[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 122

Federal Student Council President’s Acting Authority, 11th Administrative Order

(Censored)

I, Acting President of the Federal Student Council

***

Siga Mitsuki had indeed achieved a remarkable feat. She had pinpointed the radio frequency used by the Arius forces.

Let’s give it a test run, shall we?

[This is Southern Command. What’s the situation?]

Since there was an Eastern Command, Mitsuki figured there’d be a Southern Command too, so she took a shot in the dark. But with the battle raging fiercely, there was no time for a reply. The radio, silent for the most part, occasionally crackled with the sound of gunfire. Guess they’re pretty busy.

Wasting time on pointless endeavors, Mitsuki shoved the radio back into her pocket and trudged through the rubble-strewn ruins.

Finding the landmark at the center of the map wasn’t difficult. The urban layout, reminiscent of Trinity’s style, was a maze that often disoriented her, but the towering Basilica spire stood out unmistakably in every direction.

As she moved toward her destination, a Crusader tank roared past, shaking the street. Yikes! Mitsuki flinched, thinking a group of Arius Branch students was about to ambush her.

Only when she saw the majestic form of the Crusader did she breathe a sigh of relief. She raised her camera, focused, and—click!

“…60 points.”

The photo was decent, but not perfect. Gotta step it up.

Mitsuki pressed on. How far was the Basilica? The map was useless without a way to compare her position, and confirming her location required a GPS signal. The lack of the latter was a real pain.

Damn Arius Branch. The signal, which worked fine in the Great Forest or the city’s outskirts, grew faint and useless closer to the center. The Arius Branch student council president clearly had no interest in improving infrastructure.

As she pondered her predicament, a girl’s voice crackled through the radio. It was the long-awaited Arius contact.

[Cough, cough… This is Southern Command… Are there any surviving students out there…? The Basilica’s comms are down… If anyone’s listening, please… respond…]

Her voice sounded like it had been battered by Trinity’s artillery. Most of Arius District was probably in a similar state.

[…I’m here.]

Mitsuki replied instinctively, then froze in shock at her own actions. Why the hell did I open my mouth?

The girl’s elated response shook Mitsuki. Her goal was to tap into the enemy’s—Trinity’s perspective—communication network to gather intel, not to connect with a demoralized student who’d been thoroughly beaten down.

The girl poured out her situation. Her command building had collapsed, trapping her, and she begged Mitsuki for rescue. When asked what she could see, she described a scene of shattered debris and unconscious—or hopefully not dead—students. It seemed the command building had taken a direct hit.

Arius Branch was too preoccupied with its own survival to care. Repeated breakthroughs had distorted the front lines, turning the conflict into scattered skirmishes. The scales had long tipped against them. A strategy to turn the tide? Well, that’s not my job.

[Okay… It’s so dark, I can’t see anything… I’m scared…]

This is driving me nuts. Mitsuki recalled being locked in Valkyrie Police Academy’s interrogation room while covering a theft case in D.U. long ago—Wasn’t it a bit much for Chief Kanna to show up over unauthorized entry?—but this situation was far more vexing. What should she do?

Should she go rescue the girl herself? But without knowing Arius District’s layout, she’d likely get lost.

Contacting another command would be insane, and even if she could, Trinity’s Tea Party might accuse her of treason. Ugh, why does the divine put me through these trials?

As Mitsuki’s hesitation dragged on, the girl’s anxiety must have spiked. Her ragged breaths hissed through the radio. Think, think! How do I save this student… or maybe… if she could see things my way…

…Hmm.

Does it have to be Arius Branch? They’re already defeated, soon to be prisoners.

[Hey, I’ve got a question.]

[Yes…?]

[Ever thought about switching sides?]

***

Leaking her coordinates to Trinity’s secure communication network was easy. The military would swoop in for the rescue soon enough.

Rescue… Speaking of rescue in Kivotos, the Relief Knights always come to mind. One of Trinity General School’s most specialized medical units, and, according to the Statistics Office, the “number one cause of student injuries.”

The saying that Mine breaks and the Knights fix isn’t a lie. As a student who covered the joint operation at the Border Checkpoint with the Relief Knights, Mitsuki could attest: Commander Aomori Mine is a strategic weapon. She’s just absurdly strong.

Stepping through the dust-covered streets, Siga Mitsuki recalled old memories.

As a first-year at Chronos School—a bright-eyed freshman—Mitsuki, filled with romantic notions, boldly stepped into a riot suppression scene. Her fantasy of being a safe, skilled reporter scooping exclusives shattered quickly.

