While the players were still getting drowned by sadness, Kumiko was also quite busy. She didn’t go straight to Higo for many reasons. One, the boy was stronger than anyone else in the team. She truly believed that while the defeat shook him off right now, he would be able to get over this state soon. As for the second reason... Well, they would meet again later, privately, even, so there was no need to do that right now.

No, instead of doing that, she put more focus on the other players like Kenji and Denji, who looked so dead right now.

"Come on, it is just one game..." Kumiko rubbed Kenji’s back soothingly. "No one will blame you here. You have done your best, but not everything ends up in a win, you know? Maybe losing today will be a great lesson for you in the future, right?"

Unfortunately, her gentle tone couldn’t reach the boy in his current state. No, it was as if his brain was short-circuited, as his gaze was so hollow. Honestly, it was unsettling how such a lively boy like Kenji could be so dead like this.

Sighing, she turned her attention to Denji, who was being held by his twin brother. Unlike the lifeless Kenji, she could see that the boy was sobbing quietly, apologizing to any teammates his eyes landed on. She tried to reassure him, but the effect was still the same. Her words failed to reach the boy, and she couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.

’I am such a horrible coach, huh?’ Her eyes also went teary as she tried to hold back the tears from falling down her cheeks.

In this exact moment, she was also not immune to the sad atmosphere around. All of the memories she had with the team suddenly rushed to her brain, invading her head with an overwhelming image. She recalled everything from the past, from the moment she came to the team to this fateful day.

However, the girl didn’t allow herself to cry at this moment. No, as the head of the team, she had to stay strong, and she would only allow herself to jump into that hole when her players were already settled. Wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes, she finally approached her players one by one.

"Come on, everyone. We have to at least thank the people who come here to support us. They are waiting on the stand, let’s go." Her tone was still soft as usual.

Soon, one by one, the players nodded, getting up from the ground to follow her. They were still far from being okay, with some just walking around mindlessly like zombies, while most of them had an obvious trace of tears on their cheeks. Honestly, if they could, the only thing they wanted to do right now was to go back home and forget about this nightmarish day.

Still, the moment they were closer to the stand, the cheers that seemed to be a little bit quieter started to get louder, creating a buzzing noise that slowly woke them up from their daydreaming.

"Come on, Hakodate Nishi! Raise your head high!"

"Yeah, you have made us all proud here!"

"Hahaha! I cannot believe that I could watch a Hakodate football team thriving in the national tournament like this! I will brag about this for the rest of my life!"

"You’ve shown us the resilience of Hakodate people! You are all our pride!"

"Hakodate Nishi! Hakodate Nishi! Hakodate Nishi!"

Some of the boys were clearly dumbfounded by the love they received today. While they were not strangers to this scene anymore, they were more used to it during their time in Hokkaido. However, this was Yokohama, a thousand or even more kilometers away from home. No one thought that so many people would come here just to support them.

Kumiko, who watched from behind, couldn’t help but smile when she saw this. ’Yeah, it might be surprising, but Hakodate doesn’t have any local sports team to support. One good team popping out of nowhere like us will definitely be enough to get the attention of all the Hakodate people who live in this country. Let’s just hope that this is enough to at least cheer them up a little today.’

In fact, it wasn’t just Hakodate people who came to support them. Even though they didn’t know about it, some of the bombastic articles from the Daily Sports managed to garner attention, and when the local people or football enthusiasts nearby wanted to check the game and join the fun, some would be attracted by the team’s defensive resilience.

The players might not know it, but they somehow managed to create the team’s first-ever fanbase outside of Hokkaido.

Fortunately, though, the support from people there was enough to cheer them up. Honestly, Kumiko didn’t expect too much here. She knew that the heartache from losing the game was too big a burden to be relieved by the cheers from their supporters.

No, it would take time to heal this wound.

Still, she hoped that this would be enough to bring their consciousness back to the living plane, and somehow, it worked. Kumiko could see them greeting the audiences, and while they still had the stiffest smile in the world, hell, some still crying, even, at least, they were brave enough to face the people here.

After this was over, they went to the opponent’s bench to greet them all. This was just a basic courtesy, thanking Shimizu Higashi’s side for putting up a good fight. The opponent’s players would also do the same for them later.

The rest was basically just formality. They went to the referee team, and after that, thanked the supporters once again from the center line. After everything was over, the players finally went back to the locker room, and the moment they arrived there, some started falling one by one, getting overwhelmed by everything that had happened today.

Seeing them like this, Kumiko could only shake her head in exasperation, but a small smile also tugged at her following it.

’Yeah, just take a little bit of rest, guys. I am so proud of you.’