Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 55 – Fufufu, Son. There’s No Time to Stop [B]
Thomas explained the incident.
When Thomas received the call from Roselia, he naturally tried to immediately retrieve the dangerous fragment of Salt Pale, but since a fellow Dominion, No. 5, would arrive in a week, he had a chance to collaborate with the Empire’s greatest mind and an elder witch to analyze the fragment of Salt Pale, which still had many aspects unknown to even the Church. So, Thomas decided to wait and see how things developed.
In fact, Thomas had been busy laying the groundwork for this until the incident occurred.
Rosine had originally been attending the military academy as a part of her undercover investigation, and she was told to continue as a student affiliated to Schmidt’s classroom.
However, an incident occurred yesterday.
When Rosine returned to the dormitory after helping out at Trista’s church, she received a message from Thomas asking her to come to the old schoolhouse.
Of course, Thomas had no recollection of giving such an instruction.
“On that day, Rosine-kun was attacked by someone in front of the old schoolhouse. Either because of the result of her training with Rean-kun or that the culprit had no intention to kill her, she managed to fend off the attack, but the broken Templar sword is a vestige of that.”
In other words, he revealed that the broken sword was also used by a third party.
“It’s just that,” Thomas said with a bitter look on his face.
“It is true that the Gralsritter tried to force their way to Trista. I wonder when the word got leaked…… No, in any case, it was probably the real culprit who leaked the information. Hence, part of the church went out of control. It might have been inevitable, given it is about Salt Pale and its fragment. Furthermore, all of those people went missing and we were busy dealing with the situation…… That’s the current situation of this incident, from our perspective.”
After finishing his explanation, Schmidt’s eyes were directed not at Thomas—— but at Rosine.
“So, why are you here?”
It was Thomas who answered.
“When Rosine-kun was named as a suspect, I selfishly had her take refuge in this ‘partition.’ She is now being pursued by the church.”
“So the group who got carried away made Rosine-kun take the blame as the unidentified culprit, right?”
In fact, Gralsritter didn’t attack the military academy, but it seemed it was true that they did invade Trista.
No crime had been committed, so it was a pre-emptive incident…… but the traces left by the attack on Rosine overwrote those suspicions into false facts.
“Yes. That said, there is a tacit understanding from those who know that I, who concealed my identity and ability, would protect her. But despite my appearance, I am still the vice commander of Gralsritter, so they will not forcefully proceed with the investigation…… at least not in the next four days.”
“Abandoning your own knight for the sake of appearance in the Empire? How disgusting.”
“His Highness Olivert has been negotiating behind the scenes, but if the ‘Reformist Faction’ or the ‘Noble Faction’ take advantage of this, things will become a quagmire. In particular, I have heard that the Chancellor of Blood and Iron is also making moves. I’m sure he will not miss this opportunity to take measures to restrict the Church’s activities in the Empire…… setting aside the truth of the attack, the fact that the Gralsritter has made their move is likely to make it more difficult for them to carry out their activities in the Empire.”
“In that case, everything’s all up to Schwarzer.”
“As you may have guessed, that’s why we instigated that brat. It’s rare to find someone with such insane causality as he does. In a stalemate situation, this is the strongest move that can change the situation, for better or worse.”
“I think it’s a bit of wishful thinking, or so I’d like to say…… but, it was none other than Schwarzer who found the fragment of Salt Pale, after all.”
“It was him who brought out this matter to begin with, so let’s have that brat run to take care of it—— so, the girl over there, if you have something to say, then say it. We won’t blame you or anything, you know?”
Roselia, who could tell that Rosine was holding back her emotions from the adults who were speaking freely, told her so.
Still, Rosine remained silent, so Thomas gave his permission too.
“I don’t mind, you may let out your feelings.”
“! Why didn’t you tell Rean-san everything?! This would only drive him into a corner!”
It was an earnest, sorrowful voice, which was unusual for Rosine.
Roselia and the others once again realized that the girl wasn’t a Gralsritter at heart, but rather, beneath her strong, disciplined self-control, she was just an ordinary girl.
