[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 60

The Sisterhood refused document access.

The most secretive faction in Trinity General Academy has built walls around the Cathedral, both inside and out. These walls don’t block students or people but prevent the leakage of ancient documents and all sorts of information. It’s like they function as a cell membrane.

The Tea Party Hall is included in that barrier. Even the Intelligence Department, now wielding immense authority and boldly accessing all kinds of information, couldn’t touch the Sisterhood’s archives.

They hold authority on par with the Tea Party Hall’s three major factions. A faction that maintains political neutrality and isolationism is like a hedgehog. Who knows what kind of backlash you’d face if you poked them the wrong way? If there’s even a minor issue with their documents and they start talking about responsibility, what student wouldn’t tremble?

The Sisterhood is both an object of admiration and fear.

I know this well. We all do. Senior Eclaire complained about the nuns protesting every time there was artillery fire, and Senior Nagato came to me in tears after their harsh rejection.

If my senior can’t handle it, I’ll have to step in. A few days ago, I sent an official letter under the checkpoint’s name, pleading for cooperation with the Cathedral.

This morning, I received a brief reply:

The Sisterhood already has enough students to collaborate with.

A firm rejection.

I understand, but I’m not about to compromise. Their centuries-old closed structure carries its own tradition and authority. But after intervening in the Tea Party Hall’s affairs during the last coup, their refusal to allow the Tea Party Hall’s involvement doesn’t come off as well-intentioned. To a third party, it’s just hypocrisy.

More importantly, I’m neither part of the Sisterhood nor so low in status that I’d grovel before them. The derogatory title of a “disrespected department head” only holds weight within the Tea Party Hall. I haven’t done anything wrong, so there’s no reason to tiptoe around the Cathedral’s whims.

My stance on the Sisterhood is clear. If they extend a hand, I’ll gladly take it. But they’re still a faction under Trinity General Academy, and in a situation like this, I can’t afford to hesitate.

I’m currently in the heart of Trinity’s city, in the Cathedral’s reception room, waiting for someone. That someone is, of course, the Sisterhood’s leader and the subject of countless terrifying rumors, Utazumi Sakurako-sama.

Just as I reaffirmed my trust with Nagisa-sama in our last conversation, I’m here to settle things once and for all.

The Eden Treaty is approaching. All disputes must end today.

Creak. The heavy wooden door opened, and Sakurako-sama entered. Black nun’s habit, miniskirt.

“Mother Superior.”

“Hikari-san.”

“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“I’ve been fine.”

We exchanged a formal handshake and sat across from each other.

“I heard from the Intelligence Department Head. You’ve locked the archives.”

“You sent a letter directly requesting access to the archives. Seeing you here at the Cathedral, I assume you received my reply this morning. You don’t seem to think too highly of it.”

“That’s correct. Even after your reply, I hope you’ll grant the Trinity General Academy Intelligence Department access to the archives. It’s a conviction I’m unlikely to change. Please reconsider.”

Sakurako-sama’s expression was reluctant. Fortunately, her reaction was within my expectations.

“You don’t seem to agree.”

“Of course not, Hikari-san. I am the Mother Superior of the Sisterhood. Countless students under me manage the Cathedral and the Holy Cathedral of Communions, fostering their faith in God. What I carry isn’t just air.”

“I understand. As a fellow leader of an organization, I fully grasp the burdens you bear and the sense of duty you have toward tradition.”

“If you understand, shouldn’t you also understand my reply?”

“That’s a different matter. You and I belong to different organizations. The issue at hand transcends those differences and is far too serious to be dismissed by understanding your burdens.”

“Is Trinity at war right now, Hikari-san? If we’re facing such a crisis, the Sisterhood would gladly offer assistance.”

“If we can call the current security crisis a war, I’d dare say so.”

I’d go further if necessary.

I handed her a document. Stamped with a classified seal, it listed the leaked information uncovered by the Intelligence Department, along with students suspected of being spies or collaborators.

Sakurako-sama closely examined both. The Sisterhood accounted for a notable portion of the list, though not the majority. It must’ve been quite a shock to her.

Of course it’s shocking—my own mental state took a hit too.

How competent is Gehenna’s Prefect Team to sneak a horned student in as a nun? Even with that Prefect Team Head in charge, achieving something the Tea Party couldn’t is no small feat.

“If this is true. If it’s true, Hikari-san.”

“Yes.”

“It’s astonishing. That’s all I can say right now. I’m shocked myself.”

“Some of these students are, to my knowledge, at least somewhat acquainted with you.”

