Blue Archive story · Volume 3: Eden Treaty, Chapter 2, Episode 14
Vol. 3 Ch. 2 Ep. 14: A Confession
1 scenes, 203 lines
1. Sensei's Room
203 lines
Hi, Sensei... I thought you might still be awake.
"Having trouble sleeping too?"
Yes. I just can't manage to fall asleep.
Don't forget about me!
Hanako...
What are you all doing in here?
Shouldn't you be asleep, Koharu?
Look who's talking! Tomorrow's exam day for all of us!
She's got us there...
...
Actually, I went out too. I met with some of my contacts from the Sisterhood. There were a few things I was trying figure out.
It's about the building where we're scheduled to have our exam.
D-Don't tell me they changed the location again!
No, it's not that. I was told the entire Justice Task Force has been dispatched to defend the building.
...?!
All of them...?
The Tea Party told them the building houses sensitive documents relating to the Eden Treaty and to protect it at any cost.
The entire campus is under martial law. That explains why things have been so quiet.
Y-You can't be serious. Nothing like this has ever happened before.
No one is being allowed to enter or leave campus until the Eden Treaty has been signed.
Then how are we supposed to take our exam tomorrow?!
We'll essentially have to fight the entire Justice Task Force if we want to take the exam.
No...
That can't be right... I should try contacting Hasumi.
I don't think that will do any good. Hasumi and the others were likely kept in the dark about their orders' real purpose.
She would be disobeying orders if she helped us. Hasumi would be expelled from the Justice Task Force at the very least.
...
Nagisa is not going to relent. She will do everything in her power to have the Make-Up Work Club expelled.
Is all of this really necessary? Why is she so paranoid?
It's because of me.
Azusa?! Where have you been?!
...
There's something I have to tell all of you.
Azusa?
...
Are you sick or something? You look so pale.
And you're shaking.
There's something I've been hiding from you...
...but I can't hide it any longer.
I'm the one Nagisa is looking for. I am Trinity's traitor.
Huh?
What are you talking about?
...
I originally attended Arius Satellite School. I was able to infiltrate Trinity because my documents were forged.
A-Arius? Infiltrated...?
...
Arius Satellite School...was the faction that opposed the Trinity alliance when it was formed many years ago.
A lot of complications arose from that, and Arius has been in hiding ever since, as I understand it.
That's correct. I had never once left the Arius district in my life until I began this mission.
I infiltrated Trinity at Arius' behest.
My mission is...to destroy Nagisa's halo.
What?! That means you're...!
Your...mission is to kill her?
...
Correct. Arius is determined to eliminate the Tea Party at all costs.
Arius convinced Mika to place me at Trinity under the guise of reconciling relations between our two academies.
They must have targeted her because of her inexperience and naivety. Mika isn't nearly as politically adept as Nagisa.
They may have even planned to pin the blame on her after the deed was done.
I've heard Arius and Trinity were mortal enemies, but I never could have imagined that something like this was being plotted in this day and age.
Why tell us any of this? What's it got to do with us?
I get a lot is going on behind the scenes between Trinity and Arius, but what's it have to do with our club?
...
...
...
Arius students will advance on Trinity tomorrow morning with their sights set on Nagisa...
...and I'm going to protect her.
...
Y-You're going to protect Nagisa?! But tomorrow is...!
...?!
I know, but there's no other choice. I must stop them.
The campus is under martial law, but Nagisa has the entire Justice Task Force stationed at the building where we're supposed to have our exam. The main building will be practically defenseless.
There's never been a better time for an attack. That's why Arius is striking now.
Hanako...
Wait, something still doesn't make sense!
You said your mission was to assassinate Nagisa! Why do you suddenly want to protect her?!
That's because...
Because that's the real reason you enrolled at Trinity, isn't it?
...
You took on the mission to assassinate Nagisa because your real objective was to protect her from the very beginning. You're a double agent, aren't you?
You've been telling Arius what they want to hear, but in secret you've been preparing to betray them.
So why protect Nagisa? Whose orders are you following?
No one's. This is my own decision.
The Eden Treaty will fall through without Nagisa. If that happens, Kivotos will only plunge further into chaos.
And more academies could suffer the same fate Arius has.
Are you saying you're doing this for the sake of peace?
You're being naive. What you're attempting is as foolish as the treaty itself, Azusa.
...
You're a liar and a traitor.
You hid your identity from Trinity and your true intentions from Arius. You've lied to everyone around you and deceived them into thinking you're someone you're not. Isn't that right?
Hanako...
I told you before. I knew a day would come where I betray everything I've ever known, my friends, my faith, and my heart.
Oh, Azusa. Why...?
As I said, I'm the traitor Nagisa has been searching for. I've put the Make-Up Work Club in grave danger.
I'm sorry... I understand if you despise me, welcome it, even. Everything that's happening is my fault.
"That's not true, Azusa."
Sensei?
"We're in this crisis because Nagisa didn't trust anyone."
...
