Blue Archive story · Club stories, Story 1
Thermae Akai 1
1 scenes, 110 lines
1. Part 1
110 lines
Captain! The secretariat brigades loyal to that tiny tyrant are closing in on our position!
Blast, she's crushed our coup...
But our fight doesn't die here!
Someday, we'll overthrow that kid dictator, and a new ruler will lead Red Winter Academy into a glorious future!
Purged! All of you will be purged!
Cherino's Executive Office
Phew... Cracking down on dissidents is hard work...
President Cherino! We've rounded up the students responsible for the recent coup!
Mm, excellent work, Chairman Marina!
As a mark of our gratitude, I award you the Mustache Hero Medal...1st Class!
...Wait, didn't I already give you the 1st Class Mustache Hero Medal for quashing the last coup?
Chief Secretary Tomoe, how many coups does that make this week?
Well, Great Leader, we've put down two coup attempts and been ousted from power five times...
Which means we've faced a new coup d'etat every day this week.
So in honor of President Cherino's brilliant leadership through this unprecedented time of crisis, shall we commission a painter to immortalize the events of the past week?
We've had enough immortalizing... The coup before last was started by the artist we hired to paint the earlier coups we crushed.
So...what set this one off?
S-Sorry...? What do you mean?
The students of Red Winter Academy are infamous for their revolutionary zeal, but even our student body would struggle to mobilize for this many coups without provocation.
We usually only have to fight off a coup attempt every three days or so...
So what's instigated this constant revolt against my rule over Red Winter Academy?
W-W-Well...
According to our investigation, the ringleaders of the recent coup were upset about the condition of Red Winter Academy's bathing facilities.
Bathing facilities...? But Red Winter Academy has the best bathing facilities in Kivotos!
They've never whined about bathing before, so why now?
...I suspect it's due to their experience with Hot Springs Resort No. 227.
Hot Springs Resort No. 227? What does that pretentious water closet have to do with it?
Hot Springs Resort No. 227 exposed the students of Red Winter Academy to bathing luxury beyond their wildest dreams.
After bathing in paradise, returning to the academy's somewhat...unadorned facilities was a little jarring.
Hmph, I could hardly tell that there was any difference.
Anyway, so long as there's hot water, we can bathe! Red Winter Academy's communal dormitories always have plenty of hot water!
...Though some students find it inconvenient that the boilers only come on at 7 AM and PM each day, for two hours at a time.
...Especially when the heating breaks down completely, and you get sprayed with cold water.
N-Nonetheless, our Red Winter dormitory showers can accommodate hundreds of students at once!
So in sheer scale, there's no beating our facilities!
Even though they're just old showerheads without privacy partitions...
I do miss taking a warm bath after a hard day's work and feeling my stress melt away...
Oh, and drinking a fresh glass of coffee milk afterward...
O-Of course, no matter how delicious coffee milk is after a hot bath, it's nothing compared to the Cherenka you make, President Cherino!
A-And it's pure bourgeois decadence to seek luxury in something as practical as bathing...
...
I-I'm being honest! Please, don't purge me again...!
...Then our best course of action is to fully renovate Red Winter Academy's bathing facilities.
Uh... Huh?
Is something wrong with your ears, Chairman Marina? Can't you hear someone speaking to your face?
I said that we need a full renovation of Red Winter Academy's bathing facilities!
If the officers of the Secretariat are voicing discontent, the majority of students surely share their grievances.
Being a great leader requires more than ruling with an iron fist. I must listen to the voices of the people and tend to their needs.
I am not so obstinate as to impose my will without regard to the wishes of the students!
...Besides, if I keep facing coups over something as trivial as bathing, I'm sure to lose power for good...
An amazing decision, Great Leader!
Rather than condemn the students rebelling against your authority, you recognize their suffering and embrace their needs as your own...! I am humbled and inspired by your vision!
Ahem, but of course! I am Cherino, the student council president of Red Winter Academy, head of beautification, Great Leader, head of physical education, and more besides!
Once word of the renovation spreads, the fires raging through Red Winter Academy will surely calm, quenched by the flood of your compassion!
Shall I prepare an announcement for publication in The Red Bear?
Hm, please proceed, Chief Secretary Tomoe.
