Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Author Note:
In Cold Steel IV, an unexpected person actually rode on Panzer Soldat, so I didn’t think it would be weird for anyone to actually ride one.
Worthy of the final part of the series where there’s so many moments that goes “So it’s actually like that!” and I really enjoyed them.
Also as always, thank you for typo reports. Sorry for the troubles.
Chapter 008 – Fufufu, son. So, Who Will Be Riding It?
The commotion at the old schoolhouse also became a rumor at the academy.
Despite it being daytime, a bell rang from the old schoolhouse and a mysterious light spread out. Moreover, a barrier was placed outside which prevented anyone from entering, making it impossible to investigate.
In addition, something like a mysterious monster appeared in Trista.
Fortunately, that monster-like being only appeared and didn’t seem to cause any harm, but it looked scary enough to terrify the residents.
For a while, Trista was in turmoil, and apparently, the imperial capital even considered dispatching troops.
Since it was a free day, it was inevitable that many students ended up witnessing that, turning it into a school event.
The one who was troubled over this was Principal Vandyck.
The fact that the person who caused the incident was the much-talked-about student, Rean Schwarzer, was already a cause of headache, but there was the fact that the incident was caused by none other than his own request.
While the instructors were worried, Instructor Thomas, who arrived late, made a proposal.
The suggestion was to appoint G. Schmidt, the president of the Roer Institute of Technology, as a temporary faculty member of Thors Military Academy, making it sound as if it was the result of the experiments conducted by him.
The professor was known as much for his personality as for his accomplishments, and things like the old schoolhouse shining or an illusion of a monster being conjured, would become convincing if connected to his name.
Although Instructor Makarov agreed with the suggestion, he opposed the idea of the professor being dispatched to Thors.
Although the instructors were able to accept that proposal, the problem was how to invite such a person.
Professor Schmidt was a self-centered person who was only interested in events that interested him, and had never acted in accordance with the wishes of others, so such a person would likely never agree if the request was to simply invite him to come to Thors Military Academy.
As the discussion seemed like it would continue without answer, the proposer of the idea, Instructor Thomas, suggested he would go to scout the professor personally, and the discussion was concluded.
The scouting, which was thought to be impossible other than Thomas himself and the principal who had heard of the actual circumstances, was carried out the same day, and contrary to the expectations of many, Schmidt agreed to be dispatched to Thors Military Academy, and was given a room in the academy the very next day.
Obviously, some agreements were made, but the principal accepted them all after being presented with the scandal and the benefit of the professor being associated with it.
For a while, Thomas became known as Magical Thomas, but it wasn’t actually his effort alone that he succeeded in scouting the professor.
Naturally, he had to have enough material to convince Schmidt.
Time went back a little to the time after Rean absorbed the Loa Erebonius.
“Rean-san, are you okay?”
“Aah… my heart is calm at the moment. Also, I learned that that shadow is—— Loa Erebonius. It’s as if knowledge is flowing into my head.”
“You actually absorbed it…”
“Ufufu, now it has come this far, I’m more impressed than stunned.”
Leaving aside the girls looking at Rean as if he was a supernatural being, the person in question casually checked his physical condition.
While doing so, the gray battlefield disappeared.
The four of them returned to the old schoolhouse, and in the terrain that had changed once again, they encountered something again.
It was a knight doll in a shining gray color—— which according to Emma, was Valimar the Ashen Knight, part of the Great One’s power. 1
In front of the precisely crafted knight doll, Rean and others listened to Emma’s explanation about the Divine Knight and the stories related to it.
“——I see. So it’s a key piece that allowed Emperor Dreichels to win the War of the Lions.”
“Of course, this is my first time seeing the real thing, but I have a strong sense of déjà vu.”
“Me too.”
“Really?”
“Um… I think I should call it the reason why people keep their distance from Rean-san.”
“——————Aah, you mean that.”
Rean clapped his hand in understanding.
Celine barked at his mild reaction.
