[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 14

I’m writing a journal about my visit to Millennium Technology High School.

It’s best to write in our language, of course. The Millennium students might find it a bit inconvenient, but since it’s just in my head, how would they know?

I returned after submitting a leave request—a week-long vacation for the three of us, plus a bit of funding. You might tilt your head at the word “funding,” but it’s more like a bonus from Nagisa-sama.

“Bonus” is a word with as pleasant a ring as “budget,” and in terms of status, it sits even higher up the ladder.

Unlike budgets, bonuses never get cut. They’re either there, not there, or you get a bonus in the form of a shitty incident report.

“Damn.”

The trauma of incident reports crept up a bit, but since this is the first case, it’s the best outcome. Thanks to this, we managed to patch up the checkpoint’s budget deficit a little, so I should write a thank-you letter to Nagisa-sama when I get back.

Right now, I’m wandering through the heart of Millennium High’s dorms. Worried we’d draw attention as Trinity Comprehensive Academy students, I had Sayuri-san and Ritsuko-chan wear white lab coats.

Of course, with my looks, it’s obvious I’m not from Trinity at first glance, so I’m just strolling around in casual clothes.

“…Still, can’t you do something about that hat? I mean, it’s got the Trinity emblem plastered right on it. Who’s going to think you’re not a Trinity student?”

“But how many students even glance at me as they pass by? This thing blocks the sun and isn’t even that hot—it’s comfy. Why don’t you try it, Sayuri-san?”

“No way!”

Sayuri-san scolded me with some flimsy reasoning. She’s been nagging me about my “old-fashioned” tastes for a while, and since the new semester started, her complaints have been relentless. Coming to Millennium and not hiding my style was apparently a mistake, because now she’s outright sulking.

Not liking Sayuri-san’s anger, I backed down first. Only after I took off the hat and tucked it under my arm did her expression soften. The slight lingering resentment is probably because I deliberately positioned the hat so the Trinity emblem was still visible.

It’s a petty revenge from your senpai, Sayuri-san. Anyway, I figured her mood would lift if I stuffed some manju or taiyaki in her mouth, so I didn’t dwell on it.

By the way, Millennium really lives up to its name as a tech high school. I’ve spent over a decade at Trinity Comprehensive Academy, seeing all sorts of strange and wondrous things, but I’d never seen a holographic shop sign before.

I’m pretty sure I read something like “I saw a holographic shop sign” in a novel once. The problem is, it was a cyberpunk novel. Sure, not every student here is walking around with AR devices, but with errand robots, drones, and holograms, isn’t that basically cyberpunk?

Let’s apply some Trinity-style syllogism here. First, holographic signs are cyberpunk. Millennium has holographic signs. Therefore, Millennium Academy is cyberpunk.

Hmm, even I think it’s a flawless equation. You could code it, run the program, and get the same result. In a world where you can smash walls with one hand, what’s a few centuries’ tech gap between academies going to do?

“…It’d probably spit out a bug-riddled result and crash on its own.”

“Hmm, that’s what you think, Sayuri-san. What about you, Ritsuko-chan?”

“Mrrgh?”

“…Never mind. You can finish eating that, Ritsuko-chan.”

Unable to imagine the conversation happening right next to her, my junior, innocently enjoying Millennium Science School’s food, left me speechless.

Not out of pity or some lame reason, but because she was eating so deliciously. It surpassed even the dining scenes on Chronos School’s restaurant shows—enough to leave me thoughtless.

Of course, it was also because of the story Sayuri-san told me next.

“Senpai, I’ve got a funny story about coding. Wanna hear it?”

“When you put it like that, of course I’m curious. What is it?”

“A long time ago, a Millennium student who loved coding walked into a bar she’d programmed. She ordered one beer, then tried not ordering, inputting 0 or 999999999 for the price, ordered a lizard, even tried -1 beers, and typed in something like ‘ㅋ@ㅌㅐㄱㄴ먀ㅣ;ㅂ.’”

“And then?”

“The first user came in and asked where the bathroom was. The bar burst into flames, and everyone died.”

Sayuri-san, laughing as if it were hilarious, looked oddly terrifying. Naturally, the fear from the story itself far outweighed the fear I felt from her. What the hell, that’s creepy.

“…So why are you telling me this, Sayuri-san?”

“Just because. You were talking about coding earlier, and it popped into my head.”

