For all the Hakodate Nishi players, time flew away so quickly, and before they knew it, they had already found themselves walking through the locker room of the Sapporo Dome once again. They hadn’t seen the crowd yet, but the roar from the stand could be felt like an earthquake from their spot, enough to make their legs tremble.

"Damn! I swear, the number is going crazy again! Our last two encounters were not like this, right?!" Jun swore, his hands shaking.

"Well, what can you expect?" Makino shrugged while trying to put on his boot. "This is final, and unlike our last two encounters, this time, everyone knows about us. Also, don’t forget we have 100 of our classmates coming for us, and the parents’ association will also be there. Today is going to be big."

Remembering that their friends would also come, each one of them had their eyes lit up immediately. Now, their nervousness was gone, replaced by the desire to come out to the pitch as quickly as possible to show off a little bit there.

"Damn! I heard nine people from my class are going to be there! I wonder who they are..."

"Nine?! What did your class do?! My class only got six, for God’s sake!"

"Hey, do you think she will come here as well..."

"Bah! Stop simping on her! Didn’t you get rejected last month?!"

Somehow, the atmosphere was quite festive, with them chatting around about the supporters. Soon, Kumiko also arrived at the locker room. She had just gone to discuss the administrative task first, registering the team to enter the stadium. Seeing that everyone was not that nervous, she couldn’t help but give a nod of approval.

"Good, everyone is ready here." She praised without hesitation. "Kuroki-kun, lead the team to warm up first. I need to talk to Makino-kun and Ryukkun first."

Kuroki, the most senior member besides those two, was taken aback slightly. However, he didn’t question it, just rising from his spot and shouting, "Come on, everyone! You want to get a look at the atmosphere first, right? Let’s greet our friends outside!"

"Hell, yeah!"

Soon enough, the locker room was empty, leaving Kumiko, Higo, and Makino there. The two boys just stared at each other confusedly, waiting for the girl to say something here.

"First of all..." She took a deep breath, looking at them intently. "Makino-kun, I know that this is going to be a big day for you. I can see you dazing off from time to time, and your reaction speed in the last couple of trainings has been subpar to your standard. I know how important this game is for you, but I need you to lock in and show your best state today. Can you do it?"

Makino was startled for a moment, not expecting Kumiko to notice his current state.

"I am not asking you to put aside that feeling or even forget it. No, you are a human being, not a robot. However, I need you to start acting like our captain, leading the team and showing them an example in the biggest game of our lives. Can you do that?"

The boy gulped, wanting to throw his face away from her intent gaze. However, he also knew that the moment he did that, it would show that he was not in his most competitive state, and while he was confident that Kumiko wouldn’t put him on the bench, this would be a big blow for the team.

In the end...

"I will try." He gulped before the words escaped from his mouth. "I cannot promise you that I can deal with this matter on time. But I will try to do my best here."

For a moment, a tense silence filled the room before Kumiko finally gave another nod of approval.

"Good. At least, that is what I can ask for you. Which brings us to our second topic here, which is the command tower of the defense." She turned her attention to Higo. "Makino-kun, I know you are so used to taking control of our defense, but for this game, I need you to listen to Ryukkun’s instruction."

"Eh?! Me?!" This time, Higo was the one who was startled, not expecting to get called out of nowhere like this.

"Yes, you." Kumiko nodded firmly. "Makino-kun will have to deal with a lot of things today, from guarding Yuwell, dealing with the stuff inside his mind, to being the captain of the team. It will be good to relieve this task to you, because you know what you have in mind, right?" She asked knowingly.

Makino thought that it was related to Higo’s game-reading ability, so he didn’t question it too much. Only those two best friends knew that what they talked about right now was related to a more supernatural topic here, which was Higo’s clairvoyance.

It made sense to give him who had the ability to see the future the task to command. However, Higo couldn’t help but doubt himself when he heard that.

"Do you think it is too hasty? I mean, to give it right before the game begins like this? I might not do that well, you know?"

"Oh, I know you will do well." In return, Kumiko just gave him her usual kind smile. "After all, remember everything in the last couple of games clearly. You have been taking the command unknowingly, right? Whenever you read the game faster than Makino-kun, you would shout it loudly, and everyone would also listen to you. Isn’t it basically the same?"

Well, when Kumiko said it like that...

"I am not doing anything special here, just making this official," Kumiko added. "This is a necessary process to help Makino-kun alleviate his mind. Also, with you being in command, at least, you will not overthink too much about your problem, right? This is a win-win solution for us."

Now, Higo definitely couldn’t refuse the order anymore. He just let out a deep, tired sigh, glaring at his best friend annoyedly. Makino also joined the fun, and while his mind was still not in the right state, the captain could still throw a joke here.

"Good luck, Chibi. I will leave the back for you, so don’t mess things up, okay?"