"Come on, defenders! Be a little bit more serious!"

"Kuroki-kun, don’t try to imitate Yuwell! He is one of his kind! Just go all out and destroy them!"

"No, Nori-kun, you cannot make a move like that! The referee will see it immediately and give you a yellow card!"

"Come on! Let’s start again!"

It was a day before the game began, and they started the morning with a simulation training again. They had been doing this with the data that Kumiko gathered as a reference. The data itself was a lot, detailing Yuwell’s attacking style to even his preferred spot to shoot. Nevertheless, everyone trusted Kumiko in this regard, accepting the order readily.

After everything was over, though, they all went to the hotel immediately. After all, what they were waiting for was finally about to arrive. After this, Kumiko would announce the starting lineup, and while some didn’t have too much hope since their last roster did a damn good job in the semifinal, they still wanted to hear it with their own ears here.

Hell, they were not even in the mood to have lunch right now. No, the hunger they felt was not enough to distract them from this meeting. When Kumiko saw them in their locked-in state, she couldn’t help but tease them.

"Well, this should be the most enthusiastic state you have ever been in this tournament, right? You don’t even ask for lunch or the result of the other games."

Yeah, coincidentally enough, today was also the day when the game between Esashi High and Ritsumeikan High was played for third place in the tournament. However, they couldn’t care less about that, not when they themselves still had to take care of their own matter first.

"Come on, Senpai! Don’t dilly dally like that!" Kenji whined indignantly. "Let’s get this shit over so that we can spend the rest of the day peacefully!" While the others didn’t say anything, they still nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Kumiko couldn’t help but snort, starting to speak again. "Okay, since you guys don’t want to stay for too long, let me keep it short. The lineup is still mostly the same as the last game, except for one change. Jun-kun, you will replace Sano-kun for the main center back."

Some faces fell when they heard this, while some rose enthusiastically.

"Hell, yeah! I am in again!" The tall boy punched the air enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, Kenji also groaned at the same time. "A bench player again?! Come on, Kumiko-senpai, this is not fair! I have been sitting my ass on the bench for two games in a row! Three, if you include the next one! I need more playing time, you know?!"

The others snickered silently when they saw the boy throw a tantrum like this. Hell, Hori didn’t forget to throw a jab here. "If your fans know you are like this, they would be heartbroken, you know?"

"Bah! Who cares about them! They would still chase me no matter what I am going to do!" Kenji waved off the mock narcissistically. "Anyway, can you consider this again, Senpai?" He stared at Kumiko with his best puppy eyes impersonation.

Unfortunately, Kumiko didn’t bulge here. "No, I cannot afford to start you from the beginning of the game. I will still say, though. If the score is a draw, I will put you on the pitch at around the 60th minute of the game, and if we are down by one goal or even more, you will be on the pitch immediately. Your offensive threat is great, but your laziness in defense is a risk I have to calculate carefully."

Kenji couldn’t help but wince at the blunt assessment. Well, he himself also noticed his awful defensive contribution and has been making some effort to rectify it. Unfortunately, old habits die hard here, not something that he could change easily just with one talk.

"I told you to learn something from me, Brat!" Hori slapped his back hard. "If only you could apply even one-fifth of your creative offensive brain to your defensive skill, you would be on the pitch tomorrow!"

Kenji knew deep down that Hori was right, but his pride would never let him admit it openly. So, he did what he could do best, which was returning with a sarcastic remark. "Bah! I don’t want to be told like that by someone who is on the same boat here!"

"HA?! WHY, YOU?!" A thick vein popped on Hori’s forehead instantly.

Before anyone could say anything, though, Kumiko coughed once again, stopping the conflict from erupting in the middle of the meeting.

"If you don’t like my decision or want to say anything else, you can talk to me later. But now, please keep quiet and let me finish my explanation, okay?" She asked with the eerie smile that was enough to give those two a goosebump on their back. Those two boys nodded rapidly, not daring to resist the warning.

"As for Sano-kun, I know you are not convinced since you played well in the last game, and I can see your quality. However, in the next game, we need someone who has experience playing against them, someone who knows their trick well. Don’t worry, though, if Jun-kun dares to slack off, you will be on the pitch before you can even blink."

This time, it was Jun who shuddered. He knew that Kumiko was not one who gave an empty threat, so all the excitement before was sucked away, getting replaced by the solemn nod of responsibility.

"Lastly, the bench players, I know you are disappointed. However, this is the best formation I could think of for tomorrow, so I apologize first for sidelining you. I will also shamelessly ask you guys to get ready to play at any time, because tomorrow will be our toughest match to play. Anything can happen in the game, and I will only pick those who are ready to go. So, please, bear with me just for tomorrow..."

Yuji, Kenji, Fujinaga, and Hori looked at each other with a solemn mood. While they were still not convinced of this decision, those four knew that Kumiko always thought for the best of the team, so they were willing to give her their 100 percent trust right now.

"Don’t worry, Senpai. The moment you need us to step up, you will find us turning into an undead soldier for you!"