Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Author Note:
I was at a loss on whether I should write about Beryl or Rosine first, but because I was the one who decided, it ended up as Rosine’s chapter.
Her chapters like to end on serious notes, don’t they…?
Chapter 036 – Fufufu, son. Everyone has Secrets
After finishing the May field study, Rean’s after-school routine changed from his usual in April.
That was because he asked Sara and Neithardt to train him whenever they had free time.
Since he made some progress in strengthening his control over the power of ogre and Power of Ashen at Eryn, he had decided that it was time for him to focus on strengthening his body.
Having reached the intermediate grade of Eight Leaves One Blade, Rean also possessed superhuman power so if he unleashed them all, he could even compete with master-class people.
But upon his realization that that wouldn’t allow him to be able to defeat the Almighty Conflagration (to be his friend), Rean focused all his energy on improving his own skills.
If Rean didn’t use his power of ogre, Sara would have faster speed compared to him and Neithardt would have more strength than him, adding to the fact that the both of them also had plenty of hands-on combat experience. They were the perfect opponents to help him improve his skills, so whenever he had a free day, he asked the two instructors to fight him.
Moreover, the swordsmanship he had honed was put to good use in Schmidt’s classroom when fighting against the Divine Knight and against the Magic Knight that the professor himself successfully summoned, making his days busy.
“————My apologies, but that’s all for today.”
When Neithardt put down his sword, Rean, dripping with sweat, said he could go on.
In fact, even though Rean was breathing heavily and looked tired, his energy showed no sign of slowing down, and he still had the stamina to keep going even as the sun set.
As the title of Neithardt the Mighty suggests, his sword was naturally heavy against his opponents, but the added pressure of knowing that it would be dangerous if his attacks hit his opponent directly, caused him to lose stamina faster than usual.
But Rean’s seemingly limitless stamina remained in the same condition even as he dodged, deflected, and sometimes took on a powerful attack.
The more Neithardt hit Rean, the more refined Rean’s movements became, and in Neithardt’s eyes, he saw Rean as a student worth training, blowing away the impression of Rean being a delinquent when he first enrolled.
Although Neithardt had a terrible impression of Rean, he had no objection in crossing swords with his students to train them.
“Sorry, Schwarzer. The information that your group, Class VII Group A, brought back…… especially the information about the existence of Panzer Soldat, is something that we, the 4th Armored Division, have never heard of before. In other words, it’s a weapon unique to the Territorial Army, hidden from the regular army. Because of that, there are more meetings I have to attend, and I can’t open up my schedule easily.”
The information Rean and his friends brought back was passed on to Vandyck by Sara, and inevitably, the instructors of Thors also found out about it.
According to reports from the military sent to recover the wreckage, the only trace of combat remained on Bryonia Island was only that of Rean’s group fighting against the jaegers and Almighty Conflagration, and no weapons nor the doll called Panzer Soldat could be found there
Naturally, they couldn’t conclude that Rean’s injury was a fake and continued their investigation, but it seemed the other party wouldn’t let anyone grasp the truth.
“So the reason why Instructor Sara seems busy recently is……”
“She felt guilty since the change of curriculum brought harm to students. Therefore, in order to make use of the information you students brought back, she is relying on her old connections to do various things.”
As a former A-rank bracer, Sara apparently used her own sources of information and Neithardt said she was busy with that recently.
“I’ll try to fight with you when I have time, but it will probably become difficult from now on.”
“I see…… perhaps you will have to return to the army……”
“No, the situation isn’t that bad yet. But we can’t let our guard down either. If an emergency occurs, I’ll probably have to leave my position as instructor. I hope that doesn’t happen, though.”
“I think so too. So, Instructor Neithardt, thank you for today. Good luck with the meeting.”
“Aaah. As for you…… well, I guess it doesn’t need to be said.”
“Yes, I’ll be practicing my sword here, a bit more.”
After giving a smile at Rean’s desire to improve, Neithardt reluctantly left the training ground.
