If you can't break through the area within the time limit as we've announced, you'll be retired. Even if your car breaks down, you can still push your way through within the time limit.

　Engineer Elka is explaining the course on the stage.

You can also interfere with your opponent's actions, the cars are enchanted so that they can't make direct contact with each other, so you can push each other around. But be careful, the lighter car will be blown away.

　The cars entering the race are designed to synchronize with the demon motive to create a repulsion field. To put it simply, it's like the same pole of a magnet that repels.
　You can get close enough to get ten centimeters, but beyond that, they will repel. You can use this to push each other and make your opponent retreat. It was a safety measure to avoid collision, but it could be used in a battle-like way.

'If you crash to the point of serious injury, the driver will be forced to transition to this point before you can do so. This won't disqualify you, but the car is probably wrecked and you'll end up retired. There's a button for emergency transfer, so press it if something happens.

　It's the effect of the [Gate] granted to each seat. But just in case you still get injured, Flora from the 'Alchemy Building' is waiting at the headquarters, though.

Oh, and it's forbidden to use magic during the race. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this. Especially Fuyu-kun.
I know what I'm doing.

　If you've got magic, I'm going to put everyone in a slip and run like a champ.

"And yet, the race is being run on a live feed.
"Cats are for people!　People are for cats!　Heaven knows, earth knows, the cat knows!　　D'Artagnan no Omakase Nya!

　Poof!　And on the platform, the cherry blossom summoner, Ket-Sea's Nyanthalo, jumped on the stage with a microphone instead of the fine sword, Rapier.
　That guy's going to be the play-by-play. Is your pronunciation okay?

Then let the race begin.　Get into your Ether Vehicle and get ready to start!

　A red line is drawn on the wide cobblestone road that stretches along the sandy beach, and our cars are lined up side by side. Are they starting at the same time?
　Each driver gets into his or her own car and activates the magic motive. I also get into my Type K and try to deploy the map while activating the magic motive... Oh, magic is prohibited.
　Paula in the passenger seat hands me a printed course map. Oh, don't be so cautious.
　Let's see, this cobblestone stretches straight out and becomes a sandy beach in the middle? After that, turn right to enter the ocean pier course.
　The width of the pier is only two and a half times as wide as the car. It is difficult to pass when it is run through the middle. If you try to pass a car on the bridge and get dropped into the sea, you're almost out of the race, even if it's shallow.　Isn't this a bit difficult all of a sudden?
　Oh well. Let's just make sure we finish the race. I can delay the start a bit. I just want to see how it goes.
　We'll put our helmets on and drop our goggles.

Are you ready?　Let the first Babylonian race begin!

　At the same time as Nyantaro's signal, a resonant bullet rose into the sky. Confirming that sound, the eight cars started at once.

The first one to jump out is number 5, the strainer driven by Princess Berrietta.　Then followed by the Red Cat (Akaneko), number 4, and then the Silver Star (2).

　The ones who jumped out at the top of their game were Princess Berrietta's Strain, Nia's Akaneko, and Rosetta and Monica's Silver Star. Next were Lapidus' Swan, Prince Rupheus' Triharan, and then me, currently in sixth place.
　King Felsen's Felsen was right behind me, followed by King Felsen's Felsen and the Steel Axe, which was ridden by the dwarf master, Griff.
　I can see the top five from my position, but they're not too far behind.
　The straight cobblestone course soon ended and was replaced by a sandy track. Somewhat damp sandy ground can be difficult to run on, but it doesn't turn into ant hell, so it's a normal run.

'Haha!　My lord, after you!
Oh.
"Felsen is attacking here.　I'm closing in on the standings in a flash!'

　The Felsen passed me without a care in the sand. Like a small bulldozer, the large body of the ship overtook the Triharan in front of me.
　Hmmm. I wasn't going to care too much about the position, but it's frustrating to be passed.

"The lead group has already turned toward the ocean and is on the pier course!　It's hard to overtake on this pier, so I don't think there's going to be much change in the standings at this point in the race.　Shhhhhh!　You never know what's going to happen because one little mistake and you'll fall into the ocean with a bobbler!　Pounding Meow!

　The pier course is shallow and no more than a meter and a half deep. The driver's seat of the exit vehicle isn't enclosed, so if you fall off, you'll be able to get out of there as soon as your seatbelt isn't broken. And just in case, there should be a button for emergency transfer.
　If you're in fairly shallow water, you could go off course and get back on the beach and get back to racing. It doesn't use fire like a gasoline engine, so it won't stop working when it falls into the water. Well, you'll lose a lot of ground in the standings.
　I ride up from the sandy beach to the pier course. Looking in the rearview mirror, I see that we are reasonably close to the Steel Axe behind us. It's unlikely that they'll be rear-ended out of nowhere.
　On the other hand, I had no intention of closing in on the Triharan running in front. The car was probably about the same weight as the Triharan. It would be too dangerous to see who would fall into the sea if we were in a race.
　But of course, if it's obvious that the car is heavy, we should go on the offensive.

