[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 57

“Please present your student ID. Verified.”

“Good work.”

The next morning.

Under a bright, sunny sky, I headed to the Tea Party Hall.

The Prefect Team Head and her administrative officer finally left late last night. They begged me to let them go, saying the storm was getting so bad they’d end up as corpses if they stayed, but I didn’t budge. Judging by the message I got, they must’ve made it back safely.

That’s not the issue, though. I made a promise, didn’t I? To track down the person responsible for letting the Tea Party Hall’s security network get this bad. Thanks to that, I spent the morning racing through the forest with Hippo-chan for hours to reach the city.

The Tea Party Hall—now that I think about it, it’s kind of like a biscuit. Would go great with some black tea.

Maybe I’ll give my senior a good scolding and then have some tea. It’s not quite teatime yet, technically. The tea at the Tea Party Hall is a cut above what we get at the checkpoint headquarters—top-notch quality, no joke.

Anyway, the point is I need to meet my senior.

I’ve been to the Intelligence Department’s office enough to know its location by heart. It’s one of the few places I can find in the maddeningly complex maze of the Tea Party Hall. I try to remember other places, but either I’m forgetful or just getting old—nothing sticks.

I took the elevator down to the basement and walked through a long corridor. The place where Trinity’s most secretive operations go down isn’t some dark, shadowy den—it’s actually pretty well-lit.

When I opened the door, I found my senior sprawled out on the sofa, fast asleep.

“…Ugh. Hey, senpai! Wake up! The sun’s high in the sky, and you’re still—ugh, come on.”

“Huh? Oh, w-whoa, you’re here?”

“You’re sleeping like a pro. Do I really have to come all the way to the Tea Party Hall first thing in the morning? Talk about bad luck—bad luck, I say.”

My senior tried to get up and promptly flopped onto the floor.

A wild child, a troublemaker. She’s good at her job, sure, but lately, that reputation’s been slipping—this is our dear Intelligence Department Head senior. She’s a department head, yet her behavior could put any regular club member to shame.

“I came all the way here to see you in the morning, senpai. Missed me?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. It hasn’t even been that long since we last met.” 

“Come on, get up properly. If you need to wake up, go wash your face or something. I’ve got a lot to say, so don’t even think about dozing off mid-conversation like last time.”

“But it’s morning, and I’m sleepy… yawn… Things have been pretty hectic since that incident a few days ago…”

Oh no, she’s trying to sleep again.

I hoisted my senior onto my back and dragged her to the bathroom. I squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush and shoved it into her mouth.

“Ughhh… too much…”

“Quiet. A third-year acting like this? You should be able to handle at least this much. Even if you’re some high-society lady.”

Scrub scrub.

Gargle gargle.

I brushed her teeth for her, and for the face wash, I just dunked her head into a basin of water.

Hmm, that overtime from a few days ago.

No matter how you look at it, it’s gotta be about that thing Mika-sama did.

If you think about it, it makes sense. I later heard from the senior administrative officer that even the Intelligence Department under the Prefect Team got hit with a massive fallout from an unexpected incident. I’d bet at least one or two heads rolled.

From my perspective, I haven’t been to the Tea Party Hall for anything other than meeting Nagisa-sama since the incident, so I haven’t heard much about the Intelligence Department’s situation. She might’ve gotten an earful from the host.

I sat my senior down at the meeting table. She was munching on some candy she must’ve picked up somewhere.

Is that a third-year?

“Senpai, listen. Why do you think I’m here?”

“Wha’ ‘o I ‘ow?”

“Here’s a hint. It’s got a lot to do with you. Guess it, and I’ll scold you ten minutes less.”

My senior started racking her brain, looking this way and that, as if she had no clue. I’d love it if she actually came up with an answer.

Isn’t it obvious? I’m one of the key figures in the last incident, so if it’s about business, it’s gotta be related to that. A regular student might not get it, but a department head should have some sense.

And yet, in front of me is my senior, pondering for dozens of seconds, still clueless, now practically face-planting on the table. She tried scribbling in her notebook, dropped her pencil, and looked dejected.

This is… this is the Intelligence Department Head?

“Uh… Oh, I think I got it.”

Finally, an answer.

“Spit it out.”

“That thing about breaking into your safe last night?”

“No, it’s something completely—wait, what?”

Oh, shit.

“It was you?!”

“Yup!”

My senior, grinning like the sun itself.

Oh, shit.

***

“For real? No one else knows, right? You didn’t, like, leak it to the media or someone at the Tea Party Hall, did you?”

“You’re being way too intense, Hikari-chan. No one else knows, so don’t worry.”

You’re not the one in charge here, senior!

