Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Author Note:
Musse’s chapter continues!
Thank you for the typo reports as always.
Chapter 058 – Fufufu, Son. I Wonder How Far She Can See
As Rean’s group set foot onto the grounds of the vast Valflame Palace, they were led to a room for discussion by Alfin, without the noble issues Rean had feared. When Rean asked later, it seemed Elise was already well known by the staff, while Rean was considered Kurt’s friend.
It appeared to be a place where the siblings sometimes enjoyed tea and conversed, so it could be considered a guest room…… but the size and scale of the room, being part of the Imperial Family’s residence, overwhelmed Rean.
Having been told so by Kurt and even the furnishings themselves, which were so luxurious that just one could be used to purchase an orbal car, Rean stepped into the room with trepidation.
Of course, it couldn’t go on until too late at night, but they managed to secure a certain amount of time, so the revelation took place in the form of a tea party.
“I had heard about the conflict between the ‘Reformist Faction’ and the ‘Noble Faction,’ but……”
“Utilizing monsters for military purposes and Panzer Soldat…… they are clearly excessive for maintaining a territory.”
“The only conflict-like event that actually occurred was when Machias Regnitz, a student of Class VII of Thors Military Academy and the son of Governor Carl Regnitz of the ‘Reformist Faction,’ was kidnapped by Duke Albarea…… a member of the ‘Noble Faction.’ It seems like he was freed thanks to the mediation of the duke’s eldest son, Rufus Albarea, though.”
“Additionally, as of last month, one could be arrested simply for being a relative of an enemy.”
The information about the “Noble Faction’s” hidden movements that Musse revealed confirmed what Rean’s group had imagined.
In addition to the information he had gathered during field study, Rean also revealed that Rutger Claussell, the commander of Zephyr, was still alive, as well as the existence of Divine Knight.
Normally, this would be considered disclosing classified information, but there was no need to hide information from her in this situation.
Or rather, it would be better to say that Rean took the initiative to avoid getting her involved, as he couldn’t afford to allow Musse’s presence to become known.
“Thank you, Musse. I will pass the information to Principal, Instructor Neithardt…… and my classmate who is the son of Lieutenant General Craig of the Regular Army.”
He now had the facts to back up the speculations.
If interference from the Regular Army which were to reach the Provincial Army, it would act as a deterrent to a civil war and war could be avoided from breaking out.
“But can’t you get Aurelia-san to help us?”
“She is a warrior down to her core…… even if there were signs of a civil war, she would probably just see it as a way to achieve military glory. The reason why she cooperated back in Ordis could be because she was confident that she could crush whatever that might happen, or even perhaps because she welcomed the appearance of a strong opponent.”
“……She is quite a difficult person to handle.”
“If we were heading in the same direction, she would be extremely reliable, but if not…… she would literally stand in our way as the rakshasa she is known to be. Or perhaps——”
“Perhaps?”
“Perhaps she is judging the way I act whether I am worthy of her service.”
Musse’s smile had a certain transience to it.
It seemed she had had a hard time on her side as well.
But it was a shame that they could no longer rely on Aurelia.
If the time came to attack the Provincial Army, it would have been extremely reassuring if they had Aurelia’s help, but……
“But I never thought Mildine-sama was actually this clever……”
Kurt groaned as he looked at Musse, who was taking a sip of tea.
Although Kurt was skeptical of the civil war at first, Musse carefully examined all of the information, giving reasons for each one, and predicted future strategies.
What was decisive was that she had a perfect grasp of Vander’s movement.
Musse supplemented Kurt’s observation of his family’s actions, which made the information more certain.
Furthermore, Musse had also read of Lieutenant General Zechs’s movement in the faraway land of Nord Highlands.
Rean had also heard about the field study in Nord from Emma, and confirmed Musse’s explanation to be correct.
[“Miss Musse’s ability to analyse movements shouldn’t only be at this extent. She isn’t just predicting two or three moves ahead. She might be able to predict future movements on the scale of years.”]
