#1225 A Chaotic Salvation

The carriage-vs-train race is about to begin. 

It’s the sort of concept you can’t help but think, “What even is the point of this?” 

The rules are to depart from Rondmelt Station, make your way to Farm Station, and that’s it.  
The route is up to you, though. But of course, the train can’t leave its rails, so really only the carriage side gets to choose. 

Depending on the path you take, could you possibly outmaneuver the train… or is it impossible? 

Of all choices, they pick Sakamoto to pull the carriage, all because he’s a dragon-horse who can fly. 

If he rockets through the sky in a straight line like a falling star, surely he could outrun the train.  
And anyway, Sakamoto’s top speed already breaks the sound barrier. 

What once looked like an unbeatable race for the train suddenly tips in favor of the carriage. 

“I swear, you don’t have to get so worked up…”  

I mutter, settling into the driver’s seat and gripping the reins running from Sakamoto’s bit. 

Why am I even here at the reins…?  
Every fiber of my mind is screaming that this is absurd. 

Sakamoto might be fine pulling a carriage in the race, but he absolutely refuses to let anyone but me hold the reins...  
Somehow, I ended up as the jockey (?) for the Wagon Guild. 

Seriously, why?  

Sakamoto volunteered to race, but he could have just done it solo. 

Meanwhile, the train faction is up in arms. 

“Lord Saint, why are you betraying us?!” 
“You told us we’d cover the whole world in track together! Was that a lie?!” 

No. 
I never even said that.  
Still, being labeled a “traitor” really stings my sensitive heart. 

Please don’t misunderstand. 
I want the otherworldly railway to succeed just as much as anyone.  
I’m its founder! 

That’s exactly why I’ve been trying to end this pointless feud with the Wagon Guild and forge a truce. 

I’ve been racking my brain for a way to land today’s showdown gently, to lay the groundwork for harmony. 
But somehow the railway side is the one backed into a corner. 

They’ve already lost once, and this is supposed to be best-of-three, yet now they face a dragon-horse exceeding the speed of sound.  

No train...even a maglev can hope to keep up. 
Yup, even a maglev... 

In any case, we can’t win. 

What happens if we lose now?  
I don’t even know if there’s a wager on the line. 

If the loser has to quit the transport business, I’m basically strangling my own prospects here… 

…Sakamoto can’t lose, right? 

“Buhihihihihihihihin!!”  

Sakamoto snorts, his fierce pride practically crackling: “This is a battle for my honor! Lose, and there is no tomorrow!” 
Why is everyone living on the edge like this? 

Before I know it, the red signal goes out. 

And we’re off.  
Sakamoto and I take to the skies, dragging the carriage behind us. 

Wooooah!  
Gripping Sakamoto’s harness, the sensation is completely new, as I’ve only ever flown astride his back before. 

Trailing behind him with a carriage in tow makes me feel like Santa Claus. 

The Wagon Guild provided the coach.  
As their representative, Sakamoto has to pull it himself, or there’s no real contest. 

That’s the only handicap he has, but will it actually matter? 

No one really knows how his flight ability interacts with the carriage. 
If it didn’t help carry the weight aloft, I’d be flung off. Luckily, I’m still here. 

The carriage is loaded with a bunch of dummy cargo.  
These weighted sacks count toward a “transport capacity” challenge, not just speed.  

Drop even one “charm” they’ve styled as precious cargo, and you’re disqualified on the spot.  

A transporter who loses their cargo isn’t fit to breathe the same air. 
That’s why Sakamoto will throttle carefully, but how much will that slow him down? That’s unknown. 

At the same moment, the Otherworldly Train Car 1, Ichiro, shunts out of the station. 

“It’s Alphaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”  

Ichiro shouts, pushing its speed hard. But can it even approach Sakamoto’s supersonic pace? 

Ichiro, too, hauls simulated freight trailers behind it with two passenger cars mixed in. 

The passenger cars carry Governor Kimeri and other race dignitaries.  
Somehow, even the Wagon Guild’s master is aboard, shouting his encouragement. 

“Go go gooooooooooo!!! For the honor of the Wagon Guild, smash that iron tube to bitssssssssssssss!!!” 

Where is he riding?  
I guess if you’re running alongside, that’s your only spot—but it’s weird to cheer on the very train you want to beat. 

How do we even deal with this?  
I half consider dumping the dummy weights out of the sky in frustration… 

When suddenly another challenger swoops in from above. 

“Who dares trouble Master?!” 

Is that... a dragon?! 

A massive, winged beast exuding conquering might, the ultimate lifeform?! 

But wait… isn’t that Veil?! 
What is she doing here? 

“I sensed Master’s stress and rushed over! I am your devoted servant above all else! Gahaha!” 

She’s usually the one giving me grief, though...! 

But this is reassuring!  
As expected of a dragon! She truly is the strongest creature in existence!!! 

“...Now, who is causing Master trouble? Should I just blast everything in my sight?” 

Hold on!  
Don’t solve everything by sheer destruction like the mighty dragon that you are! 

I quickly explain our bizarre situation and why I’m in distress, in as few words as time allows. 

“…Right, got it.” 

That’s something only someone who hasn’t understood would say. 

“So you’re saying nobody wins this speed contest without everyone feeling awful? Easy solution: nobody wins.” 

...She actually gets it!  

But what does she mean? 
No winner? 

“I, the Grinzel Dragon, will enter this race. I’ll blow past these two who think they’re hot stuff. If they both lose, neither side can complain. What’s it called? Killing both sides in a duel? Oh! Double slaughter!!!” 

She’s planning to massacre us all?! 

But such objections are moot: a dragon’s presence turns the field into his solo stage.  
Her tyrannical power crushes any sense of fairness. 

“Bwahahahaha! Your little speed contest is pitiful! I, Veil the Grinzel Dragon, will trample your humble festival! I’ll show you that the world’s strongest is also the world’s fastest!!” 

Veil, the strongest creature, joins the race! 
Seriously?! 

I have no idea how this solves anything, but it’s more than enough to turn the whole situation on its head. 

Chaos incarnate descends with the dragon’s coming. 

“Get ready to eat my dust! What you lack, strength, magic, might, brutality, cunning, mercy… and above all, speeeeeeeed!!!”