[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 44

At the Tea Party, I am an outsider.

The people of the Tea Party are divided into those who grew up in high society and those who didn’t. To be precise, they’re split between those within the triangle formed by Filius, Sanctus, and Pater, and those outside it.

Since the three factions were the origin of the student council, the boundary between insiders and outsiders was inevitable. But over time, instead of softening, this divide morphed into a kind of class system. This ambiguous two-tier hierarchy created discrimination in unseen places.

From the education they receive, to the food they eat and drink, to the places they sleep—those in high society live on a different track from the rest.

Of course, this can be seen as a peculiarity of Trinity, where everything converges under the Tea Party’s administrative system. But it’s also a system that naturally instills a sense of superiority in those at the top. Inevitably, the administrators began to feel superior.

Those from outside factions, coming from beyond high society, faced subtle discrimination. During lunch or breaks, they’d be openly gossiped about, and in some cases, publicly humiliated. All sorts of school bullying emerged within the Tea Party.

The only reason it hadn’t targeted me yet was simple.

I just wasn’t part of the Tea Party’s inner circle.

At Trinity General Academy’s Border Checkpoint, being the 13th Checkpoint Director meant two things. First, it was a department head-level position. Second, it meant rarely having to visit the Tea Party.

The duty of defending the border zone stretching from Gehenna to Abydos separated the checkpoint from the Tea Party.

Back when I was called the Checkpoint Director, my job was to sit in the office all day, waiting for people to come and go. In terms of frequency, surprise attacks from Gehenna happened maybe one week out of a month. Reporting those was Itsuka-senpai’s job, so in truth, since joining the checkpoint in middle school, I’d had almost no contact with high society.

Time passed.

I got promoted out of nowhere, and as one of the few club leader-level figures in Trinity General Academy—not as a member of the Tea Party—I entered its halls. I began meeting the Tea Party’s Host, someone I never imagined I’d meet on my own terms.

To the Tea Party’s people, my sudden presence must have felt like a parachuted outsider.

There’s no overt discrimination, but I can feel them looking down on me in subtle ways. My image at the Tea Party prevents them from openly badmouthing me, but I’ve faced plenty of obstacles with things like checkpoint budget allocations or new equipment introductions.

That damn Pater faction leader blocking the supplementary budget like a rat-catcher probably had those intentions behind it.

Anyway, I often feel lonely when I’m at the Tea Party. The few department heads I’m close with are a small minority.

Of course, my existence might be somewhat intimidating to them. Objectively, it’s hard to view the leader of a massive armed group transcending factions favorably—especially someone who’d fire tear gas right in front of the Tea Party.

But the feeling of alienation, something akin to isolation, is hard to shake off. Because of it, outside of work hours, I don’t linger at the Tea Party. The checkpoint headquarters, the old 13th Border Checkpoint, is my home and hometown.

The past few months have been filled with a lot of loneliness.

Then Hanako appeared.

At first, that weird kid seemed to see me as an interesting friend. She’d pop up out of nowhere by my side.

But gradually, I realized she was no ordinary person. Every time she got scolded by the Sisterhood, Sakurako-sama would show up to defend her. And the occasional mention of “Seia-chan” made me wonder if this kid was a Tea Party spy.

The one thing I know for sure about Hanako is that she’s a student who was part of the Tea Party’s inner circle. Like Sayuri-san, she probably left the Tea Party or another major social club for some reason and stood on her own.

She felt like a friend. I thought maybe Hanako, too, felt lonely at the Tea Party and escaped.

So, no matter how strange her stories were or how crude her jokes got, I accepted them, trying to get to know her bit by bit. I didn’t realize it, but Hanako had crept deeper into my heart than I expected.

But, here’s the thing.

The friend I had such high hopes for chewed me out to my face.

What did she say? “I think Hikari-san is going to stage a coup.” Yeah, that’s what it was.

The Host of Filius said she was afraid of me. The Pater administrators think I’m someone who “could overthrow the regime at any moment but doesn’t for some unspoken reason.” If you broaden the scope, that perception isn’t limited to Pater.

