Chapter 1440: Flying Board ⑤

Chapter 1440: Flying Board ⑤

I watch the first race of the Flying Board competition with Aoi-chan and Hina-chan as it finally begins.

Incidentally, the beginning races were qualifying races, where the teams would go in a straight line to the other side of a large lake, and the first team to reach the other side would advance to the finals.

It seemed like the finals would be held on a more solid race course, which goes from the lake to a rocky mountain area, and then around the perimeter of the lake. However, only the first-place finisher from each of the qualifying races would advance to the finals, so advancing to the finals seemed to be difficult.

[The race is finally about to begin.]

[I wonder what the race would be like? The race course is short…… so would they go at maximum speed without worrying about the amount of magic power in the board?]

Hina-chan was excited, and Aoi-chan seemed to be already thinking about the speed management for the race. In the meantime, it was finally time for the race to start, which started with the signal of the staff.

One of those teams used the same tactics that Aoi-chan muttered earlier. In other words, running through at top speed without worrying about the magic power left in the board, vigorously rushing forward…… only to immediately plunge into the lake with a forkball-like angle, making a splash in the waters.

(T/N: Forkball is a type of pitch in baseball, known for its severe downward break of the ball as it approaches the plate.)

After being dumbfounded by those excessive actions, I involuntarily laughed. I see, flying with a Flying Board with such a quirky flight path would make it have such a strange trajectory…… This means that if we just imprudently increase the speed, we wouldn’t be able to regulate it and not be able to recover from it, so I guess this competition could be quite deep.

Well, the safety measures were well in place, and the team that plunged into the lake didn’t seem to be injured because of a barrier generated by the Flying Board.

However, the Flying Board’s flight function apparently ceases when the barrier is deployed, which means that the team had to retire from the race.

As I watched the race, I saw many Flying Boards with strange quirks, almost colliding with each other, or making sudden U-turns while aiming for the goal or suddenly making an unexpected trajectory.

[……When I actually watched this, isn’t this race quite interesting?]

[Indeed, there are so many happenings that it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen, and seeing how they all fly in different ways is really interesting.]

Some Flying Boards tottered in the air as if someone drunk was driving it, others moved jaggedly like lightning, and some made strange rises and descents. It’s really a diverse mess.

However, that’s why it’s fun to watch, because we can’t predict what will happen next. A team that I thought was completely behind in the beginning ended up in 1st place before I knew it, and the group that had been steadily maintaining 1st place suddenly stopped after it made a strange trajectory just before the finish line.

[It seems to be safe to accelerate at once when we can pull off a good trajectory. However, there’s a risk of sudden changes, so if we accelerate too much, we may run the risk of not being able to recover.]

[The race actually seemed so deep that it’s hard to imagine from this comical competition scene, and there are many things we need to consider about.]

[Moreover, there’s that too. Even if you have taken all the necessary precautions, you may still end up being out of the race if your Flying Board takes a strange trajectory. Teamwork in the spur of the moment is crucial. Things are getting fun!]

The three of us discussed while watching the race. Somehow, as Hina-chan said, it feels good that everyone works to take on the challenge.

Particularly due to the rule that magic is prohibited, it’s good that even me and my two kouhais, with combat abilities with big differences from each other, can participate in their own roles.

Incidentally, magic that basically be manually activated and deactivated, but automatically activates under certain conditions, just like my Sympathy Magic, seems to be judged as a kind of Body Constitution, so there’s no problem as long as the contestants declare it in advance. But of course, if you use said magic intentionally, that would be considered a violation.

After a little while, the second race was over, so we decided to head to the starting point. On the way, I suddenly had an idea, so I called out to a certain someone in my mind.

Shiro-san, may I have a word?

(What is it?)

Is it possible to prevent the effect of Shiro-san’s blessing from being applied to the Flying Board? Even though this isn’t a competition that can be managed by luck alone, Shiro-san’s blessing would give us an advantage just for the luck correction alone, and since Shiro-san’s blessing also provides other top-notch effects from various Gods’ Blessings, so there’s a possibility that Shiro-san’s blessing would still give me a tremendous advantage other than luck.

(It’s indeed possible. Well then, I’ll make sure my blessing doesn’t affect the behavior of your Flying Board.)

Thank you. Well, it’s not like I want our group to go to the finals or anything like that. I think I’ll just enjoy the safe qualifying race and enjoy watching the rest of the races.

<Afterword>

God of Fate’s Blessing : [Ya, shounen…… Have you forgotten something important? Normally, due to how superior the Creator God’s Blessing is, I usually don’t have any effect, but kono watashi is gonna do my best on this occasion, okay?]

God of Sky’s Provisional Blessing : [Leave the competition in the sky to me~~]

God of Earth’s Provisional Blessing : [……Hey, don’t expect anything from me. I won’t work when your feet aren’t on the ground.]