"Well then, let's toast to our mutual success!"

Now, Jin, Reiko, Marcia, Reinhardt, and Erza (four of them and one of them) were celebrating at a fancy restaurant.

Both Jin and Marcia were fed up with being solicited by aristocrats and rich merchants after the tournament, so they gladly accepted Reinhardt's invitation.

"Well, Jin, you beat me!　I never thought Lorelei would be defeated."

"Really. I couldn't believe it when Lorelei overworked in the last stage.

Reinhardt and Erza both honestly admitted their defeat.

"Jin, tell me one thing for now.

Jin said, "Tell me one thing for now." Judging from the way he said "for now," he had many questions he wanted to ask.

What is it?

"It's about the warp gate that you came to this continent.

Jin thought to himself, "I knew you'd bring that up.

"Yes, but I don't want to tell you too much. If it were to be destroyed, I would have no way to return to my hometown.

Jin turned down the offer in a safe manner. Hearing this, Reinhardt nodded his head in agreement,

"Well, I see. I wanted to check it out, but I guess not. ......"

"Brother Rai, everyone has one or two things they can't tell others."

Elsa said. Reinhardt backed down, although it seemed a little inappropriate in this case.

"I'm sorry. But I'm sure I'll invite you to my home base someday."

Jin said half diplomatically, and Reinhardt took the bait.

"Oh, yeah!　That's exciting!　Tomorrow I have to go to the capital of this country as a diplomat. I'm sorry, but I'm sure I'll visit you sometime!

"Ah, ah..."

Jin regretted saying that, but he was a little disappointed.

After that, the meal proceeded with a lively discussion about the competition.

The topic of conversation turned to the golem that Jin and Reiko had captured.

"In the end, Reece, the ship's operator, was not found guilty of any wrongdoing, so he was not arrested. Valentino is in custody and under interrogation."

"Well, that makes sense, doesn't it?"

Marcia, who had a lot to do with Valentino, had a complicated look on her face.

"Marcia has been through a lot, hasn't she?"

Jin understands how Marcia feels.

Reinhardt asked her to tell him about her hardships.

Normally, this would not be a topic that Reinhardt would want to talk about, but since he was so excited about winning the competition and was tipsy from drinking wine, Marcia began to tell him about the hardships she had gone through to compete in the competition,

"What?　Tell me in detail and in order."

Reinhardt asked her with an unusually serious look on his face.

Marcia started with the fact that the magecraftsman had not been found until the last minute and that the magi stones had been bought up.

He also tells us that he was charged twice as much for bronze, and that he was sold bronze of poor quality.

"Hmmm...and then, the arson..."

There was also the fire that Reinhardt put out. That one was aimed squarely at the ship.

At that time, Jin decided to speak up too, as he did not have a chance to do so at this time.

"You know, actually, it was the night before the qualifying round ......."

Reiko told him about the intruder she had fought off and dumped far away.

"What the...? Hmmm... ......"

Reinhardt puts his finger to his forehead and thinks.

"My brother Rai is very smart even though he looks like this."

Erza gives a subtle compliment.

"He's not exactly a diplomat."

Reinhardt seemed to collect himself after a moment and looked up,

"First of all, I can say that you did not want Marcia to participate.

Jin agreed,

"Yes, but I don't know why. But I don't understand why. Why would they limit Marcia?　Why not the other participants?"

Reinhardt chuckles,

"That's exactly what I was thinking. Maybe it wasn't Marcia that was targeted, maybe it was the ship?"

"What?"

Reinhardt went on to explain that he wanted to make the catamaran disappear.

"Who wants to disappear?"

"Valentino, of course.

If he could not compete, he would have to give up the catamaran, according to Marcia's story. Then, with some money, Marcia would sell it to him (Valentino). Reinhardt reasoned.

"Well, he didn't have the money, and he had to pay for the upkeep until next year, so he would have sold it for a certain amount, even if it was to Valentino.

Marcia corroborated Reinhardt's reasoning.

