Originally, she had been quite interested yesterday, wanting to see what Kobayashi Itsuki had written, and then use it to start a conversation and inquire about more of his situation.
But yesterday, Yoshinaga Midori had led her astray, and she was completely engrossed in bickering.
She had completely forgotten about it.
"Teacher Ageo, can I read it with you?"
"This... you'll have to ask Teacher Kobayashi..."
Ageo Masumi clutched the manuscript, unable to refuse, and could only whisper.
"Teacher Kobayashi already agreed. He promised me yesterday, right~"
While Matsuzaka Ume was speaking, she turned her head to look at Kobayashi Itsuki, winking playfully as she spoke.
Kobayashi Itsuki stood up, straightened his clothes, and smiled.
"It's fine. Teacher Matsuzaka can read the first chapter, and Teacher Ageo can read the second chapter. There's no conflict."
Saying this, Kobayashi Itsuki prepared to walk out. But when he reached the doorway, he crouched down to tighten his shoelaces.
Matsuzaka Ume, who was about to ask Ageo Masumi for the manuscript, subconsciously followed Kobayashi Itsuki's movement with her eyes.
Then her gaze fell upon the new shoes on his feet.
'Eh, these shoes...'
Matsuzaka Ume paused, and a flicker of familiarity flashed through her mind.
But before she could react, Kobayashi Itsuki had already walked out of the office.
Outside, since Ageo Masumi and Matsuzaka Ume had both gone into the office, only Yoshinaga Midori was left maintaining discipline, currently overwhelmed.
She felt like a sheepdog managing a flock of sheep; her head was about to explode.
Seeing Kobayashi Itsuki arrive, she immediately acted as if she had met a savior.
"Teacher Kobayashi, you're here!"
"Yes, leave it to me, Teacher Yoshinaga."
Kobayashi Itsuki smiled at Yoshinaga Midori, then looked at the chaotic group of children.
Yoshinaga Midori looked at the scene before her, hesitated, and then offered, "Teacher Kobayashi, do you need my help?"
"It's alright, watch me, Teacher Yoshinaga."
Kobayashi Itsuki said confidently to Yoshinaga Midori with a smile, then reached out, clapped his hands loudly, and shouted toward the children nearby.
"Let me see which child today wants to be the Sports Committee Member the most and receive a gift from the teacher."
Kobayashi Itsuki's voice instantly drowned out the children's noise. After a brief silence, most of the children excitedly looked at Kobayashi Itsuki and eagerly raised their hands.
"Since everyone wants to be the Sports Committee Member and wants a gift, line up quickly! The teacher will choose from the class that lines up first..."
Under Yoshinaga Midori's gaze, the chaotic children quickly began lining up according to Kobayashi Itsuki's instructions.
In just a moment, the children who had been chaotic were now orderly.
Yoshinaga Midori, who had initially been worried about Kobayashi Itsuki, realized her concern had been slightly unnecessary, and she walked toward the office.
Just as she entered the office, Yoshinaga Midori strangely saw Matsuzaka Ume and Ageo Masumi huddled together, both enthusiastically looking at something unknown.
"What are you two doing?"
Yoshinaga Midori asked curiously, walking over for a glance.
"This isn't something someone without literary refinement like you can participate in."
Hearing Yoshinaga Midori's voice, Matsuzaka Ume instantly became energized, stood up, and scoffed dismissively.
"Teacher Ageo, if you finish the second chapter, remember to let me read it too."
"Oh, I know, Teacher Matsuzaka."
Ageo Masumi, who was reading the novel, immediately started moving toward her spot in the corner to avoid being caught up when Matsuzaka Ume and Yoshinaga Midori inevitably started arguing again.
"Huh?"
"What did you say?"
"I don't have literary refinement? That's still better than a woman like you who only reads fashion magazines!"
Yoshinaga Midori's rage meter instantly filled, and she immediately retorted without hesitation.
Then, just as Ageo Masumi expected, the two resumed their daily bickering, occasionally accompanied by magazines or similar objects flying through the air.
Ageo Masumi hugged Kobayashi Itsuki's manuscript and quietly retreated under the table, finally letting out a sigh of relief. Then, with joy and anticipation in her eyes, she continued to immerse herself in Kobayashi Itsuki's words.
Kobayashi Itsuki was completely unaware of the conflict in the office. At this moment, his mind was entirely focused on how to farm more green treasure chests from the adorable children before him.
According to the agreement made before class, Kobayashi Itsuki chose a child from the Tulip class, which had the fewest students, to be the Sports Committee Member this time.
Then, today's physical education class began.
However, compared to yesterday, today's physical education class included many more competitive events arranged by Kobayashi Itsuki.
After finishing their exercises, Kobayashi Itsuki had them start grouping up for running or playing games.
The student who took first place, or the winning team, would receive a small gift from him.
Although there was only one special position of Sports Committee Member, the gifts in Kobayashi Itsuki's hands were as attractive to the children as the Small Red Flowers teachers gave out in his previous life.
Not only did these gifts look interesting in the children's eyes, but they also symbolized honor.
During this process, Kobayashi Itsuki got along with the children increasingly well, with continuous laughter and cheer.
And, as expected, he harvested a large amount of the goodwill he was hoping for.
[Ding, Shibagaki Yoshirō's favorability increased, obtaining green treasure chest *1.]
[Ding, Yukisawa Kanako's favorability increased, obtaining green treasure chest *1.]
[Ding, Sakuraba Kazuhito's favorability increased, obtaining green treasure chest *1.]
[Ding, Tamamura Terunobu's favorability increased, obtaining green treasure chest *1.]
...Following one competition after another, the simple children, after experiencing the joy of victory, once again received the gifts they had been longing for.
In this atmosphere, the green treasure chests were contributed with exceptional decisiveness.
And Cheetah's two little followers, named Kazuhito and Terunobu, quickly followed their boss's lead and became contributors of green treasure chests.
This made Kobayashi Itsuki like the three little rascals more and more as he watched them.
Although in the original novel, they appeared as villains and constantly caused trouble for Shin-chan and his friends.
But from a different perspective—from a teacher's point of view—these incidents were truly just children bickering and minor roughhousing, which actually made them seem somewhat endearing.
"Alright, today's physical education class is almost over."
"The teacher has one last gift, but this gift will be given to a child who is willing to perform a show for everyone. Is there anyone willing?"
Seeing that time was nearly up, Kobayashi Itsuki addressed the group of children, preparing to see if he could farm one last green treasure chest.
"Me! I want to perform Super Realistic Housekeeping for everyone!"
"I can sing!"
"I can perform a dance."
"I..."
Kobayashi Itsuki nodded with a smile, listening carefully, while mentally filtering out a certain strange performance item.