As Rean continued to practice his sword postures into the night, and the number of students in the military academy dwindled, he felt a familiar presence through the door.
“What’s wrong, Rosine?”
“…………Fuuh, please refrain from making such a definitive statement from the other side of the door.”
The one who said that and entered the room was Rosine, was dressed in a nun outfit.
She wore a black and white veil and nun outfit of the same color, not the student uniform given to commoner students.
The long skirt that covered her boots fluttered with every step she took, and as he compared himself with a person of the same school year, wearing a nun outfit, it made Rean feel strangely self-conscious.
“Is something wrong?”
Rosine tilted her head, perhaps noticing Rean’s gaze. Although her gesture was familiar, the nun outfit gave off a strange sensual feel, which made Rean shake his head in panic.
[“Fufufu, son. So you’re a nun moe.”]
Shut up.
{“Osbon. What is nun moe?”}
[“Fufufu, that’s——”]
While feeling annoyed at another piece of useless knowledge added to Valimar, Rean looked at Rosine.
“No, it’s nothing. Rather, asking ‘what’s wrong’ should be my line. You came here in a nun outfit, instead of uniform. What’s wrong?”
“Well, I was helping out at the church, delivering medicine to Instructor Beatrix. On my way back, I heard a familiar sound in the training ground, so I decided to check. Well, it seems like you found me before I showed my face, though.”
“I see. Thank you for your hard work. I was training with Instructor Neithardt.”
“Come to think of it, it seems you’ve been training with Instructor Sara too, as of recently……”
“Aah. There’s someone I can’t reach unless I improve my basics. But since the two instructors are getting busy recently, it looks like I’ll just be doing more self-training after school.”
Rean gave a wry smile, but he was extremely grateful at the opportunity to train with opponents stronger than himself, so the fact that the time for training was reduced was quite upsetting to him.
Even if Rean wanted to contact Aurelia, she was even busier than Sara and Neithardt.
Even if Aurelia might be willing, their circumstances wouldn’t allow it either.
The only remaining candidate was Principal Vandyck, but he too seemed to be discussing the information Rean and his friends brought back with Prince Olivert and others, and Rean hadn’t even seen him much at the academy recently.
In that sense, it was sad to say that this would be the last serious training he would be having for quite some time.
Perhaps sensing Rean’s disappointment, Rosine put her hand on her cheek and made a troubled expression.
“Sorry. It’ll just trouble you by telling you this, Rosine.”
“No, I’m also someone you helped to train a Templar sword with, after all.”
“I will see you off if you still have to help out at the church, but if you’re just going home after this, how about training together?”
“…………Let’s see. Should we have a session?”
“Okay, bring it on.”
Although she was wearing a nun outfit, she seemed to be carrying a weapon and took out her Templar sword from somewhere and lashed out its linked blade.
It was a movement that could be considered as unsheathing the sword, but compared to last month, she seemed more relaxed and had removed all her unnecessary movements.
“Maybe I can land a hit on today’s Rean-san.”
“Hahah, I’m certainly tired, but I won’t take a hit easily.”
Although the training with Neithardt left Rean exhausted, it also ignited an exhilarating feeling in him that enriched his spirit.
Rosine must have known that as well, so she must be saying that casually…… but it seemed Rean was the only one who thought that.
“There!”
Although he often saw her practicing in school uniform, Rosine seemed sharper than usual in her nun outfit.
Her movements were as light and nimble as if she was dressed in familiar combat attire, and each of her sword strokes was reflected in them.
But Rean’s natural ability was far stronger. His balance of the powers remained the same, but Rean shifted to teaching style, seemingly reversing the roles of Rean and Neithardt in their match.
But Rosine persisted.
It was the first long-term combat they had since Rean trained her in close combat.
Rean’s exhaustion was one of the factors, but Rosine’s momentum was different than usual.
For a practice session that they simply had before going home after helping out at the church, her enthusiasm was on a completely different level.
