Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Author Note:
Interactions with a member in Class VII Group A during the May field study. This time, it is Elliot’s chapter.
Thank you for your typo reports as always.
Chapter 39 – Fufufu, son. He Sat Next to You during the Entrance Ceremony, You Know? 1
“Hey, Rean-kun. Can I ask you something?”
That day, Rean was attending class in Schmidt’s classroom.
Having finished collecting combat data against the newly summoned Magic Knight, Rean went to the Orbal Terminal Room to compile it, when Mint approached and started talking to him.
“Mint, what’s wrong?”
“It’s not about me, but it’s about Elliot-kun……”
“Elliot?”
“Yes. Lately, he seems to be lost in thought during our club when playing wind instruments. He looked a bit down, and his mistakes have been becoming more noticeable. It’s rare for him to act like that during music club, so I was wondering, did something happen during the field study? Well, something like that.”
Apparently, Mint was worried about her club mate, Elliot, and came to Rean for advice.
With what happened with Alisa the other day, Elliot was also worried about the field study, so Rean was sure that was the reason.
“Okay, I’ll talk to Elliot about it. There are no club activities today, right?”
“Yeah. It’s not a club activity day, so I think Elliot-kun will be at the dorm……”
“In that case, I’ll go and visit him after today’s class.”
“Please do, Rean-kun! It’s not only me, Bridget-chan and the others are also worried…”
Encouraged by Mint, Rean returned to the dorms as soon as his class in Schmidt’s classroom was over and arrived at Elliot’s room.
There was no response when Rean knocked on the door but it appeared to be unlocked.
After apologizing briefly, Rean entered the room, but Elliot was nowhere to be found.
Rean went to another room and asked the classmates in Class VII about Elliot’s whereabouts, but none of them had seen him.
[“Fufufu, son. Looks like you have no choice but to go around Trista.”]
It seems so. I’ll look for him while running the marathon. Maybe he’s around the academy.
Rean ran off and actually found Elliot inside the chapel.
Elliot seemed to be talking to the children about something, then soon took them and headed off to another room.
From Rean’s perspective, Elliot didn’t seem to be forcing himself, but if anything, Elliot seemed to be relieved, or perhaps it was just Rean’s imagination?
“Elliot-san has been teaching music to the children who come to church recently.”
“Rosine?”
As Rean looked at Elliot, a familiar voice called out to Rean.
When Rean turned around, he saw Rosine standing there, in her school uniform.
Since Rean has seen her in her nun outfit a lot recently, it felt unusual to see her in uniform.
But there was a comment that concerned Rean more than that, so Rean decided to ask about that.
“Did Elliot come to pray?”
“It seems he was worried about something…… and then the head parish remembered that Elliot-san was in the wind instrument club, so he gave permission to Elliot to perform music here, but at a certain time.”
“In that case, he could just use the music room……”
“Maybe, sometimes he just wants to play by himself. So when children became interested in his performance, it turned into simple lessons.”
“Is that so……You’re in your uniform, Rosine, so does that mean you’re on your way home? I’ll send you back if you want.”
“Thank you for your concern. But if you’re looking for Elliot-san, please prioritize him.”
“…………Did I tell Rosine that I came to look for Elliot?”
“Even though you came to the chapel, you weren’t looking for me, but instead your eyes were on Elliot-san, after all. Since that’s the case, then I assume you have business with Elliot-san, am I right?”
“It’s not like I intend to neglect him……”
“Fufu, I know…… please give Elliot-san the advice he needs, something we weren’t able to do.”
“I know. I can guess why he’s worried after all.”
Rosine nodded in satisfaction at Rean’s reply, bowed, and returned to the dormitory.
Rean got permission from the head parish to wait there until Elliot finished his lesson with the children.
As Rean listened to the melody coming from behind the door, eventually the lesson ended and Elliot came out with the children.
“Yo.”
“Rean? Why are you here?”
“Mint consulted me……You’re worried about what happened at Bryonia Island, right?”
“!…………Yeah.”
When Rean spoke about the field trip, the smile, that Elliot had shown to the children up until a moment ago, faded away.
The children who had been learning music from Elliot started shouting at Rean.
