Blue Archive story · Volume 1: Foreclosure Task Force, Chapter 3, Episode 13
Vol. 1 Ch. 3 Ep. 13: Hostage
1 scenes, 179 lines
1. Part 1
179 lines
I'm back.
Um, yeah.
Welcome back, Shiroko! You washed up and got back here so quickly!
Oh, could you grab the light too? I need to start waking up.
Mm.
You're gonna get yourself in trouble ordering Shiroko around like that, Serika.
Wh-What?! I wasn't being bossy or anything!
Everyone gets a little lazy about turning on the lights!
Um... Any news on Sensei?
No, nothing new yet...
All we know is that Sensei's in the hospital. No serious injuries, but they haven't woken up yet either.
Hm...
I suppose we can be grateful they came out of such a terrible accident relatively unscathed...
It's like miracles follow around in Sensei's shadow. I'm glad they're okay.
For now, we're gonna have to assume we can't get any support from Sensei, though.
We have to figure it out on our own. Some kind of way to secure the rights to the Train Cannon and make sure it never moves again.
Can we request aid from another academy?
...No. That's not something we can pull off without Sensei.
There's no time, anyway. If we want to make it all the way to Central Station on time for the meeting, we need to leave now.
...
Ah... I'm not mentally prepared for this...
I don't see Nonomi. Where'd she go?
Ah, she stepped out for a little bit. She said she had something to take care of.
That was a while ago, no? She should be back by now.
Hm. What's going on with her? I can't help but worry a little...
...Butler? I came alone, as promised.
I can confirm.
I trailed you after you departed Abydos. No one followed.
You?! Where's my butler?
I'm here, Miss.
I was surprised by your request. I didn't think you would reach out to me. Did something happen?
But...
Perhaps...you've changed your mind? You wish to return to Highlander and become president?
At last, you've made the correct choice! This way, Nephthys will be able to take full ownership of the Train Cannon without a problem.
No! That wasn't my intention at all... I won't leave the Foreclosure Task Force!
What then? What was the purpose of all this?
...Even if I don't become Highlander's student council president...
...Nephthys must have some way to solve the Train Cannon ownership issue.
...
Nephthys is a member of the private equity fund and a partner with Highlander, so...they're a majority holder in the private equity fund.
If Nephthys focuses all its power and authority on this problem, surely...
Both the Foreclosure Task Force and the Abydos Student Council...are irreplaceable, precious things to Shiroko and Hoshino...
It may just be a name, but if there's some way to protect them...any way...
...Hah... Hahahaha! You truly are the picture of naivete, Miss. Your view of the world is so shallow.
In other words, you'd like to get exactly what you want with zero cost or sacrifice to you.
...!
Do you understand, Miss? There's no such thing as a free lunch. Everything is give and take. You can't solve anything with your unreasonableness.
Do you really expect people to listen to this nonsense? You don't understand how the real world works! You're no different from when you were in middle school.
I've told you the solution already. Return to Highlander Academy. Then everything will be solved.
Th-That's...
You know, I could forcibly re-enroll you right now, but I don't want to do that to you.
Well, of course, there is a solution we're working on. A way to keep the Train Cannon from the private equity fund.
Wh-What is it?!
Beg for forgiveness, Miss.
...!!
Apologize, and beg for forgiveness for defying the Nephthys group and causing us harm. Do that, and I'll tell you.
...Hey.
Don't interfere, Suou. This is important.
...Yes. Understood.
I apologize, Butler...everyone at Nephthys...
I'm sorry for...all the damage I caused...
Good, very good. Some of my anger is finally dissipating.
I suppose that was satisfactory. I'll tell you our plan now.
Our original plan was as follows.
We believed that once the Foreclosure Task Force became aware of the Train Cannon, they wouldn't be able to ignore the situation. Its very existence goes against their morals and values.
With help from their ever-present ally, Sensei of Schale, they would do their utmost to attend the general meeting and maintain the contract.
Just like that student council president, they'd attempt to maintain Abydos' ownership of the Train Cannon, or even find a way to destroy it.
That Sensei... We've seen the reach of their power. Allowing that path would have been...dangerous.
The Foreclosure Task Force, supported by Schale, could not even be stopped by Kaiser PMC. And that was all done without Takanashi Hoshino.
And so, the private equity fund gathered an enormous number of troops in Abydos. They probably thought even the mighty Schale wouldn't be able to break through that kind of force...
But Sensei...and all of you would likely be undeterred, even by that.
Which is...exactly what we hoped for.
...What?!
It doesn't matter to us who wins. What matters is that a clash between Schale and the private equity fund would cause great losses on both sides.
As the two forces battle to their destruction, we would send in our allies and eradicate both the private equity fund and the Foreclosure Task Force in one fell swoop.
Yes. Our ultimate goal is to eliminate the private equity fund and monopolize the Train Cannon.
Absolutely! The Train Cannon was ours to start with! Ours! We won't let anyone take it!
With it, we'll be able to accelerate Nephthys' revival by at least ten years.
Who would have thought that the scrap metal we discarded, thinking we'd been scammed, would actually be operational...?
