Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Author Note:
Time to announce the start of the June field study…… but before that, here’s a chapter that mainly features Beryl on Rean’s birthday.
I even went out of my way to finish all the personal chapters with the other characters first, for the sake of this chapter.
Thank you for the typo reports as always.
Chapter 041 – Fufufu, son. Happy Birthday [A]
The crystal ball lit up with the blessing of the Guardian Spirit Bella Berifes.
Beryl continued to stare silently at the content it projected.
Beryl lowered her eyes slightly at the sight of the scene playing in the light lit by the crystal ball.
The slight emotion she expressed, which perhaps the instructors, fellow students, or even friends couldn’t tell, was one of a pity.
“The more one tries to correct it, the more the causality of the Empire becomes distorted……”
No one answered her mutters.
Even if someone had been nearby, they probably wouldn’t have been able to comprehend the whole picture.
Eventually, a figure appeared in the light.
It was a peculiar boy who called Beryl his friend, Rean Schwarzer.
The boy, who was already following a complex chain of causality to begin with, had become an existence that even Beryl could no longer fully fathom, due to the different causalities that had been mixed in by an external factor.
The reason she had approached him was to understand the unforeseeable causality, but the closer she got, the more actions she took, the more she felt the ripples caused by Rean, and the doll that accompanied him, spreading out. 1
“If a flaw in the established chain of causality broke down, the cause must be eliminated……”
Basically, a crisis was approaching Rean Schwarzer.
Beryl had foreseen this.
According to Bella Berifes, a third crisis would occur during Rean’s next field study.
But since the special curriculum that began in April, Rean had never been out of danger.
That was because no matter how hard she tried to avoid those dangers from happening, Rean always rushed into them on his own.
No matter what Beryl says, she didn’t think he would obediently follow her words.
However, thought Beryl.
She has always just been a bystander.
Although she was allowed to give advice, she wasn’t allowed to help Rean directly.
None of the experiments in Schmidt’s classroom could involve Beryl.
If Rean heard this, he would likely deny it loudly, but the thing she did there was nothing special.
She just happened to be in a different status, but things she did there were tasks that could be done by other students of Class VII or any other students. In other words, if it was something that anyone could do, Beryl could use it as a loophole to help Rean. 2
“But this is……”
What was reflected in the crystal ball showed something that could never be overturned by any substitute.
In other words, if Beryl didn’t take action, the outcome wouldn’t change.
That was how much it would affect the causality, and that awaited Rean in his next field study.
More precisely, it was an encounter with something that led to a destiny beyond the danger.
“Rean Schwarzer………… Rean-kun.”
The name of the boy who called himself her friend came out from her lips without meaning to.
Eight wedges had already been driven into the ground before the millennium’s long cherished wish.
The remaining one would likely happen before the end of the year.
But Bella Berifes had foreseen —— that the boy who brought Osbon, which possessed something that transcended causality, could prevent it.
Therefore, it would be by his hand that the disorder would be rectified.
But pointing this out clearly, went beyond the status of a bystander.
Beryl stared intently into the crystal ball.
Dusk approached the academy after school, and even as the veil of night fell, no one came into the room she was in.
Even the instructors on patrol never opened the doors of the Occult Research room.
After long hours passed like that,
“————Giving a present is something anyone can do, isn’t it?”
Beryl herself didn’t realize that the words slipped out unconsciously.
＊
“Present, is it?”
“That’s right. Apparently, Rean-kun’s birthday is coming up soon.”
One day in May, Beryl grabbed Emma as she left Class VII’s classroom and gave her this advice.
The aforementioned Rean must have already received requests and was running around Trista for his usual volunteer work.
Beryl could say for sure because she saw him run off after the homeroom concluded.
The classmates of Class VII were already used to seeing Rean behaving like this, and while someone (Machias) frowned at that, most were chatting away and heading off to their respective destinations after their school activities.
There was no elective class in Schmidt’s classroom for today, and it wasn’t a Literature Club activity day either, so Emma was probably planning to go back to her hometown.
But despite the hardships imposed on her, being a kind person, she immediately began thinking about what gift she could give to her friend.
Beryl interrupted her thoughts, raising her voice a little more than usual.
“I think that for the current Rean-kun, it might be better to help him become stronger than give him tangible things. He has been training himself since returning from Bryonia Island, right?”
“Yes. When I think about the future, the thought that Rean-san’s actions may be the best course of action gives me a headache……”
Perhaps because she had witnessed his absurd behavior firsthand, Emma held her head as she recalled the incident.
Beryl also saw how Rean jumped into the flame that came from outside with such momentum that it could be mistaken as a suicide attempt to burn himself, through the crystal ball, so she could understand Emma’s feelings.
It was just a sense of understanding, though.
“Class VII seems to have it hard with field studies.”
“Yes. Just thinking about what will happen in the field study in June already makes me……”
“Ufufu, regardless of whether Emma-san gets grouped together with Rean-kun or not, it doesn’t seem like your headache will go away.”
“……I don’t think there’s much difference between them.”
Emma held her head as she shrugged.
There was no sympathy between the knight and the witch who both share secrets, but there was also no sweet and sour relationship between a man and woman for the two.
That said, that wasn’t necessarily the case when Rean previously followed Emma to her hometown.
When Beryl pointed that out, Emma blushed and waved her hands to cover it up.
“N-nothing happened at all! Yes, nothing at all!”
“Did you find it disappointing?”
“What do you mean by that!?”
Emma raised her voice with a flushed face, causing the classmates still in Class VII to turn their heads in her direction one by one.
Beryl’s usual faint smile turned up a little.
“Back to the topic, I might not be able to do it, but if it’s Emma-san, I’m sure there are various things you can do for Rean-kun, right?”
