Chapter 82: The Forbidden Word and the Wizard
Igni: “Lilly, this way.” Lilly: “What kind of place is this?” Igni: “It’s a restaurant that’s become popular recently.”
Igni researched about this Pancake House thoroughly, and the two enter inside.
Lilly: “A pancake…...you say?” Igni: “Have you ever had it?” Lilly: “No, I haven’t.” Igni: “I haven’t either. That’s why I wanted to come here with you, Lilly.” Lilly: “Really?” Igni: “Of course.” Igni smiles at her.
As they wait in line at the Pancake Shop, Igni and Lilly wait for a while.
Lilly: “Igni, do you have a dream?” Igni: “A dream?” Lilly: “Like what you want to do after you graduate.” Igni: “..........umー”
Igni thinks about Lilly’s question for a while and then….
Igni: “I’m thinking of being a freelance Wizard.” Lilly: “A Wizard, is it.”
Igni: “Yeah, I won the Tournament, so I should be pretty well known.” A freelance Wizard is similar to an Adventurer.
Unlike a mercenary, the requests will all come from a Guild though.
And an Adventurer is exactly that……….<a person who seeks adventure>.
In other words, they will explore areas that haven’t been conquered by humanity like the [Demon King’s Realm] and other far reaches of the world that’s still untouched. They live to discover new territories, but a Wizard is more rooted in making a living locally.
Igni: “What about you, Lilly?”
Lilly: “I……..I don’t know. I think I’ll probably go back to the Elven Country.” Lilly looks downcast and looks down sullenly.
Lilly: “Before now, I thought that was fine. But now, I don’t think I want to.”
Igni: “I see.” Igni nods as he listens.
Lilly: “That’s why…..I don’t really have a dream right now.”
Igni: “Then why not take some time to come up with one?” Lilly: “Take some time?” Igni: “Because you still have two years to spend over here, right?” Lilly: “Yes.”
Igni: “Then during that time, you can think about it and maybe find a dream.”
Lilly: “Do……..do you really think so?” Igni: “It was the same for me. I didn’t know what I was going to do at first.”
After leaving the family home, Igni was unable to do anything, and the only reason why he was able to have a dream now is because Lucas was there.
“Thank you for waiting! Please come right this way.” As they chatted, Igni and Lilly’s turn came up, and they both entered the restaurant.
As they were seated, they were handed a menu.
Lilly: “Wow, look at those prices.” Igni: “Yeah, they charge a good bit here.” It’s one silver coin per pancake.
It’s 100 copper coins for one silver coin, and you can get a full meal with 30 copper coins, so this is quite pricey here.
Igni: “Lilly, what do you want to try?” Lilly: “Umー what will you order, Igni?” Igni: “Whaー”
Igni was about to say, “Whatever is fine” but at that moment, time was forced to come to an immediate halt.
It was the biological instinct that all humans exhibit when they face a critical moment in their lives……..!
Igni’s foundational instincts immediately determined that his answer was dangerous, and a flashback of his past immediately begins playing in the back of his mind……!!
<<<<>>>>
[Oye, Igni]
[What is it, Grandpa]
It was only a few days since arriving at the [Demon King’s Realm].
[I believe it’s about time that I start teaching you basic techniques.]
[Basic techniques? Like for {Fireball}??]
[No, I can’t teach you that. You’ll have to come up with that yourself. But what I will teach is the about “Popularity”]
[Ohh!! Really?! Please teach me, Grandpa!!]
[Let’s say that right now, you’re on a date.]
[Oh, this is good. I’m getting excited～]
Igni has always had a very simple and straightforward personality.
[Let’s say that you enter a restaurant, and the girl asks, “What are you going to order?” How would you answer?]
[Hmmm……….”Whatever is fine”, I think.]
[SO NAIVE!!]
<SLAP!!>
[Was it something that I deserved getting hit for?!]
[Igni! What you just said was a critical mistake!! “Not having a preference” may be good and well for you, but for the girl, it’s an incredibly terrible thing to say!!]
[RーReally?!]
For Igni, he was trying to say he was open to any possibility.
[I know you were just trying to be easy going, but the girl would just be troubled after hearing that! Think of it from the opposite perspective! If you asked the girl what she wanted to eat, and she answered, “whatever is fine”, would you then be comfortable ordering random things from the restaurant for her?!”
[NーNo, I wouldn’t……..!]
If Igni was told “whatever is fine,” then Igni would have been incredibly troubled trying to choose the right kind of restaurant.]
[Exactly! “Whatever is fine” is the worst answer for the person asking the question!]
[YーYou’re right…….!]
[Why would you do the same thing to the girl, when you would be troubled if it was the other way around………!]