In the city center, overwhelmed by tear gas, she staggered. The roar of the crowd and gunfire was drowned out by a deafening explosion. From the chaos above descended a girl.

“With faith and pride in our hearts! Relief where relief is needed!”

…Mitsuki was in Commander Mine’s landing zone, and her memory cut off as Mine’s shield smashed the ground. The poor girl spent three days in the Relief Ward—the hospital food was pretty good, though—before being discharged.

Back then, she thought Mine was Trinity District’s most distinctive student… until Yamatsu Hikari appeared.

Mitsuki first noticed Hikari shortly after her promotion. It was a routine riot suppression, but it marked the first time she encountered Hikari’s more aggressive approach.

Valkyrie Police Academy had introduced Pepper Fog vehicles and swapped standard tear gas for explosive variants for stronger suppression, even sending a press release—just a typed A4 sheet, but still. Mitsuki went to the scene with the documents in hand. Boom!—aside from the exploding tear gas, nothing seemed unusual.

—Bweeeep!!

“First and second rows, shields down! Charge!!”

Mitsuki swears, she saw a new world there. A feast of new stories.

Of course, her friends at the Border Checkpoint would decry her actions as vile reporter antics. But Chronos School is steeped in crass capitalism, and Mitsuki’s just a girl scraping by day to day.

Surviving a month on 300,000 yen isn’t easy. Surely, Chief Hikari would understand.

And so, Mitsuki witnessed trench-war-like scenes in Abydos District, reported the full story, and climbed to the position of editorial chief.

Let’s skip the part where she was demoted to the editorial department because her personality was deemed too risky for the social affairs chief. The guy who demoted her got ousted in a scandal anyway. Praise her for humbly enduring and surviving with grit.

Bang! Tat-tat-tat!

As Mitsuki swam in her sea of thoughts, sharp gunfire echoed from the street ahead. It seemed the “Arius Basilica”—her destination—was close. The spire loomed just a block away.

She drew her pistol from its holster, preparing for any unexpected trouble.

Turning the corner with tension, she entered a wide plaza. Despite patches of ruin, the cathedral stood proud, a backdrop to the skirmish between students of the two academies.

Trinity’s “Restoration Operation” wouldn’t stop until the Arius Basilica was captured. Mitsuki’s instincts screamed: This is where I’ll snag the scoop on the end of this bitter rivalry.

Camera in one hand, pistol in the other.

“Hey there, students! Your friendly reporter girl’s here!”

***

The Arius Basilica was a chaotic scene of desperate resistance. It was the final stronghold of those who’d fled, abandoning their isolated comrades.

Their president was already gone.

Whenever students gathered, the Madame preached: Arius must remain Arius forever. If Trinity ever crushed the Branch, a future worse than death awaited, so they’d be better off dead.

Those who punished dissenters and sparked centuries-long civil wars were all the same ilk. They were taught to nurture anger, hatred, and aggression toward Trinity to become proper Arius students.

A man chooses, and a slave obeys.

To Arius Branch students, “Trinity” was a curse. Most refused to surrender, firing at students, Relief Knights, and reporters alike. In return, artillery rained down.

Today, everything these fragile girls held dear would lose its meaning.

[Ugh—Basilica HQ reporting! Multiple firefights observed inside the building! Requesting reconnaissance!]

[No spare forces! The southern bridgehead is already established—]

A girl in a gas mask clicked her tongue. Ensuring the safety of strategic facilities when everything was already lost felt futile. Surrender might be the better option.

Unlike her friends who adamantly refused surrender, she was in the minority. She gazed at Trinity’s flag on the front line.

“…This is insane.”

If she’d known it’d come to this, she would’ve eaten the butter—real butter, not turnips—stashed in her hideout.

With a heavy sigh, she wondered if wasting bullets was worth it.

“Honestly, it’s a waste. By tomorrow, Trinity’s flag will fly over the Basilica.”

“You’re right. The Madame acted like she was something special, but… wait, who’s that?!”

Startled by the sudden appearance of an unfamiliar student, the Arius girl froze. Siga Mitsuki, watching the amusing scene, let out a hearty laugh. Click! went her camera.

“Wha?!”

“Nice shot. Would’ve been better with a ‘cheese.’”

The Arius girl couldn’t grasp the situation. Kindly, Mitsuki made sure she wouldn’t have to think anymore, pressing her pistol to the girl’s hair and pulling the trigger. Bang! A small gunshot rang out as the girl collapsed.

“We won’t meet after you wake up, so I’ll say it now: enjoy your time in the camp, folks.”

Haha.

Siga Mitsuki had achieved yet another military feat.