"If only Nagisa had trusted the four of you."
"And if Mika had believed in Nagisa, then..."
"...none of this would've happened. This is where being untrusting led us."
...
Yes, I know, Sensei. I'm actually very aware of that.
I also know it's nearly impossible to change someone as jaded as Nagisa. She has no faith in anyone but herself.
Yet the same can't be said about our little Azusa. She trusted us with the truth and apologized. She didn't even make excuses or become defensive when I pushed her buttons.
Sorry I did that, but I couldn't help tease you when I saw your adorable and innocent expression. It was tugging on my heartstrings a little too tightly.
...
It's strange. Our Make-Up Work Club has become the center stage of everything happening, and there's a great big spotlight exposing all of our dirty little secrets.
Normally, you wouldn't expect a spy like Azusa to remain in the spotlight for very long.
You could have disappeared without a trace weeks ago if you truly wanted to...
...and yet you didn't.
...
...!
You enjoyed us studying together, eating together, even doing the laundry and cleaning together. You had fun every single time.
You didn't want the fun times together to end.
You reveled in us all working together toward the same goal. You've had fun learning beside your clubmates and Sensei.
Isn't that right, Azusa?
...
Well, I...
...
Yes. You're right.
I can't think of any other explanation.
I enjoyed learning new things with each of you and sharing our lives...
...and I didn't want that to change.
There's still so much more to learn and places we can go together.
Like the beach, festivals, and theme parks.
Azusa...
...?
She was so talented and adept. Everyone couldn't help but adore and praise the things she did.
Splendid job, Urawa! That was a complex problem.
Heh heh. We could really use your support, Urawa.
Why not join us, Urawa. We're the only ones who can keep the Tea Party in check.
Be ready, Hanako. There will almost certainly be a seat open for you at the Tea Party next year.
*sigh*
This isn't me...
All I want to do is...
She found Trinity General School to be a place replete with deception, prejudice, and hypocrisy.
It was somewhere she couldn't open herself up to anyone or be her true self.
...
Everything felt so meaningless to her, so she tried her hardest to drop out of the academy.
For her, it was like breaking out of prison.
You're a much different girl than she was, Azusa. Perhaps better, even.
Come to think of it, you completing this mission would mean the end of your academy life, wouldn't it?
You enrolled under false pretenses and plan to betray the place you originally came from. You'll have nowhere to return to once this is over.
Th-That hadn't even dawned on me...
...
You knew that was inevitable, yet you still worked your heart out while in the Make-Up Work Club.
That other girl tanked her exams on purpose so she could run away while you dedicated yourself to the fullest.
Why? Why try so hard? You said it yourself: vanitas vanitatum. Vanity of vanities, everything is in vain.
There is undoubtedly some truth in those words...
...and yet, that's not all you said. There was something else you added at the end.
Yes. Even if everything is in vain, there's no reason we shouldn't give life our all.
But you shouldn't allow yourself to be bullied. Even if everything is meaningless, you should never give up.
It was then that the girl I spoke of realized something.
She realized how much fun academy life can truly be.
Cleaning the swimming pool in her underwear, going out for a midnight stroll in nothing but her swimsuit, having a symposium with her friends as they wore absolutely nothing at all... It was so much fun.
That's...not how I recall most of those.
It was a SWIMSUIT symposium! We were wearing our swimsuits!
So you DID clean the pool in your panties! You admit it!
Heehee. ♥
It turns out that girl isn't so different from you after all, Azusa. So, even if everything is in vain, I don't think we should give up just yet.
Hanako...
Didn't you say you wanted to learn more? Discover more?
That there was so much more you wanted to experience? Like visiting the beach or staying out all night.
Why give up on those dreams now?
There's no reason to. Nothing has changed.
Your mission is now OUR mission. We'll protect Kirifuji Nagisa from Arius' attack.
And then we're going to take our exam and pass.
That witch won't have any complaints once we do that. We'll pass, even with all of the ridiculous conditions she's placed on us.
It doesn't matter how many soldiers she places in front of that testing site or how many subjects the exam covers. We're each going to score a 90 or higher.
Because what other choice do we have?
But...how? It should be physically impossible.
Arius' attack coincides with the start of the exam.
Could we maybe ask others for help...?
No.
It won't be enough to help us pass our exam.
If we're going to do this, we'll need to get one step ahead.
Up until now, we've been playing right into our opponents' hands. This time, we're going to devise something of our own. We already have all the talent we need in this very room.
A member of the Justice Task Force, a guerrilla warfare expert, a seemingly average student favored by the Tea Party, and me, someone who knows everything there is to know about Trinity.
...?
F-Favored...?
...?
And to top it off, we have Sensei: the ever-capable leader of Schale.
"I...suppose, yeah."
Wh-What?!
Who said anything about doing that?!
...
Relax. I know the plan is to take the third exam and avoid failing. ♥
I'll devise the plan. All you have to do is follow instructions and give your all.
Now let's show them what we're made of!
"L-Let's goooooo?"