Chapter 632: Greeting the Supporters

FWEEE! FWEEE! FWEEE!

"OH! It is finally over!"

"Damn! 3-0, huh? Not bad for our first game!"

"Scheiße! With this kind of performance, I would be willing to watch every single one of their home game! They are even better than the main team!"

The moment the referee blew the whistle three times to end the game, all the people in the stadium celebrated the win enthusiastically. They couldn’t help it, though, as last year, the main team’s performance was far from being good, only being placed in 14th place on the table. That was just one spot above the relegation zone, far from being the safest spot in the competition.

Now, even though it was just the second team, they couldn’t help but have an expectation, thinking that at least they could see something good this year. It would be better if this could be translated into the main team, but honestly, the supporters didn’t have a big hope for that.

The players themselves also celebrated the win on the pitch, but they were more reserved there. It wasn’t like they weren’t happy or they looked down on their opponent and thought that this was an easy win, but at the end of the day, this was just the first game of the season. While yes, the win itself was worth celebrating, the competition was still long, so they needed to put more focus on the next game.

As the players went back to the locker room one by one, though, Higo didn’t forget to drag Morita to join him. While the rest of the team didn’t have this tradition, they both came from Japan, and it was always good to remember their roots.

So, those two decided to walk to the stand, and to all the people’s surprise, they bowed deeply for even a second, showing their gratitude toward the supporters who came today.

This gesture stunned everyone else, and they couldn’t help but talk about it.

"Shit! They are thanking us?!"

"Japanese people sure know how to appreciate every little thing, huh?! Youngsters nowadays need to learn from them!"

"Come on, Morita! Higo! We are supporting you!"

"Come to Bosch once you are free! I’ll have you the best pint in the city!"

The supporters also appreciated the gesture, and they even gave a standing applause for this. It seemed that those people weren’t used to receiving this treatment just for coming to a simple game, so they couldn’t help but nod in approval here.

And just by that, those two boys’ reputation spiked up in a heartbeat among the team’s supporters.

"You look so innocent, but you sure are quite cunning, Higo," Morita smirked a little as they walked around and greeted the supporters on the stand.

"I don’t know what you mean, Morita-san," Higo replied with a straight face. "It is just something that Kumiko-chan said. It is always better to build a good relationship with the supporters. At the end of the day, they could fight so fiercely or even die for you, and while I think it is a bit exaggerated, I cannot deny that we still need to appreciate their presence here."

Morita nodded thoughtfully while also muttering, "This is from Kumiko-san, huh? No wonder..."

As they arrived behind the goal, Higo’s eyes couldn’t help but light up at the familiar figure there. "Chiaki-chan! Koji-san! Here!" He waved enthusiastically.

Yeah, those two were the Hakodate natives who came here just to support him. There was no way in hell he would forget about their presence.

Seeing that Higo noticed them, those two came down from the top of the stand to get closer immediately. The supporters around also noticed that these were Higo’s acquaintances, so they gave way to let the pair of father and daughter get into the fence.

Once they got closer, Higo felt the corner of his lips twitching after noticing that they wore the national team jersey rather than the Schalke one. It was just fortunate that the blue color blended well with the surroundings, but Higo also took a note inwardly to give them the team’s jersey when they met again.

"Chiaki-chan, you are here too?!" Morita asked in a faux surprise. In reality, he had already known about this since Higo told him beforehand.

"Hi, Koki-nii." The little girl waved shyly, showing her tiny hand cutely. Morita clutched his heart dramatically, finding this cute attack to be dangerous.

Higo snorted amusedly before turning around at the father. The man himself was beaming brightly, sending a thumbs-up to the boy. "Good job, Higo! I have already shared the news with the community, and they are ecstatic about this result! They sent a message as well, telling you that they regret they couldn’t be here to support you."

"Eh, tell them don’t fret about it." Higo waved nonchalantly. However, he was still happy that behind him, so many people were standing, having his back for anything that could happen in the future. "Anyway, come again for the next home game! I have something to give you later!" He took a note inside his head to ask for two jerseys later.

"Sure! I will bring Chiaki-chan’s mother as well!" The man laughed boisterously.

They chatted for quite a while before someone from the team approached them, whispering, "The boss has been waiting for you guys, especially you, Morita. He wants you to come and join the press conference."

"Eh, me?!" Morita clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Why not Fabian? He scored twice today, right?"

"Not my decision to make." The man shrugged back nonchalantly.

In the end, even though they were a little bit reluctant, Higo and Morita had to say goodbye to the pair of father and daughter, asking them to come again in the future. As they walked back to the locker room, Morita couldn’t help but whisper, "Yeah, Kumiko-san is right. It is nice to interact with the supporters out there."

In return, Higo just snorted a little, not showing any surprise at all. "I know she is right. She has always been right, you know?"