Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Author Note:
We’re returning to slice-of-life chapters for a while.
Thank you for the typo reports as always.
Chapter 019 – Fufufu, son. I Hope You Can Repay that Dedication
Time passed to May, and after recovering from his injury and returning to normal school life, Rean’s surroundings had changed since the field study.
Rean felt that people who used to look at him from a distance were now looking at him with more fear, and there was an increase in their whispers.
The most notable ones were the noble students.
They looked at Rean from a distance as if he was a dangerous fellow who would become dangerous to defy, and even when Rean talked to them during student council activities, some even spoke in frightened manners.
Patrick Hyarms repeatedly behaved in a way that Rean couldn’t understand, such as approaching him as if trying to talk to Rean only to leave without saying anything.
[“Fufufu, son. That’s a teenager’s emotional fluctuation so you should just leave him alone. He wants to thank you for helping his father, but he’s at an age where he can’t be honest.”]
Should I just bring up the topic in his stead?
[“Only the person in question should make their own resolve. It’s better for you to just wait until he resolves his internal conflict himself.”]
Naturally, the topic about the destruction of the monster breeding facility, the punishment of the nobles involved, as well as the so-called deathmatch with Countess Aurelia Le Guin had spread to Thors Military Academy.
However, the only people who were aware of the exact story were those from the Four Great Nobles and some count families.
The Albarea’s power was still capable of suppressing the events in Celdic, but the events in Parm were spread throughout the empire, albeit limited to some nobles, thanks to the influence of Marquis Hyarms.
The reason information control was applied was to prevent the spread of scandals such as how some nobles bred monsters and sometimes spread them through jaegers.
However, the members of Class VII Group B, who had made meritorious contributions, had been praised, and the fact the significance of the Special Class VII had been redefined made Sara happy.
Within Class VII, the number of conflicts between Jusis and Machias visibly reduced which was also a huge shock to Group A and the fact that Group B had become closer to each other also played a part in this.
Laura in particular, seemed to have promised to keep in regular contact with Kurt, whom she met during field study, and even wrote letters to in class.
At that time, group A’s shock of seeing Laura asking Rean whether he had any things to say to Kurt was still fresh to their memory. Laura seemed to have calmed down quite a bit.
For the time being, Rean entrusted social greetings as a martial artist, saying that he would ask for a match should he go to the imperial capital or when Kurt came to visit.
{“However, nothing changed in Rean’s daily life.”}
Aah, I still have remaining time left after the volunteer activity.
While nodding to the revived Valimar, Rean finally had some free time after concluding the volunteer service for the student council for the day.
The current Rean was said to have managed to have secured an attachment with Aurelia Le Guin, who was famous as the Golden Rakshasa, had suffered a serious injury and was forced to take a leave of absence in school in the aftermath—— at least that was how the story spread.
At Aurelia’s request, and with the help of Marquis Hyarms, no stray bullets were directed at the Schwarzer family, but the fact, that a baron family overturned the difference of social status, had captured the nobles’ attention as a sensitive issue in the Noble Faction, spreading a peculiar atmosphere.
The reason they looked at Rean in fear was in fear that if they caused any harm, Rean would attack them without hesitation regardless of their social status —— at least that was what they thought.
Perhaps that was also why, through the student council activities, Rean began to receive more and more respect from the commoner students.
It made Rean called upon more often to deal with some of the arrogant noble students, and he resolved them without hesitation.
As for noble students whose families were counts or above, perhaps they had received notice from Marquis Hyarms, but as soon as they saw Rean, they kept their distance, and as for nobles below a count status, the deadly spell of “Shall I call Countess Le Guin?” become quite effective.
“Leaving Marquis Hyarms aside, Aurelia-san is supposed to be a countess, but her influence is actually quite great. Well, I didn’t mean that a count’s family is a low ranking noble, though.”
