CH 319.1

On the continent of Ost, the most widespread type of golem is probably the horse golem.

『I want to see a horse race but using a horse golem.』

It is no wonder that such an idea emerged soon after its appearance.

The first to introduce it in the Kingdom was the influential nobles who had too much money and time on their hands. The golem horses, without the carts and carriages, would circle the pastures with their riders on their backs.

『This is interesting.』

The 『Playing Chase』 was immediately become popular and became a full-fledged race with set rules.

Not a few nobles got so hooked that they built their own workshops in the gardens of their mansions and created teams bearing the names of their own families.

Eventually, what was later called the 『King’s Cup』 was born.

It was an annual competition of 18 rounds of speed in a meadow on the outskirts of the royal capital to determine the annual champion. It is now a major event that has a history of more than 100 years and attracts many spectators.

***

Moving the place and point of view to Noble Town on the northeast side of the royal capital under the starry sky.

This is the golem horse workshop of a certain noble family, renowned for the King’s Cup.

「Hmmm」

A middle-aged man groaned in front of a single fearless-looking horse golem painted red.

Staring at the inorganic mass in the shape of a horse in front of him, he makes a deep vertical crease between his eyebrows, then shakes his head from side to side and sighed.

There is no question that he is troubled.

(I can’t believe they turned the tables on us here this late in the season.)

He is a golem technician belonging to a noble family. The horse golem in front of him is a treasure that has led the race with excellent top speed since the opening day of the race.

However, his longtime rival has greatly improved his corner speed since the middle of the race. In the last few races, he was forced to concede the win and finally lost the chance to be the winner of the year.

(Only the final round remains. We have no choice but to turn the tables by winning the championship.)

The old man engineer bites his lip as he recalls the disappointed look on the jockey’s face. He recalled the words the jockey said after the race.

『The balance is off on high-speed corners, and it’s impossible to apply any more power than it is.』

In other words, the horsepower generated by the auxiliary magic circle inside the horse is not being fully utilized.

In fact, although he was in front at the start, he was overtaken at the corners and blocked at the straights.

(Stability control in corners is a feature difference on a basic design level. To make a modification as making it over from scratch is impossible at this late in the game. As expected, should I add a balancer here?)

This is the part that troubled him the most.

Because it’s a retrofit, it has to be a long cat-like tail to be effective.

But that will be a big drawback, even if it is streaming backward. It would definitely slow the horse in the straight lane.

(Can we really win by erasing our advantage? Against that rival.)

He just can’t see that happening.

He squeezes his head for other solutions and comes to the conclusion that he can’t think of anything. Each time he would exhale from the bottom of his lungs and go back to the drawing board.

(Is there really nothing? A way to turn this around.)

He continues to think about it to the point that steam comes out of his head, but he still cannot find the solution.

As he repeats the process over and over again, his energy begins to bottom out. He looks at the clock on the wall and sees that the date has already changed.

(I can’t think anymore today. Let’s take a bath and go to bed.)

He shrugged his shoulders, wiped his dirty hands with a cloth, turned off the light, and left the workshop. He entered the noble’s mansion through the back door and headed for the servants’ bathhouse, which was about the size of a public bathhouse.

But no one was there, probably because it was already late.

「Fuu…」

He soaks himself in the bathtub filled to the brim, and at the same time as his voice echoed in the bath, the hot water overflows into the surrounding area.

The old man, his body and mind liberated, gazes into the hot water with eyes that have even lost their focus. When his body, which had begun to relax a little, came into view, something caught his attention.

(Hm?)

Right after that, a flash of lightning flashed across his brain. What followed after it vanished was the solution he had been seeking.

(This is…!? If I do that then maybe—)

How to turn a corner stably without sacrificing speed in the straight lane. The old man got the idea and jumped out of the bathtub, passed through the changing room, and ran toward the workshop built in the garden.

He wanted to test the idea immediately.

「I found it! I found the way!」

Woken by cries of joy echoing in the late night, the servants shifted the curtains in their room and peeked into the backyard.

