The first game between the Leopards and Stratus came to an end. It was a one-sided match for the most part, but at the very last moment, Stratus launched an unexpected attack that threatened to turn the tides around.

Fortunately, the Leopards didn’t submit to that wild assault. Even amidst the chaos, they exhibited their ironclad defense against the enemy’s swift surprise attack.

While fending off the wild attackers, the Leopards ultimately sealed the deal and toppled the enemy Colossus.

In the end, the regional champions won, just as it was supposed to be. However, the ending left a bad aftertaste nonetheless.

I dragged the game out in order to aggravate our enemies, but... Cato frowned as he checked out his teammates.

There were sighs of relief, tired expressions, and eye rubbing. There were all signs of exhaustion and defeat. Even though they won, the Leopards looked far more drained than their opponents.

This wasn’t in the script... Cato pursed his lips. He, too, was a little too tired for comfort. That last battle took a big toll on him, so much that he couldn’t genuinely celebrate this victory.

Nevertheless, as the captain, Cato wasn’t allowed to show such weaknesses. No matter how he felt about this conclusion, he was obligated to put on a smile and act confident.

“Good game, guys~” Cato forced his lips to curve into a smile. “That last part was a little intense, wasn’t it? They really spooked us with that counterattack, haha.”

“Yo, that last battle was wild!” Ronald grinned. “These mad lads really almost turned the tables on us. That dang Gunz even killed me, dammit! But hey, I protected my bro, so I did my job, right?” He turned to his older brother for confirmation.

“Yeah, you did well,” William responded with a tired sigh.

“I always got your back, bro!” Ronald gave a thumbs up.

Out of everybody here, Ronald was the only one still brimming with energy. Either he was thickheaded enough to not be affected by that last battle, or he was just putting on a convincing front.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but... Cato made a face. For once, I’m glad we have one happy-go-lucky fool on our team. If the entire team was in a slump, then I’m not confident I would’ve been able to pull all of them on their feet. Then again, I’m sure Coach will do that just fine... oh, speaking of the devil.

Cato gulped as his eyes met with Rodriguez’s. The coach was eagerly waiting for the team to step down the stage. That look in his eyes was quite familiar…

Oh no, I know that look, haha... Cato’s smile twitched. He’s going to chew us out, isn’t he? Especially me, right? But, fair enough. A big part of it was my fault, so as the captain, I’ll take responsibility for this.

The players of Stratus have already left the stage, but most of the Leopards still remained rooted in their seats, save for Cato and Ronald. Those two were on their feet, trying to inject some positivity into the dry atmosphere. But, it wasn’t going too well.

Everybody was a little worn out by that last battle, but that wasn’t all. They had a very good reason to remain seated and delay the inevitable.

They know Coach is going to reap us apart, haha... Cato smiled wryly. Honestly, I don’t want to hear this lecture either, but we have no choice.

“Alrighty, let’s go,” Cato finally spoke up. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell Coach it was my decision to prolong the game.”

“Of course you will,” Sonya asserted. “I was going to report as much even if you tried to play dumb.”

“Ouch, haha...” Cato produced a dry laugh. “I suppose I deserve it.”

“You totally do, man.” Ronald nodded. “If bro didn’t make the call back there, we’d still be stuck deciding what to do with the enemy’s backdoor. Seriously, that’s why I always say bro should be the captain. He’s the best at this stuff, word.”

“Is that so.” Cato trembled. Can I punch this guy? Just once? Pretty please?

“Well,” Matthew started. “It’s not like William’s decisions were necessarily the best options either way.”

“Well excuse me, but at least I made some sort of decision.” William shot a glare at the complainer.

“Guys, guys. Please.” Cato clapped once. He tried to make the clap as loud as possible, but the volume paled in comparison to Rodriguez’s thunderclap technique

Nonetheless, even this shallow imitation of the coach’s technique got the job done. Everybody paused and turned their eyes on Cato.

“There’s no need to bicker over that right now, is there? Coach is going to chew us out more than plenty in a few seconds, so let’s reserve our energy, alright?”

“True.”

“Yeah.”

Slowly but surely, everybody left their seats and headed toward the waiting room. There, Rodriguez was waiting for them with his arms crossed.

He’s not amused! The entire team shuddered at the realization. The coach’s frown was visible from a mile away. Gulp.

“So,” Rodriguez started. “I see you’ve finally gathered the courage to come here, that’s already a good start. For a moment, I thought I’d have to go up there and fetch you.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“..........” Everybody kept their mouths shut and avoided eye contact. Somebody’s gulp echoed loudly in this deafening silence, making the others’ throats feel dry all of a sudden.

Amidst the silence, they exchanged awkward glances with each other. Clearly, everybody was curious who’ll be brave enough to step forth and face the coach’s whip.

Eventually, everybody’s eyes laid on Cato. As the captain, they expected him to serve as the meat shield for the rest of the team, especially considering how much of the fault lay with him.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Cato smiled wryly. I’m the sacrificial lamb here. Fine, I’ll do my job. He stepped forth. “We really messed up at the end there, didn’t we? There, I said it.”

“At the end?” Rodriguez blinked. “Hmm. I’d say you played reasonably well there, given the circumstances.”

“Oh, did we?” Cato was taken aback for a moment. This didn’t sound like something Rodriguez would say while wearing such a frowny expression. That fact alone was enough to send a chill down Cato’s spine.

“Surely,” Rodriguez continued. “You understand that your problem started way before you go to that point?”

“Well...” Cato more or less imagined in what direction this lecture was going to go. Everything is going to fall on me, isn’t it? Curses...

“Well?” Rodriguez eyed each and every player in order, not just Cato. “Does anybody volunteer to answer? Tell me, where did your biggest problem start in this game?”

