SLIME LEGION

Chapter 13: Wheel Problem

"Those aren’t Fred and Eren."

The calm voice instantly drew everyone’s attention.

A young woman with snow-white hair sat elegantly with one leg crossed over the other, her sky-blue eyes fixed on the track below. They were an unusually vivid shade of blue, almost unnaturally so, enough to make anyone who met them instinctively look twice.

Vivian Eldor.

Daughter of a Grand Duke.

Like nearly every young woman in this private booth, she was a direct heir candidate to one of the kingdom’s most influential families, her talent monstrous enough that nobody questioned her place here.

Her expression remained composed.

But...

The faintest hint of amusement had found its way into her eyes.

"Obviously."

Another voice answered almost immediately.

"I’d bet my entire family’s fortune one of those idiots is Lorel."

Violet leaned forward, irritation written plainly across her face.

Much like her name suggested, she possessed striking violet hair, hair she treasured so obsessively she’d once sworn never to cut it. It had long since grown past her waist and now reached almost to her knees. Today she’d gathered it into a single thick braid, wrapped it loosely around her neck once before letting it drape over her shoulder.

Her matching violet eyes never left the two helmeted racers.

"...And wherever Lorel shows up..."

She clicked her tongue.

"...you’ll always find—"

"That disgusting roach."

The blonde sitting beside her finished the sentence without hesitation.

Her green eyes were filled with open disgust.

The intensity in her voice made several people glance toward her.

"...Would he really go this far just to embarrass Austin?" another noble girl asked, her blue eyes narrowing with contempt. "He’s royalty. Doesn’t he realize how disgraceful this kind of behavior is?"

"Calm down."

The gentle voice sounded almost out of place.

"We don’t even know for certain that it’s him."

Several girls turned at once.

Even Vivian slowly shifted her gaze.

The owner of that voice sat comfortably in her chair, lazily chewing bubble gum as if she couldn’t care less about the heated discussion around her.

Her light blue hair had been tied neatly into a bun, held in place by an elegant silver hairpin, while warm amber eyes watched the racers below with casual curiosity.

"...Renay."

Vivian finally spoke.

"Do you ever get tired of doing this?"

Renay blinked.

"Doing what?"

"Trying to defend..."

Vivian paused ever so slightly.

"...that person."

It was obvious she’d deliberately stopped herself from saying something far less polite.

Renay shrugged.

"I don’t remember defending him."

"I asked a simple question."

"What makes everyone so certain it’s Lorel?"

Silence followed.

Nobody answered.

Because...

Nobody actually had proof.

After another moment, everyone quietly returned their attention to the track.

Sooner or later...

The truth would reveal itself.

Among everyone inside the booth, however...

One person never looked away from the two mysterious racers.

Helene.

Unlike the others, she wasn’t trying to figure out whether it was Lorel.

She already knew.

Or at least...

Her heart insisted it did.

...

...

"Hahaha! Your Highness! I know it’s you!"

Some random idiot from the crowd yelled at the top of his lungs.

...

Ugh.

So much for staying anonymous.

Guess that plan was dead before the race even started.

Oh well.

Didn’t really matter anymore.

The announcer cleared his throat.

"Cough..."

"The rules are simple!"

"Reach the finish line by any means necessary!"

"The Raptors are equipped with mounted cannons capable of firing condensed Ether rounds. The strength of each shot depends entirely on your personal Ether reserves. Elemental affinities cannot be channeled through the cannons themselves..."

He raised a hand dramatically.

"...However!"

"You are free to use your own affinity during the race if the opportunity presents itself!"

The stadium erupted.

"WOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

The cheering became so loud the ground itself seemed to vibrate.

...

Alright.

Do I...

Even have an affinity?

...

Huh.

I actually don’t know.

...

Fuck.

READY

...

Okay.

How do I start this thing?

I looked around the controls.

Seriously?

Two buttons?

One red.

One green.

Which genius designed this?

Normally red meant stop...

Right?

... freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Probably.

SET

Tsk.

I’ll just press the green—

...

Crap.

My finger slipped.

It hit the red button instead.

GO!!

The instant the race began...

I remembered one very important detail.

...

I was absolutely fucking terrible behind the wheel.