I don’t get how a coding story turns into one where everyone dies. Sure, we’re only a year apart, but with a generational gap, is this some new-gen humor that an old-school senpai like me can’t grasp?

Since Sayuri-san said she was pretty into coding in middle school, maybe she was hinting at a warning. Like, don’t make shitty coding jokes. I’ll steer clear of those from now on.

“Ritsuko-chan, gimme a churro.”

“Eh? It’s barely been five minutes since you told me to eat it all!”

Such a greedy junior. But a kind one, too, splitting it with me after some hesitation. Ritsuko-chan’s a bit clumsy but gets the job done when it counts.

Biting into the churro, the crisp exterior gave way to a moist, chewy texture.

“Wow, this is good!”

Why am I here?

“What’d you say? I couldn’t hear you over trying to catch this jerk… Ugh, I could’ve gotten the final blow!”

“Final blow? He still had half his health! Heh, Ritsuko, you’re awful at FPS games!”

“Grr, one more round! This time I’m serious, Momoi, you better watch out!”

Ritsuko-chan, shoulder-to-shoulder with a red-eyed girl, burns with determination. The girl, not backing down, gripped her mouse with all her might. Both screens spin endlessly, searching for their opponent lurking somewhere in a dark city.

Meanwhile, me, the green-eyed junior, and Sayuri-san are munching on popcorn. Sayuri-san, totally engrossed, even pulled out sunglasses to use as makeshift 3D glasses.

Is that part of the new-gen trends too? Back in my day, you wouldn’t see anything like this.

“Thash not it, ish a vibe.”

“Swallow your popcorn before talking. Sometimes you seem so sharp, but why do you act like a Gehenna kid at times like this?”

“Shorry ‘bout that.”

I shouldn’t have wandered into a lit-up room in an empty dorm building out of boredom. How many hours have we been watching this soul-crushing showdown? Sure, Ritsuko-chan’s having fun, so I’m not upset about being bored, but bored is bored.

By the way, were these kids kicked out by Millennium’s student council or something? Why’s their club room tucked away in such a corner? It’s basically a one-room apartment—practically a mouse hole compared to the Engineering Club’s space.

Maybe they caused some trouble and got demoted or exiled. But they seem so innocent—what crime could they commit? At worst, maybe they made a shitty game or something.

I don’t know. I’ll just keep thinking random thoughts until this stalemate ends. Like, what Hifumi-chan’s rebirth will look like, or what we’ll do with the kids on payday. Come to think of it, I need to grind more cocoa powder when we get back.

“…Don’t call me until Ritsuko-chan wins, or close to it. I’m gonna plug in my MP3 and listen to music.”

“Huh? Oh, got it.”

Sayuri-san said, shoving popcorn into the green-eyed girl’s mouth. One blue, one green—not the best color combo, but they seem to get along well since they’re similar in personality and age. Sayuri-san says the girl’s more mature than she looks.

Maturity, huh? That’s nice. Having a friend who can dig up info anytime, anywhere is always handy. At the checkpoint, that’s obviously Sayuri-san. For the Justice and Discipline Department, it’d be Chief Tsurugi or Vice-Chief Hasumi…

Wait, no, most of their members are like that. I forgot why the Justice and Discipline Department acts as Trinity Comprehensive Academy’s police. Though, that’s mostly because the ones they send are usually unhinged.

“Ha, I won! Unlike Midori, Momoi’s no big deal, huh? Right?”

“No way! One more round!”

“Nope, the one who wins the final round is the victor, right? Saiba Momoi, you’ve been defeated by me, Kawazaki Ritsuko!”

“No, no! I’m not done… Eek, don’t touch my tail…!”

How peaceful. It’ll probably take a while for a winner to emerge, so maybe I’ll catch a nap. If anything happens, Sayuri-san will wake me up.

Man, walking over 10,000 steps today was exhausting. A good night’s sleep will melt the fatigue away…

Clunk!

“Goddamn, I was about to sleep… What’s that?”

“Still playing games in here… Uh…?”

Startled, I rubbed my eyes, trying to adjust to the light. A silhouette gradually came into focus—dark blue hair and a black uniform.

Well, well, who do we have here? I figured I’d run into her at least once while wandering around Millennium.

“Uh… You’re that… from before?”

“Been doing well?”

The girl who had boldly introduced herself as Hayase Yuuka, with that same booming voice, was staring at me with equally shocked eyes.

The others, though, were completely frozen.