[...........! IーI never thought of it that way……..!!]
No wonder he slapped me……….
And Igni thought his Grandfather was justified in his actions.
[You need to first and foremost think from their perspective……! This is critical! So in this situation, there is a way you can answer….!]
[WhーWhat should I do?!]
[First, you must give them some choices……..!!]
[ChーChoices…….?!]
[That’s right! If you are trying to be sensitive to their needs and desires, then in this case, you can suggest a few different types of restaurants……….and then you can let them choose……..!!]
[...............!]
[Just by doing that, they will not be as troubled by your answer……..!]
[IーI see………!!]
[And not only that! But in the first place…….AN INDECISIVE MAN CANNOT BE POPULAR!]
[AーAn indecisive man can’t be popular……..?!]
Igni trembled in fear at the realization.
[That’s right…….! To be indecisive is to be undependable……..! If it was just one small part of you that was clumsy or lacking, maybe that can be viewed as adorable……..! But Igni……...there is nothing adorable about you…..!!]
[Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh………..] (sfx painful groan)
Even more than the slap, the words stabbed deep into Igni’s heart like a giant stake.
[So if you are thoughtless, it will only be viewed as a flaw……..! It will not lead to your Popularity…….!!]
[MーMy heart…….it hurts……….]
[Know thyself and know thy opponent! To be able to assess the difference of combat strength is not only useful in battle, but it is an essential skill for becoming Popular! If you understand, start learning about yourself more!]
[OーOkay, Grandpa…….! I will……..!!]
<<<<>>>>
Lilly: “What’s wrong, Igni?”
Igni: “NーNo, it’s nothing.”
Igni: (ThーThat was close.)
Igni: (If I wasn’t careful, I would have become an indecisive man.)
Igni: “What about this or this? Don’t these look good?” Igni points at two things on the menu.
Lilly: “Then let’s do this one!”
And with that Lilly chose one of the items that Igni pointed out.
<<<<>>>>
Iris: “AHHHHー! I WAS GOING TO TAKE SIR IGNI TO THAT PANCAKE SHOP!”
Alicia: “But I heard that that pancake shop isn’t that good.”
Alicia pointed this out to Iris.
Elina: “Really? My classmates told me it was good…..” And Elina was now confused.
Iris: “The not-so-good pancake shop closed down just recently. It was the one that was over there, right?”
And it ended with Iris with a disappointed glance at Alicia.
Alicia and the other two were staking out from a café across the street, but Igni and Lilly didn’t notice.
Iris: “NO! Lilly is having Sir Igni feed her! Look at how happy she looks! Even I haven’t had Sir Igni do that for me!!”
Alicia: “Igni has helped you with your recovery from those spores though.”
Iris: “But all he did was help me drink water!!”
The two were getting worked up over the events that happened on the first day of school.
Elina: “Hey you two, if we don’t get back, the Club Leader is going to scold us……..”
Elina glances at the position of the sun as she spoke.
The three were originally in the middle of their [Fortune Telling Club] activities.
Alicia: “The Club Leader?” Elina: “Yeah, because there was supposed to be an important announcement today.” Alicia: “(sigh)...............”
Alicia let out a deep sigh as she stood up.
Iris: “Geesh, how disappointing. Just when it was about to get interesting.” Alicia: “Do you know what the announcement is about, Elina?” Elina: “Wouldn’t it be the annual training camp they always hold?” Iris: “Another training camp～?! We just finished one for our class just the other day!”
Elina: “Don’t gripe. It’s tradition.” Not wanting to anger their Club Leader, the 3 muttered bitterly as they left the café behind.
Iris and Alicia left as they started making plans on how to set up a date with Igni.
<<<<>>>>
Igni: “It was a lot of fun, Lilly.” Lilly: “Yes, I had a lot of fun too, Igni.” They didn’t realize that they were naturally holding hands, and a beautiful sunset hung in the horizon.
Lilly: “Can we go on a date again?” Igni: “As long as you’re okay with it, sure.” Lilly: “Yes……”
Even though Lilly was the one who brought it up, Igni’s reply made her blush a little in delight.
Lilly: “Hey, Igni, can you close your eyes?”
Igni: “Hm?”
Igni closed his eyes as Lilly asked him to do.
And something soft touched his lips.
Igni: “Huh?!” Igni let out a surprised yelp and…….
Lilly: “I’ll see you again tomorrow!”
With a bright red face, Lilly ran back to her dorm.
Igni did not smell any sweet scents from her.
There was no way for Igni to know that the Love Potion’s effects had already ended long ago.
But because he didn’t know, Igni celebrated to his heart’s content.
<<<<>>>>
