"Matsuzaka-sensei!" Kazama called out cheerfully when he spotted the back of the long dark brown or auburn shade-haired figure standing at the bank counter.
"Why do I feel like someone is calling me?" Ume Matsuzaka thought to herself at the counter, sensing a very familiar voice reaching her ears.
"Matsuzaka-sensei!" Kazama called again when she didn't respond to his initial greeting.
"Now I remember—that sounds like Kazama's voice," Ume Matsuzaka realized with growing recognition. "But Kazama usually appears with that annoying brat. Should I pretend I didn't hear him?"
Ume Matsuzaka found herself thoroughly conflicted. If it were just Kazama alone, she wouldn't hesitate to turn around, but the boy frequently appeared alongside that troublesome Shin-chan—and encountering that particular five-year-old tornado outside of school was the absolute last thing Ume Matsuzaka wanted.
"Hmm, isn't that Matsuzaka-sensei?" Kazama wondered aloud when the dark brown or auburn shade-haired figure failed to respond to his repeated calls, beginning to question whether he'd correctly identified the person.
"Kazama, did you just meet someone you know?" Gustave asked with curiosity, noticing that Kazama had been calling out for quite some time without receiving any response.
"Maybe... haha," Kazama replied with embarrassment, touching the back of his head and thinking he might have mistaken the person's identity.
"That sounds like a handsome man's voice!" Ume Matsuzaka thought with sudden interest after hearing Gustave speak. Though exactly how she determined this from voice alone remained mysterious, she was absolutely certain of her assessment.
So when Ume Matsuzaka—who had been ignoring Kazama's repeated calls—heard Gustave's distinctly masculine voice, she turned around with eager anticipation.
"So handsome!" The moment Ume Matsuzaka laid eyes on Gustave's face, her heart was completely overwhelmed by romantic fantasies, and she stared at him with undisguised infatuation.
"Ah! Matsuzaka-sensei, it really is you!" Kazama exclaimed happily upon seeing her turn around, though he remained puzzled about why she had ignored his earlier calls.
"Oh my, it's you, Kazama! I thought I heard someone calling me earlier, but I assumed I was imagining things," Ume Matsuzaka replied, covering her mouth delicately while putting on her most refined ladylike smile.
"Really?" Kazama felt confused—his voice had been quite loud when calling out, so how could Ume Matsuzaka have failed to hear him?
"Kazama, who is this?" Ume Matsuzaka inquired as she stood gracefully, placing her hands elegantly in front of her stomach in a pose that immediately conveyed the impression of aristocratic breeding.
"This is Brother Gustave," Kazama introduced politely.
"Hello, Mr. Gustave. I'm Ume Matsuzaka, a teacher at Kazama's kindergarten. I enjoy flower arrangement, tea ceremony..." Ume Matsuzaka began her self-introduction, though it was becoming somewhat excessively detailed...
"And I love fishing for wealthy men!" a familiar voice suddenly interjected.
"Exactly! Hunting for rich guys is the happiest pursuit in my life," Ume Matsuzaka continued with closed eyes, unconsciously following along with the familiar prompting voice.
Suddenly, Ume Matsuzaka realized something was terribly wrong. She opened her eyes to discover that Shin-chan had somehow appeared beside Gustave without her noticing.
"It's over, it's completely over now," Ume Matsuzaka thought in horror, feeling as though the sky was falling. She had just been manipulated by that little troublemaker, and now the sophisticated image she'd worked so hard to construct was utterly demolished.
However, Gustave seemed oblivious to Ume Matsuzaka's inadvertent confession. Instead, he was gently patting Shin-chan's head and asking, "Shin-chan, what brings you here?"
"Brother Gustave is such a meanie! Going out shopping without even inviting us. I really don't know what to do with you adults!" Shin-chan declared with exaggerated exasperation, waving his hands to emphasize his helplessness at adult behavior.
"When I asked Chan'er and Po to come with me, you were absorbed in watching television, so I didn't want to disturb you," Gustave explained patiently. "Speaking of which, are you here alone?"
Gustave glanced around, confirming that only Shin-chan was present.
"Of course not! Ace, Luffy, Brother Chu Zihang, and Himawari are all here too. But when Ace and Luffy passed by the arcade, they absolutely insisted on going inside to play. Chu Zihang had no choice but to take them there, so I came to find you," Shin-chan replied with practiced innocence.
"Really?" Gustave responded skeptically, sensing something off about this explanation.
"Shin-chan! You were the one who insisted on going out to play, and then you ran off by yourself in the middle of gaming!" Luffy's indignant voice rang out at that moment, instantly exposing Shin-chan's fabricated story.
