The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 70: Sapporo Dome, Here We Go!

After the exam was over, everything wrapped up pretty quickly. Before anyone noticed, it was finally time for them to go to Sapporo. It was still quite early in the morning, yet just like usual, Minami was already gushing over her son over everything.

"So, you have your pocket money?" She asked, fixing the messy collar of his jacket.

"Yes, Mom."

"What about snacks? Don’t forget to share it with your friends, okay?"

"They will just take everything before I try even one of them, you know that, right?"

"Oh, hush you! What about spare clothes? Enough for three days, right?"

"Yes, Mom. Already in the bag."

"Your new shoes?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

This time, Higo’s gaze softened as he showed the shoe bag in his hand. "Here, I have it."

It was a present that his mother brought for him after conspiring with Kumiko. It seemed that he was the last one to know here, since the girl didn’t really inform him about anything to prepare for the game in the Sapporo Dome.

There, the pitch would be full grass, completely different from the gravel or dirt football pitch where he usually played.

Yeah, four games he had experienced as a football player, yet the boy had never felt the professional taste of it. This was a common scene, considering not a lot of schools were wealthy enough to have a grass pitch and maintain it all the time, so the choice would always go for the cheap one.

That left Higo a problem—which he had never known until the new shoes arrived—and that was the fact that he didn’t have the right shoes for it.

Gravel pitch was usually abrasive, hard, and compact, just like the one in his school, requiring shoes that offer comfort, stability, and high durability. These were the type of shoes that he had before.

As for grass pitch, it was usually softer, uneven, and often damp, requiring shoes that dig in for traction. That was when the new shoes came, the Mizuno Blue Pack with a cool turquoise blue color that hit straight into the boy’s heart.

The design was cool and elegant, and it fit well into his feet, as if the shoes were destined to be his. His mother was ecstatic when he saw this, muttering, ’It seems the shop owner is right! The shoes are destined for greatness!’

Higo was concerned since he didn’t know what kind of scam his mother fell into, yet the woman just brushed it off as if that was nothing. She really radiated the aura of a rich woman, throwing away money like she owned a money printing machine in her backyard.

"Oh, well, since you are already this prepared, what can I say here? Just have fun, okay?" Minami smiled wanly, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. However, those tears disappeared instantly, replaced by a huge smile on her face. "Anyway, it is not like we are not going to meet for a long time! Just... Don’t forget to have fun, okay?!"

This time, Higo looked at his mother strangely. He had a hunch that there was something he had missed here, and yet somehow, after pondering about it, he felt like everything was alright.

’Oh, maybe just a gut feeling.’ He finally shrugged, shaking his head strongly. "Well, Mom, just like you said, I will be back before you know it! So, wish me luck, okay?!"

"Sure!"

The boy rushed toward the school immediately, not even bothering to pick Kumiko up first. No, the girl was already in school the first, preparing everything for the team. Once he arrived, a huge grin spread on his face at the sight of a bus parked there, with the other members of the team settling up their baggage inside.

Yeah, instead of taking the train like the first time they went to Sapporo for a game against Sappotani, this time, it seemed the school was kind enough to rent a bus for them. This helped cheer up the mood, as everyone was ecstatic for the journey.

"Come on, everyone! Don’t be messy! Jun, your bag alone takes the space of two normal bags!"

"Hey, don’t push around my bag like that! My shoe collection!"

"Who the hell brings their shoe collection in this situation?!"

"Hey, you don’t know shit about it!"

Higo was beaming at the sight, inwardly muttering, ’This is like a school trip, but only with my closest friends, right? Damn, this is awesome!’

"Hey, Chibi, you are late!" Makino suddenly announced his presence with his usual infuriating smirk, startling the boy. "We have been here for a while, you know? Especially me and Kumiko-chan. I mean, she is the coach, and I am the captain, you notice that?" He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

Higo’s cheerful mood dropped instantly, followed by a temperature drop around him. "Yeah, just brag about that, Teme. You don’t know that you are just her little assistant here."

To his surprise, Makino was not angry at all. "It is okay to be a little assistant first. I mean, later, in the bus, I still have to take care of her, you know? As an assistant, I mean. The gruesome job, like lending a shoulder when she falls asleep... Sharing a snack... Or maybe, sharing an earphone for our favorite song... You know that stuff, right?"

Higo was so tense after hearing that, and Makino punched the air inwardly as he knew he had pushed the right button here.

"Teme, don’t think that just because you are the captain, you can do anything you want!" He growled angrily.

"What? So, you think that position should be yours?" Makino smirked smugly. "You are just a new member here! Compared to that, no one will bat their eyes if it is me who sits next to her!" The boy raised his chin arrogantly, as if challenging Higo to argue more.

Smelling the strong gunpowder between two senpai, two simps who only knew how to lick the girl’s boots, the others spread around, not wanting to get caught by the stray bullet between them.

’Fortunately, for all of their ridiculous bickering, they are still professional enough on the pitch, never holding back their ability to make each one of them look bad in front of Shishida-senpai’s eyes. If that happens, I cannot imagine how devastated she will be...’

That was the thought of some of the first-year players when they sighed once again at their senpai’s conflict. Honestly, they didn’t know how. Makino was always a handsome and commanding captain on the back, and while they only knew Higo for a short time, they could see that the goalkeeper was a stable and reliable person.

So... How could it be that when they were together... They were like Tom and Jerry?!

Unfortunately, that would be the greatest mystery in the school’s history, as before anyone could discuss it, the girl who was the culprit of the conflict suddenly had her head popped from the window, shouting, "Come on, everyone! We have to go now!"

-Author’s Note-

This is a special week for this novel, because we finally reached 100k viewers! Thank you for all of your support here. Without you guys, it would be impossible for us to reach this point.

Special shout-out to all the big spenders, all the readers who are willing to spend their golden ticket for this novel. Thank you for Reading_Gal_8, Blackbird71, Lewis_Anson_7657, and all of you who have been supporting the story since the beginning!

Tomorrow, we will have a 4-Chapter update! See you soon!

Federixo_01