65 - Episode 9: Fortitude Does Not Give Up ⑦ ~Preparations and the Day of the Arima Memorial~
Around evening that day, Geoglyph returned alone to the hotel where he was staying after finishing his errands, only to find Later slumped over the provided sofa.
"Hey, Ray. How are you feeling? ...Or is that a stupid question?"
"..................Sensei, huh."
Lying there with his legs stretched out, he turned his gaze toward Geoglyph and replied sluggishly, pushing himself up with an old-fashioned grunt of "heave-ho."
"Forti's in good shape. If anything, I'm the one holding him back. It feels less like I'm riding him and more like he's carrying me. Jockeys really are amazing. There's a huge difference between watching and actually doing it."
Later gave a wry smile, his legs and hips shaking uncontrollably, appearing considerably exhausted.
"I've finished your registration. Since the founder, myself, will be watching this time, I was able to slide you in quite easily."
After that declaration of intent, Later had told Misora that he would be the one riding Fortitude. Fortunately, the history of horse racing in this world was short, so there was no such thing as jockey registration, and changing riders just before a race was relatively common. That said, there was a convention that such changes must be made four days before the gate positions were decided, meaning the deadline should have been yesterday. Geoglyph had pushed it through by pressuring them, saying, "Wouldn't it be bad to have a withdrawal from a race that the founder is attending in person?"
Feudal societies are so convenient at times like this, Geoglyph thought with a wry smile.
"Also... this."
"Ah. In the end, what did you use it for? The Rig Veda."
Later asked as he received the Rig Veda. When he had requested Geoglyph to handle his race registration, Geoglyph had asked to borrow it, though he had said it was not exactly a trade. Being a mage, Geoglyph didn't know what Later would use it for, but he had lent it without hesitation, believing he wouldn't do anything bad with it. Now, however, he was curious about the details.
"I agonized over it for a while, but Latia wanted it."
Later tilted his head for a moment, wondering why Latia was coming up here, then remembered her pleading from a while ago. In her own words, "Bang!" In other words...
"You don't mean... a gun?"
"To be precise, I'd call it a Magic Gun."
He was naturally bewildered by the idea of firearms. For one, gunpowder would have to be procured, and the preparations would be far more cumbersome than a magazine chant. It would be fine if it were a one-time thing, but bullets are consumables. They need to be replenished once used, and making them every time is a hassle. Thus, Geoglyph thought that it would be better to supplement the bullets with magical power, and so he devised the Magic Gun.
Aiming for simplicity, he didn't strive for a particularly complex system. He prepared a handgun frame similar to those in his original world and embedded a colorless magic stone in the magazine section. In short, it was a device where charging it with magical power and pulling the trigger would fire a bullet equivalent to a colorless radiation-type spell. At first glance, one might think, "Then why not just use magic?" but it had several distinct characteristics.
First, since he used a revolver frame, it could load up to six shots with a single charge of magical power.
Second, since the power depended on the amount of magical power infused, the upper and lower limits of its power were virtually limitless, provided the durability of the magic stone and frame were ignored.
Finally, although he hadn't prepared it as an expansion feature yet, by swapping to an elemental magic stone, one could switch attributes to suit the situation.
These were the three characteristics of the Magic Gun. The most difficult part of creating it was the frame. Marianne had a high-quality colorless magic stone, so he bought that, but as he tried to prepare a frame to house the stone, Geoglyph realized something.
Come to think of it, he didn't actually know how to design a gun.
Well, he knew the simple parts. But while a matchlock might be one thing, the guns he was familiar with were almost all industrial products. In other words, standardized goods. They required millimeter-level precision during the prototype stage and meticulous design to incorporate a single mechanism. He wouldn't go so far as to say an amateur couldn't make one, but that was only if they had information sources like the internet. Moreover, the original prototype for the Magic Gun he first thought of was a semi-automatic pistol. The functions were too complex, so he gave up on that early on.
If so, he decided on a revolver type. With this, it would be simpler and still satisfy his sense of romance.
However, even with a revolver type, creating a mold with the technological capabilities of this world was a struggle. While he was worrying about what to do, the Rig Veda held by Later flashed into his mind. If he used this, which changed shape according to the wearer's will, could it serve as a mold? Having experienced the Rig Veda cutting through magic during the morning practice he did every day, he felt that in terms of strength, it could easily withstand something like heated iron.
And that prediction was correct. After overcoming several prototypes, the concept of the gun was born into this world.
"I can't believe you used the Rig Veda as a mold..."
"Well, it really is a convenient item. Lend it to me again when I make a magic battleship someday. Even if I can't do it all at once, if I make parts about once a week in small batches, I think I could finish it in a few years."
"What are you, Dear Destiny?"
