Blue Archive - Story of Joshua Sensei

Chapter 3 - The Shittim Chest

I look down at the tablet and press the button on it. It lights up.

"Please enter the system password."

Password... I have no idea, so let's-

We thirst for the seven wailings.

We bear the koan of Jericho.

As I move to enter a password, my fingers move on their own and enter these two lines. How?! When?! I blinked and they were typed in!

Seven wailings? Jericho? More Ark of the Covenant references...

"...Welcome to the Shittim Chest, Joshua Sensei. Converting to operating system A.R.O.N.A. for biological authentication and generation of verification certificate."

The 'chest' lights up and blinds my vision After it dies down, I find myself somewhere new, a strange classroom. The floor has water on it and the wall is broken, allowing a view out toward the endless blue sea and sky.

Hearing a soft noise, I notice the only occupant in the room, a small girl, sleeping on a desk. She has pale blue hair with pink highlights, held with a white tie, resembling rabbit ears. She wears a blue sailor uniform with a white collar and skirt. On her feet are white shoes. Above her head is a circular blue halo. There also is an umbrella next to her feet... no, it's a rifle in the shape of an umbrella. Wasn't something like that used to kill a guy in Bulgaria back in the seventies?

"Zzz..." She snores, her head resting on a desk. This is odd. She mutters something about banana milk in her sleep.

I walk to the her. How can I wake her up? I swear, this is some kinda magic stuff so...

I poke her cheek. It's soft and squishy.

"Huh...?" She says. Her blue eyes open slowly. "H-Huh?!" She shouts as she jumps to her feet.
She lets out a cute yawn. "What's going... on?" She still looks half asleep. "Huh?" Her eyes widen in realization.

Flustered with a blushing face, she stutters. "Uh... Huh? Wha..?!"

"You okay?" I ask, concerned. Did she break?

"S-Sensei?!" She shouts. I notice her halo has spikes in it, no longer perfectly circular. "If you're here, does that mean you're Joshua Sensei?!"

"That's me."

"What? I'm right? What time is it?" She begins to freak out.

"Calm down, gather your thoughts." I say.

"Okay, Okay. I'm calm. I'm calm." She says. Her halo has become circular again, but is now 'dripping' and is a dark blue.

Her halo returns to normal as she clears her throat. "Um, so... Oh, that's right! I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Arona!" She says, cheerfully. "I'm the system manager that lives inside the Shittim Chest, serving as its main OS. Think of me as your trusty secretary, Sensei!" Her halo then turns into a red heart. "I'm so glad to finally meet you! I've been waiting a long time!"

"It must've been a while if it caused you to pass out." I point out.

"Yeah, well... I guess I might've dozed off there." Her halo turns spiky again.

"Well, it's nice to meetcha, Arona." I say, flashing a grin.

"Yeah? I'm happy to hear that." The little OS says, her halo becoming a heart again, before it turns back to normal. "My physical form is still small, and my voice could use a serious upgrade, but I know I can still prove to be useful to you!" She says with a smile. "Still, I'm surprised you could enter this place."