We were chasing after Black Muscat, who was flying in front of us, followed a little later by Scarlet Blue and the others whose posture was slightly broken due to the wind.
Black Muscat team is, how should I say this…… They weren’t flashy, but they’re pretty solid. They don’t make flashy moves like Scarlet Blue, but they’re very good at maneuvering through the course and with us flying behind them like this, we couldn’t find the timing to overtake.
Of course, there was no intention to overtake them at this point, but even so, they were controlling well a Flying Board, which was difficult to control, and they were using it to block our path.
In the meantime, we arrived at the next area, the forest area. However, the checkpoint in this place isn’t as low as in the rocky mountainous area, so there’s no need to plunge into the forest.
However……[……Eh? I can’t see the checkpoint? Aoi-chan, Hina-chan, can you see it?]
[N- No, I wonder where it is? The course chat says it should be just up ahead……]
When I asked them, confused, Aoi-chan also seemed bewildered as she replied. Hina-chan is also looking around restlessly, and likewise, she has not found a checkpoint.
It’s a bit late, but the color of the magic crystals at the checkpoints so far was green. In other words, it’s hidden by the color of the forest and is quite difficult to see.
Of course, the magic crystals have their flickering characteristic, but the checkpoints ended up being smaller and more difficult to see than I had imagined.
Now then, I wonder if the Black Muscat can see it…… If they can see the checkpoint, we can just continue following behind them. However, if they’re having difficulty finding the checkpoint just like we did, I suppose this could be an opportunity to overtake them if we find the checkpoint first?
No, in the first place, if we can’t find the checkpoint, it would be a large time loss for us…… worst-case scenario, we won’t even be able to find and pass through the checkpoint.With this in mind, I moved my gaze around. Where is it? Where could it……
[Ahh, I see it! Aoi-chan, Hina-chan, I think it’s probably over there…… What do you think?]
[……I saw it too! It’s definitely flickering.]
[If it’s at that height, we should raise our altitude a bit first. Hina-chan, please.]
[Roger that.]
Thanks to the fact that we managed to find the checkpoint early, we could adjust our trajectory well. The Black Muscat found it a little later than us, so they gained a bit of time loss and we were able to close the distance with them.
Scarlet Blue, behind us, had noticed that we had found the checkpoint and taken the same route as us, so there was no time loss for them. As a result, we passed the checkpoint in the forest area with the same position but with much more distance between us.
A glimpse behind us showed that we had gained a lot of distance from the others. This means that the race for the championship is almost down to three teams: Black Muscat, Scarlet Blue and us.
[……All that’s left would be the last checkpoint over the town, right?]
[Yes. The checkpoint was over the clocktower in the town, so we would circle around it and head for the lake.]
[Thinking about the course, if we want to win, we would have to pass through the town while turning, wouldn’t we? It looks quite difficult. This would be up to Kaito-senpai’s control then.]
Just as Hina-chan said, what’s difficult about the next checkpoint is that if we want to aim for the shortest time, we would have to pass the checkpoint while making a big right turn. Otherwise, after passing the checkpoint, we will not be able to head in the direction of the lake where the goal is located in the shortest possible time.
We’re in a pretty good position at the moment, and if possible, I’d like to keep things going for the win.
[……Where do you both think we should contend against the others?]
That’s why, I consulted them about where we should make our spurt now. Up to this point, except for the rocky mountainous area, we were able to proceed with our planned magic consumption, so we have plenty of magic power reserves remaining.
The question was where to go to overtake Black Muscat who was ahead of us. Black Muscat seems to be a strong team, and if we try to overtake them, they will definitely respond.
[……If you normally think about it, the straight line toward the goal after the checkpoint would be the critical turning point…… but Black Muscat would naturally also see it that way.]
[Then, you’re saying we should overtake them before that?]
[I have a suggestion for that…… How about trying to slip through them while passing the checkpoint?]
The strategy I proposed to the two of them is a high-risk measure in its own right. On top of that, the key is going to be my operation.
[……Do you mean speeding up to near maximum while making a big right curve?]
[Kaito-senpai, quite the challenger, aren’t we?]
[It’s certainly risky, but with that timing, I think Black Muscat will have trouble reacting. However, if I make a mistake or if the Flying Board suddenly changes its motion, we’d definitely fall off course and out of contention for the top spot…… What do you think?]
Acceleration in a curve, which will lead us to deviate from the course if we make a slight mistake…… The risk is high, but if we intend to accelerate on the curve right from the start, Black Muscat, who entered the curve normally, wouldn’t be able to move and block the path in front of us. If we can successfully pull this off, it will Black Muscat that will be off the track.
[Let’s do it! They have more experience and skill than us, so at some point, we will need to take the risk.]
[Right. I believe in Kaito-senpai!]
[Alright then, we’re making our play during the curve passing the final checkpoint…… Let’s go!]
[ [ Yes! ] ]
Now then, the responsibility I hold for this maneuver is a big one, but in order to show my kouhais my good point, let’s make sure to focus well here and show them that we’ll break it through here.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [I really like the recent developments. Taking risks and setting up a game-changing play in a dangerous spot certainly is the royal road for the underdogs to defeat the veterans!]
? ? ? : [I mean, I just thought about this myself, but it really has been a relatively serious development lately huh?]
Serious-senpai : [Unnn? That’s right, didn’t you even notice how excited I had been for the recent chapters?]
? ? ? : [……Even though there’s serious development, Senpai is still here? Then, that means Serious-senpai’s presence has nothing to do with whether or not serious developments would occur……]
Serious-senpai : [………………Eh?]
