As if to make up for the delay, the Trilain they were riding continued to blast away.
　They passed through the Trimochi Zone in the shortest possible distance. A glimpse of King Felsen struggling on the monitor. He hadn't retired yet.
　The kitten zone wasn't any obstacle either, as the seeds had already been cracked. I continue to run through the illusion of the kitten.

''Meow meow!　Toriharan + Strain are in a tremendous chase.　But I'm having a hard time catching up to the three cars at the front!　The first three cars have entered the final area of the obstacle course.

　The last area of the obstacle course is the '?' during the course. It was a trap area with panels everywhere marked with the words "I'm not going to be able to run.
　You can run without stepping on the panels, but it's a very long way around.
　I used 【Fly】 to look at the placement of the panels from above and found them to be quite tricky traps.
　Above all, the image of that explosion that I was the first to take is seared into everyone's mind. Even if the explosion was an illusionary magic, and the body was blown up by wind magic that actually did little damage, it was still such a flashy explosion. You'll be scared if you think that might be mixed in with them.

Oh, by the way, there are some lucky panels other than traps, so it's fun to step on them too. Is that true?

　But that doesn't mean that anyone is going to step on it. It's too suspicious considering what's happened so far. Normally people wouldn't........Oh, Nia stepped on the panel.

　This seems to be a sixty-second stoppage time.
Ugh...!

　Nia scratches her head and screams. Huzzah. Rather than betting on one or the other, I guess it's more of a hassle in that guy's case.
　The one who cleverly clears the trap area is Lapis-san from the Swan. Rosetta and Monica's Silver Star followed suit, carefully avoiding the panel.
　The one who got through the trap area first was the Swan. It was the Silver Star that escaped a little later. There was little difference between them.
　The two cars passed through the gate of the obstacle course while colliding with each other.

'Come on!　All that's left is to try to finish in the south area where we started.　Last run!　Who is going to win?

　Heading towards the finish line, the two cars were in a fierce dead heat. The goal was right in front of me, within sight of the bleachers. I went down to the ground and waited for the two cars to arrive from the bleachers.
　Rounding the last corner, we could see the two magical vehicles, Aether Vehicle. They are lined up. Or maybe the "Swan" is slightly faster⁉︎.
　The two-seater handicap has made the difference here.
　Two cars are coming into the finish line!　It's a white-hot final run!　As soon as they passed through the gate, the goal was reached and the race was over.
　And now, just as the Swan and the Silver Star are about to cross the finish line, the very next moment!
　The road in front of the goal gate sank underground with a click, and the two cars disappeared under the goal as if they were entering an underground parking lot.



　The audience and I both paused and just looked at the track that sloped down to the basement.
　Huh?　What the hell was that? It disappeared underground like a magic ball on a baseball board.
　The course returned to normal as if nothing had happened, and I heard Dr. Babylon's voice behind me as he huffed and giggled.

'I guess that means you can't let your guard down until the very end. Don't let your guard down, it's called darkness a bit further on, itty bitty, Fuyao-kun, it's child abuse, and that's why you're awake, because you're awake, because you're awake to your weird s*xual habits.
Noisy,

　I blame the doctor's head with my grizzly and both fists. You set a trap like that at the last minute. I don't care if you're testing the vehicle or not, this is just a joke!

Where are Mr. Lapidus and the others?
"Go straight through the underpass and you'll reach the ground on the other side of the finish line. Ouch, ouch, let go, I'm really leaking.

　I don't know what will leak out, but I'll let the doctor go for now.
　Nantaro, who was listening to the conversation beside me, also huffed and grabbed the microphone again.

He said. And for the time being, it seems that both cars are safe. Oops!　'The Triharan + Strain was in the trap area before I knew it, Nya!

　Nantarou looking up at the monitor made me turn my gaze towards it, and sure enough, the Trilain with the two of them on board was advancing while avoiding the panel.

''Yes!　Sixty seconds!

　Nia seemed to be released from the trap penalty as well. But then he just stepped on the next panel. That guy is an idiot!

"Ohhhhhh! All the panels in the trap area are gone!
Oh. You stepped on the release panel. How'd you get it right for only one panel?

　Dr. Babylon murmurs as I rub my grizzled head. He really did include a lucky panel, didn't he? ........I thought it was definitely a lie.
　The Red Cat and the Trilain run in a straight line through the straightened trap area.
　They passed through the gate of the obstacle course, and both of them continued to run towards the goal.

"Nah! The Silver Star and the Swan appeared from underground on the other side of the goal!　The Red Cat and the Triharan + Strain have also rounded the last corner and are in line for the finish line.'

　This is...!　The Red Cat and the Triharan from that side, and the Silver Star and the Swan from this side. With the goal gate in the center, four magical vehicles, the Aether Vehicles, were approaching from both sides (the Triharan and the Strain, to be exact, five vehicles).
　The first one to pass through the goal gate would be the winner. Will that be...!



　Two cars passed each other and crossed in front of us. Engineer Elka was waving the checkered flag.

'Which one... or rather, which one was the best?'
I could almost see all four cars at once...
A decision will be...

　I could hear buzzing from the audience, but I could see who had passed in first place. Maybe Hanakoi's sister could see it too.

''I'm going to put the image on the monitor!

　With the still image projected by Engineer Elka, everyone could see the top-ranked magic vehicle, the Aether Vehicle, although it was really only by a small margin. I didn't expect this.....

"The winner is the Red Cat!　Nia Vermouth-..........
Shhhhhh...!

　Nia puts both fists up in the air while on the Red Cat. Stop driving with your hands off.
　The few Red Cat 《Akaneko》 officials in the audience were also celebrating their leader's victory with great excitement.
　There was applause from the audience, but one of them, Queen Strain, came up beside me and blurted out, ''His Majesty the King.

