"Come on, everyone! Just fill your stomach!" Usami’s father laughed boisterously as he shamelessly brought a bunch of beers to the table, not even caring that most of them were underage right now. "Oh, you don’t get this, okay? This is for us adults. But you can just eat whatever you want in this place, my treat!"

"Hell, yeah!"

"Long live Tanaka-Ojiisan!"

"Come on! No need to be hesitant like that! Just enjoy everything in front of you!"

It was after the game was over, and before they could watch the game, Kumiko forced them to go with the parents’ association to enjoy a big lunch in a Hot Pot restaurant nearby. This was not just a celebratory meal, but they were genuinely in need to replenish their energy, since they hadn’t eaten anything since they started their journey from Hokkaido this morning.

Of course, no formality was needed here. The moment Usami’s father announced that everything was on him, all the players there gobbled everything in front of them like a bunch of hungry beasts. This was the moment they felt exhausted the most, probably even feeling like they could eat a whole bull for themselves right now.

"Damn, Usami-senpai..." Kenji spoke with his mouth still chewing a slice of beef that he brought from the pot. "Your father rocks, you know?!"

Usami himself just tried his best to shrink on his seat right there, not liking the attention he received from his father. However, the boy didn’t notice that a small smile tugged on the corner of his lips, somehow satisfied with this activity.

"Anyway, Kenji, how could you eat the most when you didn’t even play the game?!" Hori mocked him mercilessly. "You are just here to freeload, so be a little bit more reserved!"

The other players howled as Kenji himself choked from the sudden teasing. However, he truly became the team’s mood booster, as the boy joined the laughter cheerfully. For a moment, the idea of them having to face Sapporo Otani, which seemed to burden their shoulder when they left the stadium, ebbed away, getting replaced by the festive atmosphere in this restaurant.

The other parents also gathered at a smaller table, watching their kids go crazy in amusement. They didn’t do too much here, probably just reminding them not to waste food or eat more vegetables. At the end of the day, the players were the main characters today, so they deserved to have a little fun right now.

"Oh!" Suddenly, Kazawa gasped in surprise, attracting everyone’s attention. There, they saw the boy staring at the phone with his jaw dropped, enough to make them all curious.

"What is going on?" Fujinaga asked, leaning forward to peek at the phone.

"The Soccaido has already released our individual rating!" The boy showed an app on his phone that was full of names and numbers. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Hearing that, chaos broke out at the table as everyone took their phones out immediately.

"Shit! This is real!"

"Goddamnit, who is their man of the match?"

"Of course, it would be Takaaki! Who else?!"

"I am more curious about what rating they would give to me, though."

Higo himself also joined the fun, leaning toward Kumiko’s side as he watched it on her phone. The Soccaido was a football application from Sapporo that worked in collaboration with the local federation to count the stats of a game.

This winter tournament, today’s game, especially, was the first time they did this, and the thought of their game being rated professionally was enough to make a bunch of teenagers like them feel nervous.

"Fuck! As expected, Takaaki has 9.4! Well, he scored two amazing goals, so it is not a question here." Fujinaga shook his head in admiration. The boy in question just pushed his glasses upward gently, but the smile on his face told everyone that he was in a good mood right now.

"Hey, how could my rating be lower than my brother’s?!" Denki cried in complaint. "I sent an assist, for God’s sake!"

"Well, look at how many fouls you committed before complaining, Little Brother!" Denji sneered at his twin mockingly.

"That’s not my fault, you know?! Kumiko-senpai asks me to be a little bit rougher to their captain!"

"Also, Makino-senpai’s rating is the lowest? Damn, that’s crazy..." Someone whispered lowly, making them all glance at the captain cautiously.

"What? You think I am going to throw a tantrum?" Makino snorted, enjoying his food calmly. "Please, I am not a child. Also, I know how many fouls I committed in that game, and I even got a yellow card, for God’s sake. It would be strange if my rating is high."

Everyone sighed in relief, somehow thinking that Makino would make a big deal of this since he was a captain. Well, since the boy didn’t really mind it, they just continued watching the stats, having fun comparing their numbers with each other.

Higo himself also did the same with Kumiko. The girl showed his stats, and she couldn’t help but tease him. "Just 6 saves? You have fallen, Ryukkun."

Higo could only twitch the corner of his lips speechlessly at the girl. "If someone from Esashi High can hear what you said, they would be driven crazy, you know?" He smiled wryly.

Indeed, six saves in a game was definitely a big number for a goalkeeper, especially if it was added with a clean sheet on his bag. However, Kumiko also had a point here. The girl was so used to seeing Higo jumping left and right like a monkey with at least nine or ten saves on the bag that the thought of him only having six was a little bit weird.

"Still, I am a bit surprised that I get as high as 7.8. I mean, I thought my rating wouldn’t be that high after that collision, you know?" Higo arched one of his eyebrows lightly.

"Bah! If anything, that foul would only add more to your rating!" Kumiko waved off her concern nonchalantly.

After glancing at the clock and finding out that everyone was done with their food, she locked back her phone immediately, standing up so that everyone could see her before speaking again, "Well, since you all have finished your lunch, pack up your belongings again, because we still have a game to observe today!"