"Hey, Luffy, please don't be like that," Shin-chan protested, sticking out his bottom and wiggling like a caterpillar in his signature evasive maneuver.
"That's exactly right. When we passed by the game arcade on our way here, Shin-chan absolutely insisted on going inside to play. Halfway through the games, he spotted you all talking in front of the bank and ran out without even saying goodbye," Chu Zihang confirmed with a resentful expression, carrying Himawari in his arms. Upon discovering Shin-chan's disappearance, he had been terrified and frantically searched the entire arcade.
If Ace hadn't cleverly reminded Chu Zihang to use his Observation Haki, he might still be anxiously hunting through the arcade for the missing child.
"Bah!" Even baby Himawari was pointing accusingly at Shin-chan from Chu Zihang's arms, clearly indicating her displeasure with this troublesome individual who had caused everyone such worry.
"Shin-chan, you can't run away by yourself without telling anyone. That makes everyone worried about you," Gustave gently admonished, crouching down to pat Shin-chan's head.
"Okay, I understand. I'm sorry..." Shin-chan acknowledged his mistake and apologized to everyone with genuine remorse.
"It's good that you recognize your error. Wait for me to exchange money at the bank, then I'll buy drinks for everyone, alright?" Gustave offered as reconciliation.
"Okay!" Everyone cheered happily at this proposal.
Asking everyone to wait outside, Gustave extracted a thick stack of green US dollars from his pocket and entered the bank.
Ume Matsuzaka noticed that Gustave had only taken out about half his money—there was clearly much more remaining in his pocket.
"Matsuzaka-sensei, do you like him? He's handsome AND rich!" Shin-chan quietly approached Ume Matsuzaka at this moment, raising his thick eyebrows with mischievous intent.
"I do like him! He's wealthy and handsome—truly the perfect prince charming of my dreams!" Ume Matsuzaka began fantasizing about how wonderful her life would be if she married Gustave. She would have a handsome, wealthy husband and could buy designer clothes and handbags without restraint. Such happiness!
Lost in these thoughts, Ume Matsuzaka was practically floating with joy.
"It's just that Matsuzaka-sensei always gets dumped by men, and I'm sure this time will be no exception," Shin-chan's unexpected words suddenly crashed Ume Matsuzaka from heaven to hell, reminding her of her previous failed dating attempts. Eligible men approached her regularly, but she never managed to seize the opportunities. It happened every single time, without exception.
Ume Matsuzaka collapsed dejectedly to the ground like someone who had been completely abandoned by fate.
"Damn it! Stop spouting nonsense!" Ume Matsuzaka suddenly realized that everything that had just occurred was orchestrated by Shin-chan—in reality, nothing had actually happened.
Snapping back to awareness, Ume Matsuzaka stood up and delivered a solid punch to Shin-chan's head.
Luffy trembled upon witnessing this scene, clearly recalling his own experiences receiving similar treatment.
"Hey, Shin-chan, Ms. Matsuzaka, what's going on here?" Gustave inquired as he emerged from the bank after completing his currency exchange, noticing the large bump on Shin-chan's head and Ume Matsuzaka's angry, heavy breathing.
"Hahaha, it's nothing at all! I was just playing around with Shin-chan, weren't we?" Ume Matsuzaka smiled sweetly, as if the furious person from moments before was someone entirely different.
"Brother Gustave, Matsuzaka-sensei..." Shin-chan was about to report Ume Matsuzaka's misconduct when he suddenly felt intense murderous intent directed at him from above. Looking up, he encountered Ume Matsuzaka's threatening glare.
Shin-chan swallowed nervously, deciding that antagonizing this particular woman at this particular moment would be extremely unwise.
"Shin-chan, what happened with Ms. Matsuzaka?" Gustave pressed for details.
"Matsuzaka-sensei is a very nice person. She was just playing with me," Shin-chan replied diplomatically.
Hearing this response, Ume Matsuzaka finally withdrew her menacing stare.
"Is that so? Then how about Ms. Matsuzaka joining us for drinks?" Gustave invited warmly.
"Oh, how could I impose like that?" Ume Matsuzaka displayed an appropriately embarrassed expression.
"It's perfectly fine—the more people, the merrier," Gustave assured her. Adding one more person was hardly a significant expense.
"Then I'm truly sorry to trouble you, Mr. Gustave," Ume Matsuzaka accepted graciously, recognizing that further protests would seem artificial.
"Then let's go!" Gustave announced cheerfully.
"Let's go!" the group responded enthusiastically as they headed toward the beverage shop, with Shin-chan trailing behind, rubbing the large bump on his head and muttering under his breath:
"She's an old lady with emotional instability just like mom..."