...The pier track was actually built over the shallows. The deepest it got was a meter and a half at most. None of the Ether Vehicles in the race were airtight, but the drivers would easily be able to get out so long as their seatbelts didn’t get stuck or something. In a worst-case scenario, there was always the teleport button.
If a participant drove off the pier in a more shallow area, they could definitely get back to the beach. Ether Vehicles ran on magical engines, after all, so getting wet wouldn’t stop them... But they’d definitely lose any chance of placing first place.
I drove off the beach area on to the pier. I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw that there was quite a bit of distance between Steel Ax and my vehicle. I couldn’t imagine him being able to catch up to me without some kind of major boost.
I looked ahead and saw the Triharan. I didn’t really feel like overtaking it, since it looked like it was a similar weight to my own car. That meant I didn’t have a clear advantage or disadvantage when it came to ramming attempts, so it was better to play it safe.
If my car was a lot heavier, I’d obviously be playing a lot more aggressively.
“The Felsen is approaching the Swan! If it tries to overtake then paws-on-heart I promise you folks, the smaller vehicle is gonna get pushed off the course!”
The Felsen and the Swan were driving down a straight stretch of the pier, with the Felsen closing in fast.
“I’ll be forcing my way through, now! Don’t think too badly of me, now!”
“Hrmph.”
The Felsen caught up to the Swan and began driving right next to it. Given how large the Felsen was, it didn’t leave much room on the pier when lined up with another vehicle.
The Swan swerved slightly as the Felsen caused its repulsors to activate. It swiftly managed to stabilize itself, but I had a feeling that another good push would knock it and Lapis right into the water below.
Lapis probably realized that too, as her vehicle began accelerating in an attempt to get ahead of the Felsen.
But the Felsen retaliated by accelerating itself, overtaking the Swan with surprising ease.
“Muahaha! How do you like that? Wait... What?!”
The boastful king of Felsen failed to notice a ninety-degree left-hand turn coming up.
“Noooooooo!”
The king of Felsen slammed down on the brakes, turning his vehicle hard to the left and just barely making the turn... Is what would have happened if Lapis wasn’t so prepared.
In a flash, Lapis drifted her car on the inner part of the turn, syncing her movements up with the Felsen perfectly. The Swan continued to drift, perfectly making the turn... before bumping hard into the Felsen just as it managed to stabilize itself.
“Uh oh.”
The Felsen had its delicate balance completely shattered and crashed into the waves below. The Swan sped onwards through the rest of the pier track, leaving the enormous splash behind it.
“Ooh! It’s a long catnap for the Felsen! Upside down in the ocean waves! You’re out!”
Good lord... Kinda glad I didn’t try anything now...
I, along with Prince Lupheus’ Triharan, passed through the left-hand turn. I glanced at the bubbling Felsen as I drove by. Obviously we lowered our speeds to safe levels before attempting the turn.
As the Steel Ax passed the same turn, the king of Felsen appeared all drenched in saltwater. He suddenly gripped the front of his vehicle and took in a deep breath.
“Looks like the king of Felsen is good to continue! If he can somehow make it back to the beach, then... Great yarn balls, what is he doing?!”
“Hrrrrrrrrgh!!!”
Mr. Mittens’ shocked voice caused me to turn around and look at what was going on. I looked and saw the king of Felsen lifting up his vehicle using his bare hands.
What the hell is going on?!
“Hup!”
In a flash, the beefy king physically threw his vehicle back up onto the pier. He then clambered back up, got into the driver’s seat, and started the engine back up. Even though there was a long distance between him and everyone else, he clearly wasn’t down for the count.
“That... That’s a little too much, isn’t it?”
I muttered in disbelief. Paula nodded her little head in agreement. If that guy was the king of the magic kingdom, there was something fundamentally wrong with this entire world.
“Looks like we have a furry-ous change in leadership! The Silver Star has overtaken both Strain and Red Cat! It’s in first place!”
Heh... So Rosetta and Monica took first? That’s pretty good.
