[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 112

Jomae Saori exhaled heavily, gazing at the unusually bright moon illuminating the city.

The Arius Squad had been disbanded. The princess sacrificed her life to protect her friends, but Madame, securing her own safety, coldly issued execution orders. The innocent girls were powerless.

Where had Misaki and Hiyori vanished to? Were they even alive?

Days had passed since the failed ambush. Jomae Saori, the leader of the Arius Squad, was now just an injured, exhausted girl. Arius still moved to sever its tenacious lifeline, and Trinity was in an even worse state.

The Tea Party was furious. Kirifuji Nagisa’s proxy seized the crisis as an opportunity, unhesitant in expressing rage toward Arius. Sorasaki Hina, though trying to temper her madness, was joining in. The flames of vengeance burned brightly.

It seems… the Arius Squad wasn’t destined for a happy ending. This is how we’ll fade away.

Yet, there was one reason Saori kept moving. An absurd, ungrateful, incomprehensible reason. A cause so far removed from common sense it bewildered anyone who heard it.

The world calls the advisor of Schale “Sensei.”

A key figure in ending the crisis. The one who taught Azusa, Misono Mika, Kirifuji Nagisa, and others, offering the key to resolving the longstanding enmity between Trinity and Gehenna.

Through him, Azusa became a Trinity student. Despite the weight of her friends’ influence, the once-masked assassin girl defied Jomae Saori, faced her gun, and ultimately triumphed.

…Does this vain, vain, vain, vain, vain world look different to Azusa?

Perhaps that’s why.

If it’s Schale’s adult—maybe, even to someone like her who pulled the trigger, he’d willingly extend a hand… A fanciful belief. Amidst the loss of trust from all nations, it’s the instinct of a girl grasping for her only lifeline.

She’d prepared everything. Even brought a bomb to destroy her halo.

He… will believe her. She had to believe.

Sincerely hoping,

…Please,

Please believe me… Even for a moment, even just a fingertip… Let me reach that steadfast hand…

“…Ha.”

Mocking the truth with a bitter laugh, Jomae Saori vanished into the streets. She glanced once at the blood-soaked bandage, swallowing the last of her dwindling painkillers.

The shadows of black doves were nowhere to be seen. Not under the streetlights, nor in the city’s heart.

***

An outsider visiting the Tea Party chamber is rare, but Sensei has somehow come to be seen as an insider.

Nagisa-san, finally discharged, invited him. The stated purpose was to discuss the aftermath of the Eden Treaty incident and its cleanup, but in truth, several other reasons needed addressing.

The fallout wasn’t limited to Arius. Mika-san, and countless others.

The radical administrators from a corner of the Pater Faction, rising and being quelled every few days; Sayuri-san and Ritsuko-chan, cursing me under the strain of work; the former Arius prisoners who cooperated even before the incident.

The Eden Treaty, now a scrap of paper; Gehenna’s Pandemonium Society, which bowed first but can’t escape accountability; the mounting side effects of excessive mobilization; the dessert crisis…

…And Trinity’s Proxy, Yamatsu Hikari.

“…”

“For some reason, the leaders of the Sisterhood and Relief Knights insisted on attending… so here we are.”

Nagisa-san gave an awkward smile. The tea, brought out to set a Tea Party mood, was growing cold. It seemed Sakurako-sama and Commander Mine weren’t in a mood to back down easily.

“…The Sisterhood has changed a lot from before. We can’t be absent from such meetings anymore.”

After Hanako stepped down as Proxy, Sakurako-sama revised several ordinances. The principle of non-interference in Trinity’s politics was a key change, signaling the Eden Treaty incident’s profound impact on the Sisterhood.

“As the leader of the Knights, Trinity’s oldest club, I’m merely fulfilling my duty.”

Commander Mine… well, she’s always been like that. Nothing to be done.

A gathering of the three faction leaders and Sensei. Sipping cocoa in the center—I shared a cup with everyone, and their positive reactions lifted my mood—I glanced at Nagisa-san. Noticing my gaze, she tilted her head.

“So… Nagisa-san. I have a question about my administrative role. May I ask something simple?”

