[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 146

In the quiet morning, filled with the rustling of footsteps, the Arius Military Administration building is, as always, bustling with hardworking students.

Is it a good work environment because I got some sleep? Damn that Military Governor for leaving me to handle everything. If it was going to be this tough, she could’ve at least left me the key to the cocoa powder safe that only she can open and close.

Labor laws? In a military administration where we can’t even hold an administrators’ meeting without the “Madam,” what’s there to expect? It’s hushed up now, but in the early days of the administration, she suppressed protests with brute force.

Brandishing guns and swords against demands for the administration’s dissolution and independence, firing anti-tank cannons—relics from the branch school days—at anti-Trinity terrorism.

Is there… rebellion? No, can there even be a movement worthy of being called rebellion? Considering that senior administrators like me conform without breaking the unspoken taboo, overturning the system with the strength of one or two students is impossible.

If you can’t howl like a wolf, you roll like a dog. Students who were causing riots and demanding Trinity’s withdrawal just days ago are now working construction jobs to afford one more meal a day.

Unlike other companies, Kaiser Corporation, which offered no support, holds a monopoly.

The only students who trust Kaiser Corporation are the ones working under them. When talking to the Madam, they make grand promises of support, but they haven’t provided a single bullet.

Damn bastards.

“Sigh… How am I supposed to handle all this…?”

The financial audit report from the General Student Council harshly criticized Kaiser Corporation’s accounting. This is something the Military Governor should deal with directly!

Construction companies from the Black Market are fawning over me to win additional contracts, while letters requesting cooperation to expose the Tea Party’s tyranny pile up. It’s not even Chronos; what’s this unheard-of newspaper agency?

On top of that, reports of clashes with Resistenza, the group opposing the military administration; terrorism in Trinity and Kaiser’s restoration zones; and documents discussing the irrelevant topic of firearm liberalization at the border checkpoint…

Couldn’t she at least have done a proper handover?! Things were tough enough when she was here!

I let out a deep sigh and mixed the last of the cocoa powder—unbeknownst to the Military Governor, I’d been popping a caffeine pill or two—into my yuzu tea. Did we decide to start serving cocoa at the ration station today?

The economy is practically nonexistent, and dissent erupts everywhere. Poor girls fill their stomachs with three meals a day from the ration station, saving their 500-yen hourly wages—there’s no restaurant or infrastructure to spend it on anyway—waiting for social stability.

The fledgling sparrows who know the world beyond the nest remain, but many foolish sparrows, caught up in inexplicable emotions, have left on journeys.

The students under the Arius Military Administration barely number over half of the branch school’s former population. We don’t have the resources to track down where the missing students are or what they’re doing. Neither I nor the Military Governor have plans to wrestle with issues that aren’t internal.

Are they living well, scraping by day-to-day, rationing every bullet, or dead?

Who cares?

Ring ring—

Caller: Damn Boss

“…”

Click—

“What’s the matter? Calling me when you’re already so busy.”

“I sent you a little gift, so accept it.”

“What?”

The Military Governor chuckled and hung up. What, seriously?

Unbelievable. I dropped my hand and stared out the window, downing a cup laced with three caffeine pills in one go. You probably call a fancy stack of paperwork a “gift,” don’t you? Think I wouldn’t know?

I let out a hollow laugh. I’m already struggling with piles of work, and now a gift? Damn it.

MomoTalk: Yamatsu Hikari

• EdenSupportList.zip

…What’s this now?

***

It had been a while since I last saw Nagisa-sama, her serene amber eyes as calm as ever. How long had it been since I returned to the Tea Party? The train ride here was thrilling. The Gothic cathedral, adorned with the architectural styles of countless nations, stirred even the rustic nostalgia of a country bumpkin like me.

The Tea Party, the heart of politics. It’s always a place where many things pass through, but recent events are anything but normal. Most of it stems from the aftermath of the Eden Treaty Incident, centered on the Arius Branch issue.

“Our children are so devout that they neglect their studies to join protests.”

I sipped the Tea Party’s signature black tea, never betraying faith. If only a cup or two could calm my friends. Of course, unless it’s spiked with illegal drugs, it’s just a pipe dream.

