Story 02: Argostars [VBEX5]

The ☆ may or may not be silent

STORY & ILLUSTRATIONS No.02
Argostars
“NEMEAN”: The sports festival that drives all the lifeforms across the universe wild. The girls gathered to represent the solar system enter the fray as “Argostars”, causing a major uproar!

The team representing the solar system
ARGOSTARSNon-Stop☆Winning!!
The “Argostars”, taking part of this tournament for the first time, face against super-dangerous, well-known teams of aliens who are favored to win. The bodies of the cyborg aliens are more than twice their size, have 4 arms, engage in doping, have magical modifications…anything goes for these monster athletes. The physical disadvantage made it seem like they were way out of their league, but judging by the scoreboard and thanks to their magnificent adaptability and teamwork, not only did they manage to have them are their mercy: they were literally “Giant-killers”.
Argostars – Giantslaying

Today’s hottest grand sports festival!
NEMEAN
“NEMEAN” is a sports festival known since ancient times, where numerous competitions evolved along with civilization, growing until it reached a universal scale. Ever since intergalactic wars and conflicts began being settled through NEMEAN, it became the most exciting tournament across the galaxies.
“Argostars” is the team gathered to represent the solar system entering NEMEAN. They are introducing the cutting-edge system “ARgOS”: AR (Augmented Reality) technologies, and the expansion of a high-spec OS (software), to change NEMEAN into “body sports” + “fascinating sports”. With their dramatic victories in this tournament, the team’s name will be known across all the universe, and their antics will cause a huge shock and uproar to NEMEAN.
Argostars – Home Stadium

End of page 1

TL notes:
-The body modifications are “魔”, which could mean either magical or demonic.
-The line mentioning that the Argostars team being able to take down enemies much bigger than them uses the term “大物食い” (oomonogui). This would translate to “Giant-Killers”, much like the Japanese name of the card using the English phrase “GiantKilling”.

NEMEAN
TE AM ROS TER
ARGOSTARS

We’ll be introducing and analyzing the Argostar athletes after their outstanding performance in the recent match through the interviews from our editorial team. We are also featuring a brief comment about each member from Adra, the playmaker of the team.
TEAM MEMBER
Parthe

Argostars – Fierce Parthe
A charismatic member that has saved the team from countless predicaments with her ogre-like strength. From her role akin to a pinch hitter, she is certain to seize victory no matter the situation, and by simply entering the stadium, she whips the crowd into a frenzy. On the other hand, there’s a rumor that she has a complex about her abilities not being up to the level of the rest of the team.
She entered the game at a difficult moment, but managed to turn the tide with ease ☆
TEAM MEMBER
Tydeu

Argostars – Lightning Tydeu
Makes a fool of her opponents with her lightning-fast nimble footwork. The promising ace who leads the attacks of her teammates, creating some ferocious plays. Hard working and determined, she shrugs off any adversity with her own ability. She is highly trusted by the members of the team.
Making use of her innate mobility, she shifted the game in our favor from the very start ☆
TEAM MEMBER
Capane

Argostars – Swift Capane
Her characteristic is her beautiful performance that captivates even her opponents. She has an innocent and lighthearted personality, but also a sky-soaring talent. She also doubles as the energizer of the team, with her smile healing the mental and physical exhaustion of her teammates. However, it’s also said that she doesn’t like to be alone, and feels uneasy if she doesn’t have someone by her side.
She has saved the team countless times with her innate cheerfulness, which shines the brightest when we’re in trouble ☆
TEAM MEMBER
Eteo

Argostars – Slayer Eteo
The technician that can overcome difficulties with her unexpected tricky strategies. She is team’s veteran, but also somewhat of a mascot. The effectiveness of her moves and her abundant techniques are highly admired, but apparently she’s concerned about her low height instead.
She had exceptional insights to figure out the opponent’s strategy at the time of sealing the deal ☆
TEAM MEMBER
Adra

Argostars – Glorious Adra
An analytic player with outstanding intelligence and calm decision-making. She used to have a hot-blooded personality, but due to a bad experience in the past, she became more cautious and level-headed. Because of her lack of stamina, her main role is supporting and commanding her teammates. She’s like a goddess that leads her team to victory with precise instructions, bouncing back from adversity countless times.
I won’t just settle with today’s results. I will be coming up with new strategies. Keep supporting us ☆

End of chapter

Thanks to 过户费喜加一 at Bilibili for the scans

TL notes:
-Parthe is as strong as a 鬼神 (kishin), which could be translated as “a fierce god”, like the warrior in her art.
-Tydeu’s plays are 獅子奮迅 (shishifunjin), meaning ferocious/furious. The first two kanji of this compound mean “lion”, like the one in her art.
-Eteo overcoming difficulties uses the idiom 龍門飛躍 (ryuumonhiyaku). This is based on the tale of the carp overcoming the waterfall and becoming a dragon, much like in her art.
-Similarly, Capane is talented enough to “fly through the heavens” and Adra is like a “Goddess”, also referencing the bird and statue in their arts respectively, but with less wordplay.