[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 61

Nothing is visible.

What is this place? Where am I?

“······!” My vocal cords scream, but what comes out of my mouth is silent nothingness. Something like a rag is covering my mouth.

Alright, with two senses blocked, let’s focus on hearing. What do I hear?

The drip, drip of dew falling, the sound of machinery beyond the wall. That machinery sound… it’s the boiler room. The place where I worked. If that’s the case, this is the Checkpoint.

The basement of the Checkpoint, Room 131, next to the boiler room.

What was Room 131 used for?

If I recall correctly, it was just a storage room on paper…

But in a place with no apparent purpose—am I being held captive? Imprisoned, kidnapped? Me, a member of the Trinity General Academy Border Checkpoint, for what reason, by what means? By whom, and through what process?

The last thing I remember is a cup of cocoa from Sayuri-san Morishita. It was delicious, the checkpoint captain’s cocoa.

…No. If I think about it, did I get hit with a club or something in the process?

“······!”

Clank. Someone came in and approached me. Judging by the footsteps, it’s one or two people, isn’t it?

If this is indeed the Checkpoint as I suspect, the students who just entered must be members of the Border Checkpoint. On the surface, they might be students from the Filius faction who were jealous of me, or perhaps even from the Pater faction.

“…That bastard?”

“Yes. Handcuffed and securely tied with rope.”

“Good job, junior. Nice work.” Multiple students’ voices.

The sound of water and footsteps overlap, making it hard to identify who they are. But one student’s voice was particularly sharp.

Why is that?

Who are they, really? I’ve lived at the Border Checkpoint without making any notable enemies. I tried to stay as quiet as possible, avoiding connections with other students to ensure my activities weren’t hindered.

“Junior, you handled it, right? How’d you do it?”

“I did the best I could. I made sure they couldn’t escape, but…”

“You sound dissatisfied, junior. This guy, huh? Provoking us like we’re nothing, even before the election. An insider from the Checkpoint did this. While this bastard was selling out the academy, what the hell was the Intelligence Department doing?”

“They’re always busy, especially these days.”

Thud. The door closed with a heavy sound.

Including me, there are three people left in the room. There’s someone referred to as senpai, so at least one of them is a second or third-year student.

“So, what should we do with this traitor?”

“Some say we should use them as compost in the Checkpoint’s backyard… but I wonder, are they even worth that much?”

“If we’re talking about value, it’d be better to grind them up for chicken feed.”

…Hey, I can hear everything clearly. What should I do? The restraints are tighter than I thought.

Escaping while these two are talking seems impossible. If these students and their hostile faction really turn me into compost or chicken feed…

Ugh, I don’t even want to imagine it. I still have so much life left to live. Even if I die, my body should at least stay intact.

“······!”

“Huh, looks like they can hear us?”

I thrashed instinctively. I don’t want to die—I was struggling to convey that I’d do anything, but it seems they interpreted it differently.

The student referred to as senpai approached.

Rustle. She carefully removed the rags covering my mouth and eyes. The sudden bright light made my visual cells scream, and I needed time to adjust to the abrupt change in environment.

After a while, as my eyes adjusted, I saw two eyes.

“······”

“Hi?” Sharp, sleepless eyes and red pupils. And above all, that murderous expression staring at me.

Hikari Yamatsu, the Border checkpoint captain of Trinity General Academy.

She’s smiling in front of me. A faint smirk, as if she could dispose of me at any moment.

“…Hic.”

“Oh, you’re startled. Really startled, aren’t you?”

Immediately after, I passed out. I thought it was the best way to preserve my mental health.

Even in that moment, as my eyes closed, she kept smiling.

“That traitor bastard?”

***

“Sayuri-san, this guy passed out.”

“Huh, really? It’s been hours, so the sedative should’ve worn off by now. Maybe they fainted because you looked too scary, senpai? You were glaring like you were about to kill them earlier.”

“Not my fault. Maybe they drank too much cocoa. Definitely not my fault.”

Really.

Of course, I did put on a bit of a show. Outside the room, I said to Sayuri-san, “Hey, let’s mess with this guy a bit.” So we entered the room, deliberately creating a scary atmosphere, like I was the head of the Valkyrie Public Safety Bureau.

The effect was too good. As soon as we mentioned fertilizer and chicken feed, this guy totally freaked out.

It’s not a big deal. In Trinity General Academy’s territory, these are things people can imagine. Cases of school violence include being tied up and crushed under a dump truck or thrown into a shredder alive—those reports aren’t rare.

This is Kivotos, a place overflowing with students who have halos above their heads. No one’s going to die from something like that. At worst, a few weeks or months of recovery. Some students can easily punch through concrete walls meters thick.

What I want from her is simple.

To borrow Ritsuko-chan’s words, “Who the hell did you leak information to, huh?”

The leaked documents have already been identified. This guy worked deep in the border, not even part of the eight-member committee, so the value of the documents they obtained wasn’t much. There wasn’t a single classified document on the leak list.

