Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 063 – Fufufu, Son. We’ve Finally Met the Culprits [B]
A familiar voice caught Rean’s ears.
In an instant, a scarlet magic circle appeared in the sky and unleashed extreme flames, reducing the Cryptids around Rean’s group to ashes, forcing them to leave this dimension.
Her soft golden hair fluttered in front of Rean.
A small girl carrying a large staff slowly descended from the sky.
“Roselia-san!”
“Umu, sorry to keep you waiting. But we’re not the only ones, you know?”
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Rean-san.”
“Seriously, you’re still as busy as ever.”
“Emma, Celine too!”
Emma and her familiar, Celine, were the ones who arrived later.
Rean flashed a bright smile at the reliable reinforcements.
“Why are you here……?”
“She knows the answer to that.”
Roselia turned her gaze to point to Vita, who was standing there in a blue dress.
With the appearance of the Azure Diva, the battle between Barkhorn and McBurn, which had been destroying the Alternate Esmelas Garden, also came to a halt.
“……So the real opponent is finally here. Fighting a Dominion certainly heats me up…… but it fell short of expectation. Let me have some fun, okay?”
“Guh…………”
“Barkhorn-san!”
“Emma.”
“Yes!”
When Emma chanted her spell, Barkhorn was summoned to her side via long-distance teleportation.
Celine looked at the burns all over Barkhorn’s body and immediately began to apply healing magic.
“It’s been a while, Roselia.”
“Umu, it’s been a while. But I guess it’s going to be tough in my ‘current’ state.”
“But with you here, we have a chance.”
As the two of them, who seemed to be old acquaintances, conversed in close manner, Rean gasped at the height of his goal that even Barkhorn couldn’t reach McBurn.
Although they had escaped from the crisis, Claire, who was left behind, asked Rean a question.
“Rean-kun, they are……?”
“Ah, excuse me, Claire-san. This is my friend Emma and her familiar…… or rather, her pet Celine. And that is her grandmother Roselia-san.”
“Why did you rephrase it and say that I’m a pet!”
“The cat spoke……?!”
“Because I knew you would react like that.”
As Celine dutifully retorted him while casting healing spells, Emma felt a strange sense of satisfaction over Claire who was surprised by the talking cat and approached her with her wand in hand.
“My apologies, but may I please ask for the details from the person who sent us here instead.”
“Eh, wait a mo——”
With a tone that didn’t allow refusal, Emma used teleportation magic to teleport Claire and the Gralsritters away from the singularity.
Rean’s eyes widened at how quickly things were developing and he tried to ask Emma a question, but instead of facing him, she glared at Vita, who was standing next to McBurn.
“Nee-san!”
“…………To think you managed to break through my causality manipulation, I’m glad to see how much you’ve grown, Emma.”
I see, for Emma, this is her reunion with Vita-san, whom she hasn’t met for a long time……
Though Vita felt close to Rean due to what happened in Eryn and Abend Time, it had been several years since Emma had last seen Vita.
Thinking back on how it was only natural that she would neglect others because of that, Rean decided to apologize to Claire later.
“Abyss, let me ask you again…… it’s okay for me to fight them, right?”
“Yes. I brought you here as a countermeasure against baa-sama to begin with. Please go on a rampage to your heart’s content until this place breaks down.”
“Countermeasure against us…… you say?”
“I knew that baa-sama had been cooperating with the analysis on the remains of the Salt Pale. In that case, it was only natural I would find someone to help deal with you, right? Well, Rean-kun aside, I never thought Emma would come as well, though.”
“I did everything to catch up to you.”
Emma took off her glasses.
Those golden eyes held an intimidating presence that made even Rean hesitate to speak up.
[“Fufufu, son. Isn’t it true that beautiful women can be scary when they’re angry?”]
“Don’t make fun of them…… but now, I can make my move too.”
Rean said that, turning his attention to Gideon, who was shocked at how the Cryptids had been incinerated in an instant.
As if noticing his gaze, Gideon glared back at Rean while being flustered.
Meanwhile, the sound of the magic flute had stopped, but the Cryptids seemed unaware that they were no longer being controlled.
“Emma, Celine, Roselia-san, Barkhorn-san, please lend me your ears for a bit……”
Rean told the four the idea he came up with.
