Chapter 634: Fujita-san’s Secret Move & Budding Fame

Higo asked his sister immediately, and fortunately, it was around noon back home, so Ayaka answered the message in a heartbeat. The unfortunate part, though, was that the reply was not enough to satisfy his curiosity.

Aya-nee: I don’t know about this, but the news all comes out pretty generic, with some similar keywords between each one of them. It is too good to be a coincidence, so there must be someone pushing the news to those platforms. Try to ask Fujita-san about it.

The answer was long, yet it only made the boy frown. The mystery only got deeper, and Higo couldn’t help but feel curious right now. Without waiting anymore, he scrolled through his contacts, searching for his agent’s name. Once he found it, the boy didn’t hesitate to make a call.

"Yes, Higo-san?" Fujita-san’s voice rang instantly as the call was answered. Behind him, Higo could hear so many shouts in the background noise, clearly telling him that his agent was watching a football game right now. "Oh, congratulations on your win, by the way! I have asked someone to record it for me, and I watched your performance thoroughly! My instinct is right, you will become the next big goalkeeper from our country!"

Based on the man’s tone, Higo noticed that his agent was beyond happy right now. He smiled stiffly before replying, "Thank you, Fujita-san, but is it your doing to make me appear in so many news platforms?" He asked directly, not seeing a point to beat around the bush.

"Well, yeah, I mean, it is important to create an image, right?" The man answered casually like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "In the football world right now, pure football ability cannot bring you too far except if you are among the best players in the world. No, you have to market yourself well, and this is just the first step to introduce you to more people. Don’t worry, soon enough, if I have a say, all the news in Japan would sing that you are the Gianluigi Buffon from our country!"

Higo could feel the corner of his lips twitching as he was so speechless right now. Who would’ve thought that his goofy agent would be this ambitious? He thought for a moment and couldn’t find any words to answer, so in the end, the boy just said, "Just... Please, don’t overdo it to the point it affects my mom and sister, okay?"

"Who the hell do you think I am?" Fujita-san’s voice indicated that he was offended that Higo thought him so lowly. "Don’t worry, my game plan is clean. I am not an amateur here, so everything will be okay. Just focus on your performance there. My biggest capital is your performance, so the better you are in German, the happier I am here! Come on, Higo-kun! Fight!"

Higo ended the call immediately, still staring at the phone with a face full of confusion. While he got the answer he wanted, everything moved so fast right now that he needed some time to process it. Fortunately, it was a day off, so Higo could use the whole day to clear his mind of all the distracting thoughts back home.

Or... Well, that was the plan before Higo started doom-scrolling again through his phone. The boy searched specifically for him, finding it to be satisfying to hear those people praising him. Even though Higo knew that most of them were arranged by Fujita-san, it was always nice to read something good like this.

’Maybe, I have a little bit of a narcissistic side in me.’ He thought inwardly.

So many people also sent a message, especially those in Hakodate. From Makino, Kuroki, Hiroshi, and the rest of the Hakodate Nishi members, all gave their congratulations. Hell, even those former classmates that he had never exchanged words with also sent a quick chat, probably wanting to prove to the others that they had him as a classmate in the past.

It seemed that his agent moved fast, as the news about him had already occupied the city’s news right now.

It was embarrassing, though, to be the sole focus of the city. Usually, even though he would be the main focus, the news would still report the team’s achievement or something like that. Still, Higo didn’t bother this too much, as he himself was far away from Hakodate right now.

The problem was that when he was going out to take a breather, somehow, all the people in the neighborhood knew about him. Higo just went to the nearest store to buy ingredients for breakfast, and yet, somehow, in that short moment, he was greeted by at least four people so far.

"Higo! Good job last game! Keep it up, okay?"

"You are the pride of our community! Let’s go!"

"Boy! When will the next game be played? I’ll bring my grandson there!"

Hell, some people even gave something from their store freely, insisting that he come more often in the future. While Higo still answered politely, the boy couldn’t hide his bewilderment here.

He had read in the past that German people were quite straightforward and didn’t like to have small talk, and yet, here he was, having been greeted several times in one morning by people he himself didn’t know.

The boy had never imagined that the team would have such a strong influence on the people in this city that even if he was just in the second team, the news about him had already spread around, with so many people knowing about him.

’Yeah, somehow, I underestimated people’s craziness about football here. It seems like everyone is breathing for this sport. He muttered wryly.

Still, this was not enough to make him lower his guard. If anything, Fujita’s message earlier this morning rang louder inside Higo’s head.

’Fujita-san is right.’ He muttered under his breath. ’My performance is my biggest capital right now. As long as I show the same level of performance, reputation will follow as well. Let’s just focus on the game in front of me first.’