October 10th.
From early morning, the sky was clear and the wind was calm—ideal weather for flying.
People began gathering at the race venue at daybreak, and by 8:00 AM, the general admission seats were completely packed.
The official attendance was 2,324 spectators, not counting invited guests.
"My Lord, it is quite a bustling crowd, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's great to see."
On Hourai Island, Laojun and Jin were conversing.
To ensure an immediate response if anything went awry, the one present in Toka Village was Jin's Doppel.
Jin himself remained on Hourai Island, overseeing the whole event and issuing instructions.
"How is the broadcast relay to Onogoro Island going?"
"It is proceeding smoothly."
"Good, that's a relief."
The opening ceremony was only an hour away.
"Whoa, look at them fly!"
"That looks amazing!"
"Dad, I want to ride one too!"
Since free flight was permitted until 8:30 AM, the participants used the time to make their final adjustments and checks.
At the same time, it served as a showcase for the spectators.
To prevent contestants from preparing counter-strategies in advance, the final details of the competition had only been announced the day before, on the 9th.
Among those announcements was a "Spectator Popularity Poll."
This award was slated to be presented separately from the actual race standings.
"Mmm, sure looks fun."
Yuzo Mayaka, the chief of Toka Village, looked up at the sky with an envious expression.
He was clearly thinking he would love to take a ride himself.
Many children in the crowd also seemed to have their passion for the skies ignited. Shortly after this, the Klein Kingdom would experience the "First Blow Floater Boom," though that is a story for another time.
Among the invited guests, some had different thoughts:
I doubt that shape is truly optimal, though...
Such observations would soon spur the development of Blow Floaters in other nations as well.
Incidentally, the Blow Floaters participating in this race had designs falling somewhere between a motorized hang glider and a motorized paraglider.
Most had circular or elliptical main wings, with no tail fin.
The cockpit was suspended underneath the main wing.
Unlike a paraglider, the wing was not flexible; it was a rigid structure built around an internal framework.
Furthermore, although suspended, the cockpit was fixed firmly in place below the main wing.
Amidst the crowd, one engineer held doubts regarding the circular and elliptical wing designs.
His name was Ludwig. At twenty-five years old, he was the up-and-coming deputy workshop head of the Berlich Workshop in the Shouro Empire.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the 1st Marikka Cup Air Race will begin shortly."
A little before 9:00 AM, an announcement echoed across the venue.
By that time, almost all the spectators had taken their seats, waiting eagerly for the event to commence.
The stands faced south, while the flight corridor stretched east to west before them.
Directly across from the spectator seating stood three giant magi-screens, which would project the action even when the crafts flew far into the distance.
"The time has come! We will now commence the 1st Marikka Cup Air Race!"
A roar of cheers swept through the venue.
"I am your host, Yuzo Mayaka, chief of Toka Village. Providing commentary is one of our esteemed organizers, Deus Ex Machina-dono!"
Applause and cheers erupted.
"To begin, allow me to briefly explain today's competition. This event is contested using the Blow Floater, conceived and developed by Lady Marikka of the All-Creation clan, a female magi craftsman from the Nord Federation."
At this point, Maquina took over the explanation.
"Yes. A Blow Floater is an aircraft that utilizes wind-attribute magic to achieve lift. For that reason, the main wings are contoured to catch the wind efficiently, though one can see various unique innovations in their design....Rather than dwelling on words, let us watch them fly and compete!"
Thunderous applause shook the venue.
"And now, let us introduce the participants and their aircraft! Since this is a live broadcast, please excuse us for omitting honorifics during the introductions!"
A drum boomed with a resounding thud.
"First up, Bib #1! The Puppet clan's Lordtoss Team! Piloted by its designer and crafter, Lordtoss!"
Because it was a Blow Floater, it excelled at low-speed flight. As Lordtoss and his craft lifted into the air, they circled slowly before the grandstands at the pace of a brisk walk before touching back down where they had started.
"Bib #1 features a circular wing, though on the smaller side. It appears to prioritize speed. Additionally, the gondola housing the cockpit sits somewhat low, which suggests an emphasis on stability," Deus Ex Machina analyzed.
"Bib #2! The Puppet clan's Harnata! Piloted by the assistant automata, H-12!"
"Hmm, it appears to be a standard circular-wing model, yet weight-saving measures are evident throughout....Furthermore, that automata may only weigh around fifteen kilograms. That was likely done to minimize total craft weight."
"Indeed, the regulations do not prohibit automata or golems from piloting, after all."
As expected of Maquina, he saw through H-12's unique traits at a glance. Just as he observed, by utilizing an automata stripped down to the absolute limit of weight reduction, Harnata had pursued total weight optimization.
Furthermore, there was the matter of safety she had discussed with Jin. Entrusting the race to an automata rather than a human—that was Harnata's solution.
"Bib #3! The Gospel clan's Archista! Piloted by the designer and crafter themselves!"
"A circular wing. It appears to offer well-balanced overall performance. The true test of skill will be how they express their own distinct edge within that design."
"Bib #4! The Gospel clan's Sergela! Piloted by his assistant from the Gospel clan, Oakroak!"
"This craft also utilizes a circular wing, though quite a large one. A design philosophy directly opposite to Bib #1. It most likely mounts a powerful propulsion system."
"Bib #5! The All-Creation clan's Zedice! Piloted by his assistant and younger sister, Zelal of the All-Creation clan!"
"Oho, a square wing."
The main wing was oriented so its vertices pointed forward, backward, left, and right.
"This could be quite interesting. The balance between speed and stability seems promising."
"Bib #6! The All-Creation clan's Imimir! Piloted by co-developer Chemin of the All-Creation clan!"
"I understand she is a disciple of Lady Marikka. An elongated elliptical wing stretching front to back. This is another intriguing concept. We can expect good things from it."
An elliptical wing extending longitudinally tended to suffer from lateral instability, but they appeared to have counterbalanced this by lowering the gondola's center of gravity.
"Bib #7! The All-Creation clan's Byusack! Piloting the craft himself!"
"He is a grand-disciple of Lady Marikka....This one also has a circular wing, but it is noticeably thin. A build focused on speed, perhaps?"
Because the circular wing also functioned as a gas bag, its cross-section was typically contoured to capture air, yet this craft's thickness was roughly half that of the others.
Consequently, its aerodynamic drag during flight appeared remarkably low.
"Most likely, its Air Jet used for lift is exceptionally powerful."
"Bib #8! The Puppet clan's Nikeris! Piloting the craft themselves!"
"This one also features a square... no, a rhombus-shaped wing."
It was a configuration similar to Bib #5.
"It appears geared toward high speed. The propulsion system looks quite potent as well."
"Bib #9! The All-Creation clan's Kondak! Piloted by the automata, C-600!"
"He is also a grand-disciple of Lady Marikka, I understand....It features a circular wing, but the propulsion system is large... or rather, gigantic. It seems built entirely for raw speed."
"And finally, Bib #10! The Puppet clan's Lurus Tona! Piloting the craft herself!"
"A circular wing, but the structural members are slender. It appears she reinforced the material rigidity and ensured structural strength while achieving significant weight reduction."
"Thank you very much, Maquina-san. Now then, the qualifying round is about to begin! Qualifying will be decided by lap times over a single circuit: flying from the venue around a pylon atop a hill one kilometer away and returning. These qualifying results will determine the starting grid for the main race!"
With ten minutes remaining, the qualifying round was on the verge of beginning.