[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 29

Today is something of an anniversary.

A midsummer Christmas. Not literally, of course, but it’s a day to hand out gifts to the students. Ritsuko-chan, Sayuri-san,  and a ton of other checkpoint students gathered in the open lot, buzzing with excitement.

Due to the subfaction leader rejecting our last budget revision, we could only prepare two types of gifts instead of a variety. Honestly, two is plenty, so let’s not sweat it.

Hands on my hips, I surveyed the scene.

Brand-new trucks, still smelling of fresh paint, not even broken in from their installment payments. And in the back, loaded up with 155mm 52-caliber GIAT howitzers, complete with complex autoloading systems.

My god, I’m witnessing Caesar self-propelled howitzers being deployed at the checkpoint.

“Senpai, your grin’s getting creepy. It’s a bit scary.”

“Huh? Oh, give me a break, Sayuri-san. I can still see you chewing me out for buying those, thinking they were giant firecrackers.”

“I mean, that’s because I mistook them for massive fireworks machines at first!”

“Same difference. Either way, it’s something I never imagined seeing in my lifetime.”

Who cares about my smirk? Isn’t this just a glorious sight? Let’s just soak it in.

We poured seventy percent of the first-quarter budget into buying the Caesars. Thanks to that, we’ll be squeezing every last yen out of our measly budget for months, living like misers. But compared to the checkpoint’s achievements, I’d say it was worth it.

Because of this, I can confidently declare: from now on, the checkpoint is Trinity’s undisputed artillery force.

Forty Caesar howitzers and one Hippo that can fire 360 155mm high-explosive rounds per minute. Sure, we’re nowhere near the Tea Party artillery’s skill level, but 6.1 inches of firepower doesn’t mess around.

Today’s plan is basically a celebration party for this firepower upgrade. Of course, this kind of thing isn’t usually reported to the higher-ups, so I had to handle most of it covertly using my chief-level authority. It probably won’t trigger a hearing, but I’ll definitely get called out by Nagisa-sama.

Still, come on.

This is a seriously fun opportunity. How will Gehenna, always the aggressor, react to being ambushed for once? I went through days of hell just to see Makoto’s dumbstruck face, so it’s time for some payback.

I turned on the pre-distributed radio and switched channels.

“Comm security, comm security. This is the Checkpoint Captain. In celebration of Christmas, we’ll now commence the gift delivery to our Gehenna friends. Comms officer, report.”

“Battery 1 and 2, confirmed. All battery chiefs just loaded the charges.”

“Batteries 3 and 4, ready to fire.”

Not bad for first-years with just a week of training—these kids are quick. Sure, ramming the spades is automated, but I thought the lack of budget for electronic sights would slow down aiming since we’re using manual valves.

The guns in front of me belong to Batteries 1 and 2. The other two batteries were sent to the other side of the forest for secrecy. Ritsuko-chan, the second-most experienced among the first-years, is keeping them in check over there.

Sayuri-san’s handling these batteries. She’s calculating firing solutions without a computer, earning near-godlike worship from the rookies. She’s not saying much, so she must be enjoying it in her own way.

Alright… this should do it.

“Sayuri-san! Fire twenty rounds rapid, starting now. Let’s give our friends a scare!”

“This’ll be fun. Suzuki-chan, count three seconds and order a volley!”

“Haha, got it! Three, two, one, fire!”

—KABOOM!

Despite the trees dampening the sound, the blast echoed. Flames shot up through towering pines, piercing the vast forest skyline. Sayuri-san’s navy-blue hair whipped around in the wind.

The smoke from the guns overwhelmed even the Hippo truck’s insensitive charges, blanketing the area.

“Nice.”

Hell yeah.

“Love it.”

That’s the stuff.

“Ritsuko-chan, we’ve started firing! Don’t count three seconds—just shoot!”

“Okay, we’re firing too! Pull the cord!”

—KABOOM. The gunfire over the radio was pretty satisfying too. Up front, the students weren’t exactly bustling—they were handling the 6.1-inch high-explosive rounds like they were flipping through a rulebook, loading them onto the autoloaders.

I gave up on a lot of things for budget reasons, but I couldn’t let go of those semi-automatic loaders.

I can’t stand watching kids struggle to lift 40kg rounds. If anyone asks why my captain’s vehicle has a fully automatic loader while they’re stuck with semi-automatic, well, that wasn’t an option.

Sorry.

—KABOOM!

“Hey, observation team, report! Smoke spotted beyond the border! Direct hits!”

“Great! All batteries, keep firing! Pack those twenty rounds tight and send ‘em!”

A few months ago, back when I was still a checkpoint grunt, I saw the artillery division’s volley up close. The students moved sluggishly, but the guns spat fire every two seconds. I nearly fainted when I heard a manually loaded L118 howitzer could achieve a Time on Target of two rounds.

