“Is something the matter?” the black knight whispered into my ear.
“Eep! N-No, nothing.”
I couldn’t just tell him it was his fault. Still, I wanted our number one host to show some restraint. If looks could kill, I’d be on the ground after that little whisper.
This year, the first one who had to run off was me. “Now, I need to get going,” I said.
As I got on my way, Ville, the black knight, and Colny all offered words of encouragement.
“Give it your best.”
“Be careful.”
“Do show us just how fast you are!”
The mystic-jockeying instructor and the other students were ready to go. All I had to do was get on Gonsuke and start running.
Oh, I have to get changed first. If I run in my uniform, everyone will see my underwear.
As I changed into my riding clothes, I could hear the student serving as commentator.
“Now, we have something brand new for you this year! A black greatbear from the mystic-jockeying class will be running solo. Mounts won’t be competing for time today. Instead you’re going to see the incredible speed of this bear...”
Once again, they had done a good job with the mic and speakers.
With my riding clothes on, I donned my helmet. Now all I had to do was check on Gonsuke, but something was causing a commotion.
What’s this?
“What’s the matter, instructor?”
“Oh, it’s you. You see...”
“Gon. Gon...”
The instructor was before the black greatbear’s cage, and inside it Gonsuke looked to be in pain.
What’s the matter?
“Is there something wrong with Gonsuke?”
“I don’t know. He seemed just fine not too long ago.”
Not too long ago? If he got worse so quickly—ah.
“Instructor, may I cast a recovery spell on Gonsuke?”
“Huh? Oh, I see. Certainly. I’ll permit it.”
“Thank you so much!”
Giving him my thanks, I ran up to Gonsuke.
“Gon. Goaaan!”
Sorry, this is for your own good. Just grin and bear it.
In his poor condition, he began to thrash when I touched him. In his cage, I wrapped a barrier around him. Once he was still, I opened a slit in the barrier, through which I placed my hand against him.
Where could the problem be? Ah, here it is. It’s spreading from the right foreleg? This must be the cause.
In which case, I just had to remove whatever it was in his leg. I did a search to see if he was still suffering any, but it seemed he was fine. Since I had treated the cause early, there were no lingering effects. Gonsuke, for his part, was jolted by the sudden removal of his source of agony.
“Instructor, I removed this from Gonsuke. Could you look into it?”
Using a barrier as a container, I showed him the liquid I had extracted. It was colorless, and I didn’t check for a scent out of concern that it might have been enough to harm me.
“Understood.” Creases formed on the instructor’s brow. “I’ll get something to carry it, so keep him like that a bit longer.”
“I appreciate it.”
It was most likely a poison, but I didn’t have any proof. Luckily, the academy had an alchemy instructor said to be versed in pharmaceuticals. If anyone could determine what this was, it was them. This was one of those times I was glad our academy had experts in so many different fields.
The mystic-jockeying instructor gave me a vial they had procured somewhere. “Put it in this.”
“All right. Now, if you would.”
“Leave it to me!”
Being a proper mystic-jockeying instructor, they adored mysticstock, so there was nothing they hated more than seeing one come to harm. They had used drugs to sedate Gonsuke when he was first brought to the academy, but those had been harmless. They just made him loopy.
Regardless of whatever that liquid was, Gonsuke seemed fine now.
“Are you ready, Gonsuke?”
“Gon!” he answered proudly.
Oh, I see, now you’re itching to get out there! Well let’s show everyone just how fast you are!
An underground elevator lifted us up to the race track. It was powered by magic and was meant to be another trick to delight the audience. It was, of course, made by the institute. It was like in ancient Rome, where they had beasts brought up during gladiator matches.
I told them I had found the idea while reading about ancient civilizations, and the researchers were all for it. They ended up making a test model that could raise even some of the largest monsters in the Mystic Forest, though I had no idea where they planned to use it. It scared me the directions those people sometimes took their talents in.
When Gonsuke and I reached the surface, we were greeted with roaring cheers.
Oh, this is really something. I feel like a star. No, no. Gonsuke’s the real attraction; I’m just here on the side.
The referee guided us into position. Then they gave the signal and we were off! Thanks to a strong start, we quickly reached top speed. Since Gonsuke was such a good runner, I barely felt any bumps.
Ah, it’s like we’ve become one.
“Gonsuke, you’re incredible!”
“Gon!”
He sounded pretty happy, probably because he couldn’t go all out like this during classes. In the wild, he would’ve only run like this while hunting prey. But this was different. Here he knew his limits, and he was trying to overcome them.
Ten laps around the arena were done in what felt like the blink of an eye, and Gonsuke didn’t falter even a bit as we hit the finish line. After running so fast, I made sure we took it easy coming to a stop. Not doing so would have been bad for his legs.
I was so lost basking in the joy of our run, it took me a minute to realize the arena had fallen dead silent.
Hm? Was it boring? Was this a flop?
Just as I finished that thought, someone in the audience started clapping. It spread from there, and it was only a few seconds before the applause was deafening.
Oh, man. This is great. I could get addicted to this.