Dimiurge: I Have Understood His Highness the Prince's Profound Intent!

The video continued.

After Lumine and Paimon's duo made their entrance, all the contestants in this race had been introduced.

"It seems our contestants are all ready."

"Please take your positions..."

"Five, four, three, two, one..."

Before Katheryne, acting as both host and referee, could finish speaking, a crisp bell suddenly rang out. Then Lumine, with Paimon riding in front of her on a vintage bicycle, shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow.

"The Traveler jumped the gun! I haven't even fired the starting pistol yet!" Σ(????)?

Referee Katheryne shouted irritably.

Hearing Katheryne yelling behind her, Lumine's lips curled into the legendary wicked smile every protagonist supposedly had.

But just as Lumine turned her head to taunt the other contestants, her wicked smile suddenly froze.

The reason was simple.

The instant she turned around, an engine roared with a "Vroom—".

Kamisato Ayaka's boat-shaped vehicle, Yoimiya's Fireworks Shop vehicle, and Yae Miko's Kagura's Verity instantly overtook her.

No, perhaps "overtook" was no longer the right word.

The second after passing Lumine, the three of them had already vanished beyond the end of the road, leaving only Lumine and Paimon behind with utterly frozen smiles...

Whether deliberately... ah, no, whether by coincidence, the camera even gave the stunned pair a close-up.

Lumine: ⊙▽⊙

Paimon: ⊙▽⊙

[March 7th: Uh... even jumping the gun didn't help.]

[Herrscher of Reason: So you jumped the gun just to lead for a few seconds?] (￢_￢)

Somewhere, Dimiurge, who had not appeared for quite some time, suddenly seemed to think of something. He adjusted his glasses and revealed a knowing smile.

"I see, I understand." ??(??ω??)?

"Her Highness the Princess jumped the gun not merely because she wanted to use underhanded means to win the race."

"Her Highness the Princess's true meaning was likely to tell