Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Author Note:
It’s the chapter on the preparation for the June Field Study.
Thank you for the typo reports as always.
Chapter 042 – Fufufu, son. It Seems That This Month Is Going To Be Tough
“Let me introduce you. This is Gandolf-san, a craftsman knowledgeable on the Divine Knight.”
“Ouh, nice to meet you.”
At the Schmidt’s classroom experiment held in the Old Schoolhouse, Rean introduced Gandolf, who had come from Eryn, to Schmidt as the external collaborator he had mentioned before.
Rean casually came and went to Eryn, but since it was a witch’s hidden village, he introduced Gandolf as a craftsman from a clan that was once involved with Divine Knight.
There was no lie in that, so there was no problem.
“That brat over there requested for me to procure a tachi for the Divine Knight, you see. Here’s what I’ve brought over.”
Although Gandolf belonged to the Hexen Clan, the Zemuria today was a place where culture had spread, through the Orbal revolution.
Gandolf, who had also absorbed knowledge from outside of Eryn, was skilled in handling orbal cars, so he teleported along with an orbal car to just outside of Trista and had driven here.
On the side note, it was Roselia who was in charge of his teleportation.
Roselia wanted to come, but while it was one thing if she was to be introduced as a witch, but another to be introduced as an engineer, as her appearance was way too young for that.
That was why Gandolf was sent instead but……
“Hou, an EX orb, huh……”
“You’re amazing. I heard you captured a Magic Knight, but to use it as bait to probe for something with the same wavelength and pull it from the spirit vein isn’t normal.”
“Hmph, it’s not difficult if one has all the data to do it. But I also have a question. Is the Divine Knight the only thing that can be attached with EX Orb?”
“Well, Valimar can establish a tactical link through the brat’s ARCUS, right? Then, using that connection——”
Despite it just being their first meeting, they seemed to have hit it off quite well.
The occasional mix of sarcasm and insults, as well as another mix of reactivity and proactivity, was part of the charm.
“Valimar, how’s the tachi?”
{“Umu. I’ve seen Rean’s Eight Leaves One Blade School of swordsmanship, so while using it with Craft might be difficult, using it as a weapon is no problem.”}
“…………Isn’t the Divine Knight normally the type where one rides inside of it like the Panzer Soldat I’ve heard of?”
“Err…… Bandana-senpai?”
“So you don’t remember my name. It’s Crow. Crow Armbrust.”
“Please excuse me, Crow-senpai.”
As Rean was talking with Valimar while forming a tactical link with its main body, Crow spoke to him from behind.
Although it didn’t spread, the existence of Panzer Soldat was told to the students of Schmidt’s classroom, and when it was said that the Divine Knight and Magic Knight were made using the same technology, everyone was convinced.
But among them, Crow alone had a vague expression on his face and he turned his face towards Valimar’s main body.
“Senpai, if you wish to talk to Valimar, he is with me, you know?”
“No, you see, I just can’t get used to that. Why am I hearing the Divine Knight’s voice from your heart?”
“Even if you ask why, I also don’t understand why I managed to absorb it myself.”
“Seriously……?”
{“I also ended up inside Rean before I knew it.”}
“It feels like you can make a living as a ventriloquist, you know?”
[“Fufufu, son. Let’s form a unit of three with me, you, and Vali-kun.”]
Crow didn’t seem to be able to see it, but Osbon was also there, so even if it was seen as ventriloquism, Rean would rejoice if others could hear his dad’s voice.
But from Crow’s perspective, Rean seemed happy to be treated as an entertainer, prompting him to make an expression that showed that he didn’t understand.
“By the way, is there something you need, Crow-senpai?”
“Ah~ well, I’m still technically a member of Schmidt’s Classroom, right? So if the Divine Knight receives new equipment, I would certainly feel curious.”
“In that case, why don’t you also join in, to collect combat data?”
“No way, fighting a Divine Knight with a human body is crazy, you know?”
Naturally, Rean also felt nervous about facing a huge body that was several times his height.
Even though it was attacking only with its limbs without any weapons, even if he managed to avoid it, the pressure of the wind would break his stance, and every time the main body took a step, the ground would shake, causing his body to lose balance.
But since Rean had acquired the Power of Ashen, he thought that might no longer be an issue.
“Rather, why are you so enthusiastic? It’s not like you specifically wanted the Divine Knight and just got it by chance, right?”
“That was the case at first, but now there’s someone I really want to catch up with. Perhaps even the main body of Divine Knight Valimar might not be able to defeat him.”
“What exactly are you chasing?”
“The person going along with the name of McBurn the Almighty Conflagration.”
“……Who is that?”
For a moment, it seemed that Crow was at a loss for words.
Rean, who wanted even a little more information about McBurn, unconsciously pointed that out.
“Do you happen to be acquainted with him?”
“No, I have never met him. Rather, I just asked ‘who is that’?”
“I met him on Bryonia Island, and he’s an incredible guy who can melt Panzer Soldat in an instant.”
