For how anime-esque a summer camp seemed, it did have some genuine benefits.
For one, training on sand. A surface that sank with every step, forcing anyone to put much more effort in moving. Walking was already a hassle, but running was a whole other ordeal. It was essentially no different to having your legs be weighed down by a barbel or two.
The nearby forest also served as another unique training ground. A usually sloped track, covered in all sorts of obstacles. It was a good way of training an umamusume's perception and coordination.
Training aside, the beach was also a great way to relax. After a packed first half of the year, it was good to have a way to completely let loose after everything that'd happened.
Which was why,
"That's honestly impressive." I said, grinning as I saw Oguri accidentally knock a volleyball into the ocean for the seventh time, causing Belno to quickly swim into the ocean and scramble to grab the volleyball before the waves carry it any further. "She keeps hitting it to the same spot too."
Kitahara laughed dryly. "At least it's good training."
I huffed. "That's true." Oguri was exercising her monstrous speed through the volleyball game, and every time she knocked the ball to the ocean, Belno would train her stamina by swimming. A matching combo that mostly arose due to happenstance—and by that I mean Oguri's unwillingness to ever touch a body of water larger than a bathtub.
"You're not joining?" Kitahara asked just as Belno came back onto the shore, the wet volleyball secured in her hands.
I grimaced as I shook my hand. "Not into it. More of a football person."
He blinked, and then hummed. "Football, huh?"
I smiled. I could roughly guess what he was thinking about.
Umamusume were born to run, but that wasn't an absolute rule. Some umamusume had interests that lie outside of racing. Basketball, boxing, idols—a whole plethora of fields that were similarly dominated by umamusume. Hell, the whole umadol thing was basically just what happened if you took the Winning Concert and ran.
Football was no different, and since it was a sport that relied heavily on one's legs, it was one of the more popular sports in this mystical world. It was the same as the sport in my previous world—though since the players were mostly umamusume, the speed the ball went flying at was leagues above anything a human could ever achieve.
Kitahara glanced at me. "I wonder what you would've been like as a football player?"
I shrugged as I took a slow sip of my juice blend. "Who knows?" I then huffed. "That's even assuming I want to try at all." After all, it was Oguri who'd first pulled me along to Kasamatsu Tracen.
He chuckled. "That's true." He held out his own glass of juice, and I smiled as we clinked our glasses together.
Suffice to say, we weren't actually training yet. We'd all come together to discuss our schedule throughout the summer camp, and we all agreed that our first few days would be spent in relaxation. Playing volleyball, exploring the nearby forest, relaxing around the seaside bars—anything we wanted to do to destress after our packed racing schedule.
Strangely, we were actually in the minority. Most umamusume opted to immediately begin training, making use of the unique environment of the beach and the forest. Out of the hundreds of umamusume that'd joined this summer camp, only a few dozen decided to relax like we were.
"By the way, where's Musaka-san?"
Kitahara smiled wryly. "He's out at the ocean." He said, jabbing his thumb towards the sea. "Rented a personal yacht and all."
"Damn." I whistled. I already knew that Musaka wasn't ascetic by any means, but hearing that he'd casually rented an entire yacht for himself was still mind-blowing to me. I mean, I shouldn't be surprised—his hobby was literally going on trips to other countries. Something like renting a yacht didn't really seem all that impressive compared to that.
"My words exactly." He said, nodding along. "I could never imagine splurging like that."
I grinned as I lolled my head to the side. "You're just saying you're poor."
Kitahara chuckled as he shrugged. "Hey, what can I do? We have Oguri on our team!"
I snapped my fingers as I watched Oguri and Belno resume playing volleyball. "That's true." I took another sip of my juice blend. "But hey, at least it's money well spent, right?" I smiled playfully. "You get to keep the Beast herself on our team."
"Sure, sure."
We spent the next few minutes in tranquil silence, broken only by Belno's occasional surprised shrieks whenever Oguri hit the ball into the ocean. I didn't have anything to speak of, and there was no need for me to do so. We'd been together for nearly a year by this point; Kitahara likely knew me better than I knew myself.
Some time later, while we were waiting by the seaside bar for the staff to prepare us another glass of ice-cold juice, Kitahara asked me something interesting.
"So, any plans after the Triple Tiara?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? That confident that I'd win the [Queen Elizabeth II Cup]?"
"I have to be confident." He grinned at me. "I'm your trainer, after all!"
I smiled. I suppose that was to be expected of the man. "Anyway, no concrete plans as of yet." My smile then fell slightly. "But Oguri and I promised that we'd run together in the [Japan Cup] once we're done with our own races."
Kitahara paused, eyes widening slightly. "The [Japan Cup]..." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Straight to a G1 right after, huh?" He looked at me with concern. "Are you sure? You have maybe three-, no, two weeks before you'd have to race again."
I shrugged lazily. "Can't be helped. That's just how the schedule is." I sighed. "Would be nice if there was another race I could've run for the Triple Tiara; one that's a lot sooner."
He hummed. "That's true…"
Alas, I was just too far ahead of schedule. The [Shuka Sho] wouldn't be made official until several years later.
Not that I minded—if anything, it felt somewhat familiar. After all, back in Kasamatsu, we barely had any time to rest in between races. We did on average two races a month back then, with just two weeks between one race and the next.
"So, you're absolutely sure?" Kitahara stared at me. "You'll be up against umamusume from all over the world, and they're-"
"I know."
I knew full well the preconceptions people had. Sure, Japan had some outstanding umamusume, but compared to the rest of the world? We might as well be a tiny frog in the ocean.
But's it's precisely that-
"That makes it the perfect race for us." I answered, a confident grin on my lips. "Our goal is to take over the world, after all."
Kitahara stared at me in awe, before his expression softened to a fond smile. "Yeah, it is." He took a small breath before he gently shook his head. "But if you're so sure, then I'll sign you two up when registration opens."
"Thanks~" I drawled out, though my ears then perked up when I saw the staff finish preparing our juice. "Oh, there's our order-" Though I then blinked when I saw that we had four glasses of juice instead of two.
Kitahara smiled as he took two of the glasses. "It's for Oguri and Belno."
"Aah." I nodded as I took the other two. "Let's go then."
We then returned to the spot we'd claimed as our own, before we called Belno and Oguri over. The two were more than happy to finally have something to drink after playing around beneath the hot summer sun.
And so the time flew by. The next few days were spent in leisure, letting ourselves rest after half a year of constant training. Playing volleyball, swimming in the ocean, lounging beneath on the sands, touring the nearby town to taste the local delicacies—we did anything that came to mind.
Before we knew it, our period of relaxation was over, and our training resumed with renewed intensity.
Though just as the first day of our summer training began, an…interesting opportunity appeared.