Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Author Note:
This is Beryl’s chapter, a person who’s filled with mysteries.
Thank you for the typo reports as always.
Chapter 020 – Fufufu, son. Apparently, Women Become More Attractive When They Are Mysterious
“Rean-kun, I’m sorry I forgot to give this to you.”
The president of the student council of Thors Military Academy, Towa Herschel, handed Rean a document, bowing her head.
Although volunteering to help the student council was punishment Sara issued Rean due to him skipping the entrance ceremony and another several days afterwards, she felt that this job was suitable for him.
This was because ever since Rean met Osbon, he started running marathons around the areas he lived in. Unconsciously, it had become a part of his daily routine, so it was convenient for him to have a job that got him running around all over the place.
This time, when he visited the student council where he had concluded the work for the day, Towa suddenly bowed her head.
It seemed to be because there was an omission in the application or a mistake in filling out the request.
Fortunately, the request itself didn’t seem to be an urgent one, but Towa, who already had a small stature, seemed to have become even smaller due to her bowing to the client as well as Rean who had to be sent to another request right after he concluded the job for the day due to this error in communication.
Rean told her not to worry about it and left the student council room, but seeing Towa humbling herself so much, it made Rean feel bad even though he hadn’t done anything.
I guess that’s one of Student Council President Towa’s charms, thought Rean as he confirmed the last request.
As a matter of fact, her workload was abnormal, so Rean thought it wouldn’t be a problem if others made the follow-up when a mistake like this happened, but it seemed that the senior had a strong sense of responsibility.
“Hey, isn’t this requester Beryl?”
The client listed there was Rean’s friend Beryl.
The request was to explore the old schoolhouse.
What’s going on? Thought Rean as he headed to the occult club.
When he knocked on the door, Beryl answered, so Rean entered the room immediately.
The occult club was as usual, with Beryl, the owner of the room, sitting there with a crystal ball placed in the center.
Beryl gave her usual thin smile when she saw Rean.
“Ufufu, it looks like you came in in response to the request, Rean-kun.”
“Even if you didn’t make a request, I would have accompanied you if you had just contacted me, you know?”
“This is more like making a reservation. You’ve been training swordsmanship with Rosine-san recently, right? Perhaps you might be busy.”
“Rosine also has to help out at the church, so it’s not like we train every day.”
Although swordsmanship wouldn’t improve easily in just a few days, Rosine had become more proficient in close-quarter combat compared to when she first started.
I guess it might be about time to have her fight with both her sword and bowgun, thought Rean as Rosine’s temporary instructor, planning her training agenda.
“So, what do you want to do at the old schoolhouse? It doesn’t seem like you’re going there just to see Valimar’s main body.”
“Ufufu, it’s something for you to look forward to. Well then, let’s get going.”
“Oka~y,” said Rean as he escorted Beryl and headed toward the old schoolhouse.
As the two arrived at the old schoolhouse, they proceeded to go up the elevator and explored each level.
For some reason, there were still monsters there, but since they wouldn’t approach unless someone got off the elevator, it became a training spot.
But Rean, who didn’t need to train here, kept an eye on Beryl as he killed monsters while she analyzed.
She was walking with only a crystal ball in her hand as usual.
Naturally, since she had a reliable escort named Rean, she hadn’t broken this stance from the beginning.
After defeating a series of incoming monsters with one swing, Rean suddenly asked Beryl.
“Hey, Beryl. If I happened to have not noticed that request, would you come here by yourself?”
“Ufufu, I knew you were coming so that question is meaningless…… but even if you didn’t come, I had thought of coming here by myself.”
While combing her long black hair with her fingers, Beryl declared it as a matter of course.
Beryl certainly had a mysterious sense of security, but as a friend, Rean was still anxious about letting her go to a place like this alone.
“My guardian spirit is with me, there’s no need to worry.”
“‘Bella Berifes,’ was it? The fortune-telling through that crystal ball is also thanks to this spirit, right?”
“That’s right. Everything is possible thanks to its blessing.”
Beryl spread her arms out like an actress and stared into space.
The fact it wasn’t an illusion showed her high accuracy of fortune telling.
“But haven’t you stopped telling fortunes recently?”
“Yes. I really have a hard time trying to divine your oji-sama.”
[“Fufufu, son. It sure feels ticklish to be called oji-sama by a young girl.”]
Shut up.
“Ufufu, it’s great that both of you get along well.”
“You can see my dad after all, can’t you?”
“Well, what do you think? The only thing I can tell you is that the heart speaks more than words can.”
Although the power of the so-called guardian spirit was one thing, Beryl herself seemed to have strong observation skills.
When they first met, Beryl said that she couldn’t divine Rean, but perhaps the fact she could somehow understand Osbon meant that her power was growing?
[“Fumu, even I can’t see your guardian spirit… what about Vali-kun?”]
