"That was incredible!"
"I want to get out there so bad!!"
Twin Turbo exclaimed, watching the duel on the court with genuine awe. The sight only fueled her eagerness to jump into a beach volleyball match of her own.
It truly was a clash of vastly different calibers!
"In a few days, we should ask the members of Spica if they want to join us for a 'Dream Cup' of our own," Barbatos suggested.
During this summer camp, she and Seiun Sky had spent almost all their time at the Rigil training base, becoming fast friends with the Rigil members.
Even within a powerhouse like Rigil, they held a "Summer Dream Cup" every year to help the teammates bond.
But what about Canopus?
They were still a fledgling team, after all. It wasn't until the latter half of last year that they finally had enough members for everyone to make their debuts.
This was their first year attending summer camp as a complete unit. However, since the camp started, everyone had mostly been doing their own thing, sticking to their little cliques within the team.
With personalities like Urara and Twin Turbo around, Barbatos always felt the atmosphere in Canopus was great. Still, an atmosphere like that needed maintenance.
At the very least, she and Seiun Sky shouldn't be spending the entire camp training over at Rigil. It was time for some team-building with their own teammates.
Summer camp was supposed to be for relaxation, but because of those few mock races, everyone seemed to have spent the first month running themselves ragged with intensity.
While they enjoyed the heat of competition, it felt like the legends of Rigil had started an "arms race" of overwork—much like the Uma Musume of their own generation.
"Hell yeah!"
"I'm in!"
"Count me in too!"
Twin Turbo threw both hands up in the air, joining the rest of Canopus in a chorus of enthusiastic agreement.
Barbatos knew, however, that if they really organized a team event like the "Dream Cup"—even if they invited Spica—it wouldn't be nearly as formal as this one.
It wouldn't even really be a "tournament"; it would likely just be a bunch of friends playing volleyball and messing around with other games.
The Summer Dream Cup had only become what it was because Rigil held it every year and prepared for it systematically.
While they were busy chatting about their own "Dream Cup," their attention was quickly pulled back to Grass Wonder and T.M Opera O.
They had just lost their match against Maruzensky and Taiki Shuttle. Now, they were expected to down a glass of vegetable juice—sponsored by King Halo—to "speed up their recovery."
Barbatos was Grass Wonder's classmate and friend, but she wasn't a member of Rigil. Both she and Seiun Sky knew that Grass Wonder drank vegetable juice, but they had never actually seen her do it.
They were more than a little curious to see the "mask of agony" Grass Wonder might wear.
After all, Grass Wonder usually maintained a gentle, smiling composure; the only other expression they ever saw was her occasional, unrestrained laughter.
Would her face twist into something monstrous once she drank it?
Barbatos was secretly looking forward to the facial expressions. And who knew? Maybe the "Beautiful Majesty" of the King, T.M Opera O, would be defeated by the sheer power of the juice!
The two from the "Rap Duo" walked over to the judges' stand and stood before Toujou Hana, accepting the "Loser's Special" vegetable juice from her hands.
The members of Canopus and Spica watched with bated breath. Even the Rigil members, who had seen Grass Wonder drink the stuff before, craned their necks.
They weren't sure if the juice King Halo provided was the same kind Grass Wonder usually drank, nor how she and T.M Opera O would react.
If... if it turned out like it did for Hishi Amazon and Narita Brian... then they would have to fight for their lives in the upcoming matches!
Amazon and Brian had been the first victims, so it was somewhat understandable that they reacted that way to such a foul and bizarre taste.
But if Grass Wonder and T.M Opera O—who were prepared and knew what to expect—had the same reaction, then that juice was truly something no one would ever want to touch.
It would become the ultimate motivation to win!
Even if one never lost a single match and became the Summer Dream Cup champion, there was still the "Special Vegetable Juice" for the winners. But perhaps that "Special" version wasn't as gross; it might even be sweet and refreshing.
Under the gaze of the entire crowd, Grass Wonder was the first to act. She opened the cap, pulled out the straw, and took a sip with a calm smile.
One second... two seconds... three seconds...
Several seconds passed, but she didn't react like Amazon or Brian. She looked perfectly fine.
"It's been quite a while since I last had vegetable juice," Grass Wonder murmured softly.
She didn't actually like the stuff. To her, drinking vegetable juice was associated with recovering from fractures and injuries, so she usually only drank it when she was hurt.
Now that her injuries were long healed, drinking it again felt more like a way to steel her resolve for future training and races.
As for the taste? She actually thought it was quite nice.
Her voice wasn't loud, but with the hearing of an Uma Musume, even those standing further away could just barely catch her words.
The original victims, Hishi Amazon and Narita Brian, locked eyes.
Their expressions were filled with confusion. Had they been served an expired, spoiled batch earlier? How else could they explain why the juice they drank was so putrid?
No, everyone's taste buds were different. Maybe Grass Wonder had drunk so much of it in the past that she'd developed a taste immunity.
Many who knew Grass Wonder had similar theories, but they quickly shifted their focus to T.M Opera O standing beside her.
They saw T.M Opera O breathe a small sigh of relief after seeing Grass Wonder drink it without issue. Striking a beautiful, elegant pose befitting a "King," she tilted the bottle back.
After a long moment, there was no violent reaction. The King's majestic figure remained standing tall on the sand.
She elegantly finished the rest of the juice without showing any sign of distress.
So, was there really something wrong with the first batch?
As T.M Opera O and Grass Wonder walked back toward the Rigil section, Toujou Hana began to announce the next matchup.
"Next up, we have the Emperor Team versus..."
Clatter.
The juice bottle hit the ground.
