Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Author Note:
It’s shorter than usual, but since I saw it end on a good note, I posted it anyway.
Thank you for the typo reports as always.
Chapter 011 – Fufufu, son. You Can’t Escape from this Event
Sara Valestein was worried.
Tomorrow, she intended to give a practical exam to Class VII, which she was in charge of, but there was a boy called Rean Schwarzer whose combat ability was a whole two or three scales higher compared to the other students.
Sara was shown some of the combat data of the remotely controlled knight doll known as Divine Knight in Schmidt’s classroom, but leaving the combat skills gained from using the Divine Knight aside, Sara didn’t miss the Craft that utilized that giant shadow manifested from Power of Ashen.
The image of herself falling down on the ground back during their mock duel against Rean during the entrance ceremony was actually not a mistake.
Even if both sides fought seriously, Sara was confident that she would be able to win against Rean in his initial state, and even if the gray shadow was conjured, Sara was confident she would be able to give a good fight.
But the moment the Divine Knight was summoned, Sara’s defeat became certain.
It was frustrating for her as an instructor. It was one thing if it was only to buy time, but Sara was aware that she hadn’t transcended humanity enough to defeat something like the Divine Knight herself.
“I expected him to be the center of Class VII, but at this rate, the other students would only become his burden.”
On the other hand, if Rean was left alone, he would literally fly away, so to put it in a sense, putting burdens on him might be a good idea, but that wouldn’t be good for the other students.
Although the student named Rean stood out, the other eight students were also people Sara should be guiding.
In addition, if the burden was attached in a wrong way, Rean might fly away while carrying all those burdens, and Class VII might really turn into a den of weirdos.
“That said, as things stand now, he is so different from others that I doubt he’ll be able to socialize with other students.”
It would be a good thing if everyone’s rivalry burned through and led to each other’s growth, but if the difference between their abilities were too great, one would instead feel resignation.
Except for Emma, who already got along well with Rean, and Laura, who sought to improve her martial prowess, everyone else was a problem.
If the other students who often hang out together with Rean were mentioned, it would be Beryl of Class III and Rosine of Class V.
Leaving Rosine aside, Sara found it surprising that Rean actually got along well with Beryl, but that wasn’t the crux of the problem.
The problem was he was on better terms with students in other classes compared to those in Class VII.
The principal’s request to explore the old schoolhouse was for Class VII, through Rean.
Originally, the plan was meant for the entire class to work together to overcome adversaries and strengthen their bonds in the process.
However, Rean’s bonds instead strengthened with Emma and the students of other classes, and they managed to discover the Divine Knight hidden in the old schoolhouse on the first day and solved the mystery.
Now, the school even summoned Schmidt and Rean became the number one problematic student in Sara’s classroom.
As soon as she thought that, Sara was ashamed of herself.
Although Beryl was questionable, Rean’s group, other than Rean himself, were decent people. Rosine’s figure that always gave follow-up for Rean’s behavior was often seen.
Since the other students were decent, it made it seem like the problem came from Rean.
“No, Rean himself is actually a serious and good kid… at least I think he is. He just happens to accidentally cause incidents or get involved with these bizarre things one after another.”
She was not lying about Rean’s personality when Sara reported it to the principal.
He worked diligently during his volunteer work with the student council, and he would help people in trouble in town even if he wasn’t punished for the incident at the entrance ceremony, which showed how good he was as a person.
However, was it out of the guidance of Aidios, something innate, or something that possessed him?
Every time Sara tried to reevaluate Rean for the better, he always caused trouble, which made Sara drown her troubles in liquor and flush them down her stomach.
Although that behavior wouldn’t necessarily make her worries go away, the momentary taste that spread on her tongue lightened her mood a little.
“……………………………It hasn’t been a month since they enrolled, so if they were put in a situation where they had no choice but to get involved, perhaps their relationships would change, for better or worse.”
What Sara had on her hand was the exclusive curriculum for the Class VII that would be implemented next week, the field study.
Although the formation of group A and B had already been decided, Sara decided to make a kind of bet.
