It only took a few moments for the sudden blast to send me flying up into the air. It took a few moments more for my ears to register the sound of the explosion.
Before I knew it, Paula and I were back in the garage. We’d landed headfirst on a mattress.
“Holy smoked mackerel! The Brunhild exploded, folks! I-Is the driver safe? He’s safe, people! He was warped out! But what a scary track!”
“Come on, wasn’t that a little extreme?!”
A landmine?! Is that legal?! Is that even legal?! I know we’re trying to test out the limits of our Ether Vehicles but I didn’t realize I was supposed to make an armored truck!
I looked at the monitor in my garage and saw my Brunhild laying on the tracks. It had been damaged pretty badly. Repairs would definitely be possible, but it’d take longer than the race to fix it up. It was regrettable, but I had no choice but to withdraw from the race. I was pretty mad about it.
I contacted the race HQ and told them I was out.
“Oh, the Brunhild is out of the race! What a shame!”
Tsk... I didn’t think I’d be the first one to get kicked out. But I guess the Steel Ax is out of commission too, so there are only six racers left.
I told the mini-bots to recover the Brunhild wreck, then went through a [Gate] that led me and Paula to the audience seating area on the beach.
“Oh, Touya. Sorry you lost.”
“Dang it, lad! I had a bet on you!”
The emperor of Regulus and the beastking glanced over and offered me their comments. I couldn’t believe they had a betting pool going.
“Gimme a break, man...”
I sighed slightly as I looked up at the monitor. The other racers were still stuck in the maze.
Looking at it from this angle made me keenly aware of how well-constructed it was. It was definitely going to take them a while yet.
I started to worry a bit when I saw the timer ticking down in the corner of the screen, but I reassured myself when I remembered how close the goal was to the maze exit.
“Touya, are you okay?”
I looked over and saw Yumina and the other girls seated at a table. Paula hurriedly toddled over to Leen. I followed after and sat down in an empty chair.
“I knew you were fine, I did. But I must admit that when your vehicle exploded I felt a pang of fear, I did.”
“It was scary...”
Yae and Sakura voiced their concerns. I was certainly frightened in the moment as well. I didn’t think a trap like that would be there so soon, so it was a result of my own careless nature.
“You should’ve paid more attention. That trap was totally obvious! It had a skull on it!”
“I was accelerating at the time, and I couldn’t see it properly since I’d just made a turn...”
...Bah, it just sounds like I’m making excuses for myself now. I guess I did let first place go to my head, though.
“We placed it there expecting something like that. We believed the first vehicle through would be the one to trigger it... But I must admit, I’m surprised we got you, Touya.”
“Mhm!”
“You devils...”
I glared over at the labcoat-clad girl and the glasses-adorned woman.
“Don’t you think putting mines down was a bit much?”
“I admit it might’ve been a little far. But we certainly got some good data on the emergency teleport function, didn’t we?”
You assholes... I’m not surprised by this in the least... I was wary from the moment I realized you two would be in charge of designing this race...
“And what would you have done if the teleport didn’t work as planned?”
“That’s simple enough. We built in several safety measures just in case. We were actually worried nobody would trip the mine at all!”
“Didn’t you just say you expected it to happen?!”
Ugh... No matter the world, you magitech nuts have something wrong with your brains.
“Meow my! The Silver Star made it out, and the Felsen’s out behind it!”
I looked up in response to Mr. Mitten’s coverage. Seemed like Rosetta & Monica, along with the Felsen king, had made it out.
The rest of the racers gradually made it out too. The Triharan came out next, then the Swan, then the Strain, and finally the Red Cat.
Nia just barely made it through the goal before the timer ran out.
“And that’s time up for the snow track! The Steel Ax is officially out!”
The Steel Ax had made it back to the track at some point, but unfortunately, it was too far behind to even make it to the maze before time ran out.
I definitely would’ve just thrown in the towel then and there, but it seemed like dwarves didn’t enjoy quitting.
The six remaining vehicles carried on through the obstacle course. They all knew that my car had been blown up, so they were all driving carefully.
They all stayed well away from any skull-marked panels on the road and thus ended up maintaining slow speeds. They all made it to the pit stop without any change in position.
Basically nothing was known about the obstacle course, so nobody knew the best way to specialize their vehicles. In the end, they all opted for a basic setup.
The Silver Star came out of the garage first followed by the Swan, the Felsen, the Triharan, the Strain, and the Red Cat.
There were skull panels all over the track, so nobody accelerated too much. Lapis and her Swan managed to deftly avoid the traps while picking up speed. Lupheus in his Triharan also stood out due to his handling. He just barely scraped the edges of a few panels as he accelerated ahead.
It only took a short while of this for the Swan to reach first place, and the Triharan to reach third.
“Oh goodness me! The landmine stretch is finally over! It’s time for steep cliffs! If you fall down once, then you’re out!”
The monitor showed the next area. Falling wouldn’t do too much damage since the ocean was below, but if anyone did fall they wouldn’t be able to get back up. The drivers would simply teleport back to the garage and be forced to give in.
There weren’t any guard railings either, so even the slightest mistake would result in the vehicle flying wildly away.
