Release Princess Mika!

Chapter 8: Welcome to Trinity

The commute to school was far more peaceful than I expected. I mean, you might think, What could possibly happen while taking the train to class? But there’s one crucial fact that you must never forget here:

This place is Kibotos—the den of chaos where all sorts of madness reside.

So the fact that nothing happened on the train isn’t something to take for granted—it’s something to be grateful for.

Since this is earlier than the events of the original story, I can’t say for certain what the named students are up to right now, but my guess is that even before the main story, those disasters-in-human-form were never model students.

Sitting on the train hugging a gun gives me a strange feeling. Something that, to any reasonable person, would scream “abnormal” is now on track to becoming my daily routine.

What kind of high school girl goes to school armed, you ask?

Amazingly enough, that’s the norm in Kibotos. This world is so utterly deranged, it took the absurd joke of “military service high school girls” and made it common sense.

The girls here pilot tanks, handle guns and bombs like it’s nothing, and even take hits to the body in combat.

From a modern-day perspective, it’s ridiculous—but since people rarely die, all this insanity just became standard practice.

In my arms right now is Quis ut Deus, the firearm Misono Mika uses—her exclusive weapon in the game—now materialized in real life. The gun model is a Lanchester Mk. I.

Other than Blue Archive, I’ve only ever seen it in that movie called Nom Nom Nom or whatever. I’m no military otaku, and I haven’t done any service either, so I don’t really know much beyond that. I doubt even someone who had served would know much about a gun from that long ago.

The design is so pretty that I couldn’t help growing attached to it—very fitting of Mika, honestly.

Makes me think I’m already halfway to becoming her. I didn’t even realize how close my speech had gotten to Mika’s usual tone until Nagisa pointed it out.

When I remember how even curse words had been “auto-filtered” into “Wa~ow,” I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Still, it’s a bit bittersweet, feeling like I’m slowly losing my original self.

Apparently, handling firearms is such basic knowledge here that the students don’t even bother learning it from tactical BD. It’s something they pick up naturally from kindergarten through elementary school.

But thankfully, I have my radiant beacon of hope—Nagisa! Help me, Nagisaemon!

Honestly, I was worried about carrying the gun out of habit—something ingrained into Mika’s body—and thought maybe I’d just burdened myself with something I couldn’t even use.

But Nagisa assured me she’d take me to the Tea Party’s shooting range and help out when she had time, which was a huge relief.

Though she uses a handgun as her main weapon and isn’t particularly known for her combat prowess, she said she could at least teach me the basics of firearm handling with confidence.

Honestly, even if I used the gun as a blunt weapon, Mika’s body alone could probably overpower most students—but still, there’s a clear difference between being able to shoot and not, so I planned to learn properly.

That said, seeing Nagisa dozing off beside me makes me realize that even Kibotos students need proper sleep. I’ve been getting drowsy too, and it seems that physical ability doesn’t override brain fatigue.

Because of the wings on my back, it was hard to lean back properly, and I found myself awkwardly dozing off in an upright position.

I pulled Nagisa closer to lean on my shoulder, and she opened one eye to glare at me—only to end up nestling closer, making things even more awkward.

Her shampoo scent drifted into my nose. Realizing I probably smell the same made me feel this weird, guilty sense of immorality. Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Still, Nagisa had been through a lot, so I decided to let her catch some sleep. Maybe, just maybe, she was hurting inside just as much as I was.

After passing a couple of stations, I started hearing the whispers of nearby girls.

"...Oh my, isn’t that Misono Mika over there?"

"Gasp, it really is...? Wow, it’s my first time seeing her in person... I think the rumors actually understated how beautiful she is?"

"Seriously... I guess this is what it means to be one of Trinity’s top beauties. Oh, and that’s Nagisa next to her, right? So it was true they’re inseparable in private life too."

They were just ordinary Trinity students. As far as I know, the Tea Party maintains a rather secretive stance, so they rarely interact with regular students. But one of these girls must’ve seen Mika in person before.

Though I’m not sure if they recognized her specifically as the host of the Tea Party, or just as someone wearing the uniform.

Ugh, I’m getting sleepy for real. I can’t afford to miss my stop…

My eyes grow heavier. Maybe it’s because of how cozy the thing next to me feels that my head starts tilting in that direction.

I think someone adjusted my position while I was dozing off. I’m not sure—it was hazy—but I get the feeling it was Nagisa.

The mob students stopped whispering after we made brief eye contact. Though later, I would come to realize it would've been better if they’d just kept whispering.

Because that day, a photo was secretly taken titled: "Trinity’s Top Two Beauties Sleeping While Leaning on Each Other on the Train.jpg"

And it would soon begin quietly spreading through the halls of Trinity Comprehensive Academy.

***

Thankfully, we didn’t miss our stop. A Yorkshire Terrier beastkin sitting nearby woke us up and asked if we were getting off at the next station.

Truly, dogs are man’s best friend. That other backstabbing animal can get out.

Anyway, I was curious to see what Trinity Academy would look like in real life. Since it’s modeled after Britain, the school’s layout takes the form of an island, and with its strong Christian motifs, I imagined it would have that signature grandeur as well.

I’d been to Vatican City before, and even as someone not religious, I remember being in awe walking through the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.

And now, the actual view of Trinity Academy spread before my eyes—

"…"

—for a moment, I was struck speechless by its beauty.

The architecture, saturated with religious influence, immediately drew the eye and inspired admiration.

Trees and grass scattered throughout the grounds helped soften the heavy religious tone and reminded me this was still a school.

The lake water was so clear it looked drinkable—though no way a refined girls’ school would allow that.

"...I see. So this is your first time, right? What’s your first impression of Trinity Academy, Mika?"

If I were to really be honest... I don’t get how people raised in such a beautiful place end up with such twisted personalities. But there’s no way I could say that to Nagisa.

"I’m not really sure how to put it. It’s just... stunning in a way that moves your heart? Yeah, I think that describes it best."

"Fufu. I’d love to give you a tour right away, but there’s someone we need to meet first. Once we’ve discussed how we’ll move forward together, we can walk around afterward."

"Someone to meet... You mean the other Tea Party leader, Seiya-chan?"

"Yes. Seiya hasn’t been told about your memory loss yet. I figured explaining in person would be more effective than over messages. Since you’re unable to carry out your duties as host right now, Seiya and I will support you as much as we can. It won’t be long until Seiya takes over the host role anyway, so please hang in there until then."

"But... even if Seiya-chan becomes the host, doesn’t that still make me one of the Tea Party leaders?"

"Well, yes. Technically, that’s true. But I don’t think you need to worry too much. I believe the current you will adapt to Tea Party duties just fine."

I appreciate the trust, Nagisa. I really do. But that last line... are you implying the real Mika couldn’t have handled it?