Chapter 20: Volume 1 - CH 3.7

One goal was scored by a striker and the ball I kicked went straight into the goal, and the game ended with a score of 2 to 0.

Even though it was cloudy, it was late June, and everyone was sweating after running around for more than an hour. The players from the two schools, both drenched in sweat and dirt, greeted each other after the match and returned to their benches.

Yuriko has already returned from the spectator seats and was handing paper cups filled with drinks to the players as they came up from the field, along with Tachibana and the other first-year students on the bench.

"Here. Good work."

Still breathing roughly right after the match, I gulped down the lukewarm sports drink in the paper cup that Yuriko had given me in one go and exhaled heavily.

I sat down on a bench and threw the paper cups into a nearby garbage bag. Then I pulled down my socks, removed my legs guard, and stretched my legs as I sat down. From now on, we will have a one-hour break. After that, we will play one more match, and that will be the end of our practice schedule for the day.

"Congratulations on scoring a goal."

I heard a voice like a boss praising his subordinate. I looked to the side and saw Yuriko about to sit down next to me.

"It's been a long time since you took a free-kick. When was the last time?"

"......It's been about half a year."

"It was a good shot. Even if Neuer had been the keeper, I think the ball still would have gone in."

Yuriko said jokingly. I chuckled bitterly and replied, " As expected, that's not going to happen."

We talked about it casually as we looked at the empty field. The wind blew and the dust swirled in the middle of the field. There was a moist rainy season breeze blowing, which was pleasant to my sweaty body. Yuriko sat next to me and took a sip from a paper cup of sports drink. Then she opened her mouth to say, "Oh, that's right."

"By the way, Izumi-san said she's going home after this match."

"Ah, I see."

I looked at Izumi. She had just gotten out of her pipe chair with her bags. Perhaps sensing our eyes on her, Izumi looked at ours, smiled, and waved her hand.

I raised my hand in return, and beside me, Yuriko was also waving her hand in a small gesture. Somehow, seeing this, I felt that Yuriko had become close to Izumi. Izumi then walked toward the school gate.

"---Izumi-san, she enjoyed the match, you know. It was the first time she had seen a live soccer match."

"Hmm," I chimed in. Then I asked her something that had been bothering me for a while.

"What were you and Izumi talking about earlier?

Yuriko kept staring straight at Izumi's back as she walked away and did not answer.

"Hey."

"...... It's a secret."

When I urged her, Yuriko said so.

"What?"

"It's a secret. It has nothing to do with Kenichi."

"What's that?"

"I'm not bad-mouthing Kenichi or talking about anything embarrassing."

Saying this, Yuriko stood up from the bench.

"I'm hungry. I'm going to eat my lunch."

She strode steadily toward the baggage area.

"What is it?"

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I muttered to myself, felt a bit fuzzy by the secret, and after stretching, I headed for the baggage area.

The soccer club is a large club with more than twenty members, thus there are several groups of members, just like in a class.

I, along with Nagai, a few other club members with whom I had some conversation to some extent, and Tachibana, who had her eye on Nagai, settled down in the shade of the school building balcony to eat the bento that Izumi had brought to me. Yuriko is eating her lunch with another group of sophomores a short distance away.

On the way there, Nagai spoke to me, "Hey."

"The girl that was sitting in the tent, is she your girlfriend?"

The surrounding boys and Tachibana, who was standing next to Nagai, reacted with a twitch as they were listening.

"---- No. She is my relative."

I replied, thinking, that relatives are very convenient relationship in some way.

"Heh. She's cute."

"Yeah. ........"

Indeed, Izumi's hair, clothes, and appearance gave a dainty impression, so I thought that even from a distance, there was something about her that made her stand out from the crowd.

"Muu," Tachibana, who likes Nagai, frowned as she heard our conversation. Perhaps she didn't like the fact that he praised another girl.

"Why did Sakamoto-senpai's relative come to watch the match? She seemed to be talking with Mori-senpai as well. What kind of relationship do you all have?"

Tachibana asked me in a sullen tone.

"As I said before, we are relatives. She just met Yuriko for the first time a while ago. Maybe they were talking about something related to me."

Tachibana stared at me.

"Senpai, you seem to be a plain guy, but you seem to be more flashy in your relationships with girls than I expected. I'm getting a little suspicious about you and Mori-senpai."

"Not suspicious. Not at all."

"Are you sure?"

Tachibana looked unconvinced and narrowed her eyes.

I ignored her words and ate the rest of my lunch.

"Does that girl live around here?"

Nagai said, and the rice stuck in his throat.

He coughed, drank water from his bottle in a hurry, and swept up the grains of rice.

"Eh? You mean Izumi?"

"Hmmm. So her name is Izumi-san," Nagai said.

Yeah, I nodded my head and let the conversation drift away, saying only, "nearby," as to where Izumi lived.

I thought it would be troublesome if he asked for her contact information or something, but Nagai did not go that far. I guess it was just a casual conversation, like "I saw a cute girl on the roadside."

I finished my lunch, wrapped it in a cloth, and put it in my bag.

One more match to go. I don't feel that fatigued. Maybe I can run until the end. I stretched lightly and let the fresh air fill my lungs.

Suddenly, I felt a dazzling light, and casually looked up at the sky to find a gap in the clouds that had covered the sky. The sun was shining from there, and on the ground, a strip of light was forming.

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