A small boat reached the outer edges of the harbor, far from the main docks of Port Rock. No one was there to notice; everyone had flocked to the finish line to catch a glimpse of the tournament’s heroine.
"Alright, Reiko. It's safe now."
Naked as she was, Reiko didn't seem to mind as she climbed aboard and quickly dressed in the clothes she had left behind.
"Father, I just need to take these golems to the tournament officials now, correct?"
"Yeah, that’s right. I'm counting on you."
"Understood."
Reiko hoisted the two neutralized golems onto her shoulders and set off. Jin walked beside her.
"Wh-What is that?"
"What the heck is going on over there...?"
Even with the majority of the town focused on the race, a sight that bizarre was bound to draw attention. Since Jin planned to leave town soon anyway, he decided to simply brazen it out.
They eventually reached the finish line. The cheering was deafening.
"...Entry Number 35 has just crossed the fi-ni-sh liiiiine!!"
The booming announcement made them realize that Marcia had just finished in first place.
"You did it, Marcia."
Through the gaps in the crowd of people jostling one another for a glimpse of this year's queen, Jin thought he saw Marcia’s face, wet with tears.
"Congratulations, Father. Though, with you involved, it was only to be expected."
Even as she said this, Reiko looked somewhat pleased herself.
"Oh, if it isn't Jin! Congratulations on the victory! You really got me! By the way, what is Miss Reiko carrying?"
They happened to run into Reinhard, who had come down from the VIP seating to check on Elsa. Seizing the opportunity, Jin spoke up.
"Ah, Reinhard. To tell you the truth, it seems these two golems were sent by someone plotting to sabotage the race."
"What?! Is the control core intact?"
"Of course. I want to investigate them, but I thought it best to have the tournament officials present."
"That’s only right! I won't tolerate anyone defiling a competition that ought to be fair! You there, official!"
As an invited guest and a foreign noble, Reinhard’s influence was significant. The vice-chairman of the Tournament Management Committee arrived immediately; it seemed the chairman was too busy with the awards ceremony.
"Someone has committed foul play using these golems."
"What did you say?!"
"The evidence should be clear once we examine their control cores. Watch. 'Read'!"
Reinhard cast magic on a control core. It wasn't a 'Decompile' spell, but a 'Read' spell that produced results even a layman could understand.
"This is...!"
Rows of glowing script began to appear. Upon reading them...
"This part here... it reads, 'Interfere with ships other than Entry Number 1.'"
"And this one says, 'Destroy Entry Number 35 and—' I can't read the rest, but it clearly says to destroy it! What a disgrace!"
One of the cores was slightly damaged, so the readout wasn't perfect, but it revealed enough to understand the gravity of the situation.
"Which means the person who sent these golems is...!"
The vice-chairman's face went pale. However, Reinhard remained composed.
"No, don't say another word yet. There’s a possibility it was just a far-too-overzealous supporter."
"A-At any rate, the Tournament Management Committee will deliberate on this matter!"
With that, the official ordered his subordinates to carry the evidence golems away.
"Well, I guess that’s that," Jin muttered, finally relaxing.
Reinhard then turned to him with great enthusiasm.
"Jin, I saw you heading out on that boat with Miss Reiko at the oars! Now I want to invite you to my country more than ever. What do you say? When I return home, won't you come with me?"
It wasn't a bad offer at all, so Jin asked when that would be.
"Unfortunately, I can't leave just because the race is over. I need to visit other regions as well, so all in all, I’ll be departing the Kingdom of Elias in about ten days."
Jin wanted to give form to the inspirations he had gained in this country, so a ten-day grace period was quite convenient.
"That sounds fine. Actually, I’d love to go with you."
"Oh, really?! My House Randol—no, the whole country will welcome you! Well then, shall I send someone to pick you up here in ten days?"
Reinhard was overjoyed by Jin's acceptance.
"That would be a big help. Um, how much luggage can I bring?"
"Up to one carriage's worth is fine."
Jin didn't think he would have nearly that much. He thanked Reinhard, saying that wouldn't be a problem.
They decided on their current location—the Central Harbor Square—as the meeting place, and Jin received a handkerchief embroidered with the crest of House Randol. By showing this, the person sent to collect him would be able to confirm his identity.