“Your wordings are somewhat suggestive, Beryl-san!”
“Ufufu, it’s just your imagination.”
“That’s definitely a lie!”
“E-Emma? What’s wrong?”
“Hello, Alisa-san. We were just discussing a present for Rean-kun.”
“Present for Rean-kun?”
“Yes. Rean-kun’s birthday is coming up.”
Hearing the words replied to Alisa, who timidly spoke to them, the students of Class VII were startled.
Beryl continued on.
“But lately, Rean-kun has been desperately trying to become stronger, right? That’s why I suggested Emma-san face him with all she has. I think that will make the current Rean-kun happier than receiving things.”
“It still sounds somewhat fishy…… but she’s right. But I feel like the difference in ability between me and Rean-san won’t allow me to put up a satisfactory fight.”
“In that case, let me help you with that.”
“Laura-san?”
After Emma spoke up while tilting her head with her left hand on her right elbow and her right hand on her cheek, Laura interrupted her.
Her eyes were sharp, reminiscent of a bird of prey, and contained more power than words she spoke.
“Basically, it’s about practicing with Rean, right? It’s been a while since I had a match with him, so this is a good chance to challenge him again.”
“In that case, I’ll participate too.”
“Fie-chan.”
Fie, who had been watching Emma and others with half-closed eyes, blinked and stood up.
Like Laura, Fie saw Rean as a rival, and her eyes told them that she would be troubled if the gap between them got any larger.
“Hmph, then I’ll lend a hand as well.”
“Muu. I-In that case, I’ll do it too!”
Naturally, Group B, which was once part of the field study at Parm, was formed.
Machias’s reaction was more out of momentum by his competitive spirit, but the other classmates didn’t expect Jusis to say that he would participate, which drew attention from the classmates.
In response to this, Jusis responded calmly.
“There’s nothing strange about it. Things have been a bit troubling at Bareahard. Combined with the information you all brought back from Ordis, I found the reason to train again.”
“So you’re using Rean as that reason……”
“What about you, vice-class representative?”
“Well, it pains me to agree with you, but after the incident at Bareahard, it became necessary for me to train myself. Not only will I be able to train with a more powerful opponent like Rean, it can also be considered his birthday present…… no, it feels lacking to just spar with him as a present. I think I should send him some coffee powder as well……”
“You’re conscientious in a weird way.”
“Yes, but that’s what makes Machias more like himself.”
Laura nodded in agreement.
Fie was already unable to conceal her excitement and her small figure was filled with fighting spirit.
“If that’s the case, I too…… would like to participate.”
“Elliot?”
Gaius looked at Elliot in surprise, due to his unexpected words.
Elliot was embarrassed by all the attention, but he spoke clearly.
“Unlike Fie and others, I don’t see Rean as a rival, but he’s been giving me advice and helping me out in various ways recently. I wouldn’t mind giving him a birthday present, and while the idea of it being combat practice makes me a little nervous…… I think that as our field study continues, it’ll be inevitable for us to have to fight.”
Elliot had seen Panzer Soldat with his own eyes in Ordis and was also caught up in what could be considered as a skirmish with two members from Zemuria’s finest jaegers corps, Zephyr. It made Elliot troubled about his own standing in Thors Military Academy for a period of time.
But with the pure hearts of children touching him, his connection with fellow club members at Wind Instrument Club and everyone from Class VII, with whom he had spent a short but intimate time together, Elliot decided to stay at Thors.
Elliot had responded to his father Craig’s roundabout suggestion about transferring schools and the letters of concern from his sister, Fiona, but training with a more powerful opponent like Rean where he didn’t need to worry about the safety of his life was something he considered a perfect opportunity.
“If Elliot says so, I guess I can’t just run away. Thanks to Rean, I was able to decide to talk to my mother and learn more about another side of my father. I’ll participate as a way to repay him.”
Alisa was also indebted to Rean.
He listened to her concerns about whether Panzer Soldat was a weapon created by Reinford and had introduced her to Schmidt.
Thanks to this, she was able to hear more about her father and also learned that Schmidt, whom she had always thought of as a difficult person, was actually a caring person who cared about his disciple.
Alisa could vividly picture the scene where his father, despite being troubled by his eccentric teacher, admired him nonetheless.
In a way, it was easier to understand than when her mother, Irina, told her, and Alisa still remembered the strange encouragement she felt from that.
Through an exchange of letters with Irina’s secretary, a maid whom Alisa regarded as sister, she had already scheduled a meeting with her mother.
Therefore, in order to repay her debt and find the courage to face her mother personally, Alisa announced her intentions to join in a match with Rean.
“All that is left is Gaius……”
“Hmph, everyone is going to participate, so don’t leave me out. Of course, I will participate as well.”
It wasn’t his first time training with Rean and he had gained a lot from it.
Gaius had come to see how the outside world affected Nord, and he felt that strength was essential to getting closer to find out what was happening within the Empire.
“But Beryl…… was it? It is fine for us to be so enthusiastic, but have you told Rean about it? If we have it all planned yet didn’t get his permission, it will be like putting the cart before the horse.”
“Ufufu, don’t worry Gaius-kun. There’s still time before his birthday and I will make sure that those matters are properly arranged. With that being said, it would be best for everyone to have everything prepared for the d-day.”
With that, Beryl quickly left Class VII.
After Beryl left, Class VII was surprised by the various pieces of information about Rean that Emma revealed to them, and it seemed like they were discussing the countermeasures.
Beryl smiled unknowingly, but quickly returned to her usual expression once she noticed.
It was a message that didn’t involve anything special. Therefore, it didn’t count as an intervention.
However, nobody pointed out to her that her way of thinking was undoubtedly behavior she formed after being influenced by Rean.
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