[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 101

*Kinda religious stuff in this chapter so skip if you’re not comfortable. Basically Hikari cheering Hanako up.

The place Urawa Hanako dragged me to was a small church’s confessional.

She shoved me into the central booth.

“…Looks like you’ve got something to confess, Hanako. Should I fetch a nun?”

“No need. This confession is for you alone.”

—Click.

The confessional’s door shut, and my eyes needed a moment to adjust to the darkness. Faint light filtering through the lattice helped my vision recover. After a bit, the door to the adjacent booth creaked open.

Creak. I opened the confessional window when I figured Hanako was ready.

“…In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

“May He illuminate our hearts, and trusting in His mercy, confess your sins truthfully.”

“Amen. It’s been three months since my last confession.”

I knew the drill for confession. Trinity General School is a mission school. Even a student stuck in a club like the Border Checkpoint, seemingly allergic to studies, has to learn the scriptures.

To be precise, this is stuff only found in the Sisterhood’s BD, so maybe it’s my fault for studying useless things.

…Confession. What could this girl want to tell me?

“I… I’m still doubting someone.”

“Not the kind He approves of. Who is she?”

“A student I’ve been with. She’s… navigating today. Someone trying to win in an unavoidable trial. With clear goals, she’s… reached the top of this academy.”

I couldn’t read the emotion in Hanako’s voice. It was confused, sometimes fearful. Her feelings were a tangled mess.

“I doubted her, and I thought it was justified then. But… it doesn’t feel right. It’s not right. She was just a pure student, yet I, without any basis… no, even now, why…?”

Was Hanako crying? Her personality didn’t seem the type to shed tears.

I just listened. This wasn’t a moment for me to speak. Had her emotions surged so quickly? Or had they been building up while she led me here? Her feelings were a jumble, indistinguishable.

“Was I wrong? Did I not know Seia-chan was alive, or when I blocked her request, which wasn’t meant to harm Azusa-chan? Or… from the moment I first met her…?”

“Student, do you think I can judge your right or wrong?”

“…You have to. Everything I saw in her is twisting. What should I do? Penance?”

Wrong, Urawa Hanako.

“What do you think she’d want? I don’t know her heart entirely, but I doubt she’d want you talking like this. Penance, even less so. She’d probably prefer a long conversation. Not nun-to-student, but student-to-student.”

“…”

“The merciful Father reconciled the world through the Son’s death and resurrection, sending the Holy Spirit to forgive sins. Through the Church’s ministry, may He grant this soul forgiveness and peace. But I don’t think this one has sinned. He always watches over us, so guard her heart. Amen.”

—Click.

I closed the window and left the booth. From the adjacent confessional, I heard Hanako’s breathing.

Click. When the door opened, tears glistened in her eyes.

“…Never thought I’d see Urawa Hanako cry. Guess you live long enough to see everything.”

“…”

“Ahem. Come out, child. A miracle has occurred.”

I accidentally mimicked a priest’s tone, but it didn’t matter. I grabbed Hanako’s tear-stained hand.

The confessional was next to the prayer room. I headed to the empty prayer room and plopped onto a chair.

“Sit, sister.”

“…”

Hanako tilted her head, puzzled by my sudden priest cosplay. Whatever. I still had plenty to say. She was clearly misunderstanding something, and I had to fix it.

I patted the seat beside me. She stared for a moment before sitting.

“Our sister seems to carry a lot inside. But it’s time that triangular emotional pile collapses. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have said all that to me out of the blue, right?”

“…I never imagined you’d say you trust me.”

“That’s how human hearts work, Hanako. …Yeah, that’s just how it is. Nagisa-sama was right. We’re strangers, after all.”

Sensei called it paranoia, but Nagisa-sama’s words were rational. We’re not mind-readers. I can trust you, but can I truly know your heart? There’s no certainty in relationships.

Hanako’s someone who endlessly believes this. It’s unfair that her gaze on me differs from the warm one she gives the Supplementary Lessons Department… but maybe we’re not close enough yet.

—But—

“But, Hanako, even if we can’t fully know others, it’s a matter of personality.”

“Trusting or not trusting?”

“Yeah. I trust people a bit more than you do. Even if it’s just a tiny bit, I understand how you see the world. I know why you left the Tea Party, why your personality changed.”

Fancy words, but really, it’s about not giving up on one of my few friends. How many students in the city do I actually get along with, not just publicly?

Sure, my juniors and the Border Checkpoint crew are great, but true peers are rare, so I held on tighter.

“Kids can be crap. Yeah, really crap.”

“…Huh?”

“That’s what I felt entering the Tea Party hall. They act like they’re the best students in the world, always scheming. Filius, Sanctus, Pater… all of them. Not everyone’s bad, but the idiot ratio is high.”

