[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 68

“Just got a call from Chief Nagato. The second secretary detected a transmission from the intercepted device, and the recipient is outside the academy.”

“I get what that means. Where’s the origin?”

“The Cathedral, apparently. I win, senpai. You were wrong.”

Ugh, tsk. I had a bad feeling about this.

Sayuri-san won the bet. I clearly told her to pick one of the base stations, but my junior went straight for the Cathedral.

Moonlight streamed through the clouds covering the sky. Attempting a transmission to their main school past 1 AM? The Arius Branch student must be taking this pretty seriously. An unexpected gain.

The Cathedral has only one communication room. There are two students handling the wireless with the Tea Party.

If Nagato-senpai’s intel is correct, one of them has been a close aide to Sakurako-sama for a while. The head of the Cathedral’s communication room, or something like that—her duties are pretty much like a secretary’s. She’s probably clean, so I’ll pass on her.

That leaves one student. Was her name… Rinko? I haven’t confirmed her details, but she’s someone I didn’t see when I was called to Sakurako-sama about Hippo-chan.

My gut tells me she’s the Arius spy.

“Senpai, what do we do? Should we send a letter to Sakurako-sama tomorrow?”

“We need to handle it tonight. She might escape within a few hours.”

“Going to the Cathedral at this hour? They’ll think we’re thieves.”

“That’s why I’m here.” Being a captain has its share of crap, but it’s got perks too.

The biggest advantage is real-time access to Trinity General Academy’s top brass. Not just taking calls as a district head—my own choice to contact the host doesn’t get me in trouble.

It’s around 1 AM, still within Nagisa-sama’s working hours. The communication chief won’t bat an eye if I call her on my unsecured phone. At least, no formal reprimand will come.

Thank goodness I exchanged numbers with Nagisa-sama last time we met. I found her in my contacts and called. Luckily, she was working and picked up right away.

“Oh, Hikari-san. What’s the matter at this hour?”

“I have a question about the scope of legal authority.”

I’m planning to use the Checkpoint’s authority for a stop-and-frisk. It’s the strongest tool we have.

It’s similar to the Justice Task Force’s powers. The difference? They need formal approval, even if it’s just a formality, but the Checkpoint can demand student IDs and passes from anyone acting suspiciously.

Of course, if the person refuses, it’s a hassle. Some agents complain our authority’s still too limited, but after checking thousands of IDs, I don’t care much.

I think I can create a pretext to drag out this Arius Branch friend.

A Cathedral student affiliated with Arius Branch could be subject to canon law. If I can prove the intercepted communications, we might even add charges under the Communications Privacy Act. That’ll give them a headache.

I asked Nagisa-sama about the situation and whether the Checkpoint entering the Cathedral to arrest a student would violate canon law. She listened quietly and gave a simple reply.

“I hear you, Hikari-san. But I have one question.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“I’m the host of the Tea Party and the student council president of Trinity General Academy. Even nominally, the Sisterhood follows the Tea Party’s orders. If I personally approve your arrest request, wouldn’t that suffice?”

She wasn’t wrong. Managing thousands of students, the student council president at the pinnacle of academy power can overlook minor canon law violations—like, say, the right to demand a warrant.

Why didn’t I think of that? Idiot.

“Oh, that’s an option. I’d be grateful if you could help directly. But since the situation’s urgent… could we arrest the student at the Cathedral and get retroactive approval from the Tea Party?”

“Of course. I’ll be waiting, so send it by fax.”

“Understood.”

The arrest request format is the Justice Task Force’s. There’s no template in the Checkpoint’s server, so writing one would take time. Luckily, I’ve got plenty of students to delegate to. Typing? My junior’s perfect for it.

“Sayuri-san, do me a favor. Can you draft an arrest request for that Arius spy, Rinko or whatever, since your senpai’s hopeless with paperwork? It’d be too late if I do it after I’m back, and it’d be rude to Nagisa-sama.”

“No problem. But the Checkpoint only has guards on duty. Where are you getting the manpower?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.”

Sending a platoon-sized force into the Cathedral? Absurd. The Tea Party’s military clashing head-on with the Sisterhood? No way we’d survive that. The Checkpoint, already under scrutiny, can’t handle that political burden.

