Walking out of the exam hall.
The tension that had been building up throughout the first half of the year finally, truly relaxed.
The sunlight on campus was bright, and plenty of students were still in their classrooms, grappling with exam answers.
Barbatos wasn't among them.
The moment she'd seen the test paper, she knew she was fine.
Reaching out, she took Seiun Sky's hand beside her, their fingers naturally intertwining. They both turned to look at each other at almost the same time, sharing a smile.
The training in the first half of the year had been really tough, but the joy and sense of accomplishment from each race victory, and that feeling of not wanting to lose, had kept them going.
They'd achieved two titles of the Classic Triple Crown and the accolade of being number one in Japan.
"Hey, where should we go to buy swimsuits?"
"How about that place where we got our race outfits designed?"
Since entering Tracen Academy, last year she'd been mostly immersed in games, acquiring her skills. This year, it had been all training, so she didn't know much about the shops around the academy.
Also, because the cafeteria at Tracen Academy was so good, unless they were going out for a race, they rarely ate off-campus.
This meant that, perhaps, Barbatos was more familiar with the shops and restaurants in the cities hosting the four major racecourses than she was with the ones around Tracen Academy.
That shop that designs race outfits for Uma Musume has all sorts of cosplay clothes; maybe they sell swimsuits too.
Last year, they'd talked with Seiun Sky about going to a comic convention together, but that still hadn't happened.
"Hmm, let's go to the shopping mall."
Seiun Sky suggested, "They're sure to have them there. Plus, we need to buy some other stuff too."
For a top-tier Japanese city like Kyoto, there's a large shopping mall almost every few blocks. But to prevent too much foot traffic around Tracen Academy, there was only one.
That single mall could satisfy all the needs of every Uma Musume at the main Tracen Academy campus.
"Sure."
"We've hardly ever been to that mall."
Barbatos nodded in agreement.
Just then, Twin Turbo, with her signature twintails, walked out of the school building. "B-chan! Seiun-chan!"
Her voice was buzzing with excitement. "Hmph, are you guys done with your exams?"
Seiun Sky put her free hand to her chin, a slightly troubled look on her face. "Not sure, this test was pretty hard."
"Yeah, when they collected the papers at the end, I hadn't even finished writing mine."
Barbatos let out a soft, dramatic sigh.
It seemed like their upcoming summer training camp might be facing two whole months of studying academic subjects.
"That test paper didn't seem that hard to me!"
Twin Turbo laughed, hands on her hips. "Anyway, where are you guys headed?"
"Just as I was leaving the exam hall, I made plans with Urara and Machitan to meet at the dorm and have a strategy meeting for summer camp."
Hearing this, Barbatos found it perfectly reasonable.
It was only natural for her team, Canopus, to have a strategy meeting before summer camp.
But...
"We're not coming. We need to head back to our room and study hard first."
Barbatos declined Twin Turbo's invitation. "Besides, for summer camp, rooms are assigned by class. Even if there's time outside of remedial classes, we'd probably need to discuss things with our classmates."
In Canopus, besides her and Seiun Sky, all the other members were in the same class.
Not that it really affected the team much, though.
"Okay then, see you at summer camp!"
"See you at summer camp!"
Twin Turbo stood there, watching until Seiun Sky and Barbatos disappeared into the distance, waiting for Urara and the others to come out.
Ikuno Dictus was still organizing everyone to go over the exam answers.
As for Twin Turbo herself, she'd completely forgotten all the answers the moment the test ended.
--+--
The Uma Musume curriculum moved fast, and it wasn't long before Barbatos reached the mall.
Kyoto's shopping mall wasn't much different from those in other major cities; they were pretty much all cut from the same cloth.
This was familiar territory for Barbatos and Seiun Sky.
Usually, though, they didn't have a reason to visit the swimwear section.
"You know, I'm pretty surprised Twin Turbo might pass the exam."
Barbatos observed the various shops inside the mall.
Because the exams had just ended and most Uma Musume were either checking answers or doing other things, there weren't many customers moving around inside.
She also noticed another difference from other malls.
Since most customers here were Uma Musume, the shop merchandise was more tailored to them. In other malls, you'd see a dazzling array of human clothing, but here, the brands and styles were specifically for Uma Musume.
On some floors, an endless variety of food and drinks favored by Uma Musume were also on offer.
On the floor dedicated to clothing, Barbatos and the others searched for swimwear shops. The clothes in one particular shop, however, caught Barbatos's eye.
Her gaze lingered on the garments in that shop for a long moment before she finally looked away.
Soon after.
She and Seiun Sky arrived at the entrance of a swimwear shop.
Probably because they were businesses near Tracen Academy, they were already used to this month meaning summer camp. Every swimwear shop had discounts on all their Uma Musume-specific swimsuits.
"Welcome!"
The shop assistant quickly approached, her gaze pausing on the two of them for a moment before asking, "What style of swimsuit are you two looking for?"
"We'll just have a look around first, thanks."
Barbatos replied politely, then took Seiun Sky's hand and led her inside.
The swimsuits inside were a riot of color and style. Barbatos even saw one that looked like three band-aids. Not real band-aids, of course, but a swimsuit designed to look like them.
That kind of swimsuit probably only existed in "educational materials." If anyone actually wore that to the beach, they'd be an absolute legend.
Halfway through browsing, Seiun Sky stopped and pulled down a swimsuit.
She turned to Barbatos and asked, "How about this one?"
It was a light green two-piece. The color was a shade lighter than Seiun Sky's hair, but almost a perfect match. The top was designed with layered frills, giving it a bit of a feel like her race outfit.
"It looks really suitable. I think you'd look great in it."
Barbatos was already looking forward to seeing Seiun Sky in it. Hmm, if only it had a thigh strap like her race outfit, it would be absolutely perfect.
