Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Author Note:
At the end of Cold Steel I, she rode Valimar together with the protagonist. By the beginning of Cold Steel II, they ran through the civil war, as partners, while riding the divine knight, even though both felt reluctant about it. In the Cold Steel II, she served the role to help suppress the ogre power together with Emma. And in Cold Steel IV, she was seen alongside Rean, who was taken away and captured. Such was Celine.
Don’t you think she could be considered a heroine already?
Chapter 002 – Fufufu, son. Make Peace with the Cat
Trista was a small city located near the imperial capital Heimdallr in the center of the Erebonia Empire.
Rean was looking out the window on the passenger train bound for Bareahard while thinking about his future.
“Thors Military Academy… We’ll be arriving in a little while.”
[“Fufufu, son. It’s important to feel anxious while thinking about the future, but there’s no need to worry. I’ll be accompanying you today after all.”]
“It’s more of ‘possessing me’ and “today as well” instead of accompanying me, though.”
[“Rejoice, it’s parental visit day every day for you.”]
“That doesn’t sound like a good school life.”
Since there were no other passengers nearby, Rean could speak out to Osbon without worry.
Normally, Rean would be wary of people around and keep his voice low, but now, he couldn’t help but be happy to be able to speak out to his heart’s content.
[“Fufufu, son. You seem to be in a much better mood today.”]
“I just think what dad said might be true after all.”
[“Fufufu, then let’s look forward to that.”]
As they were chatting, the announcement informed them that the train had arrived at Trista.
After gathering his luggage, Rean got off the platform and stepped into Trista Station.
“So this is Trista… the roads are well-cleaned, with rhino flowers scattered around, and the scenery is beautiful. The river is flowing beautifully. There seems to be good fish swimming there.”
[“Those wearing green uniforms are probably fellow students of the military academy.”]
“Perhaps that means those who wear a red uniform like mine could be in the same class as me… oops.”
Rean was admiring the view of the city, but when he noticed a female student wearing the same red uniform walking from behind, he gave way for her to pass.
It seemed his consideration was the right course of action, as the blond girl was also busy looking around just like Rean, enjoying the scenery without noticing him.
[‘Hou, so you noticed. I was just about to call out to you about that.”]
“Perceiving presence is just a basic skill of martial artists, I guess.”
[“But that’s too bad. You just missed a flag because of that.”]
“Dad, what is this ‘flag’ you mention from time to time?”
[“Fufufu, I will give you the same reply as I usually do—— consider this your homework.”]
“You always say that whenever things go wrong…” 1
After sighing, Rean looked around the station once again.
Then his lips parted slightly and he moved his legs enthusiastically.
“We still have some time until the entrance ceremony, so I guess I’ll go around Trista a little.”
[“So it’s the start of the Trista Marathon—— then let’s begin. The first mission would be to check out the boys and girls who wear the same uniform as you are.”]
“Roger that.”
When Rean had free time, he would run around the area and talk to the residents, commonly known as XXX Marathon.
Rean, who had been thoroughly educated by Osbon, ran around Trista without questioning his own actions.
There was a cat-like girl sleeping on a park bench in front of the station platform.
In the chapel, there was a tall man with dark skin who appeared to hail from Nord.
Along the path of the academy, there was a girl with a ponytail who seemed to be a fellow martial artist.
When Rean arrived at the main gate of the academy, he saw a noble boy with a dignified appearance.
Including the blond girl Rean saw on the station platform, he was able to find about five students wearing the same uniform.
At the very least, compared to numerous students wearing uniforms, there were only five other students Rean found to wear a red uniform. Rean thought that there should be no mistake in his guess that they belonged to the same class.
“Well then, the time… I guess it’s still okay. Let’s go around a little more.”
[“Repetition is the etiquette of a runner. It’s really diligent of you.”]
As Rean lived together with Osbon, he realized that the secret of exploring the surroundings was about repetition.
Learning the importance of confirmation during a marathon had a great impact on Rean’s life.
“That said, time is limited. So I’ll run a little, dad.”
