After our batch ended, the entire ranking board shifted one place down, with our number placing up top without contest.
To be specific, the second place in the preliminaries only reached 3 minutes 59.62 seconds, just barely under the 4-minute mark. That was over thirty seconds slower than our record!
"We... We did it!" Cassandra, after finally seeing the time recorded on the leaderboard, broke out in celebration. "We won first place! This is amazing!"
Seeing her all jolly like that brought a smile to my face. I gently patted the excited Cassandra’s head, praising her. "You even broke your personal record lap earlier. Really, well done."
"E-Ehehe..."
But really, I wonder where that gallant and awe-inspiring princess went. Not only did she fail to live up to her "Crazy Princess" title, but she’s also even slowly losing the "Princess" vibe she had long before.
’I guess mingling with us commoners is slowly changing her...’
I sighed, feeling a bit apologetic... but also slightly excited, watching her slowly become painted in our—no, my—colors.
Right now, I still have no idea how this change would affect the main plot. But well, we already did the best we could, so I guess we can only go with the flow.
"It’s them! Capture them!"
"Huh?"
But right as we were basking in the limelight of placing first in the preliminaries, a familiar, but angry voice, echoed loudly. Turning toward the source, we quickly realized who it was.
"Yo, Mr. Eden’s Representative! What’s up?" I waved casually, making him fume even further.
Behind him were a lot of personnel: some from the Militia, some from the Aegis Grand Prix Committee, and some members of the Eden Company.
It was an intimidating group when seen from afar, enough that curious onlookers made sure to keep their distance before extending their necks to watch.
"Hah! You fucking cheater!"
The man growled, the two electrodes extending from the back of his head exploding with powerful sparks.
"There’s no way you can get that fast a time without cheating! Guards, capture them!"
"Haaa?" But of course, Eva didn’t let him run his mouth for long.
"Bastard, it was you who was cheating! You think we wouldn’t notice how your backer, and a few other companies, tried to snipe our thruster during the race?!"
Eva slapped her terminal, bringing up multiple displays showing a few ships floating idly in space.
"If we didn’t counterattack, my ship’s thrusters would be toast! Thankfully, we neutralized them the moment they locked onto us, so no damage was done!"
"B-Bullshit! You don’t have proof for your accusations! This is defamation!"
One of the men wearing a suit with the golden apple insignia chimed in. Without a doubt, he was part of Eden Company, making him desperate to cover their actions.
"Shouldn’t that phrase apply to you instead? You don’t have proof that we cheated. You’re defaming us." I commented, shrugging.
"Heh!" The ridiculous tin-can man scoffed. "That’s why we brought the committee with us! Hey, you! Tell them what rules they violated!"
"Y-Yes!"
A human woman from the Committee’s side, wearing a uniform with the letters AGP printed in bold, stepped forward. She was visibly trembling under pressure before reading the information from her tablet.
"Y-You violated Rules 4, 6.a, 8.c, and 10.a. A-As the Committee, we hereby disqualify—"
"—Wait a moment!" I raised my hand, shouting, interrupting the woman. "I disagree with this verdict! We didn’t break the rules at all!"
"B-But..."
"For Rule 4, the use of illegal parts for the ship, we can prove this isn’t true from the initial inspection performed before the race. For 6.a, we didn’t hinder anyone in the race either. We were over a minute apart before we even started moving, so this is nonsense!"
I started dissecting the rules, countering their claims one by one.
"For 8.c, distracting other teams... Our radio was turned off for the entire duration of the race. This can be proved by the recordings on our helmets. And for 10.a, moving outside of the specified track, we can review the replay to see that we didn’t even cross the boundary by a single millimeter!"
Right, all of the "broken" rules they called on us were total bull!
"True... I watched their feed from start to finish, and it was amazing! They drove right in the middle of the track the entire time!"
"Damn, I wish I had a pilot as experienced as that girl! I bet she’s got over 50 years of experience under her belt!"
"Rather, wasn’t it Eden who cheated? I saw them throwing something along the track to hinder number 78... It didn’t work, though."
Even the surrounding mob began murmuring among themselves, with the majority siding with us rather than them.
The woman from the Committee started to tear up, clearly stuck between a rock and a hard place. She looked like she’d faint from stress at any moment.
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On one side, the Eden team was clamoring about me cheating, while on the other, the Committee was visibly pressured to favor Eden. Meanwhile, the Militia stood at a distance, merely observing the disturbance without intervening.