Emma then furrowed her brows and gazed at Rean with a sharp look.
“Are you serious?”
“It looks like they have already decided on their opponents, after all. I don’t intend to get in the way, but I want to show them that I’m not just scared.”
“…………That’s right, you are this kind of person.”
As she said that, Emma sighed as if to say it couldn’t be helped.
However, the harshness in her eyes had been toned down, giving her somewhat a relaxed expression.
Barkhorn let out a wry smile at the change of her attitude.
“I see, a friend, is it?”
“He is a naughty brat, but the way he does things like this unconsciously reminds us of Dreichels.”
As Roselia said that, she waved her wand and cast a spell on Rean’s sword.
Emma and Celine followed suit, and a red marking was engraved on the blade of Rean’s tachi.
“This is?”
“It’s something like a talisman. At the very least, your weapon won’t break that easily.”
“Rean-san, you always break your weapons, after all.”
“If you’re a swordsman, you should treat your weapon with more care.”
“……I’ll try my best.”
“I can see that you didn’t mention how you won’t do it anymore.”
“I don’t want to lie, after all.”
With the conversation concluded, Rean also turned back to McBurn and Vita.
It seemed like they had kindly waited for Rean’s group to finish up their discussion.
It was probably a sign of leisure.
So Rean said, believing he would get the answer he wanted.
“Misty…… No, Vita-san. Are you the culprit behind this incident?”
“You’re not wrong in a sense that I am indeed their collaborator.”
“Why……!”
“That’s my line. Why did you bring back something like the fragment of Salt Pale……I knew you were an unpredictable boy, but that went beyond my imagination.”
“Because of that, Rosine is now……!”
“In the first place, if you hadn’t brought that thing back, this incident wouldn’t have happened, right?”
“We were analyzing it! Roselia and Professor Schmidt were looking after it, so there’s no need to steal it!”
“That’s something that is beyond what humans can handle.”
The conversation was going nowhere.
Emma, deciding that words wouldn’t be able to stop her sister, interjected.
“That’s not for you to decide, nee-san.”
“Well, I guess from your perspective, I’m just a member of the thief gang. So what are you going to do?”
“It’s not just about this incident. I’d like to ask a lot more…… that’s why I came here!”
Emma readied her staff and mana began to fill the surrounding area.
Vita’s eyes widened slightly, and McBurn laughed.
“Isn’t her magic power alone comparable to yours?”
“Yes, Emma has really tried her best…… but my apologies. I have no intention to fight.”
Vita raised her azure staff and a teleportation circle appeared at Gideon’s feet and hers.
Are they going to escape, thought Rean anxiously, but Roselia stopped him.
“Don’t worry, Schwarzer. They won’t escape.”
“What do you……”
Rean frowned at those words.
Vita’s eyes also opened wide with her wand still raised. She was supposed to be using teleportation magic, but it just wouldn’t activate.
Seeing this, Roselia burst out in laughter, revealing her canine teeth.
“Ha~hahahah! Have you gone senile, Vita! We are already inside the ‘partition,’ so you can’t teleport from here!”
“’The Partitioner’……?! But he shouldn’t be able to do that on his own.”
“Yes, if he is on his own, that is.”
“’Roaring Lion’…… no way!”
“You’re realizing it late, prodigal girl! That’s what you get for having a leisurely attitude! We feel like forgiving you for disappearing all these years just by seeing that expression! Nah, we won’t forgive you after all that, but it’s still a very amusing and satisfying experience!”
As Vita exuded frustration, Roselia laughed with genuine amusement.
Unable to catch up with the context, Rean was unable to grasp the situation.
“W-What do you mean?”
“Instructor Thomas…… He is the Vice Captain of Gralsritter, Rosine-san’s superior, and he is outside this singularity at the moment. His ability is to create a unique space…… and he sealed this singularity inside the ‘partition.’ Incidentally, it’s thanks to Instructor Thomas that we were able to come here.”
“Doing that to a singularity…… is that actually possible?!”
“Normally, that isn’t possible. But when combined with my Stigma, it’s possible to contain a singularity of this scale.”
