“Bib #5, Sireen Eschenbach! Her biplane is now... starting!”
“Oh, it’s quite stable.”
Being a biplane with low wing loading, it was inherently well-suited for low-speed flight.
“It has a charming way of flying,” Sion remarked.
The biplane dipped slightly in altitude during its turn, but it recovered without stalling.
The final time was 28.9 seconds—approximately 12.5 kilometers per hour.
Results in the low-speed competition seemed to vary much more than those in the high-speed event.
“Bib #6, Sidney Marek! His rectangular-wing craft with its folding wings is taking to the skies with its wingspan fully extended!”
“That’s a feature designed specifically for this trial.”
“Eh?...Ah, I see, they fold. So when he wants to fly slowly, he spreads them out,” Sion noted, catching up on the technical details since she hadn't seen the high-speed trials.
Achieving low wing loading through its extended wings, Bib #6 steadily racked up flight time.
“Goal!!”
The time was 31.5 seconds—approximately 11.4 kilometers per hour. It was a respectable performance.
Next was Bib #7, Werner Randol, with a tapered-wing aircraft featuring telescoping main wings. This mechanism, also intended for low speeds, demonstrated its effectiveness to the fullest.
The time was 31.2 seconds—approximately 11.5 kilometers per hour.
Bib #8, Florence Fahlheit’s swept-wing aircraft, Blue Sky, suffered a setback during her first attempt. Trying to maintain a higher speed to prevent a stall backfired; she took the turn too wide and contacted the outer barrier, resulting in a disqualification.
Bib #9, Elvis Alcott, flew the biplane Double Wing.
“Oh, what a stable flight!”
“Biplanes truly do possess excellent stability at low speeds.”
“Looking at them like this, every machine has such a unique personality,” Sion observed.
The time was 29.6 seconds—approximately 12.2 kilometers per hour.
“Bib #10, Rubina Garrett! Her delta-wing aircraft, Nile, is starting now!”
“So that’s Rubina’s machine. It seems to be pointing quite far upward.”
“She’s exploiting its stall-resistant characteristics by using a high angle of attack,” Stayhart explained.
As Sion pointed out, Rubina’s Nile flew with its nose angled about fifteen degrees above the horizontal.
Thanks to that posture, its speed was incredibly sluggish.
“The turn is... stable!”
“It looks like she’ll post a strong time.”
Jin shared that sentiment.
“Rubina is quite a skilled pilot... Perhaps it’s the adaptability of youth.”
“Goal! The time is 33.4 seconds! The speed is approximately 10.8 kilometers per hour!!”
At this point, she was in second place, trailing only Natalia.
Finally, it was Jin’s turn.
“Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Bib #11, Jin-sama, makes his appearance!”
A massive cheer erupted from the crowd.
“The variable-sweep wing aircraft, Zero! This time, its triple-layered main wings have been slid out to secure a massive wing area! And... start!”
“Oh, how very slow.”
“Just what one would expect from Jin-sama.”
Jin’s Zero flew leisurely from the very beginning. To the spectators, it looked as though it were gliding atop a pane of glass.
Thanks to the low wing loading, it handled the turns effortlessly, finishing with a final time of 34.7 seconds. At approximately 10.4 kilometers per hour, it set the new top record.
“Now, Bib #12, Lordtoss-sama! The tapered-wing aircraft, Swallow, starts now!”
“Ro’s design is fairly conventional, isn’t it?” Sion remarked.
“True, but it is likely the lightest aircraft in the competition.”
The Swallow, an extremely lightweight machine equipped with a high-output engine, flew with nimble grace.
“Oh, that’s impressive,” Jin muttered.
Even Jin was impressed by the pace. The Swallow drifted along with a slow, rhythmic elegance.
“Oh, this looks like another great time... Goooal!! The time is a staggering 34.8 seconds! Speed, approximately 10.3 kilometers per hour!”
It was an excellent time that surpassed even Jin’s.
Thunderous applause followed the achievement.
“Finally, Marikka-sama, Bib #13! Her tapered-wing aircraft, Eagle! She has started!!”
“Marikka’s aircraft looks rather large, doesn't it?”
“Yes, she made clever use of the regulations...” Stayhart explained to a skeptical Sion.
“I see. That would certainly be an advantage at low speeds.”
Just as Sion predicted, Marikka’s Eagle continued its slow, steady progress.
Its turns were the picture of grace. And then...
“Goal! The time is... it’s out! 35.9 seconds! This is incredible!! That’s approximately 10 kilometers per hour!!!”
At the end of the first round, Marikka held the lead. She was followed by Lordtoss, then Jin, with Natalia and Rubina trailing behind.
“The guests are monopolizing the top of the leaderboard,” Sion noted.
In response, Stayhart replied, “One might say it’s unavoidable—or perhaps even expected.”
Since the three possessed such standout skills, the other participants found their performance encouraging rather than a cause for resentment.
“Now for the second trial!! First up, Bib #1, Natalia!”
Her time improved slightly from her first run, reaching 34.8 seconds—approximately 10.3 kilometers per hour.
“She’s steadily improving her record.”
Jin could see that Natalia was giving it her all.
Bib #2, Shu’s Denkou, posted a strong time of 34.9 seconds this time, roughly 10.3 kilometers per hour.
Bib #3, Eugene’s tapered-wing aircraft, struggled to find more time, finishing at 32.1 seconds—approximately 11.2 kilometers per hour.
Bib #4, Greena’s elliptical-wing aircraft, clocked in at 32.3 seconds, or approximately 11.1 kilometers per hour.
Everyone was producing better times than they had in the first round.
However, Bib #5, Sireen’s biplane, perhaps pushed a bit too hard in her attempt to shave off seconds; it lost too much altitude during a turn and contacted the barrier, resulting in a disqualification.
Bib #6, Sidney’s folding rectangular-wing craft, improved its time to 34.1 seconds, approximately 10.6 kilometers per hour.
Bib #7, Werner’s tapered-wing aircraft, also overreached, losing altitude and getting disqualified.
Bib #8, Florence’s swept-wing aircraft, showed a stable flight this time despite her previous stall and Werner’s disqualification just moments before. She posted a good time of 33.5 seconds—approximately 10.7 kilometers per hour.
Bib #9, Elvis’s biplane, refreshed its time even further, producing the best record among the regular contestants so far at 35.1 seconds. That was approximately 10.3 kilometers per hour.
“Now, Bib #10, Rubina’s delta-wing aircraft, Nile... start!!”
“It seems Rubina is growing through these various competitions,” Sion observed.
“Indeed. This series of events proposed by Jin-sama has served as a great inspiration for everyone.”
While they spoke, Rubina’s Nile slowly completed its circuit and crossed the finish line.
“The time is... 35.0 seconds! A great time that rivals Bib #9!! Approximately 10.3 kilometers per hour!”
And finally, it was Jin’s turn.
“This time, let’s see if I can go as slowly as humanly possible.”
“Bib #11, Jin-sama’s Zero... staaaaart!!”
With its variable wings spread to their absolute limit, the Zero took flight.
It crossed the crash-judgment altitude, and the clock began to tick.
“Oh, this is amazing! You can see just by looking how slowly it’s flying!”
“That’s Jin for you...”
“...Goooal!! The time is 36.3 seconds! The speed is approximately 9.9 kilometers per hour! He has finally broken the ten-kilometer-per-hour barrier!”
The venue was enveloped in thunderous applause.
“As expected of Jin-sama. That record won’t be easy to break.”
Only Lordtoss and Marikka remained.