“Hey, why are you so casual about it!”
“It’s thanks to it that I became friends with Emma and you guys after all. Personally, I don’t really feel bothered about it.”
[“Fufufu, son. It just means that there’s meaning on that outfit.”]
When Osbon said that, a change appeared in Rean’s clothes.
The uniform itself was still the same, but it was the appearance that surprised Emma and Celine that caused Emma to activate long-distance teleportation—— at a glance, Rean looked like a suspicious person resembling the gray colored Divine Knight.
Just like Osbon, Rosine hadn’t seen the Ashen Knight costume before, so she could only look at Emma and Celine, who both suddenly trembled, in wonder.
Beryl’s smile was twice more apparent than usual. She can actually see dad, can’t she? As Rean thought that, he calmly told Osbon to put the costume away with a vein showing on his temple.
“Sorry about that, Rosine. Dad possessed a mysterious power that I don’t understand, so while only Emma and others get to see him, he can change my costume and bring out items. For some reason, the item is visible to ordinary people, though… yep, just like this.”
After saying that, Rean took out an umbrella that was very memorable to both Rean and Rosine.
But from Rosine’s perspective, it seemed as if an umbrella suddenly appeared on Rean’s hand, so her eyes widened even further.
“Even if I actually see it, I can only think of it as a magic trick… but that deep, lustrous voice I heard earlier was Osbon-san’s, right?”
[“Fufufu, son. It makes me shy to hear that from a young lady.”]
“Ufufu, Rean-kun. Why don’t you explain it to me as well?”
“Well, you seem to know everything somehow…”
“Ufufu, it wounds me to be left out.”
“S-sorry…”
“I was just saying, so don’t worry about it.”
“What a troublesome woman…” muttered Celine, which Rean inwardly agreed to. After his outfit returned to his school uniform, he instructed Emma and the others to take some distance for a while, then he conveyed his heart to use the power of ogre.
What he used wasn’t the power of ogre, but the Gray Power that he absorbed from Loa Erebonius earlier.
Rean felt the sensation of being connected to something and manifested that power.
“——————”
The thing that appeared was Loa Erebonius that appeared on the gray battlefield… or at least something that looked similar.
They were similar, but not the same. [“That looks like the original prototype design.”] said Osbon.
Rather than Gray Power, it was better to call it Power of Ashen.
The Power of Ashen appeared to envelop Rean, wrapping his body like armor.
Only the upper half of a gigantic body approaching the size of ten arges appeared, protecting Rean from the center of its chest.
It was too big to be called armor, but Rean compared it to the enshrined knight doll and vaguely wondered if it was some sort of armor.
Rather than that, in order to confirm something more important, Rean turned to Rosine.
Perhaps because of the size difference, Rosine trembled a little, so Rean apologized and raised his left arm.
“How is it, Rosine? Can you see the doll cuddling my left arm?”
“……I’m sorry, Rean-san. What I see is the shadow that enveloped Rean-san earlier, but I can’t see Osbon-san…”
“I see……”
Rean sighed with mixed feelings.
Was the thing earlier a miracle caused by Aidios?
Although he absorbed the shadow on a whim, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for everyone that helped him for that.
[“Fufufu, son. The situation is different from before. There’s no need to be so anxious.”]
“Yes, that’s right. Rosine-san was able to perceive Osbon-san probably because of that special space… I think that’s how it is. But I think being able to use that shadow-like Craft is amazing enough, though…”
“Don’t you think you’re stronger using that instead of Arts?” 2
“Ufufu, your power of ogre is gentler now compared to before, right? If you use it, don’t you think you can develop it further?”
“Everyone…”
Their opinions all had points.
Although it wasn’t something containing Divergent Law, there was no doubt that that space was something special.
If Rean wanted to investigate the condition, he could try using the Power of Ashen, perhaps he might be able to find something out.
The power of ogre also leveled up into a completely different scale compared to before he controlled the Power of Ashen.
