With the Flying Board race set to begin at any moment, the three of us held a final strategy meeting.
The accident from the first heat—the one where a board plummeted straight into the lake—weighed heavily on our minds. I definitely wanted to avoid a repeat of that.
"I think we should keep our speed low initially and focus on gaining altitude," I suggested.
"Good idea," Hina agreed. "The starting gate isn't very high, and one bad downward dip could be disastrous. We should climb as soon as we start."
I had proposed keeping our speed in check while gaining height to ensure we could react to any erratic movements, and Hina was on board. However, Aoi didn't respond immediately. She remained silent, hand on her chin, deep in thought. Aoi was the sharpest thinker among us; when it came to tactical intuition, she was in a league of her own. Seeing her so contemplative suggested she might have a counter-proposal.
I waited a few moments before she finally spoke.
"Under normal circumstances, I'd say Kaito-san's plan is the safest. But it just occurred to me... the other participants have likely been watching the previous heats too, haven't they?"
"Yeah. There isn't much of a gap between the first and fourth heats, and there isn't really anywhere else to go, so almost everyone must have seen it."
"Does that matter, Aoi-senpai?" Hina asked.
Aoi gave a small nod before continuing her explanation. "It does. Just like us, the other teams probably have that first accident burned into their memories."
"I see... so you think the other groups are going to come up with the exact same strategy we did?"
"Exactly. If everyone tries to climb safely at the start, dozens of Flying Boards will be clustered together in the same space. Since these things are hard enough to control as it is, navigating a crowd while trying to build speed will be a nightmare—assuming we don't just collide with someone else first."
Aoi had a point. Climbing immediately to avoid the lake was the most logical, safest move. It made it easier to recover if the board took a dive. But because it was the optimal solution, it was also the most predictable.
"So, I have a proposal," Aoi said. "Why don't we take a chance?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"Instead of climbing right away, we gun it. we fly forward as fast as we can—pushing the limit of what we can correct if we dip—to break away from the pack. Once we’ve pulled ahead and have clear air, then we climb."
"It’s risky, but the payoff could be huge... Alright, let's do it. Hina, scratch the immediate climb. I'll give you the signal when it's time."
"Understood! Let's show them what our teamwork can do!"
Aoi's strategy was high-risk, high-reward. If it worked, it would likely decide the race then and there. Even if it didn't go perfectly, we would hopefully have enough space to recover. With our minds made up, we committed to the sprint.
"The fourth heat is about to begin!" the announcer shouted.
Standing atop the large, disk-shaped magic tool, I watched for the starting signal. Steering was my job, and for the initial phase, there was only one choice: straight ahead. Depending on how the board behaved, I'd have to make split-second corrections, so I sharpened my focus.
I glanced at the girls. They both gave me a firm nod, signaling they were ready.
The signal to start would be the moment the light from the floating magic crystal changed from red to blue. That moment arrived in a heartbeat.
The instant the blue light flashed, I touched the forward arrow. Simultaneously, Aoi pushed the board's speed to the limit.
I felt a jolt of acceleration followed by a swaying sensation. As expected, the board didn't fly in a perfect line, but the handling felt solid. We were weaving slightly, but we were moving forward without any dangerous vertical erraticism. It felt like we’d caught a lucky break with the board’s behavior.
I took a quick look around. None of the other groups were near us. We'd broken away!
"Hina!"
"On it!"
At my signal, Hina initiated the climb. The board's lateral swaying intensified, but I countered the movement by touching the opposite arrows, keeping our trajectory relatively stable as we gained altitude.
"Aoi, how are we looking?"
"It’s a success! We've completely cleared the pack!"
"Alright! Let's keep this momentum going all the way to the finish!"
"Yes!" the girls shouted in unison.
Aoi's gamble had paid off perfectly. Most of the other groups had indeed chosen to climb immediately, resulting in a congested mess where no one could build up speed without risking a collision.
Because we had broken away, we had the entire sky to ourselves. Even if we pushed the speed and the board took a wild turn, we had plenty of room to recover. With that in mind, Aoi pushed the pace. We coordinated our movements, shouting back and forth to keep the board under control despite its bizarre, sudden shifts in trajectory, and roared across the lake.
With a bit of luck on our side, we crossed the finish line far ahead of the competition, successfully clearing the preliminaries.
Serious-senpai: "Nice. I actually enjoy this kind of tactical seriousness. Fine, I'll allow it."
???: "Who gave you the right to allow anything...?"
Serious-senpai: "I am the Incarnation of Seriousness!"
???: "...Do you honestly think you're still pulling that persona off?"
Serious-senpai: "Stop saying that with such a straight face. It actually hurts..."