When Jin arrived at the plaza, a lot of people had already gathered in the arena even though it was only 8 o’clock.

  The word about the Gonkurrenz had already spread like wildfire.

  “Hmm, so you decided to not run away.”


  Jin, as well as Viscount Georg Randol had already arrived.

  “Since this is the long-awaited Gonkurrenz, it seemed that a few more people are interested in participating. You don’t mind, do you?”


  “No, I don’t mind.”


  “Hmm, you’ve got courage, I give you that.”


  Jin asked Georg, who was about to turn around and leave.

  “How is Elsa doing?”


  “Hmm? Are you curious? She’s fine, … see.”


  Georg jerked his chin and pointed away. Jin looked in the direction he pointed. There were the Viscount’s soldiers … no, Elsa was sitting in between two Automatas at the front row of the arena.

  “I happen to be the military adviser to the Imperial Army, which means I have my hands on the latest Automatas and golems. If you want to forfeit, this is the time.”


  However, Jin only slightly frowned without saying a word. Instead, Reinhardt that was by Jin’s side retorted.

  “Uncle, you’re going to be humiliated in public. All the Automatas in our kingdom don’t stand a chance against Jin’s, even if we bundled all of them together.”


  However, Georg turned a deaf ear to Reinhardt’s admonition. He walked away without looking over his shoulder.

  “Jin, I heard!”


  When Jin went to the seat designated for participants, her Majesty the Empress approached.

  “It appears some indiscretions had occurred.”


  Jin turned toward the Empress with a bitter expression.

  “Yes, that’s right. My schedule went crazy.”


  “I apologize for the Viscount’s attitude.”


  Jin panicked when her Majesty the Empress bowed to apologize.

  “Oh, no, please raise your head. I’m not too concerned … with that, but anyway, it’s not your Majesty’s fault. It was my blunder for not being able to clearly explain it to the Viscount.”


  “I’m quite relieved to hear that. Please don’t hate our kingdom. I intend to take appropriate measures against the Viscount in accordance with the law.”


  Jin did not request the Empress to show mercy for the Viscount.

  “Insulting the kingdom’s guest of honor is a serious crime punishable by law. However, I did not receive any reports regarding the incident on the day it happened …”


  Jin did not have any intension for the Viscount to be punished, so he did not report it. It was similar to the incident where Marcus ridiculed Prince Ernest.

  “Honestly, I embrace the idea of having Gonkurrenz. This way, your true ability will be widely known.”


  “Even if it results in the defeat of golems and Automatas of this country?”


  The Empress kept smiling gently.

  “Defeat is completely acceptable. It only proves that there is still room for growth, which dictates us to aim higher next time.”


  “Oh, you’re so positive.”


  The Empress’ gentle smile rubbed off on Jin, turning his frown into a smile.

  “He-he, that’s right. The women of Shouro Empire are positive.”


  Hearing her remark, Jin suddenly remembered Elsa’s positive attitude, too.

  “Then, do your best. I’m concerned about Elsa as well.”


  Having said that, Empress Gelhart Hilde Von Rubies Shouro left.

  Finally, it was time for Gonkurrenz to start.

  * * *

  “Good morning, everyone! On this 3rd day of Technology Expo, as a special event, we formally present the Gonkurrenz!”


  The moderator’s voice echoed throughout the arena.

  “The promoter is Viscount Georg Randol. The challenger is Jin Nidou!”


  The cheers of the audience roared in the arena.

  “Furthermore, three people, namely Engar Gerdus, Theolord Governors, and Kelly Galvani, will participate in the competition as last-minute entrants! All three are up-and-coming Magi Engineers!”


  The audience applauded to the announcement.

  “As everyone is familiar with, this competition will consist of 5 types of events: footrace, heavy throw, long-distance swimming, exploration diving, and simulated combat. We have also devised a special simulated battle with the giant golem, Goliath!”


  Marcus’ golem, Goliath, entered the competition as a participant as well. He must have been quite confident to suggest such an event.

  “Without further ado, participating Automatas and golems, please step forward!”


  The referee Christoph Valde Von Tarnat, Under Secretary of the Ministry of Magical Technology, called upon all participants to come forward. The Automatas and golems stepped forward one after another, leaving their creators in their respective seats.

  There were a total of six golems, two from each participant: Engar Gerdus, Theolord Governors, and Kelly Galvani. They seemed to have arranged the pair for land and underwater competitions.

  Viscount Georg Randol, or rather Marcus, had prepared two Automatas and two golems to participate. It was apparent from first glance that they were each prepared for land, underwater, and combat competition.

  One Automata had a light and slim build for land competition, while another had fins on the limbs with a perfectly fitting swimsuit for underwater competition. There were two golems for the combat event. One of them was wearing an armor, while the other looked burly but without an armor.

  “Hmm, victory is on Marcus’ side, after all.”


  With a smug expression, Viscount Georg Randol marveled at Marcus’ arsenal, while making light of the last-minute participants. He deemed them no match for Marcus’ opponents.

  Suddenly, the audience cheered hysterically.

  “What?”


  They were reacting to the Automata that came forward from Jin’s team.

  A girl-type Automata wearing a one-piece black dress with a white apron that looked absolutely out of place. Needless to say, it was Reiko.

  Jin only registered her as the sole participant from his team.

  Astnohisment, admiration, bafflement, anticipation … were the cocktail of emotions that intermingled in complete harmony to create the audience’s thundering applause.

