Yoori: “IGNI!! Y-YOU’RE GOING TO BE LATE!!”
Igni: “Please....5....more...minutes…”
Igni rolled over to the other side of his bed.
YoorI: “Igni! If you don’t get up now, it’ll be too late….! It-it’s today! TODAY, IGNI!!”
Igni: “Today….I’m not….having nightmares….!”
Igni is currently being surrounded by the ladies and having a lovely time.
Yoori: “I’m telling you! The “Tournament” is about to begin!!!”
Igni: “......!!””
PAAAAAAAAN!! (*sfx loud slap like sound)
Igni threw off his blanket with unbelievable speed, and jumped out of bed. He dived straight into his uniform with fluidity and ease of one who has done this one too many times. Once he changes clothes, he holds out his hand for Yoori to grab.
Igni: “We’re going to fly!”
Yoori: “F-FLY?!”
Yoori didn’t understand what was going on, but he grabbed Igni’s hand anyway.
Yoori: “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!”
Igni lands as Yoori continues to scream.
ZUZAZAZAZA….!! (*sfx feet dragging hard on the ground)
Igni’s feet dig deep into the dirt as they decelerate and arrive at the “Gladiator’s Colosseum.”
Alicia: “You’re late! Where have you been?!”
Iris: “Sir Igni, they’re about to begin!”
Yoori: “H—he was sleeping in like usual…!”
Alicia and Iris were waiting for Igni at the Gladiator’s Colosseum’s entrance. The one who answered them was Yoori who was still recovering from the sudden acceleration and stop. He looks exhausted already.
Elenoir: “Oh Igni~~~ thank goodness you made it in time~~~”
Igni: “Ms. Elenoir, you came too?”
There, Igni also saw Ms. Elenoir, the teacher.
Elenoir: “Of course~~~ you were recommended by me~~~ the person who made the recommendation should be here too, don’t you think?”
Igni: “Ohh, that makes sense.”
The “Tournament” has two types of participants.
The previous Champion of the tournament, or someone who has been recommended by someone with comparable accomplishments.
Or someone from the public participants list who fought and climbed their way up with their own strength.
.
Elenoir: “Right now, they’re still doing qualifying rounds~~~”
Igni: “Qualifying Rounds?”
Elenoir: “Yes~~~ there’s so many people from the public who want to participate, so they narrow it down to 25 participants~~~”
Igni: “It’s the first time I’ve heard that.”
Elenoir: “I explained it to you during the friendly meet up~~~”
She’s referring to the meet up of all 4 Rolmod Wizard Academy participants gathering together one more time after their initial meeting.
And at the time, Igni was desperately calming and comforting Miss Frenda so she wouldn’t run away again.
Elenoir: “There’s only 7 who were recommended this year. That’s a very small number~~~”
Igni: “When will the Recommended Participants fight?”
Elenoir: “Once the Qualifying Rounds are done, they’ll make the Tournament brackets and you’ll know~~~”
Ms. Elenoir smiled as she told Igni.
“Hey, it’s Igni!”
Igni hears a familiar voice.
Igni: “Oh, hey Edward!”
Edward cuts through the Gladiator’s Colosseum crowds and comes towards Igni.
Edward: “Hmph, you’re here to watch the Qualifying Rounds? You have too much time on your hands.”
Edward seems to spit these words out with some contempt.
“Hey, Igni! Sir Edward came all the way out here to root for you so don’t you dare embarrass us!”
“Sir Edward’s been nervous for you since yesterday! You better not lose, Igni!”
Edward: “H-HEY! STOP BLABBERING ABOUT…!!”
Igni: “Thanks, Edward.”
Edward: “Hmph!”
Having his classmates root for him leaves Igni with a satisfied feeling.
Elenoir: “If that’s all your questions~~~ let’s go watch the qualifying rounds~~~”
Ms. Elenoir apparently finished registering, and Igni and his friends headed inside the Gladiator’s Colosseum.
“ “ “ YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH———— “ “ “
Just walking into the crowd, they were instantly surrounded by loud cheers.
“Yes! You got him now! Right there!!”
“KILLLLLLLL HIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMM”
“Use your spell! That’s right! You got her now!!”
The crowds jeer and yell at the participants. Before them was a <RAI•SED>, circular ground surrounded by a <WA•TER SUR•FACE>.
Igni: “Water…?”
Elenoir: “That’s right~~~. In this “Tournament,” you lose if you’re incapacitated or fall into the water~~~”
Ms. Elenoir continues to move forward through the crowd as she explains this.
Elenoir: “Because I recommended you, we get VIP seats~~~”
And Ms. Elenoir guides the students very near the very front seats.
Elenoir: “You can see better from here, right~~~”
Ms. Elenoir gives a satisfying glance at the students.
But before Igni could answer, one of the participants catch his eyes.
Igni: (Th--that’s….?!)
Igni drew in a sudden breath as he could not believe what he just saw.
