Ryo groaned as he finally collapsed onto his bed after a long day. Fresh from his bath and already in his pajamas, he sank into the mattress with a heavy exhale.
Man, I'm so tired. That game was so exhausting.
After Ryo's third goal in the second half, both teams started to show clear signs of fatigue. Especially after Ryusei scored their fifth goal, everyone knew who would come out on top. No matter how hard Alto pushed back, five goals in twenty minutes was impossible.
Nevertheless, they still tried, and in the 91st minute, Alto managed to score once off a powerful counterattack.
So, in the end, Ryusei Elementary defeated Lida Alto FC with a score of 5–1, sending them one step closer to the finals.
After parting ways with the rest of their teammates, Ryo and Ren rejoined their parents. The four of them wandered around Ueda a bit longer before eventually catching the train back to Nagano.
Their parents had closed the restaurant for the day, knowing they'd be out until late in the afternoon. With how much preparation went into a proper dinner service, hurrying home to rush a service was illogical; instead, they opted to take their time getting home.
By dinner, both Ryo and Ren struggled to keep their eyes open, so as soon as they finished eating, they called it a night without hesitation.
But before sleeping, there was one thing Ryo had to check. He had purposefully bathed first so that he could have a few minutes alone in the room.
{Quest Complete!}
—(Situational Quest – Regional Debut)
——[Score Three Goals: 3/3]
——[Reward: New Skill – Anchor]
{New Skill!}
—[Anchor (B): This Skill Has Both A Passive And An Active Component. Passively, The Skill Improves The Player's Balance When Possessing The Ball. When Activated, The Player Gets Rooted To The Ground, Making It Incredibly Difficult To Be Knocked Off Balance. Can Only Be Activated Two Times In A Game.]
I'm not actually going to grow roots, am I?
Ryo really hoped that "rooted" was only being used metaphorically, not physically. But, as usual, he had to spend time deciphering whatever vague wording The System chose to use.
The active part feels a bit redundant. And Balance isn't even one of my listed stats. Does The System just invent things whenever it feels like it?
For all the ways The System helped him, its descriptions were frustratingly unclear. With a sigh, Ryo dismissed the screen in front of him and sank deeper into his bed.
"Haaah…" Ryo sighed, "I'm so tired."
"It's a good thing you're in bed then."
Ren stepped into the room, a towel still draped over his head as he dried off his wet hair.
"You're one to talk, Ren-nii," Ryo muttered while Ren walked over and tossed the towel over the back of the desk chair. "Your head almost fell into your plate at dinner."
"That's exactly why I'm going to sleep now," Ren admitted, turning off the lights. But instead of heading to his own bed, he flopped down beside Ryo and made himself comfortable.
"Ugh. Get up, Ren-nii," Ryo groaned, lightly pushing Ren's shoulder. "There's not enough space for you to sleep here."
"But it's so comfortable here… And warm…" Ren mumbled, his eyes already closed, fully committed to sleeping there.
Ryo considered arguing and fighting over possession of his bed. But then he decided he didn't have the energy.
"Fine," Ryo relented, turning to face the wall. "But get your own pillow. I'm not sharing mine."
Within the span of a few seconds, Ren darted across the room, grabbed his pillow, and slipped back under the covers of Ryo's bed. It was so quick and silent that Ryo questioned whether Ren had even left the bed.
Why does he even want to sleep here? Ryo lamented, turning around to look at Ren. It's not like it's even that cold outside…
Ryo sighed. Sometimes, he wondered if Ren was secretly the younger brother. But despite his thoughts, Ryo smiled at the situation.
It's so different from before. Back then, Ren had to take care of me, so he'd never had the chance to act carefree.
But now, Ryo felt like he was seeing a completely new side to his brother. Instead of being the mature and dependable older brother Ryo had always known, Ren now acted a lot closer to his age—just a carefree child without any burdens imposed on him.
I guess he just wants to be pampered like any other ten-year-old.
And Ryo couldn't help but indulge him. Lifting his left hand, Ryo gently patted Ren's head, smoothing down his slightly damp hair back against his head.
You should have dried your hair properly before lying down, Ren.
But before he could even voice his thoughts out loud, Ryo's eyelids fell over his eyes.
His chest rose and fell softly with his breathing, and the room fell quiet.
—————————————————————————————————
It felt like only minutes later when Ryo stirred awake, stretching his sore limbs.