And his reasoning continues.

"Now that Marcia has qualified for the competition, there is no way she can buy the ship until the competition is over. The way he went about it was by arson."

This shows that they don't want the ship, but they don't want to have it, Reinhardt explained. So he quenched his thirst with a sip of wine and continued.

"The arson failed. There is an autonomous golem on board that Jin built. If we mess with it, they might be able to identify the culprit.

They all listened to Reinhardt's reasoning without interrupting.

"So we resorted to a last resort. They could harm or kidnap Marcia to prevent her from competing. But that didn't work either."

Reinhardt looked like a different person as he explained.

"The last resort is the underwater golem. But that attempt was foiled by Miss Leco. And then you interfered with the other boats and tried to win at the last minute.

So," Reinhardt paused for a moment,

"I'm sure you'll find out something when you examine the catamaran," he concluded.

He concluded.

Right now, the boats in first through third place are under the control of the competition committee. It is not something that can be easily touched, but judging from the way they have been operating, it is not safe to say that they are.

And Valentino is an assistant to the lord. Well, he may be under a lot of scrutiny right now.

"The sooner we investigate, the better.

At Reinhardt's words, they quickly put away the remaining dishes and left the restaurant together. It is already dark outside.

We walk down the street, illuminated by the magic lamps, toward the harbor. The cool night sea breeze felt good on their tipsy faces.

As they walk, Reinhardt asks Marcia a question.

When did you build that catamaran?

Marcia thought for a moment,

She thought for a moment and then asked, "Two years ago, I think. I've made a few changes since then. "Oh, last year we did a major remodeling."

"Last year, or ...... when Valentino wanted Marcia to be his concubine?"

"Last year ...... year!"

After all, there must be a connection.

Eventually, the group arrived at the public dock in the harbor. A guard was standing guard.

He said, "Thank you very much for your help. We'd like to take a look at the ship, if that's all right."

This was the request of Reinhard, the owner of the second-place team, <>, and their guest of honor. The guard nodded and unlocked the dock entrance.

I thanked him briefly and went inside. It is pitch black, but it is bright enough for Jin, Reiko, Reinhard, and Erza to use their light magic.

"Now, Marcia, will you check out the ship?"

Marcia was the one who built the boat, so she immediately started the investigation.

First, she examined the entire hull. However, Jin has bleached the hull with a surface treatment (safeto-treatment), so nothing in particular was found.

Next is the right hull. The interior was supposed to be hollow except for structural materials.

What is this?　What is this?"

In the right hull, there was a strange piece of parchment pressed into a gap between the girders in the rear corner.

"With something like this in the gap, it's no wonder I didn't notice it before..."

Marcia took out a piece of parchment with what appeared to be a coat of arms, letters, and a picture on it. Marcia reads it out loud.

"Yeah, what is it, a deal for four Eladrites, a contract?"

Reinhardt and Elsa's eyes widen when they hear this.

"That's ......."

"What, <>?"

The two were surprised. But Hitoshi said..,

"What is it?"

It was a gem that Jin did not know either.

"Oh, it's ......."

Reinhard explained. According to him, the gemstone was discovered about 100 years ago and is extremely rare.

Because of its property of amplifying magic power, its distribution is restricted in many countries.

Here in the Kingdom of Elias, it is supposed to be sold exclusively by the state.

The price of one piece is probably not less than 10 million dollars. 4 pieces would be 40 million dollars, or about 40 million dollars. Four pieces would be worth 40 million tolls, or about 400 million yen.

Four pieces would be 40 million tolls, worth about 400 million yen. That is smuggling.

"Oh, I don't know anything about this!

Marcia exclaimed. I don't want people to think I was involved in the trade of such precious stones.

"I know, it's not a gem that ordinary people can get their hands on.

Just when Reinhardt was about to say that he didn't want anyone to see the contract, there came a loud bang and the front of the dock was opened.

With a loud bang, the front door of the dock is pried open.