I’m only holding back because it’s you. Who else could break into the checkpoint office safe, admit it to the owner with a straight face, and still be breathing? It’s not just because I’m Yamatsu Hikari—it’s because we’re department heads.

What the hell is going on? At this rate, is there another coup being planned at the checkpoint or some other club? Maybe Nagisa-sama needs to purge the ranks instead of just tightening security.

“Why’d you even break into the checkpoint? What are you, a ninja?”

“It’s fun, isn’t it? There’ve been rumors lately about some committee or secret organization forming at the checkpoint. I wasn’t keen on it, but the kids below me were making a fuss, so I went.”

“The kids below you? Bet it’s the first and second directors. They’re Pater faction, right? They really don’t like me.”

“Exactly. It’s morning, so go check the directors’ offices before they clock in. They’ve got a banner up that says ‘Abolish the Checkpoint’ in big letters.”

…Really? That’s unexpected.

The Pater faction students in the Intelligence Department are the quietly radical type, huh. Most populist Pater factions tend to stage violent protests in the campus city, but these guys feel like the complete opposite.

In other words, they’re more dangerous. Who knows? I might visit the Intelligence Department office someday, drink tea offered by a director, and drop dead—only to find out the tea was laced with cyanide.

Anyway. When I get back to the checkpoint, I’m checking the CCTV. Forget why—how the hell did they even get in?

“Let’s get back to the point. I met the Prefect Team Head yesterday, and she told me something interesting.”

“What?”

“She said the Tea Party Hall is crawling with Prefect Team spies. They even knew about my big fight with Nagisa-sama. What does the ‘Intelligence Department Head’ of Trinity General Academy think about that?”

“We’re screwed.”

At least my senior knows her future’s grim.

I slammed a stack of papers onto the table. I brought copies of all the security documents I suspected were stolen from the checkpoint. But I’m guessing the Intelligence Department’s internal documents and reports got hit pretty hard too.

Justice Task Force’s security clearance documents, the Guard’s host movement plans, the artillery team’s emergency firing coordinates… just off the top of my head, that’s the kind of stuff. The Sisterhood might’ve kept their security tight, but the other groups got ransacked without mercy.

“Eek! They stole this much?”

“From what I can tell, probably even more. The checkpoint isn’t the problem—the entire Tea Party Hall is a sieve. I thought you were doing a decent job, but at this rate, your head’s gonna roll.”

“I thought everything was fine since the kids didn’t say anything… No news is good news, right?”

I wish that were true.

“Why don’t you and I just cover it up? Unless we’re going to war with Gehenna, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“And then we both get expelled side by side. You don’t know how scary the Supplementary Lessons Department is.”

“Hmm… Then what do we do?”

Why are you asking me, Ms. Intelligence Department Head?

“What kind of obvious question is that? You’re the Intelligence Department Head, aren’t you? Sound the alarm across the Tea Party Hall and every club office, unleash the students, and round up those spies. Do it at emergency order speed, or there won’t be any left to catch.”

“Hikari-chan, you’re scary…”

“Yeah, I hear that a lot.”

Huh? I didn’t think much of it at the time, but this is a challenge to Trinity General Academy! It’s not some talent show to see who can steal more from the other academy’s intelligence network. It’s a matter of the academy’s pride.

If you don’t patch up a hole, cracks start forming around it. We need to plug it fast.

“The Intelligence Department’s a big deal, right? You’ve got hundreds of people, and since most capable kids join the Intelligence Department, you’ve got the skills to back it up.”

“W-Well, yeah… It’s kinda awkward when you suddenly praise me.”

“But with you being this laid-back, is that okay? The kids love you. Even the first and second directors who hate me trust you. I’ve seen it myself.”

I’ve seen it a lot. Those directors who scowl at me with all their might and badmouth me to my face turn around and smile sweetly while chatting with my senior. She’s got some serious people skills.

Even as department heads, we’re cut from the same cloth—rolling along without any standout talent, only to wake up one day as the most senior member of the club. But her knack for networking is unmatched.

“If you told the kids from your faction to dig, they’d dig. Let’s take this chance to do a big cleanup, yeah?”

“…Will it work?”

“It’ll work. I’m right here with you. I’ll help with everything.”

It sounds like I’m pitching a pyramid scheme, but I’m doing my best to persuade her.

It worked fast on my thin-eared senior. In just a few minutes, she started scribbling on some A4 paper. Once she gets going, you don’t mess with her—she’s hyper-focused.

With the engine revved up, I’m sure something will come out of it. Maybe she’ll call me back tomorrow or the day after.

Hmm. But just meeting up again feels a bit boring, doesn’t it?

“Senpai, you’ll probably call me back in a few days anyway, so let’s do something fun.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve got an idea.”

Nothing beats this for boosting the kids’ morale.