At 1:00 PM, following a ninety-minute break for lunch, the results of the 1st Onogoro Island Magi Craft King and Queen Competition were announced.
Naturally, Testa had finished the calculations ninety minutes earlier.
"Everyone, the time has come to announce the results!"
Luckhart took to the microphone to make the announcement.
A wave of applause swept through the venue.
"Now then, please direct your attention to the large magi-screen!"
The largest magi-screen in the stadium lit up, displaying the cumulative results for every event held thus far.
The standings were listed in order of bib numbers. These points represented the total scores from the boat, automobile, and aircraft competitions combined.
Bib #1: Natalia — 320 points (2nd Place)
Bib #2: Shu Nidou — 280 points (3rd Place)
Bib #3: Eugene Foul — 60 points (9th Place)
Bib #4: Greena Kuzuma — 60 points (9th Place)
Bib #5: Sireen Eschenbach — 160 points (7th Place)
Bib #6: Sidney Marek — 220 points (5th Place)
Bib #7: Werner Randol — 280 points (3rd Place)
Bib #8: Florence Fahlheit — 80 points (8th Place)
Bib #9: Elvis Alcott — 220 points (5th Place)
Bib #10: Rubina Garrett — 740 points (1st Place)
(Note: Jin, Lordtoss, and Marikka were excluded from the official rankings.)
"As you can see, our first-place winner by a massive margin is Rubina Garrett!"
The crowd erupted in cheers.
"At this time, we would like to invite our guest of honor, Jin Nidou-sama, to say a few words."
Jin had received the request to give a short speech at the beginning of the lunch break.
"I am Jin Nidou. You have all competed across three different stages—sea, land, and air—and I believe every one of you did a truly commendable job. As a result of those efforts, Bib #10, Rubina Garrett, has taken first place. Congratulations."
Jin paused for a beat before continuing.
"Bib #1, Natalia. Although you mentioned that ships were your specialty, you demonstrated your growth by applying your creative ideas to both the automobile and aircraft events. Your performance earned you second place overall. Please continue your diligence in your research."
Applause broke out at Jin's words. He waited for the noise to subside before addressing the next person.
"Bib #2, Shu Nidou. You finished in third place. Please continue to do your best as a steady, reliable engineer."
More applause followed. Jin went through the list, offering a brief evaluation for each participant.
"Bib #3, Eugene Foul. I believe these competitions have shown you exactly what you are currently lacking. Please continue to devote yourself to your craft."
"Bib #4, Greena Kuzuma. Please cherish your dedication to pursuing elegance even within the bounds of solid craftsmanship."
"Bib #5, Sireen Eschenbach. If you strive for more flexible, free-form thinking, I believe you can reach even greater heights. Keep at it."
"Bib #6, Sidney Marek. Do not be satisfied with merely having an idea; focus on refining those concepts even further."
"Bib #7, Werner Randol. Your concept for variable-geometry wings was an excellent piece of work."
"Bib #8, Florence Fahlheit. Magi-craft offers a high degree of freedom. Try to embrace more flexible ideas in the future."
"Bib #9, Elvis Alcott. Focus on developing the technical skills necessary to bring your imaginative ideas to life."
"Bib #10, Rubina Garrett. Congratulations on your overall victory. You are the one who showed the most growth throughout these events. Please keep up the great work."
Once he finished evaluating the ten competitors, Jin paused once more.
The stadium was filled with cheers and the sound of clapping.
After the excitement settled, Jin spoke again.
"For the final competition, I would like to focus on automata."
Initially, he had considered giant golems as well, but their utility was narrow. Considering the logistics of storage, management, and maintenance after the event, he felt that if the goal was to compare technical prowess, focusing on automata was the better choice.
"Ah, I forgot to mention one thing. Regarding the aircraft competition—the regulations requiring propeller propulsion and lift generation via wings... I am glad that everyone understood the primary reason for these rules: this was a 'low-speed competition.' Since we were testing how slowly one could fly, any method that allowed for hovering in mid-air was prohibited. However, in future events that aren't specifically low-speed trials, Blow Floater-type designs will be permitted."
Jin concluded his speech by saying he hoped volunteers would continue to organize various events to test their skills against one another, even outside the official King and Queen tournaments.
With the announcement that the automata competition would be held one month later on March 1st, the day's events officially came to a close.
＊ ＊ ＊
"That was our first real tournament, and I think there are a few points we need to reflect on."
Jin was having a casual post-event chat with Marikka and Lordtoss.
"I agree..."
They discussed how size regulations should be defined by maximum width, length, and height, and whether machine design should be judged anonymously to ensure fairness. These reflections would likely be implemented in the next tournament.
"So the next event is for automata. I suppose I don't need to build one for that," Jin muttered to himself, glancing at Reiko.
"I want to overhaul and maintain Hanako even more thoroughly," Marikka said.
"Jin-sama, will Reiko-san be participating in the automata competition as well?" Lordtoss asked.
"Yes, that's the plan... Is that a problem?"
It wasn't out of bias or vanity, but Jin was certain that if Reiko entered, she would win by a landslide. Beyond just raw power, Reiko had four hundred years of life experience that would leave any other unit in the dust.
"Then again, it's not as if I can just build a new one specifically for the race now..."
Jin didn't want to do that; he had a feeling Reiko would get sulky if he did.
"Reiko-chan is the target everyone is aiming for, so I think it's perfectly fine," Marikka offered. "My Hanako was built with the hope of getting even a little bit closer to her level."
If she felt that way, Jin saw no reason to keep Reiko out of the competition.
"Everyone knows and admires Reiko-chan," Lordtoss added. "I think her presence will inspire them to work even harder on their own partner-style automata."
"I see your point."
Jin felt a bit self-conscious at Lordtoss's words, but seeing how happy Reiko looked, he kept his thoughts to himself.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Automata, huh? I'm going to give it everything I've got!"
"Even if I can't beat Reiko-chan, I want to see how far I can push her!"
"If Reiko-chan is competing, then this is really worth doing!"
The competitors were overflowing with motivation.
The current regulations stood as follows:
- Use materials found on Onogoro Island.
- No restrictions regarding physique. Small child or large man—both are acceptable.
- The unit must be clothed. The design of the clothing is left to the creator's discretion.
The specific categories of the competition were to be decided within the next day or two, with more detailed rules to follow shortly after.
"...Those are the rules, but I doubt anyone will actually build a large man," Stayhart Randol remarked. Given everyone's admiration for Reiko, that seemed a safe bet.
"I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of trials they come up with," Sion said, her voice full of anticipation. Having known Reiko for four centuries, she was eager to see the competition unfold.
The final title of Magi Craft King or Queen would be decided based on the results of this last event.
While Rubina was currently far ahead, the automata competition was expected to feature many categories with a high point distribution. The ultimate victory was still anyone's game.
"This is going to be quite exciting," Sion added, clearly enjoying her role as a spectator.