Chapter 684: Bonding
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The sound of the distant cheers and muffled conversations faded as an eerie silence fell over the tunnel. Upon hearing Alvarez''s inquiry Hiro couldn''t help but stare at Alvarez in a daze.
He could tell that Alvarez was curious.
Alvarez''s question had hung in the air like a challenge, but Hiro couldn''t help but tug a faint smirk on his lips.
"Was I hiding my ability?" Hiro repeated, his voice light but carrying a hint of amusement. "That''s an odd way to put it."
"Well," Alvarez hesitated, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, I''ve been watching you since the first training session. You''re good-I mean decent-but tonight... you were something else. Like, you weren''t just ying, you were... what''s the word?"
Hiro could tell that he had managed to impress Alvarez with his today''s performance. He could see it in his face.
"Dominating?" Hiro offered with a raised brow.
"Exactly." Alvarez nodded quickly, then frowned as if frustrated with himself. "You made Vinicius and Mbappe look ordinary. And that goal... you silenced Bernabéu. It''s not something you see every day, and I guess I''m just wondering-where''s this been all along?"
Alvarez had a lot to say and he seemed quite excited. He paused to take a quick breath and continued, "When you lifted your jersey to celebrate, I... could see Messi''s silhouette ovepping with yours. It was as if I was witnessing his brilliance again."
Hiro was well aware of Alvarez''s admiration for Messi. After all, he had heard him speaking about him frequently. Be it the interviews or something else, he never shied from talking about Messi.
To him he was his idol with whom he was fortunate to share the same stage and win the football''s biggest prize- World Cup.
Hiro watched him with growing interest as he spoke. He couldn''t help but feel intrigued. He never knew there was such a side to him.@@novelbin@@
But he couldn''t tell him that he possessed an ethereal thing called the system. How was he supposed to tell him that he couldn''t perform well in the training because he was restricted from using the system''s features?
It wouldn''t make any sense.
Crossing his arms, Hiro looked him in the eye with a rather contemtive expression, "Honestly, I wasn''t holding back. Even then I had given my all and today too, I gave my all. However, I believe today it felt different because the luck favored me."
Alvarez couldn''t be convinced with such a vague answer. Luck is an important piece of the puzzle but what he saw today couldn''t be exined with luck. It wasn''t something as simple as being lucky. So, he felt Hiro''s response ridiculous and couldn''t bring himself to ept it.
"Football isn''t just about skill-it''s about timing. There''s a right moment for everything. Tonight, I felt it was my moment." Hiro added.
Alvarez tilted his head, "Just admit it already. You were holding back before, weren''t you?" Hiro could tell that he wasn''t convinced.
"I didn''t hold back anything back then. Neither did I hold back now," Hiro rified. "I''m just learning, adapting, waiting. You can''t win over everyone with one move. But when the timees..." He let his words trail off, shrugging lightly. "You make it count."
Alvarez stared at him for a moment, then broke into a smallugh, his tension easing. "You''re different, you know that? Most young yers want to prove themselves every chance they get. But you''re... calcting."
Calcting. It was an interesting word. Well, he did calcte a lot of things. So, he wasn''t entirely wrong either. But he hadn''t heard such ims from anyone before.
Yet still, he didn''t dislike the term itself.
"It''s not calction," Hiro replied. "It''s ambition. There''s a difference."
Alvarez nodded slowly, his respect for Hiro growing. "Well, whatever it is, it''s working. Just... don''t make us look bad in training from now on, alright?"
Alvarez could tell that Hiro wouldn''t be the same from now on. He had seen something in him and he could tell that he would be unstoppable if he continued to grow like this. He could see potential- a lot of potential.
For some reason, he couldn''t help but look forward to seeing him grow.
After all, how many yers are there in the world who could perform like him? If it weren''t for him, they would have lost today''s match. But with him rallying them, they managed to win such a difficult game.
If it continued, he might break all records.
Who knows, he might even break the record of Messi himself.
Hiro chuckled, shaking his head. "No promises."
Before Alvarez could respond, the sound of footsteps approached, firm and purposeful. Both yers turned to see Diego Simeone striding toward them, his face adorned with a bright smile.
Both of them could tell that he was ted.
Sharing the same nationality, Alvarez had developed a deeper bond with him as well. And he could tell that Diego was ecstatic.
Seeing him in such a good mood, he couldn''t help but feel d. There were only a handful of times, he had seen him in such a good mood.
"Good, you''re both still here," Simeone said, his voice brisk as he looked directly at Hiro. "Takahashi, I need you at the post-match press conference."
Both of them could tell where this moment was leading.
Hearing this, Hiro''s heart thumped with joy. Usually, he wasn''t fond of interviews but this moment was different. It was his first post-match interview being an Atletico yer.
Yet still, Hiro wasn''t expecting this. Though he had performed well, he wasn''t expecting him to be given this opportunity. After all, he wasn''t even prepared.
Hiro blinked, momentarily caught off guard. "Me?"
"Yes, you," Simeone confirmed, his tone leaving no room for argument. "The world is buzzing about that performance. They''ll want to hear from you."
"Starboy, right now, the entire world is talking about you." He added, his face filled with
excitement.
Alvarez whistled low, stepping back with a teasing grin. "Star boy, hehe."