Looking at the other woman again, neither her appearance nor her figure was inferior to her own.
Coupled with the police uniform, it added a unique charm.
Although Matsuzaka Ume had no experience in love, she still knew that some professions and some'skins' held a different kind of charm and unique bonus in men's eyes.
Just like Higashimatsuyama Yone now.
While Matsuzaka Ume was thinking, Kobayashi Itsuki had already returned with his bank card.
After registering the information for her, Higashimatsuyama Yone waved with a smile.
"Then I'll be going now. I'll contact you in a few days; maybe I'll have good news and treat you to a meal then."
Kobayashi Itsuki smiled and nodded, watching Higashimatsuyama Yone leave.
Compared to yesterday when she had to work overtime, today Higashimatsuyama Yone's eyes were full of smiles and happiness, completely devoid of that resentment. Clearly, something joyful had happened.
'I wonder how much the bonus will be. Since it was an international criminal, it shouldn't be too little, right?'
Watching the police car drive away, Kobayashi Itsuki thought to himself as he turned around, preparing to help the children from the three classes get ready for lunch.
"Teacher Kobayashi, can you help the Rose Class with lunch?"
Matsuzaka Ume seized the opportunity, quickly grabbed Kobayashi Itsuki, and said to him.
"Teacher Kobayashi, Teacher Kobayashi!"
Cheetah and a group of children, seeing Matsuzaka Ume being so proactive, immediately swarmed over, happily dancing around Kobayashi Itsuki.
Children are most easily impressed by heroes, especially those who fight crime like Kobayashi Itsuki.
That's part of why action kamen is so popular.
At this moment, Kobayashi Itsuki could clearly sense the adoring gazes in the eyes of all the surrounding children.
"No problem, let's go then."
Helping anyone was helping, so Kobayashi Itsuki naturally wouldn't refuse.
Watching Kobayashi Itsuki being pulled away, surrounded by the children of the Rose Class, the children of the Sunflower and Sakura Classes looked disappointed.
"Midori, if you're not proactive, your man will be stolen like this~"
Yoshinaga Midori was about to comfort the children when a faint, exasperated voice suddenly came from the side.
Hearing this, a 'well' symbol slowly appeared on Yoshinaga Midori's forehead. Then she grabbed Nohara Shinnosuke, who was wiggling like a gossiping aunt, and kneaded his chubby face, saying irritably, "Shin-chan! Don't talk nonsense!"
What 'man'? There's no such thing at all, it's completely unrelated.
Teacher Kobayashi has only been here for a month... Yoshinaga Midori was a bit slow to warm up, and subconsciously wanted to refute Shin-chan's words.
But being told that, she suddenly remembered her interactions with Kobayashi Itsuki.
Whether it was from daily life, or that one flea market, or the act of bravery that happened today.
Honestly speaking.
As a member of the opposite sex, Kobayashi Itsuki was really a very high-quality catch.
Handsome, good physique, gentle personality, polite, gentlemanly, decent education, and seemingly good family background.
More importantly, he had a righteous heart, the courage to act bravely, and was very manly.
The hero saving the beauty trope might be cliché, but the fact that it has persisted until now proves its effectiveness.
Yoshinaga Midori imagined for a moment what it would be like if that Policewoman was replaced by herself, facing the desperate situation of being kidnapped by criminals.
At that moment, a handsome member of the opposite sex came and rescued her from the criminals.
Just by imagining it, Yoshinaga Midori's heart suddenly started to pound.
She couldn't even imagine what it would feel like if she were truly placed in that scenario.
"Teacher Yoshinaga, what's wrong?"
Just then, a child's voice pulled Yoshinaga Midori out of her fantasy.
"Midori must be regretting it..."
Nohara Shinnosuke, caught in Yoshinaga Midori's hand, tried to "speak" even as his chubby little face was distorted.
Unfortunately, he was immediately suppressed by Yoshinaga Midori, who dragged him along as she called the children to the classroom.
"Come on, everyone, let's go back to the classroom first. Teacher Kobayashi will come to help us with lunch later."
While Yoshinaga Midori and Ageo Masumi took the children back to the classroom, Matsuzaka Ume began to subtly probe Kobayashi Itsuki.
She already regarded Higashimatsuyama Yone as her competitor.
Adhering to the spirit of 'know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated,' she had to gather more information.
She also wanted to gauge Kobayashi Itsuki's thoughts on the matter.
"That was truly thrilling, Teacher Kobayashi. I didn't expect so many things to happen in just one day..."
"It wasn't too bad, actually."
"Teacher Kobayashi is just being modest. The criminals used guns! If it were me, I'd definitely have frozen up, unlike Officer Higashimatsu, who could fight alongside you on the front line."
Listening to Matsuzaka Ume's somewhat probing words, Kobayashi Itsuki chuckled internally, while outwardly maintaining the pretense of knowing nothing.
"It was just spur-of-the-moment courage. If you asked me to do it now, I really can't say."
"That's true. But Teacher Kobayashi, this was a classic hero saving the beauty moment. Didn't you spark any chemistry with Officer Higashimatsu?"
Matsuzaka Ume appeared gossipy, but her words were actually full of probing intent.
"Things like that aren't so simple. It still depends on fate." Kobayashi Itsuki waved his hand, speaking casually.
Hearing Kobayashi Itsuki's response, Matsuzaka Ume's eyes suddenly lit up.
"So that's what Teacher Kobayashi thinks."
"Yes, momentary passion will eventually fade. If true feelings are to last..."
Kobayashi Itsuki poured several bowls of 'love advice'—the kind he remembered from his previous life—into Matsuzaka Ume.
Toxic spiritual chicken soup doesn't harm people, but it does affect intelligence.
After absorbing a few lines of toxic advice, Matsuzaka Ume added 'profound' to her mental description of Kobayashi Itsuki.
After busying himself for a while at noon, successfully arranging lunch for the children in the three classes, Kobayashi Itsuki could finally take a break.
Returning to the office, Kobayashi Itsuki stretched lazily.
Higashimatsuyama Yone truly gave him a good start. The remaining time provided an excellent opportunity to further boost the children's favorability toward him.
"However, I still need to make time to exercise."
Higashimatsuyama Yone's appearance today served as a reminder to Kobayashi Itsuki.
Although he now possessed superhuman abilities, he couldn't afford to be careless.
Especially since Invisible Hand requires physical stamina to activate.
Although the performance in front of the children this morning didn't last long, the physical exertion, far exceeding his usual level, was quite noticeable.
'I have to teach classes, exercise, find time to write, and practice Invisible Hand. I really am a busy man.'
Kobayashi Itsuki sighed internally, reflecting that after being reborn, he hadn't expected his life to be so fulfilling.