As principal Miyamoto introduced Eric, everybody looked at him with their eyes wide open. They were having hard time to believe the words that came out from his mouth.
‘So that’s how you’ll be going to use my name huh? No wonder you told me to come at this moment.’ Eric smiled cheekily as he took a peek at principal Miyamoto’s face.
In that moment Eric realised that beneath that cheerful and sincere face of principal Miyamoto, there lied a cunning businessman.
Principal Miyamoto had intentionally set their time of meeting at the time of interview, so that those two moments would overlap with each other and their meeting would be witnessed by the reporters. He had carefully devised his plan to promote the name of Eric to increase the reputation of his school. He wanted to make use of the reporters to advertise his school’s name along with Eric without needing to pay extra money for the advertisement. It was like killing two birds with one stone.
“Indeed I’m interested in one of their players. And I’m sure everybody could already guess the player I’m talking about. Although the deal hasn’t been finalised yet. I indeed am interested in that player.” Without concealing his interests, Eric cheerfully revealed his intentions infront of the reporters. He was as transparent as crystal clear water.
As he announced his intentions, the reporters began to note his statement and began to click his photos. They wouldn’t let such a golden opportunity to slip away from their hands.
“I’m sure he’s talking about you.” Akashi mumbled as he lightly pulled Hiro’s shirt. “Did you know about this already?”
“Ahh yeah! He called my mom yesterday.” Hiro replied in a casual tone with a stoic face.
“Huh!! And you didn’t even tell me?”
As he heard that statement from Hiro, he looked at him with his eyes wide open. He looked at him in a way as if he had hidden from him that he was somekind of superhero.
Hiro however showed no change in his facial expressions. 𝘦𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝑜𝑟𝘨
“Well I mean the deal hasn’t been finalised yet. And also you do remember that you dosed off right?”
“Haha!!! Yeah!!” Akashi laughed awkwardly. “But still you could hav-”
Just as he was about to speak something, coach Miura called out all the players to gather infront of the trophy.
As the players gathered infront of the trophy, the reporters began to click their pictures. With that photo session, the interview came to an end and coach Miura dismissed all the players.
“Everybody could go to their classes, except Hiro. Principal Miyamoto wants to discuss something with you, so you stay back. And everyone else, head to your classroom.”
“Fill me the details about the deal later in the evening training session.” Akashi mumbled as he left towards his classroom.
The players then began to disperse. Except Hiro, all of them started to walk towards their classroom.
“It was fun working with you principal Miyamoto.” A reporter cheerfully exclaimed as he shook hands with principal Miyamoto.
After exchanging few words and compliments, the reporters began to head out as well.
“This is a banger.”
“I never expected to get such an amazing content for our channel.”
The reporter’s shared their happiness among each other as they made their way out of the pitch.
“Now then. Shall we head to my office?” Principal Miyamoto inquired while looking at Hiro and Eric.
**** ****
“Nice to meet you Mrs Takahashi. I know I’ve introduced myself already but please allow me to introduce myself once again. I’m Eric Parker, the guy who’s interested in signing your son.”
Even though he had already introduced himself the day before, during the phone call but despite that he introduced himself, once again.
“Nice to meet you too Mr Parker. I’m Hiro’s mom ‘Takahashi Momo’.”
“I’m sure I’ve already expressed my intentions. But let me repeat it again. Would you like to sign a deal with me for your son Mrs Takahashi?”
As Eric expressed his desire to sign Hiro, his mother took a peek at Hiro’s face. Hiro slightly nodded his head giving her his approval.
“Thank you Mr Parker for showing such a great interest in my son. And I’m sure that you must have seen something in him, that’s why you’re so eager to sign him. But as a mother, I still can’t help but worry about his well-being. So before signing the contract we’d like to know your intentions moving forward. We’d also like to know how you’ll help him improve going forward.” Sounding all worried, she expressed her concerns without holding back anything.
“I understand Mrs Takahashi. As his mother, your concerns are justifiable. And I’d be happy to clear your doubts. You can ask me anything you are worried about.”
Eric assured her that he’d be willing to answer all her questions and clear all her doubts. And as such she took up on his offer and began to question him.
After talking for a while, she was convinced to sign the contract. Eric had cleared all her doubts and given her satiable answers. His words convinced her to sign the contract.
The duration of the contract was about 10 years and Eric would only take a meager commission fee of 8 percent for his service. And he had also included a special clause which stated that he would only take commission fee from him after he gets a transfer offer from Europe.
If somehow he’d fail to get a transfer to Europe, he wouldn’t charge them even a penny for his service. Meaning he would provide his service free of cost for the time being.
The contract was totally in their favour and they had nothing to lose. Thus without wasting time any further, they immediately signed the contract. With his mother acting as his benefactor, Hiro signed the contract.
“Pleased to have you on board Hiro. Let’s give our best.” Eric laughed heartily as he greeted Hiro.
Even though the contract was totally in favour of Hiro, Eric seemed really happy to sign him. As if he had gotten his hands on a diamond in rough, he was extremely excited to strike a deal with Hiro.
“You’re gonna be the next big thing in Asia.” Eric claimed as he locked his eyes with Hiro.
“Haha!! Thank you for believing in me. But I’m not deserving of such praises.” Hiro quickly rolled his eyes away from him and replied awkwardly. Eric’s words made him uncomfortable.
[Ding!!]
[The host has completed the quest.]
[A muscle enhancing elixir has been awarded to the host for the completion of the quest.]
[Please head to the inventory tab to know more about the elixir.]
As he signed the contract with Eric, the system notified him about the completion of the quest. The system had provided him with the quest to impress Eric and strike a deal with him.
‘I’ve been really curious about this muscle enhancing elixir from the time it showed in system. Finally I can get my hands on it. Does it improve my muscle density or flexibility? I need to inspect it thoroughly later in the night.’ He pondered as he heard the notification from the system.
Knock!! Knock!!
Just as they were conversing with each other, somebody knocked the door.
“Who is it?” Principal Miyamoto yelled.
“Sir! It’s me Sizuka. There’s a call from the director of NBC channel. He wants to discuss something with you.”
The one who knocked the door was Sizuka sensei, the personal assistant of principal Miyamoto.
“Excuse me for a while. I’ll need to attend that call. You guys keep on talking. I’ll be back in a while.” Principal Miyamoto spoke as he made his way out of his office.
“So what will you do after elementary school Hiro? Will you be joining a middle school team or will you join a youth team?” Eric inquired.
“Well…., I haven’t given much thought about it yet.” Hiro replied.
“Do you want to hear my opinion Hiro?” Concerned about his indecision, Eric questioned.
Without uttering a single word, he nodded his head.
“You should probably join a youth team. I know it sounds a bit ridiculous but look at it this way. At youth team though you’ll still need to attend school, you can focus more on football. And I’m sure it’ll be more beneficial to you if you join an academy. You could hone your skills and also experience the life of a pro. You could prepare yourself for the challenges you’ll face moving forward.” Eric suggested him to join a youth team rather than a middle school team.
“Young players in Europe join football academies as early as they can run, that’s why they develop into world class players. I’m not pressuring you to join a academy too but I believe it’ll be more beneficial to your career if you join a youth team instead of a school team. So do give it some thought Hiro.”
Upon listening to Eric, he started to ponder. He started to think about the pros and cons of joining a youth team instead of a middle school team.