Under the starlight, they saw the old man running while soaking wet and completely naked, jumping up and down.

「…..」

It was no wonder that the servants put on a pitiful expressions on their faces. They all knew that the old man had been so stressed that he had been unable to speak to them for the past few days.

Without a word of complaint, the servants returned the curtains to their original position.

***

A few days passed, and it was a beautiful sunny afternoon.

I was on the second-floor balcony of Cassabell, one of the three best brothels in the royal capital for its 『Sin and Punishment』, with my best friend, Corneal.

Looking around, we saw that the balconies of the surrounding buildings were also filled with people. And they are all looking down on the deserted main street.

「Horse golem races on a public street?」

The person I called out to was a somewhat unattractive macho man who was gripping the railing next to me. Corneal turns to me and opens his mouth with a smile.

「This is the first time they’re doing this. Maybe it’s because of all the gloomy stuff that happened recently, like the loss of Landbarn and the second prince.」

And so, the race, which is usually held in a meadow on the outskirts of the city, is now held inside the royal capital. They wanted to provide people with an event that they could get excited about.

But looking at it from a different angle, one could say, 『Didn’t they just want to distract people from the royal family who should be held responsible?』.

(Well, that doesn’t matter I guess.)

I guess whatever the motive is, it’s fine as long as the result is enjoyable.

Incidentally, the boulevard below is part of the course. And the crowds on the balconies of the other buildings are the spectators.

「I can’t wait to see it.」

I take a drink from a small table and talk gracefully. Compared to the other buildings in the surroundings, the place is remarkably empty because it’s a high-class brothel.

Of course, after watching the game, we were going to have a Queen ride us. Unfortunately, we couldn’t put a reservation on Plain Queen because she is too popular.

「The fast corner coming from the upper town in the north, turning onto the main street. This is the best place to see the most interesting parts」

Corneal, who had chosen Cassabell as our spectator spot, stretched out his thick arm and pointed.

He is familiar with golem horse racing, and after glancing at the course map, he decided that this place will be the overtaking point that would decide the winner.

I enjoyed watching motorsports in my previous life, so I was really looking forward to this race.

(Oh?)

What made me turn my head was the fanfare of live music coming from the central plaza. Finally, the race was about to begin.

「Alright, it’s started.」

Here, Corneal transforms into a live commentator.

The golem horses started eastward from the central plaza and ran along the main shopping street, turning north to enter Nobletown.

After passing through a series of mansions to the west, they crossed further west in front of the royal castle and entered Upper Town. There, they turn south and head for the red-light district where Cassabell is located.

「I see. As expected of Corneal-san.」

I nodded my head in admiration. As a beginner, I really appreciate it.

Meanwhile, I can feel the shaking from the hooves’ approaching. A group of golem horses, coming southward, could be seen from Cassabell at the T-junction of the main street of the red-light district.

Certainly, this is the best seat we can get.

(The lead horse is… the second-place horse in the annual rankings, huh.)

The horse’s body is painted in red, the symbolic color of the noble family it represents, and the crest of the noble family is painted in black on the horse’s body. There is no doubt about it.

He had been in the lead until the last race, but it seems that the position has been reversed. However, the gap was so small that they could make a comeback if they could win this final race.

「Here it is! It will instantly come straight to the front!」

Corneal said as he tightened his grip on the railing after the roar that shook even the second-floor balcony.

It was a white horse approaching from behind. Apparently, it’s the current leader of the year, and it specializes in corners.

(It’s more powerful in the city.)

My head moves from right to left to the sound of countless deafening hooves pounding on the cobblestones.

I occasionally see people riding a golem horse without a carriage connected to it on the road near the royal capital. But the scale of the scene was totally different from that of the surrounding open countryside.

「The ranking isn’t changing isn’t it.」

After completing the turn, they run off down the last straight lane, the main street of the red-light district, toward the central plaza.

After seeing them out of sight, I give my impressions.

「Corneal-san?」

However, my best friend’s reaction was dull. He looked stunned as if he had seen something incredible.