"Bib 6, having finished emergency repairs, is fast! I’d even go so far as to say she’s too fast!"
Marcia had seemingly thrown all strategy to the wind, driving her boat at its absolute limit.
(Yeah, the screw's operation seems stable. That should hold up.)
Jin watched the footage of Bib 6 on the screen and made his assessment. Even if the balance was slightly off, as long as the material strength was sufficient, it would last for the duration of the race.
(Though the vibrations must be incredible...)
Jin surmised that since she was forcibly spinning a screw that was out of alignment, the boat must be rattling like crazy.
＊ ＊ ＊
"We can do this! Arrow, keep it up!"
"Yes, Marcia-sama."
At that moment, the lead boat was rounding Toryu Island. Marcia, in Bib 6, was still in last place. The gap between her and seventh place was just under a kilometer.
"No holding back!"
Intense vibrations surged up through the screw shaft, but Marcia paid them no heed. She crouched low against the hull to minimize air resistance as much as possible, staring straight ahead through the transparent shield.
Waves jolted the vessel and spray drenched the hull. Trailing a single, focused white wake, Bib 6 surged forward.
＊ ＊ ＊
"The hull of Bib 6 is beautifully crafted."
"Is that so?"
The announcer latched onto Jin's observation immediately.
"Yes. One yardstick for judging the quality of a boat's construction is that white wake it leaves behind."
"I see."
"When a boat is perfectly balanced, the wake is symmetrical. And the less resistance the hull faces, the smaller that wake becomes."
"Aha, I see!" The announcer nodded in understanding.
"We can see that Bib 7 is similarly well-built."
"Thank you. That was commentary from the Magi Craft Meister, Jin-san."
＊ ＊ ＊
"I wonder if Marcia-oneechan will be okay..."
"S-She'll be fine, I'm sure."
Hanna and Lishia looked on with worried expressions, but Elsa spoke with absolute certainty.
"Arrow is with her. It's fine."
She looked at the screen with unwavering trust.
"Arrow is a custom golem Jin-nii made specifically for Marcia-san. That is why Marcia-san will not lose."
＊ ＊ ＊
Without a single vessel dropping out, the eight boats returned to the waters near Io Island. The current standings were 3, 7, 1, 8, 4, 2, 5, and 6. Marcia was still in last place, but the distance between her and the pack had closed to less than fifty meters.
"Bib 6 is making an incredible pursuit!"
"Go for it, Marcia!"
"Get 'em, Number 6!!"
Cheers erupted for the underdog as she closed the gap. Once they cleared the technical stage marked by floats near Io Island, the rest of the race would be an unrestricted high-speed stage all the way to the finish line.
At this point, Liche in Bib 1 made her move.
"Oh! Bib 1 is picking up speed! She's fast—so fast! She’s pulled level with Bib 7!"
"That boat has a fine finish as well," Jin remarked admiringly.
The boat Liche was piloting was a genuine Marcia Workshop build. As expected, the craftsmanship was on another level.
The lead was still held by Bib 3. Ainy, wearing a yellow swimsuit, was a rookie competing for the first time. Perhaps because of that, she was racing with desperate determination. She had maintained the top spot ever since the start.
Bib 7 and Bib 1 were now in hot pursuit of Bib 3. The battle for the lead among the top group was intensifying by the second.
Meanwhile, in the second group, Bib 8 was attempting to break away.
"Oh! Is Miss Traine from the Kingdom of Egerea finally getting serious!?"
"I've heard the Kingdom of Egerea has been putting a lot of effort into boat development lately. Let's see what she can do."
＊ ＊ ＊
"Hmm, I didn't know about this..."
In the royal box, Ernest, the Third Prince of the Kingdom of Egerea, was tilting his head in confusion.
"Nest-sama, even as royalty, one is not informed of every secret project. Please do not let it trouble you," his attendant whispered.
"I suppose..."
Having come to the Kingdom of Elias to study maritime technology, the shock of seeing a high-performance boat from his own country—one he knew nothing about—was clearly difficult to hide.
＊ ＊ ＊
"There's the back of the pack! Bib 5, huh? I think her name was Norn. Here I go!"
The course rounding Io Island was reaching its final turn. Steering her hull slightly to the right in a wide arc, Marcia moved to overtake from the outside.
Norn seemed to have been guarding the inside of the curve, and she could only glare sideways in frustration as Marcia's boat pulled ahead from the right.
"I did it! That puts me in seventh! Just six more boats to pass and I'll be in first!"
The race then transitioned into the final, long straight course. The eight boats increased their speed even further, screaming across the water toward the goal at Port Rock Town.
＊ ＊ ＊
(Arrow is performing well. The reinforcement on the screw shaft is right at the limit, but it should hold until the finish.)
In the guest seat, Jin breathed a private sigh of relief.
"Every boat has entered the straight stage! From here to the finish line, it's a pure test of raw speed!"
The announcer's voice rose in pitch. The excitement of the spectators reached a fever pitch. But the ones burning most fiercely were the competitors themselves.
"Time for a spurt! I'm pouring in every bit of energy I've been saving!"
"I won't lose! Full power!!"
"Go—!!"
Each pilot burned with fighting spirit, determined to squeeze out every last drop of performance. However, in a pure contest of speed, the inherent performance of the boat would ultimately have the final say.
"Arrow! Is the shaft holding up?"
"Yes, Marcia-sama. It appears it will hold until we reach the goal."
"Alright, let's give it everything we've got!"
"Yes, leave it to me."
In Bib 6, Marcia launched her final spurt.