The Felsen is closing in on the Swan!　If this one gets rear-ended, it will definitely blow up the Swan more than the other!

　King Felsen's Felsen was approaching our maid, Lapis's Swan, on a straight course made of piers.

"I'm going to forcefully overtake you!　Don't feel bad!
Mmm.

　The Felsen is lined up next to the Lapidus' Swan. The width of the pier is not so wide when the Felsen and the Hakucho are side by side, which is a little bigger than the Felsen.
　The "Swan" wobbled around the side of the Felsen. We managed to run along the edge of the pier, but if we hit it again, the boat would fall off for sure.
　The Swan is accelerating. Is she trying to get in front of the Felsen?
　The Felsen, which accelerated in the same way as the Felsen, not wanting to let it escape, finally passed the Swan.

''Hahahaha!　How about that!　Mmmmm.

　A right-angled bend to the left looms before King Felsen, who is proud of his victory.

''Noooooooooooo!''

　I thought I was going to turn the car to the left while braking suddenly and the Felsen was going to turn at the last minute.
　At the same time, the Felsen crossed the inside of the car and the Shirotori rammed into it.
　The Swan, which took a drift-like curve, pushed the Felsen, which had stopped at the very edge, with a thump.

"Ah.

　The Felsen loses her balance from the pier and falls into the sea. The Swan runs through the pier, leaving a large splash of water.

'Oooh!　Felsen, out of course!　Meow headlong into the sea!

　Wow..... I'm glad I didn't have to push myself.
　With the gurgling and bubbling Felsen at our side, Prince Rufus's Triharan and my Type K were passing by. We slowed down, of course, and took a slow right-angle curve.
　The Steel Axe, the rearmost ship, slowed down as we rounded the curve, and with a bang, King Felsen appeared out to sea.

It looks like the driver of the Felsen is okay. He's not retired yet, so I'm going to get the car to the beach....


　When I stole a glance at the direction of the Felsen's fall, I saw King Felsen lifting the Felsen into the sea with a tremendous expression.
　Wait a minute, is that an ant?

Shh!

　As it was, King Felsen threw the car back onto the pier, and then he himself climbed onto the pier and started the magic motive again, letting the magic power flow.
　He was a long way off, but he didn't seem to be able to retire.

''But how can I say........too forceful.

　Paula, who was in the passenger seat, crossed her arms and nodded her head in agreement when I murmured in a dumbfounded manner. That's the king of the magic kingdom or something like that, it's definitely not right.

'There's a change in the top group here, Nya!　When we returned to the sandy beach course again, the Red Cat and the Strain were overtaken at once and the Silver Star took the top spot!

　Heh. Rosetta and Monica are on top. Nice work.
　I come back to the sandy beach course and hurry to the next pier course. The Triharan in front of me doesn't seem to be in a hurry to see what's going on in this area. We turned the wheel to the right again and returned to the pier course.
　As I recall, the course ahead of us had a lot of S cranks.
　Since we had seen the Felsen dive earlier, we had to slow down and take a careful turn.
　However, the Triharan, which was going ahead of us, passed through the crank without slowing down so much. Is the grip power different?　Is it the performance of the tires?
　On the contrary, Princess Berlietta's Strain was not very good at this kind of course, and the Princess Berlietta's Strain had dropped in the rankings.
　The current leader is the Silver Star. The Red Cat was next. The Strain-No. had fallen back to third place.

''Oops!　The Swan slips past the Strain and slides out of a right-angled curve.　With his amazing technique, he's up to third place!

　It looks like Lapidus has overtaken me, too. I mean, it's impossible to drift on such a narrow pier.
　As a result, third place went to the Swan, fourth place to the Strain, and fifth place to the Triharan.
　These two, who were not related to each other by fate, were gradually closing the distance between them.
　While the Triharan tried to overtake them, the Strain blocked their path.

Mu.........!
I'm not going to let you pull it out!

　A fight to the right and left ensued on the pier where a dive into the ocean awaited us at the wrong time.
　Naturally, we slowed down and I caught up to just behind them.
　Mmm. I'm in the way.
　If the Toriharan moved to the right, the Strain in front of us would also move to the right. It was the same movement on the pier.
　Paula in the front passenger's seat thrusts her arms out in front of her, saying, "Go! Right. Let's go.
　Aiming for the right moment when the two cars in front of me move sideways on the pier, I press down on the gas pedal all at once.