Thinking that the first issue would probably be cheap, Later retorted while equipping the Rig Veda on his right arm, feeling as though its dull glow had increased. Vaguely, he felt he could hear a tired, weak voice saying, "I didn't hear anything about being used like that..."
Having returned the Rig Veda, Geoglyph sat down on the opposite sofa and, after a brief introduction, got to the main point.
"I don't think there will be any interference before the race. Even by estimation, you're the second-to-last favorite, and you're unknown."
He was talking about the saboteurs.
As he heard the stories, their methods were diverse. They would tamper with the fodder the horses ate before the race, or ambush the jockeys, using various despicable means. That said, in high-grade races, the prestige of the city was at stake, so the administration provided thorough guards and security, which significantly reduced interference right before the start.
However.
"Marie will designate you just before the start. So, if there is interference..."
"It'll be during the race, then."
Once the race starts, the guards step away. If they hide among the unspecified multitude of the large crowd, it's difficult to catch them.
"Looking at past methods, interference during the race is sniping via magic. I've narrowed down a few points and prepared countermeasures, but this is in the middle of a huge crowd. The first shot will likely be impossible to prevent. And the opponent will probably try to finish it with that one shot."
"Conversely, if I can just get through that, the rest comes down to raw ability, right?"
If that's the case, I'll do it, Later said with a fearless smile.
●
The pleasant sound of wood dried for firewood splitting echoed with a snap.
Latia was about 50 meters away from where that sound echoed in the garden behind the hotel where the Serious Breakers were staying. She held a metallic tool in her hand, and in front of her was the firewood material that had just burst.
Yes, what she held in her hand was a Magic Gun.
She let out a light sigh while confirming the feel of the item that Geoglyph had handed over hesitantly. When she received the explanation on how to handle it, he had seemed troubled. When she asked why, he told her with a troubled expression, "If this spreads to the general public, the world might change." At first, she didn't understand the meaning, but practicing with it like this, she understood.
Just by infusing the required magical power, up to six bullets were loaded, and they were fired by the voluntary action of pulling the trigger. Once fired, they flew with the speed of lightning, and upon impact, they exerted power according to the infused magical power. Despite the fact that what it did was not much different from attack-type magic, it did not require a cumbersome spell structure.
To put it simply, it was like reproducing Geoglyph's magazine chant... that thing, but with a limited number of bullets and as a tool. And anyone with magical power who could reach the required value could use it.
Of course, swapping magic stones was necessary when an attribute was desired, and since it used the user's magical power, it became a useless piece of junk if they were depleted, but even considering that, it was an extremely useful magic tool.
It was an extremely useful magic tool, but... what was most strange was that this was not a product of ancient technology like a Lost Artifact. Geoglyph had actually made it using iron and magic stones as materials. Yes, conversely, it could be mass-produced.
It was far too exceptional, Latia was speechless. At the same time, she understood his hesitation and his fear that "the world would change." And the fact that she had been given it meant she was trusted. Therefore, thinking that she must be able to handle it perfectly to live up to that trust, Latia had been diligently training.
"You're quite good at hitting the target, Latia-sama."
"Hmm? Kazuha?"
"Yes. I've brought some tea."
"Yeah. It seems we're compatible. If I combine it with spirit arts, I can increase the range by about three times that of a longbow."
Kazuha was the one who spoke to Latia, who had been using the hotel's backyard as a training ground and practicing with scraps of firewood as targets. She held a tray in her hand, upon which sat a teacup and several tea snacks. Seeing that, Latia decided to take a break and sat on the firewood splitting stand to receive the tea from Kazuha.
"Thanks. ...By the way, where are Marianne and Lilitia?"
"They said they're doing some preliminary research. It seems Marianne-sama believes there will be trouble regardless of the result..."
When Kazuha, who sat beside her, told her this, Latia looked up at the sky with an "ah."
"Saboteurs, huh... humans have all sorts of things, don't they?"
"I suppose so..."
To be honest, the two of them didn't quite understand. They understood what the saboteurs were doing. They understood that it was action based on prioritizing profit. However, from their perspective, a horse race was like a duel between warriors.
Whether they were beastmen or elves, they valued strength and the pride of a warrior. They understood the concept of horse racing because a stage was prepared and bets were placed on the victory or defeat, but that was exactly why they couldn't understand why someone would try to interfere with such a sacred battle.
It was a difference in values.
Not limited to beastmen and elves, other demi-humans also basically had their own communities, but their range was incredibly narrow compared to humans. In exchange, the density, or rather the concentration, increased, but diversity was lost. Because it was lost, they couldn't understand the concept of an insolent person from outside the boundaries.
"Well, I need to practice a bit more."
"Latia-sama, please don't overwork yourself..."
