Chapter 8

Ding.

Ding.

Ding—.

“Oh.”

Kitty let out a low exclamation.

His eyes were shining.

Unlike the test drive, where everyone had started from the same line, the starting positions were properly divided into a grid this time.

Ian’s starting position was the tenth grid—the very last among the racers.

Anyone who knew even the slightest thing about racing would naturally understand that the farther back you started on the grid, the harder it was to move up.

In practice, the front and rear of the grid were almost like two different races.

That was because while the drivers at the front were racing, those at the back were practically running an obstacle course.

The younger and less experienced the drivers were, the greater the disadvantage. It was difficult to predict how the inexperienced drivers ahead would move.

Because of that, at the go-kart level, it was common for karts to tangle up and crash before they had even made it through the first corner.

“My goodness… Kitty, is that the kid? Sarah’s son?”

“I heard he drove that well during the test drive. I thought they meant he was good for a test-drive session!”

Yet Ian immediately slipped through the gaps between the other children and shot up into fourth or fifth place.

Unlike before, these were proper racing karts without any power restrictions.

That made it easy to accelerate hard right from the starting line, but precisely because of that, they were difficult for beginners to handle.

It was easy for a novice to build up speed on their own and slam straight into a wall.

In beginner races, there were even drivers who considered watching what was happening behind them more important than getting ahead.

After all, no matter how well you drove, you couldn’t score any points if another car crashed into you and took you out of the race along with them.

And points weren’t the only concern.

Although accidents weren’t on the same scale as those in full-fledged formula racing, these karts still traveled at speeds far beyond what their safety equipment might suggest, meaning they could easily result in serious accidents.

“Did he move aside because he was afraid of an accident?”

“No, it didn’t look like that. He definitely…”

“He went in himself. Into the gap.”

Amid the stunned staff members who were still struggling to process what they were seeing, Kitty casually joined the conversation.

Unlike his usual exhausted expression that seemed to say everything in the world was a bother, he looked like he was about to burst with pride.

His colleagues, who might have been surprised by the sight at another time, had no room for that now.

They practically charged at Kitty as though they were about to grab him by the collar.

One of them even fired his words at him with bloodshot eyes.

“Wait, that kid—is his name Ian?! Didn’t you say karting was his first time during the test drive?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Then how the hell…!? This is the advanced class…!”

Their surprise was only natural.

Ian, a complete beginner, was racing alongside students in the advanced karting class.

Because of the risk of accidents and injuries, Landbury Academy placed tremendous emphasis on students’ skill levels and ages, dividing the classes thoroughly for training.

The risks created by a driver entering a class far beyond his ability weren’t something that driver alone had to bear. The entire class had to share them.

In other words, the students had to be separated strictly just to avoid landmines capable of casually traveling at 100 kilometers per hour.

If Kitty hadn’t practically begged them to let Ian race, neither the coach nor any of the other staff here would ever have allowed him onto the track.

They had only agreed because the request had come from Kitty, who understood those risks better than anyone.

“That’s why I told you. I said you were going to see something interesting.”

Kitty crossed his arms and confidently jerked his chin toward the track.

The staff’s heads naturally turned in the same direction.

By then, Ian had already climbed into second place and was smoothly diving down the inside of the driver in first.

Naturally, the leader also moved toward the inside to keep from losing his position.

Closing the gap to force the other driver to back off or even induce a collision with the wall was a common tactic.

But countering that move, especially for a beginner, was practically impossible—

“……”

“……”

“As expected.”

Kitty quietly marveled among the speechless staff.

There was unmistakable delight in his voice.

There were several ways to avoid an opponent who was pressuring you.

The simplest and most effective was to simply drive faster than the person pressuring you.

But that method came with a surprisingly strong psychological barrier.

The driver attempting the overtake could never be certain.

Would the other driver really be willing to risk a double retirement just to block them?

What if we crash?

That brief moment of hesitation was enough for the opportunity to disappear.