[“Umu. Make sure not to bump into anyone.”]
After saying that, Rean started running again.
Rean failed to notice that behind him, there was a concerned girl’s voice.
“George-kun, did that boy forget something? He was groping his left arm and seemed to be talking to himself a lot… I’m worried.”
“U~hn, people from all over the empire come here after all. I guess people like that would appear from time to time. There are Crow and An as precedents too.”
“I see. It can’t be helped… I guess. I hope he can return in time.”
“You’re right, Towa.”
＊
[“Fufufu, son. It’s about time.”]
“Aah, I guess I’ve finished seeing what can be seen at this time of day.”
After he was trained by Old Master Yun and learned how to control the power of ogre, Rean’s body wouldn’t lose breath with mere marathons.
If he ran back now, he should be able to make it in time.
With that thought in mind, Rean was about to return to the academy when Osbon called out to him.
[“Son, look at that park bench.”]
“Hm? That’s… isn’t that just a black cat sleeping there? Well, it’s cute, though.”
[“Fufufu, it seems you’re still immature, son. You should ‘focus’ your eyes more and observe it again.”]
Despite the doubt, Rean did as Osbon told and looked at the black cat sleeping comfortably on the bench.
His pupil turned from black to burning eyes that seemed to be filled with flames.
Several years passed since the power of ogre awakened, and with Osbon’s help, Rean was now flexible enough to do things like partial awakening.
Then, Rean saw there was a lot of mana around the black cat, which made his eyes go wide.
In his current state, Rean was able to see what he called Spirit Particles, the flow of mysterious, invisible power.
According to Osbon, this seemed to be a small application of the power of ogre, and Osbon sounded smug that Rean couldn’t have done it without him.
[“Don’t you think that’s too unnatural for an ordinary cat?”]
“Why on earth is that cat…?”
[Since it’s wearing a collar, it might be someone’s pet. Well then, it would be a good idea to check it in person. Since we don’t have much time, do it cautiously and quickly.”]
Rean nodded and quietly approached the black cat to prevent it from noticing him and walked over to the bench.
It was footwork without any sound of footsteps and a presence that even an assassin would be impressed with.
But the black cat seemed to sense the presence of an unruly person getting close to it, and suddenly opened its eyes just as Rean reached out his hands.
Their gazes met, and the black cat should have let out a threatening meow——
“W-What the heck is that? What’s the thing stuck on your arm!”
Yet that wasn’t the case, instead the cat spoke fluently just like a human would while looking at Rean’s left arm.
Rean was stunned.
The cat speaking human language might be one of the reasons, but above all—— that black cat was showing excessive caution while pointing at Osbon with its trembling paw?
That black cat was, without a doubt, staring at Osbon, who was clinging to Rean’s left arm.
“No way, can you actually… see this doll?”
“The problem isn’t whether I see it or not! Why is there something containing the Diverg——” 2
[“Fufufu, oh kitten. You shouldn’t say more than that.”]
“Dad, what are you talking about?”
Rean was curious about the black cat that could see Osbon, but he couldn’t figure out what to do next.
The black cat was startled by Osbon’s words and immediately jumped off the bench and ran away.
Rean, who was distracted by Osbon, was unable to prevent the cat’s actions and it escaped.
“P-please wait!”
At that moment, Rean completely forgot that the entrance ceremony for the military academy was coming up.
Osbon immediately reminded Rean, but he didn’t listen.
It was because that black cat was something more important than the entrance ceremony.
Rean chased the black cat with all his might, as if saying the body he had trained so far was for this moment.
“Why are you chasing me!”
“Because you’re running away!”
“Isn’t it obvious to run away if you chase me so desperately!”
“I just want to talk to you!”
“Are you trying to sell me off because I can talk?!”
“I definitely won’t do that!”
“All humans say that!”
“I’m a little different from other humans!”
“That’s right. You are a pervert who chases cats around after all!”
Perhaps feeling a sense of danger from Rean chasing after it, the black cat escaped by making full use of paths and side holes of houses that humans couldn’t fit into.