“……I see. I thought you were weaker than I expected, so it was because you are using your power elsewhere. That makes sense.”
After hearing McBurn’s words, Rean realized why Barkhorn had been the one-sided victim of wounds.
[“But even if it’s just a fragment, is it possible to suppress a singularity made out of Salt Pale……?”]
“Let’s leave that aside for now, dad.”
The transfer of power to Thomas was taking place, but the biggest factor was that the teleportation outside was sealed and means of escape were gone.
McBurn, who also laughed like Roselia, even spoke some words to comfort Vita.
“Well, even without teleportation, we just need to do something about this young lady. I have no intention of getting involved in a sisters’ quarrel, so go ahead and do what you want.”
“…………Yes, I’ll leave baa-sama and ‘Roaring Lion; to you. ‘G,’ you need to escape quickly or you’ll be caught by Rean-kun.”
“You’re telling me to escape?”
“Yes. I don’t think you’ll lose to him, but there’s no guarantee that this place will last until then.”
“I won’t let you get away!”
Vita said that and teleported away. Emma saw the flow of mana and followed suit. Although she also couldn’t teleport outside, it seemed possible to teleport within the singularity.
Celine looked back and forth between Emma and Rean, who had disappeared, but Rean urged her towards Emma.
Celine nodded and disappeared.
The only ones left were McBurn and Gideon.
And counting Rean, Roselia, and McBurn, only five people remained there.
“Well then…… ahn?”
As McBurn set his sight on Roselia and Barkhorn, Rean approached him.
As Rean readied her tachi and unleashed his fighting spirit, McBurn scratched his head.
“Well, I guess having an appetizer before the main dish isn’t bad……”
“It’s certainly an appetizer, but I think it is tasty enough that you want more of them.”
“Heeh, you got ways with words.”
“I’m not the same as before—— and I’ll show you.”
Rean once again unlocked the depths of his power of ogre.
Just like the Almighty Conflagration in front of him, Rean’s eyes were dyed black with flame, and seeing the power he unleashed, McBurn’s mouth quirked.
“Hah, I see you’ve been training hard! The way you mix it is incredible too! Good, keep going brat! That power——”
In an instant, Rean was no longer in McBurn’s field of vision—— he was swinging his tachi from behind the Almighty Conflagration.
“Seventh Form – Enlightened Domination.”
A delayed storm of slashes sliced at McBurn in all directions.
Thanks to the witch’s blessing, the red-hot tachi performed its role without melting.
“Gh……!”
“Ooh!”
“That guy, he did it!”
Without turning around at the praise coming from behind, Rean ran straight toward Gideon.
The blow he struck McBurn impressed him unlike what he experienced back in Bryonia Island.
The next time they met, Rean would show him more on the strength he had developed. That was enough for now.
“Damn it, don’t come here!”
Gideon summoned a bird-like Cryptid using the sound of his magic flute and climbed onto its back.
Like I’ll let you escape, just as Rean put his strength onto his legs, an incredible heat began to rise behind him.
“Ashen brat. If you want to be my friend…… then you’ll have to survive this first!”
When Rean turned around, he saw McBurn, still energetic.
He knew that much. Rean didn’t think he could defeat McBurn with just what he did earlier.
But at McBurn’s right was a jet-black sword.
The black flames emitted by McBurn were shaped into a sword, a scorching hot sword like purgatory.
“A sword of Divergent Law——!”
Roselia screamed.
With no time to pay attention to the voice, Rean tried to parry the blade fired from the burning sword in an instant—— and was sucked into the large hole that the deflected flaming blade had created.
Author Note:
NG Scene
“Hah, I see you’ve been training hard! The way you mix it is incredible too! Good, keep going brat! That power——”
In an instant, Rean was no longer in McBurn’s field of vision —— and he had already swung his hand behind Almighty Conflagration.
The impact hit McBurn ——that didn’t really happen, yet seeing the object held by Rean’s hand, he couldn’t help but exclaim in a dumbfounded manner, “eh?”
“This is my ARCUS. Since you don’t know my contact information, I’ll contact you, so please answer when you’re free!”
“We pity him for catching the eyes of the fellow who would pass him something like that in a situation like this…… Emma, as we thought, you should choose your friends carefully……”
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