{“That’s an incredible calculating mental power. We, Divine Knights, are equipped with such sensors, but they can only do so much to capture real-time information. Considering how much she is already capable of, it could be considered a superpower.”}
The other two, who had been silent throughout tea time, suddenly expressed their admiration for Musse’s abilities.
It was quite something for the two, especially Osbon, to praise Musse so unreservedly.
In contrast to Kurt, who looked at Musse with reverence, Alfien’s face wasn’t good.
“Princess, your face……”
“No, it’s okay…… I’m fine.”
The beautiful face that was known as the Empire’s Crown Jewel was filled with anxiety, and although Elise supported her, her complexion only grew worse.
“I’ll be leaving for some night breeze,” said Musse as she got up and headed to the balcony. Rean told Kurt to stay and watch the other two and followed after Musse.
As he headed to the balcony, a fresh early summer breeze blew over him.
The sun felt increasingly scorching during the day, and the cool breeze felt pleasant.
The summer breeze ruffled her long, mint-colored hair.
Rean hadn’t noticed at all back at the girls’ academy, but an indescribable, pleasant scent tickled his nostrils, as if it came from a high quality shampoo.
Noticing Rean behind her, Musse turned around to greet him.
“Well then, should we have another discussion, Rean-san?”
“Is it okay? It means Musse won’t be able to take a break.”
“This is the reason why I mentioned the civil war earlier.”
“……So you shifted away because you realized the topic will affect the Princess.”
“Yes. Since she is such a kind person, I thought she would be worried.”
Unlike when she was being dragged about by Rean back in the girls’ academy, Musse’s voice was calm as she regained her composure.
Looking at her through the Eyes of Observation, Rean could clearly see that she was making quite an effort to make it seem that way.
Contrary to her ability to understand, predict, and derive each piece of information she had seen, Musse’s young face, which was younger than Rean, looked even younger.
It felt like Rean finally got to see the true face of the girl called Mildine Juzalith de Cayenne for the first time.
When he thought of that—— he felt the flames burning inside his heart calming down.
“Ah~ Musse. I know this isn’t what I should be saying when I’m going to ask something that will trouble you, but does your brain not work properly unless you make that face?”
“Eh?”
“Your face seems to say ‘I’m pushing myself too hard.’ My business might be urgent, but I can delay it to tomorrow.”
“……Considering the momentum you had when you came to the girls’ academy, isn’t it supposed to be a matter where you can’t waste even a single second?”
“I did at first, and actually, I still think the same way…… but the friend I want to help loves children, you see. If she knew I made a child cry to save her, she’d definitely get angry.”
Although Rosine’s status as a student at the military academy might be a lie, her work as a nun at the church and her smiles towards children held no deceptions.
Rean believed that the only thing she faked was her status, and her life in the military academy was true.
Rean wanted to help Rosine because she, despite not being able to see Osbon, still believed in its existence and befriended him.
Unless her heart was also saved, saving her body alone couldn’t be considered rescuing her.
The reason Rean considered Rosine a friend was because of her heart, not her appearance. That was why, it would be all for nothing if he helped her but ignored everything else.
When Rean told Musse that, she looked at him in surprise.
“——Rean-san.”
“Yes?”
“Why did you seek me to help your friend? It might be weird for me to say this, but only a select few are aware of this ability of mine. Of course, even the Princess and Senpai had been unaware of it.”
“But didn’t you just predict the movement of Vander’s people and convince Kurt?”
“That’s because they saw my ability with their own eyes at that moment, right? Even if you thought back on how the request back in Ordis came from me, it was only in relation to the civil war. I’m sure that if it’s Rean-san, you would have thought it had nothing to do with helping your friend, right? Yet Rean-san asked for my help even before you saw or was aware of that ability of mine. Why?”
“It’s simple. Another friend of mine told me to rely on Musse. That’s all.”
“Another friend……?”
“She’s someone who is good at fortune telling. It’s been a while since she last did one, but her fortune telling is always spot on.”
“You did all that just for the sole reason of following the result of fortune telling……?”
