Seeing a smile form slowly on Kumiko’s face, a contradiction as the trace of tears was also still there, some people started to get curious here.

"Is there any good news?" Makino couldn’t help but ask.

"Yup! Kumiko chirped happily. "This time, the news is particularly for Makino-kun, Hiroshi-kun, and Takaaki-kun." She added, smiling mysteriously at those three boys she had just mentioned.

For a moment, everyone was puzzled here. This seemed to come out of nowhere, and when the girl was in her playful mood like this, the news could be anything. However, Makino was the first one to connect the dots, with his eyes widened in pure shock.

"Wait, does the news related to..." He let his words trail behind, unable to finish them. However, his eyes were full of hope, inwardly praying that his guess was right.

"Yup! Some scouts started to inquire about you guys!" Kumiko nodded in confirmation, acting as an angel that had just granted the captain his biggest wish in this tournament.

Silence followed for a moment as everyone tried to process the news. Once everything clicked inside their head, though, cheers exploded instantly inside the meeting room.

"OH! Finally, some scouts notice anyone other than Higo-senpai!"

"Hey, what’s wrong with me?!"

"Congratulations, Captain! You deserve this!"

"Fuck it, Takaaki! You really steal the show here!"

"Hey, Hiroshi! Show a little bit of expression! Don’t look like someone owes you money, you know?!"

The atmosphere turned quite festive instantly. After all, besides their current achievement, at the end of the day, they were just a small team, and the best thing that could happen for a player in this kind of team was to get scouted to play at a higher level.

Makino could be seen having his hands trembling in disbelief, while Hiroshi, the ever goofball when it came to football, froze on the spot. It was clear why they reacted that way. For them, football was always a dream, but their unfortunate circumstance was so close to burying it all.

They had been working tirelessly in this tournament, wanting to impress some scouts to glance at them. Hell, they were even to the point of desperation, running till the last drop of their sweat and shouting until their voice disappeared just to show more of them. Now that the glimmer of hope that had started to ebb away suddenly appeared stronger than ever, they didn’t know how to react here.

"What..." Makino wanted to ask something, but his voice trailed as the boy felt a lump on his throat. "What team pays attention to me?" He finally asked the most crucial question here. However, his voice was so weak, as if he were not daring to believe that everything was real.

"For Hiroshi-kun, Yokohama FC, the J2 League team from this city, invites you for a trial next summer, while the city rival, Yokohama F. Marinos, still tries to inquire more about your information, probably going for the wait-and-see approach."

Hiroshi nodded slowly, engraving those two clubs into the deepest part of his brain.

"A J2 League team..." Hori muttered with a frown. "That’s not the level Hiroshi should play in, right?" He knew his friend’s ability the best, and in his mind, the boy should be straight to the J1-League team right now.

"I don’t mind," Hiroshi answered immediately. His gaze was still wandering far, but his mind started to come back slowly. "I don’t care if it is a J2 team or even a J3 one. I really, and by this, I emphasize that I really, really want to play professional football. This is probably my only chance to do that, and if I dare to refuse it just because the team is from J2, I will regret it for the rest of my life."

Some people gulped inwardly as they heard this. Some of his closest friends, like Hori and Jun, knew that once they graduated, if Hiroshi failed to go to the professional, he wouldn’t go to the university. No, his family couldn’t afford it. The most he could do was to work directly, doing all the hard work outside to help alleviate her mother’s pressure.

"Well, that’s a good mindset to have, Hiroshi-kun, and you are right in thinking so." Kumiko nodded in approval. "We all know Hiroshi-kun’s true ability, and we all think that he deserves better. However, besides us, no one really knows about him, so it is clear that they want to wait and see first."

"Also, a lot of good players come from the lower league, you know?" Makino couldn’t help but chime in. "I mean, Yokohama FC is not that bad. You know that it is King Kazu’s team, right?"

King Kazu... That was Kazuyoshi Miura, the living legend in the Japanese football community. Although they all were too young to witness the man play, his name was always associated with greatness in this country, and he was indeed everyone’s idol. So, to play with him would be an honor as well for Hiroshi.

"What about me, Senpai?" Takaaki suddenly raised his hand as if he were in the middle of a class.

"Well, Takaaki-kun is also under observation, with the scout asking for his personal information. It seems the last game really leaves a deep impression on our opponent’s local team, as Vissel Kobe tries to ask me a lot of things about you." Kumiko said while also checking her email.

Curious, Takaaki couldn’t help but glance, followed by the others. Seeing the list of questions about him there, the boy couldn’t help but nod, feeling satisfied. Even though he didn’t really pursue football as a career, it was always nice that his greatness was recognized like this.

"As for Makino-kun... You are attracting quite a big shot here." Kumiko took a deep breath.

"Wait, what?!" Makino widened his eyes in disbelief. "Which team is it?!" He asked immediately; his breath was far from steady.

After pausing for a second to create a dramatic effect, Kumiko finally revealed, "Besides our hometown team, Consadole Sapporo, you are currently being watched by the two best teams in Japan, Kawasaki Frontale and Kashima Antlers. Not only that, but they also offered a trial for you. So, congratulations, Makino-kun, you make it now..."