With no reason to lie at this point, Roselia told her the truth.
“If Schwarzer got to meet you, he might think of something bad, after all.”
“Something bad……?”
“He would likely come up with something similar to pushing you into the Divine Knight and escaping. You are more important than a fragment of Salt Pale to that boy, after all.”
“That brat probably isn’t that attached to the military academy either. Of course, the fact he is enjoying his life at the academy is probably not a lie, but if he had to take sides, he is the type who will choose an individual (friend) over the public (academy).”
“What’s even more troublesome is the fact that he has the power to force it to happen. Putting aside Schwarzer himself, Valimar, that doll, is truly unpredictable. Therefore, we have to cut off all his possible escape routes and force him to narrow his thoughts down to one.”
“…………To find the real culprit?”
“Maybe he’ll find it, maybe he won’t. But it could be a step towards turning this situation around.”
“Even so……!”
“Calm down, girl. It’s not like we won’t help at all…… We will also investigate on our side. But to overturn everything, I would need their help.”
Rosine understood the meaning of the ‘their’ in Roselia’s words.
It wasn’t just Rean, but also the beings with him.
“The fact that someone managed to interfere with our magic already narrows down one person who is likely among the culprits. Isn’t it, prodigal girl?”
Roselia laughed, showing her tiger teeth.
Rosine swallowed her breath.
Beneath that smile, she could see a concealed ferocious bestial nature.
……It seems she isn’t a pure witch like Emma-san, concluded Rosine from her experience as an apprentice.
“It seems that Roselia-san has some useful clues.”
“Of course. That’s why we had that brat look elsewhere.”
“Because you don’t think the culprits are in the same location?”
“Considering that girl’s personality, she probably already left it alone or dispersed it, after memory manipulation. We will look for her personally.”
“Although it might just be a possible culprit, if you have a related clue, I’ll leave it to you. What about you, professor?”
“I won’t do anything special. Until the object is retrieved, I’ll just organize the data we’ve researched so far.”
“While I’m investigating the missing members of Gralsritter, I’m going to visit Congregation for the Sacrament who are in contact with Prince Olivert—— Rosine-kun, please accept my apologies for having caused you so much pain, but I hope you can bear with it for a while.”
At Thomas’ concerns, Rosine was stunned and at a loss for words.
Seeing her state, Vandyck pointed out with concern.
“………………Rosine-kun?”
“Ah, no…… I thought you intended to leave it all to Rean-san.”
“Don’t be stupid. There’s no way we can just incite him then leave everything to him —— that brat expressed so much concern for you and spoke out for you so boldly. It would be embarrassing for the adults to just stand around and watch.”
“I’ll think of an excuse to conduct a simultaneous investigation and test all the students. I doubt they have ever heard the term ‘Salt Pale,’ but from the students’ perspective, it will be a confusing inspection, after all.”
“Fufu, that’s how it is. Things ended up like this because of some unreliable adults, but reliable adults will make up for it. I don’t want to abandon my apprentice either.”
Saying that, Thomas snapped his fingers, and all the adults except for Rosine disappeared, leaving her alone in the partition.
Perhaps out of Thomas’s consideration, Rosine was able to hear every word Rean said earlier.
All of his words were based on their deep friendship and trust, and there was not the slightest hesitation of suspicion toward Rosine, who was named a suspect.
Even in this situation, the fact that Rean believed in her that much brought a smile of joy to Rosine’s lips.
——As a matter of fact, Rosine was mentally exhausted.
Rosine’s moment of carelessness was taken advantage of, and she ended up being one of the reasons the fragment of the Salt Pale, an artifact that could shake Zemuria, was stolen.
The reality weighed heavily on Rosine, both as Gralsritter’s squire, and as an individual.
But, Rean’s words touched her.
He got angry, believed in, and acted for Rosine.
That was enough of a support for her.
Rosine knelt down as if in prayer, clasped her hands together as she replayed the thoughts welling up in her heart.
[“——Everyone has their secrets. The difference is whether the secrets would cause trouble to others or not, and Rosine would never cause trouble to others —— I will prove that.”]
