Chapter 1446 Flying Board ⑩

After the qualifying races were over, we had about an hour to prepare before the final race. At that time, the finalists were given a course map for the finals, and the three of us were having a strategy meeting while looking at the course.

The course started from the same pond as the qualifying round, headed towards the mountains, through a rocky mountainous area, and back around the town in a wide circle.

There were a few checkpoints that had to be passed through though, but other than those, the course could be chosen freely. However, if we aim to win the race while passing through the checkpoints, the best way will naturally be to narrow down the course...

[At a quick glance, the rocky mountain areas look dangerous, don't they?]

[Yes, it does. The checkpoints have a specified height limit, so it's not possible to avoid those rocky mountains by going at a high altitude though.]

[Aoi-senpai, how about staying in the air until the middle of the checkpoint and then descending just before we reached the checkpoint?]

[That could be one plan that we could do, but doing that raises the worry about whether we can see the checkpoint immediately from the sky or if we can pass through it while descending.]

[...That said, if we fly at low altitudes, we run the risk of hitting a rocky mountain...]

Both have their own risks, and it's hard to decide which one it is because we don't know what the local conditions are like at this point. Also, I think that in a rocky mountainous area, the wind would likely be strong.

The wind had been blowing quite a bit today, and if a strong crosswind comes, the Flying Board, which is difficult to control even by itself, will lose balance.

[However, we also can't think too much, so couldn't we just think of a few patterns and adjust them according to the situation? After passing the rocky mountain is a forest area... Though I say that, the checkpoint is high up, so we don't really need to go into the forest, right?]

[I think the thing we should be careful about here is our sense of direction. It's a pretty big forest, and if we go in the wrong direction a little bit, we might get lost and not find the checkpoint.]

The checkpoints are four areas with magic crystals floating in the air, and if one passes through the area surrounded by the magic crystals, then it's all good. The magic crystals are said to glow faintly so that they are easy to see, but the light isn't that strong, so there's a possibility that they would be hard to find.

Aoi-chan nodded at my words, while Hina-chan muttered to herself, thinking with a serious expression on her face.

[...However, if we want to go fast, this would be the area to do it. The route to the goal is almost fixed once we cross this area, so we would want to be ahead of the others here.]

[Conversely though, it would be easy for the others to overtake us here, so I think it's highly likely that this would be the place where the others will try to beat us.]

Just as Hina-chan said, we would want to keep our speed up in this large space above the forest. However, other teams will think in the same way, and as a tactic, that would be the place where they'd slip away from the others.

In this case, I suppose we should also adjust according to the situation.

[...The most critical point would probably be here, just before the finish line.]

Aoi-chan pointed to a part of the course chart. This is the location of the last checkpoint just before the goal, and once we cross it, it's almost a straight line to the goal, and the course in this area is completely fixed.

[Due to the structure of the Flying Board, overtaking requires a fairly large space, so if we are the first to pass the checkpoint here, we are almost guaranteed to win. For someone to overtake others in this area, one would have to fly pretty recklessly...]

[I see, but since that would be at the end of the race, it would be important to be mindful of how much magic was left in the Flying Board's magic crystal huh.]

[Right. Depending on how the race unfolds, there's a possibility that you may not be able to compete with the others even if you want to. It's a very deep competition.]

Somehow, even when Hina-chan had pushed us into joining at first, we're now talking about this with great enthusiasm.

No, this competition actually is quite interesting. All teams are on equal footing to some extent, and even veterans like Yellow Pipe could lose in the qualifying rounds, so just as Alice said, there's a chance for people to win even if it's their first time participating.

That said, it doesn't mean that the race is decided only by luck, as it's also necessary to think of a proper strategy and to respond to the spur-of-the-moment situation. It's understandable why some people are addicted to this event.

[Then, as for our plan, we'll ascend at the start of the rocky mountainous area, and if we can aim for the checkpoint while descending, we'd go just as it is. If it's difficult, we'd descend and pass through the rocky mountainous area. The ascending time is allotted as necessary expenses for risk avoidance. Is it okay to keep our magic power as needed in the final spurt while speeding up if possible in the next forest area?]

[Yes.]

[Let's do this!]

Now that our general plan had been decided, all that remained was to take on the challenge. This would be a good time, so I thought we should head out already, when Hina-chan held out her hand with a smile.

[Senpais, let's do that thing! Putting our hands over each other and giving out a cheer!]

[...You sure like that kind of stuff, Hina-chan.]

[Ahaha, well, let's put some enthusiasm into this then...]

There was no reason to turn down Hina-chan's request, so with wry smiles, Aoi-chan and I put our hands forwards and piled them on top of one another.

As the two looked at me, I decided to take the lead as their elder.

[Alright, let's do this with a bang!]

[ [ Oh! ] ]

Hmmm, doing stuff like this feels like I'm back in my youth, and this somehow feels really enjoyable.