So the fact that Ian had increased his speed at that exact moment and slipped through the gap meant he hadn’t hesitated even for an instant.

That audacity.

That racecraft and judgment.

“He really is different.”

Everyone present was convinced that this wasn’t something he’d done simply through the reckless bravado of a child who didn’t know any better.

Someone watching Ian immediately accelerate after reclaiming first place and open a gap over the car behind him muttered,

“Kids his age usually can’t even judge the width of their own car yet…”

And furthermore—

“That kid… he’s holding onto the kart with his body.”

Just then, Ian passed directly in front of where they were standing.

One of the staff members who had seen it up close let out an astonished sigh.

Because this was the advanced class, the kart Ian was driving was inevitably too large for him.

The children driving these vehicles were two years older than him at minimum, and in some cases as much as five years older.

There was nothing they could do about that.

The greater the difference between the size of the car and the driver’s body, the harder it was to control the car perfectly.

Ian overcame that overwhelming disadvantage by lifting his hips slightly, keeping his knees pressed tightly together, and controlling the chassis with his body.

“Does that make any sense? A beginner? Isn’t that something you’d need at least ten years of karting… of racing experience to do?”

Someone muttered.

“Yeah. Ian has experience.”

It was unbelievable, but it was true.

It wasn’t something you’d expect to feel from a child who had only just started driving a kart, but there was no better way to describe it.

Kitty’s eyes became serious.

At the same time, it didn’t feel overly seasoned, either.

It was the kind of skill you saw in someone who had completed a certain amount of basic training and had raced a few times, but who was by no means a master of racing.

And on top of that, there was an aggressiveness that made you wonder whether he might cause an accident at any moment.

It was a sensation Kitty had often felt from drivers who had just moved up from F2 to F1.

Aggressive driving that was both thrilling and nerve-racking—the kind of driving displayed by rookies fresh out of F2, where wheel-to-wheel racing was practically the foundation of the sport and physical battles were commonplace.

To put it simply…

“It feels like the beginning of a young driver’s prime, now that he’s finally been thrown into the deep end.”

Kitty’s palms had become drenched in sweat before he knew it.

He clenched his fists.

He wasn’t nervous that Ian might lose first place.

There was already a gap between Ian and second place that would be difficult to overcome.

And yet, even though the victory was already assured, there was something about Ian’s driving that made it impossible to look away.

“Yes!”

Eventually, Ian’s kart crossed the finish line.

Kitty unconsciously slammed his hand hard against the fence.

Then he immediately grimaced.

“It hurts…”

“Is that him? The kid who’s supposed to become the new Blanchard?”

“Ackerman!”

A man approached Kitty as he rubbed his tingling hand and clicked his tongue.

Seeing his older fellow engineer, Kitty’s face brightened.

“Ackerman, I told you, didn’t I? That kid will be a World Champion in ten years.”

“Calm down.”

“I have a lot to say, so listen! Judging purely by ability, he’s already comparable to F2. His driving is still aggressive, but if we refine that into a weapon, there’s nothing to fear. If we let that kid slip away, Landbury will face a future World Champion as an enemy.”

“You seem to rate him even higher than Percival Blanchard.”

What were they supposed to do with both the chairman’s biological son and his stepson having talent?

Ackerman shrugged, finding the situation ironic.

“…Percival Blanchard.”

At those words, Kitty thought of Percival.

The chairman’s biological son was undoubtedly a genius.

There was no room for doubt about that.

Kitty couldn’t deny that even that arrogant boy possessed the qualities of a World Champion capable of making one’s heart race.

But—

“Percival won’t become a World Champion.”

There was a fatal problem with him.

“Honestly, I think Percival is more impressive.”

Ackerman raised an eyebrow at his answer.

“That kid… yeah, you said this is only his second time racing, didn’t you? Considering that, he’s astonishingly skilled.”

Ackerman paused and narrowed his eyes.