In the meantime, in order to renovate the bathing facilities...
...should we start by doubling the size of the showers?
Um, I think that may be going in the wrong...
Expanding the size of the showers is an excellent idea, but would it not be advisable to consult with an expert on the subject?
An expert? Is there a bathing expert in Red Winter Academy?
Red Winter Academy has an entire facility filled with them. After all, some of our students expertly operated a hot spring resort in the recent past.
They are...
After all those desperate appeals thrown from the freezing walls of the Former Institute...
Our pleas have finally reached the ears of President Cherino!
...Have you finally decided to strike the manacles from our wrists?
...It's more like parole. Provisionally.
Do you really think you can be released, despite your utter lack of reflection or reformation? Don't be so presumptuous.
How can you say that?!
We've endured the harsh conditions of the Former Institute without complaint and filed countless letters of apology through the proper channels. Surely that proves that we've reflected on our behavior and kept a low profile!
...A low profile?
I-I mean, obviously, we climbed to a few high places to get a view of Sensei...
Like how I climbed that telephone pole outside Schale and got arrested by Valkyrie police students...
That's precisely my point! If I pardon students who break my rules repeatedly and without remorse, the authority of the Secretariat would collapse!
Tch... Well, there go my hopes and dreams.
Then why summon us so suddenly, if you're not going to release us?
Now, there is something I want to ask of you, personally.
If you do your part and fulfill my request, I will pardon all your past wrongdoing, award you medals commensurate with your service, and even raise you to positions in the Secretariat!
Medals or whatever from President Cherino are fine and dandy, but...
You left us to rot all this time, and now you're calling us out of the blue to ask for a favor... Something's fishy.
Last time we met, you were still furious that we'd opened a hot springs resort on our own initiative.
On the contrary, the Red Winter Office was highly impressed with your results.
By managing a thriving hot springs resort without any previous experience and providing excellent service to academy students and our visiting guests, you embodied the unconquerable spirit of the working class.
...Even though it was an unauthorized business?
It's true that you neglected to obtain the approval of the Secretariat.
So, to rectify the situation and give you an opportunity to make amends, we would like to offer you the chance to manage a large-scale bathing facility.
What? Do you mean to say...that you intend to revive Hot Springs Resort No. 227?
Hmph. We barely stopped those brats from Gehenna from turning the entire academy into an ocean of lava, we won't be digging up a hot spring again anytime soon.
To be precise, we would like you to help us renovate the communal showers in the academy dormitories.
Our students have made their wishes clear, and we're launching a complete overhaul of Red Winter Academy's bathing facilities...
And the members of Spec Ops No. 227 are the only students who have experience with such an endeavor.
Oh, so the dormitory baths, not an actual hot spring...
Then I won't be able to offer people drinks after they bathe.
There may be space for additional amenities in the future, but right now our primary concern is remodeling our bathing facilities to accommodate the entire student body.
So we would like Spec Ops No. 227 to tour the other academies and submit a report to the Secretariat detailing if any of their facilities would be suitable for use here.
You want us to tour the bathing facilities of other academies...?
Yes. We lack the time and expertise needed to renovate our dorms from scratch.
Importing facilities that have been proven to work for another academy would expedite the whole process.
That's where your team comes in. With your invaluable experience, the Secretariat is prepared to grant you the authority to contract the renovation out to another academy, should you determine that their facilities would meet Red Winter's bathing needs.
Accordingly, the Red Winter Office will cover any expenses incurred during your research trip. In fact, we highly recommend that you take advantage of any opportunities that are offered to you, so long as they relate to bathing.
Our students normally wouldn't be afforded this level of luxury, so be grateful!
Hmm. Usually when a deal sounds too good to be true, it is...
But Shigure! This opportunity is once in a lifetime!
If we get this right, we can escape the icy clutches of the Former Institute, and maybe even start our hot spring services again!
And we can try out the bathing facilities of the other academies for free while we're at it! It'll be like a spa holiday, why would average students like us ever refuse?
Well, if you really want to, Nodoka, I won't say no...
I want to!
In honor of the now-defunct Hot Springs Resort No. 227, we promise to find the perfect bathing facilities for the students of Red Winter Academy!