Two rounds sounds simple, but expecting a human-operated artillery unit to pull off TOT with one gun is insane. And yet they did it?

I was in awe watching them achieve what even Millennium’s tech caps at seven rounds with manpower alone. And I thought, if the checkpoint ever got artillery, I’d grind and grind to achieve a TOT of two rounds.

Now, with way more underlings, that dream’s long gone. Why bother grinding them? They’re already getting worked hard at the checkpoint. Might as well give them snacks or cocoa more often. Accuracy matters more than a single gun’s rapid-fire rate anyway.

“—Fire!”

—KABOOM!

…By the way, how long’s it been?

Maybe three minutes? At eight rounds a minute, it’s about time to stop.

“Sayuri-san,  how many rounds in?”

“That was the last shot. Ritsuko-chan’s got about two left.”

“Got it. Finish up and clean up. Radio Ritsuko-chan to fire those two and head back on her own.”

“Already did. You probably don’t need to check in.”

…

Wow. Truly the pride of Trinity Academy’s checkpoint elite. The only thing Sayuri-san can’t do is pick a menu at mealtime. When will she fix that chronic indecision, as Ritsuko-chan calls it?

I looked up at the sky. Even from here, nearly 20 miles from headquarters, the acrid fireball from Gehenna’s checkpoint spewed carbon monoxide and acrolein into the air.

Hmm.

Here’s a thought—did we shoot too covertly?

Gehenna might not realize we fired howitzers with retaliatory intent. That’d negate the intimidation factor. All those shells we fired would be a waste of money.

No, wait, let’s rethink this. It might be even better. If we destroy their new checkpoint, they rebuild, we destroy it again, and they rebuild again, Gehenna will keep hemorrhaging construction costs without knowing who’s behind it. It’s like a deficit-driven creative economy.

Nice one, Hikari. Well done, Hikari!

If you ignore the fact that Gehenna isn’t that stupid, it’s the perfect anti-Gehenna strategy.

I can’t use this genius brain for diplomacy. Let’s never dream of becoming a diplomat.

“Twentieth round, fire!”

“Pulling the cord!”

—KABOOM!

The lunchtime bombardment was absolutely fantastic.

Most of the students were thrilled, and Sayuri-san and Ritsuko-chan fell asleep with happy smiles. The reason most kids passed out was probably food coma from the overly generous lunch. At this rate, we might need to institute a siesta at the checkpoint.

I took an ammo supply truck and came to the city alone. A few students are standing guard at headquarters, and I doubt Gehenna, busy rebuilding, will launch another raid. If they do, I’ll be writing an incident report.

I plan to wander the city until the kids wake up and call me. I parked the truck at the Tea Party lot. The admin officer objected, but I pulled my chief rank.

I took a walk, grabbed some snacks, and now I’m reading a newspaper in the central plaza. I might swing by the library later to rest. Even old books there are surprisingly fun, so I always stop by when I’m in the city alone.

The papers these days are full of interesting stuff.

[Daily Report]

• [Front Page] Gourmet Research Society Terror Attacks Continue
  Fourth Day of Pursuit, General Student Council Issues Wanted Notice
• [Page Two] Gehenna Checkpoint Destroyed
  Pandemonium Society Leader’s Official Statement, Suspected Bombing

…Of course, I don’t have grandma tastes.

This newspaper’s known for sticking to archaic prose, so it’s loaded with Chinese characters. Other papers are easier for students to read, and unlike this one, most use color photos.

Of all the papers to grab, I pick this one? Come on.

The story about the unintentionally demolished checkpoint made page two. The photo shows everything but the basic frame and underground facilities completely wrecked. The fact that Makoto, that dimwit, didn’t even suspect Trinity’s involvement proves Gehenna’s top blockhead isn’t going anywhere.

Of course, this is good news for me and the checkpoint. It means I won’t get dragged to Nagisa-sama in real-time.

As long as it doesn’t come back to bite me, and if I manage to shred and burn the planning documents, this is a perfect crime. Guilt-free pleasure—what a great deal.

Feeling good, I flipped through the paper for more interesting stories.

Thud. Someone suddenly sat next to me.

My mood crashed back to zero.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw their clothes were… flesh-colored.

Hmm.

Flesh-colored.

I should probably ignore them.

Whoever this walking public indecency is, they better not take an interest in me.

“Oh my, reading an interesting newspaper, are you?”

“…”

“Did you know? Old newspapers sometimes slip in photos from adult magazines.”

I’m not curious about that, you weirdo.

This stranger was leaning in way too close, so I had no choice. I turned to look at their face. Not exactly a pure-looking face, with an even less pure expression, and a school swimsuit that left no room for any thoughts of purity.

Who are you?

“You’re finally looking my way. What, did my comment pique your interest?”

I said I’m not curious, you crazy girl.