His gaze was fixed on Ian, who had gotten out of his kart and was removing his helmet.

“But what I feel from that kid isn’t the animalistic genius of a prodigy. It’s the solidity of someone who’s practiced the same movement a hundred, a thousand times. This being his second time might be a lie. A genius and a gifted person are different. That kid… he’s gifted.”

Kitty understood what he meant.

His own gaze also turned toward Ian.

Ian’s face, revealed beneath the helmet, was drenched in sweat.

The boy looked around with a refreshed expression, but perhaps sensing the gazes pouring toward him, he soon awkwardly stepped to the side.

A person who could understand in one or two attempts a technique that others couldn’t master even after a hundred tries wasn’t necessarily a genius.

True geniuses were monsters who could create a completely new technique on their own in a single attempt—something others couldn’t even imagine despite trying a thousand times.

If Percival Blanchard was one of those monsters, then in that sense, Ian might not be a genius.

But—

“You’re right. If F1 were a sport that looked solely at the individual ability of each driver, there wouldn’t be a driver who could beat Percival.”

But F1 was a team sport.

Ian stepped aside so the other drivers could come out comfortably and politely bowed to the staff.

When the staff asked him what he thought of the kart, he cheerfully explained which parts he had liked.

Watching him, Kitty quietly added,

“When I become a chief engineer, one seat is his.”

Ackerman rolled his eyes.

“Oh my God, you’re still saying that? Not Percival Blanchard? That kid is a genuine genius, a genuine Blanchard. He’s Landbury’s pure-blooded prince.”

“I told you, Percival won’t become a World Champion.”

“Why on earth?”

Apparently frustrated beyond mere confusion, Ackerman turned toward him.

But Kitty’s eyes remained fixed on Ian.

Ian had finally noticed Kitty staring at him too.

He gave an awkward smile and slowly began backing away.

I have to catch him before he runs away…!

Kitty practically threw his answer out as he lunged toward Ian.

“Because Percival said he’d quit racing before entering F1.”

* * *

“Haaah, huff, haaah…”

I panted heavily.

The moment the race ended, Kitty’s eyes had lit up and he’d chased after me, so I immediately ran.

The problem was, I had no idea where I was.

I seemed to have gotten lost.

It wasn’t entirely my fault, either.

Landbury Academy occupied a site spanning several thousand pyeong, and there were no fewer than four tracks.

It was a gigantic complex made up of numerous buildings connected by bridges, so what was I supposed to do?

Even the building I’d first visited with Mom had eight floors.

It was incredibly wide horizontally, and it was tall vertically, too.

“Is this… a gym?”

I leaned against the wall and caught my breath.

Only then did I finally have enough presence of mind to look around.

Judging from the exercise equipment, this seemed to be a gym.

Should I ask one of the adults for directions, or should I call Mom…?

But I probably didn’t need to do either.

“Excuse me, sorry.”

“……?”

Not far away, there was a girl with her back to me, wearing a G.S. harness and doing neck exercises.

The girl immediately realized I was talking to her, removed the harness, and turned around.

Oh. She’s pretty.

The girl, who looked like she was probably Latina, was pretty enough to make even me, an adult mentally, admire her appearance.

Come to think of it, were there girls at Landbury’s academy too?

The Formula series was sometimes called a male-only domain, but that was a misconception.

There was no such rule.

This was one of the few sports where everyone could compete together regardless of gender.

When I had just made it to F1, I’d even heard that there was a female driver making a name for herself in F3.

I had asked her a question, but when I didn’t say anything afterward, the girl frowned at having her workout interrupted.

“¿Qué estás haciendo?”

I froze at her sharp response.

Is she Spanish?

I knew she was speaking Spanish, but the problem was that I had no idea what she was saying.

And then—

“Ah, shit!”

The gym door opened, and a group of kids came storming in, breathing heavily.

I immediately recognized them as—

“What the hell is that bastard doing here!?”

They were the kids I’d raced with just moments ago.