I reached the end of the first pier stretch and drove along the sand. The Triharan in front of me wasn’t going especially fast, either. It was probably conserving its energy based on the rough terrain. I took a quick swerve and drove on to the next pier segment.
This segment had a lot of S-shaped curves and stuff, so I’d have to be careful.
Given how easily the Felsen took a bath, I had no choice but to lower my speed and play it safe.
I noticed, however, that the Triharan ahead of me wasn’t really slowing down at all. I wondered if it was because it had better tires or something... Probably improved the grip strength.
Berlietta’s Strain started to fall behind, probably because it wasn’t so good on this kind of terrain.
Currently, the leader was the Silver Star, followed by the Red Cat, with Strain struggling a little behind.
“Would you believe it, folk?! The Swan slipped right by Strain with a purrfect corner drift! That overtake cemented its place in the third position!”
Lapis overtook her, huh...? How the hell can you drift so well on such a narrow, wooden pier?! With the Swan taking third, that meant Strain was in fourth and Triharan was in fifth.
The two fated foes... who were supposed to be fated lovers... were within one place of each other.
Triharan kept on trying to overtake the Strain, but it was deflected at every turn.
“Ghh...”
“You shall not pass!”
The two of them kept swerving to the left and right atop the pier. The constant swerving meant their speed went down, resulting in me gradually catching up.
Damn it, now they’re in my way...
From behind, it was clear that whenever the Triharan moved one way to overtake, the Strain moved the exact same way to block it. They were effectively synchronized, which gave me an opening.
Paula spread her arms forwards as if to egg me on, and she was right. I had to take my chance.
I perfectly timed my acceleration to coincide with their next veer to the left and blasted past them.
“What the?!”
“Huh?!”
The two of them stared at my Type K in utter disbelief.
Sorry guys, time to leave you in the dust! I pressed on until Lapis and her Swan were in my line of sight. I was in fourth place, which was a good position to maintain throughout the rest of the zone.
We finally drove off the second pier and made our way to the third sandy track. I looked ahead and saw that the Swan was approaching the Red Cat.
“Ohoho! Bless my little kitten soul, the Swan is on the warpath! It’s cutting in close, using all the twists and turns to its advantage! And... Ohhh, just as they make it back off the sandy trail, that’s it, folks! It’s a successful overtake! The Swan is in second place!”
Lapis used the transition from sandy road to stony road and overtook Nia in a flash. That was pretty wild.
I kept Nia in my sights as I continued to drive at a steady pace. The stone road was a little bit difficult to drive on due to the patches of sand scattered across it. Driving off-road wouldn’t knock me out at this point, but I still had to take care.
“The Silver Star is purring on smoothly through the pier track’s gate! It’s steadily proceeding towards the forest track! In that zone, you gotta keep on your toes, because mountain trails can be harsh for drivers!”
Rosetta’s team cleared the area
first. Lapis passed through not long after, followed by Nia. They were all well under the time limit.
I maintained my position in fourth and passed through the gate with good time as well.
“I-I-It’s pretty bumpy here, huh...?”
The rough mountain path was extremely uncomfortable to drive on. The surface of the path was so uneven that the cars could easily overturn if they went too fast and hit a raised area.
I kept on driving until I saw a sign that said “Pit Stop. Next Right. Five-hundred Meters.”
“Might be a good chance for a tire change. Could swap some parts, too.”
Paula nodded in affirmation. I made the call to drop into the pit stop. It’d be hard to keep going with our tires in this condition, if they were damaged along the mountain trail that’d be really bad... Plus, the bumpiness was making me feel kinda carsick.
“Oho! The Silver Star has entered the pit stop, folks! And the Swan has also swung in to change its gear out, but... What’s this?! Are you seeing this, folks?! The Red Cat has completely bypassed the pit stop and taken first place! You gotta be kitten me!”
“I’ll be taking that first position! Ahaha!”
Nia, what the heck? You’re gonna keep on going? I guess you’re not the type to get carsick, but are your tires really gonna be okay? I shrugged and decided not to worry about my opponents, then I turned in to the pit stop.