If she had used brute force and launched a rough attack, Rosine would have been knocked away due to the difference in their sizes and strength, but because she jumped backward on her own accord and had acquired techniques to properly deflect the impact, there was no impediment to her as she continued the fight.
As Rosine tried to start over and attack, Rean quickly turned her tachi and sheathed it.
Fifth Form, Morning Moon.
It was a combat style of blocking an opponent’s attack and he launched a counter attack.
Rosine noticed this and stopped moving.
Waiting for a moment to catch her breath, Rean called out to her…… it could be said Rean took the stance in order to converse.
“Rosine, something feels different today.”
“Really? I am certainly wearing a different outfit.”
“Up until now, you have always been serious about your training and put all your effort into it. But today, Rosine seems to have an almost obsession that you have to do it, no matter what. Even though it’s supposed to be voluntary training, it’s almost as if it became a part of the curriculum…… as if it was something that is required.”
“I don’t really understand the difference.”
“Would you understand if I say it’s as if your hobby has become your job?”
Rosine fell silent.
Her facial expression loosened, suggesting a certain degree of astonishment.
As if a taut thread was strummed by Rean, the emotions that Rosine herself wasn’t even aware of, were revealed on her face.
Rean couldn’t read her mind. However, he could understand that her mindset was clearly different from what she had been practicing up until last month.
“Did something happen? Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“…………No, there’s, nothing…………!”
It seemed to Rean that Rosine was unaware of the discrepancy between her body and her mind.
And so, as a result of Rean’s words causing the separation —— the sharpness vanished from her Templar sword, and as the tachi was drawn, it knocked the sword away from Rosine’s pale hand and sent it tumbling across the training ground.
＊
Afterwards, Rosine said she had to return to the church, thanked Rean, and left the training ground.
Normally, after practice, they would drink a little water, exchange opinions, and then go to the showers to wash away their sweat, but the way Rosine left was as if she was running away, making it clear that something was wrong with her.
That said, Rean couldn’t figure out what happened to her.
Therefore, Rean was asking around people who might know.
“Good af…… good evening, Instructor Beatrix. Can I have a moment?”
“Oh my, Schwarzer-kun, are you hurt?”
“No, there’s something I’d like to ask.”
Rean went to infirmary.
That was where Rosine had come to, to deliver medicine from the church earlier.
When Rean explained the situation, Beatrix explained to him while tapping her chair lightly.
“This is just my opinion, but she certainly did seem to be troubled. Recently, there have been a lot of medicine orders from the church. When the girl who delivered the medicine came, she mentioned you first.”
“Me?”
“I went to the mansion of Marquis Hyarms to examine you, right? With the circumstances of the field study this month, she was worried that you might be injured again, so she came to ask.”
“Thank you for your help at that time…… I was already in bed when I woke up, after all.”
[“Fufufu, Instructor Beatrix is a former colonel in the Imperial Army, a military doctor known as ‘Reviver’. You can consider yourself saved when she reaches you.”]
Emma treated Rean after the battle against McBurn, but if she hadn’t been there, Rean would likely have to be under care of Beatrix again.
“Anyway, when I mentioned you, she looked troubled for just a moment. She quickly returned to usual, but if she is worried, then the cause is likely you.”
“But I have no idea what it is.”
“Perhaps she’s worried because you got hurt again?”
“She already told me that when I returned, so I think that’s not the reason……”
When Rosine saw Rean immediately resumed the volunteer work for the student council soon after he returned to academy, she worried about his health and gave him some high-quality tearal balm, such was still fresh in Rean’s memory. 1
The fact she gave tearal, instead of tear or teara, could also be seen as an indication of the extent of Rean’s injuries.
“Boys tend to say that and make girls feel troubled that way.”
“No, there’s no need to say it so sincerely.”
“Then you can refrain from getting yourself hurt?”
“I’m sorry, but considering what I want to do, it’s impossible.”
[“Fufufu, son. You got some nerve saying that in front of a doctor.”]
