In the Flying Board qualifying race, our team came in first place and qualified to the finals.
[We did it!]
[Aoi-chan's strategy worked out beautifully.]
[The qualifier race may have been a straight course, but the race course in the finals seems to be more complicated, so the real deal would be over there. However, let's do our best!]
[...Whoa, Aoi-senpai's competitive side has come out.]
Certainly, compared to earlier, Aoi-chan's excitement, or rather, her motivation has increased. Just as Hina-chan said, Aoi-chan has become quite competitive.
How should I say this... It's as if her stance was something like "If I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do my best at it". That in itself is good, but the problem is when we lose.
I can only imagine, but there's a possibility that if we lose in this Flying Board competition, she may end up becoming even more enthusiastic than Hina-chan and say that we're gonna compete again next year.
With that in mind, I guess it would be better if we just win the competition and cleanly end this matter? Though I say that, there wasn't really anyone who could be called a veteran in the race we were in just now, so I don't think it would be that easy for us to win.
As I was thinking about this, I saw three familiar faces standing where we were walking. They were wearing yellow tank tops with muscular, well-trained bodies, arms folded, and fearless smiles on their faces.
Ahh, it's them. I recognize them. That team was apparently a veteran... Errr? What was their name again?
I remember Scarlet Blue and Black Muscat, but even though these three have the biggest visual impact, their names don't have much of an impact in my mind, so I can't remember right away.
As I was trying to remember their team name, Aoi-chan muttered with a curious look on her face.
[If I remember correctly... it's that Yellow Pipe team or something along those lines.]
Ahh, that's right! They're Yellow Pipe! I think they were the team that was strangely obsessed with muscles. Do they have business with us?
As I was thinking that, the members of Yellow Pipe struck a macho pose and started talking to us.
[Fuu, you've shown us a great fight just now!]
[Although you seemed to be amateurs, you did a great job using your muscles to your advantage in the race!]
[I see you hold muscles to be reckoned with! You have promising futures.]
[H- Huh... Thanks.]
I don't know how exactly muscles had taken part in the development of our earlier race, but I think it's probably a topic I shouldn't go into, so I just gave a vague reply.
Is this that development? I'm talking about that common development in battle manga, where the race results are celebrated and rivals give out their declaration of war to the main character.
[But remember this, there's always someone above you!]
[Your muscles are pretty good, but they're still no match for ours!]
[However, we have high hopes for you. In the finals, let's have a great dance with our muscles!]
The Yellow Pipe members, who looked and sounded passionate, struck a macho pose again and left laughing.
[...This is that, right? That declaration of war thing they do in manga?]
[I think so. Seems like they apparently sensed muscles or something.]
[...They somehow feel like people you couldn't properly talk to.]
At my words, Hina-chan and Aoi-chan had strange expressions on their faces. Yes, just as Aoi-chan said, they certainly don't seem like people we could properly talk to.
Speaking figuratively, I felt like they're the type that even had muscles in their brains, giving musclehead a whole new meaning to it.
[Is the Yellow Pipe's race after this?]
[Errr... It looks like they're competing in the 6th race.]
I see, it seems like they saw us on their way to the waiting area and decided to call out to us... However, they're all over 2m tall, tank-top wearing, dark-skinned machos, so the impact of their appearance is the greatest.
Rather than competing in a Flying Board competition, I feel more like they're about to enter a bodybuilding competition...
And so, we went back to watching the races again, when the sixth race was held... and Yellow Pipe was eliminated.
[...They came out looking like such a formidable opponent, but they lost!?]
[Moreover, there's that too. It's not like they encountered any sort of troubles or accidents, they just lost quite normally.]
[...U- Ummm, what was the point of that pose they made on the board...]
Yes, even though they said they would fight us in the finals, they just went and lost normally. It's only natural that Aoi-chan and Hina-chan would have dumbfounded expressions on their faces.
I don't know if that's just midgame fanservice or not, but they also made a macho pose on the board... Incidentally, I found out from the commentary later on, but it seems that the team that won 1st place isn't a strong team, but is actually also participating for the first time.
...Unnn. As I thought, regardless of the result, the impact of their presence really is the most amazing. I guess you should say they lost the battle but won the war? That race was so memorable that it completely made Yellow Pipe leave a lasting memory in my mind.
...I'm worried how there are still two other teams named alongside them though...