"Hmm... that's true, but I have some thoughts."
"Such as?"
Latia stood up from the firewood splitting stand and sighed while checking the various parts of the Magic Gun.
"In this party, I'm the only one without a role..."
"That's not true..."
"My spirit arts don't reach Geo's magic, and they don't even reach Marianne's summoning arts. Lilitia is better at healing arts, and even in archery, Later is superior if he has the Rig Veda. I have illusion-type barriers, but in terms of convenience, Kazuha's barrier arts are more useful, right?"
When comparing Latia's abilities to the other members, to put it nicely, she was versatile, to put it harshly, she was a jack of all trades, master of none. She could handle everything reasonably well, but she had no sharp edges.
"As an elf who went out into the world, I had a fair amount of confidence, though..."
Ferdina was relatively lenient since it was also Imperial territory, but basically, elves were exclusive. Following that lineage, the elves of Ferdina were lenient shut-ins. They didn't reject people, but they had a tendency to neither refuse those who came nor chase those who left.
However, as members of the chief's family, they couldn't afford to be like that, and were required to have various educations, such as broadening their horizons and learning political power. For this reason, her older brother had gone on a journey of warrior training, and she herself had been active, acting as a negotiator with other villages and the Empire.
She had abilities polished in that process and thought she wouldn't be a hindrance... or so she thought, but the members of the Serious Breakers party were just too eccentric. Having felt this keenly during the battle with the Evil God, she searched for something she could do, and as a result, she arrived at the aforementioned "Bang!"
"But, if I have this."
And then, she smoothly aimed the simplified version... the Magic Gun named Vajra because it was born from the Rig Veda, and plucked the trigger six times. In the next instant, the scraps lined up as targets burst one by one in order.
"Amazing..."
Seeing the result of rapid fire and all shots hitting the mark, Kazuha let out a voice of admiration.
"Geo says that if a sniper shot lands well, you're supposed to say 'beautiful.' Even so... mmm...! This really is a pleasure...!!"
It seemed that a trigger-happy person had also been born into this world.
●
And so the days passed... and the weekend that all of Berture had been waiting for arrived.
That morning, a pair of middle-aged men visited the Makayana Racecourse, checked the updated information, and gave a wry smile.
"Hey, look at this."
"Haha. That brat gave us some misleading advice."
Curious about the advice they had received from a promising youth who had spoken to them at the tavern, they looked at the jockey column for Fortitude, the least popular horse... and since the man himself was there, they couldn't help but laugh.
Certainly, Fortitude's track record was impressive. But that had long since become past glory. For at least the last two years, he had likely been unable to run properly even in condition races that he probably entered for adjustment.
Everyone had already given up.
That Fortitude was a horse that was already finished. His role was no longer on the turf, but to go to a breeding farm. That's why he had been cut from the betting tickets. He had been abandoned by all the fans.
And yet... no, that's exactly why, in order to decorate the end with beauty, he appeared on the final grand stage.
The two middle-aged men peered into their wallets.
"The allowance I saved for today, exactly one gold coin, huh."
"Me too. If I lose, my old lady's gonna scold me."
"Then, shall we stop?"
"Don't be stupid. The fact that he's on here means he hasn't given up. He... and the horse."
"True. If we hit it, it'll be huge...!"
The two men headed to the ticket office together.
It was a completely foolish choice, and the two of them laughed loudly. This was a grand stage. The gathered horses were all thoroughbreds. Even without dreaming of the second-to-last favorite, no one would criticize them for playing it safe. Even if it was for fun, they were spending their own money. Especially since they were using the allowance they had earned and saved.
It was obviously wiser to win safely and increase their allowance than to aim for a long shot. Even if it wasn't "right," it was the smart choice.
But gambling cannot be done based on whether it's right or not.
Such a well-behaved, smart choice is <
Yes, because...
"Win bet. One gold coin on Frame 7, Number 15, Fortitude."
When a fool does something foolish, it's decided that the person watching it will have more fun if they also become a fool.
●
There are several rules at the Makayana Racecourse.
To prevent fraud, once a horse enters the adjustment room, the horse's owner, trainer, and groom cannot approach the horse until the race is over. Therefore, once she had left it to Later and sent him into the adjustment room, there was nothing more for Misora to do.
She had already done everything she could. Now, she only had to wait for fate.
So she borrowed a changing room and changed into formal wear. A one-piece dress that followed the dress code. It was her battle outfit. For her, the owner, the trainer, and the ally of Fortitude.
"It's okay. My child today..."
While adjusting the brooch on her chest in front of the mirror, she whispered as if telling herself.
"...I've finished him to the point where it would be impossible even if I were told to do it again."
The result of that effort would soon appear.
Next time, next week.