A race game duel with Alice. I passed Alice with a special driving trick, but we're still in the middle of the race... I'm glad to say that this is where the real work begins.
　Looking at the course map, the next difficult part was a large spiral curve. This may have been designed for the game, but it looks quite challenging.
　The curve itself appears to be gradual, but the spiral shape makes it long and difficult to drive fast. I wanted to get through it somehow.

　While I was thinking like this, the entrance to the spiral curve began to come into view. As you would expect, you can't plunge into it at full speed, so you have to slow down just right.

''It's sweet!　Mr. Kite!
What?

　But in contrast to my slowing down, Alice accelerates at full throttle, passing me in one fell swoop and heading for the spiral curve. But that's ridiculous. There's no way she can turn at that speed.
　It's a game where you won't be injured if you run into the wall, but there's a penalty for slowing down your speed significantly. Considering that, Alice's attack is too reckless........

　At the timing of thinking that far, I thought of the special run that Alice had told me about. Sheesh, is that what you mean!　Alice's machine's special drive is cornering.....................
　As if to affirm the idea that came into my head, Alice's mini-buggy uses all four tires to the fullest extent, taking curves in a four-wheeled drift that sticks to the wall.

　No more in-betweens this is bad, it's pulling away.
　That special run is apparently more troublesome than I expected. As long as that special run was in place, Alice could plunge into a curve without slowing down at all, and she could even take the inside.

　But that special run was not an invincible ability. There is always a flaw in it.
　Thinking about this, I open the menu and check the page with the details of the car. My BC96 and Alice's machine were listed there, as well as information on special driving.

　Alice's machine's special run can be used once every 2km, and it can be saved up and carried over. The effect is 3 seconds per use it can also be used continuously.
　It's about 10km from the starting point to here, which means Alice should have a maximum of five stocks... but the spiral curve I just saw was a pretty big curve... she should have consumed two, maybe even three stocks.
　Other than that, there were two other times that Alice's car had drifted sucking on the inside of the car so far............so Alice's stock for special runs was now exhausted.

　There was only about 8 and a half kilometers left to the finish line.......this course was 19 kilometers long, which meant that Alice could only use that special run four more times, even if she saved it up until right before the finish line. However, the last kilometer is almost a straight line.......then there should be no use for the fourth special run.
　If possible, I'd like to end up with at least one more run as a dud. I've also come up with a countermeasure for that.

　Then, we'd better try to win the big S-curve at 14km, or the last difficult curve between 17km and 18km, where there are five consecutive curves.
　For now, you'll have to close the gap as much as possible and stay right behind them. The next time Alice uses her special drive is ... time to play.

　By the way, aren't the NPCs following us at all?　Since I'm new to the game, I'm guessing they set it on a weaker setting.
　While thinking about such unimportant things, my BC96, which was winning at top speed, closed the gap that opened up on the curve in a straight line and caught up to about 50 meters behind Alice.

''........Kite-san.''
Yeah?
''You're trying to trick me, aren't you? I don't know what you're trying to do, but if you can pull it off, please pull it off!
Oh the game is on, Alice.

　The winning S-curve. Will Alice use special driving?　No, I use it. I went out of my way to utter a line that provoked us. I'm going to come in here and decide the game!
　As if to affirm my thoughts, Alice approaches the curve at an obvious overspeed. Following that, I plunge into the S curve without slowing down as much as possible.

''That's good. It's a sharp charge..... But can you break this one?

　With that announcement, Alice's buggy begins to drift around the inside wall in a drift that makes perfect use of all four wheels.
　Seeing this, I turn the handlebars as I had planned beforehand.

'Kite's bike bulges out?　Line picking error?　No, this is not!''

　Yes, this is the position I was aiming for all along - the slight straight line from the end of the first curve to the second curve - and this is where I activated my second special run.
　I'm aiming for the "inside wall" of the second curve.

"...what...?

　In the straight line between these S-curves, the distance is too short to use the BC96's special drive. The disadvantage of not being able to turn on too much acceleration is that you will inevitably run into a wall... but that's exactly what I was aiming for, a kind of gamble.
　It's a forceful move that can be used because it's a non-injury game.
　When you hit the wall, the penalty will cause a significant slowdown.

　Furthermore, this had one more major aim. That was to 'block Alice's special run'.....

''Guh, the in........''

　 If that is the case, if the in-between is closed..............Alice cannot activate her special run.
　That plan seems to have been a great success, and I was able to exit the S curve with Alice in check.

　And on the long straight line here, once again................I triggered the last special run. It pulls Alice away from the car in one fell swoop.
　Alice used her special run once at the first of the S curve. That means I have two more times to do it for a total of six seconds. Simple math shows that if I could beat Alice by more than 6 seconds, I'd win.

　On the last special run, I was able to pull away from her by a considerable distance, which should be more than 10 seconds. As long as my car has a higher top speed, I won't be able to overturn it.
　And then we came to the fifth consecutive curve. I've won!　Now, if only I didn't make a mistake on 5 consecutive curves.....

"Wow, Kite, you're really amazing. It's the first time you've done this much, I'm surprised.
'It was a mistake to use too much special driving early on...'
"Ahaha...

　At that moment, a cold sensation ran down my spine. Huh?　What a disgusting feeling............We're already on the fifth consecutive curve. If we can get through this, the goal should be right around the corner....

''Didn't I say that?　I've been told that the special features of my car are such that it will automatically go through the incentives of the curves without ever slowing down...
Huh?

　...Wait, what does that mean?　Because Alice was running a special drive and that drift was a special drive... a drift?
　I think the drift is slowing down...

I'm not using it, sir. I haven't used my special driving skills for a single time up to this point.
What?

　Those words, which seemed even desperate, were announced at about the same time that Alice's car appeared in the mirror of my car as we approached the third of five consecutive curves.
　Alice's car was approaching at a speed of over 100km without slowing down at all, as if it were pulling a rail on the inside of the curve, a behavior unthinkable in the real world.
　This is real special driving........Oh no, it's blocking the inside.......

"It's useless.
Avoid....the...

　As if to mock my idea of blocking the in and blocking Alice's special run, Alice's car avoided my car in a right-angled trajectory and passed it at top speed.
　I completely misread it. That special run automatically evades even if there's a car in front of it........d*mn, no. The two remaining curves can make a big difference!

　I've already used up my special driving skills, and I no longer have the means to catch up with Alice. It seems that what I said to Alice is exactly what I did to her.
　Of course, my technique is far inferior to Alice's, who can drift, but still, if I had saved my last special run here...well, it's too late now.

Well, d*mn.
"Hmmm, well, it's the first round. For me, I was wondering if I could win without special driving, but I was surprised to see how fast it was. Next time, it might be a better match.''
Mmm, Alice. One more round.
'Yes, sir. When we finish, let's take a break and have a second round!

　Dear Dad and Mom - what a lot of scheming I thought I had done, but in the end it was in Alice's hands. Even putting aside the fact that I was a beginner, I was overwhelmed in terms of strategy. Anyway, this time - a complete defeat.