[“Fufufu, she has the position of being the commander-in-chief of the territorial army of Lamare Province, but she is also one of the best swordsmen in the empire. Apparently, there are many legends she left behind in this academy.”]
By the way, when communicating with Aurelia through ARCUS, Rean was allowed to call her by name instead of countess.
She promised to take him to a hot spring when she had time, so as a hot spring fan, Rean was a little excited.
Just as Rean was about to turn a corner in the hallway, he sensed someone walking down from the other side.
Rean slowed his pace a little to be careful not to collide, but as he felt a familiar presence, he sped up his pace.
“Rosine.”
“Eh?”
When Rean called out, Rosine popped her head out from around the corner.
Although Rean appearing suddenly was surprising enough, the fact he knew it was her before he even saw her face on the opposite corner stunned Rosine such that her mouth gaped open.
“Aah, sorry about that. I just felt your presence.”
“Rean-san. I think you should interact with others in a normal way.”
“I just thought it should be okay since the other person is Rosine.”
“Well, I don’t mind.”
“Then it’s fine, right?” said Rean, but Rosine put her hand on her cheek and gave a troubled smile.
“Are you going somewhere, Rosine?”
“Not in particular at the moment. I was just thinking of visiting Instructor Thomas for a talk later. Come to think of it, are you feeling okay now?”
“I think you have already asked me that right after my break.”
“Injuries are always a matter of concern.”
Walking up next to her, Rean matched his pace with her as he was curious about something.
Rean didn’t hide anything from Rosine and revealed the details of the field study.
Or rather, it was more of how because Beryl saw through it, Rean was forced to reveal the whole situation to Emma as well.
Emma puffed out her cheeks as if her anger had resurfaced, and Beryl was giggling.
Rosine consoled Rean, but Rean felt she seemed to be thinking about something.
When Rean pointed that out, Rosine just said he didn’t need to worry about it, though……
“Hey, Rosine. I’ve seen you and Instructor Thomas together a lot lately, but are you two acquainted from before coming to the academy?”
“Eh?”
“Both of you seemed both more like close associates rather than instructors and students…… um, if that’s the kind of relationship you two have, perhaps I shouldn’t follow along?”
Rean would ask without embellishing his words if it was other people, but he was cautious when asking Rosine.
He once saw Rosine, after returning from meeting with Thomas, with bowgun in hand and her uniform was worn out as if she had returned from a battle.
Even if an instructor might ask a student to help them with something, Thomas didn’t seem to be a person who would ask such a request to a student who had only been enrolled for a month, based on the impression that Rean had.
In that case, it was more likely that the two of them were acquainted for a long time.
Perhaps…… as Rean was about to guess their relationship, Rosine waved her hands in panic, which was unusual for her.
“No, it’s not the kind of relationship you’re imagining. It just………… well…………… Rean-san, may I ask you for a favor?”
“Okay, what do I do?”
Rosine quickened her pace and stood in front of Rean.
She had a strong impression of being a tender woman, but Rean could see a strong spirit in her eyes that overturned that impression.
“Can you teach me the basics of close-quarter combat?”
＊
Rean and Rosine borrowed the key of the old schoolhouse from the Principal Vandyck and went there.
It was the place where Valimar’s main body was enshrined and had a decent amount of space, so it was often used for testing remote controlling, so it could be said that it was the training site of Schmidt’s classroom.
“Well then, about the basics of close-quarter combat……”
Rean then looked at Rosine.
She still wore her green uniform, but the weapon in her hand wasn’t her usual bowgun, but instead an unfamiliar sword.
The sword has many crack-like lines engraved on its design, so there must be some meaning behind it, thought Rean as he readied his tachi.
“For the time being, I’ll adjust accordingly, so you can start attacking me now.”
“I understand.”
Rosine readied her sword.
When Rean allowed her to make the first move, Rosine immediately launched an attack.
Just like what he did during the training session in Vander dojo during the field study, Rean only focused on defense and blocked her sword.