“Ah, no. I will try to be as careful as possible, but it’s not something I can accomplish while being careful about my health.”
“…………Fuh, don’t you think that’s what worries her?”
“U~hn, I wonder about that……”
Afterwards, Rean received some advice from Beatrix, but he didn’t think the truth was exactly that.
Deciding that there was too little information to judge righ then, Rean headed back to the place that had come to his mind.
“And so, do you know what happened to Rosine?”
“Ufufu, that’s unusual. I thought if it’s Rean-kun, you would just go straight to Rosine instead of asking me.”
Although it was only a few days since he last visited, Rean felt like a long time had passed since he met Beryl, the leader of the Occult Research Club, as she smiled faintly at Rean’s request for advice.
“I tried asking during practice, but it didn’t work.”
“Then it means it’s not something trivial to say. Considering Rosine-san’s personality, it might involve promises with someone.”
“Why?”
“As Rean-kun knows, she is able to treat everyone with kindness. She treats everyone equally, on equal footing, and without discrimination. That’s why I thought she might value words of others more than her own.”
“I was also helped by Rosine. She’s the first person to truly believe in dad’s existence, even though she couldn’t see him.”
Thinking about it now, it was a scene that would make Rosine look like she was crazy.
Even people who knew Rosine would be worried that she was unwell if they saw her talking with someone they couldn’t see.
“Now that I think about it, I don’t know anything about Rosine.”
“Ufufu, all humans are like that. It’s rare for even people close to someone to know everything about a person.”
“But, in Beryl’s case, you just won’t tell me about it.”
“Isn’t that the same for Rosine-san?”
“So, does that mean Rosine is hiding something?”
“Ufufu, it’s good that you’ve gotten better at guessing. But it’s not like it is something that has anything to do with you, Rean-kun.”
“Really? Since she was worried about me, I thought she was worried about betraying her friend…… or something like that.”
{“Rean, I think that is too much of an exaggeration.”}
Valimar pointed out to Rean that while he believed that Rosine, who he considered a friend, she also had the same bonds for him as he did for her.
He forgot that the friendship that Rean was talking about was only about how they could see Osbon and was far removed from friendship in the traditional sense.
To be blunt, it was heavy.
“Here’s some advice for Rean-kun. If you want to know the factor that will help you understand her troubles, go to the vault where chaotic knowledge swirls.”
“Chaotic knowledge…… I guess you mean the library.”
Rean was used to being around Beryl and her miscellaneous genre, so when being told vault…… she meant room.
Beryl nodded in satisfaction as Rean instantly understood what she was saying.
“Thanks…… Not only Rosine, but I also think of Beryl as a friend I want to keep for the rest of my life.”
With that, Rean left the occult research room.
Beryl, who was left behind in response to Rean’s words,
“—————I see.”
Muttered her reply with a slightly different tone than usual, which didn’t reach Rean’s ears.
＊
When Rean arrived at the library, he felt a slight sense of relief as he saw the back of a girl poring over a book, as if she were the owner of the room.
It almost felt like the place didn’t feel like a library without her.
Rean was about to check the library while reaffirming a feeling only he could understand, but he soon realized why Beryl guided him to this place.
Instructor Thomas……
The current manager of the library and the professor of Imperial History at the military academy, Thomas Lysander, was there.
Rean once asked whether she was an old acquaintance of the instructor.
Rean had suspected they might be in a romantic relationship, but when it was denied by none other than Rosine, Rean thought they were just old acquaintances, but……
Now that I think about it, whenever Rosine looked tired unlike usual, a high probability was that this person was there.
The image of Thomas standing next to Rosine, who held her bowgun, came to Rean’s mind.
At that time, Rean wondered if Thomas requested for Rosine’s help to exterminate the monster, but it was quickly denied, but looking back at his actions, there were some points that Rean could point out.
“Instructor Thomas.”
“Oh, isn’t it Rean-kun? How can I help you? Perhaps you have a deep interest in the history of the Empire——”
“Can you tell me more about Rosine?”
