Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 074 – Fufufu, Son. It’s the July Field Study②
After cleaning up the fountain, it was time for lunch, and Group C went to the general store ran by Towa’s uncle and aunt.
The Herschels offered the place to their niece as accommodation for the three-day, two-night stay for Group C, who had decided to join at short notice.
“I’m sorry, it feels like we’re intruding without notice……”
“No, since you’re Towa’s classmates and junior, there’s no need to be reserved.”
“That’s right. Look, there’s plenty of food, so eat as much as you like.”
“Well then, I won’t be reserved…… Ooh, this is really delicious.”
Towa’s uncle Fred was smiling gently. Aunt Martha, who was sitting next to him, agreed with her husband, as George gobbled down the meat as his main course.
Towa was smiling wryly at the sight, and beside her was her uncle and aunt’s son, Kai, who was looking back and forth between Crow and Rean with a sullen look on his face.
“Kai-kun, was it? Is there something you need from us?”
“Hmph…… I don’t know who is closer to Towa nee-chan, but I’m not going to hand her over to some empty-headed guy.”
“G-Geez, Kai-kun. Sorry about that, both of you……”
Kai crossed his arms as he said that, to which Towa reprimanded him. Angelica, who was the first to notice his thought, voiced her denial.
“Fufu, you can stay rest assured, Kai-kun. I’ll be protecting your beloved onee-chan. She won’t fall victim to either of their clutches.”
“I-It’s not like that.”
Kai blushed at Angelica’s comment, to which Rean gave a wry smile.
In other words, he seemed to be wary of boys who approached his admired Towa onee-chan.
When Rean pointed out to the glaring Kai that he didn’t include George, the boy said he didn’t feel any danger from George.
Perhaps the way he had his cheeks puffed out with delicious food made him look more like a pet than a man.
“I didn’t think I’m that close to the president, so if there’s anyone suspicious, it’s Crow-senpai.”
“Wha~t~?”
“You, don’t sacrifice me like that.”
“I mean, even during this field study, it should be enough if Crow-senpai did things on your own, but the president decided to help, right? She’s just like a caring wife.”
“R-Rean-kun! I have no such——”
“That’s right, Rean-kun. If Towa is a wife, then the husband is-“
“Okay, okay, things will get complicated, so shut up An-chan.”
George swiftly handed Angelica a piece of soft bread and shoved it into her mouth, interrupting her mid-sentence.
From there, they began chatting, and Kai’s gaze shifted from Rean to Crow.
Crow seemed to be used to it and dealt with it lightly, but it seemed like the boy didn’t like his attitude, as it became a repetition of yells and deflections.
Furthermore, since Towa, who was reprimanding Kai, seemed to be protecting Crow, an uproar was inevitable. With Angelica trying to intrude and George attempting to calm her down, the situation became chaotic.
The Herschels couple watched the scene with amusement.
“It seems like you’re surrounded by really good friends……”
“The ones here are the seniors particularly close with her, but at the academy, the president is loved by all students. Even noble students don’t dare to look down on her as a commoner and treats her with respect.”
“Is that so? I’d like to hear more details.”
“I’d be happy to give you an objective view.”
Rean also told the couple about Towa’s personality, who treated him well without being swayed by the rumors when he first enrolled, and about her acting as a reliable student council president, which he learned about through requests.
Meanwhile, Rean learned that Towa was the child of the couple’s brother-in-law and his wife. They were both scholars, and her grandfather was even the director of the Imperial Museum.
“Towa especially loves stargazing.”
“Y-Yes. I think it was because of my grandpa. I’d like to have another stargazing party together.”
“The academy will be closed during the summer festival, so let’s do it as soon as we are done with the field study.”
“That’s pretty sudden.”
“These kinds of things should be done immediately. Above all, if Towa said she wants to do it, I will definitely do everything in my power to make it happen!”
“Boy, if you’re worried about Towa nee-chan, you should keep an eye on this girl first.”
“What are you talking about? What’s there to worry about between two women?”