In other words, she was in for a penny, in for a pound.
＊
Today was the day of the practical exam that Sara had informed them prior for some time.
Sara talked about the details of this exam in front of Class VII who had come to the school ground.
Sara kept reminding herself that simply pushing with force wasn’t good enough, especially when Rean was involved, which showed how much effort she was putting into the exam.
“Well then, Rean, Emma. Come forward.”
“Eh?”
Rean couldn’t help but give a sound of questioning.
This was because Rean had assumed that to show the importance of Tactical Link and with the premise that collaboration could be done quickly, he thought he would be teamed with someone else.
Emma seemed to feel the same way, from the way her eyes widened beneath her glasses.
“You seem to find it weird, huh? There’s a reason for this. The abilities of the two of you, especially Rean’s, are outstanding even by Class VII’s standard, so I wanted the two of you to be the role models. It’s to show the potential of Tactical Link once it is used properly.”
“I see. If that’s the case, okay.”
Rean was convinced, but he could feel a strong gaze piercing into him.
It was from Laura.
She was a swordswoman from the Arseid School of Swordsmanship.
As a martial artist, she was curious to be told that someone of a similar age was actually stronger than she was.
Considering how often she requested for a spar with him whenever Rean seemed free, it could be seen how interested she was.
“It’s a pity I don’t get to measure your abilities personally, but it’ll allow me to assess it nevertheless.”
“Since I carry the name of Eight Leaves One Blade School of Swordsmanship, I won’t present a pathetic fight.”
“I look forward to it.”
[“Fufufu, sparks flying between swordsmen. It’s a stereotypical development, son.”]
{“I can feel a fierce will… although the scale is different, it is the nature of the Divine Knight to feel excitement on the battlefield.”}
As Osbon and Valimar watched over him, Rean quietly polished his fighting spirit.
The energy flowing from his body was sealed inside the sheath.
He took a step forward and drew his tachi at the same time.
“…………………Mumu.”
“Heeh.”
“I-I wonder why… It’s supposed to be warm air with the spring sunshine.
“It makes me feel chills…”
Laura frowned, and Fie looked at Rean’s back with interest.
Even Elliot and Alisa, who had no formal knowledge in martial arts, felt the change in the air and rubbed their arms to relieve the cold.
“It feels like being in the center of a typhoon… even though the surroundings are rough, one can feel that the center feels peaceful, or rather, calm.”
Gaius, who possessed insight similar to Rean’s eye of observation, expressed it like that.
He, who grew up in his hometown of Nord Highland, surrounded by the majestic land and wind, felt Rean’s figure was reminiscent to that of a stone statue of a heroic figure.
“To think he is this powerful…”
“Kuh, to think someone like that…”
Although Jusis didn’t care about reputational damage, he saw Rean as a person who tended to cause ruckus, but this made him change his evaluation of Rean.
Machias felt indignant to see the noble that he regarded as an enemy seemed to be much stronger than he was.
The pressure and intimidation exuded made people unable to say that Rean might be surprisingly weak since he hadn’t shown his combat prowess.
[“Fufufu, son. You understand, right?”]
Aah. I just have to present a fight that shows cooperation with Emma, right? It has nothing to do with Eight Leaves One Blade, but it’s not the first time I show off my training to impress others.
When training to control the power of ogre, Rean once performed a sword dance to children of Ymir following Osbon’s advice.
The children, who took the change in Rean’s hair and eyes color as a magic trick, enjoyed it purely, but the same couldn’t be said to adults.
For the sake of the slightly surprised residents, Rean had researched movements that could attract attention.
“Please take care of me, Emma.”
“Yes, me too.”
The Tactical Link was activated.
Emma was used to supporting Rean’s movement from the Divine Knight’s trial.
The opponent this time was a doll in comparison to the last time, but he could win by drawing out the abilities of the other party.
At least compared to the Divine Knight’s attack, it was like a joke.
In that case, Rean decided to do his best to make the audience enjoy it.
[“Fufufu, son. This is Appeal Point, or AP for short.”]