“When we started needlessly dragging out the game, obviously,” Sonya answered, mercilessly throwing Cato under the bus.

“Good answer.” Rodriguez nodded.

“Just to be clear, I was against this idea,” Sonya stressed.

Oh, but you didn’t resist much, did you? You shrewd little traitor. Cato wanted to retort but he shut his mouth. Then again, I did my best to pressure her into this, so that’s also partially on me. Ehe~

“So, dragging out the game wasn’t your idea?” Rodriguez questioned Sonya.

“No, of course not. I even argued against it.”

“Is that so. Then, may I know which of you were in favor of that game plan? Please, raise a hand.”

“...............” Nobody uttered a word. They exchanged awkward glances, which mostly flew in Cato’s direction. It’s as if everybody was pointing at him with their gazes, shouting “Here’s the criminal!” without directly exposing him.

“C’mon, don’t be shy,” Rodriguez urged. “Raise your hand if you were in favor of dragging the game out. Don’t worry, I won’t eat you.”

Maybe you won’t eat us, but you’ll criticize us to death for sure. Cato gulped. Darn, this is sure awkward. Well, I did promise I’ll take responsibility, so here goes…

And so, Cato alone raised his hand. He became the sacrificial lamb for the sake of the entire team. Nobody else was willing to join him in this valiant sacrifice.

Actually no, that wasn’t quite true. There was one person willing to share the burden.

“Should I join you?” Matthew asked with his eyes, with his hand half-raised.

“Nah, no need.” Cato shook his head. “This was my mistake, so I’ll take responsibility.”

Matthew lowered his hand, leaving Cato as the only one with his hand in the air. He was singled out as the criminal of the group.

“Cato, huh.” Rodriguez nodded. “Well, I suppose that much was obvious.”

“Haha…” Cato smiled awkwardly. He was totally planning to come after me first if I didn’t raise my hand, wasn’t he? So, as scary as it is, it’s always better to confess. Phew, bullet dodged.

“Anybody else?” Rodriguez scanned the team one more time. It seemed like he was expecting to find accomplices in the crowd. Or, was he just applying pressure? Either way, it was best to put an end to this pointless interrogation.

“It was only me,” Cato spoke up. “I was the one pushing for dragging out the game.”

“Is that so?” Rodriguez narrowed his eyes. “Very well. Then, pray tell, what compelled you to pursue such a game plan? Though, I have a feeling I already know the answer. It’s always the same deal with you, isn’t it?”

“Haha...” Cato cracked a dry laugh. “Well, it’s the same master plan as usual. I wanted to tire out our opponents as much as possible, to throw them off their game early.”

“Mhm. This is a valid strategy under some circumstances for sure. But, did you properly account for how strong and unpredictable your opponents were this time?”

“Well, I thought I did...”

“But, it turned out you underestimated them, right?” Rodriguez asked. “Your face tells me you’ve already figured it out on your own, so I suppose there’s no point lecturing you further on this point. It was no doubt a big mistake, but I’m sure you’ve learned your lesson, am I right?”

“Of course.” Cato nodded. “Next game, we’ll wrap it up properly once we get the upper hand early. No more stalling.”

“Good, that’s what I wanted to hear.” Rodriguez nodded. “Now, with that trivial part out of the way, let’s talk about the real problem I have with your performance in this game.”

“The real problem...?” Cato blinked. “Wasn’t it the way we dragged the game out?”

“It’s curious that you say ‘we’ even though you’re the only one who stepped forward to admit that you were in favor of the idea.”

“Well, it’s just a figure of speech.”

“That doesn’t quite hold in this case,” Rodriguez insisted. “Perhaps you’re the only one who pushed for that kind of strategy, but there’s a little problem there. You see, this team isn’t made out of five Catos.”

“Haha, of course it isn’t. That’d be weird.”

“Yet, it’s curious, isn’t it?” Rodrigeuz eyed each and every member. “Supposedly, Cato was the only one in favor of prolonging the game, yet somehow the entire team went along with that plan. How is that possible?”

“..........” Nobody proposed an answer. They all shifted their eyes away, exchanging awkward looks.

“Well? Does anybody want to explain how it happened?

“Well, I wasn’t particularly against it,” Matthew admitted.

You didn’t have to say that. Cato smiled wryly. But, thanks.

Matthew ended up branding himself as a partial accomplice to Cato. That helped not only Cato but the rest of the team as well. The guy was literally taking a shot for the team. What a martyr!

“Hmm. Is that so.” Rodrigeuz nodded. “Very well. Since Cato is your good friend, then for the sake of argument, let’s suppose you were on his side and even actively supported his idea. In that case, we now have 2 votes in favor of Cato’s plan. Then, what about the rest of you?”

“I was against it,” Sonya repeated.

“I was also totes against it, man!” Ronald tuned in. “That plan sounded dumb as hell.”

“Is that so.” Rodriguez nodded. “Then, it sounds like we have a 2v2. Alright then, Will, what about you?”

“I...” William pursed his lips. I see where Coach is going with this. Sigh.

It’d be so easy for him to say that he agreed to that game plan and call it a day. That’ll probably spare everybody the lecture.

But, that won’t be entirely truthful. Furthermore, that kind of weak attitude might hurt the team in the long run.

The coach wasn’t interrogating them without a purpose. He was trying to drill an important lesson, one that William has already learned during the last game.

In fact, everybody in the Leopards has long since been aware of this problem. It’s just that they haven’t run into a critical problem until now, so nobody bothered to speak up about it.

So, perhaps now was a good time to face that problem and discuss it. It probably won’t change anything right away, but it just might become a trigger for future changes...