Sakurako-sama would lose it, thinking the Tea Party’s out to gut the convent. The Pater faction would drag me to a hearing, laughing, “That damn fool got what she deserved.” I can already see my face plastered on the front page.

To avoid that grim future, Yamatsu Hikari came up with a brilliant idea: go alone!

“I’ll go by myself.”

“Are you insane, senpai?”

“I’m sane, so at least show some respect.”

“No, I mean, it’s an Arius student.”

Sayuri-san’s worried about combat ability. Even as a senior, can I overpower an Arius Branch student trained to kill since childhood—if Matsushiro’s words aren’t exaggerated?

From her perspective, it’s a valid concern. At a glance, Hikari-senpai seems like someone who’s only dealt with students from the Pandemonium Society, trained in basic marksmanship. I lack experience.

I’ll admit the experience part. Dealing with Gehenna checkpoints and hardline girls all the time leaves me no choice.

But there’s one crucial fact Sayuri-san’s overlooking. I grabbed the shotgun hanging on the wall and loaded a shell into the chamber. The metal casing clicked sharply as it locked in.

I pressed the stock between my shoulder and arm, aiming at a tree outside the window. I thought about firing for a moment but decided against it—didn’t want to wake the kids. I pumped the shotgun, caught the ejected shell, and tossed it to a puzzled Sayuri-san.

“Our junior’s forgetting something. A pretty simple fact.”

“…What’s that?”

“An Arius student dies if you hit them with buckshot.”

Sayuri-san looked at me like I was an idiot stating the obvious.

Okay, that stare’s a bit embarrassing.

***

3:40 AM. A thick full moon night.

I’m looking for a chance to slip out of the Cathedral. 

Since sending the transmission to the Arius Chapel, an ominous feeling has gripped me. Groundless doubts keep swirling in my head.

What if it was intercepted? Madame hasn’t given me any instructions, so maybe she hasn’t been informed yet.

But my instincts are screaming that I need to escape the Cathedral tonight.

I don’t know how to define this feeling. But this subconscious instinct has kept me alive through the hell of Arius Branch. Years of grueling life, enduring indiscriminate violence under the guise of training—it’s been my ally. I trust it.

I’ve packed everything I can. I couldn’t erase the communication logs, which bothers me. But with the ceremony days away, it should be fine. Miaki won’t find the records.

Footsteps echoed beyond the door.

Step, step.

Getting caught by the night watch would be a pain. I held my breath and waited.

Escaping the vast Cathedral is no easy task. The Sisterhood doesn’t tolerate spies. Their covert network spans every corner of the Cathedral, watching innocent students.

It’s risky, but what choice do I have? They say a student was tortured to death at the Checkpoint.

There’s no guarantee I won’t be the next body. I can’t just do nothing.

Rumor has it the Checkpoint’s out for blood, hunting Arius students. They might storm the Cathedral soon.

If I get caught, I’ll be dragged to the same cell as the dead student. I’ll never see the light of day again. I don’t want to die. Everything feels futile, but that’s exactly why—I don’t want this life to end.

Even flipping through scriptures, there’s no record proving intelligence has value for survival.

They probably burned in the civil war. But the instinct to live is universal. Even for a student trained only to kill.

I will escape the Cathedral.

I will break free from the Sisterhood’s grasp.

I’ll work myself to the bone for Madame’s approval until Trinity falls.

“…” It’s quiet now. Seems like no one’s around.

Sensing my chance, I carefully opened the door.

Someone was there.

“…Oh.”

“Hi. You’re Rinko, right?” I was too shocked to respond.

But my racing mind spat out a thought:

No, wait.

Why are you here?

“Nice to meet you. Since we’re the same year, you can call me Hikari.”

“…Okay.”

The student—Hikari—casually walked into the communication room. Overwhelmed by her presence, I had to sit down.

Why is this person… why at the Cathedral? And for what reason? Why the communication room, or rather, why me specifically?

Questions kept piling up, but Hikari’s next words made them vanish. I understood why she came to the Cathedral at this hour, to this communication room, to me.

“…Why so quiet? Now that you’re sitting, let’s talk.”

My head quickly came up with a response to Hikari’s threatening question.

Oh.

This is bad.