“Because I believe in Beryl—— my friend’s fortune telling. That’s enough reason for me.”
In fact, thanks to Beryl’s fortune telling, Rean was able to gain an ally in the shortest time possible.
Otherwise, Rean would have wasted his time flying aimlessly around the Empire with Valimar.
Despite being warned by Schmidt, rather than heading to Holy City, he might have attacked Olivert, extracted information about the priests in question, and tried to stop them.
That would only postpone the problem, not solve it.
But thanks to the insight that could be considered precognition Rean had just seen from Musse, he was convinced it would be a great help in rescuing Rosine.
“That’s why, if there aren’t any problems, it’s more about whether or not Musse would agree to help. After all, we would be dragging an ordinary girl into our problem——Musse?”
“——No, it’s nothing.”
As she muttered this, Musse just smiled gracefully, but her emotional fluctuations weren’t obvious.
“May I add a condition for your request?”
“Okay, what is it?”
“That’s an immediate answer from you……”
“It’s for the sake of helping Rosine, after all.”
“Oh my, isn’t it taboo to mention another woman’s name when you’re talking to a woman? Moreover, you actually mentioned two of them……”
“They are friends, though.”
“Women, especially girls, are delicate creatures, you know? Even if they are friends, hearing a man they are interested in mentioning names of the opposite sex can be hard to take in, so be careful.”
“Okay, so what’s the condition?”
“I’ll tell you about it after the matters are taken care of. So, what is your business, Rean-san?”
“Aah, that’s——”
Although Rean was curious about her condition, he told Musse the reason he had come to visit her —— the fragment of Salt Pale found in North Ambria was stolen, and Rosine was being framed as the culprit through false accusation.
Even Musse was taken aback by the enormous bomb called Salt Pale.
“S-Salt Pale, is it?”
“To be precise, it’s a fragment of that. We were investigating it with the help of Professor Schmidt and a member of a clan known as witches that have existed in the Empire for a long time.”
As Rean spoke, he handed Musse the report that Beryl had given him.
As she flipped through the book, she stopped at a particular document.
Curious, Rean moved next to Musse and took a look, and saw the document was about the Chameleon Orb.
“Invisibility through the use of optical camouflage…… is the Divine Knight here now?’
“Aah. As expected, I can’t really show it here, though.”
Rean pointed into the air.
Valimar’s main body was waiting at an altitude of about fifty arge above the Valflame Palace.
If necessary, it was possible for it to teleport to his exact position.
“……If Rean-san had any malicious intent right now, it would have been the birth of a terrible terrorist.”
“I have no such intentions, so don’t worry.”
“——But what if there is?”
The voice, neither loud nor quiet, lingered deeply in Rean’s ear.
“If there is……?”
“What if terrorists are in the Imperial Capital?”
“——Tell me more about it.”
Musse nodded and indicated her prediction.
“Rean-san, did you notice anything when you came to the Imperial Capital?”
“Things I noticed…… There were a lot of soldiers, even though they weren’t patrolling for the summer festival.”
“Yes, that’s exactly it. Actually yesterday…… To be precise, two days ago, there was a commotion in the Imperial Capital, involving the destruction of orbal light. The TMP on patrol arrived quickly so it didn’t become a major incident, but the culprit got away. Then, yesterday, a similar incident occurred on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital. Similarly, the culprit has not been caught. People saw the culprit’s appearance, but they suddenly disappeared in front of them like ghosts. Moreover, their appearance wasn’t that of a human, but that of a large monster…… such were the testimonies that have been obtained.”
“And what does that have to do——”
“It’s possible that the culprit who stole the Salt Pale fragment, stole the data from Schmidt’s classroom and also the Chameleon Orb…… That is my guess.”
It was an unexpected conclusion.
While the only thing they were focused on was the fragment of Salt Pale, it was possible that other items could have been stolen from the same Schmidt’s classroom.
The current Chameleon Orb was a prototype, so it wouldn’t be strange if there were spares to allow for repeated trial and error.
