Chapter 38: The Rumor and the Wizard

“Hey! Thanks for coming, Igni!”

Igni: “Sure thing.”

It’s been 5 hours since they got onto the carriage.

Inside a forest far away from the Capital, Igni and his group met with the Elves.

“My name is Lura. I’m the Captain of the guards for this mission. Well, there’s only two of us though.”

Lura smiled as she said this.

Her green hair almost melted into the background.

Igni: “It’s nice to meet you.”

Igni bows his head politely.

Lura: “I watched your fight at the Tournament! I was so moved!!”

Igni: “Thank you so much.”

Igni puts on a warm smile.

But also dances excitedly inside his mind.

Lura: “I can’t believe you can do so many things with just {FIREBALL}!”

Igni: “It was the result of a lot of effort.”

Lura: “That’s still amazing! That’s the first time I was so moved by another person’s Spell!!”

Igni: “Really?!”

Igni’s ears prick up to the words, “First Time.”

It’s a guy thing.

Lura: “Yes, really! It’s only until we get through the Kingdom, but thank you for your help!”

Igni: “Yes, no problem.”

Iris: “Um…...is there anything that we should be doing?”

Iris asks as she hides behind Igni.

Lura: “Yes! Great question! I need you to protect the carriage!”

The carriage she is referring to is a carriage that has been next to Igni and his friends this entire time.

It looks more like a carriage for a noble than something that is transporting any goods.

Igni: “I understand. Please leave it to us.”

Igni offered his hand for a handshake.

And Lura obliges and shakes his hand.

“Captain Lura, are we really going to rely on these humans?”

But as they were shaking hands, a voice comes up from behind Lura.

Lura: “What are you saying? We already decided on this! And you saw Igni’s amazing Spells too!!”

“Yeah, I saw it, but he’s <ONLY> used {FIREBALL} the entire time!”

Apparently, the other Elf wanted to bring up her complaints.

Lura shrugs her shoulders.

Lura: “Have you ever heard of any Wizard who beat an Epic-Scale Spell with a {FIREBALL}?”

“That’s…….”

Lura: “That’s the point! And it’s only until we reach the borders to the Principality. C’mon, please get along with them just until then, Lilly.”

Igni looks at the girl called Lilly, and she immediately looks away with a “hmph!”

Igni: (.....a *tsundere?”)

And Igni was clueless and himself as always.

Lura: “Then let’s get going!”

With Lura’s shout, the carriage began to move.

With Lura and Lilly joining Igni’s party, they set off.

<<<<>>>>

Lura: “Wait, you can only use {FIREBALL}?!”

Igni: “Yes, I was born that way. My compatibility is really low and…”

Lura: “Wo～w! Then you’re kind of like a [Ultimate Specialized Spellcaster • Spell One]!!”

At that moment, lightning struck Igni’s mind.

………..she……….she understands……………..?!

Igni: “IーI’m actually an [Ultimate Specialized Spellcaster • Spell One]!!”

And Igni immediately jumps on her words and…

Lura: “Is that true?! That’s amazing!! Now I understand why you’re able to cast that {FIREBALL}!!”

Iris: “Sir Igni, what are you talking about?”

They were walking down the road together and talking, and Iris jumps in with her question.

The carriage noisily clonked down the rocky path, and it was a little difficult to hear so Igni raised his voice for Iris.

Igni: “We’re talking about my compatibility.”

Lura: “Amazing! They actually existed! The [Ultimate Specialized Spellcaster • Spell One!!]”

Igni: “.........are they famous?”

The term [Ultimate Specialized Spellcaster • Spell One] was only used by Lucas, so Igni was happy that Lura knew about it, but at the same time, felt a little disappointed at the fact as well.

This man....he just wanted to feel extra special.

Lura: “Hmmmmmmm….I guess it’s not that famous. It’s just a rumor. The very first [Extreme] was a [Ultimate Specialized Spellcaster • Spell One] apparently. Well, that’s just an unconfirmed rumor, so I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

Igni: “The very first [Extreme]? Wouldn’t that be the [Hero]?”