Her physical abilities aside, her sword skills aren’t that great. As far as combat power is concerned, I think she’s stronger when using her bowgun. Yet why would she want to use a sword?
Because of the clear difference in her weapon proficiency, Rean concluded that Rosine’s sword skill was no match for Jusis’s court swordsmanship.
Naturally, Rosine was unable to break down Rean’s defense, and only the heavy sound of steel clashing echoed inside the old schoolhouse.
Rosine attacked while Rean blocked, avoided, or sometimes pushed with force to open the distance, and this was done repeatedly.
Not only was she unaccustomed to close-quarter combat, confrontation with Rean consumed more of her stamina, and she was already losing her breath.
I guess it’s time to end this, such was Rean’s judgment as he pushed Rosine to open the distance.
Rosine reorganized her breathing and looked for an opportunity.
The standoff ensued for a while.
Sweat dripped from Rosine’s hair and fell to the ground.
At the same time, Rosine made a sudden move.
Contrary to Rean’s expectation, Rosine rushed straight at him.
Rean thought she was being reckless as she rushed forward without any tricks, so he blocked Rosine’s sword from below.
As Rean was about to move his tachi forward to push her away —— he suddenly felt a chill on his back and immediately tried to dodge to the side, but Rosine grabbed Rean’s clothes and tried to keep him in place.
However, she was weak and had no way to stop Rean, so he put his left hand around Rosine’s waist and jumped away with her.
As Rean moved away from Rosine’s sword, he saw something like a wire in the corner of his vision.
The two of them rolled on the ground, and while Rean immediately stood up, Rosine was unable to do so and collapsed.
Erratic breathing that she attempted to put back in order could be heard.
“How is it, shall we continue?”
“…………No, I’m sorry.”
“Roger, then let’s stop here.”
Rean sheathed his tachi, took out a towel through Osbon, and put it on Rosine’s body.
Next, he retrieved the sword that was thrown away, and noticed the sword had a mechanism.
The sword had a split structure, and a wire was passed between the separate blades to create a whip-like bend.
The chill he felt on his back was probably the split sword approaching his back with a bend.
It was a gimmick that would have landed a hit for most people who saw it for the first time.
[“Fumu, this sword is…………”]
Dad?
[“No, it’s better if you hear it from Miss Rosine.”]
After saying that, Osbon went silent.
Although Rean was concerned, it would be better to let Rosine rest for now.
It took some time for Rean to put the gimmick back to its place, and by that time, Rosine’s stamina had returned to the point she was able to raise her upper body.
When Rean once again used Osbon to hand her water bottle, Rosine moistened her throat and squinted her eyes as if she found the water tasty.
“Hm, hm… haah.”
“…………………”
“Rean-san?”
“Well, I just thought I saw something unusual.”
“Is that so?”
“It is,” said Rean as he accepted the water bottle that Rosine held out to him.
The fact Rosine only consumed half the content showed how considerate Rosine was.
Rean drank a sip of cold water and pushed the rest onto Rosine.
She seemed to want to say something, but when Rean told her that she was sweating more than he was, she finally agreed and took the water bottle.
“Rosine is usually full of composure, or rather, it gives the impression that you wouldn’t get upset and accept everything. That’s why it’s so rare to see you express your emotions like that.”
“I wasn’t particularly conscious of it, though…”
“Then I guess you got to know it now. How to say it, it is adult-like? Beryl is also someone who doesn’t show much emotion, but she is more like swallowing people than embracing people like you do.”
“Fufu, that is rude to Beryl-san.”
“Rosine, who laughed at that, is as guilty.”
“I guess so,” said Rosine with a wry smile as she drank the rest of the cold water.
Seeing how she was drinking a lot, Rean asked whether she wanted a second battle, but Rosine shook her head and said she had enough.
Rean sat down next to Rosine.
Rosine was dumbfounded by Rean’s sudden behavior, but he just passed back her sword.