“...This is another evil design, I see. But that can’t be all there is to it.”
“Heheh, I guess we’ll see.”
“Fufu... We’ll see!”
I shot a glare at Elluka and Babylon, who were grinning up at the screen. Fenrir, Elluka’s Gollem, let out a small sigh and shook his head. I didn’t think Gollems could get that exasperated...
“Meow! The Strain is charging ahead full-throttle! It overtook the Felsen!”
Damn, that’s quite fast... If her vehicle’s optimized for speed, it makes sense she’d want to take advantage of this long stretch.
“Oh! It overtook the Triharan and is on its way to the Silver Star... Wait, what the...?!”
The road in front of the Strain suddenly started bubbling and oozing black liquid. The vehicle started to spin as it drove over the goop.
“Eep!” The Strain was out of control, sending the Ether Vehicle into a frenzied tailspin.
Is that oil?! Was that oil just now?! Princess Berlietta desperately attempted to gain back control of her car, but she started spinning off toward the edge. She was done for...
But suddenly, seconds before the Strain was about to tumble off the edge, the Triharan came up from behind and smashed into the vehicle. The impact knocked the Strain back toward the middle of the road.
The Strain suddenly upturned, skidded, and came to a halt in the middle of the road. One of its wheels popped off and fell into the ocean below.
The Triharan spun around and quickly came to a stop. Smoke began rising from the hood of the car.
“Meow my goodness me! The Strain and the Triharan crashed! Both drivers got out with their teleports, and they’re safe! I nearly coughed up a hairball out of anxiety just now!”
“...I’ll go check out what just
happened.”
As I listened to Mr. Mittens’ commentary, I opened up a [Gate] to the garage. I was curious about what had just gone on.
◇ ◇ ◇
As I approached the garage, I heard the two of them arguing. They were bickering so intensely that they didn’t seem to notice my presence.
“Why did you crash into me?! Was there any need to wreck your own vehicle as well?!”
“You’re saying you’d be fine with losing your vehicle off the side of a cliff like that?! I could never allow it!”
“But... But now we’re both going to end up being out!”
Berlietta looked down, her expression was miserable.
“We’re not out yet. Are we? There’s still a chance. We’re both drivers, and we’re both engineers. Nothing is stopping us from fixing our vehicles. It may be impossible for us to reach first place, but we can still try our best.”
Prince Lupheus had a point. If they didn’t tap out, they were still in the race so long as time wasn’t up. Their pit stop teams weren’t allowed to enter the race area, though. Meaning they’d have to do the repairs themselves.
Prince Lupheus gathered some tools together and placed them in a large, unwieldy toolbox.
Princess Berlietta simply stood still, looking down at her feet. Lupheus didn’t skip a beat, grabbing her by the hand and leading her along.
“Let’s head back. It’s not too late, I promise.”
“...Okay.”
The two of them headed back to the race track through the pit stop portal.
Prince Lupheus was surprisingly proactive... But I did recall that he was the one leading the charge against his old fiancee’s arrest, though that might have been more of his personal grievances with her than anything else.
It would’ve been nice for them to finish the race in time. The final area had a longer time limit than the previous ones, so there was still a chance.
I walked over to my own garage to check up on the mini-bots and Brunhild.
...They’re fixing it a lot faster than I expected. Wasn’t the damage worse than this...? Wait, there aren’t any burn marks here at all... Could... Could that explosion have been illusion magic or something? Was... Was I just thrown upward with Wind magic? Shit, they tricked me! I didn’t realize the damage was this basic! Why did I bow out of the race?! I could’ve gone back!
...Well, maybe I’m just underestimating the mini-bots here. They’re the result of some severe ancient technology, so they do work pretty fast and efficiently... I mean, hell, they even maintain the Frame Gears.
“Oh! The Felsen is headed straight into the birdlime zone! He’s trying to push through, but he can’t quite make it! That’s some strong, sticky resin alright! Meow my! He’s gotten out and... is trying to lift his vehicle!”
I looked over at the little screen in my garage and saw the king of Felsen trying to lift his vehicle out of the sticky birdlime. This guy was really something else...
Once he lifted it up, he started walking with it in an attempt to get it out of the sticky area, but... he didn’t realize his mistake.
He looked down at his own feet and yelled in frustration. He was stuck in the birdlime now. You dumbass! Why didn’t you use your head?!
He kept trying to move his feet, but the birdlime kept on clinging to him. Eventually, he fell over, dropping his vehicle.
“Gwaaah!”
Now most of his body was trapped in the birdlime. He kept on wriggling and trying to escape, but he just ended up looking like a specific yet deliberately unnamed insect you might find caught in a kitchen floor trap...
Thus, the Felsen was effectively out of the running.
Lupheus and Berlietta were definitely no longer contenders for first place, so the ones in the race were the Swan, the Silver Star, and the Red Cat. All three were Ether Vehicles that Monica and Rosetta had made, so I didn’t think they were too different in terms of specs. That meant that it would all come down to the talent of the drivers.
The Swan and the Silver Star cleared the birdlime area without any issues, but Nia’s Red Cat just barely made it through by teetering on the edge. I was honestly worried for her safety.