''Your Majesty the Duke. I know it's a bit late now, but could this 'red cat' be, um........

　Jerk.
　Sheesh. The Red Cat is a wanted man in the Strain Kingdom and the Holy Land of Arend. Should we just go ahead and take a stab at it?

...Well, come on, now, what's that all about?
''........I see. I thought you were related to the righteousness of punishing the corrupt nobles. It seems it was my imagination.

　He's smiling at me, but I'm sure he knows..... Oh, man, I'm so bad at this........ I should have made him change the name of the car.
　By the way, second and third place went to Lapis-san on the Swan and Rosetta and Monica on the Silver Star, almost the same. Fourth place went to Prince Rufus and Princess Berrietta.
　They approached the Trilain, which had stopped and called out to them as they got out of the car.

''I'm sorry to hear that,''
'No. I'm disappointed that I didn't win, but I'm happy to have finished the race. Most of all, it was fun!
Me too!

　Watching the two of them say that with a smile on their faces, I'm glad I invited them. At one point I thought I was doing something unnecessary.

"Princess Berrietta.
Yes?

　The crown prince turned his gaze to the princess standing beside him and kneeled in place.

'You are a wonderful woman. I think you are a wonderful woman and I think you will get along very well. I would like you to come to Triharan and support me. I would like you to come to Triharan and support me.
Yes.

　Princess Berrietta takes the crown prince's hand with her cheeks dyed. What's going on?

My goodness. It looks like you got it all sorted out.
I see. No, that's a great weight off my shoulders.

　Queen Strain and Emperor Triharan nodded at each other as they looked at each other. Really?
　I don't know, but I guess it's raining and the ground hardens. We seemed to like each other's first impressions of each other to begin with.
　Then the race was over, and we drifted into an outdoor party.
　There was a special venue set up on the beach, where all sorts of food was served to everyone. This had been planned from the beginning, to have court chefs from all over the world, both from the front and the back, and to eat the cuisine of each country.
　I had a vague idea that it would be interesting to see the unique characteristics of each country and an opportunity to learn more about various things, but it seems to be working surprisingly well.
　Congratulations were given to Prince Rufus and Princess Berrietta, who announced their engagement, by the representatives of each country. In a way, it was probably just as well that the other countries remembered their faces.

'I'm glad we came full circle,'
'Yeah. I have a feeling those two will get along well with each other despite their fights.

　He replied to Yumina's words while looking at the happy couple at another table. There will be times when they will bump into each other, but I'm sure those two will be fine.

''But it's not cool that the first one to retire is the organizer!
Gu...... That was unavoidable.

　As I was grumbling at Else's teasing words, my fellow retiree, King Felsen, came over from the other side.

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sorry for both of you, King Brunhild.

　The race ended with him still attached to the trimotch and he retired from the race. King Felsen is rescued and seems to have taken a hot bath in his mansion and refreshed himself. He sits down in a chair in front of me.

It was quite an interesting race. "It was quite an interesting race, and I saw many improvements. I can't wait to see what happens to the Aether Vehicle!
I'm glad you had a good time.
Yeah. And it turns out they're not so different from us on this side of the world.

　Saying that, King Felsen turns his gaze to the young couple. Well, this king is also engaged to be married, right?
　Well, ah, I see. This guy is going to be my brother-in-law in a manner of speaking.... If I marry Lou, and King Felsen marries Lou's sister, Elysia, then that's what will happen. That's what would happen. I tried not to think about it.

Anyway, I just got word from home about the Kingdom of Horn. It's about the Kingdom of Horn.
"The Horn Kingdom?

　That country that's been waiting for a civil war to start?　As I recall, there's a dispute between the royal grandson faction and the royal brother faction. Felsen is a neighboring country, so I wonder if they have said something.

''You know there are people from both camps who are trying to convince my Felsen to join their side.　So far, our country has taken a neutral stance and suggested that we should talk again without joining either side. This time, the representatives of both the royal descendants and the royal brotherhood have finally agreed to talk with each other once again in our presence. That discussion will take place in three days.

　I see. So, you want to discuss this properly, with Felsen as the mediator, the neutral. If everything goes well, we may be able to avoid civil war.

I'd like to invite King Brunhild to take part in this discussion. To be honest, I'm not too happy about it. The former King of Horne was a wise man. I don't see how he can leave anything to spark a fire in the future. I can't help but feel that there is something more to it than that.

　The deceased King Horne had told his brother that the First Prince, with whom he did not get along, was to be abolished and that he would give the throne to you, and had asked the vizier to get along with the First Prince.
　The story is strange at this stage. Either the first king was lying to either of them, or else either the king's brother or the vizier, one of them, was lying to him. Well, it's also possible that the former king was emotionally unstable and changed his opinion from one side to the other.
　Besides, the strange rumors that Tsubaki-san reported are also worrisome. The existence of Euron's secret organization, the Claw. If this is an agent of the king's brother or the prime minister, it could be troublesome.

''I understand. I will be present at that discussion. I'd like to solve the problem and have the Horned Kingdom participate in the Two World Congress as well.
Oh, yeah. Good. I'd feel a lot better if King Brunhild were here.

　With that, King Felsen left our table.
　Hmm. If you want to find out if he's lying or not, I guess you could ask His Holiness Pope Lamish for help. That man's magic eye is the 'magic eye of truth and falsehood'. He has the power to detect lies.
　It should be easy to tell who is lying, the king's brother or the prime minister. The Keeler Polygraph, the lie detector that he created, would be fine as well, but given the circumstances, we must be very careful.
　I began to look for His Holiness Pope Lamish, who was probably at another table, in order to ask for his cooperation.