Time flew by, and in a blink of an eye, it was time for the training camp.
The Takarazuka Kinen in between was, to say the least, without any suspense, especially since many strong contenders did not participate in this year's Takarazuka Kinen.
Shiro Hito and Heavy Gun from the Tenno Sho did not participate because they needed to recuperate, Air Groove did not participate due to busy Student Council affairs and a desire to adjust her mindset, and Hishi Amazon… she had another remedial exam.
Mejiro Dober, it seemed, had a rather severe mental breakdown due to continuous losses. Afterwards, McQueen came to see her and the Trainer, asking if they could bring some of the Mejiro Family members to the training camp, and also help with training. Both Zero and her Trainer readily agreed, fully understanding the intention to let Dober relax.
The true Golden Age would begin next year; for now, Zero alone was upholding the nation's honor.
That being said, Zero was also preparing her second set of Winning Robes.
Winning Robes, of course, wouldn't be limited to just one set. If you wished, Winning Robes could even be made into swimwear style… provided you could endure the shame of racing in a swimsuit in front of hundreds of thousands of people.
But none of that mattered. What was important now was to happily watch Mejiro McQueen demonstrate her joint locks, with Trainer Okino as the target.
There was no helping it; Trainer Okino's inherent nature of always wanting to touch Uma Musume's legs meant this fate was inevitable for him.
Just now, Trainer Okino, while chatting, tried to touch Mejiro Dober's leg, but she… has androphobia.
Then, a furious Mejiro McQueen, abandoning her elegance, performed a full set of joint locks on him.
Gold Ship, meanwhile, was counting like a referee on the side.
"5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 1.5… 1.25… 1.125…" But the numbers she was counting were clearly just to mess around.
"Hurry up and call for Zero, A-fune!" Trainer Okino cried out in pain.
"Oh! Z-chan! Trainer is looking for you!" Gold Ship fulfilled Trainer Okino's wish and called Zero over.
"Oh, what's wrong, Trainer?" Zero also cooperated appropriately.
"#@¥!" Trainer Okino didn't want to talk.
These two were still quite in sync at certain times.
Finally, with a "click" sound, Trainer Okino was released.
Don't misunderstand, that was the sound of Little Special eating cookies.
"Well, Dober, don't be so startled, we were all surprised too." Mejiro Ryan and others nearby were comforting the startled Dober.
Somehow, Zero looked at the two of them and felt like an old father comforting his daughter.
[Because in the original Uma Musume world, Ryan is Dober's father, you know?]
Besides Mejiro Dober, the ones brought along this time were Mejiro Ryan and Mejiro Ardan, who were responsible for looking after her. The former was currently counseling Dober, while the latter observed everyone with a gentle smile.
If one were to say, among the four Mejiro Family members who came this time, the one with the most Ojou-sama (young lady) aura was Ardan. Unlike McQueen, who occasionally broke her composure, the protein powder fanatic Mejiro Ryan, and the androphobic Mejiro Dober, she was truly the type of Uma Musume whose expression, demeanor, and even way of speaking would make anyone feel at ease.
In terms of racing talent, she was actually a very exceptional Uma Musume, but unfortunately, due to her delicate health (relatively speaking for an Uma Musume), she spent most of her time recuperating from injuries after her debut, so her personal record was not good. The old matriarch of the Mejiro Family even said it was a great pity.
And Ryan was also someone not to be underestimated. Although she hadn't debuted yet, Zero had taken note of her ability values. That strength, which was significantly higher than her other ability values, made Zero exclaim that she was unbeatable.
Zero's biggest pains, besides her height and figure, were probably her strength.
Her talent gave her at least a 20% bonus in any training, except for strength… those who know, know. Because of this, she had to put in more effort when training strength.
By the way, Ryan hasn't even debuted yet, which is the truly amazing thing about the Uma Musume world.
A daughter debuting earlier than her own father… Although I've seen similar things many times, it always makes me emotional every time I see it.
[By the way, Teio really is Rudolph's biological son in the original world.]
"Pfft!" Zero directly spat out a mouthful of water.
This naturally attracted the attention of everyone on the bus.
"What's wrong, Z-chan?" Special Week's mouth was still stuffed with several biscuits, making her cheeks bulge.
Eat, eat all you want. When the training camp comes, I'll make you lose weight by doing problems.
"Nothing, just saw something strange."
"What strange thing?"
"Look at this." Zero casually pulled out a video she had posted online using a burner account to show everyone. Everyone gathered around curiously to watch, but Trainer Okino's face turned ashen.
This was his dark history!