“You must mean a dangerous guy. So that means he can even burn an entire Magic Knight or Divine Knight to crisp, right?”
“Anyway, while we’re at it, why don’t we have a spar, Crow-senpai?”
“What do you mean ‘while we’re at it’? Why did that invitation come out of nowhere? Please have a proper conversation, can you?”
“I mean, senpai is strong, right? If you try seriously, you can compete with Instructor Sara or Instructor Neithardt.”
Crow was taken aback by what Rean pointed out.
Crow never took part in combat data collection with the Divine Knight, and just like George, Mint, and Munk, he was in rear support position, fiddling with the terminal and inputting data.
But Rean, with his own unique sense, was able to see through Crow’s strength.
As part of controlling the power of ogre, Rean had a keen sense for grasping the flow of power.
With the lack of movements that could be described as ripples of energy flowing through him, while Crow flowed calmly through the sound, Rean got the image of being sucked into a whirlpool that was emerging beyond it.
The image depicted the risk of falling into a hole if he got too close…… It was a kind of camouflage that made the current Crow appear to be calm but actually dangerous.
Basically, Rean felt that Crow was hiding his true strength. The images he got of Sara and Neithardt compared together were a floating island and a rock, respectively.
Incidentally, the images he got from Aurelia and McBurn were like a giant tree that weren’t even shaken by the ripple created by Rean, and flames that evaporated the ripple the moment it came to the contact.
Crow’s eyes seemed to say “what the hell is he talking about?” but when Rean looked back at him silently, he waved his hand in exasperation.
“I’m not as strong as you think.”
“I don’t intend to force you, so if that’s the case, please forget what I said earlier.”
“Then don’t say it in the first place.”
“But thoughts can’t be conveyed unless one puts it into words first.”
“Well, I agree with that.”
The conversation stopped for a moment.
Rean was about to bring up a different topic, but a voice interrupted him.
“Crow, can I have a moment?”
“Aah, okay. Later, junior.”
George, who just happened to come, called out to Crow and their conversation flowed on naturally.
The two seemed to be best friends, but did George know about Crow’s true strength?
[“Fufufu, son. Are you curious about him?”]
No, I just thought it would be nice if he could accompany me in training. The instructors and everyone in Class VII help out from time to time, but the more opponents, the better.
[“Fufufu, you sound like a battle maniac.”]
If McBurn-san wasn’t that strong, there would be no need to do this. If I don’t gain a certain level of strength, he won’t even be interested in me, so it can’t be helped.
Thinking of his opponent who still stood on a far peak, Rean was called by Schmidt and Gandolf and headed toward them.
＊
[“Hi, Sara-kun. I’m glad you took the time to contact me personally.”]
“I apologize for bothering you during your busy schedule, Your Highness.”
With various documents scattered across the desk in her room, Sara was using ARCUS to contact Prince Olivert, one of Thors’s chairmen.
Fortunately, Olivert seemed to have time, so they had a short chat.
[“Don’t worry about it. So what is the matter? I’d be happy to be invited to dinner tonight.”]
“I wouldn’t mind if you treat me to a drink, but I’d like to talk about the field study this month.”
[“I see, so that’s it. I don’t mind, even if I got to invite you for dinner, I wouldn’t avoid that topic.”]
As Sara spoke, Olivert’s tone changed.
Olivert was derided as the Debaucherous Prince, but that was only one side of him.
If he was serious about a problem, he could also show a thoughtful side. He was the one who established Class VII, so he wasn’t just a man who was rumored to be the Debaucherous Prince who traveled around outside his own nation.
[“But since you’ve gone out of your way to contact me, does that mean you’re thinking of having the Field Study on Roer, or perhaps even outside the Empire?”]
“It is as you have guessed.”
[“Are you thinking of attacking Roer directly?”]
“No, unfortunately, I have yet to find evidence against the most suspicious suspect, the Fifth Division of Reinford, so it’s too early to take such an action.”
[“Fufu, I have a feeling that if we send ‘him,’ he’ll find it pretty easily.”]
When ‘him’—— Rean Schwarzer—— was mentioned, Sara fell silent.
As an instructor, she wasn’t keen to approve that, but it couldn’t be denied that wherever he went, some sort of problem in the Empire would come to light.
Seeing how much he enjoyed interacting with students and residents through the student council’s volunteer activities, it wasn’t the first time Sara thought that Rean was highly suitable to be a Bracer.
Sara honestly wanted to praise Rean for bringing the existence of Panzer Soldat to light as a result of Aurelia’s request during the field study last month.
But when Sara received the report that he had been seriously injured by a mysterious individual, who wasn’t affiliated with the Zephyr, Sara certainly regretted her choice of sending the students there.
Since the dark side of the Empire would be exposed, there was no guarantee of survival for the students.
It all came down to the question of prioritizing the big picture or personal purposes.
That was all there was to get Rean moved.