However, Rean’s ability to detect presences greatly exceeded that of an ordinary martial artist.
Because he had run a Trista Marathon beforehand, he was less likely to get lost on the path he saw for the first time, and was able to chase the black cat with a minimal loss of distance.
Later, rumors spread about a talking cat and a weirdo, Rean Schwarzer, chasing after it.
This was the moment that Rean was confirmed to be late for the first time ever, something that had never happened before, even back in Sunday school.
＊
It was only after thirty minutes that Rean managed to hold the black cat in his hands.
The deciding factor of the chase was the fast ball thrown using a swordtail Rean caught beforehand. 3
There was no way the black cat, which was moving and getting hungry, would be able to hold back when fish was thrown in front of it.
Aiming for the instant the black cat stiffened when it saw the black fish, Rean successfully caught it and it—— resigned due to exhaustion. Rean carried it with him and headed to the outskirts of Trista.
This was done out of consideration of Celine, who was a talking cat, but as it complained in his arms, saying it preferred other kinds of consideration.
“I’m sorry, I just got too excited…”
“Haah, enough already. Both of us panicked after all.”
[“Fufufu, son. It’s a valuable experience of chasing woman around.”]
“I never thought that the said woman would be a cat, though.”
“It’s also my first time being chased around by a man.”
Rean expressed his gratitude for Celine’s surprisingly obedient attitude, which was hard to believe since she got chased around so much by him earlier.
I did something bad and that’s not good. As Rean reflected, Osbon spoke to Celine while ignoring the boy.
[“It seems like you are really able to hear my voice.”]
“Yes… but why is something like you in a place like this?”
[“Well, I’m just watching over my son.”]
“……………He said he’s a little different, but is he something pretending to be human?”
[“He’s a human. The reason he said he’s a little different is just that he has a different constitution than others.”]
“Hmph,” said Celine, seemingly uninterested.
Realizing the cat was no longer wary of him, Rean put Celine down from his arms.
“Aren’t you going to run away?”
“I’ve already seen your agility. Even if I tried to run from here, I’ll just get caught in no time. In that case, it’s more efficient to let you finish your business.”
“Sorry about that… as for my business, well… Can you continue to meet with me?”
“Haah?! What are you talking about…!”
[“You’re so direct, son.”]
From Rean’s perspective, he didn’t wish for more as long as he was able to share a common topic of Osbon, so he could only say it in that manner.
But being told to the face that he wanted to see her again in the future, Celine couldn’t help but raise her voice.
If one only listened to the words, it was something spoken in a sweet and sour atmosphere between man and woman.
“Dad… I mean, this Osbon doll, is something only I could see until now. But when I found out Celine could see dad as well, I just couldn’t stay still… so I ended up chasing after you. I’m really sorry about that.”
“……In other words, you just want to share a common topic of conversation.”
“Aah.”
“You should have said that directly if that’s the case,” said Celine with a tired sigh.
Rean would have spoken his earlier words exactly with his intention in mind, but he had learned from his experience with Elise that when a woman was in a bad mood, the correct course of action was to remain silent.
“In that case, please bring the girl named Emma Millstein. We got to explain it together to her after all.”
“From what I am guessing, that must be the name of your owner.”
“Well, I—— no, I guess I’ll just say it when Emma comes. I actually shouldn’t have spoken, but since I already did, I’ll have to tell her about it.”
“……I wonder if there will be any problem if I go to the entrance ceremony now?”
“You should be prepared for a sermon or two.”
“I’ll do just that. So Celine, where should we meet?”
“Emma will be looking for me, so you can just follow her.”
“Okay. Well then, you can keep that fish as a present… see you later.”
Celine chewed the fish as if to say the deal was sealed.
With that sound behind him, Rean returned to the academy.
His steps felt heavy, and he was wondering what excuse he could come up with for being late.
Author Note:
Because I wrote it out of impulse without planning for plot, the story deviated from the original plot.
I had to at least decide the landing point…
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