Finally, it was time for the finals of the 12th Golem Boat Competition!
A large crowd had gathered in the central square of Potrock.
As before, the spectator seats were arranged in a staircase pattern, with the Marquis of Firenziano, the lord of the city, sitting at the highest position, with Prince Ernest and Princess Rieschen, the guests of honor, next to him. Elsa, Licia, and Hannah are seated next to him.
One step below them are the hostesses and the hostesses.
The nobles are seated below them, and the tourists are further down.
The guests of honor here today are His Royal Highness the 3rd Prince Ernest of the Kingdom of Egelea and Her Royal Highness the 3rd Princess Rieschen of the Kingdom of Klein.
The MC introduces the guests.
"In addition, we have a special guest, the winner of the 10th Golem Boat Competition , their Magi Craftsman and Magi Engineer , who is also the winner of the 10th Golem Boat Competition. , Jin Nido, is here!
The crowd cheered. Jin and his team's victory was still fresh in people's minds.
"You're very popular, my dear!"
"Well, it's great that you won.
"Jin-san has done a lot of things, hasn't he?"
Hannah, Erza, Licia and others were talking with each other in the guest of honor's seats.
In the midst of all this, the loudest cheers were heard.
"Eight boats in the finals, all as good as each other! We are now at the starting line!
The MC began a brief explanation.
"Number 1, in the red swimsuit is Miss Reece, 2nd place qualifier! She is one of the favorites to win!
For the finals, it seems that the numbers will be reassigned. Jin recognized the small sailor named Reece.
(She was on Valentino's team, right?)
) He had nothing to do with Valentino's plot, so he was not charged with any crime and was still participating in the competition.
"Number 2, the orange swimsuit is Miss Adelie, 4th place in the qualifying round! She is a veteran of the competition, having competed four times!
Number 3, in the yellow swimsuit is Miss Einey, who qualified in 8th place! This is her first appearance in the finals and she is a promising newcomer!
"Number 4, green swimsuit is Miss Debonera, 3rd place in qualifying! She is a very solid sailor!
"Number 5, in the blue swimsuit is Miss Nohlun, who qualified 7th! This is her second time competing and we look forward to seeing what she can do!
"Number 6, in the dark blue swimsuit is Miss Marcia, 1st place qualifier! She is also a shipbuilder (Shipwright) and is competing in a boat she built herself!
When Marcia was introduced, the cheers were especially loud.
"Number 7, in the purple swimsuit, is Miss Mowbull, who qualified 5th! She has not yet reached her full potential!"
"Number 8, in the white swimsuit is Miss Trine, in 6th place! She is from the Kingdom of Egelea!
"Wow, that Trine is from the Kingdom of Egelea!
Elsa has participated in this tournament before, so there is a rich international flavor to this event.
"Mr. Bernardo, the commentator, what are your predictions for today?
Yes, I think that number 6 will be strong. I think number 6 is still strong. In the qualifying round the day before yesterday, he seemed to be a little out of tune, but still, his speed was that fast. Since all the boats are the same type of trimaran, the deciding factor may be the driving method.
"I see. How about a ...... guest, Jin-san, with a horizontal waterwheel drive ...... screw?"
At this point, the conversation turned to Jin. Jin was waiting for the explanation.
Yes, I developed the waterwheel drive myself, but that one splashes water, doesn't it?
"Yes, that's right.
Yes, that's right." "The splashing water doesn't help to move the boat. But that is not the case with the horizontal water wheel drive ...... screw. Do you know what this means?"
"Well, it means that there is no waste?"
"Yes, that's right. That means that if you drive them with the same force, they will be the fastest ......"
"You mean it's the fastest?"
At this point Jin laughed.
"I wish it worked that way. The results will be proven by the competition.
Jin was getting better at speaking up in such a situation.
"Thank you very much. ...... will be starting soon."
* * * *
"...... Jin? Gin?"
Marcia heard the voice on the boat.
"Jin, you came! But are you at the commentary table?
Although Marcia was also a member of the , she had not been informed of his visit, so his visit came as a complete surprise to her.
At the same time, she understood that since she was visiting as a semi-official, her personal friendship with him would take a back seat.
As for Jin, he had a surprise event in mind.
"Oh well. We'll just have to wait until after we win!"
And so the countdown to the start begins.
"5......4......3......2......"
* * * *
"......1...... start!
"Now, it's all starting at once! The first one to jump out is number 3! The first stage was a 2-horse race.
The first stage is a narrow channel where two boats cannot pass side by side.
The first stage is a narrow channel where two boats cannot pass side by side.
The number 3 boat seemed to be going the fastest, and was literally out in front of the second place boat.
"Mr. Bernardo, number 3 is playing a good game, isn't he?
"Yes, it is. In the first stage, it's a disaster if you get behind the slower boats.
Even if they wanted to go on, they could not go on, and the stress was getting to them.
"The first boat, number 3, has left the channel!"
The second stage is in the open sea. There are no lateral restrictions of any kind. It is a speed competition of approximately 10 kilometers.
The boats jump out of the narrow channel and speed up as if they were being bounced.
"Oh, number 1 is fast! Number 6 is catching up! 3, 1, 6, 4, 8, 7, 2, 5... ...ah, now 8 and 7 have switched places!
The images projected on the huge are very powerful. The live broadcast was carried out while switching the , which corresponded to a camera, from time to time.
"Marcia-san, 3rd ......"
Elsa muttered. In her mind, she recalled the competition two years ago.
"Even then, I kept my speed low in the first half of the race. ......"
Since the conditions of each stage were unknown, he had two boats ahead of the other boats as a <, so to speak, and he watched them to see how they were doing and vigilantly watched for any opportunity to take advantage of them.
"I am sure that this time, too," he said.
"When you entered the wide area, all the boats increased their speed at the same time, didn't they, Mr. Bernardo?
"That's right. In the case of water wheel drive, as Mr. Jin mentioned earlier, there will be splashes. Therefore, we do not want to be directly behind the boat.
Since the operator is a human being, there is a disadvantage of being covered by the droplets, which can obstruct his vision and make it difficult for him to breathe.
Therefore, in large areas, the boats are spread out to the left and right.
"But what awaits you at the end is commonly known as a . But what awaits us at the end is a gate so narrow that boats cannot pass through it side by side.
The < is made of floating boats. It is dangerous when many boats are concentrated in order to pass through the gate.
It is also a show to maneuver the boat as far as possible to get through the gate.
"Oh!
Go! Go! - Number 6, there it is!
Hang on, number 3! Don't let them get past you!
The crowd is heating up.
Jin, Elsa, Licia, Hannah, Prince Ernest and Princess Rieschen were all glued to the screen.