“Regarding Rean-kun, it seems that there have already been some movements behind the scenes. Besides Marquis Hyarms and General Aurelia who are already interested in him, there were also the two great Martial Families of Arseid and Vander, as well as the Count Egret Family, who are all asking about him.”
[“What on earth is that boy doing……?”]
Marquis Hyarms and Aurelia got to meet Rean directly, so it was understandable that they were curious.
The Vander family was also understandable, because Kurt, the second son of said family, was acquainted with Rean.
But they couldn’t help but wonder why Arseid and Egret were both interested in Rean.
If there was a reason for Arseid to be interested in Rean, it was likely because of some kind of report from Laura, or perhaps the Radiant Blademaster had heard something about Rean from the Sword Hermit.
But as for Egret, they really have no idea why.
However, it was the place where Rean was taken care of after he was seriously injured, so it was possible the family had grown fond of him over the course of a few days.
“Right now, the moderate faction hasn’t taken any suspicious actions, but we can probably predict that the main ‘noble’ faction will intervene in the future.”
[“Considering the existence of Panzer Soldat, it’s possible that the Lamare Province…… Duke Cayenne will restrain them in some way.”]
Rean was already able to control the Ashen Knight.
The way it moved was different from what they thought, but there was no doubt that once that Divine Knight took action, it would have a powerful military effect.
The report said that it had been completely shut down by the two regimental commanders of Zephyr, but while Sara felt bad for Emma, she thought the result would likely be different if it was Rean who moved it.
That said, the opponent at that time was the Zephyr. And since they were the regimental commanders, even if the Divine Knight was subdued, Rean would at least have secured an escape route.
It was a trust that was born from the many hardships that Sara endured.
[“So…”]
Olivert’s tone changed.
Sara instinctively thought that he intended to give some peculiar suggestion and waited for his next words.
[“If I recall correctly, the Nord Highlands was one of the candidates for the next field study site, right?”]
“Yes. We have already made contact and it was already confirmed as one of the locations. The other candidate was Ordis, but they already went there last month. Other candidates would be the Nortia Province…… will Rean be sent to Roer, after all?”
[“Well, if one group is sent to the Nord Highlands, I think the other one should also go outside of the Empire.”]
“Out of the Empire, other than Nord…… is it Crossbell or Liberl? As expected, going to the Republic would be difficult……”
[“No, I don’t think it’s appropriate to say this to you, but I was just proposing this as an option.”]
When Olivert mentioned the possible locations for field study, Sara couldn’t help but stand up.
“Your Highness, what on earth are you thinking……?”
[“Because I am sure that is one of ‘his’ goals.”]
The “him” Olivert mentioned this time wasn’t Rean.
While the prince showed affection for Rean in the form of familiarity and protectiveness, Olivert showed something similar to a fighting passion when he spoke of “him.”
The Blood and Iron Chancellor, Giliath Osborne.
That was the identity of “him” Olivert spoke of this time.
[“Therefore Sara-kun, you will accompany the students on their field study…… but if you decide to go on the site I proposed, you should stay with that group for the entire duration of the field study. That way, you will be able to stop Rean-kun. As for the group that goes for Nord, I’m sure Lieutenant General Zechs will be able to take care of them.”]
Sara thought.
Was this proposal really something from Prince Olivert?
Olivert was naturally always thinking about the future and destination of the Empire.
But he would have done everything he could to avert any attempts to actively use students.
The reason for forming Class VII was definitely not because Olivert wanted to form his own guerrilla unit.
Is it because Rean-kun has achieved numerous results? No, even if that’s the case, Prince Olivert is not the type of person to point that out. Is the intention of someone else involved? But if so, whose……?
[“This is my own decision. Or perhaps, I just want to see what kind of effects he could cause. Either way, this is merely a suggestion. As their homeroom teacher, the final decision is up to you, Instructor Sara. However…… if you are just going to struggle with it internally, no matter what, I think it that it would be best to just take action first.”]
After that, they talked about other matters, but Sara’s mind was still occupied by the field study that month.
Even if she eliminated the candidates and rewrote them several times, once it came to her mind, she couldn’t get it out of her head.
The following was what she had written in the notebook.
Group A: Emma, Alisa, Laura, Jusis, Gaius. The destination: Nord Highlands.
Group B: Rean, Machias, Elliot, Fie. The destination: North Ambria State.
However, Sara Valentein will accompany Group B as a guide.
Author Note:
And so, we have finally reached this point. The field study location for June is North Ambria.
We don’t know the name of places there other than Haliask, so I think it will be a very vague description in that regard.
Maybe such depictions will be omitted or the story will just progress with a lot of dialogue.
I have a little idea on what I want to try, so please look forward to Rean’s exploits, who ended up going there instead of Nord.
Seriously though, Falcom-san, please do separate chapter DLC so we can experience the Northern War…
As for Millium, I think she will only start to get seriously involved after arriving in Class VII. My apologies to those who were looking forward to meeting her in Nord.
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