So, here’s the thing.

“I get why you’re so twisted up. You’re holding back a lot. I was like that too. I thought keeping quiet would make the knot in my heart disappear. I zipped my mouth and faded into everyone’s attention.”

Aha—my dark past. Telling Hanako something no one else knows.

“But it didn’t work. It… just didn’t. The world started looking pitch black. I didn’t know why I was alive, so I decided it couldn’t go on. I tried to change. Changed my personality, joined the Checkpoint.”

“…Then you succeeded, Hikari-san.”

“The more it looks that way, the more I failed. I didn’t even get mad back then, you know? But now, I decided to trust people more.”

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your household will be saved” (at illi dixerunt crede in Domino Iesu et salvus eris tu et domus tua). Trinity’s most popular scripture quote holds true in real life.

Faith is the path to salvation—can she include me in that?

I thought I was imparting some grand lesson, but who knows how Hanako, who knows the scriptures better than me, took it? She just stared at her skirt, mulling over our talk.

A few minutes passed.

“…Then why do you still trust me? After everything I’ve done, why?”

Ugh—you haven’t done much, have you?

“I don’t see it that way. All you’ve done to me is… a bit of slander and suspicion.”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“Nah, if you really wanted to mess with me, you’d have gone direct. Shot me, tied me to a drum and tossed me in the sea, or snitched to the Justice Task Force. None of that happened.”

“…Your metaphors are weird. What’s your idea of school violence?”

It’s only violence if your record’s stained red. With how vicious delinquents are these days—didn’t that Kasparu-whatever guy make waves last year?

“Anyway, I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong. Sure, perceptions change. When we met under the overpass, I thought you were nuts. Now, public opinion’s better, I’m stable, so we can talk.”

My public relations are great now. I got rid of all the Pater jerks who were out for my blood. My heart’s so peaceful, it’s practically leisurely.

“I never forgave you, Hanako. Didn’t need to, because I never thought you were a jerk.”

And the most important thing:

“Today’s Trinity needs you. Your intellect is essential.”

“Trinity might suit you better.”

“Can I change the situation? Uncover conspiracies no one else sees? Call the Tea Party Host by a nickname? No way. I’m not cut out for Acting Commander, Hanako. You’re better for it.”

Sure, there’ll be administrative issues, but who’s gonna bring that up? Not me.

“…Hikari-san, you’re not planning to resign as Acting Commander, are you? Tsurugi-san won’t take it.”

“I know. Senpai would say it’d cause administrative chaos. So, let’s bend the rules.”

Hanako’s the Sisterhood’s legal proxy. If I hadn’t inherited Acting Commander, she’d have taken the Tea Party’s emergency authority by bureaucratic succession, so her current status is significant.

This fact legitimizes my actions. I remain Acting Commander, but I delegate all powers, except the Border Checkpoint’s inherent authority, to the “Sisterhood’s Acting Commander.” I’ll tacitly approve all her administrative orders unless they conflict.

I figured a sharp peer like her would get it. It’s simple—just work harder.

“…You won’t interfere? What if I take actions against the Border Checkpoint without telling you?”

“Would you?”

Sure, I could argue what’s good for the academy benefits the Checkpoint, but was that necessary?

Would the great Urawa Hanako betray a friend? Hah, I’d sooner believe ninjas are real.

Hanako looked shocked. What? I already said I trust you.

“…I’m a bad person. At least to you, Hikari-san.”

“Cut the crap.”

A sly curse slipped in. I was testing if her mood had improved. …Seems like it worked.

Despite her self-deprecating words, Hanako’s expression was much better than in the confessional. Of course, Nagisa-sama’s first rule—don’t trust others—means I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. But it’s good, right?

I grabbed her hand and reentered the meeting room. The administrators, quietly working, turned their attention to us.

—Clap! Clap! Clap!

I clapped loudly three times and started my speech.

“Everyone, it’s time to get to work. Our goal is one: restore this academy. I won’t hesitate to share authority, so speak up anytime.”

“…I’ll work with Hikari-san too, as the Sisterhood’s Acting Commander.”

“That’s how it is. Well… let’s assume no one objects. Let’s fire up the meeting room’s enthusiasm. The public’s eyes are on Sensei. You know the extra edition about saving Mika-sama from violence, right?”

I’d been briefed on everything Sensei did in the basement. They’re probably still uniting students.

But one thing’s clear: we are Trinity General School’s student council.

“Let’s not let the press only remember Sensei. No jealousy today. Let’s show clearly that the honorable Tea Party helped resolve the Eden incident. I’m counting on you all.”

“Yes, understood!” came the varied replies.

…We can do this. I still have a lot to do. Trinity isn’t ready to fall yet.

Not yet.