The face of Denis literally went red like he was on fire. Jim thought he would rant again but he strangely retreated and said nothing.
"He seems dead fixed on doing what he said," Rana said as she came to stand beside Jim, "but even if he does, let him come. That bitter look of defeat and loss won't get old ever from the faces of him and Pol."
Jim smiled as he simply nodded before a sudden hug came out of nowhere from Rana.
"You deserved this… captain of the ace league team," and she said while painting a soft kiss over his lips, a move he never saw coming.
"And you deserve this as well," just as he was shocked by what she did, he felt his body being thrown in the air before falling inside a strange basin that wasn't here before.
And again his clothes got soaked and this time it was with pure water.
"The captain is an ace in scoring legendary goals," Pat said and laughed while everyone laughed alongside him.
"And now… it's the moment we all anticipated… the coronation ceremony of the first team to reach the ace league this year… Please welcome our newest ace league members… The Fairesse!"
The commentator suddenly screamed in extreme excitement, putting a pause to the celebrations the team was having at this moment.
"Make way," the referee suddenly came to them, "the ceremony of medals will start now."
"Good," Rana laughed, "finally our turn to take something worthy home."
She said those words while glancing at the nearby dark faced Pol. He heard her words and then moved at once with his team outside the entire field.
And from the opposite direction a group of giant Bulltors came with heavy parts of a small stage before they skillfully put them together.
"How many will receive the medals?" the referee asked Rana and she glanced around, "all of them, bring us sixty medals."
"But there is no such number in your team!" the referee said in doubt while moving his gaze around.
"More will join the team before the start of the formal league," she simply turned to the referee before smiling, "or else do you want me to come bothering you every single day with a new member joining us?"
The referee sighed and nodded in understanding while Jim didn't know what she meant by that. However, more medals meant that anyone who joined them later would receive a medal as well.
And he liked this idea.
"And now the stage is ready, the referee is ready, and all we miss is the winning team," the commentator excitedly said, "on behalf of the team, the coach, the captain, and the ace would ascend the stage and receive the entire medals for the team. But now we have a captain who is the ace who is the best player in this tournament so far… my boy will ascend with the coach then… Please give them the applause they deserve."
"Whistle!"
The entire stadium was thundered by a massive wave of whistling from the audience. "Let's go," Rana said with a wide smile over her face while dragging her friend, Mera, with her as well.
"She isn't the captain," one of those responsible for handling the stage stopped the two ladies and politely apologized to Mera.
"She is a coach," Rana stubbornly said, "the coach of the cheering squad of the team."
"Let her through," the unicorn referee was already tired of this and wanted to end this moment fast. The guard moved aside while Rana smiled as she hit her friend by her elbow.
And Jim was quite sure Rana must have bet with her friend about bringing her up and receiving the medals.
"The coaches arrived at the stage," the commentator said before shouting, "and here is my boy… cheer for him, memorize his face as he would be a constant face in the ace league from now on. Bow to your admirers and fans Mr. ace."
Jim just ascended the short stage and stopped on top of it before he heard the commentator's words.
The next second he bowed to the audience and the audience went into a moment of silence, a moment of respect to him before they all erupted into an explosive cheering.
"You know how to deal with the masses," Rana joked as she grabbed him by force to stand in front of the referee. "C'mon receive the medals for the team, it's the honor you worked hard to earn."
"Thanks," Jim said to her and then to the referee who gave him a sealed box and said: "These are the medals of your team. They held the name of your team and the signal of the ace league. Anyone on your team must wear them all the time. Keep them safe for future members, and if you run short of them you can always come and seek me out for more."
Jim understood why Rana asked for more medals and he had to accept that.
After all he was the man responsible for delivering more medals to the team if they needed so in the future.
"Thanks mister referee," Jim politely accepted the box before Rana muttered:
"Raise it high in the air, let the whole world know you are now victorious, a member of the ace league."
Just before he could do that, the old man's voice suddenly came to his mind. 'Take one medal first and hold it high in the air,' he said.
Jim knew what this did mean, and without any hesitation he unwrapped the seal and opened the box.
Inside he found many small rounded tokens, each was in bronze color and with some engravings over their surfaces.
Once he held one, he felt how cold it was like a piece of ice. A wisp of luster flashed on the surface of this token while the writings engraved on it shone slightly brighter than usual.
"The Fairesse team," he read the writings before holding one of these tokens and raised it high in the air for everyone to see.