“This doesn’t seem to be an ordinary sword. Is it a specialized weapon for type of martial arts?”
“I guess you can call it a specialized weapon, in a way. It’s not very well known, but I’ve seen some people at church using it.”
“Church?”
“Yes. It is called a Templar sword, and due to my………… connection with the church, I received one.”
Rosine seemed bewildered and stopped speaking for a moment, but Rean didn’t seem to notice that as he replied, “Beryl had said something about Artifact.”
It was said that Valimar was supposed to be categorized as one, but he wondered what would happen in the end.
“In other words, you received that Templar sword while helping out at the church. But Rosine also uses a bowgun, so there’s no need to force yourself to use the sword, right?”
“But if I can use a sword, I can support Rean-san in a wider aspect.”
Rosine said that as she took out something.
It was an object that looked similar to ARCUS… or rather, it really was ARCUS. 1
“Rosine, that.”
“Yes. Professor Schmidt made copies and distributed them to everyone in the Schmidt Classroom including me and Beryl-san. Although it’s not as advanced as one that everyone of Class VII has, it seems to have a simple tactical link function built in. I am grateful since I can use it even though my aptitude for ARCUS doesn’t meet the Class VII standards.”
“See,” said Rosine as a tactical link formed between her and Rean.
Ignoring Rean’s surprise, Rosine continued talking.
“Rean-san had the ability to approach the personage called ‘Golden Rakshasa’. It made me realize that using a bowgun alone is not good enough to help you.”
“Rosine…………”
Warmth filled Rean’s chest.
Rean wanted to say that Rosine’s ability didn’t matter and her feelings alone were enough to make him happy, but he refrained.
It was something that Emma told him before. He had to respect the feelings of others, not just from his own perspective.
“I’m not used to it yet, but if I can learn a combat method by combining it with a bowgun, then I think I can expand the range of what I can do. At the very least, I think it’ll be enough so that the burden of collecting combat data from the Divine Knight won’t be forced to be done only by Rean-san and Emma-san alone.”
During the combat against Valimar controlled by Beryl, Rean and Emma, who had formed a tactical link, were the main attackers, while Rosine supported them using a bowgun.
Rosine smiled happily, saying that this time, in addition to the tactical link, she would be able handle both short-range and medium-range combat, which would reduce the two’s burden.
Furthermore, as far as controlling Valimar was concerned, Rean, Emma, and Rosine could do it as well, but Beryl controlling it was the most suitable for data collection, since Rean and the others were in charge of combat, so this was the most common arrangement.
{“Fumu, I guess I also have to encourage you.”}
“Valimar-san?”
{“I have also learnt how to establish a tactical link. Since Beryl is also able to use it, I should be able to utilise a bigger variety of movements.”}
“I see that you had great achievements during the field study.”
Rosine wasn’t surprised to hear Valimar’s voice coming from Rean’s heart and instead praised him with an impressed voice.
I’m impressed how open-minded and generous she is, thought Rean with a wry smile.
When the conversation ended, Rosine slowly stood up.
The strong spirit hidden in her eyes spoke a thousand words.
“We have class tomorrow, so let’s just do it in moderation…… don’t think like that, okay?”
“Yes, that’s what I want. Please take care of me, Rean-san!”
“Oh!”
{“That’s my line,”} complained Valimar which was ignored and Rean continued the training session with Rosine for as long as her energy lasted.
Afterwards, Rean carried Rosine, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, to the student dormitory, but for some reason, Instructor Thomas called Rean and questioned him in a more detailed manner than necessary about what they were doing. 2
Author Note:
I thought Rosine could be a guest party member using a Templar sword and bowgun…
I wanted to hear their dialogue when linked.
When she became the focus of the chapter, the story was tended to be serious, making Rean-kun calmer.
Perhaps it was because I couldn’t write a slovenly version of Rosine-san. She was protected.
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