"Oh! Bib #11, Jin-sama's Beetle is entering the course!"
The crowd erupted once again.
"A design unlike any other. That's so like Jin," Sion remarked.
"Whoa! It’s fast!"
The racing buggy-type Beetle sped along the course at its own pace now that the other cars had thinned out. Then it hit the corner.
"Its stability is excellent," Sion noted, sounding impressed.
However...
"...I messed up," Jin muttered. He was feeling the weight of a tactical error.
"Father, what is the matter?" Reiko asked worriedly, overhearing his murmur.
"...The course."
"The course, Father?"
"Yeah. This isn't a hardened road; it's just leveled dirt. It’s getting carved up."
Some cars were equipped with metal-spiked tires, and since every driver was aiming for the inside line, significant ruts and bumps had formed. While Jin's Beetle had no trouble handling uneven terrain, the roughness was inevitably shaving off his speed.
"Maybe it would have been better to go all out from the start and pull away before the track got chewed up..."
It was the classic pitfall of overthinking things. That said, this was still a machine crafted by Jin.
"Oh! Jin-sama’s Bib #11 has suddenly broken forty seconds! He clocked a 39.9!"
Despite the disadvantage, it still performed remarkably well.
"But the vision is definitely shaky."
Though he had carefully adjusted the four-wheel independent suspension, the suspension system, and the dampers, the live feed still vibrated when he pushed the car to high speeds. To be honest, as someone prone to motion sickness, Jin had hoped to finish the qualifying session as quickly as possible.
"I'll have to keep Healing active during the main race... Ah, come to think of it, didn't I make an accessory for that before? Wait..."
Jin vaguely recalled adding a similar function to his Fellowship Bracelet, so he hurriedly checked it.
"...The magi-formula is inscribed, but it’s not running... Ah, that’s it."
It occurred to him that when the bracelet was replicated as a duplicate out of magiatoms, its functions were likely left in a stopped state, requiring a manual start.
"Start!" Jin commanded. "Oh, there we go."
As he suspected, the slight nausea he had been feeling vanished instantly.
"I was being careless."
With his stomach settled, Jin felt he could now concentrate fully on his driving.
"Bib #11 has increased its speed even more!...Amazing! It’s a course record! 36.2 seconds! Simply incredible!"
"He beat Ro's time. That’s Jin for you," Sion said.
"Oh? Seeing the course record refreshed, Bib #12 is heading back onto the track!"
"Hehe, it looks like Ro is fired up now, too."
Sion knew that Lordtoss's greatest strengths were his physical ability and reaction speed, but she had no intention of saying that aloud just yet.
"Bib #12 is fast!...36.5! He’s closing in on Bib #11’s time! And he’s still going! Fast, fast!"
Lordtoss’s Bib #12 sprinted across the course.
"There it is! A new course record! 36.0 flat!"
"You did it, Ro," Sion said with a giggle, praising Lordtoss's valiant effort.
As for Jin, he chose not to get overly competitive. He was content to remain in second place for the qualifiers and intended to spend the rest of the session simply driving until time ran out, without attempting another time trial.
Meanwhile, the other participants were making their marks.
"Bib #5, Sireen Eschenbach, has a boxy body design! But she's fast, too!"
Sireen’s car was green and white. Her best lap was 39.1 seconds, tying with Shu. In these cases, the person who set the time first was ranked higher.
"Bib #6, Sidney Marek! He had to settle for 10th place last time, but he’s showing a different side today!"
His car featured an orthodox design but boasted impressive speed. Painted in red and black, he recorded a time of 39.5 seconds.
"Bib #8, Florence Fahlheit! She was 8th last time! How will she fare today?!"
"Perhaps she’s a bit weak at the controls," Sion observed.
Just as Sion noted, Florence’s car lacked spirit, and she finished the qualifiers with a time of 41.3 seconds. Her car was blue and white.
"Bib #9, Elvis Alcott! Burning to avenge his 7th place finish from the last competition, he’s participating with the smallest car on the field!"
At only 36 centimeters in length, it was indeed the smallest entry. Being lightweight meant it should be faster if the power system was comparable to the others. Painted black and yellow, he recorded a 39.9.
＊ ＊ ＊
At 11:00 AM, the qualifying session officially ended. Following a two-hour break, the main race was scheduled to start at 1:00 PM.
The two-hour interval was allocated for lunch, rest, and vehicle maintenance. Since the course was also undergoing a full reset and maintenance, practice runs were no longer permitted.
The final qualifying rankings were as follows:
Pole Position: 1st place, Lordtoss (Bib #12). Time: 36.0 seconds. Colors: Green and yellow. 2nd place: Jin (Bib #11). Time: 36.2 seconds. Color: Black. 3rd place: Rubina (Bib #10). Time: 39.0 seconds. Colors: Red and yellow. 4th place: Shu (Bib #2). Time: 39.1 seconds. Colors: Blue and yellow. 5th place: Sireen (Bib #5). Time: 39.1 seconds. Colors: Green and white. 6th place: Sidney (Bib #6). Time: 39.5 seconds. Colors: Red and black. 7th place: Greena (Bib #4). Time: 39.7 seconds. Colors: Orange and blue. 8th place: Eugene (Bib #3). Time: 39.8 seconds. Colors: White and green. 9th place: Elvis (Bib #9). Time: 39.9 seconds. Colors: Black and yellow. 10th place: Natalia (Bib #1). Time: 40.0 seconds. Colors: Red and white. 11th place: Werner (Bib #7). Time: 40.1 seconds. Colors: Red and blue. 12th place: Marikka (Bib #13). Time: 40.2 seconds. Colors: Silver and red. 13th place: Florence (Bib #8). Time: 41.3 seconds. Colors: Blue and white.
While the top two were in a league of their own, the rest of the field was in the midst of a very close competition.
"As for Marikka... she’s really not suited for this kind of thing, is she?" Sion remarked. "Still, she looks like she’s having fun. I’m almost a little jealous."
＊ ＊ ＊
"Ugh, piloting really is difficult."
"Haha, that’s so like you, Marikka."
Jin gave a wry smile as he looked at her.
"...I'm jealous of Lordtoss."
"M-Marikka-sama."
The three guest participants—Jin, Marikka, and Lordtoss—were having lunch together. The menu consisted of sandwiches, hamburgers, and fried kokarisk. It was a fast-food-style spread, but it was quite popular.
I feel like I’d get fat if I ate this every day, Jin thought, though he wisely kept the sentiment to himself.
Once lunch was finished, everyone set to work on maintaining their cars. The main race would be starting very soon.