Chapter 990: The New Member of the Team, Ao Tanaka!

Higo didn’t know how he ended up here, but right now, he was with Morita, sitting on the couch in the lounge of the team’s office while waiting for someone.

Oh, no, that was a lie. He knew how he ended up here, as the coach had already briefed him and Morita about what they had to do.

They were there because Ao Tanaka, the team’s new recruit, would arrive today, so since they were from the same country, Frohling asked those two to greet him so that the midfielder could integrate into the team faster.

Not that Higo minded, of course, as he would always be happy to meet another countryman here. After all, even if the boy had already gotten used to Gelsenkirchen, it was not his hometown, so the boy would always miss every little interaction in Japanese.

Now, though, he would have a new friend coming, and the boy couldn’t wait to get to know this Ao Tanaka.

Hell, he even asked some people about Ao Tanaka, wondering if there was something he should know before they met.

"Ao Tanaka is a handsome man, Ryusuke, even by European standards, I’ll tell you that. Don’t be surprised if his female fans will surpass you in one month. His charm is so annoying."

That was what Hiroki Kawabe said, and honestly, Higo could only click his tongue in annoyance when he read that.

The boy sent a message to Kawabe since his friend had been competing against Ao Tanaka as the best youngster in the J-League last year. He was wondering if Kawabe had any useful information, and yet, that was the only thing he got.

’Also, why would Kawabe care about female fans? Should I ask Sakura-san about it?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Kumiko also gave an insight here, compiling all the information about Ao Tanaka’s personality that she gathered yesterday.

"He is highly adored by everyone else. He has an easygoing personality and is always willing to reach out to everyone on his team. In fact, he is a natural leader, being hailed as Frontale’s vice-captain. If only he stayed one or two more years, he would be the team’s captain at that point."

At least, this was better information than what Kawabe gave. This also made Higo sigh in relief, as at least he didn’t have to initiate conversation all the time.

’Still, it seems that Sensei picks the best player to be parachuted into the team. With his personality, there is no way he would have any difficulty in chiming in, right?’

Soon enough, the team’s operational car finally arrived, and the moment Higo and Morita saw two Asian faces coming out of the vehicle, they rose from the couch instantly.

Well, true enough, Higo could understand why Kawabe said that Ao Tanaka had so many female fans back home.

The man had a strong, defined jawline and high cheekbones that gave him a sharp look.

Not only that, his wavy and messy hairstyle that covered half of his forehead added more charm that made him look more like an idol rather than a footballer.

To Higo’s surprise, though, it was Morita who took the initiative, as the midfielder came and hugged the fellow countryman with a laugh.

"Ao-san, it has been a long time, you know?!"

"Yeah, I have never thought that you would be bigger than me first, you know? Fate sure can be funny sometimes!" The man laughed while patting Morita on the shoulder firmly.

Higo narrowed his eyes suspiciously at them. "So, you guys have known each other beforehand?"

He finally couldn’t help but ask, feeling like a stupid person for asking a lot of people when the best one who knew Ao Tanaka had been sitting with him in the last couple of hours.

In return, though, Ao Tanaka just looked at him questioningly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Sometimes, I forget how clueless you are about our footballing community..." Morita slapped his forehead in realization as something clicked in his brain.

"Well, let me introduce you here, Ryusuke. This is Ao Tanaka, one year above me. He was the one who was hailed as the best player of the generation before I took over that title a few years ago. You can say that he was the strongest high schooler in his time."

"Mind you, at my time, okay? That is the key word! Now, I am just a smaller player compared to you both!" Ao Tanaka grinned widely before shifting his attention to Higo.

"So, you are Ryusuke Higo, huh? I have been hearing a lot about you back home. My name is Ao Tanaka, nice to meet you." He offered a handshake with a grin so bright that it would charm any other girl outside to death.

Higo just nodded numbly as he accepted the casual offer to shake hands with the boy in front of him, trying to process everything inside his head.

After thinking about it thoroughly, though, the boy found that he was so stupid for not being able to see the connection beforehand.

After all, Ao Tanaka was considered one of the best midfielders in the J-League right now, and that kind of talent had never come out of nowhere.

No, Ao Tanaka should’ve built a name for himself beforehand, and the best way to do that was during the high school tournament when he was a student.

’Wait, wait! Fuck! Does that mean we will have two of our country’s best midfielders playing together in this team?!’ Higo widened his eyes in shock as he just realized something.

He looked at those two in awe, and while Higo still had never seen Ao Tanaka playing with his own eyes, the boy could imagine how good someone who was hailed as the best in his generation would be.

As he looked at those two chatting with each other like two old friends who hadn’t met each other for a while, Higo couldn’t help but feel excited out of nowhere.

’Fuck! Having two Japanese midfielders dominating the Bundesliga... Fuck! This is so awesome! I cannot wait to see people’s reaction about this!’