“Is it possible that the terrorists causing trouble in the Imperial Capital are the same culprits?”
“This occurred before the fragment of Salt Pale was stolen, so I can’t say for sure that they belong to the same group, but I don’t think they are unrelated either.”
“……Only a Divine Knight can incorporate EX Orb. If Rutger-san, who possess the Palatinate Divine Knight, is a member of the Provincial Army, it’s not surprising that he would take on terrorist-like activities through requests.”
For someone as skilled as Rutger, it wouldn’t be surprising if he outwitted everyone at the site of the incident.
So, was it Rutger who attacked Rosine?
But would that person go through such troublesome actions to bait someone to come?
It was true that he was good at tricks and would use it if necessary…… but something just didn’t feel right.
The reason being, there was not a single injury on Rosine. 1
It was possible that she was healed with orbal arts afterwards, but that would at least leave a minor injury.
If so, it would be strange to assume that Rutger was the perpetrator.
Considering his abilities, there was no way he would fail in disposing of Rosine, the witness.
Breaking the Templar sword and leaving it there just like that was too half-hearted for the jaeger who had been commissioned, which was why Rean couldn’t shake the thought that Rutger might have nothing to do with the incident.
Meanwhile, Musse continued.
“Their goal is to undermine the trust of the Regular Army in maintaining the public order, I believe. The benefit would be that the ‘Noble Faction’ would have more influence in not only the Royal Guard, but also the Regular Army. Or perhaps they would use terrorism to keep them busy so they could do something…… Either way, I think it’s unlikely that Rutger Claussell is the true culprit behind the terrorist attack.”
“Is it so?”
“Yes. Since the information has already been leaked by Rean-san, it is one thing if it was to show off, but I don’t think the Jaeger King would do something so blatantly suspicious.”
“I see,” said Rean as he knew from personal experience that Rutger was skilled in combat.
Although it was unconfirmed, using the Chameleon Orb to go on a rampage right after it disappeared was tantamount to announcing that he was the culprit.
Unless a claim of responsibility had been made, there was no need for such things in the case of sporadic, unidentified attacks that were carried out like guerilla warfare.
“The important point here is the possibility of other Divine Knights, as the only ones we knew of are Ashen and Palatinate. We can’t say for sure that there isn’t another Divine Knight in the Provincial Army.”
“I see, there are seven Divine Knights in total. We’ve only confirmed two of them, so there are still five more out there somewhere.”
“Therefore, the candidate of suspect would be a third Divine Knight —— we can assume its Awakener is either the culprit or at least someone related to the incident. And that person has ties to the terrorists who have been causing trouble in the Imperial Capital recently.”
“So, what I need to do now is to capture the terrorists causing trouble in the Imperial Capital, right?”
“Yes. Even if that culprit might not be the true culprit, it may be possible that the said culprit could provide a clue of the real culprit. If the data from Schmidt’s classroom was really stolen, we should suspect that there is an insider as well.”
“I understand, I will contact our side in that regard…… The Princess should have calmed down by now, so let’s go back.”
“Yes ♪”
Musse seemed to be in a better mood than the beginning.
She just had a bombshell, called a fragment of the Salt Pale, dropped on her, how could she have such an expression on her face?
[“Fufufu, son. Maybe it’s the result of you making a promise to her, you know?”]
Is that much enough for that?
{“Umu, maybe she intends to ask you something reckless, or perhaps something completely different……”}
The additional condition for Musse’s cooperation no doubt had something to do with her mood.
While dreading what she might ask him to do, the two returned to the room, where they noticed a change in atmosphere.
Rean quickly checked the room and immediately discovered the cause.
It was because an unfamiliar blond boy was standing near the entrance.
The boy, dressed in a gorgeous outfit with a red base, had a look of shock on his androgynous, feminine face.
Rean tried to call out to Elise, wondering what was going on, but before he could, Kurt announced the boy’s identity.
“Your Highness Cedric. Why are you here……”
The boy ——Cedric Reise Arnor, glanced at Kurt who had called his name, tried to give a slight smile, but other words came out instead.
