The Horseless Carriage receives additional investment for the chariot race. That rumor spread like wildfire, centering around the merchant guilds.
"Did you hear the news?"
"The Horseless Carriage? Even if they succeed in winning for the second year in a row, the returns will be half of what they could be..."
"I know. Why would they?"
There was a limit to the fame one could gain from winning the competition. Winning twice didn't mean your fame would instantly double. Thus, the news of the Horseless Carriage's massive fundraising efforts raised questions among the merchant folk.
A workshop of that size wouldn't make such an irrational decision.
"Could it be... that they have something up their sleeve?"
"Something? Like what?"
"Like they're hiding some incredible new technology."
"Hmm... if that's the case, we should keep a close eye on them."
In this way, the Horseless Carriage's call for investment began to draw the attention of merchant guilds and nobles alike. Of course, not everyone's interest was so benign.
"Damn it! Why are they suddenly pouring in more money?!"
"If this continues, we'll be pushed out of the running..."
For the chariot workshops that had scraped together every last coin to participate, this was an emergency. They had planned their strategy thinking this year's competition was an 'empty house', but now their plans were ruined. But they couldn't just give up and say they'd try harder next year.
Doing so would mean losing the trust of their already scarce investors.
"Damn it. Now that it's come to this, we have to do something."
"Work the men harder! It's overtime!"
And so, this year's Harvest Festival Chariot Race was shaping up to be the most packed event in its history. Even the capital's nobles began to show interest in this unprecedented betting war. However, Garik, the master of the Horseless Carriage workshop at the center of all this excitement, was losing sleep to a headache.
On the day he had been insulted by the mage, he had considered a direct confrontation. But now that his anger had subsided a little, his thoughts had changed.
"There's no need for a head-on clash."
Garik sought out one of the drivers who had agreed to participate in this race. Garik spoke to the driver.
"The first corner. Do you understand?"
Garik lowered his voice.
"If you ram him right at the start, it'll be too obvious. At the first corner, pretend to cut to the inside, then ram the Tobin Workshop's chariot and get eliminated together. Make it look like an accident."
"... Understood."
For abandoning his professional ethics, the driver received a heavy purse of gold in his hand.
The day of the decisive battle. On the hill overlooking the racetrack, the viewing stands for nobles and merchants were packed. I had taken some time off for once and found a seat with Anna.
Seeing such a large-scale event in person would be a good experience for her.
"Wow... there are so many people."
Just as Anna said, there wasn't an inch of room to stand in the viewing area. Was it always this big of an event? It was a little bewildering.
Sure enough, the nobles who recognized my face swarmed me like bees.
"Oho, Sir Upperhills! I thought you had left with Her Highness the Princess, but you remained in the capital."
"Hahaha..."
"We saw 'Upperhills Workshop' on the list of participants and thought, 'it couldn't be.' Hahaha."
"Ahaha…"
Come to think of it, I had registered for the competition under my name. It was because Tobin had been so insistent. A few days ago, holding the completed suspension, he had said. - 'I didn't make this alone.
So let's change the workshop name.' - 'What? To what?' - 'Upperhills Workshop.' I told him there was no need for that, but Tobin's mind was set. - 'My own disciple's last name is Upperhills anyway, and you won't allow this?
Are you looking down on my disciple?!' ... If I refused any further, I'd be the bad guy, so I ended up agreeing. When I gave my permission, Tobin did flash a sly smile.
Should I not have agreed? Anyway, I was sweating under the nobles' relentless assault when it happened.
"Waaah. Big brother, my head hurts. I wanna go home!"
Anna suddenly started whining and tugging at my clothes. What was this?
Altitude sickness?
In a place less than a thousand meters above sea level? At the sound of Anna's cries, the nobles dispersed with awkward expressions. They couldn't just stand there laughing and chatting while holding onto the guardian of a crying child.
I asked Anna.
"Are you okay? Do you have a headache, nausea, or dizziness?"
"Huh? All of a sudden?"
"... What. You weren't sick?"