The video showed a 3D model of Trainer Okino; anyone who knew Trainer Okino could recognize him at a glance. And the figure… was dancing "Uma Pyoi Densetsu" (BV1G64y1R7qU, an old routine by California Man, though it had an added leader ()).
Especially since the song seemed to be in Trainer Okino's voice.
This song, well… Trainer Okino had sung it once when he was drunk at a celebration party. Zero secretly recorded it, and afterwards, by removing ambient noise, she created a complete "Uma Pyoi Densetsu Okino ver."
Trainer Okino could tell at a glance that Zero definitely hadn't just seen this; he was almost 100% certain she had made and uploaded this video herself.
You never know how many burner accounts Zero has online.
Putting that aside, Trainer Okino actually sang quite well, but with that 3D model and slightly exaggerated movements, it looked incredibly ridiculous.
In any case, the entire bus erupted in laughter, with the trio of Daiwa, Vodka, and Gold Ship laughing the most heartily.
Amidst the laughter, everyone arrived at the training camp location. Even though they had heard about it, everyone's eyes twitched slightly.
"Well, come with me. The main road over there is still under construction, but there's a mountain path we can take here." Zero, familiar with the route, walked in a certain direction.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Zero looked at the somewhat petrified group.
"Although I knew Z-chan was amazing, I didn't expect it to be this extent…" Teio also looked a bit emotional.
The height of this mountain itself isn't as high as some famous mountains, but the problem is… Zero's assets aren't just this mountain, but a large area of mountains connected to it. And because development has only recently begun to be emphasized, apart from daily use by most residents, a large portion is still almost virgin forest, with immeasurable value.
"It's not that amazing. Alright, it's still a long way to the accommodation, by the way, Ardan, do you need a ride?" Her frail constitution doesn't allow for carelessness.
"If it's about an hour's journey, I should be fine," Mejiro Ardan pondered for a moment, then stated her estimate.
"The journey, at everyone's pace, is probably about forty minutes, but since it's mostly uphill, be careful. If you can't manage, say so immediately."
"Okay." She smiled gently.
"Z-chan looks like a mother worrying about her child (whispering)," Special Week.
"Not a mother, more like an elementary school teacher (whispering)," Silent Suzuka.
Suzuka, Suzuka, have you fallen too? Zero looked pained listening to their discussion.
Ah? Am I one of the culprits? Then never mind.
Ignoring Silent Suzuka, who had completely become the tsukkomi role, everyone was initially chatting and laughing along the way, until… "Can we really get up this!?" Trainer Okino's face turned green.
Before them was an extremely steep uphill slope.
He's just a human! This kind of slope is truly impossible!
"Of course we can go up." Zero demonstrated for everyone first.
Naturally, she also carried Trainer Okino and Mejiro Ardan up with her.
"Alright, since we're here to train, then training officially begins the moment you step off the bus, okay?" Zero smiled.
"Eh!?"
"Don't worry, just like I did, if you step on the right places and adjust your center of gravity, there won't be any problems." Zero also slowly taught them the techniques.
Finally, with teaching that even Special Week could understand, everyone successfully climbed the steep uphill slope one by one.
"Speaking of which… it's uphill now, but when we go back, won't it be…" Daiwa thought of something and voiced her concern, instantly making everyone's faces turn pale.
Uphill was fine, but a downhill slope of this gradient… Everyone's gazes focused on Zero.
"It'll be downhill when we go back." Looking at their somewhat despairing gazes, Zero showed a satisfied smile.
"Alright, don't scare them anymore…" The good-natured Trainer Okino also came over to mediate.
"www, alright, I'm just kidding. The road will be mostly repaired by the time we go back, so we can just take the smoother main road www."
Everyone now understood that Zero had been deliberately teasing them.
"Z-chan!!!" xn
"You won't catch me at this speed, you know?" Since the destination wasn't far, Zero simply ran ahead, and everyone chased after her, playfully and a little indignantly.
"Everyone is so energetic www, don't you think?" Mejiro Ardan smiled watching their interaction, and walked over to Mejiro Dober, who hadn't kept up.
"Hmm…" Mejiro Dober looked at the distant figures with a complex expression.
"Shall we catch up?"
"But… Ardan-nee, your body?"
"No matter what, I am an Uma Musume. Are you underestimating me, little Dober, if you think I can't run this short distance?" Ardan looked as if she would cry if Dober nodded.
"No… nothing like that…" Dober quickly shook her head.
Are you kidding? If Ardan really cried, she would inevitably be lectured by Ryan, and somehow, when Ryan lectured her, she could never bring herself to resist.
"Alright, let's go, little Dober!" Ardan pulled Dober's hand and ran off.
Only the one who tied the bell can untie it… she thought to herself.
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