"What?
I'll be d*mned.

　With a surprised look on their faces, my Type K easily pulled them out of the car.
　I'm sorry, but I'm going to go ahead. As we rounded the bend in the pier course while maintaining a reasonable speed, I saw the Swan with Lapis-san riding ahead of us.
　I'm currently in fourth place. I hope I can manage to keep my position this high and get through this area.
　We passed the pier course and ran on the beach three times. I'm not going to be the only one who has been in a position to do this.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one who's interested.　A dead heat from the sandy beach back to the main track!　The Swan cuts in sharply from inside the curve.　I got it!　The White Swan is now in second place.

　So we're back on the main track from the sandy beach and immediately switching positions. It's so heated.
　I catch Nia running in front of me and keep my pace as I run through the course.
　The sand on the cobblestones makes it slippery. Even if I went off course, it doesn't mean I'd fall into the ocean, but I'd still be cautious.

The Silver Star is the first to arrive at the gate of the pier course.　Keep going and go straight into the eastern jungle track!　The key to this place is how to drive on the rough mountain roads.

　Rosetta and the others passed first? Nia's Red Cat, running in front of me, also cleared the pier course within the stipulated time without difficulty.
　I also came in fourth place and cleared the pier course.

It's quite a shock.

　As we entered the eastern jungle track, a rickety mountain trail greeted us. In addition, the road was undulating and dangerous. We felt like we were about to roll over if we pushed the gas pedal too hard.
　After driving for a while, we saw a signboard on the side of the road that said, "There is a pit point 500 meters ahead on the right.

Should I change my tires or something as soon as possible?

　Paula in the passenger seat nodded at my mumbling. That's right. It's hard to keep going like this forever. I might get a flat tire. And I'm definitely going to get drunk.

The Silver Star, which is running at the front, has entered the pit stop. The swan is heading to the pit stop........meow!　The Red Cat, running in third place, goes through the pit point and blasts away!　I'm on top!
'Whoosh!　I'm the best!

　Hey, hey, hey. Is that Nia guy just going to run like that?　Sure, he's not going to get drunk, but will his tires be okay?
　Well, this is no time to worry about others. I also veer off the track to the right and into the pit point.
　After passing through the magic circle ground, I transitioned to the road that leads to the garage at the start of the race.
　I enter the Type K into the garage labeled "8". Mini-robots came from the back and as soon as we got out of the car, they started changing the tires and suspension to off-road specs.
　I checked the race status on the small projection screen in the garage, and it looked like the Strain and Triharan had already passed the pier course and entered the jungle course. The Dwarf Steel Axe and the Felsen, which was about to retire, will also manage to make it within the stipulated time.
　No one seems to have dropped out in this area. It was still a decent course for that doctor to have built. No, not so much, since one of them has fallen into the water.
　Rosetta and Monica's Silver Star ran past the garage and back to the track. It looks like they've finished converting to off-road specs.
　Following this, Lapidus-san's Swan is also returning to the course. In turn, Princess Berrietta's Strain and Prince Rupheus's Triharan rushed into the garage as if they were competing with each other.

''Nugu!''
No!

　The two cars pushed into each other and disappeared into their own garage almost simultaneously.
　But then the two of them got out of the car and immediately jumped out of the garage, glaring at each other and laughing weirdly.

'That's quite a feat. But this isn't how it's going to work in the next area!　Be prepared for that!
That's my line. You're the one who can't retire with a big fall!　That won't be fun!
"Mmm-hmm.
Hahahahahahaha.

　What is this, scary.
　It's a good thing that they're both smiling, but their eyes are kind of hot....... I'm sure the two of you would make a great match for each other by looking at this, but....
　Oops, that's not the point.
　When I got back to my garage, I had just finished changing a tire. Me and Paula climbed back into the seat and activated the magic motive and ran out of the garage.
　When I returned to the track, the dwarven Steel Axe issue was following behind me. Apparently, the Steel Axe also went through the pit point.
　It's true that it was a magical vehicle, the Ether Vehicle, which seemed to be primarily designed to run off-road. The Felsen seemed to have properly entered the garage from the pit point.

'Well, this area is a jungle course Nya!　The Red Cat, the Silver Star, the Swan, the Brunhild and the Steel Axe are currently leading the pack.　Oops, here's the Strain and the Triharan jumping out of the pit point.

　As I was driving along, listening to Nyantaro's play-by-play, a muddy slush suddenly appeared around a curve and took my tires. Look out!

"Place them in the most obscene places and then...!　I can't keep my head down on this course.

　I regained a firm grip on the steering wheel as we drove through a rough, tree-lined tunnel of roads.