Anna's condition returned to normal in an instant. As if it had all been an act...
"Oh, that...?"
Anna wiped away her tears as if she'd never cried and smiled.
"You looked annoyed. By the nobles."
"Wow."
I was impressed.
"Anna, you... you would have been a great success if you'd joined a theater troupe."
"Thank you for the compliment."
As the commotion died down, we sat down and looked down at the racetrack. At the starting line, technicians and drivers were busy with their final chariot inspections. Among them was our team's driver, Duncan.
The same driver who didn't even flinch in front of an orc on our way to the capital. Indeed, connections are something to be built and kept. Of course, I had also prepared the fastest horses.
If you're not going to spend money at a time like this, when would you? If we lost the race because of the horses, I wouldn't be able to face the technicians who had successfully completed my request. ...
Ah.
Is this what a professor feels like after winning a project? Not that I miss those days at all. Anna pointed a finger at our chariot.
"Big brother, our chariot looks really different from the others."
It was only natural. We had widened the distance between the wheels to ensure stability and removed all decorations except for what was required by the regulations, leaving only the frame. It ended up looking similar to a racing cart from Earth...
I felt a bit wronged that the result of all our hard work, including wind tunnel tests, was the same as on Earth. It felt like I had needlessly replicated another lab's experiment. Anna asked me.
"Why did you make it like that?"
"You've learned about the law of inertia in natural studies, right? Try applying that."
"Ah. I get it. Whether it's static inertia or kinetic inertia, it'll be much less like that."
Strangely, Anna understood my words quite well. There were times I felt inexplicably grateful for that fact. Anna asked again.
"But if it's that light, won't it take a lot of damage when it collides with other chariots?"
"You don't have to worry about that."
"...?"
Anna tilted her head. Let's leave this part as a little fun for the race. -"All participants, please line up at the starting line!" The start of the race was imminent.
I looked around and spotted the mustached man in the distance. He was completely frozen, his face pale. Why was the man who said he'd prove himself with skill acting like that?
'He must be really nervous.' I smiled brightly at him and waved. 'Let's have a clean race.'
Garik was half dazed.
No way.
To think that young mage was the Hero of the Capital, Isaac Upperhills. He was dumbfounded. What should he do now?
If it became known that he, a commoner, had laid a hand on one of the princess's people... The minimum sentence would be imprisonment. But he had already crossed a river of no return.
He had even bribed someone and instructed them to destroy his chariot. 'I have to cancel the plan right away...' But it was already too late.
There was no way to contact the driver standing at the starting line far away. Just then, Isaac Upperhills looked at him and waved brightly.
Fear.
Did it mean, 'I know everything you've planned'? Garik's legs gave out and he collapsed on the spot.
"Master! What's wrong!"
His subordinates rushed over to support him, but Garik couldn't hear a thing.
"It's over. It's all over now..."
"How can you collapse now, master! You have to see the chariot run!"
"That's right. I don't know what's wrong, but you have to see us take first place..."
Garik knew it too. Their chariot was perfect. It would probably come in first.
But what good would winning first place do? He would be able to pay back the investment. But the crime of harming one of the princess's people was not something that could be paid off with money.
It would be better for him if 'Upperhills Workshop' took first place. Of course, he wouldn't be able to pay back the investment and would be out on the street, but in that case, he could at least save his own life.
'Please...
O heavens... spare my life...!' Garik sincerely prayed for his own defeat. 'I will live a good life from now on.
Please...'
-"All participants, please line up at the starting line!" Following the announcer's instructions, Duncan climbed into the strangely shaped chariot. He had lived his whole life as a driver, but he had never seen anything like it.
Of course, he had confirmed that it ran properly. He even knew this thing's performance was monstrous. The Hero himself had made it, what more was there to say?
Heh heh.
A dry laugh escaped Duncan's lips. Just a few days ago, he couldn't have imagined such a situation.
"To think I'd become the driver of the Hero's chariot."
That moment, Duncan's life's greatest achievement had changed. For reference, before 'Driver of the Hero's Chariot', it was 'Splitting Jewels with the Hero'. Just before the start, a strange driver approached Duncan and spoke to him.