“Hm?”
After Thomas closed the book he had been reading and put it back on the shelf, he motioned Rean to sit on a nearby table.
It seemed he could sense Rean’s seriousness from his eyes and it seemed like he wanted to listen properly rather than standing as they speak.
Once the two sat down on the sofa, Rean spoke.
[“Fufufu, son. If you attack directly, he’ll just avoid it. You should only reveal the facts you know.”]
Rean nodded to Osbon and told Thomas that he once saw Rosine was walking with Thomas with a bowgun in her hand.
“I have come to know that Rosine has been troubled recently. I was wondering if Instructor Thomas was taking advantage of Rosine and asking her to do something unreasonable.”
“So Rean-kun, you suspect that I made a demand for Rosine?”
“Yes. In addition, you are aware that I’ve been giving Rosine some training, right? Because of that, when I delivered her back to the student dormitory, Instructor Thomas, who happened to be there at that time, asked me a lot of questions…… but I thought it happened too often for a coincidence. I also delivered strange dishes to Instructor Thomas from time to time, but seeing Rosine carrying a bowgun when she was together with you, it means it’s not a peaceful request.”
“…………If I did make some sort of request to Rosine-kun, what would you do?”
“Please call out to me. I have no idea what you make Rosine do, but if you’re doing fieldwork for the Empire or fighting monsters to procure ingredients for medicines, I can help with both.”
Rosine’s skill in handling the Templar sword had also improved and when combined with the bowgun, she had become quite strong.
She had grown to the point that even if Rosine were to fight Laura or Fie, she could have a good fight and they would have a hard time winning, from what Rean could judge.
Furthermore, Thomas was knowledgeable about the legends of the Empire and was also conducting fieldwork. Rean thought Thomas might have been getting Rosine to participate in these fieldworks, persuading her to do unreasonable things, saying it would serve as her training as well.
Such was the conclusion that Rean came to.
When Rean told him that, Thomas’ eyes behind his round glasses became even wider.
“Ahahah, even I won’t ask students to accompany me with that. I just knew Rosine for a long time, and I haven’t asked her to help me with work.”
“…………Really?”
“Even if you suspect me, I have only made a request to her once.”
In other words, it was true that at that time when Rosine was carrying a bowgun and her uniform was worn out, Thomas did make some sort of request.
“However, I thought that Rean-kun would offer to do it in Rosine-kun’s stead.”
“I don’t know the details, but it was Rosine who accepted it, right? I’m just respecting her wishes.”
If Thomas did make a request against Rosine’s will, Rean would have been prepared to quit the military academy to teach Thomas the true essence of Eight Leaves One Blade.
Perhaps sensing the silent pressure, Thomas’s gentle smile, which he always wore on his face, faded and he raised both his hands.
“Hahah, I don’t want to get hurt either and I can’t afford to have a student expelled because of that. If there’s any fieldwork to be done in the future, I will request Rean-kun’s cooperation, through the student council.”
“Please do so…… I’m sorry for barging in so suddenly.”
Rean bowed his head.
It was true that Rean still had doubts, but if it was something that Rosine accepted, then he couldn’t say anything.
Therefore, Rean resolved to offer his body to ease her burden.
In the end, Rean was unable to find out Rosine’s worries, but Rean thought to visit the church and ask the parish priest or something, as he bowed to Thomas and left the library.
As Rean dashed off, Thomas said that he shouldn’t run in the library, then he muttered to himself.
“But Rosine-kun…… she might have been unexpectedly infatuated with Rean-kun.”
“Or perhaps……,” the whisper continued, permeating, without being heard by anyone.
Author Note:
Since Emma was revealed to be a witch on the first day, the character who Rean is bonding with, with secret identity, has switched to Rosine.
I wonder why they made the quest that revealed Thomas and Rosine’s identity as Gralsritter something that is exclusively a new game+?
It was something that was naturally revealed by Cold Steel III, so why did they make it a new game+ exclusive content in the previous game…
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