And Hanako called me a would-be rebel leader. She listed her reasons, tying all my actions to a single goal of seizing power. The photos and videos she’d taken of me all came into my view.

Goddamn it.

The sense of betrayal hit me hard. I thought this kid was a genuine friend, someone I could joke around with and get close to, but she was spinning her wheels in her head, coming to absurd conclusions.

After that, contact dwindled. It was weeks—two at the least—without seeing her.

What do you call this? It felt like getting whacked in the back of the head, not with a baseball bat, but with a checkpoint-specialized rifle stock. I started wondering if her approaching me and asking to be called by her first name had some ulterior motive.

At the same time, I was deeply disappointed. So, Hanako was just another Tea Party student after all. In the end, it was suspicion and paranoia.

Things with Nagisa-sama have been improving. She still seems haunted by her trauma, but she’s started trusting me and asking me to believe in her. The administrators are getting a bit friendlier too, compared to before.

I thought it’d be the same with Hanako, but after weeks of no contact, it doesn’t seem like it worked out.

An incredibly smart friend, but because of that, she couldn’t anticipate her own misunderstanding and believed her conclusions too strongly—Urawa Hanako. I think it’s partly because she’s too smart, but also because she has some kind of paranoia. She’s definitely not normal.

It’s a shame, and I can’t let go of the lingering desire to reconnect a broken relationship. We got along so well before, so I want to clear up the misunderstanding. No matter how much resentment has built up, she’s a friend I feel a deep connection with, and I can’t just abandon her.

“All batteries deployed… Oh, senpai?”

“…”

That’s why I’m feeling so weird.

After all, I’m human too.

***

It’s overwhelming.

Dozens of howitzers are staring us down.

Compared to at least three companies’ worth of troops, we’re just four students and a teacher.

We’re at an overwhelming disadvantage.

The moment has finally arrived.

The border checkpoint, responsible for Trinity General Academy’s borders, has no choice but to stop us from heading to Gehenna.

Of course, we didn’t come unprepared, but breaking through a tightly formed defensive line with just four students is nearly impossible. Unlike the checkpoint, only Azusa-chan among us has proper training.

With Sensei here, shelling is unlikely. But simple neutralization attempts are entirely possible.

There she stood, up ahead.

Hikari-san, the silver-haired girl who felt like she’d been waiting for me all along.

Standing with her hands behind her back, as if she didn’t care what we did, all fox-like.

The moonlit halo rising over the horizon seemed to linger behind her.

Clunk.

I stepped out of the truck and walked toward her.

“Hey, wait?! No, you can’t! You’re trying to sacrifice yourself alone?”

“That’s not a good choice, Hanako. Tactically, it’s better for us to stay together with Sensei.”

“Hanako…”

I don’t know why. I just wanted to talk.

Hikari-san was waiting for me.

“…Hey, long time no see?”

“Indeed.”

“Why’d you come alone? I might’ve given the order to fire in the meantime.”

“Sensei’s over there. I knew you wouldn’t make that choice.”

She looked stunned for a moment, as if she didn’t know Sensei was with us.

Thank goodness Sensei’s here.

“What did you want to talk about?”

“Well, I actually came to hear your story.”

“I’ve got a lot I want to hear from you, Hanako.”

“Is that so?” Hikari-san crossed her arms and looked me over.

She lowered her gaze to take in my appearance. My uniform was torn from trudging through the forest to get to Gehenna, with bits of underwear peeking through. But it didn’t feel lewd at all.

Her khaki uniform and distinctive field cap showed signs of a tough day too, covered in dust here and there.

Hikari-san spoke first.

“…I, I just wanted to know why you did it, Hanako. All this time.”

“You mean what I said about you?”

“Yeah. And today, I’m getting an answer, one way or another.” I’d expected this. The fear stemming from that drove me away from Hikari-san.

I said things I shouldn’t have. Even after realizing it was wrong, I didn’t reflect on it.

