[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 5

Kosaka Wakamo, one of the infamous “Nine Foxes,” escaped from the Corrections Bureau during the great breakout incident. She was a student who could confidently claim to be among the strongest in all of Kivotos, and she had the power to back it up. She’s probably the student the Valkyrie Public Security Bureau fears the most.

Wakamo’s notoriety is so great, and the rumors about her are so vicious, that even in the remote Trinity radio stations, where you wouldn’t hear about her until your graduation, or even your death, you can occasionally hear about her misdeeds.

I thought I’d never have to deal with her in my lifetime, nor did I ever want to. I worked at a checkpoint, one of many connected to Trinity General Academy. Honestly, who would ever think Wakamo would show up at a checkpoint?

The latter part was correct, but unfortunately, it seems her target this time was in D.U. Because of that, for reasons unknown, she ended up blocking our path. And now, she’s at the center of a fierce battle.

“Sensei, your orders!”

“I’m on it… Yuuka-san, deploy the barrier!”

“I was already going to—!”

In an instant, a barrier formed around the Millennium student’s body, deflecting several bullets that came flying her way. I don’t quite understand how it works, but after tapping a calculator a few times, a barrier just appeared. So that’s what Millennium’s technology can do… But wait, is “barrier” even the right word to use here?

It’s an incredibly intense battlefield. Unlike when only two students were holding the line, the number of attackers and defenders has doubled, and with Wakamo – the Fox of Calamity – joining the fray, the number of bullets flying around is easily ten times higher. Submachine guns, sniper rifles, and the occasional flashbang make it feel like we’re breaking through a trench war. Except, unlike a checkpoint trench, this feels like a full-on warzone.

Ritsuko-chan emptied her magazine at the students rushing toward us. A few took headshots and passed out, while others staggered. The rest were knocked out by my return fire and a couple of rifle-butt strikes.

“Sensei!! What are they guarding that’s so important that even the Fox of Calamity is here causing havoc?!”

Ritsuko-chan shouted in an agitated voice.

“The Schale Club Branch is over there! Sorry, but can you help us take down the delinquents there, just until we’re done?”

“We’re already helping, aren’t we? By the way, why are these punks holding out so well today? Did they steal their gear from Millennium or something?”

“Millennium Science School’s security systems aren’t that flimsy!”

“It’s just a figure of speech… Argh, a tank! A tank! Why the hell are Kaiser goons here?!”

In Kivotos, tanks are easy to roll out and just as easy to wreck, but they’re also great at turning students into patients for the Knight Order. Allow me to introduce: the proud standard tank of Trinity General Academy, the Crusader Type 1! Though many have been reduced to scrap through illegal distribution, their main guns, unfortunately, are not scrap.

Look at that, firing 6-pounder high-explosive shells like nobody’s business. The problem is, they’re firing at me.

“Uh—Hikari-san, dodge!”

BOOM! A massive explosion erupted. I barely managed to dive out of the way, practically rolling forward, but even so, part of my uniform got scorched. Getting this repaired is going to cost a pretty penny—the tailor always charges extra for burnt clothes.

As I escaped the blast zone, I noticed some blood on my uniform. Come to think of it, my wrist was starting to hurt. It seems a piece of shrapnel got lodged in there… and of course, it’s my right hand. Every time I pull the trigger of my L85 and feel the recoil, pain shoots through me. If I keep this up, it’s going to get worse, so I switched to single-shot mode.

Bang, tat- tat… Wait, no, it’s actually burst-fire. I don’t know if it’s because the gun’s old or what, but switching to single-shot doesn’t work. I try to pull the trigger once, and three rounds go off. What the hell?

Ping—!

“Ugh, again…!”

As I reached to clear a jammed casing, something massive zoomed past me. It was so fast, I could barely see it. When I turned my head, the tank that had been aiming its turret at me was already destroyed.

What just happened? Did someone fire an energy blast or something?

“Phew, thankfully, it penetrated.”

It was Vice-President Hanekawa’s voice. I’d learned that students with particularly strong mystical abilities could use something akin to an ultimate skill. Was that what I just saw—her ultimate?

“Um, what was that just now…?”

“Wow, Vice-President, what was that?!”

Dammit, Ritsuko-chan beat me to it. Unlike me, who only caught a fleeting glimpse while passing by, she must’ve seen the full show from her support position in the rear. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be this excited—her eyes always sparkle when she sees something fascinating.