“Hey, don’t bully Sensei!”
“Eh?”
“Sensei, are you feeling sick? Do you need some medicine?”
The children all defended Elliot and glared at Rean.
As Rean wondered what to do, Elliot spoke to them in a gentle voice, trying to calm the children.
“It’s okay, this person is a classmate from school. He was worried about me, so he came all the way here.”
“Really~?”
“Friend!”
Rean was about to react to the word “friend,” but he restrained himself.
After Elliot somehow managed to calm the children down and say his goodbyes, Rean began to tease Elliot with a grin on his face.
“You’re popular, teach’.”
“Ahaha, stop it.”
“……What do you want to do? If you want to stay in this mood, I can just go home.”
Elliot quietly shook his head at Rean’s suggestion.
“No, it’s okay. I also…… want to talk.”
The two then rented a room at the suggestion of the head parish.
Putting aside Elliot’s reserved behavior, Rean thanked the head parish and once again began to discuss Elliot’s worries.
“So Elliot, are you still worried about the field study?”
“Yes, I’ve talked to Alisa and Gaius about it too…… but Rean and Emma didn’t seem too worried.”
“I…… just didn’t have time to worry.”
“I’m a little jealous that you can feel that way.”
“I’m quite serious, you know,” said Rean but Elliot didn’t really believe him.
It seemed that Rean’s declaration on wanting to befriend McBurn was taken as a joke to lighten the mood.
[“Don’t worry, son. You can just surprise him when you eventually become friends with Almighty Conflagration.”]
Yes, you’re right. I’ll introduce him to Elliot then.
Elliot, not realizing he would be blasted with a statement that would give him a stomach ache someday in the future, poured out his anxieties.
“I was no help back then.”
That was something that Elliot needed courage to confess.
He was about to cry, and he actually cried when he thought about that day.
“But the reason we were able to report to Lieutenant General Craig, of the 4th Armored Division is because Elliot is his family member, right? In the end, all I could do on Bryonia Island was hold that person back and I also lost badly, you know? It was only thanks to Elliot, who healed everyone’s injuries and kept the fight going, that everyone was able to hang on until I was able to intervene.”
It seemed Elliot misunderstood, but while it was true that information had been passed on to the 4th Armored Division from Neithardt, it seemed that Elliot had contacted Commander Craig directly, prior to everything.
While Rean was being nursed by Maya, whom he met while in the area, in order to treat his severe burn, it could be said that Elliot had greater influence than Rean was.
In addition, the balance between Emma’s control of Divine Knight, Gaius’s protection, and Alisa’s restraint, was undoubtedly due to Elliot’s presence.
If even one person from the group was missing, they would likely have been defeated in no time and Zephyr might have intervened in Rean and McBurn’s fight instead.
Rean told Elliot that, but Elliot kept his smile amidst being on the verge of tears.
“You’re so kind, Rean. So much so I wish I hadn’t distanced myself from you because of what happened during the entrance ceremony.”
“Don’t worry about it. Last month, I didn’t actively interact with anyone in Class VII, except Emma, until the field study, after all.”
Because of his meeting with Emma and Celine, who could see Osbon, Beryl, who likely could see Osbon, and Rosine, who believed in its existence, Rean was so excited that he didn’t put much importance on his other classmates.
It could be said that Rean’s reason for coming to Thors had been fulfilled and he was enjoying his life very much.
“I really thought you were dead.”
Elliot’s voice permeated the quiet voice.
“Rean’s injury was no joke. That island could have been our graveyard if something went wrong. The thought of that scared me…… and above all, I hated myself for not being able to do anything.”
“I guess you’re a boy, Elliot.”
“Fufu, you’re right. I was really…… really frustrated. I was sure that Rean and the others would have no trouble doing what I was able to do, and as I was thinking about what is the thing that only I could do, I ended up here.”
Elliot said that as he took out his violin case.
A gentle, caring voice resounded as he stroked the case on his lap.
“After getting permission from the head priest and playing various songs, the children came…… and suddenly, I played a song that came to my mind without any warning. I just started a solo session out of nowhere and although it wasn’t a praiseworthy thing to do, after it was over, the children thanked me. They expressed gratitude so honestly and purely. And then…… haha, all my worries just disappeared. They weren’t about thinking about getting stronger, just immersed in the music in the current moment.”