{“There’s no doubt there is something spiritual on Beryl’s side.”}
[“In that case, there’s a possibility that it is something related to astral bodies.”]
“Astral bodies?”
Rean couldn’t help but ask about it aloud.
Beryl heard Rean’s words and approached him with interest.
With her arms folded behind her back, Beryl’s face looked like a girl her age as she peered at Rean from below.
“Ufufu, may I ask you for more details?”
“You seem like you are having fun… what do you think, dad?”
Without hiding anything about Osbon, Rean asked out loud.
[“Well, I don’t know the details either. I think Miss Emma knows more about it. It’s just…… I think Vali-kun’s current state could be described as something like that. Perhaps it’s easier to understand if I say it’s something that only exists in the form of a spirit?”]
{“Umu. Even though my consciousness is separated from my body, I can feel a connection with my core.”}
The core referred to the Divine Knight’s main body core, which was in a sense, Valimar’s heart.
“It seems to be in a state similar to Valimar now. A state where only the spirit is separated from its main body…… I guess something like an out-of-body experience? Perhaps that guardian spirit is one of Beryl’s ancestors?”
“Ufufu, let’s leave that as your homework.”
She can definitely hear dad’s words, can’t she…?
Even though Beryl said she couldn’t hear Osbon, it felt like she was able to understand things.
“It seems like the astral body is a type of witchcraft, but Beryl doesn’t feel like a witch. I did think you were one at first, but now that I have gotten to know you more, I feel like you are more of something different…… ‘Divergent Law’ was it? I feel like Bella Berifes is seeing Zemuria through a different rule.”
“Ahah.”
For a moment, Beryl went blank.
Although the person in front of him was his friend, Rean couldn’t sense what was going on inside her.
It was as if she had just been phased out and replaced……
“Thank you, Rean-kun. That was a very interesting story.”
That voice definitely belonged to the Beryl that Rean knew.
Beryl’s black hair stroked Rean as she turned around.
All Rean could do was stare dumbfounded at Beryl’s back as she moved forward.
*
Rean’s heart was beating strongly.
Rean was unable to put the sense of incongruity he felt on Beryl into words as the two proceeded through the old schoolhouse.
It must have been just my imagination, thought Rean as he told himself inwardly.
To shake off his doubts, he calmed his mind in a state of Spirit Unification.
But, as if it was a wrong move, the power of ogre unconsciously gathered in his eyes and he looked at Beryl.
The flow of spiritual particles around her was different from usual… at least that was how Rean felt.
Did that mean her guardian spirit was so close that the difference could be felt?
As Rean stared at Beryl, she continued to walk in front of him and said.
“Come to think of it, how did oji-sama activate the Trial of Ashen without permission?”
“Eh? A-aah…… about that.”
[“Fufufu, let’s say it’s a trick that only I can use. It won’t be so easy if it’s another Divine Knight. It’s only possible because the Divine Knight was Valimar.”]
Rean thought Beryl could hear it, but seeing that she didn’t respond, Rean relayed Osbon’s words to her.
“Dad says it’s possible because the Divine Knight was Valimar. I have no idea about the method, though.”
“I see…… I don’t know whether to say it is thanks to that, or because of that? It seems like the exact trial hasn’t started yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“If the conditions are right, we might be able to enter the trial of another Divine Knight.”
For a moment, the barrier of time became stronger.
After breaking the barrier on his own, Rean instinctively approached Beryl to find out what she wanted to do.
“For another… Divine Knight?”
“Yes. During the War of the Lion 250 years ago, weren’t there Divine Knights other than the Ashen confirmed?”
“If I remember correctly, they were the Vermillion and the Palatinate, weren’t they?”
Rean had heard the hidden truth that wasn’t depicted in history books from Osbon and Emma to some extent, so he understood.
“Yes. The three Divine Knights other than Azure, Argent, Auric, and Ebon. Originally, when the False Emperor Orthros awakened the Vermillion, there was the sixth prince Lucius who had the Palatinate, there was the Second Prince Albert who allied with the Fifth Prince Gunnar. As the princes fought, the Third Prince, Dreichels, joined the conflict.”
Even as Rean tilted his head at the sudden history lesson, Beryl continued.
“Dreichels met the Lance Maiden, Lianne Sandlot, and his success accelerated. The two liberated various regions, and finally moved the heart of the Sixth Prince Lucius. But the False Emperor Orthros also made his move at the same time, although whatever method he took was uncertain, he elevated Vermillion to the realm of ‘god’.”
“It’s called the Vermillion Apocalypse,” said Beryl.
“The demonic god emerged alongside the demonic castle and felled the Palatinate, and the curse of the castle spread out to the imperial capital and people around, stealing their very life. At that desperate moment, Dreichels and the Lance Maiden encountered the ‘Kindhearted Witch,’ and he got the Power of Ashen following her guidance. They then went to the final battle together with their allies —— the demonic castle was destroyed, and the Imperial Capital was liberated.”