  “Hmph, are you underestimating the other participants with that style, or are you way too confident? We shall see which it is, sooner than later.”


  Contrary to the Viscount’s reaction, Elsa was watching with a pair of pale blue and misty eyes from the front row seat of the arena.

  “Brother Jin …”


  Jin, who disliked being the center of attention, had let Reiko participate in the competition. In other words, he was resolute in obtaining a certain victory. At the same time, it was easy to imagine that Jin would receive more attention than ever before after this competition.

  Recognizing that everything he did was for her sake, Elsa felt something warm flowing in her heart.

  “Well then, the first event is 500 meters run!”


  White lines were drawn on the plaza. On the first track was Reiko. Marcus’ Automata was positioned on the second track. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th tracks were the golems from the last-minute participants.

  “Ready your positions! 3, 2, 1, start!”


  A cloud of dust was kicked into the air. A loud bang was reverberating throughout the arena. The audience covered their ears. And at the next instant, Reiko’s figure appeared to be standing at the 500-meter finish line ahead of everyone else.

  “W-what?”


  Who could have said that?

  Reiko had displaced her position 500 meters in less than two seconds. Ten seconds later, Marcus’ Automata reached the finish line. Ten seconds after that, the three golems ran one after another, and finally reached the finish line.

  Marcus’ Automata was certainly fast.

  However, it could not match Reiko’s speed, which exceeded the speed of sound. A considerable chunk of dirt was gouged out of the ground, where Reiko was originally standing, proving how much torque her foot generated in taking that first leap.

  “Unbelievable …”


  As if his eyes were playing tricks on him, Viscount Georg Randol rubbed his eyes many times.

  The applause of the whole audience materialized more than ten seconds later. Everyone forgot to react seeing how absurdly fast Reiko was.

  “… Reiko is amazing after all!”


  Prince Ernest expressed his awe from the VIP seat. The prince, who was directly watching Reiko’s great performance, acknowledged the result was justifiable.

  “W-winner, Jin Nidou! Second place, Marcus Grinwald …!”


  The creators’ names were being called out instead of the Automatas’


  A mortifying expression was visible on Marcus’ face.

  “The second event is Heavy Throw! This time we will use three types of weights! Throw these and compete for the distance the weights travel. The results will be derived from multiplying the weight used by the distance thrown. To score first place, the participant must accumulate the highest points.”


  The moderator explained.

  “Then, going in order, please start from the participant in the 5th position. Throw it in the direction of Lake Tosmo.”


  Underwater golems were floating on the lake standing by to measure the distance.

  The first participant picked up the three weights, compared them, but chose the lightest 10-kg ball. The diameter was about 10 cm. It was most likely made from a metal with a specific gravity comparable to that of adamantite. It was painted yellow to make it clearly visible when thrown.

  The result was about 50 meters. This result was about three times the world record on Earth by mass x distance if compared to the world record of shot put.

  The 4th and 3rd golems gave similar results.

  Marcus’ turn had finally arrived. The tougher combat golem went out and chose a 20-kg ball, with a diameter of about 17 cm. This ball was painted pink.

  The golem threw it using a shot put throwing style. The record was about 75 meters. The audience cheering from the venue was audible.

  “It’s amazing! Isn’t it a new record?”


  It was indeed an amazing new record that even the Empress was impressed with.

  “Hmm, how about it, Elsa? What do you think of Marcus’ new combat golem’s power? It exceeds the previous record by 10 meters!”


  Sitting next to Elsa at the front row seat of the arena, Georg bragged about Marcus’ creations.

  In an extremely calm manner, Elsa answered.

  “… Reiko won’t lose. Father, just watch. You’ll be surprised.”


  “What did you say?”


  Meanwhile, Reiko had just picked up the heaviest weight, a 30-kg ball. It weighed almost as much as her. This ball was painted white.

  “Heh, can she even lift that? Well, she should, right?”


  Georg observed Reiko without batting an eye. When he witnessed her picking up the weight with ease in one hand, he did a double take.

  Reiko considered throwing it with a shot put style but changed her mind. She did an underhand throw instead, like a bowling ball.

  The ball with white paint disappeared from the audience’s field of vision in no time.

  The trajectory was close to a straight line and almost horizontal. There was no telling how far it would travel if it were thrown diagonally upward.

  “…”


  Both the moderator and the referee’s jaws dropped. Reiko had no choice but to walk up to the referee and poked his back.

  Only then, the referee, Under Secretary of the Ministry of Magical Technology, Christoph, finally snapped back into reality and hurriedly recalled the golems from Lake Tosmo to ask various questions.

  Ten minutes had passed.

  “I-I apologize, but the exact distance of the throw just now could not be measured! The distance recorded was over 100 meters! The weight thrown was 30 kg! Therefore, the score is over 3,000 points! Jin Nidou wins first place!”


  The golems taking measurements were only deployed as far as 100 meters. Reiko probably threw the ball to a distance of 500 meters, but since no one thought such flight would be feasible, the deployed golems fell short.

  Immediately after the announcement, everyone in the arena gave Jin’s team a standing ovation.

  “Incredible …”


  The crowd was applauding, except for one, no, two people: Viscount Georg Randol and Marcus Grinwald.

  Author’s note:

  Shot (7. 26 kg x 23. 12 m = 167. 8512 kg m). Throwing 10 kg to a distance of 50 m is about 3 times that.

  Reiko’s throw was over 15,000 kg m.