The countdown to the start began.
All around was a sea of sand. The blazing sun scorched from above, and the wind carried a dry, gritty smell. Even though this was an artificial desert, its difficulty was no lower than a real desert track. Terrain like this was especially unfriendly to speed-type Mecha Girls with weak off-road capability.
The surrounding Mecha Girls had all deployed.
Derek Su glanced around and felt a chill.
He couldn't even see their cockpits. One looked tougher than the next. Off-road builds were nothing special here. There were pickups, even semi-trailers. Stat-wise, their Impact Resistance and Stability weren't necessarily higher than Stella's, but visually, they were incredibly imposing.
Caught between them, Stella looked like a toy car.
Derek Su reached back and pressed a hand against Stella's rear, sending a signal of reassurance.
"How is it, Stella? Nervous?"
"Hmph, why would I be nervous? I'm the first up!" Stella lifted her chin and puffed her cheeks.
But in the rearview mirror, Derek Su could see the unease in her eyes.
She was definitely nervous. Anyone would be, surrounded by machines like these.
"Hey, Master, I've got a question."
"Go ahead."
"You're so used to this... have you ever touched other Mecha Girls like this? Like Imperial Scale, Purple Lightning, or Tunbao?"
"No." Derek Su denied it immediately, completely serious.
He'd only ever done this with Stella.
It had become a habit at this point, a way of syncing with her. A few times, he'd almost done the same with others, but managed to stop himself.
Just because Stella didn't mind didn't mean the others wouldn't.
Imperial Scale would probably just stare at him strangely.
Tunbao would blush and headbutt him.
As for Purple Lightning... he couldn't quite picture it. Maybe she'd just blush quietly, unsure what to say.
He didn't know them well enough to be certain.
Stella was still the easiest to deal with.
"Really?" Stella turned her head slightly, her face flushed, eyes full of suspicion.
"Of course. This is our exclusive way of improving synchronization."
"Hmph..." Stella turned back toward the track and muttered, "Actually, Master can touch the others too."
"What?"
"Nothing. Hehe~"
...
"Welcome, everyone, to the twice-yearly Brana Ruins Advancement Tournament! I'm your host, Taimei!"
A woman appeared on the large screen near the stands, her head wrapped in bandages.
"Originally, today's host was supposed to be Kool Kenny, but he slept like the dead this morning, so I'm filling in!"
"Back to the main event! As everyone knows, the Brana Ruins Advancement Tournament is the most combat-intensive among all pre-provincial advancement races. It heavily tests Stability and Impact Resistance, so it's usually dominated by combat-type Mecha Girls."
"But this time, there's an exception!"
The camera immediately focused on Derek Su, calm as ever, and Stella, who looked almost like a toy car in comparison.
Taimei's tone rose with excitement.
"The Magician has once again brought his starting Mecha Girl, Stella! Fans who follow him know Stella is a speed-type Mecha Girl!"
"In a race like this, speed-types usually have no advantage. So where does The Magician's confidence come from? Is it Stella's unmatched speed, or something else entirely?"
Before she even finished, a wave of cheers erupted.
About a quarter of the western stands was filled with fans of Derek Su and Stella, holding banners and signs high.
But soon, their voices were drowned out.
From the opposite stands came an even louder, more organized wave.
The signs read: Richard Cheng – Gray Castle.
They even had bodyguards in black suits maintaining order.
"The crowd is absolutely fired up! And now, let's introduce one of the top contenders for the championship—Gray Castle from the ESW club, along with her driver, Richard Cheng!"
The screen switched.
A massive semi-trailer form covered in gray armor filled the display.
Just the front alone towered above everything else.
It didn't look like a vehicle. It looked like a fortress.
For an HB-model Mecha Girl to be named "Castle" was no exaggeration.
The cheers from the opposite side surged even louder, completely overwhelming Stella Club's supporters.
...
"What the hell! Why are they shouting so loud?!" Tunbao had been happy hearing support for Stella Club, but it was quickly drowned out. Instantly furious, she stood up and shouted back, "Shut up or I'll smash all of you!"
"Senior Tunbao, calm down! Security is watching!" Lingwind and Blazing Wind quickly dragged her back down.
Purple Lightning stood on a small stool, holding up a sign with a flushed face, waving it with all her strength. It had Derek Su and Stella's names on it.
Absolute Shadow clicked her tongue.
"Think you've got more people? Fine."
She pulled out her phone and made a call.
Moments later, several airships and helicopters appeared overhead.
Functional Mecha Girls on board grabbed megaphones and started shouting.
"Stella Club! Go, go, go!"
"Imperial Scale, love, love, love!"
"Boss Su, handsome, handsome, handsome!"
Their voices quickly overwhelmed the opposing crowd.
"Absolute Shadow, you're amazing!" Tunbao leaned back in her seat, satisfied, and gave her a thumbs-up.
...
At the starting line.
The scorching wind and sand didn't bother Derek Su, but the deafening cheers above made his skin crawl.
What kind of slogans are those...
This was painfully embarrassing.
"Master, no one's cheering for me!" Stella puffed her cheeks.
Derek Su laughed. "The club is literally named after you. Let others have their moment."
In the cockpit of the nearby LS-77, the burly driver's expression darkened as he listened to the cheers.
He and LS-77 came from a small club. Because LS-77's handling wasn't great, their previous results hadn't been impressive.
But this race—
This was their chance.
The Brana Ruins was their home ground.
If they performed well here, maybe a bigger club would notice them.
"Master... will people cheer for us like that one day?"
LS-77 looked enviously toward the stands.
"They will."
The man stared ahead at the track.
"As long as you crush Stella and The Magician, people will remember our names."
LS-77's gaze hardened.
She took a deep breath, staring at the sand-covered track ahead.
The desert was her domain.
No matter how fast a speed-type Mecha Girl was, here, they would be suppressed.
If that's the case...
Then blame your own arrogance.
Bringing a speed-type into Brana Ruins?
Then...
Don't blame me.