“Of course, Hikari-san. What’s on your mind?”

Honestly, any administrator here would be curious about this.

“Why am I here?”

“You’re stating the obvious, Hikari-san.”

The Border Checkpoint Leader wants to object to Nagisa-san’s suggestion. Frankly, I’m just a department head, not suited for a meeting handling such critical matters. I’m not exactly aiming for a political career.

This position isn’t meant to share responsibility for decisions shaping Trinity’s future. What if they accuse me of leaking secrets?

I was told this was a simple meeting. Sensei’s presence I could overlook, but having multiple leaders here—even if two were practically dragged in—feels incredibly overwhelming.

“Since Sensei’s here, let me explain why you were invited. You assumed full authority during the Eden Treaty incident and still hold it. You also played a significant role in resolving the crisis. Need I say more?”

“…No, I—well… No.”

I tried to find an effective counterargument but failed. The gap in political experience—and cafeteria meals consumed—felt too vast.

Wait, I heard something strange.

“My authority hasn’t been revoked yet?”

“No. And it won’t be for a while.”

…?

“Did I mishear?”

Sensei flinched.

“I told you. I asked you to be my proxy.”

“…”

My brain, after much deliberation, made the wise decision to say nothing and sip cocoa.

Thinking she’d navigated the crisis—perhaps seen as a minor squirm by an administrator—Nagisa-san brought up the Arius situation. After a brief mention of that idiot Makoto, the main topic emerged.

Trinity General School is suffering from an information shortage. The identity of the ghost collective Arius Branch School unleashed, the reason they faltered and vanished after pressing the front lines, the cruise missiles that easily breached our emergency air defense network.

On the latter, I heard the Ordnance Bureau eagerly dissected them but failed. Kotone-senpai found it fascinating, but it was a failure nonetheless.

“Second, what is the Arius Branch School planning?”

Let’s skip Sakurako-sama’s question. Despite the Intelligence Office and Nagato-senpai’s round-the-clock efforts, the Arius Autonomous District remains shrouded in mystery. We don’t even know its location.

“Seia-san said the district seems protected by some incomprehensible force. Otherwise, it’s inexplicable how they’ve stayed hidden…”

“Another incomprehensible force…”

A deep sigh escaped Commander Mine, lamenting our stagnant reality.

Nagisa-san spoke of Shirasu-san’s testimony. Maps to exits provided for each mission, ever-changing routes, and now, even as a former Arius member, an unknown path back to her alma mater.

It was a familiar story, but I didn’t expect it to touch Commander Mine’s sore spot.

“…You interrogated that girl?”

“What? No?!”

Nagisa-san was visibly flustered—though her teacup remained serene, as always.

“Shirasu Azusa—did you make her spill Arius’s secrets? That girl has already paid enough! She worked for us despite being branded a traitor by her district!”

Commander Mine trembled at the Tea Party’s audacity. Unfortunately, this was a massive misunderstanding.

“No, no! Not interrogation—she told us willingly…”

“Would she feel that way?! Using the Tea Party’s oppressive authority to force a fragile girl…!!”

…Was the girl who rained down 2,000-pound incendiary bombs fragile?

I couldn’t stand the bickering any longer. The meeting meant to address Arius was squirming, Nagisa-san was close to panicking, and Commander Mine was spiraling.

“Commander, that’s not what happened—”

“Calm down, Commander Mine. That’s not it.”

—Oh, Sakurako-sama stole the lead.

“…It’s not?”

“No. Nagisa-san may be cold and ruthless, but not this time. Azusa-san wasn’t mistreated.”

Isn’t that an insult, Mother Superior?

“I can vouch for it. Shirasu-san faced no humiliation.”

“How can you vouch for that, Leader Hikari?”

“Because I handled her investigation.”

It was a grueling experience, squeezing time I didn’t have, one I’d rather not relive.

“And Sakurako-sama, Nagisa-san may be cold, but she’s not cruel.”

“…”

The Mother Superior gave me a strange look. Is something wrong?

“…What’s that look for?”

“I didn’t expect you to say that, Hikari-san.”

…Did I say something wrong again?