Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, they were about to enter February.

It was also time for the winter break to be over, and after not having to attend school for so long, the thought of having to wake up early and battling against the cold weather in the morning was enough to make any teens in this city tighten their blankets further.

In theory, Higo should be among this list. Unfortunately, the biological clock trained for a long time would never allow him to stay in bed for so long. Even with his body aching from all the training Kumiko set, the boy still got up pretty early, preparing breakfast for himself and his mother.

"Oh, bacon and egg? I want a sunny-side one." Minami’s voice suddenly popped from behind, and without even looking back, Higo knew that his mother should still be in her sleepiness mode.

"Come in. Wash your face first, and everything will be ready in five minutes." He answered with decent English.

At this point, after being forced to use this foreign language every day, Higo started to get the knack of it. He wasn’t proficient yet, by no means, and his thick Japanese accent would make him look like a sore thumb outside. Still, at least, the boy could hold daily conversations quite easily, which was a major improvement on his side.

After washing her face for a moment, Minami sat at the table while also staring at her son being busy in the kitchen. They spent the next few minutes in silence before she finally asked, "So, what is the agenda today?"

Higo was quiet for a second before grimacing a little. "If I am not wrong, the headmaster invites several local news platforms to hold an award ceremony. At least, before the class begins, we will be treated like a bunch of clowns from a circus group."

"...Well, that’s what you have to do if you want to get the money." Minami couldn’t help but snort.

Higo snorted back, deciding not to answer the remark. Indeed, if not for the money reward the school offered, he would never have wanted to get close to this kind of event. Unfortunately, this time, he couldn’t escape, so the boy just had to accept everything helplessly.

True enough, the first day after winter break went like a complete circus. The headmaster hailed them to the school’s hall, gathering all the students and some important people so that he could emphasize the importance of this event.

The man gave a full speech at a delayed speed for about 20 minutes, enough to kill all the excitement and put the students who still hadn’t gathered their spirit in this first day back into sleep.

After that, the headmaster asked Kumiko, Makino, and Higo to give a speech there. It would be a lie if Higo said that he was not nervous.

The boy had gotten used to being an NPC for so long that the mere thought of him having to talk in front of a big crowd was enough to mess with his head. Fortunately, he had been preparing for what to say before last night, and after so many rehearsals in front of the mirror, the boy could give a good speech without stuttering a little bit.

In the end, for bringing the team into the top 8 of the national tournament, the headmaster promised a reward of 50,000 yen for each person, which was a big amount for that man to spend.

With the team having 17 members, that meant the school had just spent around 850,000 yen in a heartbeat, so close to one million. This still didn’t count their trip to Yokohama and the team’s expenses for staying there for about two weeks, which most of them were covered by the school. So, the amount of money the school spent on the football team was indeed astronomical.

Still, even though some clubs were envious of this treatment, they couldn’t complain here. After all, the football team had just brought the school’s name to the national stage, even breaking so many records on their journey. This definitely warranted special treatment from the higher-ups.

After the ceremony, coupled with more interviews and group photos with the local media that the headmaster invited, one hour finally passed, and the boys went back to their respective classrooms in exhaustion. Unfortunately, the show was still far from being over.

As the school’s new celebrity, it was not a strange thing for them to get swarmed by their classmates instantly once they showed up there. Of course, the main focus was the players who went berserk in the national tournament, and unfortunately, Higo was on top of that list.

"Hey, Ryusuke-kun, tell me, are you really going to Europe next year?"

"Damn! You really wreaked havoc on the national stage! That is awesome!"

"Hey, hey! What about the national team?! Has anyone from the Young Samurai made a call to you?!"

So many questions were thrown, and hell, even some of the boys who had never spoken to him before started to address him with his first name affectionately. Higo knew that this was coming, but when reality hit him hard, the boy was still too dumbfounded to react.

Fortunately, this didn’t last long as the home teacher finally arrived at the classroom. "Okay, you can bother your classmates about their experience in the national tournament later. For now, please collect the homework for the winter break first!"

This announcement was followed by collective groans all over the place.

"Come on, Sensei! At least, give us a break!"

"Ha! You mean one month of a break is not enough?" The man snorted. "Don’t forget that in two months, you will have to go for the University Entrance Exam. This will be a big event that could determine the rest of your life, so treat it seriously!"

"Yes, Sensei..."

As the peace was restored in the classroom, Higo also couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief, giving his teacher a nod of gratitude.

While taking out his homework, the boy couldn’t help but mutter inwardly, ’Yeah, after such a crazy two months, everything is finally going to be normal again...’