Kivotos is a vast academy city formed by thousands of academies, serving as the main stage for Blue Archive. Each academy goes beyond being a mere educational institution with teachers and classrooms, possessing its own autonomous districts, student councils, economic activities, and even security forces and military power. Large academies operate independently like nations, forming pacts or holding exchange events with other academies, and sometimes clashing militarily. The city features not only a dense urban center with skyscrapers but also deserts, snowfields, forests, coastlines, islands, abandoned industrial facilities, and ancient ruins. The world outside Kivotos exists, but its geography and social structure are not fully revealed.
World Overview
In Kivotos, students are responsible for the core functions of society, including administration, public safety, research, and production. Clubs also vary widely in nature, from hobby groups to quasi-corporate tech organizations, merchant guilds, medical organizations, and special forces. Students attend classes and exams, worry about their grades and career paths, earn living expenses through part-time jobs, or live in dormitories. There are also infrastructure facilities such as convenience stores, restaurants, banks, broadcasting stations, railways, and the internet. "Momotalk" is a messenger used by students and teachers to communicate and make arrangements.
The residents are not only students but also animal-like residents who can speak and work, and robots that think like humans. They operate shops or are employed by companies to live their lives. Among the students are those with wings, horns, tails, or animal ears. In addition to the Teacher, there are characters depicted as adults. The Teacher holds a special position due to being an adult from outside invited to the academy and their approach to students.
Above the students' heads float halos of varying shapes and colors for each individual. Students are much more durable than ordinary humans, able to withstand gunfire and explosions and recover after combat, but they also feel fatigue and pain and can sustain injuries requiring treatment. The destruction of a halo is a critical event directly linked to death. When they fall asleep or lose consciousness, their halos become invisible, which is different from destruction. While there is a deep connection between halos, students' lives, and mystery, not all principles are explained. Although physically strong, students experience mental distress such as fear, guilt, and loss.
Carrying and using firearms is commonplace. Students carry personal firearms, and some organizations operate heavy equipment such as machine guns, mortars, tanks, and helicopters. Disputes can escalate into gunfights, and disturbances can occur during club activities, leading to the destruction of buildings. Separate from everyday disturbances, intentional murder, halo destruction, terrorism, and large-scale disasters pose serious threats. Combat effectiveness varies depending on an individual's physical abilities, experience, armament, tactics, and the situation.
The General Student Council is the central organization responsible for the administration of all of Kivotos. Based in the Sanctum Tower, it is involved in the operation of the city, including the D.U., a district directly managed by the General Student Council. However, due to the strong autonomy of each academy, central orders are not immediately enforced in all regions. Early in the story, the disappearance of the General Student Council President creates a vacuum in administration and authority, with remaining members like the Chief Administrator, Rin, continuing their duties. This chaos fuels deteriorating public safety, inter-academy disputes, and political power struggles. The General Student Council itself is composed of various departments and members, and their internal stances are not always aligned.
The official name of Schale is the Federal Investigation Club SCHALE. Established by the General Student Council President and inviting the Teacher as an advisor, this organization is not subordinate to the command structure of any specific academy and possesses special authority to operate throughout Kivotos. Due to autonomous district boundaries and inter-academy interests, it can intervene in cases that ordinary organizations cannot easily resolve. In practice, it negotiates with stakeholders, gains the trust and cooperation of students, and coordinates support from other academies' personnel and equipment. Schale's influence is built upon these authorities and the relationships the Teacher has cultivated.
Schale's work is not limited to criminal investigations and combat. It handles a wide range of tasks, including accepting requests from students, conducting on-site investigations, mediating disputes, providing academic guidance, supporting club activities, processing paperwork, securing supplies, managing events, and responding to crises. The Teacher assists with the survival of Abydos High School, guides the Supplement Club at Trinity, and gets involved in the Game Development Department's activities at Millennium. Students from various academies visit Schale as part-timers or assistants, but this does not mean they lose their affiliation with their original academies or clubs. Schale's office serves as a hub for administrative tasks and a place for students to confide in or visit the Teacher.