“That’s why… Yes, truly. I’m psychologically shaken.”

More than I expected, it seems.

From what I recall, only one or two students in the Sisterhood are suspected of being spies. It’s similar elsewhere. Even if you gathered all the students suspected of being Gehenna’s spies, it wouldn’t reach fifty.

The problem is their positions. Most are at least club executives, some even director-level in certain clubs. That means a ton of classified documents, accessible only with high clearance, could’ve been compromised.

For reference, most of the Sisterhood’s archives are classified.

They’ve probably been completely ransacked.

“Naturally, this list doesn’t account for the majority of the leaked information, does it?”

“Likely not. Given the vast networks of external academy intelligence agencies, including Gehenna’s Prefect Team, we can’t catch everything, but the Intelligence Department estimates at least double this amount. Possibly more.”

“…How many students know about this?”

“Excluding the Intelligence Department, fewer than ten.”

Due to the nature of a counterespionage agency, most Intelligence Department members are aware and actively involved in the operation. Nagisa-sama worried about leaks through internal channels during our last discussion, but there’s no need to worry.

That club already underwent a massive purge led by my senior and the Pater directors. Nearly a dozen students caught trying to steal floppy disks were thrown into the Tea Party Hall’s underground cells. It was shocking, but the problem’s resolved now.

“What will you do? Please decide here and now. I’m begging you.”

“If I grant this, Hikari-san, can you and the Intelligence Department guarantee you’ll resolve this issue?”

“Of course not. But we’ll minimize the loss to the archives and do our utmost.”

“…”

Sakurako-sama seemed to be in deep thought.

But she reached a conclusion quickly.

“I’ll grant it. I’ll give the Intelligence Department, and you, the exact access you requested in the document.”

“Thank you.”

“But I can’t extend that to the Border Checkpoint. It’s a matter of trust, you could say.”

“I wasn’t expecting it. In a situation like this, even my own kids… well, it’s tricky.”

“I see.”

The Mother Superior’s lips curled slightly.

I returned a small smile in response.

“I heard Nagisa-san told you, ‘This is an order. Resolve it.’”

“That’s exactly what she said.”

“Then I’ll make a request instead of an order. Please resolve it.”

“I accept.”

“…It’s not an order, Hikari-san.”

“It’s just my habit. Please ignore it.”

***

Two days after getting direct permission from the Mother Superior and shutting down the administrators who opposed it as overstepping authority.

The Sisterhood’s archives were far more vast than we expected. The first Intelligence Department agents sent there were floored by a scale comparable to an ancient library. My senior was thrilled, saying the information volume had doubled.

But within hours, her face turned to despair as she was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of documents. She puffed out her cheeks, saying, “Hikari-chan’s got it easy just messing around~!” Not getting access to those archives might’ve been a blessing in disguise.

In the meantime, students have been disappearing from various clubs. Most used secret passages, leaving the checkpoints empty.

Of course, some were dumb enough to waltz right into the checkpoint and get caught.

From a counterespionage perspective, detaining “infiltrating students who abandon their entire intelligence network and flee”—so-called black agents—isn’t the main goal. The important part is what’s in the parentheses.

Intelligence networks aren’t built by one or two students alone, and the time and money invested are substantial. If you collapse one, from my perspective, I won’t have to worry about counterespionage until graduation.

From the reports coming in, it seems we’re largely succeeding. I wonder who the other side’s Intelligence Department Head will get chewed out by. The Prefect Team Head? The senior administrative officer? Of course, they’re better off than the spies scarfing down gyudon with their noses.

Today, with Senior Eclaire’s full support, I’m reviewing classified artillery team documents stolen straight from the vault. The leaked documents definitely included the artillery team’s firing coordinates.

But it doesn’t seem like anyone from the artillery team leaked them. Senior Eclaire investigated everyone down to their distant relatives, and there’s no particularly suspicious student among them…

This is a headache. Is there a student who could naturally access the artillery team’s documents?

“That’s the problem, senior?”

“Yeah, I’ve been racking my brain for ages, and I still don’t get it.”

“You know I called you first, right?”

“Yup.”

Sigh. Haaa…

Looks like Sayuri-san’s picked up my sighing habit from the checkpoint.

“That’s not the issue. Something big’s gone down at the checkpoint headquarters.”

“Huh? What? That urgent? I’ll head over right now—what happened? Did some spies try to ram through the barrier?”

“No, it’s way worse.”

I had to pack up even faster after hearing Sayuri-san’s words.

“A spy got caught at the checkpoint.”