Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Author Note:
Because I included a battle with a more powerful opponent that I would normally have included on the last day, I ended up finishing three chapters on the first night…
Thank you for the typo reports as always.
Chapter 46 – Fufufu, son. It’s The June Field Study④ [A]
“What on earth were you thinking!”
“We were supposed to sleep together, right? Why did you sneak out in the middle of it and end up so seriously injured!”
In Sara’s house, where Rean had been taken to, Elliot and Machias had been woken up by the commotion and were confronting Rean who was laid on the bed.
The time was exactly midnight and a new day had technically begun.
After being administered first aid, Rean regained consciousness and reported to everyone present about what had happened after dinner.
“In the first place, why did you sneak out……”
“Well, I just couldn’t sleep. But as a result, I was able to save a little girl named Valerie and Fie was able to meet again with her father, who was supposed to be dead, so I have nothing to complain about.”
“But I have a complaint! In the first place, did I not tell you to sleep with you nodding to that? Why did you suddenly break your promise!”
Sara retorted with a reflex befitting her title of the Purple Lightning.
After Sara returned Valerie, who Rean took back, home, Sara found the light was on in her house, and as she wondered what happened, she found that Rean was seriously injured again.
For Sara, who had been determined not to let any students get hurt this time, this result came as a shock.
“Well, I was trying to sleep, you know? But after I replied to the instructor and was about to enter the house, I felt someone looking at me. It also felt somewhat ominous. So I thought I’d check it before I went to sleep and……”
“The Commander was there.”
“In the first place, wasn’t the Jaeger King supposed to be dead? Fie, was it really Rutger Claussell?”
“Yes, there’s no way I could mistake it. That’s definitely the Commander of Zephyr himself.”
Toval held his head as he confirmed with Fie, but the answer he got wasn’t what he was looking for. It was an answer he knew, in a sense, but he hoped he was wrong.
“He wasn’t dead…… but that can’t be. So does that mean he was resurrected?”
“Is that even possible?”
“There are many strange things in Zemuria, but I’ve never heard of anyone resurrecting the dead.”
“But since Fie confirmed it, then it must be true. And on top of that, to think he has a Divine Knight……”
Thinking about it again, Rean had determined that the purple knight doll was neither Panzer Soldat nor something similar to Magic Knight, but rather a Divine Knight like Valimar.
Rean checked with Celine, and she said that she had indeed sensed a Divine Knight’s wavelength, so there was no doubt about it.
[“But to think the Palatinate was here…… wouldn’t it better to prepare Valimar’s main body?”]
[“You’re right, the need to summon Valimar’s main body when the push came to shove appeared. I’ll contact Emma and let her know. But really, so one can actually ride the Divine Knight……”]
[“That’s the way it was supposed to be used, the way you used it is completely wrong!’”]
While everyone was surprised by Celine’s sudden hiss, Rean held her close and tried to calm her down, but she only resisted more so he gave up.
Even so, the fact that Celine smacked Rean on the face with her paw instead of using her claws showed her kindness and consideration for the wounded Rean.
“Ahem, the Divine Knight’s name is Zector. Comparing it to what I have heard from Beryl before, I think it’s the Palatinate Knight …… I never thought I would get to see a Divine Knight other than Valimar here.”
{“Umu. It seems that there are signs of war in the Empire.”}
“O-oh? Rean, I’m hearing a different voice coming from you just now……”
“Come to think of it, it hasn’t greeted Toval-san yet.”
{“I’m the Ashen Knight, Valimar. I’m its personality. Nice to meet you, Toval.”}
“……………Aah, nice to meet you!”
“Ah, he gave up thinking.”
Toval took his time to respond and then a big smile broke out on his face.
Since he often came into contact with unconventional people, it could be said that he had his own way of getting along in life.
In other words, it seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he was destined to be a person who had to pass through hard times.
“The monster breeding facility, Panzer Soldat, Divine Knight…… If we believe what Valimar says, then the shadows of conflict are looming just beneath the surface of the Empire.”
“Zephyr was hired as Duke Cayenne’s escort, right? If so, does that mean that the Provincial Army is plotting something?”
“The possibility is quite high. It seems that the regular army that went to investigate the remains of the Panzer Soldat were unable to find a single piece. If they’re hiding it to such an extent……”
[“Fufufu, son. Try comparing this to the relationship between the Regular Army and the Provincial Army. The answer should become clearer.”]