“It seems like the higher three and lower four attributes are swirling here. That’s probably why they were able to rewrite space like that. When the stage and power are set, most things can come true.” 3
“So it’s a special stage, huh… I guess I should start by creating it myself. Then I should began to practice from now on——”
“Please wait, Rean-san. That power is much bigger and flashier than the power of ogre that changes your appearance. If you used it improperly, wouldn’t it destroy most places by itself?”
“Uuh.”
[“Fufufu, son. Learning how to handle that power might be important, but what are you going to do with that?”]
What Osbon pointed to was the gray knight doll that was still sitting motionlessly.
Although it was deemed as an unauthorized intervention due to omission of trial, Rean and his group had earned the right to it by defeating the guardian of the trial ground.
Rean had no idea how to ride it, but he should be able to figure it out if he went inside and moved it.
“……Emma came to this academy on the mission to guide the Awakener who will ride this Divine Knight, right?”
“Yes. This Divine Knight is a piece of the Great Power. It is my duty to guide the Awakener so they won’t be led onto the evil path… or at least I’m supposed to be. But I never thought I would end up encountering it like this.”
“I have to learn how to control the Power of Ashen, so I have no intention of riding it, you know? That’s right, how about Emma riding it instead? If she’s the one riding it, she definitely won’t go astray.”
“What are you talking about!”
“But Celine, if it’s Emma, she will be able to control herself and not become a bad person, right?”
“T-that might be true… but the mission should not be done by a witch…”
“How about Rosine and Beryl? I think both of you are qualified to ride it.”
“Eh? Err…”
“It’s a good offer, but I’d like to refrain from accepting it. I don’t mind helping, but it’s not my intention to board and fight.”
Rosine put her hand on her cheek with a troubled smile while Beryl flatly refused.
“U~hn, in that case, I guess it’s better to just leave it here. It’s something originally here to begin with anyway.”
[“Fufufu, son. If you need help to investigate, you could request help from the president of the Roer Institute of Technology. He is a leading expert on orbal technology. If you want to investigate, you can leave it to a modern expert. Investigating that might also be useful for analyzing the Power of Ashen.”]
“I see…”
“Rean-san?”
“Aah, sorry about that, Rosine. Dad said that I should request help from Roer Institute of Technology to investigate the knight doll. It might be a good idea to leave it to experts.”
“I understand that, but this facility is still part of the military academy, so how about leaving it in the hands of instructors first? The matter of the knight doll is too great to be left to us alone, so I think it’s essential to be investigated.”
As Rosine gave a perfectly reasonable suggestion, Emma began to panic.
“Eh, we’re going to entrust the Divine Knight to the academy or institute?”
“Is it okay to ride this without permission?”
“T-that might be true, but I’ll have to consult obaa-chan about this first…”
“Obaa-chan?”
“She’s the elder of witches. She’s also the one who raised Emma. She’s been around for hundreds of years, so I think she knows the most about the Divine Knight.”
“Then we can just leave it to that pe——”
“Well~ this is surprising~”
Before Rean could finish his sentence, a carefree voice mixed in.
When the four turned around, the history instructor, Thomas, was approaching while waving his hand.
Rean and others’ eyes widened in surprise, and Thomas told them the reason he came here.
Celine went silent and pretended to be an ordinary cat.
“Eh, you mean the old schoolhouse?”
“Yes. The area was surrounded by a mysterious light and there was a lot of commotion. What happened exactly?”
The group was surprised as they had no idea something like that had occurred while they were fighting earlier.
Leaving Rean, who went stiff, aside, Rosine told Thomas what happened here.
“I see…………”
Thomas was thinking more seriously than they had ever seen of him.
It’s unusual to see someone who is usually always smiling behaving like this, such was Rean’s thought as he was treating it like someone else’s problem despite being the person involved.
It was because most of his thoughts were focused on thinking about how to control the Power of Ashen.
“As of now, we are wondering where to entrust this.”