Maybe she could find a chance to bring that up with her girlfriend.
"Want to try it on?"
"Yeah, wait a sec."
Watching Seiun Sky head into a nearby fitting room, Barbatos's attention was also caught by a swimsuit next to it.
It was one that didn't really look like a typical swimsuit, kind of giving off a tomboyish vibe.
A two-piece design: the top was like a sports bra, and the bottom was shorts with a faux-layered look, as if she was wearing swim trunks with white shorts over them, partially unbuttoned to reveal the swimsuit underneath.
But actually, the bottom was just one piece.
It had this feeling of being simple, a bit boyish, yet somehow a little alluring.
Kind of like a "swimsuit-wearing tomboy," she thought.
Thinking this, Barbatos reached out and picked through that style, finally choosing one in the same color as the swimsuit Seiun Sky had just grabbed.
If the styles are different, and the colors are different too, then how will people be able to tell at a glance that you're a couple?
Swimsuit in hand, Barbatos didn't go straight into a fitting room but waited outside for Seiun Sky to come out.
Seiun Sky changed quickly; swimsuits aren't exactly complicated to put on.
When the fitting room door opened, Barbatos's eyes lit up.
In her previous life, she'd never been to the beach, but she'd seen plenty of pictures of beautiful girls in swimsuits online.
She'd once thought she wasn't really that into the whole swimsuit thing, but maybe she'd been mistaken?
Or maybe it was because Seiun Sky was her girlfriend, and she had that couple's filter going on.
"Do I look good?"
Seiun Sky tilted her head, looking at Barbatos and asking.
Barbatos didn't answer. Instead, she walked over, took Seiun Sky's hand, and replied off-topic, "Can we make a deal? From now on, unless it's for summer camp, let's not go to the beach. Or, if we do go to the beach later, let's just book out the whole place."
"Pfft~"
Catching on immediately, Seiun Sky let out a light laugh. "So over the top!"
Even as she said that, she felt inexplicably happy inside.
Going to the beach means wearing a swimsuit. With so many people on the beach, wearing one means others will see you.
If, during summer camp, the only people on the beach besides the trainers are Uma Musume, then it's mostly fine, since most everyone is an Uma Musume.
But going to the beach at other times means there will be human guys there.
The moment Barbatos said that, Seiun Sky instantly understood the implication—being seen by guys. Barbatos would get jealous.
"It's not over the top! Every word is from the heart!"
Barbatos said, her face utterly serious.
"Pfft~"
Seeing Barbatos's earnest expression, Seiun Sky couldn't help but laugh. She glanced at the swimsuit Barbatos was holding.
"Is that the one you picked?"
"Yeah, it's the same color. Couple style."
"I'll go try it on for you."
A little while later, having decided on their swimsuits, the pair quickly paid and left the shop.
"Besides swimsuits, don't we need sunscreen?"
As she spoke, Barbatos scanned the other floors of the mall, thinking about which one might have sunscreen for sale.
The sun was already strong during their usual training, but they wore training gear that offered some protection. Their faces might get a little tanned, but it wasn't a big deal.
But at the beach, wearing swimsuits under that blazing sun...
Two months of that, and they might end up as tanned as Hishi Amazon.
"It should be on the floor below?"
Seiun Sky sounded uncertain. "Hey, before we get sunscreen, let's go take a look over there?"
Seiun Sky pointed to a nearby pajama shop, one they'd passed on their way to the swimwear store.
It wasn't that she wanted to buy pajamas.
It was just that on the way over, she'd noticed Barbatos seemed to keep looking at the clothes inside.
Neither of them really needed new pajamas; they had several sets in their dorm rooms for regular rotation. But thinking about the fact that they'd been sleeping together recently,
Seiun Sky wondered if Barbatos wanted her to wear some special kind of pajamas to bed.
Anyway, with summer camp coming up, they'd be sharing a room with others and definitely wouldn't sleep together. At best, they'd have tonight...
So, she wanted to see what kind of pajamas Barbatos had been staring at.
"Eheh~"
Barbatos scratched her head a little sheepishly, surprised that Seiun Sky had noticed her glancing at the pajamas earlier.
She hadn't originally planned on buying them; she just thought they were "great" and gave them an extra look or two, especially imagining Seiun Sky wearing them.
Even before stepping into the shop, her mind was already picturing Seiun Sky in that pajama set.
Her initial thought was that, at the very least, she'd have to get Seiun Sky's agreement first, then maybe disguise herself, come to the shop, and buy them without the shop assistant recognizing her as Barbatos.
She was already pretty famous, especially after winning the Takarazuka Kinen and becoming Japan's number one.
Pretty much anyone who followed Uma Musume would probably recognize her as Barbatos.
If it got reported that she was buying that kind of pajamas...
Even with her thick skin, that would be a bit embarrassing.
But since Seiun Sky had suggested checking it out, Barbatos didn't worry about it too much.
Entering the pajama shop, before any clerk could come over, Barbatos led Seiun Sky straight to the pajamas she'd seen earlier. "I think you'd look really cute in these."
In front of them was a cute, cartoonish dinosaur-style pajama set, complete with a dinosaur hood. Wearing it would probably make someone look like a little dinosaur.
Hmm, if word got out that Barbatos liked cute, cartoonish pajamas, the dignity of being Japan's number one would probably vanish into thin air!
Seiun Sky glanced at Barbatos. So this was the type of pajamas she liked.
Dinosaur pajamas were no big deal; she could fall asleep in one second no matter what she wore, but...
"Excuse me, we'll take two of these."
Seiun Sky pulled Barbatos towards the register to pay.
She wanted to see Barbatos wear those dinosaur pajamas too!
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.