Chapter 21 Football 21 Morning Training

Early in the morning, Suoh Hyo-hee arrived at the training room.

It is six o'clock in the morning. All is quiet. Even the birdsong that should be singing outside the window seems to be swallowed up by the steel fortress of the "Blue Prison". The daylight outside is nowhere to be seen.

The completely enclosed design concept shut out all natural elements, creating an atmosphere of isolation from the world, which made Suoh Hyo-ki feel a sense of indescribable irritation.

Suoh Hyo-hee is currently undergoing daily training. In addition to the individual training arranged in Blue Prison, he also has to complete the U18 two-way training, so the earlier he starts training, the better.

He was alone in this small, windowless training room. Sweat dripped from his taut muscles like fine rain, falling onto the cold floor where it was instantly absorbed without leaving a trace.

According to the established training plan, he will be training with Kira Ryosuke this month. Time passed by, and when Suoh Koki had almost completed all the individual training, Kira Ryosuke was still nowhere to be seen.

Just then, a soft "hum" broke the silence of the training room. Another treadmill was suddenly activated. Suoh Koki instinctively thought it was Kira Ryosuke's arrival, so he quickly pressed the stop button on his own treadmill and picked up the towel hanging on it.

He strode toward the source of the sound while drying his hair with a towel.

"Um?"

Suoh Hyo-hee wiped away the sweat streaming down his face, his emerald eyes filled with a hint of surprise.

Standing in front of the treadmill was not Kira Ryosuke, but a boy of similar height with ice-blue hair.

The boy with ice-blue hair seemed to notice Suoh's gaze. He gently pressed the stop button on the treadmill and politely asked, "Is there something you need?"

Suoh Hyo-hee was slightly taken aback, then shook his head, "...It's nothing."

"Koki, you really are here. Oh, and Hyoori too, what a coincidence." Kira Ryosuke finally stepped into the training room, with a mix of apology and relief.

He was waving two bottles of mineral water in his hand. He first handed one to Suoh Hyoki, who was wiping his sweat, and then his gaze fell on the ice-blue-haired boy next to him. Naturally, he handed the other bottle to Hyoori.

Slightly surprised, Hyou accepted the water that Kira Ryosuke insisted on giving her, blinked, and said softly, "Thank you."

"This is Hyori Yo, a player from Team Y who played with us yesterday. Suoh Hyoki, a player from Team Z."

Kira Ryosuke gave them a brief introduction.

“Team Z? I haven’t seen him on the videotape.”

Seeing Kira Ryosuke's puzzled look, Hyou explained, "Because the next match is against Team Z, I've watched Team Z's videotapes."

Kira Ryosuke rested his chin on his hand, touched the beauty mark at the corner of his eye, and said with a smile, "We only joined Blue Prison yesterday. Two players from Team W withdrew from the competition, so we're here to replace them."

"But you, did you join the club a long time ago?"

Suoh Hyo-ki's gaze swept up and down the ice-woven sheep.

Today, Ice Sheep wasn't wearing the Y team's uniform, but only the tight-fitting training clothes issued by Blue Prison. The dark blue training clothes made Ice Sheep's muscle lines even more obvious.

With a mixture of scrutiny and admiration, Suoh Hyo-hee remarked, "The muscle definition is absolutely perfect; it's definitely not something a school could cultivate."

“That’s right, I joined the club when I was in elementary school.” Ice Sheep nodded.

"Huh? Isn't that the same as Zhong? He also joined the soccer club when he was in elementary school."

Ryosuke Kira draped his towel over the treadmill.

"I know him, he's very strong. But he retired a long time ago."

Aiming to become an outstanding striker, Bingzhiyang stepped into the threshold of a football club at a young age and began his competitive career.

In order for him to become the world's best striker, his parents kept a close eye on the top players in various clubs, including Tenno Minaka.

However, Tennoichi soon withdrew from the club, reportedly joining the school's football club. Subsequent reports in football newspapers confirmed this rumor.

For this reason, Bingzhiyang's parents repeatedly urged and instructed him, hoping that Bingzhiyang would not waste his talents like Tianzhiyu, abandoning a more promising club to participate in those childish club activities.

"Leaving the club..."

Kira Ryosuke's words were tinged with contemplation, his light brown eyes seemingly tinged with memories of the past. "Back then, he seemed to have had a big argument with his family, saying he didn't want to continue playing soccer."

Upon hearing this, both Hyōri and Suoh Kōki stared at Kira Ryōsuke in astonishment, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Upon seeing this, Kira Ryosuke frowned slightly and then looked at Suoh Koki with a puzzled expression.

"Don't you know? It was in the first year of junior high. Didn't you feel that the atmosphere was strange at that time?"

Suoh Hyo-ki shook his head.

"I thought you knew, you were always carrying a ball around looking for Zhong, I thought you were trying to persuade him to come back."