"Hey, you. You're the driver for Upperhills Workshop, right?"
"Yes?"
"You'd better be careful."
"Hm?"
"... Someone's planning to ram you. If you don't want to die, slow down at the first corner."
Duncan stared at him intently and asked.
"Are you my employer?"
"No, that's not it..."
"Then why should I listen to you?"
"..."
The only order Duncan had received from Isaac was one thing. 'When the starting signal sounds, race at full speed without looking back.'
Of course.
Duncan knew that the chariot could flip over due to the condition of the road surface. He'd lived his whole life as a driver, how could he not know that? But having experienced Isaac's magic firsthand, he knew that he would absolutely not die.
'Mage sir will take care of it.' Duncan gripped the reins tightly. If he couldn't accomplish a single order after taking the money, he wouldn't be a driver.
Duncan's eyes were fixed only on the road ahead. -"Start!" The starting flag fell, and dozens of chariots kicked up dust as they burst forward in unison. -Waaaaaaaaah! Over the cheers, he heard that driver's voice again.
"Slow down at the first corner!"
Duncan ignored his words. 'If you want to give advice, you should pay for it.' He only followed Isaac's command.
Hee-hing!
As he flicked the reins forward, the racehorses began to gallop like mad.
The chariot sped off. The cheers erupting from the stands were deafening. Right from the start, one chariot in particular shot out, overwhelming the others.
"What? He's going that fast already?"
"Crazy... does that driver have a death wish?"
As if in response to the nobles' words, the commentator in charge of the broadcast shouted in an excited voice. -'It's Upperhills Workshop! The chariot bearing the name of the hero, Isaac Upperhills, takes the lead with overwhelming speed!'
"That's madness! If he drives that fast, the chariot will disintegrate on the unpaved road!"
At the concerned voice of the merchant in the next seat, Anna, while pretending not to be, clutched my sleeve tightly in nervousness. Anna asked in a small voice.
"Are we... going to lose?"
We?
It seemed the name 'Upperhills Workshop' helped with the immersion. I smiled and shook my head. A dirt road of that level had already been tested.
The 'Upperhills' would endure.
"No. We'll win."
Just as I declared, the 'Upperhills' raced recklessly on, ignoring the bumpy road surface. A stir went through the crowd.
"Is that even possible?"
"What... the wheels aren't even leaving the ground?"
"No. Even if they lift, they settle right back down."
"There's no trace of magic..."
Soon, the first sharp curve appeared. Someone shouted urgently.
"Dangerous! If he enters the curve at that speed, he'll definitely flip! Hey! Announcer! Stop him!"
But Duncan did not slow down. He pulled the reins of the inner horse and let the outer horse continue to run as it was.
Screeeech~!
With a screech of friction, the chariot slid sideways. In a normal situation, one would have to abandon the chariot and escape. But instead of escaping, Duncan held on, shifting his body's center of gravity deep into the inside of the curve.
Like that, with almost no loss of speed, the chariot exited the curve as if drifting. It was a good thing I had lowered the body and designed the wheels with a negative camber. -"Aaaah! He keeps going!
Upperhills Workshop breaks through the corner at an unbelievable speed!" Even the announcer's excited shouts were slower than our chariot.
Waaaaaaaaaaah~!
The cheers pierced my ears. When the dust settled, only the deep wheel tracks left by the 'Upperhills' remained on the corner. It was several seconds before the other chariots drove over them.
Since this was an outdoor race and not a closed track, there was no need to even worry about the other participants from now on. Victory was assured. Anna sat in her chair, kicking her feet excitedly.
She seemed to be having fun. I was glad I brought her. 'But if this is the case, what about that mustache guy...'
I wonder if he's crying? I looked over in the mustached man's direction. Strangely, he had his hands clasped and was rejoicing as if in prayer.
'Why is he so happy?' Was winning not his goal? 'Well... everyone has different goals.'
Not everyone needs to aim for first place. Second place is still a good result.