I passed through the magic circle that triggered the [Gate] and took me back to the garages.
I moved my Type K to Garage Number Eight, and the mini-bots swarmed over towards me. They quickly began swapping out the tires and other equipment with pieces better designed for off-road travel.
I looked at the little monitor in the garage to see the current race situation. Strain and Triharan had gotten through the pier section and entered the forest area. The Steel Ax and Felsen were just coming up to the gate that would take them to the forest area too.
Huh, nobody’s out yet... I must admit, I’m surprised. Given that Doc Babylon designed this course, I figured it’d be more dangerous. Then again, Felsen would’ve been out if it wasn’t for his crazy strength...
I saw Rosetta and Monica zip past the garage in their Silver Star. It seemed like they’d already finished refitting their vehicle.
Lapis and her Swan returned to the race shortly afterward, seconds before Princess Berlietta and Prince Lupheus came charging into the pit stop. They were neck-and-neck.
“Ghhh...!”
“Nhh...!”
The two of them split off into their respective garages in perfect sync.
Just as I thought they’d be busy, both competitors stepped out of the garages and started glaring at each other with wide grins on their faces.
“You’re pretty good, but know that the next zone will spell your doom! You aren’t ready for this!”
“Right back at you, fool! Try not to crash and get booted out of the race, okay? It would be boring if I saw you lose like that!”
“Ehehehe...”
“Ahahaha!”
...This is honestly scary. The two of them were smiling wide, but their eyes were full of malice. Frankly, they looked like a perfect match.
Crap, can’t let myself get distracted.
I returned to the garage just in time to see my tires being swapped out. Paula and I hopped back into the vehicle, fired up the engine, and high-tailed it out of there.
I went back to the track and noticed the dwarf-made Steel Ax was right behind me. Seemed like Griff had opted not to take the pit stop.
That made sense to me, given that it was clearly a rugged vehicle designed for off-road driving. The Felsen, on the other hand, turned in to the stop and went to swap out its equipment.
“Let’s check in on the forest track, folks! We’ve got the Red Cat in the lead, feline pride represent! Following behind it, we’ve got the Silver Star, the Swan, the Brunhild, and the Steel Ax! Ah, paws on that a second! The Strain and Triharan have just come out of the pit stop!”
I was listening to Mr. Mittens’ coverage of the race as I rounded a turn, but suddenly caught my tire in a patch of uneven dirt. Gah!
“...That was definitely placed there deliberately. Looks like I can’t let my guard down.”
I gripped my steering wheel and stared at the forest-enclosed path ahead. The race had only just begun.
◇ ◇ ◇
“We’re looking in on the forest track now, people! Nia Vermouth’s Red Cat is still high in the lead, kitty pride! Rosetta and Monica are following in second with their purrfectly serviceable Silver Star! Lapis, the maid extraordinaire, is gaining on them in third!”
I was in fourth place, headed straight for Lapis.
After driving on it for a while, I realized how harsh the forest track was. The trees were so dense it was almost impossible to see up ahead.
“Whoa!”
Plus, the road was so bumpy that if I accelerated too much I’d end up flying up and crashing.
Luckily, we had that basic map of the area pulled up. Paula was helping by holding it up for me to reference now and then.
“So the path splits up ahead...”
A little bit into the forest track, the road split into two.
Path A was a shortcut, but the road was bumpier and it had more obstacles. Path B was the long way round, but it was much less risky. Both paths would merge back into one later down the line.
Typically, one would try to consider which path was the best to take, but I was dead set on B.
This entire race had been designed by two maniacs. I didn’t even want to think about the horrors that would await me on Path A, so I just decided to avoid it.
I didn’t care about winning or losing, I just wanted to make it through in one piece.
“Oho! The Red Cat still holds the lead, and it’s going down Path A! The Silver Star in second place has opted for Path B!”