“……Is it possible to ride this?”
“I think it’s possible for the four of us here. However, not only do we not know how to ride it, none of us wanted to ride it… if you don’t mind, would you like to try riding it, Instructor Thomas?”
“No no, according to what I heard, this is the type that decides who can ride it, right?”
“It seems anyone can ride it if they clear the trial, right? I think Instructor Thomas will be able to clear it.”
“No no, I’m just a humble liberal arts instructor… but a Divine Knight, huh… it’s just like…”
“It’s just like some kind of Artifact, isn’t it?”
When Beryl pointed that out, Thomas said “That’s right~” with a cheerful voice yet his eyes behind his thick glasses narrowed.
Rosine and Beryl were the only people who noticed that, and Rean, who didn’t notice, casually asked Beryl.
“Artifact?”
“They are mysterious relics defined as ‘premature gifts from Aidios’ by the Septian Church. Most of them are already not functional, but in rare cases, operational ones are found. Since the tool can be activated through Rean-kun’s power of ogre and Power of Ashen, then it might apply.”
“Heeh. Then I guess things that can make others see dad might also…”
“Dad?”
Hearing Thomas’ voice, Rean panicked and shook his head.
“Ah, no, it’s nothing. So in the end, will this knight doll be kept at the academy?”
“It might be… but is this really an Artifact? As far as I can tell, I can’t sense any orbal or other type of energy from it, though…”
Rean became curious at Thomas’ words and secretly activated the power of ogre on his eyes and checked the flow of spiritual particles.
So what did he see?
He couldn’t see anything similar to energy in the knight doll, making it just look like a large lump of metal.
It would be more convincing to say it was a large doll sculpted using modern technology.
That, or a beautifully crafted statue.
Either way, it didn’t seem usable in battle.
Rean was curious about this, so he sneakily checked with Emma and Celine, leaving Rosine busy talking with Thomas.
“(Emma, Celine. Is that really the Divine Knight described in folklore? I don’t feel ‘anything’ that makes it seem like that.)”
“(Eh, there’s no way it… no way…)”
“(Why? I can’t feel any mana from it… perhaps its energy is depleted?)”
“(Maybe that’s why. For some reason, it feels ‘empty’ to me).”
“(Empty…)”
Just like that, Emma and Celine started talking quietly in front of the knight doll.
By the time the conversation had words that Rean couldn’t understand mixed in, which likely from the witches’ jargon, he gave up understanding it, and at that time, Beryl drew her lips closer to Rean’s ear.
“Ufufu, it seems things are going to be tough from now on, isn’t it?”
“Why are you talking like it is someone else’s business? Beryl will continue to be involved, right?”
“Oh my, are you going to get me involved too?”
“Although the group is supposed to only be for one day, the situation means things can no longer be kept that way. It will be a big problem if something goes wrong with Beryl after you get your qualification, so I want you to continue to help until this commotion calms down. I also want to help Beryl if something happens to you.”
“……………………Fuh, to think it ended up like a straw for a drowning person.” 4
“Hm?”
“Ufufu, it’s nothing. Well, I can’t fight, but I can at least watch over you, so don’t worry.”
“That’s enough… It seems like Rosine and others have finished their discussion, so let’s leave for now. I have to report it to the principal as well.”
After reporting to the principal, Rean and his group left the troublesome post-processing to Thomas, then proceeded to buy ingredients at Brandon General Store and held an after party in the occult club room.
Since Rosine, who wanted to help Thomas, was dragged along by the group, she was a bit nervous from the start to finish, but Rean and the others convinced her that this was the instructor’s job and enjoyed the rest of the day.
That said, they had no way of knowing that as a result of leaving the aftermath to the instructors, Rean and the girls would get involved in even more troublesome matters.
Author Note:
Since it seems Professor Schmidt completed the prototype of Panzer Soldat a few months before Cold Steel II, I think this ended up like he just took a break and was then approached by Thomas soon after.
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