“Ah~ I guess there’s no way a kid could understand.”
“Rather, that’s normally not something that comes to mind for a normal person.”
From the outside, Angelica’s love for Towa gave off a dangerous vibe, but Rean thought since Towa wasn’t seriously rejecting her, it was not a problem, but he didn’t say it out of respect for her uncle and aunt.
[“Fufufu, their cute niece has a good female friend. I think knowing that much is good enough.”]
{“Is the feeling Angelica directing to her not friendship?”}
A~ yes, yes, that’s right, it’s friendship indeed. Valimar should just consider it that way.
{“Fumu…… Osbon, what on earth——”}
Dad, you don’t have to say it aloud.
[“Fufufu, well then…… what should I do? Surprisingly, the world of maidens is not just between women and men, but also between women and women——”]
Silence, shut up!
Lunchtime passed peacefully while Rean was engaged in a parent-child quarrel that no one else could hear.
After they enjoyed their after-dinner coffee, Angelica took the initiative to help clean up after the meal, saying it was her duty as a husband, while George told Fred and Kai more details about Towa’s life at the academy.
Meanwhile, Towa brought Rean and Crow to her room.
“Heeh, so this is the president’s room.”
“How should I put it? This room really feels like Towa.”
“Ahahah, I know it’s not very girly, though……”
Towa’s room was filled with many books.
The room was mainly filled with books on political science and economics, but her grandfather’s room next door was apparently stocked with a variety of books on subjects including astrology.
It was a room worthy of Towa, who is the grandchild of a family of scholars.
“Now that I think of it, I asked Fred-san and the others earlier, but why did you choose to enroll in Thors, senior? You grew up surrounded by books, and you were the top student in the imperial capital’s school district, yet you went out of your way to choose Thors, which also offers military education……”
“Now that I think about it, all I’ve heard about it was that it’s because the scholarships were generous. There must be other reasons, right?”
“Well…… that’s right. I guess I can tell both of you.”
With a wry smile, Towa explained the reason why she decided to enroll at Thors Military Academy.
“You know that the Empire, both in terms of its people and tradition, people value ‘martial might’…… or rather, ‘power’? I hate war and conflict, but…… My grandpa taught me not to turn a blind eye to things just because I think that they are inconvenient. That’s why I wanted to learn about ‘martial might’ and the ‘military’. No, to learn the true nature of ‘violence’, I decided to go to Thors.”
“President……”
“…………”
“It might be weird for me to say this to Rean-kun, who is studying martial arts…… but you, in particular, are someone who is in a position where you could use a ‘Divine Knight’. So to be honest, I was worried about you, who had earned such power, but it seems it was an unfounded worry. After all, Rean-kun has never used that power in an inappropriate way.”
With her hand on her chest, Towa looked up at Rean.
“In fact, you were the one who tried to understand more about it than anyone else. You even took the initiative of contacting Professor Schmidt to investigate it.”
“Hahah, you’re overstating my efforts. It was just a coincidence that I got Valimar.”
“Is that so? I think Rean-kun uses violence well and effectively as a deterrent, Rean-kun.”
[“Perhaps Miss Towa wants to learn the true nature of power more than anyone else. She fears violence, but she thought of learning it to create countermeasures. Fufufu, it’s amazing how far a girl that is not yet twenty years old considers the world. I think the title of ‘talented women’ really reflects people like her.”]
{“If something like me, who was created for the sake of conflict, could serve as deterrent, I guess it’s something to be proud of.”}
Osbon also gave words of praise, to which Valimar nodded in agreement.
Rean’s mouth broke into a smile, happy as if his family had been praised.
The reason why he told the Trial of Divine Knight to Rufus was not only to counter terrorists, but also to restrain the “Noble Faction”.
At the same time as taking measures against Rutger and the terrorist Divine Knight Rean hadn’t met yet, it could also be said that it was maintaining the balance between the military strength of “Noble Faction” and “Reformist Faction,” keeping both in check.
“Deterrent, huh.”
