Practically speaking, there wasn't much reason that I needed to join this year's summer camp.
Normally, running on sand was an effective way of training one's Speed and Power without increasing the risk of injury. Swimming in the ocean was a good way of training Stamina. And the constant workout, especially beneath the sun's heat, was a good way of increasing one's Guts.
And even if an umamusume had reached their peak, training on a beach still had its merits. The new environment would serve as a good refresher, giving new life to training that'd long gone dull.
But I wasn't a normal umamusume. This body of mine was enhanced by the System, and so I didn't need to constantly train to stop my body from weakening. Hell, I was pretty sure this body didn't even have a 'peak', so to say. Just like in the game, my stats just kept climbing as long as I trained.
That was the issue. I needed to train, and this just wasn't enough. Running on the sand, swimming in the ocean, running up the mountains—those no longer pushed my body like they did even a year before.
If I wanted to improve, I'd need to subjugate myself to hellish conditions similar to the training Secretariat made me suffer through. I needed something that stretched my body to its limits. But this was a public space, and I didn't want anyone to think that I was trying to kill myself from over-training.
Regardless, it didn't mean this summer camp was totally useless.
"Again!" I shouted.
Fujimasa March gasped as she crossed the arbitrary finish line I'd drawn across the sand, and her eyes darkened even further as she heard my words. "Another…lap…?" She asked in between her breaths, and her expression collapsed in despair when she saw the small nod I gave.
Still, she didn't disagree. She took a few seconds to regain her breaths, and after wiping the sweat on her forehead, she grit her teeth as she spun and began running across the sand again.
I hummed, glancing at the stopwatch I was holding.
Training on the sand didn't really help me, but I was the exception. Everyone else was working hard to improve themselves, and this summer camp was the perfect chance. And since Kitahara was busy with Oguri and Belno, I decided to help out with March's training instead.
And honestly? March wasn't doing half-bad. Sure, her time couldn't compare to mine or Oguri's, but she was already quite fast. If she was put up against any other Senior racers, I was pretty confident that she'd triumph over them. I mean, she's already won several G3s and G2s herself!
But it wasn't enough for her. She'd placed us as her benchmark, and in that sense, she was far off. If she was put in a race against me, or anyone from the Generation of Miracles really, her chance of winning was practically null. We were all anomalies compared to others—there was a reason why we were called the Generation of Miracles in the first place.
She was just unlucky. Had she been born in any other era, I had no doubts that she could've become a legend. But here? Though she'd grown far stronger compared to her manga counterpart, she was still stifled by the shadows we left behind.
…such was the nature of competition, I suppose.
My ears twitched as I heard March running back, and I looked up just in time to see her cross the finish line once again. This time, she outright dropped onto the sand, her face pale as she took large mouthfuls of air. "A…Ano…ther…?" She rasped out.
I purposely let her question hang for a few seconds, and she began trembling in fear as she waited for my answer. Eventually, I couldn't help but smirk. "Another." I said cheerfully. Her face went deathly pale, but I quickly continued before she could have a panic attack. "But take a rest first. I'm not trying to kill you."
"T-Thank…you…" And right after she said that, she gasped as her head dropped onto the sand, her gaze dull as she stared at the bright blue skies.
Seeing as March was cosplaying a dead fish, I decided to sit down as well. I gazed out to the ocean, idly fiddling with the stopwatch in my hands.
Of course, I wasn't going to spend the entire summer camp training March. Since my Umanity seemed to be returning more and more these days, my urge to run had also been growing. I'd run with Oguri whenever she finished her training, or I'd go on a jog around Okinawa if I ever felt bored.
And speaking of—this trip to Okinawa turned out to be another good showing of the differences between this world's history and the one from my previous life. The most obvious difference being the fact that there was no American military present anywhere on the island. Which made sense, considering the Second World War never happened in this world.
Anyway,
"Alright, time to get up." I said as I stood up. March groaned weakly as she slowly pushed herself up, and I grinned. "Come on, now. You're the one who asked for this, remember?"
"...I know." She said, clearly regretting her decision.
With a slow breath, March slowly made her way back to the line I'd drawn across the sand. She grit her teeth as she bent her knees, and my finger hovered over the stopwatch.
"Go!"
Sand flew into the air as March lunged forward.
…
March's training lasted all the way into the late evening, and by the time she returned to our shared condo to rest, she looked like she was seconds away from collapsing. Her condition certainly drew some eyes, but the moment they saw me walking behind her, their eyes softened with sympathy instead. After all, many people had seen me training March throughout the day, so they knew that March had truly endured hell.
If only they knew that the training I put March through was only a fraction of what I suffered under Secretariat's guidance. If March truly attempted the full package, she'd be sleeping in a damn casket instead.
Anyway, I let March slowly make her way to her room, and once I confirmed that she'd safely made it to her room, I made my way back outside.
And there, sitting on a bench just past the gates of our shared condo was Oguri Cap. Her ears perked up when she spotted me coming out of the door, and her tail began wagging as she came up to me. "Are you free now?"
I gave her a thumbs up. "Yep. No more training today."
Hearing that, Oguri immediately asked, "Run with me?"
I returned a soft smile. "Always."
And so off we went, jogging down the side road towards nowhere in particular. Of course, I had a folded map stuffed in my pocket just in case we ever got lost, but we never did. Either we'd end up back in our condo, or Oguri would somehow find the way back home despite not having any guidance.
But that wasn't important.
Since it was late evening, the sideroads were fairly empty, with only a few cars passing us by from time to time. The skies had gone dark, with only the faintest of orange streaks painted across the darkening sky. The winds carried with it the saline scent of the ocean, intermixed with the cries of cicadas.
We rarely talked during these jogs. We didn't need to. Neither of us were all that talkative in the first place, and I was more than content just having her by my side. The fact I was running with the girl I loved made it all the better.
Here and now, the world existed solely for us.