“I see you’re ready. Well then—— begin!”
At Sara’s call, Emma unleashed Arts from her magic staff marking the start of the practical exam.
——“Rather than a result of a practical exam, it feels more like a play,” such was what their classmate would later say.
Their opponent —— a puppet doll’s method of attack was basically tackled using its iron body.
However, its erratic movement as well as its ability to turn invisible and shifting distance made it hard to fight… such was the supposed problem in this combat, and cooperating through the use of Tactical Link was the key to solve the situation.
However, Rean completely saw through the puppet’s movement, and was able to deflect every attack with ease.
Even after it turned invisible, Emma’s Arts stirred up dust and exposed its position by targeting the areas where the sand moved unnaturally.
The puppet, which was being toyed thoroughly, lost its balance due to Rean’s Crimson Slash, and was hit directly by Emma’s Arts, temporarily stopping its movement, which marked the end of exam.
“Emma, are you okay?”
“Fufu, I’m fine.”
Rean sheathed his tachi and took a deep breath while feeling regret.
He wasn’t tired, but he couldn’t help but wonder if he managed to impress his classmates.
Then he saw the blank faces of his classmates, with Laura trembling and Fie calmly measuring the combat power of Rean and Emma.
Just as he was feeling at a loss of what to say, Sara clapped her hand to draw attention to herself.
“Okay, you have worked hard. It seemed like an easy battle. The difference of strength is more noticeable than the cooperation, but it wasn’t a bad performance. It’s unexpectedly decent and good enough for a passing grade.”
She sounded somewhat relieved as she made her evaluation.
The line “it’s unexpectedly decent” showed Sara’s worry.
Rean tilted his head in curiosity, but Emma, who had guessed Sara’s worry, had a remorseful expression.
As Sara snorted at the other students who were surprised at the two’s high leveled abilities, she continued with the practical exam and announced the group of remaining students who would compete with each other.
After everyone finished the exam, Sara handed over a document to students of Class VII with a determined expression on her face.
“This is…?”
“It’s the special curriculum exclusive for Class VII. It’s the printout detailing the field study.”
Sara explained that this curriculum was a practical training where they go to certain regions of the empire to do assignments.
The details of the appointment were as follows.
Group A: Emma, Alisa, Elliot, Gaius. The destination was Celdic, the Market Town.
Group B: Rean, Machias, Jusis, Laura, Fie. The destination was Parm, the Spinning Town.
“Wha……………”
“…………………”
“This is…………”
Rean, Machias, and Jusis all looked at each other, and the other two except Rean looked away while cussing.
Laura’s gaze stabbed Rean’s back, while Fie observed with sleepy yet wary eyes… or maybe it contained curiosity, but it was hard to tell.
So I’m not together with Emma. Too bad.
[“Fufufu, son. Isn’t there me accompanying you?”]
{“I’m also here.”}
…………Can I bring Celine with me?
Unaware of the gazes directed at him, Rean regretted not being able to be together with his friends during the field study.
Author Note:
Osbon:
“What is it, son? Are your classmates all landmines? Think like this instead. It’s okay to step on it. If there’s a lot of problems (HP) then just chain S-Craft (landmine) to reduce them all at once.”
The flow of the plot so far had me thinking of giving Rean a reason to skip the field study(because of Osbon and Schmidt), but I didn’t want to overdo it and ruin the future plot, so I decided to let him stay involved.
Tsukii Note:
Hello again! I hope you’ve enjoyed this story so far!
I’ll just spoil things ahead, but every time there’s a field study episode, Rean will go to the destination his game version self didn’t go, as in, the path he took was contrary to the one he took in the game version. Note that the plot that happened there will still happen even with Rean’s absence, with some of those skipped plots bearing relative degrees of importance in future plots. So if you’re curious about what happened on each “other road,” just search the gameplay video of Trails of Cold Steel, or better yet, play it yourself.
Want early access to Cannon Fodder, Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer, and I Was a Man Before Reincarnating, So I Refuse a Reverse Harem? Support the translator on Patreon!