Why is it so bright…
Through a gap in the curtains, sunlight spilled into the room, illuminating Ryo's face. Still half asleep, he turned to avoid the light, but he was unable to escape its reach.
With a sigh, Ryo reluctantly opened his eyes.
As he squinted to adjust to the brightness, Ryo lamented. Why does the sun have to shine directly in my face… I don't want to get up yet.
But after looking at the digital clock next to his bed, Ryo realized he had slept much longer than he thought. With the clock already past eight-thirty, Ryo had slept in almost an hour later than he usually did on weekends.
After giving himself a few minutes to wake up, Ryo sat up and started nudging Ren.
"Get up, Ren, it's already eight-forty."
Ren barely reacted, muttering to himself as he buried his head deeper into his pillow. Ryo poked him again, but once again, Ren didn't move.
Ryo tried waking Ren up one more time, leaning in close and whispering into his ear.
"The first Regionals match starts in twenty minutes."
The words lingered for a moment before Ren shot upright, no trace of fatigue left on his face.
"Why didn't you say that earlier!" Ren said quickly as he leapt out of bed and rushed out of the room.
Ryo's eyebrow twitched.
Was he just pretending to be asleep? I swear, next time I'm pushing him off the bed.
Keeping his malicious thoughts to himself, Ryo got up and followed him into the living room, where Ren had already turned on the TV. Their parents had left early for the restaurant to prepare for the busy Sunday lunch and dinner services.
Sitting down next to Ren on the couch, Ryo saw the familiar pitch pop up on the screen. The camera provided an elevated side view of the arena, which really put the size of the crowd into perspective.
I still can't believe that I played in front of that many people. It didn't feel quite that intimidating yesterday.
The commentators, Sakamoto Hiroshi and Inoue Sayaka, familiar to those who had watched any match the previous day, took the screen.
"Welcome back, everyone, to the start of another beautiful day, marking the second day of the regional tournament in Nagano Prefecture," Sayaka began. "Today, we conclude the first round of the bracket with four games."
"Sakamoto-san," she continued, "yesterday delivered some pretty incredible games. What are your expectations for the ones we have lined up today?"
"I agree," Hiroshi nodded his head, "The games yesterday surpassed my expectations, but I have high hopes that we will see some great games again today. Two of today's teams have shown especially consistent results this season…"
As the two commentators introduced the teams for the day and broke down the matchups and key players, both Ryo and Ren listened intently. Any of the winners today could eventually face Ryusei later in the tournament, so it was beneficial to listen to the commentators' evaluation of each team.
When the game kicked off at nine, the brothers were fully invested—talking about the teams, their strategies, strengths, weaknesses, and anyone who stood out.
They were so absorbed in the game that they didn't eat breakfast until halftime at around ten, and they didn't even change out of their pajamas until after the first match ended.
It wasn't often they could relish in being lazy and lounge around, so being able to relax and take it slow, especially the day after their game, felt earned. After the second match wrapped up, Ryo remembered he had a simple math assignment to finish before class the next day. As he stood up to get his homework, Ryo spoke up.
"Ren-nii, you have homework due tomorrow, right? You should probably get it done during the next game."
"Ah!" Ren shrieked, "You're right—I completely forgot about that."
So, while the third match played on TV, Ren worked through his homework for the weekend. Of course, Ryo did his assignment as well, finishing in under ten minutes—four of which he spent refilling his pencil lead—before settling back into the comfort of the couch. He helped Ren occasionally, but otherwise enjoyed the final two games in comfort.
By the time the last whistle blew, the last match came to a close, officially concluding the first round of the regional tournament. Soon after, Ryo and Ren headed to the restaurant. With the dinner service approaching, they needed to help at the register. More importantly, they also had to eat.
After several busy hours of service and a good, hearty meal straight from the menu, their day of rest finally ended. Tomorrow they would go back to school, and more importantly, they would prepare for their second match at Regionals.
Weekends like this, where Ryo could spend time in the boisterous and loving company of his family, made everything feel worthwhile. Whether it was travelling to the weekly football games or talking together when the restaurant was silent, Ryo treasured every moment. He wanted to enjoy all the time they spent together as if this were only a dream he would wake up from at any moment. Because nothing frightened him more than the thought of waking back up blind again—back in his old self. So he vowed to cherish the present and make the most of the second chance he was given.