[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 120

Among the encyclopedias written for the general public in Kivotos, the most renowned and voluminous one describes the Trinity Autonomous District as follows:

As a publicly acknowledged fact, the Trinity Autonomous District is a formidable academy.

This truth is backed by objective facts listed thereafter. A student population in the five-digit range, powerful artillery and armored corps forming the backbone of its firepower, and an administrative swiftness proven by rapidly mobilizing forces.

The elite guard units are formidable, but filling the gaps left by their breakthroughs inevitably falls to ordinary infantry. Bluntly put, you can’t bankrupt an academy just to expand the army.

A military-first policy isn’t an economically sound choice.

In the end, quantity matters. Even if four SRT Special Academy trainees can take on a hundred students, bringing two hundred will do the trick. Double the troops and an artillery offensive make for a fantastic combination. Ambiguous qualitative superiority is rendered moot when overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Take Trinity and Arius as a textbook example of “ambiguous qualitative superiority versus numerical dominance.” On the one hand, a well-trained Arius Branch School student can handle four Trinity students.

On the other, Trinity mobilized a force forty times larger through a total draft.

No student would fail to predict the outcome. Scripture tells of a boy who felled a giant with a single stone. Arius couldn’t be that boy and was mercilessly swept away by the onslaught of nations.

Tanks rolled past indifferently, radios crackled and went silent, and the confused Mimesis offered no help, vanishing under artillery fire from beyond the horizon. The concept of a front line disappeared in mere moments.

A girl was there. Part of the Eastern Company, she joined the “revenge” and witnessed it all before barely escaping.

Of the four hundred who left the Branch School, fewer than thirty returned. She was among the lucky 8%… but her comrades were all gone. Likely dead or being tortured in Trinity’s underground dungeons.

We underestimated them. Madam scoffed, calling it a district full of students that would collapse in a day or two. Now what? Her words were blatant lies.

The girl didn’t know this and threw herself into the front lines, burning with vengeance against Trinity… and saw hell.

[Squad 6 is hit! Calculating trajectory—ugh, 155mm! Can’t trace it!]

[What do you mean impossible? The main force’s offensive is too intense for support! Report something, damn it, or—argh, artillery! Everyone down—!]

[Connection to company HQ lost. Eastern Company, reorganize with Southern and Northern Companies.]

A force more radical and total than Arius could imagine poured down. A minor branch school couldn’t withstand it. They dismantled fortified defenses, reigning as objects of terror.

Tanks rolled through the ruined city. The girl fled to avoid them.

Deserting a front-line unit is strictly punishable by school regulations… but in this chaos, who could turn her in? Company HQ was wiped out, and officers, in a panic, kept reversing retreat bans.

An honorable avenger must trust no one. With no one to obey, the girl wandered the city ruins. One hour, two hours… By the time the Tea Party’s clock tower rang its third chime, she spotted a student’s silhouette in the distance. Arius’s elite squad—the Squad.

Anyone who’s rolled in the Basilica’s dirt knows the Squad’s members. Her name was Misaki, Imashino Misaki.

Imashino Misaki! Is that you?!

They spoke briefly. Misaki, having failed to assassinate the Absolute Proxy, ordered her to report on the front. But what was there to report? They’d already collapsed, with only the Squad’s nearby forces barely holding a defensive line.

She gave a half-baked answer, embellishing what she knew. We’re losing, no idea what they’re planning… It was true, in a way. Of course, she hid her desertion.

Maybe taking orders from her wouldn’t be so bad? The girl held a sliver of hope despite her flimsy response.

A missile fell, twisting and breaking everything. Misaki ran toward the Squad, and the girl fled the opposite way. Intense gunfire erupted yonder, signaling Trinity’s renewed offensive.

She doesn’t remember much after that. She might’ve said something into the radio.

…Anyway, what matters is she survived. Only upon reaching the plaza under the lofty Arius Basilica’s gaze could she savor freedom. The peace of a few days felt sweet.

