"If it was before, I quite liked it, but..."
"Although it feels a little like I'm standing here and talking without feeling the pain, I don't think you've been too concerned about other people's expectations. After all, you're the one living your life."
Kira Ryosuke said slowly,
"Why worry about other people's expectations? You should care more about your own expectations instead—do you have any expectations for yourself?"
"Expectations for myself..."
Hearing Kira Ryosuke's words, Hyouri Yo fell into deep thought, seemingly caught in a dilemma.
"If you're feeling lost, why not get yourself moving? Once you keep yourself busy, you won't have the energy to care about anything else."
"Is that so?"
"Want to come with me?"
Kira Ryosuke stood up and extended his hand toward Hyouri Yo.
"Yeah."
Hyouri Yo nodded, took Kira Ryosuke's hand, and stood up as well.
At the same time, his mind kept turning over what Kira Ryosuke had just said.
Did he like soccer?
He had indeed liked it before, but now he did not like it very much anymore.
Then what did he expect from himself?
Setting aside his parents' wishes, did he want to become the world's number-one striker?
Hyouri Yo did not know either.
However, if he stayed by Kira Ryosuke's side, perhaps he would be able to find the answer.
Hyouri Yo remembered that Nagi Seishiro had not seemed very interested in soccer at first either, but after staying beside Kira Ryosuke, he seemed to have become extremely motivated.
"Come on."
The two arrived at the field and began the simplest training.
Ten days later, the match was about to begin.
Kaiser and Ness were no longer on the team, and the starting lineup was no different from last time.
After resting for a while, the second match