In the end, I ran away.

Looking back now, it made logical sense but was emotionally absurd.

I know Hikari-san to some extent.

I heard about her from Mari-san of the Sisterhood. It was during one of those usual sermons. I was sitting quietly in the church pews when Mari-san, sitting behind me, started talking about Hikari-san.

She said that despite her radical side, she’s a devout believer. Her faith in Trinity is steadfast.

It was my mistake.

“It… I’m sorry. I know it’s late, but I’m really sorry, Hikari-san.”

“Yeah. But I’m not ready to accept it.”

“…”

“Of course, the best ending would be you apologizing and me accepting it, but I’m really worried about you, Hanako. I’ve got a lot to say.”

…

Hikari-san might have been more hurt than I realized.

“There’s such a thing as basic human decency, Hanako. When you trust someone, you should trust them to the end. But getting backstabbed by someone you trusted? There’s nothing quite like it. It hurts, it stings, and you’re left trembling.”

“Did I make you feel that way?”

“Yeah, I did. It hurt, it stung, and I felt betrayed. I’m exaggerating a bit, but I could barely eat. But what shocked me wasn’t just that you said it. It was the content. Do you know what I mean, Hanako?”

“…No.”

“What you said was exactly the same as what Nagisa-sama said.”

Oh.

That’s right, it was the same.

That’s why Hikari-san must have been even more shocked.

I’d heard rumors that Nagisa and Hikari-san had a big fight. They said it was a huge argument, with lots of yelling.

But I never imagined Nagisa would express the same opinion as me. Sure, she was the type to label innocent students like me as traitors and send them to the Supplementary Lessons Department, but she wasn’t the kind to openly hurl insults at a club leader.

Was she in a desperate situation, pushed to the edge? Maybe she’s psychologically cornered.

But separately, how did Hikari-san feel?

How did she take those harsh words? Did Nagisa perhaps break down in front of her?

Did I stab another knife into her wound?

“So, um… what I’m trying to say, Hanako.”

“…Yes.”

“I was really hurt back then, and I even tried to get a bit twisted about it… but, damn, that just wasn’t me. No matter what, as a public servant getting paid, I can’t actually stage a coup, right?”

“…”

“Hanako, that story, the evidence you showed—it did make some logical sense. The Pater kids’ reactions make it seem plausible. But even so, saying that to a friend was really harsh, don’t you think? I don’t know how you feel about it.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, what are you sorry for? But since you did this to me once, I hope you won’t do it to other friends.”

Hikari-san locked eyes with me. She didn’t look too troubled.

“This is advice. Advice from a socially experienced senior. Even if you’re picky about who you befriend, don’t do this to someone you’ve already befriended.”

“What about what I did to you? What happens with that?”

“I’ll forget about it. What matters is that when you and I get close again someday, the really important thing is that you need to act this way to live well later. A society without trust between people is no different from a dead poet’s society. Sometimes, you have to believe in irrational actions too.”

“…I’ll try.”

“That’s enough. I’ve said my piece.”

Hikari-san picked up her megaphone and turned to the checkpoint.

“The Supplementary Lessons Department is permitted to cross the border. Issue them the necessary authorization immediately!”

Soon, a student handed me a certificate, and the checkpoint began preparing to leave.

She seemed to be heading back to the checkpoint too.

“We’re moving out!”

The checkpoint moved with precision. Before long, only our truck, carrying me and the Supplementary Lessons Department, remained on the bridge.

I returned to the truck. Azusa-chan, Hifumi-chan, Koharu-chan… and Sensei. They were all looking at me.

My emotions were strange.

Sensei asked, “What did you talk about?”

“…Life.”

It was definitely about life.

But it was also about the present.

Hikari-san wanted to teach me something. How to make friends, how to break free from the Tea Party’s ways.

I’m not sure if I learned it. Honestly, I’m not even certain if Hikari-san forgave me.

The truck started, and, unexpectedly, we reached the test site without any resistance.

It was a morning filled with thoughts.