“Uh… what, what are you talking about?”

“That thing just now! The super-powerful whoosh that shot out of your gun!! What was it???”

Her description was spot-on. It really did fly away with a bang. But the Vice-President looks pretty flustered. Are there no other Justice Department members as lively as Ritsuko-chan? I know that one girl who got dragged off for remedial classes or something recently.

But before we get carried away, let’s calm things down.

“Okay, okay, enough with the one-on-one Q&A. The fox girl just went into that Schale building or whatever. Are we going in too?”

“Sensei’s already inside, so we should. Chinatsu-san, please handle rear support. Yuuka-san, Suzumi-san, and Ritsuko-san, we’re storming in. Are you ready?”

“Calculations complete. Follow my lead, and we’ll catch up to Sensei.”

“I’m ready.”

“Y-Yes…? Wait, me too…?”

Oh, Ritsuko-chan’s getting more attention than she expected. She’s one of the only first-years alongside Chinatsu-san, and the Vice-President even called her by name. Look at her, all flustered. She’s probably worried she’ll have to be a bullet sponge up front with the Millennium girl, instead of just providing cover fire from the back like earlier.

My name didn’t even get a surname mention, so if I’m lucky, I might be able to sneak away with the luggage. It’s kind of sad to have less presence than Ritsuko-chan, but right now, that might work in my favor.

“…Where are you going, Hikari-san?”

“Uh, just… to grab some luggage…”

“Senpai! You were trying to ditch us, weren’t you? Planning to escape on your own!”

“No! I-I was just going to get the luggage, I swear!”

Ugh, caught red-handed. If Ritsuko-chan hadn’t called me out like a traitor, I might’ve had a chance to slip away. But I’ve got some conscience left, so let’s reframe this: Ritsuko-chan’s criticism made me reconsider. Besides, the Vice-President isn’t oblivious enough to miss something like that.

With no other choice, I followed the group to the Schale club building. In the heat of battle, I hadn’t noticed, but the massive shadow covering the streets was cast by the Schale building blocking the sunlight. A glass palace towering into the clouds—did the Student Council ever ask the Student Council President what this thing was during its construction?

…Or maybe they didn’t have the guts to ask.

“Man, this thing’s freaking huge.”

“According to my calculations, it’s just over 2,000 meters tall. The only building taller than this is Sanctum Tower.”

Two thousand meters. I’m not even close to two meters tall, so that’s like a thousand times my height. I can’t even guess how many floors or offices it has. Even ten thousand checkpoint buildings wouldn’t match this thing. Why the heck would anyone build something this massive?

“Where did the Chief Administrator say to meet?”

“She said underground.”

Underground, huh. If it’s 2,000 meters up, I bet it goes at least a hundred meters down. I’ll have to check the floor count as soon as we get inside.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many floors going underground. It does go pretty deep, but it’s all machine rooms, pump rooms, and social infrastructure crammed together. According to the design, they’ve got a million-kilowatt generator down here—not an emergency one, mind you. What kind of industrial complex is this building running?

Inside, it was peaceful, unlike the chaos outside where medics were rushing to save people. The fox girl who gave us so much trouble was nowhere to be seen. I thought she might be hiding somewhere for an ambush, but there’s no sign of her—she must’ve completely fled. What a coward.

With only emergency power left, it was dark, and I tripped a few times going down the stairs. When we reached the basement, Sensei and Acting President Nanagami were there. Sensei was fiddling with some tablet… it kind of looked like a Samsung design. I stepped a bit closer than the others to get a better look.

“…Alright, I’ll leave it to you, Arona.”

Arona? What kind of name is that…?

Thud!

Suddenly, a massive mechanical sound shook the entire building, and the basement was flooded with bright light. Looking up, I saw far more lights shining brighter than before. The building’s generator must have kicked in.

“Whoa, what’s that? What’s going on? Is this some kind of boss fight starting?”

“If it’s a boss fight, is Sensei the boss? I have no idea what’s happening—the vibe’s so intense, I can’t even get close.”

I whispered to Ritsuko-chan. Chief Administrator Nanagami Rin, Acting Student Council President, has an aura of authority straight out of the media, making her hard to approach. And since we just met Sensei, he’s not much different. If I tried to butt in, I’d probably get chewed out, so I’ll just stay quiet.

