Paoli rubbed his hands as he stood at the entrance of his racetrack, feeling all giddy and excited to welcome the first person who had come to attend the race. Soon, a car pulled up, and a young man who looked to be in his teens got out of the car.

Ravindu Silva looked at the elder brother before him, and he immediately realised that this was the person who had invited him.

As soon as the two saw each other, it was like seeing a long-lost best friend. Maybe it was the love they shared for the sport, or maybe it was their personalities, which were quite alike, being all reckless and adventurous-seeking, it felt like their meeting was destined by fate.

" Welcome to IFM." Pritam immediately went forward and held the hands of Ravindu

"Thank you for having me, it's my pleasure to be invited, I'm very grateful." Ravindu's expression was extremely sincere, completely different from a young adult, which touched Pritam's heart. He could feel the boy's love for racing and could see the sincerity in his eyes. They only exchanged a few short words, but they had already developed amiability with one another at their first greeting.

Pritam finally turned his attention to the car. Ravindu came in.

"This is ...hmm...a V-1?"

Ravindu nodded, but his face was a little red with embarrassment. Vishwakarma V-1 was one of the worst-performing, unreliable cars in the empire right now, and the only reason it was outselling a lot of better cars was because of its price, which was cheaper than every other car by at least 20 to 30%.

"Uh, yes."

He did not want to talk about the car anymore, so Ravindu swiftly diverted the topic and pointed towards a towering middle-aged man who got down from the back of the car carrying several suitcases.

"Let me introduce you to Vedangam, an aide who travelled with me and will be staying with me for a few days."

The appearance of Vedangam took Pritam by surprise; he only now realised that there were other people in the carriage. "Oh, hello, sir, nice to meet you."

Vedangam greeted him back with a smile.

"Anyway, Brother Ravindu, come, I will show you the track." He did not feel any resistance in directly upgrading his relationship with Ravindu to one of brothers, and Ravindu did not mind it either as he happily followed Pritam from behind. Only Vedangam was left standing alone carrying the suitcases, not understanding what he had to do.

Pritam excitedly showed off the track like a kid showing off his toy, and Ravindu, looking at the condition of the track, was taken aback by how exquisite it was.

"Brother Pritam, this road is quite impressive. I haven't seen such a quality of road even in the capital."

" Haha," Pritam was proud hearing the compliment, "of course, how could I host races without having a proper road. You might not know, brother, but I have used the same standards to build this road as that of the roads in the Imperial Capital."

" The soil has been compacted six feet below ground. Above it, two feet of larger gravel has also been compacted, and another two feet up, smaller gravel mixed with coarse sand has been compacted as well. On top of that lies a thin layer of cement powder, finished with a foot of tar."

" Unless someone comes along with a sledgehammer, I don't see this road getting damaged anytime soon."

" It's impressive, brother, should have cost quite a lot."

" Yes, just for the road alone, it cost me around 1.4 million Varaha, but honestly, it was worth it, Don't you think so too ?"

Pritam inadvertently glanced at Ravindu's face and was taken aback. The boy was looking at him with so much admiration that it made him feel embarrassed, so he quickly tried to change the subject.

" Oh, look at my manners! I haven't even taken you to your room yet. I'm sorry, I got carried away seeing the first person who actually chose to participate in the race."

"Haha, no worries, brother. I'd take what we just did over staying in a room any day of the week."

Pritam then showed Ravindu and Vedangam the rooms he had rented. Since the racetrack didn't have any accommodations, he had to rent an entire floor in the nearby hotel. Thankfully, he had taken out a loan to cover all the expenses.

In the same way, when other racers arrived, he showed each participant their personal rooms and took the time to get to know every one of them personally: Tharindu from Galle, Dhulita from Kandy, Chamara from Puttala, Ruwan from Ratnapura, and Isuru from Kuliyapitiya.

Once everyone was settled in their rooms, three days before the race, he brought them all together to explain the rules and regulations he had established.

"This will be a 20-lap race on a 6.2-kilometre track. Pit stops near the starting line are available for refueling or repairs, but the clock keeps running while you're there. All cars must use a stock Balwaan 4th Gen M Series engine; beyond that, there are no restrictions as long as the car can move. Basic rules apply: no deliberately leaving the track, no intentionally hitting other cars, and collisions will be penalized. The winner is the first to cross the finish line after 20 laps."

After the briefing, everyone left. Ravindu did too, but he lingered thoughtfully. He studied his competitors' cars, some had the Veer, others the S12. While neither was the fastest or most high-performing model on the market, both were clearly superior to the V-1, and, unlike the Vishwakarma V-1, extremely reliable.

So the race was looking bleak already, but after the briefing, something clicked in his mind, and he wanted to try it out.

"Uncle, find out where the nearest mechanic shop is in the city, I want to try something."

Vedangam, looking at the back of his young master, had a very bad feeling.

---

Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, the first guests he had invited stepped foot on the harbour of Colombo. This time, it was not the participants but the audience. Unsurprisingly, it was actually his own brother and uncle who came to watch the race. Although he was a little disappointed that his father couldn't make it, he could understand how busy his father was, so he did not think about it for long. Greeting his brother and uncle, he took them to the hotel rooms he had booked and settled them there while he waited for the next people to arrive.

To his joy, it was the group of friends he invited as backups in case he could not find any racers and cars locally. Of course, since he had already found the racers locally, he would not say that they were called as replacements. He did not have a wish to get beaten black and blue.

"Ayeeee! Machiii."

Looking at these idiots, all the tension in his mind about whether the event would succeed or not slowly began to wash away.

"So show us your track."

His friends looked more eager to see what he had done rather than relax for a while, so he directly took them to the track and also introduced them to the drivers who were inspecting the track.

All of them, all racing fanatics, talked and laughed with each other, having a very good time.

Pritam did wonder where Ravindu went, as he hadn't seen him for a long time, but since things were so hectic for him already, his thoughts returned to the moment and he just had fun.

Days passed, and he began to receive the parents of his friends who decided to join, and even a person from the investment firm arrived.

One of his friends, looking at the empty stands, suddenly suggested, "Why not invite a few locals to watch the game for a cheap price and fill the stadium? At least some money is better than no money at all."

Pritam was initially moved but then he became cautious, because, although he had gotten the business licence, he had not contacted the BSO. He did not have any permits from the BSO. Sure, he could get the event hosting permit since the stadium he designed was according to the safety standards for audience in the BSO guidelines, but since there were no standards and guidelines made for car racing, he did not know what permits he had to get. Besides, if some problem occurred now, he could argue that it was an accident during a test. But if he allowed people to enter, then it would be completely different.

Days passed, and he waited anxiously for that one friend he had invited and was looking forward to meeting. He hadn't seen this friend for at least 4 to 5 years. The last time he saw him, he was still in college, but now he was a person he could not easily contact.

Finally, as he was looking at the horizon with dull and lifeless eyes, making it very difficult for anyone to understand what he was thinking, his expression suddenly changed as a large ship approached the port. And as he saw the emblem of the Maratha Royal family on the ship, he was finally relieved, and he felt like a large weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Who else could it be other than Rajendra Bhosle II, the current Prince of the Prabhava Pura Kingdom?

"How have you been? Pritam?"

"I could ask the same of you, sir prince!"

They both saw each other in the eye and immediately burst out laughing.

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