Crow muttered to himself. But Rean didn’t pursue him about it, and instead corrected Towa as if making excuses.
“I’m still very immature. If a friend was hurt, I might swing my blade in anger even if I had such a thought. No, I actually did. I don’t know what might have happened if there wasn’t someone who stopped me.”
Rean reflected back on the recent theft incident.
He would never forget the fact that, under the justification of rescuing Rosine, he directed his anger towards the Holy City and Barkhorn, who had no direct connections with the incident.
What would have happened if Osbon and Claire hadn’t stopped him?
“Because there was someone who could contain your ‘violence’, your ‘anger’ subsided, right?”
“When someone is truly angry, words won’t stop them…… Your ‘anger’ is something that can be contained by reason.”
At this point, Crow interrupted Towa.
But the content of his words sounded like he was belittling Rean.
Rean didn’t have anything to say about it.
He even thought that it was a good thing if he could accept his anger and control it with reason rather than denying it.
Although it could be said that she didn’t know much about Crow, Towa tilted her head at Crow’s unusual way of speaking.
“Crow-kun? You seem to be in a bad mood……”
“No…… nothing.”
“……Anyway, maintaining the balance might be difficult, but please don’t forget that thanks to Rean-kun, the school’s discipline has improved.”
“……That’s true. Usually, new noble students tend to get cocky for about a year, but this year, they calmed down before summer. It’s all thanks to you.”
Hearing Crow say that, Rean scratched his nose in embarrassment.
Feeling embarrassed, Rean hurriedly spoke to Towa.
“But I’ve learned a bit about President Towa. You are trying to learn about power and trying to find the answer to the question of how to restrict them… I think that’s something that can’t be done with just an ordinary determination. Isn’t it, Crow-senpai?”
“Aah…… you’re amazing, Towa.”
Towa was overwhelmed by the compliments she received from her junior and fellow schoolmates.
Rean wanted to look at his adorable senior a little longer, but then he suddenly noticed a photo on the desk.
Towa took the opportunity to explain the contents.
“These are my mom and dad. They passed away in an accident after this photo was taken…… and next to them is my grandpa. We’ve been together ever since my parents died.”
“Oh, this brings back memories.”
“Heeh…… well, well.”
At this point, Crow noticed a photo next to Towa’s family photo.
Towa usually wore tights to conceal her skin, but here she was holding a microphone in a revealing outfit that exposed her shoulders and belly button.
Behind her, Angelica was similarly revealing, and George was topless with only a wet vest on.
“This is……”
“Y-You shouldn’t look at that!”
“Don’t be stingy, weren’t you having fun back in the day?”
“I-It’s all originally because Crow-kun——”
“Did something happen?”
“Ooh, I’ll tell you more about it, junior.”
“No——! I told you, no——!”
Towa waved her hands frantically, trying to keep their eyes off the photo.
Crow, who made Towa pull back as he put his hand out with a teasing smile, showed no sign of the ill feeling he had earlier shown towards Rean.
If I remember correctly, the northern rock that Valerie talked about was something like that……?
Rean had a feeling that the music that Elliot researched and told him about in his letter to Valerie was something like that.
Although Rean wanted to know more, his conscience hurt at the thought of pushing Towa any further as her face was red with tears in her eyes, so he turned his attention to the photo next to it.
“Is this from when Seniors were in your first year?”
“Y-Yes! It’s the photo of the four of us taking the operational test for ARCUS. It sure brings back memories.”
“Ah~ when I saw this picture, the first thing that came to my mind was my fight with Angelica.”
“Did the two of you fight? You two seem to get along so well now.”
“At first, An-chan and Crow-kun fought a lot…… Well……”
“It’s not something to boast about, though. Apparently, she didn’t like the way I smirked.”
“……I won’t go into details, but a lot of things happened back then, and with the help of Instructor Sara, we helped each other out when we were in a pinch during the test, and somehow, we became best friends.”
Towa and Crow looked nostalgic.
Rean wanted to hear more about it, but lunchtime was too short of a time to discuss it.