Just then, a particularly loud cheer erupted from the direction of the race venue.
"Oh, it seems the awards ceremony started before we knew it."
Jin headed toward the venue together with Reinhard.
Standing on the podium were three beautiful women.
On the highest tier for first place was Marcia, wearing her navy-blue swimsuit. The suit emphasized her curves, capturing the gaze of most of the men in the crowd.
In second place was Elsa in her yellow swimsuit. Despite being sixteen, her build was somewhat modest, which made her very popular with a specific subset of fans. However, since she was a viscount's daughter, they couldn't openly cheer for her too loudly.
And in third place was Liche in her red swimsuit. Though small in stature, she had a glamorous figure and was nearly as popular as Marcia.
After the awards ceremony, Jin and Reiko spoke with Marcia in the waiting room. She had already changed out of her swimsuit and into her everyday clothes.
"I really owe you one, Jin. I actually won. Thanks to you, I’ll be able to make my way as a shipwright after all."
With those words, she placed a bag containing the 1,000,000 Toll prize money on the table.
"Also, I got 100,000 Tolls for the ship's Design Award."
Marcia’s cheeks relaxed into a smile, clearly happy that the Cygnus had been recognized for its catamaran design.
"And I got the Unique Award, too. This part belongs to you, Jin."
She placed a bag containing 100,000 Tolls in front of Jin. The paddlewheel drive had been highly appraised.
"And then, the prize money is a fifty-fifty split, just like we contracted."
"Wait, I—"
"Yeah, I know. Winning was mostly thanks to you, Jin. Honestly, I’d like to give you three-quarters, but..."
"No, that's not it. I..."
Jin started to say it had been a joke, but he bit his tongue. He realized that excessive humility could be a problem; it might inadvertently devalue the victory itself.
"In that case, I’ll gladly take half."
He opened the bag of gold coins, counted out exactly fifty, and handed them to Reiko. Reiko tucked them into the front pocket of her apron dress.
"Now I feel better. Jin, what are you going to do now?" Marcia asked with a relieved expression.
"I originally came to this country for sightseeing. I think I'll head off to see another town in a little while. Besides, Reinhard has invited me along."
"I see... It's a shame, but our contract ends here, and you aren't a citizen of this country, Jin. Still, it was fun, even if it was just for a short time."
Marcia held out her right hand. Jin reached out and shook it.
"I had a lot of fun teaming up with you too, Marcia."
After sharing a smile, Jin and Marcia left the waiting room. They were immediately swamped by people wanting to hire the two of them.
"What did you say? Is that true?"
"Yes, it was confirmed in the presence of the guest of honor, Lord Reinhard."
"Investigate this at once."
The marchioness, Dominic de Firenziano, was incensed at the news that someone had plotted to sabotage the race using golems. She ordered an immediate and thorough investigation.
That very day, reports surfaced that the assistant to the lord had purchased a massive quantity of magi-stones, despite the chaos it caused in the market. Furthermore, a magic circle designed to disrupt magic activation was found hidden in an official’s desk.
Then came word that he had bribed merchants to sell low-quality bronze to specific customers. Finally, a member of the Port Security Guard was caught attempting to break into the docks where the finalist boats were being stored. Under interrogation, he confessed he was targeting ship Number 35.
Other inquiries revealed that Valentino had been persistently pursuing the winner, Marcia, to become his concubine.
The clincher was the programming inside the golems Reiko had captured. The magi craftman who had created them was identified, and the person who had hired him was soon found as well.
While much of the evidence regarding the race interference was circumstantial, the programming inside the golems alone was not something that could be overlooked.
With this evidence, Valentino was taken into custody. Sir Valerio also came under suspicion, and a formal letter of protest was to be sent to his home country, the Celuroa Kingdom.
However, despite being detained, Valentino wore a defiant smirk.
The Tournament Management Committee later made an announcement:
"It is a matter of great regret, but during this tournament, there were attempts to interfere with the competition, which should be fair. These actions were taken to show favoritism toward Entry Number 1, 'Glory of Elias.'
The third-place ranking of Entry Number 1, 'Glory of Elias,' is hereby revoked. Entry Number 28, Team 'Sea Bird,' who finished in fourth place, will be moved up to third place.
It is our earnest hope that all parties involved will ensure such an incident never occurs again."