Barbatos and Seiun Sky strolled along the beach together, the sound of the sea breeze and the crashing waves a constant backdrop in their ears.
Since it was their first day at the beach, and fishing was on the agenda, neither of them was wearing swimwear.
Seiun Sky was currently dressed in a pair of denim overalls with a black T-shirt underneath, giving her a bit of a tomboyish look.
Barbatos actually kind of liked this look on her. Or rather, her girlfriend looked good in anything; it was just a matter of looking great or looking even better.
They left a bit of distance between them.
Seiun Sky, hands clasped behind her back, quickly walked ahead, then turned around to face Barbatos as she walked backwards.
"Think fishing today will be boring?"
"Half an hour."
Faced with such a question, Barbatos gave a very precise figure.
"I think for someone who doesn't really like fishing, or whose initial excitement has just worn off, half an hour is probably the human limit for fishing enthusiasm."
"So..."
"I think if Special Week hadn't been called away for extra lessons, she wouldn't have been able to stick with it for long either."
King Halo could probably get excited for a whole day just from getting her line caught on the 'sea floor,' and Grass Wonder was likely the most patient of their group of five.
So if Special Week hadn't been called away and had stayed to fish with the four of them, she'd probably be the first one to get restless.
As for King Halo, that inherent pride of hers would keep her going; even if she found it boring, she'd tough it out.
"Me? If I were fishing alone, I'd probably be about the same as Special Week."
"Probably wouldn't exceed the human limit."
Barbatos shrugged. Half an hour was her max, no more. In the past, when she fished alone, she'd even pull out her phone and play League of Legends: Wild Rift.
But then, her tone shifted. "But if I'm with the person I love, I don't think anything we do together could ever be boring."
For her, this wasn't some survival instinct talking; it was just the plain truth.
Forget fishing alone, even if she were fishing with Special Week, King Halo, and Grass Wonder—the four of them together—as long as Seiun Sky wasn't by her side, she'd just zone out completely.
Only when she was with Seiun Sky did the time spent fishing actually bring her joy.
And besides, if fishing really got boring, Barbatos would just say so. Otherwise, doing it too many times might actually chip away at a couple's patience and feelings for each other.
Seiun Sky hummed softly in agreement.
Even though she'd more or less expected an answer like that, even though it wasn't anything surprising to hear, it still made her happy.
"In that case, for the rest of this summer training camp, let's go fishing every day."
"Sure."
Barbatos agreed without hesitation. "Forget just summer camp, we could fish every day even after we retire."
Having said that, she couldn't help but add a little extra.
"Let's get one thing straight, though. Fishing is fine, but there's no way I'm eating fish every day."
"If we fished and ate it every single day, maybe eight years after we retire, we'd be at a restaurant for a reunion with old classmates and rivals. Then the waiter brings out a fish dish, and I'd probably start gagging."
"Then I'd hit 'em with, 'Eight years! I ate fish for eight whole years!'"
"'Do you guys have any idea what I went through for those eight years?!'"
"Pfft~"
Watching Barbatos put on this whole dramatic act, Seiun Sky couldn't help but laugh. "We could always give it a try if you want."
"No way. If that happened, I'd just go and become a legendary Uma Musume and enter every single regular race just so I wouldn't have to eat fish every day."
Barbatos stated this with unwavering resolve.
She also knew Seiun Sky was joking; she was too. If she really did enter every single regular race, her own generation might be okay, but for several generations down the line, there'd be too many G2 and G3 races to handle.
Anyway, aside from the Triple Crown events, she'd have swept all the G1 races.
By that point, the racing association officials would definitely want to have a word with her, and the audience would be suffering from major burnout.
"Oh, by the way, I was wondering why King Halo doesn't just get an electric wheelchair?"
"Walking around like that might not be tiring for her, but it's definitely going to slow down her recovery."
Having been through injuries plenty of times herself, Barbatos felt this wasn't really ideal.
If it weren't for the fact that King Halo was such a prim and proper young lady, she'd have considered lending her her own electric wheelchair.
"A wheelchair on the beach?"
"Wow, reviewing for exams must have really fried my brain cells. Can't believe I didn't think of that."
"Feels like I really need to properly unwind."
Barbatos stretched her arms out wide. She hadn't relaxed like this since the New Year holidays; at this time on a normal day, she'd still be in the middle of training.
Caw~ Caw~ Caw~
Looking up as she stretched, her gaze landed on the sky. The stars by the seaside seemed so much vaster.
This view was nothing like the one you got from Tracen Academy. Of course, if there was a tall building around here, it'd probably be even better to go up to the rooftop and look.
"Look over there!"
Barbatos pointed up at the starry sky, directing Seiun Sky's gaze.
"That star, the brightest one in the whole sky. It's like it steals the brilliance from all the other stars, like it's the main character among them all."
"Someday, I'm going to challenge that brightest star and become the brightest one myself."
Seiun Sky turned her head to look at Barbatos, who was still gazing at the stars. It felt like there was a light shining in her eyes.
Even though Barbatos hadn't said it directly, Seiun Sky could still understand what she really meant.
If you compared the stars to Uma Musume, there were plenty of other incredibly strong ones too, but there was only one absolute among them—that brightest star: the "Emperor," Symboli Rudolf.
Seiun Sky bit her lip lightly, then said softly, "Then I guess we're rivals. I want to become that brightest star too."
"Then let's settle it on the track at the Japan Cup!"
Barbatos shot back without holding back. "I'm not going to go easy on you!"
"Me neither!"
Caw~ Caw~ Caw~
Another faint sound drifted over from a nearby grove of trees. Barbatos glanced toward it. "What's that sound? Wolves?"
When she mentioned wolves, there wasn't a hint of fear in her voice; it perfectly embodied the phrase 'skill gives one courage.'
As they were now, if she and Seiun Sky ran into a wolf, they could probably beat the living daylights out of it. Even if they chose not to fight, they could just run—what wolf could possibly outrun an Uma Musume?
But that was just a passing thought; what were the chances of wolves roaming around a beach anyway?
Hearing this, Seiun Sky was quiet for a moment, then said a bit hesitantly, "That sound... should be a beetle, right?"
"A beetle? Think we could catch a few and take them back?"
--+--
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.