“The Eden Treaty Incident might as well still be ongoing. The Tea Party must navigate today’s challenges.”

“You’re right. Trinity has no peace these days. Thousands protest daily, getting arrested by the Justice Task Force, while hundreds stir up disputes in the Reformatory.”

A society meticulously maintained for centuries is shaking. Arius, once an internal factor, forces us into two choices: change or remain eternally aloof. Either path will bring significant shock.

“Can we resolve it, Hikari-san?”

I didn’t answer Nagisa-sama’s question, only smiling at her. It was time to get to the point.

“The Intelligence Office recently secured access to the Arius Basilica vaults. After days of… well… extensive investigation, we uncovered a lot. There are many who must take responsibility for this situation.”

“I heard a brief report. I’d like more details.”

Of course, that was my plan. I opened my briefcase—the contrast between my pristine ceremonial uniform and the black briefcase was striking—and placed a plain stack of hundreds of pages on the tea table. The stark red text of “Arius Report” in seven letters was bleak.

“The military and political academies classify the Eden Treaty Incident as a civil war. But once this report is released, the bespectacled nerds in D.U. will have no choice but to admit it was an international conflict.”

Arius lacked a basic industrial foundation for a long time. This is clearly proven through records.

Unlike Trinity, which produces bullets, shells, and howitzers, Arius couldn’t even manufacture a single firearm. Perhaps long ago it did, but all traces vanished through centuries of civil war.

“They were poor.”

Their rations were turnip bread and butter, nicknamed “manna,” and they had to pick up spent casings by hand after shooting practice to save bullets.

“But one day, they stopped being poor.”

In military matters, that is. When the “Madam” took control of Arius after the civil war ended, she revived the industry through internal and external support and reforms—a miracle. Again, only in military matters.

“…And then Arius invaded Trinity.”

Nagisa-sama seemed lost in thought. External support—what does that mean? There’s only one answer.

“The student council president known as Beatrice succeeded in securing external support. Whether she’s dead or alive doesn’t matter much, but unfortunately, the list she formally left behind is intact.”

“Are you saying foreign powers intervened in the Eden Treaty Incident? That’s tantamount to declaring hostility against Trinity.”

Truly, wise words. If this becomes an international issue, the supporting forces can no longer expect the Tea Party’s goodwill. It’s the bare minimum. It’s the same reason Trinity doesn’t support Gehenna’s warlord factions. No one wants to set a precedent for academy estrangement.

“Yet they chose to act. They indirectly attacked our centuries-old alma mater, lightly crossing the final line for their own gain. Why?”

“They probably thought they wouldn’t be caught after the Eden Treaty Incident ended.”

“Sorry, but there’s a better answer.”

I clasped my hands and smiled for Nagisa-sama.

“If I were their subordinate, I’d have submitted a report predicting Arius wouldn’t lose.”

It would’ve been a gamble worth taking. Neutralizing most of Trinity and Gehenna’s leadership, deploying relentless ghosts to break temporary defense lines no matter how hard they were pushed.

Our alma mater’s bureaucracy, built over half a millennium, is too vast to keep up with such rapidly changing times. Once the final blow passes through a fractured Trinity, they’d finally seize a piece of Arius.

…If it weren’t for a few variables. Sensei was there, and Trinity’s bureaucracy acted swiftly. That was the end.

Though not officially named, Operation British was a shock. Our alma mater, despite such an ordeal, showcased its enduring military strength and heralded a new era of “war” with mobility and firepower to the world.

“At least for a week, it must’ve been sleepless nights, right? Pfft—those poor friends are relieved now.”

“…I believe,”

Nagisa-sama’s amber eyes met mine. Reflecting the twinkling stars, her eyes shimmered like gold in the Milky Way.

“I believe Trinity must act firmly. As the student council president of Trinity General Academy and a Tea Party Host, we need strong and swift suppression against those who dare underestimate us.”

“Of course, I agree. It will happen. Oh, doesn’t that answer your earlier question nicely?”

I sipped the last of my black tea.

“Our attempts won’t just end as attempts.”