Sensei was talking to the tablet. My phone has something like an AI called Trinity that responds when I call it, handles searches, and makes calls—a real go-getter. That tablet probably has something similar. I glanced over and saw the Chief Administrator on a phone call.

“It’s fine.”

“…Yes. Understood. We’ve confirmed control over Sanctum Tower. Now we can manage administration as we would with the Student Council President present. Thank you for your hard work, Sensei. On behalf of the Student Council, I deeply appreciate your efforts in preventing chaos in Kivotos.”

What does that mean? Let’s think about it. The Student Council President disappeared a few weeks ago, and at the same time, the Student Council lost control of Sanctum Tower, leaving them floundering. But then this Sensei, appointed by the President, showed up, regained control of Sanctum Tower, and handed it back to the Student Council? How the heck did he manage to get control of something even the Student Council couldn’t find a way to access? It’s not like his DNA has some special privilege encoded in it. Could it be… something in that tablet?

Well, whatever. It’s probably none of my business anyway. I turned around and tapped Vice-President Hanekawa on the shoulder.

“What’s up?”

“It seems like this is out of our hands now. Can we head out? I’m worried about the luggage we hid earlier.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant. Yes, you can go. I’ll stick around a bit longer before heading back.”

“Then we’ll head up. See you at Trinity. Ritsuko-chan, let’s go.”

It looks like Sensei and the Chief Administrator still have a lot to discuss. From what I can tell, they’ll probably go over what Schale is and what this club is supposed to do before they go their separate ways. Sensei will likely stay in the Schale building.

As we climbed the stairs and stepped outside, the sun was just past its peak. Good thing we came to D.U. early in the morning—last time we came after lunch, and it was evening by the time we were done.

So much has happened. Shouldn’t we report this to the higher-ups? If we don’t, they might nitpick about us roughing up students in the fight. But reporting it might not make a difference, so I’ll just put a brief note in the report. Always report something, or you’ll get in trouble later.

“Ritsuko-chan, grab the luggage. Let’s head back.”

“Didn’t you see earlier? I can’t carry it alone. You’ve gotta help.”

“…Oh, right. Fine, let’s haul it to the station together.”

Luckily, the cart and luggage were intact. Despite the tank spraying its coaxial machine gun like crazy during the fight, they somehow survived. That’s one less thing for Sayuri-san to chew us out over, so I’m in a good mood. But we’re definitely going to get scolded for being late, so that sours it a bit.

With both of us hauling the luggage, we got to the station faster than before. The loop train wasn’t too crowded, probably because it was just past lunchtime. No sign of those annoying Chronos punks either. Guess the gods decided we’d had enough trouble for one day and gave us a smooth ride back.

The view from the train window is always spectacular. Riding over the wide river surrounding D.U., you get a perfect view of the city skyline. I’m particularly fond of the cube-shaped building on the outskirts, asserting its presence. The glass palace, slightly tapering as it rises, painted gold and gleaming in the sunlight, always looks stunning. Maybe it’s because it resembles a gold bar. Who doesn’t dream of owning one of those?

We got off at Trinity Cathedral Station and dragged the cart into the mountains. Before long, we reached the checkpoint. Sayuri-san waved at us.

“You guys took a while. Everything okay in D.U.?”

“There was some trouble, but nothing major. The luggage is fine too.”

“Your wrist looks like a mess, and you call that nothing major?”

My wrist? Oh, my wr—… It’s swollen red. I forgot about it because it stopped hurting at some point, but now it’s impossible to ignore. I poked the swollen area lightly, and it hurt quite a bit. Damn, I wish it had kept hurting earlier—I would’ve gone to the Knight Order to fix it up.

“It’s no big deal. A little ice pack will fix it.”

“See, Iroha-chan agrees too… Wait, when did you get here?”

“During lunch. I figured this place is better for slacking off than my secret base. Sweet cocoa, manga I brought from the base, and a peaceful forest view.”

“Spend a few days here, and you’ll change your mind.”

“Heh, maybe.”

Let’s head into the checkpoint and rest—a long rest. At least until my wrist heals. Nothing beats an ice pack for swelling, so I’ll grab a basin, fill it with ice, and soak my arm.

…Lately, it feels like there’s been a lot going on. Hopefully, things will calm down now, right?