the hallway, among the repetitive classroom signs, one stood out: a small piece of white paper taped to a sign, with a name written on it.

Abydos Countermeasures Committee.

“There it is!” Senpai said.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go in.”

That small classroom and its five students—were they the last remnants of Abydos? As Hikari approached, she heard voices.

It might be rude to say as a student from another academy, but honestly, it felt like the academy’s administrative dissolution was imminent.

Of course, Senpai and the others were fighting tooth and nail to keep it alive, but effort alone doesn’t always cut it in this world. Hikari herself had tasted the bitter realities of capitalism and bureaucracy.

She didn’t know much about these students or their grim circumstances, nor did she particularly want to pry. But if the school were to close, it surely wouldn’t be their fault.

What a depressing morning. This world was bleak.

Creak—

“Delivery’s here!” Hikari announced.

“Ehe, I’m here too!” Senpai added.

“Yeah, she’s here. Hoshino-senpai’s with us too.”

…And these diligent kids.

Now that her head was clearer after some time, Hikari had two main questions about these students. First: what was going on that they’d dragged her and her group here, even hiding a broken-down truck to do so? Without their Hippo truck, the checkpoint crew’s combat strength was limited, so they’d been living out of the truck for meals and sleep. What urgent situation had made them cause such a fuss, asking her to come back after parting ways at the diner?

Second: how were the remnants of Abydos still holding on? Seeing Abydos High School in person made it impossible not to wonder.

The name “Abydos” was more of a historical landmark now. Administratively, most of the former Abydos High School’s territory was monopolized by Kaiser Corporation. The documents Hikari had dug up in storage and the maps from Millennium all marked this area as Kaiser’s domain.

They might not know it, but to students from other academies, “Abydos” didn’t mean Abydos High School. Abydos existed, but the school didn’t. The reason Abydos student IDs were so rare was because most students believed their production had stopped long ago.

But now, things were different.

Right in front of her were five living, breathing Abydos students—complete with shiny new student IDs! So, naturally, she was curious. These students had quietly endured for over a decade without a peep. She wanted to know even a tiny piece of their story.

Of course, timing was always the issue.

“So, is Master okay?” Hikari asked.

“Yeah, probably. The doctor said they need rest, but they should recover in a few days,” one of the students replied.

“That’s a relief.”

How could she ask anything when they were talking about such heavy stuff? It sounded like they were discussing the ramen shop owner. She couldn’t just blurt out, “Why are you all still here?” 

Last night’s explosion had been chaos. They’d heard about a blast a couple of blocks away and went to check it out. The diner they’d eaten at for lunch was in ruins. The culprits had already fled. The shop owner was sprawled on the ground, so what could they do? They called the hospital, grabbed first-aid supplies from the truck, and scrambled to help. The owner didn’t seem to have major injuries, and it looked like they’d be fine.

The Abydos students still didn’t know Hikari was the one who’d called the hospital. Hospitals don’t disclose callers, unlike police stations. Best to keep quiet and avoid any hassle.

“…So, anyway, the time’s come, Hikari-chan,” Hoshino-senpai said.

“Yes, Yamatsu Hikari—wait, what time?” Hikari replied, confused.

“Well, our underclassmen still don’t know your name or your friends’ names. You spent the night here, so how about some introductions?”

Oh, right. They’d only met a couple of times. To the Abydos students, Hikari and her juniors were probably just some random strangers. And Hoshino-senpai had let students of unknown origin crash in her classroom.

No way, that wouldn’t do. Their position was already precarious, so they needed to clear things up fast.

“So, uh… I’m Yamatsu Hikari, a second-year at Trinity General Academy. Nice to meet you. These are my juniors, Ritsuko-chan and Sayuri-san. You can call them by their first names—they don’t mind. Right?”

“Yeah, I don’t care much. Senpai gets called by her first name anyway,” Ritsuko-chan said.

“Same here. I’m barely ever called by my last name, Kawazaki,” Sayuri-san added.

The three bowed in unison, aiming for a casual 45-degree angle to avoid looking like a public apology. A small round of applause came from the corner of the classroom.

After that, it was just introductions and casual chatter.

“…Abydos High School student IDs are traded for that much?” Hikari asked.

“Yup, the highest trade I heard was, what, about 800,000 yen?” one of the students replied.

“…”

“Serika-chan, you just thought about selling your ID, didn’t you? You can’t do that!” Nonomi-senpai scolded.

“N-no, I didn’t think that, Nonomi-senpai!” Serika protested.

It went on like that.

Serika, the junior, was easy to read even after a short chat. Her reactions when teased were endlessly amusing.

Blushing and snapping at her poor senior—Ritsuko-chan would love her personality.

Oh, right, there was something Hikari wanted to ask. The mood had lightened, so maybe now was the time.

“Uh, Senpai, I hate to ask this, but… why did you go out of your way to bring me and my juniors here?” Hikari ventured.

“Hm? Oh, you’ll find out soon—”

Bang! Crash!

Shatter!

“—or, well, I was about to say that, but now you know, Hikari-chan,” Senpai said.

“…I figured people like you wouldn’t trust strangers easily, but there was a reason, huh? This isn’t about trust—it’s begging for help!” Hikari exclaimed.

“Ehe… at least after the fight, we’ll have a reason to trust you,” Senpai replied.

Smoke billowed outside the broken window.

Dozens of helmeted students surrounded the school, shouting for them to come out. In the distance, a few tanks were visible, their barrels clearly aimed at the building.

What did they call these guys around here? Not Gehenna, not Pater either. Had helmeted delinquents ever been spotted at Trinity? Hikari couldn’t recall.

Whatever. She’d just call them “troublemakers” for now. They hadn’t gotten violent yet, so “thugs” might be a bit much.

“Wow, that’s a lot of students. Can’t we just transfer them all to Abydos?” Ritsuko-chan asked.

“I tried, but, ehe, it didn’t work out. Guess they don’t like the desert,” Senpai replied.

“I’m amazed you even tried, Senpai. Ritsuko-chan, Sayuri-san, grab the L85s. I’m taking the shotgun,” Hikari ordered.

Her juniors looked uneasy at the mention of their rifles. Getting their fingers burned by hot casings in checkpoint trench battles wasn’t a one-time thing.

But what could they do? Orders were orders. Without permission to switch to new guns, they had to grit their teeth and use what they had. After getting knocked around enough, it didn’t feel so bad. They might resent Hikari for using a shotgun, but it was legally acquired, not a bribe.

Ignoring their grumbles, Hikari loaded the shells into the chamber.