’Always be on my side...’

’Be on my side...’

’On her side...’

It was the afternoon after his trip to the mountain with Kumiko, and right now, Higo was just lying on the bed with his eyes staring at the rooftop, dozing off with a goofy grin on his face. The reason was simple there. Even though the heartfelt conversation only lasted for less than five minutes, the content at least revealed the girl’s feelings toward him.

’Well, she wouldn’t ask me to stand by her side if she didn’t like me, eh?’ He laughed like a loon, rolling around the bed while covering his face from the immense happiness and embarrassment here. ’Well, I know that for a long time, but this should be the closest thing I could get as a confession from her, right? Damn! I won big time today!’ He punched the air while laughing his ass off hysterically.

"Ryukkun! Is everything okay?!" Minami’s voice could be heard from the kitchen, her tone full of concern.

"Don’t worry, Mom! Just finding a funny post on the internet!" Higo shouted back from his own room.

Silence descended for a moment before his mother replied, "Come down for a moment and help your poor mom prepare lunch! Don’t just stare at your phone every day!"

"I am coming, I am coming!"

In the end, Higo found himself helping his mother cut cabbage in the kitchen. However, his mind was still wandering far, thinking of what he should do next.

’In order to stand by her side... Well, I cannot ask her to forget her dream, right? So, that means I have to go to Europe as well... Is that possible? How should I do this? Is the national tournament a big enough stage for me to show off?’

If before, he was still hesitant to go for a professional or not, this time, the boy made up his mind so quickly. However, this was not something that he could just do so easily. No, he needed a bigger stage to showcase his talent. That was the only way he could attract foreign scouts’ attention.

’Hopefully, the national tournament will be enough.’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

As the day passed, the team was finally back in their training session. Well, not a complete one, since it was January 2nd, one day away from their departure to Yokohama. The team gathered again, and this time, Kumiko started fussing over the logistical matter.

"You guys both have at least two pairs of home and away jerseys, right? Bring them all! Better bring too much and not use it rather than getting stumped for not carrying one!"

"Boots! Don’t forget, all the games will be played on grass turf! Use the money you earn to buy one more!"

"We will be there for at least two weeks, so bring a little bit more clothes! Also, no need to bring snacks or food! We only have 15 kg of baggage, so use it appropriately!"

"The plane tickets? Yes, those are in my hand together with all of your student IDs! Don’t worry, tomorrow, I will give it back to you!"

Honestly, she suddenly turned into a mother hen, instructing all the players to check and double-check everything over and over again. Well, not that she could be blamed here, since this was the first time they traveled this far as a team. Niigata didn’t really count since it was just an 8-hour travel by bus, and while it was long, the transportation access was still quite varied.

Compared to that, they could only reach Yokohama from Sapporo, so the journey tomorrow would be them going from their hometown to Sapporo for at least three hours before boarding the Narita Airport in Tokyo. Right after that, they would go again by bus for at least one and a half hours, so the total time for their trip would be at least nine to ten hours.

Of course, they could use a train to go there. However, the time for the trip itself would be around 20 hours, and the price of each ticket wasn’t really that different. So, why would they want to suffer if they could get easier access?

Higo also took a note inside his head, wanting to check everything again later when he was back at home. It wouldn’t be funny if somehow, he didn’t bring something essential like gloves or boots and he would only notice it right after arriving at Yokohama.

Still, there was one thing that bugged his mind right now.

"A two-way trip ticket for 17 people, coupled with at least six to seven hotel rooms for a two-week stay... Damn, it should be quite costly, right? Can our team really afford it, or did the headmaster go crazy with his money?"

Well, this question put a real silence on the team, as they all stared at each other with wide eyes. Indeed, this was not something that they had ever thought before.

"I mean, I checked the ticket, and one trip for each person should be around 9000 yen. So, just for the plane ticket, in total, it should be around... I don’t know? 300,000? 400, 000?" Makino asked hesitantly.

In return, it was Makino who answered this. "The ticket alone is around 306,000, and the hotel is 588,000. Coupled with the food, in total, the cost is around 1,000,000 yen." The boy said it casually. However, the number spoken here was definitely not small for the others, as they all had their jaws dropped in bewilderment.

"One million yen?! Fucking hell, Usami! Tell me, how much did your father cover the cost?" Takaaki shook his friend’s shoulder violently.

"Yeah, Sami! How much money do we owe your father?!" Hori also stared at the boy concernedly.

Seeing that everyone had their attention on him, Usami squirmed uncomfortably. Fortunately, Kumiko saw his current state and knew that he didn’t like talking about his father’s money, so she came in clutch to save the day.

"Okay, you don’t need to know how much money Usami-kun’s father spends on the team. Also, it is not just him, you know? The school also pours a lot of money on us, and some important people in the city also want to contribute to the city’s glory. So, don’t worry about it." The girl spoke. "Instead, let’s focus on the topic that you guys want to hear the most, which is our opponent’s profile. Come on!"