[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 151

In Search of a Scream

〈Black Market, Year 62 of Founding〉

Brand-new firearms poured out of the warehouse. No big deal.

Routine incidents.

The Inspectorate accepted Styria’s explanation and moved on.

A few days later, Chronos published a report. An anonymous article, claiming to have original documents from the Arius Basilica, seemed to shout at the citizens.

They openly wield power, so the Eden Treaty Incident isn’t over.

Familiar firearms from Gehenna Academy, yet reports say they never arrived.

A veteran executive senses it.

Something huge is lurking.

Among the listed companies were Black Market firearms firms. They decided to target those likely to destroy evidence first, and the prime suspect was Styria, which announced a new rifle model.

Beyond routine audit targets, new unreported warehouses were discovered.

Raiding them revealed empty interiors. At that moment, the Inspectorate used its authority to arrest a senior Styria executive leaving work. A shootout ensued.

When they finally detained him, his testimony was shocking.

Styria is a symbol of Gehenna Academy’s defense industry. They’ve held contracts with the Pandemonium Society for decades. Producing high-quality firearms like the Manriha and new rifles, they built prestige.

It’s no coincidence that some Arius Branch students were armed with Styria’s firearms during the Eden Treaty Incident.

How did they slip through?

Simple. When it was revealed the Eden Treaty Incident involved many Black Market entities, a hearing was held.

The president’s claim of ignorance worked.

But it won’t work this time.

Chronos aggressively publishes breaking news, this time under the editorial board’s name. The impact grows.

It was a leak from a Trinity insider. The headline “Arius-Styria Pact” dominates the front page.

Before the incident, Styria contracted with Beatrice to supply firearms, including prototypes, receiving military notes from Arius, exchanged at their bank.

A fair trade—they gain profit, Arius gets weapons.

It’s all bullshit.

The listed firearms are stashed in their warehouses. Styria manipulates exchange rates, supplying junk firearms for nominal contract fulfillment. Accounting fraud is rampant.

The president knew. Tens of thousands of unfulfilled contracts, commercial department’s currency manipulation, and accounting fraud. But he stayed silent.

Why? It’s my money.

To avoid audits, they bribed the Inspectorate. To silence them, more bribes. One, two, and a bribe network forms to secure influence.

Some Inspectorate officials might have suspected the funds’ source. But they stayed silent.

Why? They were paid.

During the Eden Treaty Incident, rival firms hired agencies to steal Styria’s ledgers, uncovering this.

If reported to the client, it could end Styria’s influence. The president would be thrilled, expecting millions in bonuses. But everyone stayed silent.

Why? They were paid too.

One day for the truth to break, two days for Styria’s bank to collapse.

The unfortunate president regrets not bribing Chronos School.

The turquoise glass palace academy pours out reports all day. The “Styria Incident” grows flesh as it worsens: Styria Incident, Styria Crisis, Styria Affair.

A hearing is held. All Styria executives face arrest. Thousands of warrants are issued.

The stock market buzzes.

They seek a clean agency untainted by the Styria Affair for the investigation.

Only one survives, tucked in Abydos’s corner. What to entrust to four girls? Shareholders, unaware of the crisis’s scale, panic, then despair.

Styria’s stock plummets daily, becoming worthless as paper.

A cornerstone of the firearms industry, a Black Market giant growing daily, struggles to survive. The president resigns, executives are replaced. The shareholder meeting heads toward catastrophe.

As promissory notes mature, the discredited company can’t delay.

Two days, one day, today. Billions invested in the new rifle and manpower don’t return. They’ve been hit with nearly a trillion yen in penalties.

The hour of fate approaches, and the clock chimes. Twilight envelops the city.

Breaking news.

Styria Arms Insolvency—Total Debt 490 Billion

Countless people, company owners, employees, and students groan.

While youths worry about the future, despair spreads.

They’ve seen it before. What happens to shadows when a giant falls.

Styria is finished.

Perhaps the Black Market’s iron fortress myth is too.

***

When an unforeseen giant falls, I had to change my identity for the first time in a while.

Holding multiple titles in politics is unusual. The director role is somewhat common, but Nagisa-sama told me to take it concurrently, so I’m just following orders. I didn’t want this.

Lately, I’ve felt skeptical about titles. I console myself with the stylish uniform I received.

With my increased hourly wage, I can treat my checkpoint juniors to meals, and being in a position to personally deal with reckless fools is satisfying, right? A mental victory. Haha, no worries in the world.

Anyway, I tucked the Proxy card into a corner of the office. They say it’s a resolution from the Host’s Tea Party. How’s that different from saying the one who lit the fuse should take responsibility?

What a week it’s been. Endless articles—damn breaking news.

Chronos School’s first article wasn’t my leak. The Border Checkpoint doesn’t have document access either. It’s not Nagato-senpai, who nearly flipped seeing the paper.

A major… security breach. It’s like a security crisis. It reminds me of the Arius Incident’s nightmare.

Unlike those hectic days, Trinity isn’t involved this time.

The Arius Incident was about laying the groundwork for Mika-sama’s coup. Loyal or naive, to make Mika-sama Trinity’s student council president, they tried kidnapping Nagisa-sama—Supplementary Classes’ charges were cleared days later.

If it succeeded, it’d have been a hassle. I, who actively joined the coup suppression, likely wouldn’t have kept my director role. I could’ve leveraged my “public image” for a position, but still.

Now it’s different. An unpredictable variable has emerged. And it’ll probably… grow.

We have significant sources linked to Abydos’s Ordnance Bureau lab. This morning, Styria held an emergency meeting. We must assume the reports aren’t entirely false.

I regret not studying economics in school. I asked Sayuri-san while driving, and she hung up on MomoTalk with a trembling voice after I mentioned the company’s scale. What’s happening?

As an experienced diplomat, prediction is key. The one who anticipates changes better wins.

Truly, that’s the truth, and we might not handle the current situation. Even the Strategy Office’s best are grim. Proud Trinity can’t defy fate’s whims.

I’m not a superhuman to overturn the board or have the authority to see everything. So, I just do what I must. I’m grateful to have a mission in this situation.

“Welcome, guest. Please state your identity and purpose.”

“You invited me, and I have to say? Call the president. Tell him it’s from Trinity.”

“…Understood.”

The suited robot spoke into the radio, then raised the gate in surprise.

Yeah, you’ve never seen a uniformed citizen driving themselves. I’d be shocked if Nagisa-sama visited the checkpoint in a rattling truck.

Being treated as a one-house ambassador feels good.

VIP treatment, just move, and it’s done.

Minutes later, I was led to a small room off the reception area, likely for internal security.

I sat down. Less than ten seconds later, the one who invited me entered.

Calmly—trying to look dignified.

“Oh, I should greet first. Nice to meet you. I’m Yamatsu Hikari, Proxy of Trinity General Academy.”

“…Welcome to Krab.”

The protagonist who built a steel industry myth starting with wheels—haha, wasn’t it the Black Market’s largest private firm a few years ago? Annual surging investments, gobbling up retail investors.

“I can’t help but thank you for the direct invitation. As you know… we have much to discuss?”

“…I know.”

“Good. Thanks to your generosity, we can get straight to the point.”

Since when did you prepare a Trinity flag? I’ll reduce the ratio out of gratitude.

“What price can your company pay us?”