The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 65: Yakiniku Party!

Higo was taken aback when his name was mentioned out of nowhere, and when he realized what was going on here, the boy was so flustered that his face turned red as a tomato. Kumiko was never stingy with her praise, but he was still quite weak in receiving it.

To make it worse—or better, if Higo had to be honest—the girl looked at him with pride and admiration, and that was enough to make a butterfly flutter in his stomach.

The applause around also died down immediately when they realized the ambiguous atmosphere between those two, and in the end, Makino had to cough here. "Oi, Chibi, don’t you have something to say here?" He asked, his tone was full of jealousy.

"What?" It was enough to snap Higo from his thought, as he stared at the captain confusedly. "Should I say that it is nothing? But I am sure that my performance is far from nothing, right?"

This time, most of them had the corner of their lips twitching speechlessly.

"Senpai, you sure know how to be humble, huh?" Hiroshi asked in a tone laced with strong sarcasm.

"Bah! Modesty is overrated if you are exceptional!" The goalkeeper just brushed it off nonchalantly. "Also, none of you deny that my performance is far from nothing, so why make a fuss about being modest here?"

Well... That was something that no one could deny. After all, Higo really showed a monstrous performance here. The 15 saves that he made today were far from empty stats. Every one of them was a dangerous threat that could make any goalkeeper in the prefecture sweat, and yet, Higo was able to protect the goal until the end.

Moreover, the double save that he made against Iwai’s penalty also cemented his legendary performance, making everyone remember his name. Yeah, if before the penalty, his performance was already exceptional, that penalty scene really baptized him, elevating everything to an out-of-the-world level of performance, something that would be impossible to match.

"Of course, it is not just Ryukkun and Hiroshi-kun who play amazingly today!" Kumiko interrupted, knowing that the smell of the gunpowder was quite strong here. "Let’s also give a round of applause for Ishinori-kun, who managed to hold Iwai back for 45 minutes full, not giving him any chance other than that penalty shot! He is a great integral of our win today, so don’t forget about him!" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Yeah, that’s a good one, Nori!"

"Honestly, that is a performance of the year!"

"Just keep it up, Brat! We will need you again in the semifinal!"

This time, the praise was more genuine, as everyone had no grudge with the boy compared to Higo before. Also, Ishinori was a member of the team longer than the goalie, so it was understandable for the others to warm up to him more easily.

Right after that, the old man, the chef of the restaurant, finally came with a complete set of yakiniku for them. "A complete set of Yakiniku for Hakodate Nishi High’s football team is ready!" He announced himself in a grand manner, bringing the grill set to the table.

Just within a minute, the table quickly filled with large plates of fresh meat—thin slices of beef, marbled wagyu, short ribs, pork belly, and chicken. There were also plates of shrimp and squid for grilling, bowls of steamed rice, fresh lettuce leaves for wrapping the meat, kimchi, pickled vegetables, and small dishes of dipping sauces.

In the middle of the table sat the hot grill, ready for everyone to cook their food. The rich smell of the meat and sauce slowly filled the air.

"Damn, this is crazy..." Higo couldn’t help but wipe the drool on the corner of his mouth, feeling his stomach grumbling so loudly in its rebellion arc.

The others also stared at the table with wide eyes as the heavenly smell reached them. Some of them almost drooled while watching the meat sizzle on the grill. The fat from the beef crackled softly, sending up even more delicious aroma.

Kumiko smiled, knowing that they were already on the edge. So, she added, "Last but not least, let’s cheers for ourselves today! We have done an amazing job, so let’s keep going for the future!"

"Cheers!"

Right after that, hell broke loose. One by one, they snatched their chopsticks, starting to gobble all the meat in front of them like a barbaric group of teenagers they were.

"Hey, move around, man! That is my piece!"

"Oh, shut up! Don’t you see your side is still overloaded with meat?!"

"Don’t just eat them raw! Grill it on fire, you Bastard! I will not be responsible for any stomachache today!"

"Fuck! How in the hell does no one get the veggies?! What are you, a bunch of beasts?!"

"Ha?! What do you say?!"

The fight broke out, yet most of them were still contained at the table. The sound of the chopsticks hitting against each other, coupled with the laughter and bickering from the 13 teenagers at the table, was enough to make the entire restaurant lively.

Higo himself also didn’t want to lose here. Even though he was not foreign to Yakiniku, this was the first time he saw such a luxurious lineup, so the boy fought so fiercely for every single piece of meat possible.

"Anyway, I am just wondering...." He mumbled while chewing all the food inside his mouth, and something suddenly hit his brain. "This should be quite expensive, right? How would we pay for all of this?"

The question turned the lively atmosphere into a dead silence, as all eyes turned to Kumiko immediately. Indeed, while this wasn’t the first time the girl had invited them for this, no one had ever thought about how she could pay for the food.

"Don’t tell me..." Makino gasped in panic. "Kumiko-chan, have you always covered all of our bills?!"

This silenced the table instantly, and the sound of a chopstick dropped on the floor echoed dramatically among them. Hell, some even had their jaws dropped, somehow guilt creeping inside them.

Fortunately, before things got worse, Kumiko let out a light giggle, enough to alleviate their guilt. "Don’t worry about it. The bill is already covered by the school. You remember our bonus last year, right? We haven’t used the money that much, you know?"

Higo didn’t really know what she was talking about, but it seemed the others figured things out immediately, as the ’Ah!’ sounds could be heard echoing throughout the table. The worry also disappeared instantly, as they were back in the battleground where the grill was.

"Well, if the school wants to cover our asses, why are we still holding back?! Let’s fight one last round!"

"Hell, yeah!"