Oh, shit!

　It was the Steel Axe that was running at the top that crashed head-on into the two-meter-diameter snowball that had rolled down, and it was the Steel Axe that was running at the top. Is it a magically hardened snowball, or is it unbreakable, even with the power of the Steel Axe Issue that shattered the ice wall.
　The entire weight of the giant snowball was on the steel axe issue.

''Gunnu-nu-nu-nu...!

　The dwarf master, Griff, increases the output of the steel axe issue. The infinite orbit roars up the icy slope, but it is barely catching the snowball.
　Just then, another snowball rolls down the slope and crashes into the snowball supported by the Steel Axe.

'Nuh-kyu⁉︎'

　Once the infinite trajectory spun out of control once, the steel axe ran backwards down the slope with a snowball, and then it couldn't seem to hold on any longer.

"Thwart..........................

　It dropped to the bottom in a flash, and then it was pushed backwards by the snowballs as it was pushed by the snowballs, and coasted out of the bend.

'Oops!　The Steel Axe, which had been running at the top of the leaderboard, went all the way to the bottom and was out of the track.　I hit a snow wall and crashed!　Overturned meow!　The driver, Griff, was sent to his own garage by emergency transfer, meow!

　Wow. I'm sure the driver is safe, but will the magic car 《ether vehicle》 be okay? Well, even if the driver came back from here, it would be almost impossible to clear it within the stipulated time, right?　The Steel Axe would be practically retired.



　Look out!　I avoided a snowball that was looming in front of me before I knew it. Another snowball that had tumbled down the hill was coming our way. This is not the time to worry about people.
　Seeing the devastation we had just witnessed, everyone cautiously started up the slope.
　With the steel axe ship falling, it seemed that Lapis-san's Swan, which was the top of the list, was the first to cross the slope. The Triharan and the Strain followed suit.
　While checking to see where the snowball landed at the top of the slope, I quickly swerve up the slope. d*mn, I'm really nervous. If I hit a snowball, it would send me right back down to the bottom of the hill.
　After I finished going up the hill, it was time to go downhill. It's not that steep, so we slide down the hill while applying the brakes (which hardly ever work).
　We returned to the normal course at the end of the ride. However, the road surface was still frozen.

The first swan is going through a hairpin curve in the ice.　After that, the most difficult part of the course, the ice and snow maze, awaits.

　I thought it was stupid when I saw it on the map, but they really built this thing.
　The goal of the ice and snow course is at the end of the maze made of snow blocks. If you can get through this, you can say goodbye to this slippery hell.

I hit a dead end as soon as I entered the maze at the top.　Turn around and go back the way you came!　This is not cool!　Sober Harassment Meow!

　But it's surprisingly reasonable. If you spend your time here, you won't be able to make it in time and you'll have to retire.
　The trick to get through the maze is to put one hand on the wall and follow it, but that takes time. Now, what to do?
　I jumped into the maze of snow walls, chasing after the Felsen in front of me.
　As soon as I got there, I ran into a junction that split off to the left and right. As the Felsen turned right, I went the other way and turned left.
　I turned left at a crossroads, which I also turned left. The road was surrounded by white snow walls, and it was a dead end. d*mn.
　The road was wide enough to make a U-turn, so we turned back the way we came. We came back to the fork in the road, but, well, where did we come from?
　I thought I could see the tire tracks, but other cars may have also passed through, and the ruts were all over the place.

The Red Neko has also entered the maze, so all the cars running are now in the maze.　Let's see who's going to be the first to get out of this labyrinth.

　When I looked up in the sky above, the Valkyrie I summoned, who was probably relaying us, was flying with a mass-produced smartphone at the ready. If I synchronize my vision with that girl's, I can easily see the entire maze from the sky, but as expected, that's a cheat.
　I can't even use magic, and Paula's course map doesn't even contain an accurate map of the maze.... Hmm?
　I locked eyes with Paula in the passenger seat. I suddenly turned my gaze to the sky.
　Paula. A plush toy. Light. Up in the air.
　...Is it going to work?
　I guessed what I was going to do and grabbed Paula when she tried to run away.

"It's okay, it's okay. It's okay, it's just a little bit. I'm not going to drop you.

　Paula shakes her head, buzzing and shaking her head. 'No!' He threw Paula, who was jittering and struggling, upward with momentum.

'Go take a good look!

　Far beyond the height of the snow wall, Paula seemed to stop in mid-air for a moment, then naturally fell down.
　He caught it firmly without missing it.

