In a rocky area about two kilometers from Toka Village toward Kaina Village.
Fifteen golems had been hidden there. Two of them were reduced to scrap in the blink of an eye.
The one responsible, of course, was Reiko.
There was no way the people of Hourai Island could forgive an act that attempted to disrupt the air race—which Jin had put so much effort into making a success—merely to vent personal frustrations.
"...Huh?"
The former noble of the Klein Kingdom and his guard, who had just awakened the fifteen combat golems, were completely dumbfounded.
After all, two of their golems had just been pulverized by a girl who appeared to be around ten years old—Reiko.
"It is already too late for you."
Leaving them with only those words, Reiko turned her attention toward the thirteen golems heading toward Toka Village.
"Ah..."
"I-Impossible..."
Golem torsos soared through the air, their severed limbs scattering across the sky.
The two men could only stare blankly at the utterly surreal sight.
"It is finished."
Reiko announced, speaking with the casual ease of someone who had just swept trash from an entryway.
"Wh... Wh... What on earth are you?!"
The former noble flew into a complete frenzy.
"I am Reiko. An automata."
"A-A-An automata?!"
"Yes."
"Ridiculous! There is no way an automata could be stronger than a combat golem!!"
"Even if you say so, is that not merely your own common sense? Please do not measure my Father by your limited perspective."
Saying this, Reiko picked up a fist-sized stone from the ground and crushed it to dust right before their eyes.
"H-H-H... Help meee!"
Abandoning all shame and dignity, the guard fell prostrate at Reiko's feet.
However.
"I told you it was too late, did I not?"
Pointing a slender finger toward them, Reiko spoke.
"'Stun.'"
"Gah?!"
"Gyaa!"
Releasing a jolt of paralysis magic, she knocked both men unconscious.
She then handed them over to the four members of the Land squad who had arrived on the scene.
"I leave them in your hands."
"Understood."
The Land squad bound the two men with ropes and hoisted them onto their shoulders.
"We will take them to the tournament headquarters."
At the same time, they collected the fragments of the golems Reiko had destroyed to use as physical evidence.
Since four control cores remained intact, they would serve as more than enough proof.
Laojun planned to report the incident to the King of Klein after the air race concluded and let him handle their punishment.
"In a sense, this was merely a diversion."
On Hourai Island, Laojun remained on high alert.
"The nobles from before?"
Jin confirmed.
"Yes, My Lord. Garrison Yack Aux, the second son of the Marquis Aux House who was entrusted with the Egeera Mine, was plotting to disrupt the race."
"Past tense?"
"Yes, My Lord."
On the day before the Marikka Cup—yesterday—Garrison Yack Aux had secretly conspired with his comrades in his family's territory at the Egeera Mine to finalize their sabotage plot.
Those comrades were, of course, a group of former nobles affiliated with the Magic Federation.
As for their plan...
"They intended to release hazardous payloads over the race venue using balloons of various sizes."
"I see. That certainly would have been a nuisance."
For high-speed aircraft, encountering such airborne obstacles could easily prove fatal.
That was precisely why the airspace around the venue was being closely monitored to prevent birds from entering the course.
Regardless, Garrison and his faction had intended to release the swarm of balloons just as the race reached its climax. Fortunately, Laojun had already seized all forty-five of them.
"Some were loaded with magi-crystals imbued with explosive or lightning-attribute magic."
"They really never come up with anything constructive, do they...?"
Jin found himself wishing they would channel that ingenuity and drive into something that actually helped people instead.
"So, what happened to Garrison?"
"Yes, My Lord. While we could have apprehended him ourselves, doing so would carry little weight, so yesterday we arranged for the Klein Kingdom's ritter order to arrest him."
Garrison, the ringleader, and his entourage remained completely oblivious to the fact that their balloons had been seized and the ritter order was already closing in...
On that same day—yesterday—the Klein Kingdom's Third Ritter Order had surrounded the Marquis Aux House. Yes, literally surrounded it.
"Garrison, son of Marquis Aux, is suspected of treason."
The ritter commander held up an arrest warrant bearing the King's royal seal alongside the Marquis's personal signature.
"...Garrison is not here."
Answering was the eldest son, Falto As Aux, who was overseeing the estate while his father was away. He was thirty-five years old, with brown hair and brown eyes. His father worried about him slightly, considering him overly earnest and easily deceived.
"Where is he, then?"
"He mentioned he was heading to the Egeera Mine."
"I see. In that case, our apologies, but we must conduct a search of the premises."
"...Do as you must."
Falto decided that with a document bearing both the King's seal and his father's signature, resistance would be futile.
(Has Father chosen to abandon Garrison...?)
Though born of different mothers, they had gotten along reasonably well as brothers, leaving Falto with a quiet pang of regret.
The ritter order swept through the estate, focusing their search on Garrison's private quarters.
There, they uncovered five letters proving his ties to the Magic Federation. With this discovery, Garrison's future in this country was effectively over.
Furthermore, they unearthed evidence that he had been providing financial support to his former "comrades" in the Magic Federation. With proof like that, no amount of pleading or political influence would spare him from execution.
There was also no question that the Marquis House itself would face severe reprimand.
"We will leave the rest to the Second Ritter Order."
Having secured the evidence, the Third Ritter Order commander muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile, the Second Ritter Order had surrounded the Egeera Mine.
Naturally, their operation was based on an anonymous tip provided by Laojun.
"Listen up! Intelligence indicates there is a mazelike underground facility within. Stay on your guard!"
The Second Ritter Order commander issued instructions to his troops.
"Sir!"
"The 1st Battalion will breach the mine! The 3rd and 4th Battalions will maintain the perimeter! The 2nd Battalion will act as a mobile reserve and prepare for any contingencies!"