The deployment of checkpoint guards, a rough map of obscure paths not well-marked on regular maps, daily bombardment records in the five-digit range, etc. Looking at the overall flow of the content, it’s suitable for infiltration…

Could the border have been breached? There’s some suspicion, given the situation.

As a result, we redirected 80% of the friends who were racing around on self-propelled artillery to the border. To appease the complaints from juniors and peers about their missing companions, I promised to add semi-automatic loading devices from Caesar.

Speaking of which, the Checkpoint is quite a big player in the defense industry. When I called their company number, the CEO welcomed me warmly. When I brought up Caesar, it felt like the CEO’s smile was ascending to the heavens during our call.

Thanks to that, I got automatic VVIP treatment and a half-price deal. Saved a ton of money. And with the leftover funds, there’s a lot we can do.

“…Ugh.”

“Oh, they’re awake. I’ll go check.”

“Don’t knock them out again.”

“Pfft, that won’t happen.” My head’s learned from experience.

Alright. Sayuri-san was worried, but it’s time to switch back to the scary vibe. Open the door carefully, but close it with a loud clank. Lower my voice. And finally, mutter to myself on purpose.

“…If you’re going to die, just die.”

“───!!”

Clatter.

I made sure the wooden door made a sound when it closed, but the noise from the junior easily surpassed it. Seeing their trembling eyes darting around and their inability to speak properly, it’s clear the plan worked.

Our friends are just students, so they can’t resist this kind of thing. Especially the girls who were ordinary Trinity students before being recruited by another academy’s intelligence agency—the effect is practically doubled.

Though this one doesn’t seem like that. As I got closer, the student flinched even more. I tapped her shoulder and flashed a smile.

“Hey, friend, you awake? If you’re sane, how about making some noise?”

“…Uh, ugh… th-that…”

“I didn’t ask for groans, I asked for words. Even a dumb high schooler should understand that.”

“…Yes.”

The junior lowers their tail first. If you can establish dominance this early, you’re halfway to extracting information. Like I said, they’re just kids, not adults, so once they’re intimidated, they tend to become docile.

I took my hand off their shoulder and clasped them behind my back. Without a word, I circled the junior tied to the chair a few times. The light streaming through the narrow, horizontal window created a stark contrast of black and white.

“…Friend. I’ve got a lot to say. Honestly, there’s even more I want you to say. It’s obvious, isn’t it? You screwed over our… colleagues pretty badly.”

“N-No, haha… ha, ha…”

“I didn’t tell you to laugh, friend. There’s a limit to how long I’ll treat you like a friend, right? It’d be nice if you spoke up before then.”

You know, the protagonist in the manga Ritsuko-chan showed me had this super mysterious vibe. I’m trying to emulate that. Those kinds of characters were categorized, weren’t they? What was it called?

Something cunning, intelligent, like a mastermind secretly scheming… yeah, exactly like a Defense Director vibe. I don’t know the name, so let’s just call it the Defense Director style.

Anyway, it seems to be working well. The kid’s trembling a bit less now.

“Friend? Oh, looks like your waiting time’s up. Time to make a choice.”

“…Uh, ugh… really, please…”

“If you talk, I might let you live. You know what you need to say. Your superiors, your colleagues, your goals… all that miscellaneous stuff. Oh, and by the way, I prefer not beating around the bush.”

“…If I don’t talk…”

“Well, even if you don’t, I might let you live. The Checkpoint’s a generous group, after all.”

Of course, that’s not my call.

Trinity General Academy has strict regulations, and even if they’re a spy or traitor, they’ll be punished according to those laws. Treason, espionage—scary-sounding charges will apply, but they’ll probably live.

But the key is, I’m not obligated to share that useless information. In tabloid terms, it’s the “I only report the facts” strategy.

“But, friend, personally speaking…”

“…”

“If you keep betraying us like that, I’d really want to cut you open and see what’s inside your guts that lets you act so brazen.”

Flinch. Another violent movement.

I unclasped my hands from behind my back and approached the friend. They didn’t like me getting closer, making all sorts of groaning noises and squirming. But oh, too bad, they’re tied to some random chair.

I knelt to meet their eye level. Their expression, unobstructed below their forehead, was… how should I put it? Like delinquent students seeing Captain Tsurugi for the first time. I raised the corners of my mouth as much as I could.

Unfortunately, the student’s lips didn’t curl up.

“Friend, I’m a bit short on time. It’s early morning, so I’m pretty tired. So, here’s the deal. I’d love it if you picked one of the options I gave you as fast as possible.”

“…What’s the option you want?”

Oh, they’re not betraying, are they?

“What do you think?”

“…Hic.”

“You’d better talk fast while I’m giving you the chance, you little shit.”

A few minutes later, the friend who woke up from fainting again started spilling information like they were listening to a voice recording.

Good job.