In combat, the Teacher directs students by understanding their strengths and the on-site situation, while in daily life, they act as a counselor and mediator. They are not a leader simply because they possess greater direct combat power than students. The Teacher lacks a halo and the same physical durability as students, making their life threatened by gunfire and explosions. Nevertheless, they accompany students to dangerous situations and strive to give even students who have made mistakes or acted antagonistically another chance. The reasons students rely on the Teacher include not only Schale's authority but also the personal trust built through these actions.
Official Teacher Introduction
The Shittim Chest is an unidentified tablet-like device left by the General Student Council President to the Teacher. After the Teacher activates it and is recognized as a user, they come into contact with Arona, and it becomes an important means to support Schale's activities. While its appearance resembles a portable electronic device, it possesses functions and authority that are difficult to explain as an ordinary tablet in Kivotos. Early in the story, it is involved in restoring management authority of the Sanctum Tower, which was disrupted by the General Student Council President's disappearance, and returning it to the General Student Council. However, its manufacturer, internal structure, and full range of possible functions are not disclosed.
Arona is the system administrator and main operating system of the Shittim Chest, an AI in the form of a girl who supports the Teacher's work. The Teacher converses with Arona in a space that resembles a classroom and a sea, unfolding within the chest. Arona provides information about Kivotos and assists in understanding the situation, but she also shows instances of not knowing things or making mistakes. She expresses rich emotions, such as liking strawberry milk and sweet foods, dozing off, dreaming, and worrying about the Teacher's condition. Her relationship with the General Student Council President is also a significant mystery in the story.
Official Arona Introduction
One of the important functions of the Shittim Chest and Arona is to protect the Teacher. Arona provides defense against threats like gunfire and explosions, forming the basis for the Teacher, who is physically weak compared to students, to participate on the battlefield. The protective ability has limitations depending on the situation, and there are instances in the story where the Teacher is actually injured and their life is endangered. The Shittim Chest is also involved in high-level information processing and special system responses. As its manufacturing process and the full scope of its abilities are not disclosed, it cannot be definitively classified as a device capable of anything beyond its confirmed functions.
Phrena is an operating system of the Shittim Chest from another possible world, originally called A.R.O.N.A. She was a companion to the Teacher of that world, Prenapates, and after the events of the final chapter, she came to reside with Arona within the chest of the current Teacher. Afterward, the two administrators coexist and support the Teacher. While Arona is bright and emotionally expressive, Phrena generally maintains a calm and reserved demeanor.
The "Adult Card" used by the Teacher is depicted as a means of payment, similar to ordinary payment methods, but also as a tool to draw out special power in times of crisis. Even the Gehenna group regards its use with caution, and the cost associated with its use is mentioned. A complete set of rules quantifying its specific abilities and costs has not been publicly disclosed. The Teacher uses such means and Schale's authority to help students, but at crucial moments of choice, they respect the students' own will and share the responsibility for the consequences of those choices.
Gehenna, Trinity, and Millennium are the three major academies with significant influence in Kivotos. Gehenna and Trinity have a long-standing adversarial relationship, and many students distrust each other's cultures and values. Conflicts between the two academies can escalate into political issues for the entire autonomous district. Millennium, with its advanced science and research capabilities, has grown into a force comparable to these two traditional large academies.
Abydos High School, once prosperous, has fallen into ruin due to severe desertification, population outflow, and massive debt. Early in the story, five students—Hoshino, Shiroko, Nonomi, Serika, and Ayane—form a countermeasures committee to protect the school. The students defend the school from armed groups and try to repay their debts through part-time jobs, but the Kaiser Group's land acquisition and financial pressure exacerbate the problems. The deserts and ruins of Abydos hold traces of past facilities and events, and the issue of protecting the school is also linked to Hoshino's past and the students' memories of those they have lost.
Gehenna Academy is characterized by its free-spiritedness and chaos. The official student council is the