Magicraft Meister Part 1

(These two are specialized in underwater behavior, aren't they?)

Reiko observes and analyzes them as she approaches them, killing their presence.

(Small body, thin body shape, paddles (fins) on their arms and legs.)

Both of them are of the same form.

(The protrusions on their forearms seem to be highly offensive.)

Reiko then approached to about 5 meters and hid herself in the water.

The area is shallow, not more than 2 meters deep, but there are many rocks and no shortage of places to hide.

（The Arrow is getting closer.)

Looking from the water, I saw Reinhardt and Erza's shallow-bottom boat, Valentino and his crew's monohull, and Marcia's catamaran approaching in that order.

At that moment, there was movement among the underwater golems.

One was heading for Elsa's boat and the other for Cygnus (Swan).

(I don't know what you are going to do, but I won't let you go.)

Reiko has no hesitation against the golem. She moves through the water in a split second, kicking rocks with her body like a spring.

First, she grabs the leg of the golem closest to her. He squeezes it at once.

（Is it hollow inside? (It's hollow inside, isn't it? It's nothing compared to the golem your father made.)

Then she squeezes the other leg too, and leaves the slowed down Golem there, and Reiko goes to the other Golem.

(Is she going to cut through the body of the boat with that prong?)

(Are you going to cut through the hull with those prongs?) The golem aims at the catamaran. But a moment later, Reiko's arm catches the golem's arm.

（This prongs are soft steel.)

Reiko twisted off the arm. Water enters the cavity, and the golem slows down at once.

（That's it.)

A slow-moving Golem is no match for Reiko. Having twisted off the remaining arms and legs, Reiko did the same to the other Golem.

The control core at its heart is still intact, so she will be able to identify the culprit.

（Now, let's report this to your father.)

Reiko leaves the stuck Golem there for the moment and heads for Jin's boat.

Behind her, the top group passed by without incident.

"Father, it's all done."

Reiko reported as she quietly peeked over the edge of the boat.

"Well, thank you very much. Now, how do we bring back the golem as evidence?

"If it's that big, I can drag it home.

Reiko replies without hesitation.

"I see. Then, I'll ask you to take care of it.

"Yes."

Reiko seems to be glad that Jin is relying on her, and acts with a smile on her face.

First, she twisted, twisted, and stretched the twisted limbs to make an ugly rope. This was a forceful feat that did not even use engineering magic.

Using this rope, he joins the two golems together. Reiko herself is unaware of what she is doing, since she is only producing 20 percent of her output.

Perhaps they are a father and daughter who are similar to each other.

After tying the golem to the stern of the boat, Reiko again began to swim with the small boat on her back.

"What's that little boat?

"It's moving even though we're not rowing?"

This time, some people on the boat seemed to notice, but they could not see Jin's face, and he was not pursued for this matter after this.

* * * *

"The top group has rounded the uninhabited island of at the turnaround point!　The order is number 3,1,35,28!"

The live commentator continued to announce with the same intensity as ever.

"From here on, the final stage to the finish line will be an unobstructed high-speed section.

The commentary began.

On the wide open water, number 35, Marcia has left the back of number 1 and is now taking a diagonal course. She did this to prevent Reece from blocking her path.

Then he sped off.

"Oh, number 35, he's fast!　The splashes are flying backwards!"

Cygnus (Swan) was going so fast that he didn't even notice the loss of speed due to the diagonal movement.

"It's over!　They have overtaken!　Number 35, Team <, has finally overtaken number 1!"

For the first time, Marussia was in front of Reece. Reece was impatient.

"Why?　I can't get past!　Oh no!　I didn't know that ship was that good!"

As the catamaran with Marcia splashed in the water, the number 1, Reece, could not believe his eyes.

He was pushing the golem that Sir Valerio had built beyond its limits, but the gap was not closing. It was like a nightmare.

Marcia accelerates even faster and closes in on the leader, Elsa.

She's fast. She's as fast as ...... her brother Rai thought she was."

Elsa, sensing the difference in absolute performance of the boats, decides to stop blocking their way.

"A fair fight."

She felt that, while not a foul, blocking the way was not the right way to climax the finals.

Instead, he encouraged Lorelei to push her speed to the limit. Lorelei's lithe body rippled and kicked the water backward.

Meanwhile, on Cygnus, the waterwheel, driven by Arrow's pedaling to the limit, propelled the boat forward with a white splash.

"Ah, waterwheels are so inefficient, aren't they?"

Jin sighed as he watched from a distance.

I have already written about the fact that the splashing water means that the water turbine is doing unnecessary work, although it looks flashy at a glance.

"After all, a ship is a screw, isn't it?

Jin, who has yet to develop a suitable power source to drive the screw, said, "When I go back to the research institute, I'm sure I'll be able to find a power source.

"When I return to the laboratory, I would like to focus on this issue.

Jin is rocked by the boat, thinking about what he has thought before.

"Hang in there, Lorelei."

Erza was desperately trying to control Lorelei, but number 35 was slowly closing the gap.

Soon,

"Oubawaku desu, master Erza."

Lorelei told us that we had exceeded our limit. At this pace, they would not make it to the finish line.

Erza has no choice but to reduce Lorelei's output. Finally, Cygnus (Swan) takes the lead.

"Incredible speed!　He has just passed the Blue Marine and is now number 35, the first time in this competition that he has taken the top spot!

"I'm sure Team < will be in great demand once this competition is over."

The team was unknown, but now that they've won, they'll be approached by rich and noblemen from all over the world.

"Yes, that's right. According to the information at hand, the shipwright, Miss Marcia, is also a shipbuilder (shipwright). And Mr. Jin, the magecraftsman who made the golem, is unknown, but I'm sure his name will spread quickly now."

For the first time in the finals, Cygnus (Swan) is in the lead.

He could no longer see it with his eyes, but Jin smiled when he heard the voice on the spot.

"Come on, Reiko. Let's hurry home too.

The course of the boat was different from that of Marcia and the others, so it would be a bit of a roundabout way, but there was no way they could pass by the boat in the lead.

The small boat with Jin on board takes a large detour and heads for the port town of Potlock.

* * * * * * * * * *

At the goal point, the central port of Potlock, a man grits his teeth as he watches the competition's outcome on the magic screen.

It was Valentino, a man who is known to be a bit of a cripple.

"Noooooo, Reece, what a bummer!　Sir Valerio is Sir Valerio too!

He mutters in frustration, then turns around and smiles darkly,

"I have no choice in this situation. ......"

"Valentino, Valentino," he said.

"Valentino, we are almost at the finish line. Why don't you go greet the competitors at the finish line?

Someone dismissed the guest book and said, "Why don't you go meet the competitors at the finish line? Not many people can call out to Valentino.

This time it was Valentino's boss, the Marquis Dominique de Firenziano, a female lord of the province of Xaus in the south of the Kingdom of Elias.

Valentino was inwardly tongue-tied, but without letting it show on his face, he followed his boss down from the guest of honor's seat and headed for the finish line.