The [Hero] died 90 years ago.

After defeating the Demon King, they say that the [Hero] spent the rest of his days rebuilding humanity and died being surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

When he defeated the worst crisis to ever befall on humanity, the Demon King, it is said that he was the first to ever use <MAGIC>.

Hence, why he is the first [Extreme].

Lura: “Yup yup! But it’s just a rumor at this point!”

Igni: “But wasn’t the [Hero] a genius Wizard said to have compatibility with all Magic Traits?”

Lura: “That’s how his story was written. That’s why it’s only rumors.”

Lura laughs after Igni’s question.

Igni: (I see. It’s just rumors huh.)

………...rumors.

<<<<>>>>

[GRANDPA!]

[What?]

[Is that rumor true that you charmed and played with 5 daughters of a famous noble’s family all at once, and then got tired of them and threw the problem at father?!]

[Who did you hear that from, that rumor?]

[The servants in the house were talking about it!]

[Oye, Igni. I’m going to tell you something very important, so listen well.”

[What?]

[A man should always take care of any problems that he creates with his own hands. He can borrow some help from others, but ultimately, he should never completely abandon the problem itself.]

[I see………!]

[So of course, I took care of it myself.]

[Thーthen…..!]

[It’s true that I got involved with 5 daughters from a noble.]

[Wーwhoa….]

[And the scars I showed you from my “Shuraba” was made during that time.”

[Grandpa…….really…….what are you doing?]

<<<<>>>>

Igni: (So rumors are just that. Rumors. Yup.)

Iris: “Oh, if you’re talking about rumors, you have a lot of rumors too, Sir Igni!”

Lura: “Oooohhhh...like what kind of rumors? Please tell me too.”

Lura seems to be more interested in Igni’s rumors than Igni himself.

Iris: “Um, well. There’s a lot! Like Sir Igni is the son of a noble, and I’m your servant! Like rumors that we’re going out! And Sir Igni enjoys forcing girls to address him as *'Sir'! LIke that.”

Igni: (Wait, there’s rumors like that going around?!)

Igni: (Is that why there’s no girls coming to me?!)

Iris: “There’s others like he’s going out with Alicia, going out with Erumi, and going out with Elina! Can you believe that?! None of that can be true!! And every time a new rumor starts, Edward calls them out on it!”

Igni: “Oh, really?! Edward did?!”

Edward was caught off guard being pulled into the conversation all of a sudden, and answered a little clumsily.

Edward: “Oh, uh, yeah. I know Iris likes to hang around Igni, and I know Igni’s not the kind to force anyone to call him ‘sir’, so it annoyed me to hear these false accusations towards someone I know. ……..hey, it wasn’t for your sake! It would tarnish the ways of Nobles if I didn’t speak up! That’s all!!”

Igni: “Thanks so much, Edward.”

Edward: “HMPH!!”

Edward hurumphs and scowls at Igni.

Edward is also Edward as always.

But a sound like a door latch comes out from the carriage as Edward spoke.

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CHONKY Notes LiT (Lost in Translation)

Tsundere - This is straight from Urban Dictionary, and it's well written. Tsundere (ツンデレ, pronounced tsɯndeɾe) is a Japanese term for a character development process that describes a person who is initially cold (and sometimes even hostile) before gradually showing a warmer, friendlier side over time. The word is derived from the terms tsun tsun (ツンツン), meaning to turn away in disgust, and dere dere (デレデレ) meaning to become 'lovey dovey'. Originally found in Japanese bishōjo games, the word is now part of the otaku moe phenomenon, reaching into other media such as maid cafés, anime, manga, novels, and even mass media. The term was made popular in the visual novel Kimi ga Nozomu Eien.

*Igni-sama - This is how Iris addresses Igni (I translate it as “Sir Igni” to make it more English-centric). It is the highest honorific you can give to anyone you respect or anyone with authority. If you go to a restaurant or hotel, you are a customer-sama (okayku-sama) (お客様). Calling your peers “sama” can be a little weird as it shows an inordinate amount of admiration towards them.

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