A small side angle shot in the corner of the screen showed the king of Felsen wriggling around like a bug. He was desperate to get out... It’s time to stop, man.
Another camera view appeared in the other corner, showing Lupheus and Berlietta heading toward their vehicles. I wondered if they’d be fine.
I decided to open up a [Gate] and check on them. I was out of the race and didn’t know much about engines, so I was hardly going to be of any help.
“So? How’s it look?”
“Grand Duke?”
Prince Lupheus was looking into the hood of the car before he raised his head in response to my voice.
“The ether lines have been burned out here... I was definitely hitting the accelerator quite hard at the end. My focus was on strengthening the vehicle’s frame, so I didn’t focus as much on the engine as I should have.”
I could hear a twinge of regret in the prince’s voice. His vehicle’s frame wasn’t in good shape, either. One of the wheels had been mangled pretty badly.
“And what about this one?”
I called over to Princess Berlietta. She’d just finished removing one of the front wheels. With both of its front wheels off, it kind of looked like the kind of cart you’d pull around.
“One of the wheels dropped into the ocean, so I can’t really do much. I was thinking of attaching this wheel to the middle of the front and trying for a three-wheeler...”
What... a trike? I figured that was a sound idea... until she showed me the driver’s seat. I let out a small sigh when I realized the object that had fallen down below it.
It was the steering wheel.
“It broke off... I focused only on engine power, and didn’t give much thought to my car’s frame...”
Damn... Even if she converted it into a three-wheeler, she’s kind of screwed if she can’t steer.
Hold on... I looked from one vehicle to the other, slowly. The two drivers caught on to my motion and started to do the same thing. They then looked at each other.
The thought finally clicked.
Just as I started to suggest the idea, the two of them cut me off by yelling, “I’ve got it!” in unison.
I decided to just keep my mouth shut and let them handle it. They were definitely thinking about what I was thinking, and there was nothing in the rules about drivers not being able to co-operate.
“Is your Strain’s engine the same kind used in Isengard’s Kyeris Freighters?”
“Yes, the Tellion brand ones. They’re extremely high-class, even when it comes to Gollem carriages!”
“Perfect. I’ll work on swapping the engines out.”
“I’ll switch out the Triharan’s twisted tire with one of mine. Oh, take care to remove that blue pin or else you’ll cause an ether spill.”
“Got it.”
The two of them began to rapidly exchange incomprehensible instructions, working faster and faster on fixing up their vehicle.
“Oh, I see... So you shifted the seal used during mana charge. I was curious about that.”
“Ahh... So you raised the durability with this part in a structurally significant spot, I see... Oh, you even installed it here...?”
The two of them were in pretty big trouble in terms of the race, but they had huge smiles on their faces. I wondered what was going on.
“And there it is, you know? This is what brings them closer together.”
“Are you sure you’re not the god of spying?”
“That’s rude! I’m the god of love, you know?”
I let out a sigh when I heard Karen’s voice. She was no longer able to surprise me.
“They’re starting to see each other for who they are. A very faint love is beginning to blossom, you know?”
“Huh, how about that...”
I wasn’t really sure ho
w to verify that... but I decided to trust Karen and roll with it. I couldn’t really understand how they’d gotten so close after just yelling at each other, though. Still, they did have the same hobbies, and they had fairly compatible personalities as well. It was probably a case where the right opportunity needed to present itself.
“Holy clowder of kitties! A clowder of kitties has appeared on the track in front of the Swan! I repeat, a whole family of kitty-cats are just leisurely strolling across the track!”
Wait, what? I thought I heard something insane from Mr. Mittens’ commentary, so I quickly synchronized my eyesight with the Valkyrie recording the area. Then, I looked down from her position to see a huge line of cats blocking the road in front of the Swan.
What the?! How many kittens are there?! Why would you use that as an obstacle?! I mean, it’s true nobody wants to mow through a group of cats, but... Seriously?!
The Silver Star caught up with the Swan and came to a halt in front of the cat conga line. Welp... The race is at a standstill...
The long blockade of cats continued without end. Lapis and Rosetta looked troubled by the prospect of potentially hurting animals, but Monica just looked pissed off. I could sort of understand why she’d be mad, though.
Nia’s probably gonna catch up at this rate... Oh, there she is.
Nia, upon seeing the furball fiesta dancing along the road, came to a complete stop. The three racers were all lined up with each other. Nobody was in first or last place at this point.
This was truly the fiercest of traps... Though the cats were incredibly cute.
“Meow my... It’s a little awkward to comment on this, given my feline persuasion...”
Oh yeah, Mr. Mittens is a Cat Sith and all.
They’re all meowing, too... Are they singing? Maybe there’s a hundred and one of them... Wait no, that was dogs...
Monica eventually reached the end of her tether and got out of the car. She stormed over to the kitties in an attempt to move them out the way.
She reached down to grab one of the cats, and...
“Meow my goodness, the cat slipped through her hand! Or rather... her hand slipped through the cat?!”
There were no cats. It was illusion magic. Goddamn illusion magic. Monica tried running around near the other cats, and she went right through them.
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 17 Page 14
