After the meeting was over, they all went to the training session quietly. No one made a fuss about the article anymore. Instead, their eyes were filled with determination to kill, as if their next opponent was the worst criminal that the country had ever produced in history.

Kumiko sure knew where to push the right button here.

"I don’t want to say this to put more pressure on you, but I am sure you will know this sooner or later from your family back home, so it is better for you to hear it from me." The girl said during the meeting. "The furthest any Hokkaido team has ever gone through in the national tournament was from Sapporo Otani fifteen years ago, and at that time, they only managed to reach the third round. So, if you win the next game..."

Kumiko didn’t finish the explanation here. She just stopped at the last moment, letting the players fill in the blank with their own imagination. It tended to work well, since teenagers’ minds sometimes liked to exaggerate everything. Just like right now...

’If we win, the school will surely put my name in something memorable, right? One that the next generation will be able to see? Man, I cannot wait to brag that to Miyashi-senpai and the others!’ Hori’s weird laugh was so conspicuous that the others couldn’t help but get away, not wanting to be associated with him.

’If we broke that record, at least, Consadole Sapporo will also take notice of us, right? I mean, we are the homegrown talent here; no way they wouldn’t pay attention to the history makers...’ Makino thought inwardly, praying desperately to have a chance in the future, as he still hadn’t gotten any offer yet so far.

’Hey, creating history sure is a big deal, right? Does that mean the bonus we receive will increase as well?’ Jun had the dollar sign in his eyes when imagining all the cash he could bag after the tournament was over.

Everyone had their own motivation as they realized they were so close to making history. However, one thing for sure was that their spirit was at its peak, ready to face the third round a few days later.

Kumiko herself was also busy with the intelligence task. Besides the training session, the players could always find her frowning in front of her laptop, sometimes typing something while also watching a video simultaneously. All the commotion outside about the team’s beef with the Daily Sports didn’t really affect her, as the girl knew well that winning the next game would be the biggest slap in that platform’s face.

Still, that didn’t mean the next game would be easy. Oh, yeah, she said it herself that Hannan University High wasn’t as strong as Shohei High; they were playing as a solid pack, attacking and defending together. They didn’t score a lot of goals, but they also had a solid defense, so far having only conceded one goal in the first two rounds. This was the same achievement as Hakodate Nishi, but they were not really a defensive team.

’That means their backline knows how to do their job...’ Kumiko murmured inwardly.

No particular player really stood out for their team, as everyone seemed to do well just above the average. However, this only made the girl frown deeper, a bad feeling creeping on her back. ’How could a team that goes to the third round not have anything special here? For fuck’s sake, five of their players come from Vissel Kobe’s youth team! There should be something here!’

Unfortunately, Hakodate Nishi didn’t really have a well-established scouting team like any other school that treated their team professionally. If it were a normal national-level team, they would have some scouts recording their future opponent’s game, helping analyze everything. However, Kumiko was the only one who could do that in the team, and while this had never been a problem before, the girl started to get overwhelmed by her task in this tournament.

’Shall I ask Erika-san?’ She bit her lips hesitantly. ’All I have right now is the highlight of their first two-round games, and they didn’t create that many chances, so I cannot see anything worth analyzing other than their striker. However, is it really a good idea to ask someone from the media for this?’

She still had a beef with Daily Sports, and while Kumiko had a good feeling with Erika Sawada, the girl didn’t want to hand her life just like that. Imagine what would be the highlight once the story was published, maybe something like... ’An inexperienced Female Head Coach Begging for opponent’s footage?’

Kumiko couldn’t help but shudder at her own imagination. ’No, no, no, I cannot lower myself like that. I have to think of a better solution here...’ Her arms rested on the table while her fingers crossed each other.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have much time to prepare, and the more the girl wasted her time hesitating, the more the team would suffer. In the end, she gritted her teeth, opened her LINE, and typed quickly.

You: Erika-san, I have a favor to ask, can you help me?

It didn’t take long before she got the answer.

Erika Sawada: Hiya, Love! Sure, spill it out!

Kumiko paused for a second, thinking of how to word her first request before her fingers started to dance on the screen again.

You: Before that, can you promise that nothing will leak?

Erika Sawada: ... Now, you are making me curious. Sure, this is just a private chat between two friends; no need to worry about everything else!

Kumiko was touched by the concern shown by the girl. While they had just known each other for two days, it was like they were best friend for life. Something really just clicked inside their brain. However, the girl still typed it out cautiously here.

You: Do you have any footage from Hannan High’s game that I could borrow? This is important, please...

Kumiko could feel his heart throbbing like a drum here, waiting for a reply while also thinking of the worst-case scenario. In the end, instead of answering with a text, the woman on the other side of the message just replied with her own vocal note.

"Is that it? Love, you scare me a little bit here. Of course, I have! Just wait for a second and send me your email address, I will send it to you!