'How's that?　Do you see it?

　Paula raised her arms in an angry gesture with Punska, but eventually she sat down somewhere in the passenger seat and pointed to the front of the crossroads.
　Okay, navigator, let's go. Let's go.
　I drove the Brunhild and activated Paula's navigator every time we came to a fork in the road. Well, I just threw it up into the sky.
　After all this time, this guy has a good memory. It's because he can spot a dead end road in that one moment in the sky above.
　Come to think of it, I heard from Lean, but lately it seems that it's even started to make movements that I don't remember making it [programmed].
　I don't think it's possible, but since Lean has become my family member, is there some kind of change happening to Paula, who is even more like that family member?
　The family of a god's family member, is it a spirit class?　No way. I'm not a god race myself yet to begin with.
　At the Paula launch for the umpteenth time, I look at my partner, who has gone limp, and still turn the wheel in the direction I pointed.
　Just as I was thinking that we won't make it to the finish line, my vision suddenly cleared up.
　Oh, we're through!

"Meow!　The first to leave the ice and snow maze was the Brunhild!　I'm going to head straight for the clear gate of the ice and snow course.

　After an unexpected turn of events, I take the lead and press down on the gas pedal of the Brunhild, aiming for the finish line on the ice and snow course.
　It's strange. I wasn't going to care about the position, but now that I'm at the top, I'm tempted to keep it.

"Brunhild takes the lead on the ice and snow course and finally enters the obstacle course in the final area.

　Oh. It's quite nice to be the first one through the gate.
　As I proceeded to the next course, the ice on the road surface disappeared and we returned to the normal course. Alright, now that we're at the top, let's speed up. Now, let's increase the gap to the second place while we can.
　The course was billed as an obstacle course, but there was no obstacle in sight. I'm sure you've got some kind of Makishishi or something like that scattered about...?
　As soon as I rounded the bend I saw it. What.........a painting on the road surface. White on black........that's a skull symbol.......!
　It was too late. The front wheels of the Brunhild were already stepping on that skull-marked panel when I noticed it, and I heard a definite "click".
　The next thing I felt was a jolt and a sense of floating. Then a loud explosion.
　Before I knew it, Paula and I had been transported to our garage and fell head first onto the mattress.

"Nya-nya-nya-⁉︎ The Brunhild has exploded⁉︎ The driver is safe....　It's transmitting properly.　What a horrible course.
It's a bit much!

　I yell on the mattress. Are mines or ants?⁉︎ Are they ants⁉︎? No matter how much they say they're testing the durability of the machine, they're not building an armored car!
　The Brunhild, projected from the small imaging panel (monitor) in the garage, was a sight to behold.
　There's nothing we can't fix, but not during this race. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do but retire. Crap.
　I'll call race HQ to tell them to retire.

"Oh, Brunhild, we're out of here.　I'm sorry!

　d*mn. I didn't think I'd be the first one to be eliminated. The Steel Axe is probably retired as well, so it's a race with six cars left.
　I asked the mini-robots to collect the Brunhild, and then transitioned with Paula to the spectator's seat with a large screen (monitor) at [Gate].

"Oh, Fuyao-dono. That's a pity.
"d*mn, I was betting on Fuyu-dono to win!

　Emperor Regulus and the Beast King Mismid, who were both sitting at the same table, looked at me and said, "I'll bet on it. I mean, were they betting on it?

"You have no idea what you're talking about.

　I look up at the large video board (monitor) while answering with a wry smile. The other cars still seem to be struggling with the maze.
　Looking at the maze again from above, it is quite intricate. It's going to take some time.
　The regulation time is shown in the upper right corner of the monitor, but will it be OK? If you can pass this point, though, you'll soon reach the goal of the ice and snow course.

"Fuyao-san, are you alright?

　I turned around and saw Yumina and her friends sitting at the table. Paula ran over to Leanne, who was sitting in her chair. I sat down in an empty seat.

Even though I knew it would be okay, I had a cold heart when it exploded, that I did.
You scared me.

　Yae and Sakura would say that, but even I was surprised. I was so careless. I didn't think there was a trap like that when we entered the obstacle course.

You should be more careful when running. It's so easy to fall into such an obvious trap.
No, I was going pretty fast at the time. It was hard to see the road before the curve, so...

　Hmmm...what an excuse to say. I'm sure I was getting on top of it a bit and getting on top of it.

'Well, it's been set up in anticipation of that sort of thing. I was hoping that the first one or so would be caught, but I didn't expect Fuyoru-kun to be caught.''
Yeah.
There you are, the source of all evil.

