Chapter 998: The Vice-Captain?!

Higo blinked once again, trying to make sure that he heard everything right.

"Want me to become... A vice-captain? Me?" he pointed at himself as if wanting to confirm that this wasn’t just a wild dream. "You are not kidding, right?" I mean... This is a big deal, you know?!"

"Yeah, and you are our best bet right now, Higo." Waldoch suddenly came into the office, as he knew that his boss would want him to deal with the talking here.

"Really? Me?" Higo asked once again; the skepticism in his eyes was clearer than ever. "I mean, you still have Benjy-san or even Rudy-san, you know? Even Morita-san could probably be better than me." He stated as a matter of fact.

It wasn’t like Higo lacked the confidence here. No, if anything, this was his honest assessment, as he felt like he didn’t deserve that role due to the lack of experience.

Hell, even Morita had the experience leading the team, as the midfield was the captain of his high school team a few years ago.

Compared to that, Higo, who was always getting protected by everyone else, felt like he didn’t have any capability to be one.

However, it was clear that the coaching staff had his own considerations here.

"I mean, those two might win from the experience aspect, but you forget one thing, Higo," Waldoch said while raising one of his fingers in the air. "And that is..."

"The others’ willingness to listen to your command. That charisma that allows you to do so is enough to beat all of the experiences in the team."

Frohling jumped into the conversation with a deep stare into Higo’s soul, as if he would try to eat the boy alive if he didn’t agree to this decision.

Higo went quiet for a moment, looking unsure. He had never thought before that he would be so close to holding a captain position, and honestly, he was so clueless about what to do.

"Listen, Higo, you don’t need to do anything special." Waldoch saw his hesitation and spoke once again.

"It is just a vice-captain, so the biggest role is still being shouldered by Sead. Your task is to lead the team’s defense, and you will have more leeway to complain to the referee if something happens."

"Other than that, everything will still be like the usual, except for when Sead cannot continue the game, either from a red card or him being subbed off."

Well, this changed everything. All the worries that he had earlier were gone, and even though he still hesitated, Higo finally gave a little nod.

"As long as Sead-san could handle everything, sure."

Of course, that didn’t mean he would just brush it off as nothing. No, if anything, Higo felt a huge responsibility on his shoulders, and the first thing he did after going back to his own flat was, of course, to call someone with experience to do that.

"Yes, Chibi? It is rare for our superstar to call me like this..." The voice on the other side of the call was mixed with a big yawn, as if he was so tired of his life right now.

Higo just clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tch! Don’t try to act tired, Bastard! I know that your team is playing today, and you are not getting included in the squad, right? Don’t play death with me, Teme!"

"Tch! What do you know about my schedule?! Just because I am not with the squad doesn’t mean I am free for you to call, okay?!" The person on the other side of the call replied in disdain.

"Oh, shut up, will you?! I have something quick to ask!" Higo retorted impatiently.

Yeah, the one he called right now was none other than his former captain in high school, Makino himself.

The boy had already been in Belgium, starting his new journey with Sint-Truiden. However, it had only been two weeks since he was there, so the boy still hadn’t had a chance to show off what he was capable of.

As for the reason why Higo called him... Well, even though he would never say it out loud, Makino was the first captain who led Higo on the team, so his standard would always be the boy.

So, of course, when he wanted to ask about what to do with the vice-captain job here, the best person to ask was the one he respected the most, which was none other than the boy.

"Oh, so, you have already gotten the vice-captain role? Should I congratulate you here?" Makino asked in a sarcastic tone after listening to Higo’s question.

"Oh, stop being so sarcastic, for God’s sake! You know I am in trouble right now!" Higo sighed in exasperation. "I don’t even know what to do! I mean, shit! I have never led any project, even back in school! I was always a good member, following the flow without any questions!"

Fortunately, this time, Makino didn’t joke around too much anymore. He pondered for a second before finally letting out a helpless sigh.

"I mean, what can you do in that position? You have never seen Kuroki do much when we were in high school, right? I mean, other than keeping us in line, I guess."

Higo couldn’t help but smile when he remembered that time. Yeah, during his high school career, he bickered a lot with Makino, and it was always Kuroki who stepped forward and made sure everything didn’t go off the rails just because of them.

"The thing is, being a vice-captain is not really that big a deal. Your assistant coach is right; other than when your captain is out, your task is to back him up in any situation."

"Also, just keep everyone in line, because sometimes, the captain will not be able to look at all of the players thoroughly. Other than that, just enjoy the status, Chibi!"

Higo felt the corner of his lips twitching as he nodded.

"Yeah, enjoy the status, right? Let’s try to do that..."