July 28th. The day the Golem Competition—the Gonpetition—was to be held in Esaia, the capital of the Celuroa Kingdom.
The venue was the Royal Palace Plaza. Preparations had been underway for four days; spectator stands, including a VIP section, had been erected, and massive magi-screens were in place. Commoners and tourists had already packed the venue, and the seats were nearly full the moment the gates opened.
With one hour left before the start, a voice rang out across the plaza.
"Please, look to the sky. Our special guest today, the Magi Craft Meister himself, the Lord of Kunlun, is arriving in an airship of his own making!"
The spectators looked up to see a long, slender object gradually approaching from the western sky. Incidentally, the reason he arrived from the west rather than the east, where Hourai Island lay, was that he had stayed at his mansion in the Shouro Empire the previous night to minimize the effects of jet lag.
"Whoa, look at that!"
"I saw it during the Founding Anniversary Ceremony!"
"I’d love to take a ride in that thing."
"It’s way faster than a balloon."
"Look! It’s coming down!"
Konron 3 descended slowly, touching down in the designated palace courtyard. Given the restricted location, only palace officials witnessed Jin, Elsa, Reiko, and the leaders of the Five-Colored Golem Maids disembark.
"I am glad you could come, Lord of Kunlun."
King Cesar himself greeted Jin, accompanied by several aides.
"So, you have brought your golem maids. It is certainly an unexpected and impressive sight."
King Cesar was well aware of their capabilities, having been attended to by them during the World Conference.
"Now then, I must ask you to coordinate the finer details with a tournament official."
Pointing to one of his aides, King Cesar departed in a hurry.
"Lord of Kunlun, thank you for joining us. I am Kabanea Gasumo, a tournament official. Please, call me Kabanea."
Kabanea was a man in his early thirties with a friendly demeanor.
"A pleasure. Please call me Jin."
Jin shook his hand and then introduced Elsa and Reiko.
"This is my fiancée, Elsa. She is a magi engineer and a Reichsarzt."
"I am Elsa Randol. It is a pleasure to meet you." Elsa offered a polite, informal curtsy.
"Ah, so you are Lady Elsa? I have heard the rumors."
Next, Jin introduced Reiko. "And this is Reiko. She holds the rank of squire in the Shouro Empire."
"My name is Reiko." She, too, offered a brief curtsy.
Finally, Jin presented the Five-Colored Golem Maids he had brought.
"These five are the Five-Colored Golem Maids I've brought for the demonstration. The one in purple is Amez; red is Ruby; yellow is Topaz; light-blue is Aqua; and green is Perido."
As soon as Jin finished the introductions, the five golems said in unison, "We look forward to serving you," and performed a synchronized curtsy.
"T-This is... why, it's truly magnificent!"
Kabanea was momentarily captivated by their grace, but remembering his duty, he gestured for Jin to follow him.
Jin and his group were led to one of the temporary buildings adjacent to the Gonpetition venue. There, they held a final briefing. Jin had already received the competition details and documentation when he collected his reward three days prior, so he understood the rules. The primary focus of this meeting was the final list of participants and a confirmation of Jin's specific duties—which included a brief address as the chief judge.
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Ten minutes before the start, Jin and the others took their places in the judges' section. It was situated quite high up in the tiered seating. The VIP section sat directly above them, and for some reason, King Cesar was seated right behind Jin.
"I want to hear your expert commentary," was his reasoning.
Elsa sat to Jin's right, while Kabanea sat to his left. Reiko stood diagonally behind Jin to the right. The Five-Colored Golem Maids were currently in the waiting room, awaiting their cue.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting. At long last, the first-ever Golem Competition in our Celuroa Kingdom—the Gonpetition—is about to begin! First, we shall have the opening declaration from His Majesty, King Cesar."
In front of Jin and the other dignitaries were voice capacitors—magic tools that functioned like microphones—linked to loudspeakers that projected their voices throughout the venue.
"I am Cesar Valois de Celuroa. I hereby declare the opening of the Gonpetition! May all of you compete with honor and integrity."
After the King’s brief address, it was the turn of the tournament chairman, the Chief of the First Technology Bureau, Latant.
"I am Latant, the tournament chairman. To honor the Gonkrenz held in our friendly neighbor, the Shouro Empire, we have moved to hold this Gonpetition in our own kingdom. Golems are capable of performing tasks that humans cannot, and they will be indispensable to the world of tomorrow..."
His speech was somewhat long-winded. Jin, who had little patience for long oratory, decided right then to keep his own words brief.
Following a short congratulatory address by the representing guest, Shouro Empire Magic Technology Minister Degauss Fruit von Manischras, it was finally Jin's turn.
"I am Jin Nidou, the Magi Craft Meister. I am delighted to see this peaceful competition between golems. It is my hope that golem technology will continue to serve the development and peace of the world."
Then came the cue for the Five-Colored Golem Maids.
Though they hadn't rehearsed on the field, the waiting room doors opened exactly as planned.
"These are golems of my own creation: the Five-Colored Golem Maids. Amez, Ruby, Topaz, Aqua, and Perido."
The five golem maids marched into the center of the arena with perfect synchronization. They performed a flawless curtsy toward each of the four cardinal directions. That alone was enough to draw collective sighs of admiration from the stands.
But their performance was only just beginning.
The five golem maids joined hands and began to spin—slowly at first, then faster and faster. When they reached a speed impossible for any human, they released their grip and all five performed simultaneous double-backflips, landing perfectly before dashing toward the center again.
They appeared to be on a direct collision course, but at the very moment they would have crashed, they came to a dead stop and rejoined hands. They then began to perform acrobatic stunts reminiscent of cheerleading formations.
Amez took Ruby on her shoulders, who was then supported by Topaz. Aqua then climbed atop them, followed by Perido... until they had formed a five-tier shoulder stand, a feat beyond human capability.
"Whoa..."
"Incredible..."
"Look at their outfits."
"Magnificent."
"What remarkable movement!"
Murmurs of praise began to ripple through the crowd, but the performance wasn't over. From their stacked position, the golems then stood upright on the shoulders of the units beneath them.
The spectators were thunderstruck.
"H-How... how is that even possible!?"
"Is such a thing even achievable!?"
"One slip and they'd all fall! It would be a disaster!"
Since this was a live performance without a rehearsal, Jin had instructed them that they could use their internal force generators to maintain their balance if things got dangerous. However, aided by the favorable lack of wind, they executed the maneuver flawlessly.
Finally, they finished by jumping down one by one. Despite the top unit descending from nearly six meters high, she landed perfectly. The crowd was beyond shocked; they were speechless.
It was only after the five golems performed a final curtsy and withdrew to the waiting room that the applause began. It started as a few scattered claps but quickly swelled into a thunderous ovation that shook the entire stadium.
There wasn't a soul in the stands who didn't feel a sense of awe, thinking: Truly, this is the work of the Magi Craft Meister recognized by every nation.