B ——B ——BIKINI ARMOR——?!?!?
<<<<>>>>
[Grandpa! Whoever thought of this armor must be an airhead!!]
This happened on the day when they went back briefly to town to buy Igni new clothes.
In the Armor Shop, Igni points at a Bikini Armor display and tells Lucas.
[Oye Igni. You really are an idiot.]
[Wh-what do you mean an idiot?! Even if it’s you, there’s things you shouldn’t say, Grandpa!]
[*sigh…………]
[Wh-what are you sighing about….?! And….and! Look! What’s the point of that armor?! You’ll easily get hurt with all your vitals showing….!! It’s dangerous…!!]
[You stupid kid!!]
[.........?!]
[Igni……! You are still just a child…..!! Just an ignorant child who cannot see the truth of the matter…….!!]
[G--grandpa?!]
[You.... you said that “Specialized Unique Spell - Spell One” was awesome, did you not….?!]
[Y--yeah, I did say that….”
[BUT!! Think about it carefully….! How can a Wizard who can only use one spell be better than anyone else…..?!”
[........?!]
Igni trembles with realization.
[....th-they’re not better than anyone else….!!]
[But what is cool is what…..?!]
[Th--the “ULTIMATE Specialized Unique Spell - Spell One”.....!!]
[Do you understand now, Igni….? This….this is… the *ultimate ideals of a man…*ROMAN!!]
[ROMAN…..?! G--GRANDPA!! GRANDPA!! Will I one day understand the meaning of this armor?!]
[Do not fret. You’ll come to understand sooner than later. Let’s go home.]
<<<<>>>>
Igni: (.........I UNDERSTAND!!)
Igni: (I UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING……..!!)
Igni: (Now I get it, Grandpa!! I understand….!!)
It doesn’t matter if the defense is non-existent…!!
But it’s because you have no defense that it will force you to dodge….!!
By throwing your defense away, you gain more offensive power….!!
And the ultimate weapon…..!!
Those two large weapons that are so pronounced on your chest…..!!
Igni: (I….I can’t win…..!!)
Igni: (As long as I’m a man, I…..definitely cannot win against that……!!)
Igni: (I’ll…...lose…..!!)
This…..!!
This is the power of ROMAN…..!!!
Yoori: “Hmm? HUH?! Igni?! Did you already find someone amazing in there?!”
Yoori questions Igni, but the words do not reach Igni’s ears.
Yoori: “....amazing...he’s already so focused on the fight….”
Iris: “Of course! We’re talking about Sir Igni!”
Edward: “His concentration is incredible as always….”
Yoori, Iris, and Edward all gaze admiringly at Igni.
Alicia: “Guys…..follow his gaze and look where he’s looking…..”
But to Alicia, it’s apparent to her what Igni’s eyes are locked on.
BUT…
Igni: (WHAT DOES IT MATTER IF ONE PERSON FINDS OUT!!!)
Igni allowed his natural instincts to be swallowed up by his desires.
Igni: (Please….don’t lose! Miss Athlete whom I don’t even know your name…!!)
The woman wearing the bikini armor swung her sword and continued to defeat the enemies around her.
In general, women are more adept at spells than men. As a women, she could have entered the Tournament as a Wizard, but she didn’t.
Igni: (I want to know what drove her to make that decision…..!)
In his heart of hearts, Igni was standing straight up and saluting with the highest respect to the woman in the bikini armor.
Igni: (And if fate allows….let us meet in battle….!!)
And his mind was dumped, sealed, and shaken in an iron barrel brimming full of desire.
But…
Igni: “N-NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
The woman in the bikini armor was blasted by a spell and was thrown into the air.
Igni: “.......no”
And as Igni’s voice failed, there was a SPLASH, and she hit the water outside the ring.
She lost.
Igni: “.....................”
Yoori: “His face got so serious just now?! What’s going on?!”
Iris: “Sir Igni! Is there someone THAT dangerous participating?!”
Edward: “H-Hey, Igni! Will you be okay?!”
Igni: (......I wanted to be the one to push her off the field…)
Igni is Igni as usual.
**********************
CHONKY NOTES
**********************
*Ultimate Ideals -- *Roman (like romance - not like the Roman Empire) (ロマン) (浪漫) -- This one is especially difficult to translate because it’s not a real word per se. The Kanji (chinese characters) speaks of a man in the wild west. The lone cowboy. The wanderer of the desert. Now think of the lone samurai, the ronin, wandering through the lands. They are journeying through these harsh lands seeking out something that cannot be put into words. In a sense, they may be seeking an unachievable ideal, dream, aspiration, or goal. Though it’s unachievable, the journey to seek it out still draws them to their quest. Hence, there is some quality there that resonates with us. Yes, there is a masculine context to the word, and it could apply almost to anything. When you say something that is lacking in dreams, you can say “you have no ROMAN” or if you are aspiring for something greater, you say “you have ROMAN.”