“Please, may the protection of Aidios be granted to my friend—— to Rean-san.”
It was unclear whether the voice of this devout believer could reach Aidios.
But the only thing that Rosine, who was powerless to do anything, could do was to pray, filling the partition with the tranquility of a pure wish without any interference or distortion.
＊
“Rean-kun.”
“Beryl……”
As Rean left the old schoolhouse, he caught sight of Beryl leisurely walking towards him.
“Professor asked me to pass this to you. It also contains details about the new EX Orb.”
Beryl said that as she handed Rean a report divided into several pages.
It appeared to be a compilation of documents relating to this incident.
As several facts that he didn’t understand in the principal’s office were listed, Rean finally realized that he had been incited.
[“Fufufu, son. Did you really think that they were the kind of people who would abandon Miss Rosine?”]
……I do reflect that I might have gotten too heated up.
[“That’s fine. Well then, now you have worried enough, it’s time to act.”]
Nodding to Osbon’s words, Rean turned to Beryl.
“That helps. I was planning to drop by Beryl’s place anyways, so this is perfect.”
“Ufufu, unfortunately, it’s impossible for me to find the real culprit through fortune telling.”
“Why?”
“Look at this.”
Beryl said as she held up the crystal ball she always carried with her.
The view that would normally be seen through the crystal ball was now stained black, as if it enveloped in a pitch black cloud.
“The causality is not one, but is intricately intertwined. That’s why it’s impossible for me to see them directly…… but I can at least shed light on the path that can lead to it.”
Beryl said that as she contemplated the crystal ball once again.
This time, a familiar light appeared in the crystal ball, and the corner of Beryl’s mouth curled up.
“……A place of learning of a family member. An off-board move. A new bud from a distant bond. Ufufu, it shows the bonds you have formed in Ordis.”
“A place of learning of a family member…… is that referring to Elise? I guess it points to Astraia Girls’ Academy.”
[“Bond formed in Ordis. In other words, the one who made the move in Ordis —— I guess it refers to the person who made the request.”]
“Is it Aurelia-san? No but, if it’s related to the girls’ academy…… it must be Musse!”
Rean quickly concluded the person indicated by Beryl’s fortune telling.
He remembered from a previous conversation he had with Aurelia that Musse usually attended St. Astraia Girl’s Academy.
Although Rean didn’t understand why Musse was pointed out as the person who could bring a solution in this situation, he decided to trust Beryl and act accordingly.
First, he decided to head to the imperial capital and seek Musse’s help.
“Come, the Ashen Knight…… Valimar!”
The Ashen Knight teleported in response to the call.
Beryl then explained the effect of the new EX Orb —— the Chameleon Orb, which had optical camouflage capabilities.
It seemed to have the effect of consuming spiritual power and making the Divine Knight invisible.
With this, he wouldn’t be conspicuous even if he rode the Divine Knight around.
It seemed to consume the energy fairly rapidly, but with Osbon’s help, nobody would be able to see the Divine Knight’s appearance during the flight.
“Thanks, Beryl. I will definitely help Rosine.”
“Ufufu, I’m also worried about my friend being suspected, so please take care of it. Also, Emma-san will be helping Roselia-san together with Celine, so she won’t be able to help directly. She seems sorry about that.”
“No, I don’t mind. If she’s with Roselia-san, she’ll help me in some roundabout way…… I’ll be going.”
“Yes, take care out there.”
Rean’s body was enveloped in light as he boarded the Ashen Knight.
The Chameleon Orb’s camouflage effect immediately took effect and Valimar became invisible, but in Beryl’s eyes, she could still clearly see Valimar floating in the sky, flying at high speed.
Once Rean went out of the sight, Beryl waved slightly at him.
Author Note:
It ended up as a serious chapter with no comedy.
As expected, Rosine-san is protected from going out of character…
Also, there have been guesses in comments that suspect Instructor Thomas, but he is actually an ally!
Well, in the Trails series, you have to be suspicious of characters who wear glasses and characters who face forward, so it can’t be helped!
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