Regarding Crow, he seemed to have a secret, as he had always concealed his strength.
Angelica probably pointed that out as well, but Rean decided that he would ask them to tell their story some other day.
“Hey, it’s not fair that the two of you went into Towa’s bedroom on your own! Why didn’t you include me!”
“An, wording.”
At that moment, Angelica came banging on the door and burst in, followed by George.
It seemed like that they had finished cleaning up after the meal and had come to tell the rest of the group that the afternoon requests were about to begin.
Rean and the others thanked the Herschels couple once again and headed off to fulfill their request for the afternoon.
＊
That night, after completing their afternoon requests, Group C returned to Herschel’s General Goods and each member was assigned a room, where they needed to write their report.
Angelica and Towa stayed in Towa’s room, while Rean and the others stayed in Towa’s grandfather’s room.
Perhaps because seeing photos from her first year during the day had triggered some memories, Towa suggested they reminisce in her room.
Angelica joined in as if it was the natural thing to do, and was then followed by George.
It seemed Crow was planning to go out into the city at night, but because he was participating under the pretext of field study, he was unable to escape from Towa, who was watching over him, and was instead being held captive under the guise of reminiscing.
Rean tried to join in, but then he received a call on his ARCUS.
“Yes, hello. This is Rean Schwarzer from Class VII of Thors Military Academy.”
[“……Is this Rean-kun?”]
“Claire-san?”
It was Claire who contacted him.
Rean was surprised by this, but his eyes widened even more by the content of the conversation.
It seemed like she had something to talk about and asked whether they could meet up.
Though he was confused, he agreed and ended the call.
And as if on cue, Celine returned.
“Celine, I’m sorry to ask this when you just returned, but you came at a nice time.”
“Eh?”
Saying this, Rean picked up Celine and placed her on his head.
Celine was surprised and tried to raise her voice, but then she realized that it was an ordinary person’s house, so she quickly covered her mouth.
This was because, although Emma revealed herself to be a witch to the members of Class VII, Celine still behaved like an ordinary cat.
Leaving Celine aside, Rean headed straight to Towa’s room.
“Excuse me, president.”
“Ah, Rean-kun, we’ve been wai——hoe?”
Towa opened the door and blinked when Rean appeared with Celine on his head.
But the reason she didn’t make a sound was because she had developed a tolerance of Rean from the cleaning clones during the day.
“I’m thinking of returning Celine to Emma, so I’ll be going out for a bit.”
Given Towa’s personality, there was no doubt Rean would be scolded if he went out without informing her.
Claire’s story didn’t need to be kept secret, but the fact she called for Rean suggests that it was something that she didn’t want others to be aware of.
Therefore, Rean asked for Celine’s cooperation as he intended to really bring her to Emma after his discussion with Claire was concluded.
[“That’s how it is, so I’m counting on you.”]
[“You’re really……”]
“I see. But I wonder if the tram is still running at this time……”
“I will move along the roof, so it’s fine.”
“Please don’t appear on the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper, okay……? N-No, disguise, that’s right, at least put on a disguise!”
A vivid image came to Towa’s mind, depicting a newspaper article showing a monster with a cat on its head leaping across rooftops in the middle of the night.
Therefore, Towa had Rean change into the disguise set used on his clones during the day and sent him off.
Towa thought she had done a good job, but——
“Emil……?!”
“Eh?”
At their appointed meeting place, Martel Park at night, Claire suddenly embraced Rean.
Since Towa was no Aidios, she had no way of knowing that Rean’s disguised appearance would be so stimulating to the person who called him.
Author Note:
Rean-kun successfully completed the tradition of not being at the inn every night of the field study.
If Emil, or rather, the Rieveldt family, had survived, Claire would have had a connection with the Craig family as musicians instead of becoming a soldier, and the trajectory of the story would be expanded in imagination with an even greater horizon.
If Claire-san wasn’t an unfortunate and pitiable character, she would have become an indepth character with a brother complex, though…
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