“Even though music and children made you relieved, your worries did not go away?”
“This time, a different worry came up…… Rean, can you please listen to what I have to say for a moment?”
“There’s no need to still be reserved after all this time. Just say it.”
“Thank you.”
Elliot explained why he came to Thors Military Academy.
When he was considering whether to enroll in a music academy to pursue a career in music, Elliot was offered the opportunity to enroll in Thors Military Academy, as the son of a military officer.
Elliot said he couldn’t refuse the offer and ended up enrolling with half-hearted feelings.
“I thought that I wasn’t cut out to be a soldier and that there was no point in me enrolling here. That was all I could think about when I returned from Ordis. But when I started teaching music at the church, that worry disappeared, and instead I started to worry about what was the point of my days at Thors all this time.”
“How about transferring to music school……”
“I did think of that, but that field trip was too heavy for that. After seeing that, I thought how there’s no way I could be the only one to leave Class VII…… even after overcoming a wall, a new wall stood in front of me. I wonder what I should do?”
Elliot spoke with resignation, but his words made Rean realize what a strong person Elliot was.
Those words could only be spoken by someone who had overcome obstacles without running away.
That was why Rean honestly expressed his opinion.
“But Elliot managed to overcome the wall before you.”
“Eh?”
“If there’s a wall beyond what you’ve already overcome with great effort, then that means you’ve broken through the walls that blocked you until now, right? It’s only been two months, but look back. Be it on what happened during Celdic’s field study and what happened at Ordis, and being able to tell the regular army about the Panzer Soldat, they are undoubtedly our achievements. You only ended up thinking the worst of it because you thought about it alone……”
“Besides?”
“’There’s no way I could be the only one to leave.’ Isn’t that the answer you have already found? Instructor Sara and your father as well as other adults are investigating the issue in their own ways. We can just face the problems the Empire is currently facing through our field study. So Elliot, why don’t you just continue teaching music to children without worrying about that?”
“You mean to maintain my current status quo?”
“That’s right, maintain the status quo. But don’t forget to continue to improve yourself. My dad also told me. ‘Unexpectedly, that might be the solution to everything in the end,’ he said.”
“Rean’s father is Baron Schwarzer, isn’t it?”
“No, the one I referred as dad is someone else——”
From there, Rean told Elliot about Osbon.
Of course, Elliot didn’t notice Osbon clinging to Rean’s left arm, but Rean continued to talk happily about his dad.
Elliot was surprised by this unexpected side of Rean, but his reaction soon turned to laughter.
“Why don’t you make a Craft that heals by playing music? Something that heals both one’s body and mind. A song that heals whatever area it touches, so you can heal many people at once instead of individually.”
“Is that…… even possible?”
“The possibilities of Craft are endless. You can even turn that violin into a magical instrument in place of an orbal staff, and magically modify it so that the different songs it plays are different Arts.”
“Ahaha, I don’t intend to go that far…… but it might be interesting to transform an orbal staff into a violin.”
“If it’s Elliot, I think you will eventually evolve it into a grand piano.”
“That sounds like a dream.”
“Then let’s go back to the wind instrument club. Maybe Mint or Bridget can offer you some advice for that, you know? Maybe it would be a good idea to ask children the next time you teach them music. Children are full of the most creative ideas, after all.”
“……………Yeah.”
As Elliot slowly rose to his feet, Rean followed him and stood next to him.
Elliot chuckled when he noticed Rean was matching his walking pace.
“Rean.”
“Hm?”
“Thank you for today. Once again, please take care of me from now on.”
“……Aah, please take care of me too.”
The words they spoke with a bashful look on their faces was the greetings Rean Schwarzer and Elliot Craig exchanged during the entrance ceremony, which was delayed by two months.
Author Note:
Elliot was capable of warding off curses using music, and even Machias, despite being a regular person, was able to see spirits, which shows the evolution of Class VII.
It might be part of strength as Imperials, but I feel like both the Old and New Class VII are all elite members.
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