The beach.
Barbatos, suitcase in one hand and Seiun Sky in the other, stepped off the school bus.
The slightly salty sea breeze brushed against her cheeks, making her two braids dance.
It was her first time at the Japanese coast. Barbatos took a deep breath of the ocean air—it tasted of freedom.
I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!
"All Class A students, gather over here. We're assigning the cabins now."
The teacher in charge was calling out nearby.
Barbatos walked over, joining the other Uma Musume from her class as they formed a circle around the teacher holding the roster.
She hadn't really paid much attention to the summer training camp details before this. She'd half-assumed they'd be staying in hotel dorms or something, not little cabins by the sea.
The entire beach was deserted, save for the Tracen Academy Uma Musume. Looked like they'd rented out the whole place for the duration of the camp.
"Barbatos..."
Hearing her name, she glanced toward the teacher. She wondered how the cabin assignments would work. If Seiun Sky ended up in a different one, she'd have to try and negotiate a swap.
"Barbatos, Seiun Sky, Grass Wonder, King Halo, Special Week. You're in one cabin together."
The teacher's voice rang out.
Barbatos realized their cabin was basically a group of accquantances—well, friends. Apart from El Condor Pasa, who was in France, this was pretty much her core circle within the class.
Probably the teacher's deliberate doing.
Then again, maybe Grass Wonder had a hand in it.
She was a member of Rigil and helped out with student council stuff sometimes. The student council president's power was absolute, so Grass Wonder could definitely put in a word with the teachers.
Either way, it worked out.
Barbatos wasn't exactly antisocial, but with the intense race schedule in the first half of the year, she'd felt a bit of distance grow between her and some classmates.
She was definitely closer to Grass Wonder and the others.
She gave a quick nod to the teacher, and the group assigned to their cabin headed off to find it.
This time, Barbatos made sure not to walk too fast. After all, one of them was on crutches.
Knowing King Halo, if they hurried, she'd stubbornly push herself to keep up without a word, and that might aggravate her injury. No point in that.
But then Barbatos noticed something strange.
"King, where's your luggage?"
She hadn't thought about it before, but now it hit her: King Halo, with her crutches, couldn't exactly handle a suitcase. And sure enough, there was no suitcase with her.
She figured maybe one of the Halo family butlers would bring it later.
Still, better to check, just in case it got left on the bus. The distance between the cabins and the bus was nothing for an Uma Musume, even a round trip, but she worried the bus might leave soon.
"I had someone put it in the cabin earlier," King Halo said calmly, showing no sign of being down about her injury.
Figured.
Barbatos wasn't surprised at all.
When they got to the cabin and stowed their luggage, they saw the futons neatly laid out inside, probably prepared earlier, along with King Halo's suitcase.
Unlike the school dorms, the cabin had no beds. Just futons stacked on the floor, ready to be spread out for sleeping at night.
It was a bit of a unique Japanese touch.
Barbatos had only ever seen this on TV in her past life. In the almost year since she'd been here, this was her first encounter with... floor beds?
They exchanged glances. The cabin had been cleaned before they arrived, but they still divvied up some chores to give it a proper once-over. It was, after all, going to be their home for the next two months.
Even King Halo wasn't left out. Knowing her, they gave her some light cleaning tasks that didn't require moving around much.
After a quick tidy-up, they all sat in a circle.
Special Week, clearly also a first-timer at the beach, was buzzing with excitement. "Hey, let's hit the beach later!"
Grass Wonder glanced at her, looking like she wanted to say something but held back.
During the summer camp, Uma Musume generally had free time, unless their team had specific plans.
The only exception was those who failed their exams—they'd be stuck in mandatory remedial classes. Those weren't handled by the teachers, but arranged by each team's trainer.
Grass Wonder recalled the exam scene. Was Special Week's score really okay?
"Yeah, we're at the beach. We gotta have some real fun," Barbatos chimed in, picking up on Special Week's vibe.
No need to bring up exam results now. If there was no notification, it meant scores weren't out yet, or she'd passed. Might as well enjoy the moment and not spoil Special Week's mood.
With that, she got up, walked over to her suitcase, and pulled out two collapsible fishing rods and some tackle.
"Sei-chan and I are thinking of catching our dinner. You guys wanna come?"
A little alone time was nice, but since they were all here together, no need to split off. She only had two rods, but there were plenty of places on the beach to rent or buy more gear.
You could fish at Tracen too, but it was totally different from fishing by the sea. Being at the coast, you had to give it a try.
Fishing was also one of Seiun Sky's hobbies, so Barbatos wasn't about to miss the chance.
Besides, they had an injured friend here. With King Halo's leg, suggesting beach volleyball was out of the question.
"Me!"
Special Week, who'd never fished before, shot her hand up, eager to join.
As for Suzuka and the others, their trainer would probably call them for a team meeting later.
Even though the cabins were organized by class, most activities during camp were done with your respective team.
Grass Wonder smiled. "I need to check in with my team first, but I can come by later."
Rigil was definitely the strictest about this. Even at the start of camp, they had to assemble, probably to go over tasks and training schedules for the duration.
"Fishing, huh..." King Halo's eyes lit up. "Alright, let's have a contest! See who's the best angler!"
"Let me show you all the true 'King's Cast'!"
Barbatos couldn't help but laugh inwardly. 'King's Cast'? Seriously?
Was King Halo some kind of fishing prodigy?
Seiun Sky perked up, clearly intrigued. "Oh? Yeah, let's make it a competition!"
--+--
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.