"Isn't that part of the daily training?"

Suoh Hyo-ki's voice grew softer and softer.

"You really don't know?"

Their differing perspectives on the same event fueled an increasingly heated discussion, causing them to momentarily forget that a third person was present.

Bingzhi Yang, who had been forgotten to the side, breathed a sigh of relief. He liked this way of getting along, where he could leave Bingzhi Yang alone.

But listening to their conversation, I felt a mix of emotions.

Ice-Weaving Sheep's eyes gradually deepened from their initial blankness.

"It takes real courage to make such a decision."

Bingzhi Yang murmured to herself, her tone filled with both admiration and emotion.

But... in the end, he returned to this path.

Ice-Weaving Sheep's eyes dimmed involuntarily, as if she had foreseen an unfinished destiny.

Kira Ryosuke's eyes suddenly flickered, as if he had thought of something. He turned to look at Hyori, his tone carrying a hint of inquiry: "But speaking of which, can members of the youth training team really participate in extra training camps?"

Upon hearing this, Ice-Weaving Sheep's blue eyes widened even more, sparkling with curiosity and confusion, and he leaned forward slightly.

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you all. Do U-18 players automatically transition to the U-20 team once they reach a certain age? Why would they need to participate in this kind of selection process?"

"!?"

Kira Ryosuke's gaze darted left and right, and after confirming that only the three of them were in the room, he whispered to Hyoori, "How did you know?"

"My coach is a former analyst for U-18."

"Oh...I see."

Kira Ryosuke scratched his head lightly, strands of hair brushing against his fingertips, with a hint of casualness, avoiding the core of the question, and said with a smile: "Being directly transitioned to the U-20, it's not that simple."

His expression was slightly subtle, as if he was deliberately avoiding the sharp edge of the topic.

Suoh Hyo-ki chuckled, a sharp and disdainful glint flashing in his green eyes.

"Those unambitious, complacent guys..."

Upon seeing this, Kira Ryosuke quickly reached out and gently covered Suoh Koki's mouth with his palm.

"The U-18 and U-20 are organized by different organizations, and it is common for their policies to be inconsistent."

Ice Sheep's gaze swept between the two, a faint smile playing on his lips, but his slight shrug betrayed his indifference.

He didn't press further, but instead pressed the switch and began training.

However, the three of them arrived very early. After they finished their training and left the training room, the other players arrived one after another.

"Nagi?!"

As soon as Kenjou Zantetsu entered the lounge, he saw a white blob on a chair.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the object belonged to his teammate, Nagi Seishiro.

Seishiro Nagi lay curled up in the chair, his head covered by a white coat. At first glance, it looked like a huge white bag was placed on the chair.

"Nagi?" Kenjou Zantetsu called out softly, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

From within that white mass, an arm slowly emerged, followed by a head half-hidden by a white coat.

Nagi Seishiro seemed to wake up leisurely from a dream, sitting up straight with sleepy eyes, his hands unconsciously rubbing his eyes.

"Ah, it's Zantetsu." Nagi Seishiro's voice was a little hoarse and lazy as he yawned. "I accidentally fell asleep here."

Kenjou Zantetsu gently adjusted his glasses, which seemed to always slip down his nose, giving him the air of an elite, if only he could use idioms to describe his speech.

"Huh? Didn't you go out with Rei-oh early this morning? I thought you had finally 'turned over a new leaf' and were going to train."

Nagishiro unconsciously rubbed his neck with his fingers, his eyes filled with helplessness. "What kind of idiom are you using?"

As Nagi Seishiro spoke, he stood up, leaning slightly forward and staggering a little, as if each step was a difficult struggle against drowsiness, giving the impression that he might fall at any moment.

"Speaking of which, where's that guy Rei-ou?" Kenjou Zentetsu followed closely behind Nagi Seishiro, asking curiously.

"Oh, Tamura wanted to find someone to practice his dribbling skills, so Rei went to help him."

Nagi Seishiro stopped in his tracks, a hint of indifference flashing in his eyes. "I really don't know what a weakling like him is thinking. Does he really think he can defeat a strong person with just a few days of blitz?"

"If a strong person could be defeated so easily, then they wouldn't be a strong person."

"If I were him, I would have given up long ago."

"You really have perseverance."

Kenjou Zentetsu didn't take his words to heart; his mind was preoccupied with whether he would look like an idiot if he followed Nagi Seishiro at this moment.

After all, I've only just arrived at the training room.

Nagi Seishiro immediately saw through Kenjo Zentetsu's thoughts, and his mouth formed an X shape.

"You idiot, you're cutting iron!"

A note from the author:

----------------------

I'm going to watch the spin-off tomorrow. Yay!

I heard from people online that there will be 3D miniatures inside.

Ugh, isn't this anime quite popular overseas? Why isn't the production team putting in the effort? *sobs*