However...
It seems that Sensei has not returned to Abydos yet. The Foreclosure Task Force will not be able to successfully attend the meeting without Schale's assistance.
I was beginning to worry the plan was falling apart... Heeheehee.
Heeheehee...but I didn't think you would help us like this.
You've been used, Miss.
Why...? Yume, why?
Where are you...? I'm sorry.... Please... Please...
Yume... *sob* I'm...I'm sorry... I...
...Yume... *sob*....
(Ah...)
(I guess you didn't find what you were looking for today...again...)
(And tomorrow, you'll wander through that wasteland...again.)
(Day after day...without ever tiring... Why...?)
(Why...? For what...?)
(It would have been better if I had just forgotten everything and left Abydos...)
(If I had written off everything that happened here as a dream and forgotten it.)
(Then, at least there would have been no pain...)
(Why...?)
(Why...did I decide to remain here...?)
(Yes... I should've dismissed it as a dream...let it slip from memory...)
(I...)
Hoshino...
...Well done, Suou. Take Miss' student ID and credit card.
...Was the offer to return to Highlander and become the student council president a lie?
Naturally. It wouldn't benefit us to put someone who refuses to follow orders in power.
She will serve as an excellent hostage instead.
The family's heir...as a hostage...?
Yes. The board authorized this course of action. Of course, we have no plans to harm her.
Now, we'll contact the Foreclosure Task Force and demand they attend the general creditors' meeting.
If they refuse to listen, we only need to threaten to transfer Nonomi to Highlander Academy.
To what end? You don't wish for them to maintain the contract, do you?
Of course not. The exact opposite.
We'll have them confess that Kuchinashi Yume and Takanashi Hoshino's Abydos Student Council was a counterfeit organization.
I see.
Regardless, without Schale's assistance, the Foreclosure Task Force will likely be unable to reach the meeting. But that won't stop them from doing everything in their power to recover Nonomi.
And the more chaos they cause, the more opportunity for us to eradicate the private equity fund entirely.
And even if they are successful in their assault on the private equity fund's blockade, they'll simply be forced to renounce the previous student council, and the Train Cannon will fall into your hands. A rather perfect plan.
Then, please move Nonomi to the promised location.
I will go contact the Foreclosure Task Force.
*tchhhk* ...I'm sorry, Hoshino... I...made a mistake...
*cough* *cough*... Shiroko... Ayane... Serika... *cough* Hoshino...
From the beginning...I never should've come here...
I am a member of Nephthys...a perpetrator...
I stayed purely out of guilt...so it doesn't matter if I return to Highlander...
I only wish that all of you can live guilt-free...unshackled.
Please don't reject President Yume...and the Abydos Student Council as something fake because of me...
Sensei will help, and you'll find a way to destroy the Train Cannon. I believe in you.
...And that's your current situation. Takanashi Hoshino, Foreclosure Task Force.
Find a way to attend the general creditors' meeting, and confess that the Abydos Student Council was a counterfeit organization.
You will certify that all activities conducted by Takanashi Hoshino and Kuchinashi Yume's student council were unauthorized.
Only then will Nonomi be allowed to stay with you all, rather than the Highlander underground prison.
...The sun is rising. There's not much time until the meeting.
I hope you make a wise decision.
...
...N-Nonomi.
Th-That's...
Nonomi...
Hm. So that's how things are shaking out...
Hoshino?! Where are you going?
I need to leave now. We'll have to do as he says, if we want Nonomi back.
Wh-What?! You want to listen to that jerk?
I won't lose another person I care about. I've already lost Yume... If I fail Nonomi too...
B-But, against that kind of force...
She's right. We need to wait for Sensei. They're going to come help. I know it.
No one's waiting for anyone. I'm going alone.
What?!
What do you mean alone?! You're going to break through that blockade, all by yourself?!
Yeah. I can do it. I've made up my mind.
...You'll take care of the private equity fund, fight off Nephthys, and rescue Nonomi?
...Gah.
What do you mean, "gah?!" How're you gonna deal with the fallout?
What fallout? I go in, deny the Abydos Student Council, and then I won't be the vice president anymore.
I'll dismantle the private equity fund, destroy the Train Cannon, and none of it will fall on the Foreclosure Task Force.
What kind of solution is that?! What about YOU?
Hm... Well, for me, it'd be suspension, a chat with the Corrections Bureau, expulsion... I guess leaving Kivotos would be the final step?
That's why you guys are going to stay put.
...!!
You guys, as in the Foreclosure Task Force. Isn't that obvious? The real student council, approved by Sensei. This way, everything'll be tied up nicely, with a little bow on top.
Sh-Shiroko? Who're you shooting at?!
That's dangerous, Shiroko!
Meet me on the rooftop. It's a showdown.
Wh-Wh-What is even happening?!
A...showdown?
Heh. A showdown, eh? It's been a minute, hasn't it?
Am I in a teen drama right now? I've got butterflies!
W-Wait...! Hoshino, Shiroko?!
What is happening right now...? This is ridiculous...
Wh-What do we do, Serika?
We gotta follow them, duh!