“A force to counter the Reformist Faction…… a civil war?”
Rean muttered quietly.
It was a reply to Osbon, but it was Machias who reacted first to those words.
“There’s no way! ……No, is it possible?”
“If you think back to how Machias was caught back then, at Bareahard, since the Noble Faction is so keen to eliminate the Reformist Faction that they would take Machias hostage, even though he wasn’t directly involved.”
“So, does that mean this whole situation is really a preparation for a civil war……?”
“Small skirmishes aside, the Provincial Army has a military monster, Panzer Soldat, and even a Divine Knight now to boot, so there’s no way they wouldn’t do anything.”
“…………Even if all this information is there, it’s too early to say anything so definitive.”
What Sara was concerned about was not only Rutger Claussell’s reappearance, but also what would happen to Schmidt’s Classroom…… and by extension, Rean and the others, if a civil war broke out and the Divine Knight was used in war.
Currently, students like Rean and Emma who could control the Ashen Knight, were likely to be deployed as combat forces depending on the state of the battle.
And if the reason was to stop the civil war and protect his friends, Rean might join without hesitation.
Therefore, as an instructor, Sara must stop her students.
“But won’t it be too late once something happens?”
“That being said, unless there is solid evidence, things won’t change. The only difference is whether the Noble Faction or Reformist Faction would be the first to pull the trigger.”
“Toval-san, can’t the bracers intervene?”
“Unfortunately, that’s impossible. As I said before, it’s difficult for bracers to intervene in the Empire. Even if we did intervene in the name of protecting people, I could only see a future where things would become messy, like a quagmire.”
“The ideal course of action would be to secure solid evidence, curb their movement and deal with them beforehand……”
“As expected, we want reliable information. The best thing to do would be to find Rutger-san again and extract information from him. But although my clone is pursuing Rutger-san, it is difficult to keep up with the speed of a Divine Knight, so it may be best not to get your hopes up.”
“I see…………”
……Hm? Are clones supposed to be that convenient? It isn’t, right? But Sara and others don’t seem to be surprised………… Anyway, they look so unperturbed, so yep.
Toval quickly switched his thoughts and brought up a different topic.
Whenever there was something he didn’t understand, he felt that it would just be wise to back out before thinking too deeply into it and being trapped in an awful cycle.
Then all of them continued talking all night long.
But once it got past 2 a.m., everyone decided to take a break to cool their heads.
This time, Toval would be sleeping in the same place that Rean used to sleep. Needless to say, this was to keep an eye on Rean.
Rean took the bed, and with a simple partition put up, everyone else slept together on the same floor. And so, the first day…… The date had already changed, but their first day also came to an end.
＊
“……………Rean, are you awake?”
“Hm?”
Late at night, one could hear everyone’s breathing.
Rean turned his eyes to Celine to check that the voice was hers, but she was curled up in deep sleep.
Wondering who it could be, Rean opened his eyes and saw that Fie was there.
[“Fufufu, son. Did you have a faint hope that Miss Fie would sneak into your bed?”]
Like hell I am!
While ignoring Osbon who was saying stupid things, Rean carefully observed Fie.
It seemed she was resting her elbows on the bed and leaning forward, towards Rean.
Perhaps because of the influence of the gardening club, Fie’s hair smelled of earth and flowers.
(“Fie, you’re too close……”)
(“But if I don’t do this, Sara and Toval will wake up.”)
Fie seemed to be considerate of the others who were sleeping, so she kept her voice low and kept a distance between them.
Normally, during the day, this wouldn’t be a problem, but just being in bed made Rean feel strangely anxious.
(“S-So, what’s wrong?”)
(“Hmm, I wanted to thank you. But before I could say it just now, Rean collapsed, and even after you woke up, we were so busy talking about the other stuff that I didn’t have time to say it……”)
(“I just wanted to say it. There’s no deeper meaning to it.”)
Fie also seemed to feel embarrassed by her own actions, as she looked a little shy and turned her face away.
Whatever the reason, the situation was that of a girl approaching a bed in which a boy of about her age slept in, so it was natural.
(“Once again, thank you, Rean. To be honest, it was so sudden and surprising that my heart felt fuzzy …… but I got to hear Commander’s voice once again and when he praised me, it made me feel really happy.”)
