"McQueen-senpai?"
Kitasan Black's ears twitched sharply at that familiar name.
Then, twitching again in surprise, she widened her eyes.
"Rice-senpai…? W-why are you also—wait, no! You're definitely welcome! Welcome, Rice-senpai!"
Remembering how Silence Suzuka had "misunderstood" her earlier, she hastily corrected herself:
"My name is Kitasan Black! It's our first meeting, please take care of me, Rice-senpai!"
Startled, the petite Uma Musume shrank back into the corner, nervously twisting her fingers. A shy embarrassment flashed across her gentle face.
"U-um… You don't have to be so formal, Kitasan-san…"
Just as Kitasan was about to continue speaking, Yasui Makoto interrupted softly.
"This is the room prepared for you two and Kita-chan. Looks like it's mostly sorted. Are you both satisfied?"
"Yes, although I haven't been here before, it's much nicer than the inns from previous training camps," Silence Suzuka said with a gentle nod, smiling. She glanced toward Rice Shower.
"What do you think, Rice?"
"R-Rice… is fine with anything…"
Rice Shower's unusually long ears twitched slightly, and she quickly added in a timid voice, "Sorry for causing trouble, Yasui-san… and Suzuka too…"
"That's good," Yasui said warmly. "I still have some luggage I need Kita-chan's help with, so we'll step out first. If either of you need anything, please tell the staff or contact me directly."
Seeing the two Uma Musume nod, he inclined his head slightly, gave Kitasan—who was staring blankly—an obvious glance, and headed outside.
Kitasan blinked, quickly bowed to Silence Suzuka and Rice Shower, and said, "Senpai, I'll go help Trainer now!"
One gave a gentle smile, the other a shy one. Suzuka and Rice waved slightly, watching Kitasan hurry out.
"She's just as warm and energetic as we've heard, isn't she?" Silence Suzuka remarked gently, turning to Rice Shower. "She didn't make you uncomfortable, did she?"
"N-no… It's just Rice's own issue…" Rice Shower shook her head shyly. After a moment of silence, she looked toward the door, nodded slightly, and murmured softly with a tender smile:
"She's very lively and cheerful… She reminds me of Teio from back then…"
"Well, Kita-chan isn't here right now, and neither is Teio, so…" Suzuka lightly covered her lips, whispering, "Kita-chan is much more obedient and well-behaved than Teio was back in her racing days."
"Remember that training camp? Teio sneaked off somewhere without telling anyone. Everyone panicked, but she came back smiling and proud of herself."
"I heard even the Student Council President found out later and was unusually angry."
"President Rudolf…?" Rice Shower's eyes widened in surprise, then softened into gentle amusement. "I've heard about that… That really sounds like something Teio would do…"
Smiling, Silence Suzuka fell quiet for a moment, before thoughtfully adding, "Though speaking of surprises, I didn't expect you'd agree when McQueen asked you to come here… Not that I thought you'd refuse, just… I didn't anticipate McQueen thinking of you in the first place."
Rice Shower hesitated, then softly spoke, her voice gentle and earnest:
"Rice… isn't sure what McQueen-san was thinking either…"
"But… if Rice can help a younger generation Uma Musume run races that fulfill their dreams, races that make everyone happy… Rice would always do her best to help…"
"Because…"
"That's what Rice Shower's name means, after all…"
...
Elsewhere, along the inn's hallway—
Walking toward the baths, Yasui glanced sideways at Kitasan, who'd come along ostensibly to help carry luggage.
"So, I assume you didn't even read the training plan I prepared for the camp, did you?"
"Training plan…? What training plan…?"
Kitasan stared blankly, and seeing Yasui roll his eyes dramatically and rub his forehead, she hastily racked her brain before laughing sheepishly.
"Hehehe… Actually, I did! I really did look at it! Trainer, I even brought it along with me!"
Yasui rolled his eyes again, clearly expressing disbelief.
"It's true! I swear it's true! Just… just…"
Noticing Yasui's skeptical expression, Kitasan continued to emphasize earnestly, but her voice gradually weakened. She nervously tapped her fingertips together.
"I… only read a few pages. Maybe I was too tired after training, and I accidentally… fell asleep…"
"The next day, I had cram school, and later I went shopping with Crown-chan, Almond Eye-chan, and the others… so I forgot about the rest…"
"But I really did bring it with me, just…"
"It's buried at the bottom of my backpack…"
Her voice dropped to a whisper, her face sheepishly lowered.
"Anyway… as long as you're here, Trainer, even if I don't finish reading… it should be fine… right?"
Resisting another urge to roll his eyes, Yasui drew a long breath, somewhere between frustration and amusement. Finally, he turned seriously to Kitasan.
"Alright, I get it. Honestly, there's lots of theory and complicated details in there, so even if you didn't read it, I'll explain everything thoroughly during practice."
Seeing Kitasan's eyes brighten and mouth open excitedly, he quickly waved her off.
"But there's still something you definitely got wrong."
"A training camp is indeed better with more people, but it's not just about having fun together."
"This is part of your official training. Every generation, including ours, keeps logs and reports on training camps, submitted to the Academy afterward."
"These are important reference materials."
"That's why the location, training plan, and participants all need to be submitted, reviewed, and approved beforehand."
"If you'd actually read through the whole plan properly, you would've known Silence Suzuka-san and Rice Shower-san were coming. You'd also know they're here specifically to help you with some crucial aspects of your training."
"Then you wouldn't have been completely clueless and caused that awkward situation just now."
"You must've realized or heard by now—Rice Shower-san has a very shy personality."
Kitasan froze, Rice Shower's delicate, timid expression vividly appearing in her mind, along with her hesitant reaction to Kitasan's overly enthusiastic greeting earlier.
"…I'm sorry, Trainer. I messed up…"
Her ears drooped sadly. Biting her lip, she suddenly turned to head back, "I'll go apologize to Rice-senpai right now."
Before she could run off, Yasui quickly grabbed her arm.
"Hey, calm down. Don't be so impulsive," he said, chuckling helplessly. "As I just said, your senpai is extremely shy."
"When I was discussing this with Suzuka-san and President McQueen earlier, they mentioned it took a long time and considerable effort to get Rice Shower-san to open up to them."
"If you rush back now to apologize, it'll only make her even more flustered."
Seeing Kitasan stiffen and stare back with a complicated expression, Yasui quietly sighed, softening his tone.
"Besides… if we're talking about apologies, there's something I should've considered as well."
"Knowing the camp's importance, I should've explained things to you clearly beforehand and insisted you finish reading the plan."
"But saying all that now is meaningless. Let's wait a bit, then go back. We'll have a good meal, rest well, and officially start training tomorrow."
"That's how we can properly respect the intentions of your senpai who've come here specifically for your sake."
---
T/N: "Mm. If you've read this far, I suppose you're at least a little invested."
"If you want to support the translator, there's a Patreon here: patreon.com/wisetl. It's optional—think of it as tossing a few extra coins on the counter. Early chapters are just a bonus side-effect of that support."
"This place also has its own strange currency… Powerstones. For every 100 Powerstones the story gets, you'll receive 1 bonus chapter. 100ps = 1 chp, 200ps = 2 chp, 300ps = 3 chp… you can do the math."
"If you'd rather talk than throw money or stones, there's a Discord: discord.gg/wisetl. Go there if you want to complain, theorize, or poke the translator for more updates. Just don't expect me to mediate your arguments."
Say thank you to Maomao guys