Having settled his immediate business, Jin finally decided to return to Onogoro Island.
Inside the Konron 3 on the return flight, Rubina lounged back with a look of pure satisfaction. "Ah, that was a short trip, but I had so much fun!"
"Jin-sama, thank you very much," Shu added with his usual, earnest politeness.
"No, I enjoyed it too. It was a good chance to revisit some old memories," Jin replied. For him, the journey had been incredibly fruitful in more ways than one.
On its way back, the Konron 3 made a detour toward Azul Lake. They utilized the submersible base there to return to Hourai Island.
"Whoa... I can't believe you built something this massive in such a short time..." Rubina murmured in awe, though her comment went largely as a side note to the technical proceedings.
Once they disembarked from the Konron 3 on Hourai Island, the group made their way to Onogoro Island through the newly established Warp Gate.
"Ah, we're finally home... Oh, Grandma!"
"Welcome back, Rubina."
Amanda Garrett, Rubina's grandmother, was there to greet them. As Rubina's parents had passed away years ago, she had been raised primarily by her grandmother and was very attached to her.
"Jin-sama, I hope my granddaughter wasn't too much of a burden for you?"
"Hey! Grandma, that's mean! I wasn't a handful at all!...Right, Jin-sama?"
Jin chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, she's right. Rubina was a very good girl."
When he reached out to pat her head, Rubina broke into a soft, blissful smile.
"If you say so, then I shall take your word for it... Well then, Jin-sama, if you'll excuse us."
"Sure. Rubina, take it easy and get some rest at home."
Seen off by Jin, Rubina, Amanda, Blitz, and Donner headed for their residence. Since Shu was seventeen, he didn't have anyone waiting to pick him up, so he prepared to head back on his own.
"Edgar, thank you for your hard work," Jin said, addressing the one who had piloted the Konron 3.
"Not at all, Jin-sama. It was a great honor to serve as your pilot for the first time in four hundred years."
"Well then, Jin-sama, we'll be going now."
Shu and Edgar set off for their respective homes as well.
Trihart Randol was the next to greet Jin. "I am glad to see you have returned safely."
"Thank you."
"Regarding the next competition... is that specific event really what you want to go with?"
"Yeah. It seems like it'll be fun, don't you think?"
"I suppose so," Trihart replied.
Jin had coordinated with Trihart through Laojun the previous day.
"It's safe, and I think it'll really get the crowd going."
"True. Shall we make the official announcement this evening?"
"Yeah, let's do that."
To ensure the competition remained fair, the next event hadn't been revealed even to Rubina and the others yet. The details were scheduled to be broadcast across all of Onogoro Island that evening.
"Lordtoss-sama, thank you for your efforts as well."
"Think nothing of it. It was quite enjoyable."
With that, Jin, Reiko, Hope, Lordtoss, and Urgan made their way to the laboratory on Onogoro Island.
＊ ＊ ＊
The time finally arrived for the next event of the Magi Craft King/Queen Competition—proposed by Jin himself—to be unveiled.
The announcement was broadcast to every household on Onogoro Island through their manacams. The event was the Remote-controlled Automobile Race.
Rather than full-sized automobiles, the contestants would compete using 1/8 scale model cars with a maximum length of 50 centimeters. While it was technically "remote-controlled," the operation was far from simple. The pilots would sit in simulator-style cockpits and operate a steering wheel, accelerator, and brakes. They would navigate by watching a live feed sent from the car's perspective, making it feel as though they were actually behind the wheel.
Furthermore, the rules dictated that the crafter of the vehicle must also be its pilot. This meant that technical skill in tuning the machine to one's own preferences was a critical part of the challenge.
This was the solution Jin had arrived at after trying to balance safety with a high level of competitive intensity. The technical ability required to pack all the necessary mechanisms into a compact 50-centimeter frame would also be under scrutiny.
The course for this race would be an oval, very similar to a 400-meter athletics track in Japan. The surface was made of leveled dirt and was not hardened, which would further test the participants' driving and engineering skills.
The race was to be broadcast via magic eyes and magi-screens, ensuring that the high-speed action would be projected for all to see... or so was the plan.
"This looks incredibly fun!" Rubina was immediately fired up.
"This will certainly be a challenge worth taking on," the other descendants agreed.
To make the competition even more exciting, it was announced that Jin would also be participating.
"My driving skills are mediocre at best," he claimed as his reason for joining.
Of course, Jin's final standing would not affect the official King/Queen rankings. In truth, Jin had spent a considerable amount of effort coming up with regulations that would allow him to personally take part, though he kept that secret to himself.
"The competition will take place in one week. The morning will be reserved for qualifying, and the afternoon will be for the finals," Trihart explained during the broadcast. "Qualifying will be a time trial. Your starting position in the main race will be determined by the fastest lap time recorded during your designated slot."
It was a standard racing format Jin was familiar with. However, since he wasn't an expert on the nuances of racing, he had filled in the gaps with a few rules of his own.
He also explained the specific regulations: constraints on length, width, and height; the requirement of four wheels; the necessity of running on tires (no jet thrusters allowed); and no restrictions on construction materials. These details were distributed to the participants in writing.
"Man, I can't wait."
Jin had realized he simply couldn't bear to be a mere spectator.
"Well, since I have a whole week, I can really focus on building a masterpiece."
It was a category that even Jin was attempting for the very first time.
"Jin-san, would it be alright if I participated as well?"
"I... I'd like to try entering too!"
In addition to Lordtoss, Marikka had appeared and voiced her interest.
"Of course," Jin replied.
He wasn't the only one who felt that things were about to get very interesting; the sentiment was shared by all the residents of Onogoro Island.
Incidentally, just as Jin had intended, Laojun had recorded the footage of the Gonpetition held in the Shouro Empire. When it was broadcast during the preparation week, it proved to be a huge hit—despite the fact that no clear winner had been decided in that event.
And so, the week passed by in the blink of an eye.