The girl began thinking about her survival. With Madam watching every corner of the Basilica, perhaps…

…

Some things shouldn’t even be thought. If you say there’s no mind-reader in a nihilistic world ruled by science, was the Madam who ended the civil war a decade ago incompetent? The girl couldn’t agree.

So, she quietly wandered Arius for days, until rumors of the “Princess’s” ritual spread across the district.

[Uh—explosion detected at the old training grounds. No contact with the sentinel, marked as absent. It’s beyond the forest, so detailed observation isn’t possible. Should we send a student or two to scout—]

Massive explosion

[…What was that? No contact with the sentinel company—any students with info?]

[Basilica Outpost 1 reporting. Uh, hmm… multiple engagements detected, but it’s unclear. The combat zone’s near your company HQ—can you confirm? We’re seeing engagements at the Basilica too—]

Massive explosion

[…]

[Company HQ? What was that… Hey, answer!]

A serpent’s head, a dragon’s tail—a humble start, a grand end. What seemed like a mere explosion or communication glitch escalated into full-scale war within an hour. The catacombs, long shielding Arius, had fallen.

Trinity students poured from every breach. Hastily built defenses were swept away, and Trinity’s flag flew high.

Unattached to any company, the girl didn’t need to join the fleeing masses, firing not a single shot. She escaped deeper into the district, avoiding combat, as she had days before, without courage.

Running endlessly, the shadow of the Arius Basilica came into view. The lofty fortress bore scars from multiple bombardments. Without hesitation, she entered the Basilica.

She didn’t hear the hymn (Kyrie Eleison) drowned out by the gunfire echoing across the horizon.

***

“Hey, Mitsuki! Don’t go out there, you’ll die! Let’s get out of here, please!!”

“Stop worrying and head somewhere safe.”

Shiga Mitsuki shook off the pleading student, flung open the passenger door, and leapt out. Sporting a war correspondent armband—forged, of course, without Hikari’s permission—she avoided scrutiny from the Justice Task Force.

The problem? This was the heart of a warzone. All around, the Justice Task Force and Checkpoint fired in unison, injured students were carried off on stretchers, and artillery screams harmonized in the sky.

Ugh, damn humanity. If only Hikari could see this carnage firsthand.

The student in the car shouted that she didn’t expect good material to be this kind. Well, I’ve never shot from miles away with a drone like most of my starry-eyed fans. For a scoop, I’ll sacrifice safety.

“Fearing bullets isn’t a journalist’s way! Scared of a little skirmish? How’ll you be a great reporter? Head east. The Sisterhood’s safe.”

“God, you’re… Fine, I’m out. If we meet in a hospital, I won’t forgive you!”

The student sighed heavily and drove off. As she vanished beyond the forest, Mitsuki pulled out her camera, relieved. She probably wouldn’t keep that promise. She was headed for the front lines.

Just in case, she brought a camera said to withstand an 8.8cm Flak. It cost some of the editorial budget from the Black Market, but whatever! I’m the boss.

The old black-and-white camera gleamed darkly. I can feel it… this treasure craves a scoop!

[Vanguard has reached the Basilica. We’re engaged, but a counteroffensive was reported at the breakthrough point, so support as you can. Some Sisterhood armored units are damaged—any chance for a recovery tank?]

[Support just approved. We’ll arrive in three minutes, so keep pushing. Oh, Sisterhood comms here.]

The radio channel was chaotic… or rather, just flooded with traffic.

Where’d I get this military radio? Let’s just say I’ve been using it for two months, so don’t make a fuss now. Besides, Hikari hasn’t complained about her missing radio, so it’s fine, right?

Shiga Mitsuki gripped her camera and steeled herself. Even if she died today, she’d die with a scoop.

She raised her hand high.

“Hey, war correspondent here! Can I borrow a motorcycle?”