"We're relying too much on Gouenji." During the Football Club meeting, right after the match against Mikage Sennou, I voiced something that had been bothering me since the game.
"With Gouenji, we have Fire Tornado, Dragon Tornado, Inazuma Otoshi, Inazuma 1Gou, Inazuma 1Gou Otoshi, and its variant Dragon 1Gou Otoshi. Not to mention Dragon Otoshi, which is still incomplete. All these Hissatsu rely on him." After the match, we tested the Inazuma 1Gou Otoshi without Gouenji's Dragon Crash and were able to pull it off without a problem.
They're two different techniques, but the power behind the shot is completely different.
"Besides Gouenji, we only have Someoka as a power forward, with Dragon Crash. If Gouenji gets injured or can't play, we're in trouble." If I hadn't acted fast enough to use Inazuma 1Gou to prevent him from hurting himself when trying Dragon Otoshi against Mikage Sennou, he could've been seriously injured.
That was a clear warning for me: we're putting too much on Gouenji's shoulders.
"But Captain, we've been winning all our matches with Gouenji." Kurimatsu said, not sensing the danger.
"That's right, Captain. With Gouenji on the field, we can beat anyone." Kabeyama added, and everyone in the team agreed. Even Someoka, who didn't like Gouenji at first, nodded silently.
Gouenji stayed quiet, but I saw a faint proud smile on his face.
"You're all being naive. If Gouenji gets hurt or misses a game, how do you expect to win?" Seeing them all so relaxed made me snap.
"If you trust Gouenji that much, then he'll be benched for the next match." I dropped the bomb in the room.
"What... Captain?!" Everyone reacted in shock, even the managers — Aki, Haruna, and Natsumi.
"How are we supposed to win without Gouenji, Captain?" Panic spread through the clubroom.
"Please reconsider, Captain!" Kurimatsu grabbed my hand, begging.
"Endou..." Even Gouenji, who had stayed silent until now, looked at me in disbelief.
"I'm not changing my mind. This is also a punishment for you, Gouenji. I made it clear that Dragon Otoshi was banned, but you still tried to use it during the match against Mikage Sennou. Sure, we won thanks to the technique created in that moment, but that doesn't change the fact that you disobeyed a direct order." My words finally brought silence to the room. Everyone understood that, whether they liked it or not, Gouenji had broken a rule.
"Also, Dragon Otoshi isn't a move to be used solo. Someoka, as punishment for joining in, you won't be playing as a striker in the next match. You'll be moved to another position." Everyone froze, stunned by the captain's decision.
"En... Endou... how are we supposed to win like this?" Kazemaru finally spoke up, stuttering.
"That's what we have to figure out. If our team can't win without Gouenji and Someoka as our main attackers, we'll never stand a chance in the Football Frontier." I ended the meeting with determination and left the room, genuinely upset.
Because of the punishment, I went to Rairaiken alone that evening. No one came with me.
"I'm really frustrated. How could those two idiots risk getting hurt with a move like that? And the rest of the team is acting like nothing happened." I grumbled while venting to the Rairaiken chef, which helped ease my frustration a bit.
He just smiled while preparing my ramen.
"I agree with your decision. They broke a serious rule and put themselves at risk. But I hope you understand, everyone just wants to win." He stirred the pot as he spoke calmly.
"I know they want to win. I do too. But getting hurt isn't the right way... That's not how we should play." I kept mumbling. I still couldn't accept what happened.
"As long as the goalkeeper is there to protect the goal, the others can give everything they have to beat the opponent. They were simply trying to match your determination." The chef placed the ramen bowl in front of me.
"Itadakimasu!" I started eating, reflecting on the old man's words.
My whole body ached, a result of the intense training and the grueling match against Mikage Sennou. I had pushed myself so hard that even small movements caused my muscles to cramp.
That's why we didn't do any heavy training today.
"You're right, oji-san." I nodded while eating. "But that doesn't mean I'll lift the punishment. They crossed the line." I still grumbled a little. I have my pride as captain.
"HAHA! You always go all in. Just like Gouenji could've gotten hurt, the same could happen to you, or anyone else on the team. No use getting upset over it." The oji-san added an extra slice of meat to my ramen, which made me devour it even faster.
"Go home, get some rest, eat well, and recover. None of your teammates are disposable. And as captain, you're the least disposable of all. So take care of yourself and be ready for the next game." The chef dismissed me as soon as I finished eating, not even letting me keep the conversation going.
"Tch, stubborn old man... One day I'll get you to be Raimon's coach." I muttered as I walked home, clearly more at peace.
The Next Day
"In the next regional preliminary match, Okaruto Junior High will face Shuuyou Meito Academy. The team that wins will be our opponent in the semifinals." Aki spoke in front of the board, holding Haruna's notebook.
"You said Okaruto Junior High?" Kazemaru asked, surprised.
"It seems they've improved a lot thanks to some kind of special, intense training." Aki continued. It's not surprising they've gotten stronger. We've grown a lot since our match against Gakuen Okaruto too.
"And what about the other team? Shuuyou Meito Academy? What kind of team are they?" Natsumi asked, standing beside the board as well.