“Alfin…… What do you mean by civil war?”
Kurt’s face contorted.
The person he was meant to protect had now become embroiled in the very problem he was trying to distance him away from——
Author Note:
Since Rean couldn’t tell the rest of the group about the fragment of Salt Pale, they went away and spoke from a distance, causing the screen time of Elise and the others to be limited.
They should have more screen time in the next chapter…
But really, I wonder how far Musse can predict.
It feels like she could see through information that normally wouldn’t be known, like Great Twilight.
This might be because she had gained a lot of knowledge by working together with Vita and studying under her for some time, though…
Below are NG scenes that I was unsure whether to include and ended up cutting in the end.
For those who are interested, please scroll down.
“So, what I need to do now is to capture the terrorists causing trouble in the Imperial Capital, huh?”
“Yes. Even if that culprit might not be the true culprit, it may be possible that the said culprit could provide a clue to the real culprit. If the data from Schmidt’s classroom was really stolen, we should suspect there is an insider as well.”
“Okay. Thanks, Musse. I’ll thank you again in the future. Now that that’s decided, I will immediately go and secure them, so please send my regards to Elise and the others. Come, the Ashen——”
Rean thanked Musse and put his foot on the balcony railing, intending to summon the Divine Knight and fly away.
“Please wait, Rean-san. There’s someone below!”
Just as he was about to do that, Musse noticed there was someone below and grabbed Rean’s right arm to stop him.
However, the difference in strength between the well-trained Rean and the weak Musse was too great, causing Musse to be dragged along without being able to stop him.
As a result, when Rean jumped, Musse also fell from the balcony.
“Kya, kyaaaaaaa!!”
“Uwaaaaaaahhhhhh!”
Someone’s scream rang out from the ground.
Rean immediately switched what he summoned.
“——’s Power, Loa Valimar!”
{“Oh!”}
Loa Valimar briefly manifested, wrapping ashen armor around Rean’s legs and landed lightly.
Combined with Rean’s martial arts, he landed while completely neutralizing the impact.
Not a trace of impact reached Musse, but she had her eyes tightly shut and clutched Rean’s right arm with her body trembling.
It was no wonder that tears appeared to be welling up in the corner of her eyes.
Although there was no physical impact, it couldn’t hide her visual senses, so the memory of falling from the balcony was unavoidable.
Rean had never expected Musse would try to stop him, and a feeling of guilt was welling up in his chest.
[“Fufufu, son. Slow and steady wins the race. At the very least, you should avoid taking any sudden action in the Valflame Palace as much as possible. You’ll be seen, just like what the person in front of you did.”]
“…………*mouth gaping open and closed repeatedly*.”
In front of him was a blond boy. His predominantly red clothes were obviously woven luxurious materials, exuding a high-class feel, and his adorable face could make one mistake him as a girl.
The way he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly as he looked at Rean was somewhat charming.
“I’m sorry to have you see something unsightly……”
“Ah, eh, hah, ah…… A-Are you okay?”
“I’ve been trained, so I’m okay. But I can’t say the same about her, so I’d like to let her rest, but……”
“I-I see. Are you okay, Mildine?”
“………………………Eh?”
For a while, Musse had been clinging to Rean’s right arm and trembling, but when the boy expressed his concern, she looked at the boy in a daze, as tears were still welling up in the corners of her eyes.
“Do you know him, Musse?”
“Even if you ask…… he is His Highness.”
“Uhn?”
“He is the Princess’s twin younger brother, Cedric Reise Arnor.”
“…………Eh?”
“H-Hello. As she introduced me, my name is Cedric Reise Arnor.”
“Ahahah,” the Imperial Prince of Erebonia Empire laughed timidly.
And so, with a striking sight of him jumping off the balcony with Musse, Rean got to meet Cedric.
That was the initial plan, a dynamic entry, through jumping off a balcony.
Despite saying that he wouldn’t choose a method that would make a child cry to help Rosine, he almost made Musse cry again on his second night flight, so the scene became NG.
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