　Before I knew it, I turned my zit eyes to the little girl in a white coat and the woman with bottle-bottom glasses who was standing behind me.

''Oikora, isn't that too much to ask for a mine?''
Maybe it's a bit much, but that's how you guaranteed the safety of the escape route.

　You admit you've gone too far. God d*mn it. It's true that since I left the course to Dr. Babylon and Engineer Elka, I expected this to happen.

'I mean, what were you going to do in case the escape system didn't work?
No problem. It's not a problem, because it was designed to be double and triple safe. I was more concerned about what to do if no one stepped on it.
"When it exploded, I was like, 'Yes! I thought to myself, "What?

　What a bunch of idiots. Totally. There's something wrong with mages, big or small.

Meow!　The Silver Star was the second one to make it through the maze!　The Felsen escapes right after that.

　I look at the monitor as Nyantalo relays the news. Have Rosetta and the others and King Felsen slipped out?
　Continuing on, Prince Ruffeus's Triharan, Lapis's Swan, Berrietta's Strain, and finally Nia's Red Cat escaped from the maze.
　Nia, the last one, cleared the course just within the stipulated time.

'Oops, time's over here, Nia!　So the Steel Axe is retired.

　The Steel Axe was blown up and overturned in the slope snowball zone, and then the driver, Griff, who had come back, got in and started driving down the track, but he still didn't make it in the prescribed time.
　I would have given up immediately, but the dwarf seems to have a spirit of not giving up until the end.
　The remaining six cars started out on the obstacle course. Knowing my huge explosion, everyone was somewhat cautious as they ran through the ice and snow course.
　As they avoided the occasional skull marks, they arrived at the pit point of the obstacle course without any change in their ranking.
　The obstacle course was not introduced at all, so it would be difficult to know what adjustments to make. In the end, I guess we'll just have to drive in bland, basic conditions.
　The Silver Star, Swan, Felsen, Felsen, Triharan, Strain, and Red Cat all jumped out of the garage one by one in the order they finished changing the tires.
　The road surface was dotted with skull marks in many places, so it was probably because of this that none of them were able to drive fast. In such a situation, the two cars that passed us were Lapidus's Swan, which dodged the dangers with its sharp technique, and Prince Rufus's Triharan, which slipped by at the last moment with its fine movements.
　In the blink of an eye, the two cars passed the car in front of them, with the Swan taking the lead and the Triharan in third place.

'Now, the straight and narrow strait course beyond the mine source area.　What a cliff to the right and left, and if you fall, of course you'll be retired!

　A course that looks like a single bridge is projected on the monitor. Although the sea is below, it would be impossible to pull up the magic vehicle 《ether vehicle》 if it fell from there first. The driver has no choice but to escape and transfer and retire even if he or she is safe.
　There are no guardrails on the course, and there's no guarantee that you won't fall off with the slightest mistake in steering.

I'm sure they're planning something. I'm sure you've got something up your sleeve.
Well, what do you think?
I don't know.

　He glanced sideways at the two men grinning up at the monitor. At his feet, the wolf-type golem, Fenrir, the Elka engineer's guard, was sighing. Golems sigh.........

''Meow!　As we entered the strait course, the Strain was able to catch up to the back of the pack.　Fast, fast!　We passed the Felsen in one fell swoop.

　Oh. That's pretty fast. If they're equipped with a magician's motive for speed, they certainly can't miss this opportunity.

"In the blink of an eye, the Strain has overtaken the Triharan!　I'll take the Silver Star as well... What?

　A black liquid slowly gushes out of the road ahead of the Strain and spreads out like a puddle.

'Heeeeeee!

　The strainer plunges into a black puddle, slides off its front wheels and spins. Ah!　Oil....
　Princess Berrietta manages to steer the car back on track, but the spinning car doesn't stop, it goes into the precipice. The car was going to go off course and dive off the cliff into the sea.
　But just before the ship went off the course, the Triharan rammed into it from behind and sent it flying into the center of the course.
　The strainer's front wheel came off and the ship rolled down the cliff.
　The Triharan, which had hit him, also spun to a stop, but smoke was rising from the hood.

'Meow meow!　Strain and Triharan, they're both crashing.　Well, it looks like both of our drivers have escaped and are safe.　Good for you.
I'll be back in a minute.

　While listening to Nyantaro's voice, I opened the [Gate] again to the garage where the two of them would have transitioned.