The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 164: A Meeting with a Mysterious Woman

Just within half an hour, both Kumiko and Higo arrived already at school. The place was, strangely enough, quite empty, what with only four days left before the break was over. No clubs that usually practiced even in such a scorching hot noon could be seen today, only the sound of the wind breezing and their own footstep could be heard echoing in the corridor.

"It seems the others are also stumped with summer homework." Higo couldn’t help but chuckle. "Even the school committee members are not here, and I know for a fact that they are the busiest dudes here."

"Anyway, let’s go to the headmaster’s office quickly." Kumiko dragged him to walk faster. "It is not good to let him wait for too long."

Well, Higo just nodded along, enjoying the sensation of the girl of his life holding his hand, albeit not in such a romantic way. As they were closer to the headmaster’s office, though, she released his hand, and Higo couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment.

The girl didn’t even care about that for now. No, she knocked on the door politely, and after waiting for a second, both teenagers could hear a familiar voice from inside the room.

"Come in!"

"Excuse me..." Higo and Kumiko walked in politely.

There, they saw the headmaster, an old man with a boastful stomach, grey hair, and a white moustache, wiping sweat on his forehead. He was the stereotype of a successful headmaster here, and the moment the two teenagers entered the room, his eyes lit up immediately.

"Oh, so Higo-kun

and Shishida-kun are here? Congratulations on your success in the Niigata tournament! I have been following your journey since last winter, and it seems all of my investment is not for nothing!"

The man laughed boisterously, shaking Higo’s hand so vigorously that the boy was dumbfounded to answer. Kumiko herself was also confused, not knowing what kind of polite answer she could give to handle this situation.

Fortunately, another person in the room, one whom both teenagers hadn’t taken notice of yet earlier, coughed a little, saving those two from being embarrassed here.

"So, those two are Higo-kun and Shishida-kun? It seems the rumor about them being a couple has some truth in it, huh?" That person said in a teasing tone.

Higo choked when he heard that, while Kumiko’s face turned tomato red as she bowed her head in embarrassment. That was also when those two finally realized that the headmaster was not alone. There, a beautiful woman around her mid-20s, smiling at them beautifully, wearing a plain shirt and quite loose jeans, while also having a high ponytail that enhanced her sporty look.

"Anyway, since they both are here, can I invite them for a short chat, Yamada-sensei?" The woman asked.

"Oh, sure~! Sure~! Do you want to invite them to a nearby café? I know one that is good for young people like you!"

Based on how eager the man was, both Kumiko and Higo could guess that the woman’s identity was far from being ordinary. The question, though, is why would she want to have a chat with them?

In the end, the woman guided them into one of the cafés near the school, one that was quite popular as a dating spot among Hakodate Nishi’s students. Higo himself had never been here, but this was definitely a place to go once he was able to muster his courage to ’officially’ ask Kumiko for a date.

They went still with a confused mind, not knowing why they were there. Finally, after they got a table inside, the woman started the conversation that they had been waiting for.

"I am sure you still don’t know who I am and what I am doing here, right?" She smiled knowingly. "Well, first of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Tamako Hara, and I am a writer for the J-League official website responsible for the Hokkaido area."

This...

Both teenagers were stunned, having their jaws dropped when they heard the title. They knew that the woman was not ordinary, but this... This was definitely over the top.

"My presence here is for a simple reason." The woman—Tamako—just sipped her coffee while ignoring their dumbfounded expression. "Yesterday, our branch in Shizuoka interviewed Mamoru Suzuki, the genius boy from Shimizu Higashi High. There, he praised a no-named goalkeeper from Hokkaido, Ryusuke Higo, as one of the toughest opponents he has ever faced."

Right after that, she scrolled through her phone and showed an article that she mentioned.

"I know that you don’t know his name at all, but trust me, next winter, he will come to the national tournament and bring an unprecedented storm there. Hokkaido is too small to carry such a beast like him."

"That is definitely a huge praise, especially coming from someone who has already been in a professional contract with Shimizu S-Pulse," Tamako said, enjoying the dumbfounded expression she saw in front of her. "So, I was curious and wanted to search everything about you, and let’s just say that the result is beyond my mind."

She leaned forward and stared at Higo’s eyes so fascinatingly as if he held the biggest secret in the universe.

"A normal student who doesn’t even have any sports experience at all in his life, being dragged by Kumiko Shishida, his childhood friend and a unique presence in the football community as a teenage girl head coach for the school team, to join the club last February. He showed a promising talent at first during a game against Esashi High, but his name started to resound throughout the entire prefecture for his amazing performance against Sapporo Otani High, the best team in Hokkaido."

Higo couldn’t help but gulp, somehow feeling intimidated. While it was not really a secret, the fact that this woman could research his life so thoroughly, even to the point that he knew it was Kumiko who invited him, was enough to send a shiver down his spine.

However, it seemed that Tamako didn’t have any intention to stop.

"A golden glove for the prefecture tournament, and even the MVP of the Albirex Niigata tournament, together with the genius of the century, Mamoru Suzuki. From a rookie goalkeeper to fall into the limelight like a meteor, your presence is a mystery for us all." The woman’s smile was one that told Higo that no secret was safe here. "So, Ryusuke Higo... Can I have the honor of being the first reporter to interview you?"