Rosetta’s team chose B as well, huh? Given how well they know the doc, I’m not surprised at all. But Nia went for A... She probably just did it without thinking. Knowing her she’ll have just chosen it because it was nearer to her.
The Swan in front of me veered left, which meant Lapis was also going for A... I hoped she’d be alright.
I worried a little bit as I made the turn for Path B.
After a short while, the forested area opened up into a scenic road by the sea.
Man... This is a hell of a nice road, there aren’t any bumps... And the scenery’s great! One of the Merlion statues suddenly blasted a straight jet of water toward Monica and Rosetta. Oh well.
Path B was so straightforward that it didn’t have many obstacles surrounding the road, so I could plainly see Rosetta’s car up ahead. She and Monica had quite the lead on me.
I was still taking care, since I had a feeling that even if Path B seemed peaceful, it wouldn’t be entirely free.
“And Brunhild heads down Path B! Steel Ax veers into Path A, while the Strain follows down B! Ah, Triharan went down A! And there’s the Felsen, catching up and opting for B!”
Hmm... Berlietta went for B, while Lupheus went for A. That’s a little surprising... I would’ve pegged them for going the opposite ways.
The Steel Ax and Felsen definitely have enough rugged power to handle A, but for some reason, the Felsen went down B instead... Maybe he’s trying to stay on the safer side since he fell off the pier earlier...
Path A had the Red Cat, the Swan, the Steel Ax, and the Triharan.
Path B had the Silver Star, Brunhild, the Strain, and the Felsen.
We’d split into two neat groups.
“Holy delicious smoked mackerels! There’s a massive river coming up ahead of the Red Cat! She’s going for it, she’s going for the jump, and... Oh my whiskers, she made it! She just barely made it!”
J-Just barely? What kind of river was it? I’m glad I chose B...
“And the Swan gracefully made the jump too! Oh, oh! The Steel Ax is coming in for the jump... It’s... It landed!
Ohh! But wait, the rear wheels are stuck, it’s falling backward! Oh, oh! No, it composed itself! It’s good!”
The Steel Ax looked like it was really heavy, I was surprised it could even get airborne.
Path A seemed a lot calmer than B. It honestly felt like I was on a relaxing country drive.
I looked behind me and saw Berlietta riding in the Strain, she was charging towards me at an incredible pace.
I wasn’t really aiming to win, so I had no intentions of trying to stop her.
“Pardon me!”
The Strain rushed on, kicking up dust in its wake.
The Strain didn’t let up at all after passing me and went on charging towards the Silver Star. I wondered if pushing her magic engine to the limit like that was okay... But it wasn’t like they overheated or anything. The only risk was if the magical charge overflowed, then it would simply stall the engine.
As I pondered, I heard Mr. Mittens start his commentary up again.
“Oh my goodness gracious me, this is the upset of the century! There’s stuff flying across the racetrack! They’re being fired from the trees! It’s... It’s cream pies! Delicious fresh cream pies, hurtling from the tree branches! They’re pelting the drivers! Nia just got biffed right in the face, forcing her to veer to the roadside! Meow, the humanity! Lapis is deftly avoiding all the pies! The Swan has overtaken Nia and claimed first place!”
Pies. I knew it. I knew Path A was cursed. Sorry Nia, I’m sure you didn’t expect to meet a creamy end.
Nia was still reeling from the surprise creaming, allowing the Steel Ax to get past her.
“The Swan’s continuing along Path A, completely unscathed! The Steel Ax is following close behind, and the pie-smeared Red Cat is starting up again! Oh! Over on Path B we’ve got the Silver Star in first, followed closely by Strain!”
Path B was definitely the safe choice, but it was a slightly bigger detour than I’d expected.
The first of the racers to make it to the merging point was the Swan. The Silver Star was next, followed by the Steel Ax, then the Red Cat, then the Triharan, the Strain, my Brunhild, and finally Felsen. We were finally all back on one path.
Dang it. I was in fourth place before the path split up, but now I’m seventh? I guess it’s my fault. I had a leisurely drive along the long road, so... Whoops.
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 17 Page 12
