"Co on! Eat! Eat! Eat!" Usami’s father urged everyone to add more to their plates. "You have been working hard today, give yourself a little bit of appreciation! Don’t worry, I am covering all the costs today!"
"Thank you, Ojiisan!"
At the end of the day, they all went to another Yakiniku restaurant for their dinner party. Boring, yeah, since they had always gone to the sa place over and over again. However, for the boys who had been playing an intense ga like earlier, no one cared about the nu. No, as long as the at was there, they would’ve devoured everything in front of them.
"Don’t be too hasty, Ryukkun..." Minami chided her son as she watched him gobble the food ssily. "Oh, here, don’t forget to eat the vegetables as well." She put more of the salad on his plate.
"Um!" Higo just nodded silently; his mouth was too busy getting stuffed with more food.
Minami just shook her head in exasperation, watching her son turning into a hungry hyena, gobbling all the at in front of him. In fact, she wasn’t the only one, as all the parents here felt the sa way.
After a while, her gaze finally turned to Kumiko, who sat next to his boy, and the woman couldn’t help but ask, "So, what is the plan next?"
It was such a casual question, but everyone perked up imdiately. Yeah, after getting drunk with ecstasy, it was ti for them to think about the future, especially since they were going to play on the national stage next.
"Well, we are not in a hurry," Kumiko answered while eating the food in front of her elegantly, not like all the starving players around her. "First things first, the mont we co back tomorrow, we will be greeted by a little party at the school. It would be grand with so many local news outlets covering the event, from Daily Hakodate to Soccaido. I think the headmaster also ntioned that the city mayor would also co to greet us."
The news ca as a surprise, as so of them choked on their food.
"Wait, what?! The mayor himself?!" Hori asked, his gaze widening in disbelief.
"What’s so impressive about the mayor? He is a good friend of mine, you know?" Usami’s father said so nonchalantly as if he were talking about the weather today. "If you want, I could invite him right now. I bet he would co here imdiately with just one call."
Everyone had a sweat drop on their face, sohow forgetting that there was a tycoon in their group right now.
"...Yeah, the major will also co tomorrow." Kumiko smiled stiffly. "Still, this is sothing you can expect. I an, we have just created history today. This is the first ti ever that a school from Hakodate managed to get into the National Tournant for football, so it is bound to attract more attention. Get ready to be interviewed a lot, okay?"
The players stared at each other with huge smiles spread wide on their faces. For most of them, this was going to be their first ti getting a glimpse of fa, and it would be a lie if they said that they weren’t excited about that.
"After everything is over, we will also start preparing for the National Tournant." Kumiko continued. "It will start on January 7th so that we can still celebrate Christmas and the New Year with our family. The place is going to be in Saitama, with the grand final will be held at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, the ho for Yokohama F. Marinos, and also the stadium that held the World Cup final in 2002."
Sohow, this excited not only the players but also their parents.
"OH! You boys are going to play in that legendary stadium?!"
"I can still rember clearly watching how Ronaldo wreaked havoc in that final! Man, what a nostalgic event!"
"Hey, and now, my son is going to play there?! This is aweso!"
Kumiko had a sweat drop when she noticed that her information sohow brought the parents to a mory lane trip. She couldn’t help but add, "I an, that is if we are entering the final, Uncles, Aunties. This is going to be our first ti playing there, so please, don’t pressure us too much, okay?"
Her voice was weak with a hint of plea there, not wanting to give the parents the wrong idea here.
"Eh, don’t worry about it!" Makino’s father laughed boisterously, even slapping his son’s back quite hard here. "Even without us talking here, our brats will definitely try to push harder than ever! You are their leader here, you should know how they are, right?"
This triggered a round of chuckles from the kids around, knowing that the old man was right. Oh, that didn’t an they were putting a big target, like going to the final. No, that was definitely too far for a new team like them. However, that didn’t an they would want to go back ho too fast here.
"I don’t care about you guys, but at least, I want to get through the second round!" Makino stated strongly. "That’s the best Sapporo Otani has ever achieved, right?! I want to show the whole country that it is not a coincidence that we are there! We are better and stronger than Sapporo Otani!"
"Hell, yeah! Hell, yeah!"
"Co on, Captain! You said it!"
Kumiko sighed one last ti, knowing that when the adrenaline was at its peak like this, it was impossible for her to stop them.
’Oh, well, instead of doing that, why not add more fuel?’ She smiled mischievously before painting a bigger picture here. "You also have to pay attention to your performance, because, unlike the prefectural tournant, more professional scouts would watch every ga, even including those who co from foreign clubs. Have you ever heard about Ryo Miyaichi?"
The players there shook their heads, feeling clueless here. However, they knew that Kumiko was about to drop a bomb, so all the boys leaned forward in anticipation.
"Ryo Miyaichi... He ca from Chukyo High School in Nagoya, and in 2010, his performance was so impressive that he was recruited directly from the high school team straight to Arsenal in London. You know, the one where Arsene Wenger, Thierry Henry, and so many world-class players played?" The girl smiled, enjoying the shock and awe she received from the boys. "So, try to show your best in the next tournant, because who knows, maybe you will be the next one to receive that kind of an invitation!"
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