(“……I heard that Rutger-san was supposedly dead.”)
(“Yes…… I was very, very sad back then. I never thought I would get to see him again. I was asleep when you called me, so I wondered if it was a lucid dream, but then I heard Rean’s voice and thought that that wasn’t the case. That being said, when I first got the call through ARCUS, I stupidly thought that it was Rean’s ventriloquism, though.”)
(“My ventriloquism is, unfortunately………… limited to Valimar.”)
Rean was about to say dad, but quickly corrected himself…… it made him realize he didn’t feel as sad as he used to be even though people couldn’t understand Osbon.
There was Celine beside him, Emma who was working hard like he was, in faraway Nord, Rosine and Beryl, who were supposedly sleeping in Trista’s dormitory, Valimar who resided in his heart, the witches of Eryn village, Vita led by Roselia, and his current target, McBurn.
When he thought about it, there were a lot of people who could see Osbon.
Rean vaguely thought that in a way, this might be similar to Fie’s joy on the thought of knowing that other people could hear her dead father’s voice.
(“……………………”)
(“What’s wrong, Fie?”)
Rean became suspicious of Fie, who had suddenly gone silent.
Fie seemed flustered and groaned, opening her mouth to talk in an even softer voice that Rean almost couldn’t hear, but eventually she seemed to make up her mind and approached Rean.
(“What? What is it? Did I do something?”)
(“I have a favor to ask.”)
Fie turned her tearful eyes to the shaken Rean.
Just as Rean was feeling anxious about what she would say, Fie pulled her head back and put it closer to Rean.
(“I want you to stroke my head.”)
(“………what?”)
(“Earlier, when I embraced Rean, thinking you were the Commander…… for some reason, I mistook you for the Commander. So I want you to stroke my head and see the difference.”)
Rean was confused by the sudden request.
In the first place, Fie saw him as a rival, so they weren’t in a relationship where they could make or receive requests like this.
[“Fufufu, son. Don’t try to guess what an adolescent girl wants to do. Just accept it and deal with it.”]
That’s too pathetic……
[“Then my overflowing paternal love must have been conveyed to Miss Fie through you.”]
That’s definitely not it, so don’t worry.
(“Is it a no? Or is your body still hurting? You don’t have to if so……”)
Although Fie was concerned about Rean’s health, she looked somewhat downcast.
Seeing this, Rean was reminded of Elise, who would use many words to conceal her true feelings.
Once, when Rean visited Elise who had caught a cold, she tried to keep Rean away from herself to avoid passing her cold to him, but when Rean tried to leave as he was told, she showed an upset look on her face.
Meeting Rutger might have stimulated her languid spirit to the point she forgot the sense of distance between her and Rean.
Thinking that, Rean’s hand naturally reached out to Fie’s head.
(“Ah…………”)
(“Sorry for doing it while still on the bed, but is this okay?”)
(“Hmm, it’s okay.”)
For a while, Rean continued stroking Fie’s head until she was satisfied.
Her silky hair was so smooth that it was hard to believe she had been a jaeger, and it felt like fine silk under Rean’s hand.
Rean had heard that hair care was essential for women, but perhaps Fie was actually quite fond of that sort of thing.
Nevertheless, unlike when he did it to Elise (family member) or the children of Ymir, Rean felt a little resistance to stroking the head of someone of the opposite gender, even if the said girl was younger than he was.
Fie expressed her feelings with a hum like “muu” or “hm,” but Rean couldn’t understand them.
Eventually, as if she was satisfied, Fie slowly pulled her head back.
As Fie said her thanks and was about to head back to her bed, Rean called out to her.
(“So, how was it?”)
(“It definitely feels different from Commander. Commander’s hand is rough, big, and moves without reservation. In comparison, Rean’s hand is also rough, but smaller and you move with reservation.”)
(“What a thing to say after you made me do it for so long.”)
(“But,”)
Just as Rean was about to cuss, Fie added a few words at the end.
(“The warmth I felt inside is the same. Well then, good night.”)
With that, she returned to her bed, and within a minute, Rean could hear Fie’s sleeping breath.
In the end, what did Fie want to do?
As he brooded over this, Rean’s eyelids gradually grew heavier, and before he knew it, Rean too evened his breathing as he fell asleep.
Fie, so you were such a spoiled girl……
In the end, Rean had such a vague thought.
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