[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 74

The bird named Yurizono Seia dreams.

The little owl wanders through a fleeting world that vanishes overnight. It wasn’t just a lucid dream.

Nagisa called it a superpower.

It must be a superpower. A precognitive dream isn’t something tied to a halo, and entering the dreams of complete strangers to converse with them is something even Millennium’s engineers would balk at.

Is it even physically explicable?

Seia dreams. She dreams of others’ fates, not her own. As the Sanctus faction leader who has been conducting rituals for over half a year, known to the world as dead, it was a golden opportunity.

A girl stood at the podium. Dressed in a light brown uniform, facing dozens of students. Seia, standing among the audience, strained to read the name on the small nameplate.

Yamatsu Hikari.

An unfamiliar name.

The girl shouted:

“I fulfilled my duty!”

“That’s right!” The crowd roared.

The girl shouted:

“They’re all gone!”

“That’s right!” The crowd roared.

The girl shouted:

“Then why am I still here?”

“That’s right!” The crowd roared.

“That’s right” The crowd roared.

“Absolutely.” Seia said.

***

“That the faction leader is alive and well—does that even make sense? It’s been over half a year since the whole academy was turned upside down.”

“Mine told me. She and Azusa planned to fake her death.”

“Shirasu-san? If the commander said it herself, it must be true… But then why didn’t Shirasu-san say anything?”

“Because you didn’t ask.” You idiot, because of you, I was interrogating an innocent person.

A student who never got a drop of blood on her hands, and I was calling her a murderer.

“…Let’s end the investigation.”

“No need to continue?”

“If I keep going, I’ll really get fired.”

No, I’m serious. I just realized the gravity of what I’m doing to Shirasu-san.

As always, that damned Trinity General Academy Code of Law, with its long history and tradition as a permanent allied academy strictly prohibits investigating students without confirmed evidence of a serious crime.

It’s a clumsy law, but it serves its purpose well. If a different regime took over, one less aligned with the host and the Tea Party, they could drag out droves of students they didn’t like and label them as reactionaries against the academy.

But as good medicine can sometimes be poison, I was stabbing myself in the neck.

Why was Shirasu-san trying to socially destroy me?

An Arius Branch student, a single barrier, cloaks herself in the innocence of a girl who loves Momo Friends. Living her entire life isolated from our society, learning only things unrelated to academics—what would she know?

But knowing she’s lived as a student in Trinity General Academy’s internal society for months, a part of me can’t help but think, even without evidence, that her claims have some credibility.

What if, Shirasu-san, you deliberately didn’t say anything? A slight suspicion.

If that’s true, I’d be really sad.

“I need to visit the Knight Order. I have a lot to ask the commander. Does Nagisa-sama know about this?”

“No, she didn’t mention anything.”

“…I should head to the Tea Party Hall first.”

This is absurd.

If the host doesn’t know… who’s supposed to know the truth?

The two major factions of Trinity General Academy, Sanctus and Johannes, collaborated on this. Faking Seia-sama’s death means either the faction leader faced a serious threat to her life or there was some kind of political deal between them.

That’s what it was. The communications office’s real power, the capable junior at the Tea Party Hall, was desperately hiding this tiny fact. Knowing this, it makes sense why she ended up facing heavy internal faction discipline.

Nagisa-sama still believes Seia-sama was murdered.

Last year, after the Sanctus faction office was utterly destroyed, how terrified she must have been of being the next target.

…I should have known all those assumptions were wrong.

Commander Aomori Mine, along with the communications office head and other high-ranking Sanctus faction officials, conspired and likely hid Seia-sama in a safe place, announcing to the world that she was murdered.

Even if she’s battered and broken, the faction leader is undoubtedly alive. Even if we don’t know what she’s doing, her intact halo is spinning vigorously, sustaining her life.

Yurizono Seia is alive.

Sanctus and Johannes were desperate to endure this.

I have a lot to do.

“Sayuri-san will accompany you to the Supplementary Lessons Department office. If the escort vehicle is inconvenient, you can use the Hippo truck.”

“Thanks. Keep it up, Hikari.”

“Have a peaceful day.”

***

Kirifuji Nagisa couldn’t help but be shocked by Captain Yamatsu’s words.

“Seia-san… is alive?”

“Unfortunately, yes. It’s true.”

How?

Unaware that she was holding an empty teacup to her lips, Kirifuji Nagisa thought.

Seia-san was dead. It happened in the middle of the Tea Party Hall, and the massive explosion cloud, witnessed even on the Great Forest’s path, proved how devastatingly Yurizono Seia’s small life had been taken.

She and Mika-san had personally formed the investigation team. They were the most reliable students from the Knight Order, and Commander Mine was chosen for the gravity of the situation. Despite her controversial reputation, she was undeniably sharp.

Weeks passed fruitlessly. Only after the Tea Party Hall’s dark secrets were buried under concrete rubble was the report completed. Kirifuji Nagisa announced it herself.

