Ch. 171: The Quest and the Wizard
It was the end of summer break, and as the 2nd semester just started, Igni held a letter handed to him by Miru, and he read the contents aloud.
Igni: “The Rolmod Wizard Academy Competition?”
Miru: “Yup! It’s the No. 1 event of the 2nd semester!”
President Miru raised her hand as she spoke up in the Student Council’s meeting room.
Miru: “There’s 2 types of competition: a class vs class competition and an individual’s competition. They’ll be fighting each other with Spells!”
Igni: “A competition of Spells….. Wait, so how does that differ from the recently held [Tournament]?
There was only one [Tournament] that Igni could refer to.
It was the same [Tournament] where he fought Fray.
Miru: “Well, anyone could join the one before, right? But this time, it’s different! You have to be from this school to participate, and we’ll be competing against each other’s classes.” Igni: “That sounds like fun.” Miru: “It is! …….but it might not be as exciting for you, Igni.” Igni: “Since it’s separated by grade, I can only fight against the 1st Years?” Miru: “Yup, that’s how it is.” Confident in being one of the [Strongest], from Igni’s perspective, there are still many promising Wizards in the 1st years. But if you ask him if he believes that he will be in danger of losing to anyone there, the answer is no. Igni would unabashedly state that he would win.
Yoori: “What do you do for the class vs class competition?” It was Yoori who spoke up next.
He had also received the same printed notice from Miru, and even after reading through the contents, there were still some questions that needed to be answered.
Miru: “Hm? Oh, this is going to be Capture the Flag.”
Yoori: “A flag? What is the goal?”
Miru: “Let me see. First, the school will prepare the field, and each class will receive 3 flags. If your class loses all their flags, that class loses!”
Yoori: “WーWait, that’s all?”
Miru: “Yup. That’s all. The only rule is you can’t kill the other team.”
And Miru said, “Kill” without any hesitation or concern.
It is a competition where Spells will be flying around. No one can absolutely guarantee the safety of the participants.
In other words, the risk of death will always be right around the corner.
Miru: “If anyone is killed, the class responsible automatically loses. But besides that, <anything else is allowed>.”
Miru smiled as she spoke, and Yoori swallowed hard as he took in the information.
Miru: “There will be those who make strategies to keep their flags safe. And there will be some going out to take the flags of other classes. Because of this, it will be important to divide the classes to different roles, and each role requires different skills. See? It’s simple, but also pretty deep at the same time, right?” Yoori: “.......yes…..I see…..” Yoori slowly nodded in agreement.
Igni agreed as well but was already thinking about where he would be placed.
Yoori: “Well, Igni will most likely go for taking other classes’ flags, right?” Igni: “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.” If you consider Igni’s maneuverability, that seemed obvious.
Yoori: “IーI wonder where they will place me….?” Igni: “I would expect Yoori to be protecting the flag.”
Yoori: “You think so? Hmmm, well, now that you say it, I think that would be better for me too.” Yoori is originally a Support Type Wizard.
Just recently, he was able to overcome his past trauma and began using Attack Spells, but it would be doubtful to pit him against another Rolmod Wizard student after such a long period of relying solely on Support Spells.
But as for protecting the flag, it would be right up Yoori’s alley.
To be an adept Support Type, you have to be incredibly precise with timing as you execute your Support Spells. But that also means that they can do the opposite as well.
Igni: “And what about the individual competition…?” Miru: “Hm? Oh, that thing. It’s a competition where you volunteer to participate. It’s just like it says. It’s a one on one dueling competition.” And Miru handed another piece of paper to Igni.
Igni took it and read the contents of the page.
Miru: “The reason why it is also divided by grades is because in most cases, it would be unfair to the lower classes.”
There, he saw 5 different fields.
Miru: “There are more variety in the fields than the [Tournament], and within the designated field, you will fight till one person gives us. Of course, you can always send them out of bounds too. It’s not just Spells your competing with, but you have to also take into account the field you are fighting on. That’s key too!”
Yoori: “Instead of just a flat playing field with nothing on it, there are stages with hills and even a water stage….” Behind Igni, Yoori peeked over his shoulder to look at the map of the fields as he mumbled quietly to himself.
Igni: “Volunteers? So not everyone will be participating?” Miru: “Yeah, because there are some who aren’t meant for combat, right? Don’t you think it’s a waste of time for them to be included?” Igni: “..........that’s true.” In Igni’s head, Edward immediately came to mind.
Edward’s preferred Magic is [Life].
And he was most adept with his Healing Spells.
For a man who is best at healing wounds, neither he nor the competition would like to see what would happen if he entered.
Miru: “But put it another way, that means any student who can fight will be participating.”
And Miru began shuffling through the mountain of paperwork that was piling up on her desk.
Igni: “Hm? Wait, does that mean that I can join?”
Miru: “Igni, you’ll be placed in a special bracket.” Igni: “A special bracket? What’s that?” Miru: “Well, you are the winner of the last [Tournament], right? Those kinds of kids get to be in their own special bracket. So the [Tournament] already proved your strength, Igni, so we need to give the other students a chance to prove themselves, right?” And Miru finally found what she was looking for and pulled a single sheet of paper.
Igni: “Then what will I be doing in the special bracket?”
Miru: “You will be fighting the winner of your grade at the very end.”
IgnI: “Is that okay? You know I’ll win.” Miru: “Well, it will be entertaining nonetheless. And Igni, I have a new job for you.” Miru handed over the sheet of paper she found earlier and passed it on to Igni.
Miru: “This is the only student that has refused to participate in the individual competition. Igni, I want you to flirt with her and talk her into joining the competition.”
And on the sheet, Igni read ーー The “Legion” Estea.
It was the name of the head of class last semester.
She is counted as one of the Golden Generation, and though Igni heard the name, he never met her once.
She was in a different class, and she didn’t participate in the [Tournament] either.
Igni: “I don’t know what you mean by flirt…..”
Miru: “Well, since you have so many friends that are female, I thought you would be used to chatting up girls. Am I wrong?” IgnI: “WーWell, no….but…..” Not knowing how to handle the subtle compliment of Popularity, Igni scratched the back of his head in response.
Miru: “So that’s why I need you, Igni, to help this girl change her answer from no to yes.”
Igni: “I can try.” Popularity Etiquette No. 5 ーー “Always help a woman in need.”
There was no chance that Igni would have refused President Miru’s request.
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CHONKY TL LiT (Lost in Translation)
Unlike the U.S., the first semester of Japanese school semesters typically start in April. So while summer break is the end of the school year for U.S. students, it is the break that separates first semester and second semester in Japan. The breaks are shorter in Japan with summer break being only about a month long.
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CHONKY TL Pivot
Estea's Wizard Title is "Yorozu" (万) (よろず). The word is a very old, archaic term (think of Old English for American English speakers). The most common use of the word comes from The "Yorozu gods" (万の神). Here, "yorozu" means "all"; "too numerous to count"; "everything". The character used for "yorozu" is "man" (万) (まん) which is literally 10,000. The 10,000 Yen is the Ben Franklin, $100 U.S. Dollar bill of the Japanese economy. So, all in all, her title is something like "a lot" of something. The translation is tricky since there's been no hint of what her title stems from. Because of that, I went with a literal, numeric translation "Legion" but that may change in the next couple of chapters. Sorry in advance!
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