Aki went back to the notebook, her expression turning more serious.
"Even though they're intellectually capable, the school gathers... rather eccentric boys. They're considered the weakest team among all Football Frontier participants and..."
"W-What is this?!" Aki suddenly stopped reading, clearly startled by what she had just seen.
"What happened, Aki-chan?" I asked, confused by her reaction.
"Well... even the day before their match against Okaruto, they spent the whole time at a Maid Kissa... that's what it says here." Aki replied, her face turning completely red.
"You said a Maid Kissa?!" Megane was the most reactive, visibly excited. I wasn't expecting him to be such an otaku.
A Maid Kissa is a themed café where the waitresses dress up as maids. In my previous life, I really liked anime and always wanted to visit one of those. I guess in this life, I'm a bit more of a "normie" than I used to be. Sadly, there aren't many series like the ones I knew, so I never really had anyone to talk to about that side of me. Maybe... I'm still an otaku. Just a football otaku now... maybe?
"What's that?" Natsumi asked with a completely innocent expression. I wouldn't expect anything less from a proper ojou-sama.
"Those guys made it pretty far, huh." Max commented with a slightly mocking tone, surprised they had advanced this much.
"If that's the case, we'll definitely be facing Okaruto in the semifinals." Kurimatsu said confidently. After all, we'd already beaten Okaruto once, so he was feeling sure of himself.
"Don't get too confident. No matter who wins, remember that Gouenji won't be playing in this match." That one comment was enough to drop the temperature in the room. All the confidence vanished like smoke.
"This is serious!" Haruna burst through the clubroom door, clearly flustered.
"The match result was just posted online! Okaruto lost!" Haruna announced, shocking everyone.
"What's so special about this Shuuyou Meito Academy?" Shishido asked, looking at Kabeyama.
"Then... there's only one thing we can do." Megane said firmly. "Investigate... at the Maid Kissa."
I won't lie. That idea got me a little excited.
"There has to be a reason why Shuuyou Meito was able to defeat the brutal Okaruto. And I believe that reason lies within that Maid Kissa." Megane sounded incredibly serious about his theory.
"Let's go, Endou-kun. We don't know anything about Shuuyou Meito. This is... this is strategic data collection! It's to help us win the match!" With such a convincing — and completely absurd — excuse, how could I possibly refuse?
"Alright! Let's go check it out!" Some of the others looked visibly embarrassed. For the first time, I even saw Gouenji blush a little.
At the Maid Kissa
"Okaerinasaimase, Goshujin-sama!" I was greeted in a way I had always imagined back in my previous life.
One of the maids prepared thirteen tables to accommodate our entire team.
This time, the managers didn't come with us. Well, Natsumi almost did, but Aki and Haruna stopped her. They were way too embarrassed to enter a place like this.
As soon as we sat down, a maid handed us the menus.
I was seated at a table for four, together with Kazemaru, Someoka, and Gouenji. Right next to us was a table for five, where the first-year players gathered. The rest of the team sat at another table for four on the other side.
The Maid Kissa's menu was... at the very least, embarrassing. The names of the dishes and drinks were extremely peculiar. Even worse was the name of the menu itself, which hinted suspiciously at "school swimsuit."
"What would you like to order, Goshujin-sama?" one of the maids asked me with a gentle smile.
I looked down at the menu. Every option looked more flashy and awkward than the last.
Pink Heart-Pounding Milk Tea
My Beloved Jasmine Tea
Herbal Tea of Heart-Throbbing Fascination
Moe Moe Chocolate with Maid-san
Green Tea of a Student's Gratitude to Their Teacher
Among other equally unusual choices.
Even I was a bit embarrassed. The rest of the team turned visibly red reading those names. Only Megane ordered with complete confidence.
To my relief, the items were still relatively innocent. At least I didn't see anything like "Holy Water from Maid-san" on the menu.
Just as I was about to order the Moe Moe Chocolate with Maid-san, a stranger approached Megane, clearly excited to find someone with similar otaku tastes.
Somehow, all of us ended up being taken to a secret room inside the Maid Kissa, filled with otaku merchandise.
Megane looked like he had ascended to paradise. He recognized every reference — games, video games, anime, manga... it was like he had come home.
Watching from a distance, I felt a little out of place. There were so many works and references I didn't know, so different from those I remembered from my previous life.
Maybe this really is an anime world too... just not one I've ever watched or heard of.
After chatting for a while, we found out that everyone in that secret room was actually part of Shuuyou Meito's soccer team. So, unintentionally, we had found our real target after all.
Later on, we went to train on a field near the river.
The mood among the players showed they didn't think the next opponent was as strong as the ones we had faced before. But because they knew Gouenji wouldn't be playing, and Someoka wouldn't be acting as a striker either, they pushed themselves even harder during practice.
In a way, my decision to take our two main attackers out of the match ended up motivating the whole team.
It reminded me of something from my previous life. What was it called again? If I remember right, they called it the flow state. When a goal is challenging enough to require effort, but not so hard that it feels impossible.
Maybe this will be the perfect match for the rest of the team. A challenge that's truly at their level... except for me, Gouenji, and Someoka.