T.M Opera O seemed entirely oblivious to it. The muscles in her face, arms, and legs were pulled taut, almost contorted, and her body trembled slightly as she walked.
Her pace toward Rigil faltered, and she suddenly veered toward Gold Ship's location, her steps getting faster and faster as if she were desperately holding something back.
"Should we expect anything less from Senior T.M Opera O?"
"To be able to maintain the dignity of a King even after drinking that!"
"If it could turn even her into that... that juice is a definite NO! We absolutely cannot drink it!"
Most of the onlookers felt the same way, though a small few were actually getting curious about the taste.
The fact that Grass Wonder could stroll away like nothing happened proved that, for a select few "talents," the foul taste of the juice had no effect.
Maruzensky, having just won her match, touched her lips with a hint of regret. "It's almost a shame we didn't lose just now."
"No! Please, Senior, don't say that!" Taiki Shuttle quickly intervened.
Even as bright and bubbly as she was, she had zero desire to sample that juice. If Maruzensky decided to throw a match later just to try it, Taiki would be dragged down with her.
"Relax, relax," Maruzensky waved it off, comforting her. As an Uma Musume, she would never intentionally lose a race or a match just to drink juice.
If she really wanted to try it, she could just ask Hana for the recipe or ask King Halo for a private glass.
As a mature "big sister," she wouldn't do something so petty to her teammate. In a match, she would always give it her all!
"Now, would the Emperor Team and the Tutoring Team please take the court!"
Hana announced from the judges' stand, though her eyes lingered on T.M Opera O's retreating form.
She was starting to think that maybe she shouldn't have used King Halo's vegetable juice as a sponsorship reward. The "lethality" of the taste was a bit much for the girls.
It was definitely healthy, but... Hana couldn't help but wonder what she would look like if she took a sip.
"So it's the Rudolf and Teio combo," Barbatos said, taking a sip of the coconut water Seiun Sky had handed her.
She had bought two different drinks so they could swap and share. Her gaze drifted back to the crate of vegetable juice. "I have a feeling Air Groove-senpai and Fuji-senpai are about to suffer."
According to what Amazon-senpai had said earlier, Rudolf and Maruzensky used to be in a league of their own.
If Maruzensky could crush T.M Opera O's team with such a dominant lead, it stood to reason that Rudolf could easily handle Fuji Kiseki and Air Groove.
Looking at the gap between Maruzensky and T.M Opera O, Barbatos hadn't even been able to see where T.M Opera O or Grass Wonder's strengths lay.
It was a total landslide.
Maruzensky hadn't used any flashy techniques; she just won effortlessly.
It wasn't that T.M Opera O and Grass were weak—everyone in Rigil had top-tier reflexes and physical stats—it was just that Maruzensky was that strong. It was as if she had no openings, no flaws whatsoever.
And Symboli Rudolf was supposed to be even stronger than Maruzensky...
At that thought, Barbatos froze.
Was Symboli Rudolf really stronger than Maruzensky?
When she heard Amazon say they were in the same "tier," her first instinct had been that the current Rudolf must be stronger now. She hadn't actually asked Amazon for the specifics.
The image of the "Absolute Uma Musume" and the "Emperor of Japan" was so deeply ingrained in everyone's minds that she had subconsciously defaulted to thinking Rudolf was the pinnacle.
However, she didn't plan on asking Amazon-senpai for clarification. She would find out soon enough by watching the match.
Symboli Rudolf, Tokai Teio, Air Groove, and Fuji Kiseki all made their way onto the court, discussing who would take the first serve.
"Who do you think will win?" Seiun Sky asked suddenly, tilting her head.
"?" Barbatos instinctively felt the question was redundant. Based on her girlfriend's personality, she wouldn't ask something so obvious. But she quickly caught on.
"I think the Emperor Team has the better odds," Barbatos replied. "But you never know who'll win until the final whistle. Maybe Fuji-senpai and the others can pull off a miracle."
As she spoke, Barbatos was also adjusting her own mindset.
She had the courage to challenge Symboli Rudolf and believed she had the ability to take on the "Absolute," but she realized she had also started to deify Rudolf in her mind.
If she kept putting Rudolf on a pedestal, she would have already lost before their scheduled mock race next month even started.
The third match began.
Barbatos watched both sides intently. Only three minutes in, Symboli Rudolf had already taken the first point, maintaining a lead equivalent to a full length's gap in a race!
Fuji Kiseki and Air Groove didn't feel any weaker than Amazon's group, yet the disparity in the score was glaring.
Around the seven-minute mark, Fuji Kiseki saw an opening. She sent a high lob soaring toward the back, attempting to bypass Rudolf at the net. The ball rose high with immense power.
"That striking technique... is that the Ace in the Hole?!"
Barbatos immediately recognized the unusual nature of that lob.
If Rudolf at the net let her guard down, Tokai Teio likely wouldn't be able to reach it. It might not work twice in one match, but the first time was almost guaranteed to be a "first-sight kill."
It seemed Fuji-senpai already possessed a "curveball" technique of her own; after seeing Barbatos's earlier match, she was able to adapt and use a similar move.
The ball soared through the air toward the backcourt. Rudolf remained stationed at the front, making no move to intercept it. Tokai Teio's figure leaped high into the air, preparing for a spike!
"They've got it!" Barbatos said with certainty. A lob hit with that kind of technique would suddenly curve and accelerate as it dropped. If Rudolf wasn't prepared for it, there was no way to return it!
Just as she predicted, the ball altered its trajectory before reaching Teio, dropping at a lethal speed.
THWACK!
From mid-air, Tokai Teio twisted her body in a bizarre, impossible contortion and hammered the ball back down with a spike.
...What?!
"No way... was that an acrobatic strike?!"
--+--
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.