“Huh, I don’t think I’ve heard of that before——”
[“Yes, you haven’t. Her tone’s as if she was among those who involved in those events —— no, it is more like she had seen that part of history.”]
Suddenly, Beryl’s figure reflected on Rean’s eyes dyed with the power of ogre became blurred.
Following his intuition, Rean discarded all his previous intuitions and immediately grabbed Beryl’s hand——
“Oh my, what’s wrong?”
“……………Eh?”
When Beryl turned toward him, she was already wearing the same suspicious smile she always had.
“It’s tiring to continue to stare like that, right? I think it’s better to return. Or perhaps…… you want to continue on while holding my hand?”
“………………Ah, sorry!”
Rean released his hand and dispelled the power of ogre.
The sensation of her hand felt soft and smooth to the touch.
It was a girl’s hand.
Rean felt strangely conscious about it and instinctively kept his distance.
“Ufufu, there’s no need to panic. I’m sorry for going off topic, okay? Back to topic, you —— well, I guess it’s us? It’s like we ignored all the trials and only reaped the reward. That’s why the trial system itself still remains. To put it in another way, it means the trial is still there, so if one could clear it, it is possible to earn another Divine Knight —— yes, don’t you think that’s possible?”
“That’s quite a crazy idea…… so the reason we’re exploring here now is—”
“It’s not like I wanted a Divine Knight. I just came to confirm something.”
Rean wanted to ask what she wanted to confirm, but he didn’t think she would answer, so he swallowed the words back.
Rean and Beryl reached the fourth underground floor of the old schoolhouse in silence.
There was a large square and a door with a mysterious emblem engraved on it.
“——Year 527 of the Septian Calendar, the first puppet that could be considered the primitive Magic Golem came into being under the hands of mages serving a long gone influential family in the north of Erebonia.”
“The name is Ol-Gadia,” said Beryl.
As if responding to her words, it showed its appearance.
——It was a headless armored puppet with a total height of about 5 arge.
It took a step toward them, with a bloated upper body and a thick, large sword in its hand.
It raised its greatsword and slammed it down towards Rean and Beryl —— but Rean pulled out Eight Leaves Swordsmanship, which had been strengthened by power of ogre, from its sheath faster than that.
“Fifth Form —— Morning Moon.”
The blade was unsheathed in a Iai movement, parried the greatsword, and with its momentum, cut through the armored puppet.
Rean raised his left hand to hold the armored puppet who was swaying unsteadily.
“Come, Power of Ashen—— Loa Valimar!”
{“Oh.”}
“Rean-kun. Why don’t you take it to Professor Schmidt?”
“Eh—————— Valimar, restraint!”
{“Oh?”}
Loa Valimar, who was already emitting a beam of light from its arms, stopped mid movement and held down the armored puppet with its arms.
Having been weakened by Rean’s attack, the armored puppet had no strength to escape, and the battle ended quickly.
“Beryl……?”
When Rean turned around, Beryl was operating her ARCUS.
It seemed like she was talking to Professor Schmidt.
After finishing the conversation, Beryl closed the ARCUS and spoke to Rean.
“He said they’ll be coming soon. Can you restrain it until then? Since it moves using mana, if the current Valimar touches it, it won’t disappear.”
“A-aah. Rather than that, Beryl, that’s……”
“A primitive magic golem…… I think it’s quicker to ask Emma-san about it.”
“That’s not what I want to ask, why would Beryl know—”
“Ufufu, this was from under the guidance of Bella Berifas-sama……”
Even Rean, who had trained his eyes of observation, couldn’t figure out whether it was true or not.
However, there was one thing he did know.
“For now, I guess this is the end of the request?”
“Yes. I might request your help again sometime soon, please take care of me again, okay? Surprisingly, exploring with just the two of us like this was also quite enjoyable.”
“…………I see. Then next time, don’t hesitate to just tell me.”
When Rean saw Beryl saying that and smiling, he concluded with a thought, I guess the question didn’t matter.
Eventually, under the orders of Schmidt, the magic golem, called an armored puppet, was placed next to Valimar’s main body.
The present Rean had no idea that the following day, when Emma and Celine saw it, they would scream and question them about it, and when Beryl quickly escaped, Rean would be forced to explain in Beryl’s stead.
Author Note:
Beryl was a role model of a friend who preemptively crushed something that would endanger Elise in the future.
To be honest, not only is his relationship with Patrick different from the game, Rean is also not restraining himself at all and instead doing everything he likes, so it is unclear whether they would still head to the old schoolhouse when the time comes.
For the time being, I have decided on Beryl’s role in this fanfic, but I have a feeling that it might change later on in the story.
You could say I just took advantage of the best features of each setting.
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