Returning to the log cabin, Barbatos brought back the breakfast she had purchased in the village.
Even with her morning practice, she hadn't forgotten to pick up something for King Halo and the still-slumbering Special Week.
Stepping inside, she found Special Week still deep in the throes of sleep, snoring softly.
Her quilt had been kicked off to who-knows-where, and her pajamas were half-undone, revealing a round little belly that rose and fell with every breath.
Nearby, King Halo was leaning against the wall, arms working rhythmically as she lifted a pair of dumbbells.
Even with a leg fracture preventing her from hitting the track, she refused to let her strength training slide.
"Maruzensky-senpai? Taiki Shuttle?" King Halo looked up, a flicker of surprise crossing her face. She was curious as to why they had suddenly tagged along with Barbatos.
"We ran into each other during morning practice," Barbatos explained, keeping things brief.
"Maruzensky-senpai invited us to train at the Rigil base. We're just dropping off breakfast before we head out." She glanced over at the sleeping girl.
"She's supposed to be heading to remedial classes soon, isn't she? Is she ever going to wake up?"
"I have a feeling she'd sleep straight through the day if no one poked her," King Halo whispered back.
The two kept their voices low, trying their best not to disturb Special Week's rest.
As for the remedial lessons—well, neither of them was a Spica trainer, so it wasn't exactly their cross to bear.
Besides, even if Special Week actually made it to the beach for her tutoring, whether she'd actually absorb anything was an entirely different story.
Barbatos realized that once Special Week left, King Halo would be all alone.
She wasn't sure what the girl's plans were for the rest of the day.
Truthfully, she wanted to invite King Halo to join them at the training base so she wouldn't be bored during the summer camp, but Barbatos was a guest herself; it wasn't her place to extend invitations.
Doing so might make her seem a bit tactless to the rest of the Rigil members.
"King, why don't you come along with us?" Maruzensky spoke up.
Having been seasoned by the years, she was far more attuned to the nuances of social grace.
With everyone else busy, leaving King Halo behind felt a bit lonely. Since she was already bringing one guest, one more hardly made a difference.
"Me?" King Halo paused, dumbbells mid-air. She had already suspected Barbatos and the others might have trouble finding a proper place to train.
As a young lady of high standing, she actually owned a private training estate near this summer camp beach, but since Maruzensky had offered, it was a fine opportunity to see how Rigil operated.
Some time later, Special Week was jolted awake from her dreams by the shrill ring of a LINE call.
Scrambling out of bed to rush to Spica's tutoring session, she muttered to herself as she dressed, only to realize the cabin was eerily silent. Everyone was gone.
The quilts had been neatly folded and tucked away. Sunlight streamed through the window, warming the fabric and giving the room a cozy, tranquil air.
"Everyone's already gone out, huh," Special Week mused. Her nose twitched as she caught a delicious scent—a bag of breakfast, still radiating a faint, lingering warmth.
--+--
Outside the Rigil training base, near the stretch of beach...
"Barbatos is coming here to train with us?" Air Groove glanced at her phone while keeping a watchful eye on Hishi Amazon's studies.
A flash of brief bewilderment crossed her face.
Hishi Amazon, who was currently being force-fed knowledge by Fuji Kiseki, looked up with an excited grin. "For real? That's awesome! I've been wanting to go one-on-one with her for ages!"
While a private duel wasn't quite the same as an official race, it was a much better prospect than waiting all the way until the Winter Dream Cup at the end of the year.
Usually, she could just issue a challenge, but by the time Barbatos had revealed that terrifying finishing speed to defeat Air Groove, the Takarazuka Kinen was already over.
Then came the exams.
Now, at summer camp, Amazon was essentially under house arrest at the training base with zero free time.
If Barbatos hadn't come to them, she wouldn't have had a ghost of a chance.
Fuji Kiseki gave her a dry look. "If you can actually pass your exams, you can duel her whenever you want. For now, sit tight, finish your revision, and make sure you pass."
She leaned in, her voice coaxing. "It'd be pretty embarrassing to fail in front of your juniors, wouldn't it? So, let's get this over with."
Tutoring during summer camp was technically Toujou Hana's job, but Fuji Kiseki had long since made a habit of handling Amazon's "special case."
Air Groove was only there to provide the necessary pressure; Fuji Kiseki was far too soft-hearted, and left to her own devices, Amazon would have been distracted within minutes.
Thump!
"No. We cannot let Barbatos train at this base." Air Groove slammed her hand onto the tutoring table, her face a mask of genuine dread.
"Why not?" Amazon blurted out, confused. "Just because she beat you once at the Takarazuka? Isn't that a bit..."
Before she could finish, Amazon let out a sharp "Ow!" as Fuji Kiseki pinched her ear, cutting her off.
Air Groove wasn't the type to be petty; after the Takarazuka Kinen, she had even lamented to them about how Barbatos and Silence Suzuka were becoming almost too powerful.
"Why the pushback?" Even someone as perceptive as Fuji Kiseki couldn't fathom the reason for such resistance.
She had checked the Rigil group chat earlier—after Maruzensky sent the message, both Symboli Rudolf and Toujou Hana had already given the green light.
Air Groove let out a heavy, weary sigh. There was a profound sense of grievance in her eyes.
"If Barbatos and the others are coming... fine. But we have to hide the President first."
Fuji Kiseki: "?"
Hishi Amazon: "?"
Did Barbatos and Rudolf have some sort of blood feud?
They could hear the sheer helplessness in Air Groove's voice; she sounded deadly serious, not like she was joking at all.
Even if there was some internal drama they weren't privy to, Rudolf had agreed to the visit herself. Why shouldn't they meet?
"Aha! I've got it!" Hishi Amazon slapped her hands together, looking like a detective who had just cracked a cold case.
"It's that thing where the two 'Great Generals' aren't supposed to meet before the final showdown, right?!"
On one side, you had the powerhouse of Canopus, the current "Number One in Japan."
On the other, the absolute pinnacle of Uma Musume, the strongest of all generations.
Fuji Kiseki couldn't help but sigh. "They've seen each other a thousand times at the Academy already. That's not it."
After a long internal struggle, a look of utter despair washed over Air Groove's face.
"It's the President's puns," she groaned. "If Barbatos and the others see that... the President's dignity will be gone forever."
--+--
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.