Things were about to get messy.
"What’s going on?"
But the chaos quieted down in an instant. A cold voice echoed, making everyone flinch—even the Militia.
A clear sound of leather shoes tapping against the metallic floor approached the center of the commotion. A man with silvery-gray hair, neatly tied into a topknot, and sharp green eyes observed the scene with a casual air.
Despite wearing a simple three-piece suit with a checkered tie, there was an inexplicable aura about him—like a grim reaper cloaked in formality. The weight of his presence alone added to his intimidating visual impact.
"P-P-President Astoria...?!"
The people from Eden Company stammered, their heads bowing low in unison.
"Please forgive us for the noise! We’ll wrap this up right away!" they hurriedly added, their voices laced with fear.
"Hmm? No need."
Anderson waved a hand dismissively as he strode past them, walking straight toward me. Without hesitation, he extended a hand.
"Congratulations to your team for ranking first place in the preliminaries, Mr. Arthur. With this spectacular performance, it looks like I need to prepare myself to lose our bet, huh?"
The way he called me "Arthur" instead of "Gerard"—or even "Son"—made his intentions clear. He was choosing to hide my true identity. That suited me just fine; the fewer complications, the better.
I grasped his outstretched hand, offering a modest smile. "No, we were just lucky. We can’t tell what could happen in the actual race."
"That’s still one week away, isn’t it?" He chuckled before patting my shoulder casually. "I’ll be rooting for your team, then—but don’t think my two teams will lose so easily."
A declaration of rivalry, wrapped in an appeal of camaraderie. As expected of Anderson Phi Astoria—a sly man through and through.
Without so much as a glance at the Militia or the Eden Company members, he shifted his focus to the few Committee officials present at the scene.
"By the way..." he started, his tone deceptively light. "I’ve heard rumors that the committee has been receiving bribes from certain parties. At this rate, I’m concerned about the fairness of the Grand Prix... Can you girls guide me to your representative?"
"Y-YES!"
His words weren’t a request—they were an order. And no one, absolutely no one, would dare make an enemy out of an Astoria, especially the President himself.
With all the Committee members scrambling to escort him, only the Eden Company and the Militia remained, their faces still pale.
"Ahem!"
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I cleared my throat, snapping their attention back to me.
"Sorry about the interruption. Anyway, where were we...?"
As if that was a signal, the entire Eden group dispersed, practically sprinting to escape the scene. They had finally realized they had picked a fight with the wrong person.
Even their so-called elite pilot—who had been so smug earlier—was now so terrified that he practically fled on all fours, too panicked to even keep his balance.
Eva looked like she wasn’t satisfied but didn’t push the issue. Maybe—just maybe—she was learning to forgive and let go... I hoped.
Cassandra let out a relieved sigh, simply happy that the commotion hadn’t escalated further.
As for me...
I swept my gaze across the crowd, pinpointing certain figures who had been watching too intently. The moment my eyes locked onto them, they shuffled uncomfortably before slipping away into the masses. A few seconds later, I felt their presences fade into the distance.
"Phew..."
Finally, I could relax.
If not for President Anderson’s timely arrival, I was certain Eva would’ve exploded long before the commotion could settle down.
"Pardon for the disturbance. Then, we shall take our leave too."
Just as the Militia was about to withdraw—seeing no more reason to linger—I quickly called out to them.
"Ah, sirs! Please wait!"
Without delay, I tapped a few commands into my terminal and sent a data package to the leader-like figure of the group.
"This is the location of those who attempted to sabotage us. I’ve attached a full copy of their black box data as proof. Please make good use of it."
"..."
The officer, who bore the insignia of a Major, checked the details before giving a curt nod.
"Alright. You can leave this to us."
With that, they finally turned to leave—only for the Major to pause mid-step and glance back at me.
"—And just to say this... Be careful. Your position is already compromised. The Astoria name alone won’t be enough to hold them back. They will come soon."
"..."
There was no need to ask what he meant. It was obvious. Even Eva and Cassandra instantly understood.
Although I was curious as to how he "knew" such information... Well, Eva and I weren’t disguised anyway. Regardless, his warning would prove valuable.
"It seems I need to talk with Father after this..."
Although we had won the preliminaries, the celebratory mood had completely faded. Only the foreboding weight of approaching storm clouds lingered in the back of our minds.