“In conclusion, the joint investigation team has determined that host Yurizono Seia was murdered…”

The Sanctus faction’s sub-leader—now the communications office head—claimed it was likely a murder. The explosion records captured by the communications office resembled the most tragic kind caused by ammonium nitrate. Commander Mine agreed.

The Tea Party Hall administrators had no choice but to agree. With no knowledge, what could they gain by objecting to the report? Kirifuji Nagisa was only a second-year student, faithfully following her seniors.

All students in the Tea Party and related clubs agreed on one fact.

Yurizono Seia was dead.

She died without leaving even a fragment of her body.

…Murdered.

Over half a year later, now holding the reins of Trinity General Academy, why was this being brought up?

Kirifuji Nagisa struggled to accept the unbelievable stories coming from Captain Yamatsu’s mouth. No matter how shocking the news, she was the student council president of Trinity General Academy. She needed to maintain the dignity befitting her role.

“Sensei personally confirmed this. From what I can tell, some clubs, including the Supplementary Lessons Department, seem to know about Seia-sama. It’s not certain, but I believe Mika-sama knows as well.”

“…So Hikari-san and I were the only ones in the dark.”

“For over half a year. We were kicking at nothing.”

The administrator seemed to lament that all her efforts had been as futile as wings flapping toward a distant star. With a heavy sigh, she presented a report on the checkpoint’s investigation of a specific student.

Shirasu Azusa-san. According to Mika-san, she was an invited student through an agreement with the Arius Branch—in Kirifuji Nagisa’s view, a spy. Suspiciously knowledgeable about explosives and adept at using them.

The moment Nagisa noticed her, she immediately thought Azusa-san should join the Supplementary Lessons Department.

In a politically turbulent time, a suspicious student is easily seen as a risk or potential reactionary. Azusa-san and the Arius Branch fit that description, as did the students of the Supplementary Lessons Department…

…And so did Captain Yamatsu.

“Since the last security disaster, attention has been focused on the Arius Branch. Over the past few days, my checkpoint team and I have made significant progress. Dozens of Arius Branch students have been imprisoned.”

“I received a written report on that.”

“Yes, you should have it. I made a sort of political deal with the imprisoned Arius Branch students. In exchange for their cooperation, the checkpoint guaranteed their safety. …They were surprisingly diligent.”

“I’ve heard about it. Nagato-san mentioned something similar in the Intelligence Department’s regular report. They said Arius Branch students gave statements about Azusa-san. It was intriguing, but I didn’t know it was your story, Hikari-san.”

“It doesn’t matter who the protagonist is, does it? Unless it’s Sensei.”

According to Captain Yamatsu, Azusa-san was a member of the <arius squad>. Unlike the Arius Branch students who worked with Mika-san, they were a special forces unit carrying out covert missions under their student council president.

Their most notable achievement was the assassination of Seia-san.

Of course, it wasn’t confirmed whether Azusa-san participated in the assassination, which involved only one of the five-member special forces unit. The administrator emphasized the application of murder charges to Azusa-san, citing several clauses in the academy’s code.

But one question lingered while hearing this explanation. If Azusa-san was the only <arius squad> student to infiltrate Trinity, doesn’t that make her a prime suspect in last year’s murder?

Fortunately, Captain Yamatsu seemed to share Kirifuji Nagisa’s thoughts.

“I had to confront the Supplementary Lessons Department. I can imagine what Hanako-san thinks of me, but it was necessary. The investigation began at the checkpoint with Sensei present.”

“If that investigation happened today, I assume a conclusion has been reached, Hikari-san? I’d like to know the results, if that’s alright.”

“Yes. My conclusion regarding Shirasu Azusa-san is… she cannot be charged with murder or any violation of academy law. After all, Seia-sama is alive.”

Kirifuji Nagisa felt relieved.

It was undoubtedly a helpful decision for her as well. The Tea Party no longer interfered with the Supplementary Lessons Department, but the moment Azusa-san was placed in the defendant’s seat, everything would change drastically. Hanako-san wouldn’t stay quiet.

Azusa-san had clearly infiltrated the Tea Party Hall to assassinate Seia-san, but for some reason, she had a change of heart. Instead of killing Seia-san, she helped create a smokescreen toward the Tea Party Hall.

…Seia is alive.

Thank goodness…

“I won’t delve into whether Commander Mine and the communications office head’s decision damaged the Tea Party’s authority. That’s clearly beyond my purview, and I believe Nagisa-sama will handle it far more wisely than I could.”

“I’d like to say thank you.”

“But there’s one thing that worries me.”

The captain spoke with a concerned expression.

“I think the commander did well to hide the faction leader. But to keep it secret for over half a year…”

“…”

“…I can’t help but wonder how severe her injuries must be.”

Kirifuji Nagisa thought.

It’s a relief for me. But…

Is it really a relief?