After winning the championship, the school awarded a generous bonus, so everyone at Yamabuki decided to celebrate first with their families and friends at home, then gather again at the Bamboo Staff for a proper feast. Having money meant they could be extravagant.
For their celebration aboard the restaurant ship, the Yamabuki team decided on a mountain camping trip after some discussion. It would be wasteful not to take advantage of the One Piece world's beautiful wilderness for a proper outdoor feast. They agreed to meet in three days.
After settling on the date, Gustave and his crew briefly celebrated Yamabuki's victory before returning to the Bamboo Staff.
"Damn! How did you get back so quickly?"
When Gustave and his friends appeared on the third floor, Shanks and the Red Hair Pirates looked shocked.
"Shanks, have you gone stupid from playing video games? Did you forget about the time differential with the Gate of All Worlds?"
Gustave felt like Shanks had been getting progressively dumber since he'd discovered gaming. Actually, he'd always been an idiot - now his brain just wasn't functioning at all.
"Oh right! I completely forgot about that!"
Shanks slapped his forehead as if just remembering.
"Wait, that means I got totally ripped off! You guys came back before I even got a proper gaming session in. I was expecting you'd be gone for at least half a day so I could really dig into the computer! I paid good money for those tickets and got nothing!"
Suddenly realizing he'd been completely swindled, Shanks looked genuinely distressed.
"That's what you get for not coming with us."
Gustave rolled his eyes.
"Uta, with such an idiot for a father, you need to be extra careful not to catch his stupidity."
Gustave warned Uta solemnly.
"Hey!"
Shanks flipped him off in protest.
Considering Shanks had let him profit from scalping tickets, Gustave magnanimously decided not to pursue this crude gesture.
After this minor interruption, everyone dispersed to their own activities. Conan and Ai returned to their world, planning to come back for the camping trip in three days.
Anya was also preparing to return home.
"This kid seems a bit... scattered. I should probably escort her back. Hopefully she doesn't get tricked by kidnappers or something."
Gustave had always felt this little girl wasn't quite sharp enough to be wandering around alone. Though time wouldn't pass in her world while she was away, he still felt concerned.
What Gustave didn't know was that Anya heard every word of his internal worry. Fortunately, years of secret telepathic eavesdropping had taught her to maintain a perfectly neutral expression. Even hearing Gustave call her scattered, she just displayed her standard fake smile and nodded along.
"Anya, would you like me to walk you home?"
Gustave put on his kindest expression and spoke gently.
Anya said nothing, just maintained that same artificial smile while nodding up and down.
"What's with this kid? She's had that same expression the whole time and barely says anything. Maybe she really is a bit slow? Well, since she agreed, let's get her home safely."
Gustave continued his internal commentary, then took her hand as they walked through the Gate of All Worlds together.
"Wow, Anya! So this is your world!"
Gustave took in the typical European-style architecture and busy street traffic. The setting felt like 1980s Europe, confirmed by the clothing styles of passing pedestrians.
Fortunately, anticipating he might need to make a good impression on Anya's parents, Gustave had worn the custom suit he'd had made during his visit to Lin Jiu's world. Paired with a trench coat and high leather boots, he fit perfectly with this world's aesthetic.
"Yep! This is Anya's world!"
Anya nodded enthusiastically.
"Anya, I remember you said you got separated from your family when you found the Gate, right?"
Gustave recalled what she'd told them when she first arrived.
"Yes! Anya was out with Papa and Mama, then saw a really cute puppy! Anya chased it, but when she turned around, Papa and Mama were gone!"
"I understand. Let's go find your parents now."
Gustave took her hand and expanded his Observation Haki to survey the area. The city was quite large - probably over a million people.
Soon, he locked onto two individuals who seemed likely to be Anya's parents, just two streets away. Gustave guided Anya in their direction.
"Loid, this is all my fault! I should have held Anya's hand tighter so she couldn't run off!"
Yor was crying as she apologized repeatedly to Loid. After Anya disappeared, they'd searched several blocks and questioned many people, but no one had seen a little girl matching her description.
"Yor, don't blame yourself. I share responsibility too. Let's keep searching a bit longer, then we'll have to go to the police station if we can't find her."
Loid was equally troubled. He was Westalis's top spy, a thorn in Ostania's intelligence apparatus, yet he couldn't keep track of one little girl right under his nose. What kind of operative was he?
Going to the police was Loid's absolute last resort. Given his profession, though everything was perfectly covered, the less contact with law enforcement, the better.
As they talked, a familiar voice suddenly rang out:
"Papa! Mama!"
"Anya?"
Loid and Yor spun toward the sound to see Anya being led by a handsome, well-dressed young man. She was waving and calling to them excitedly.
"Anya!"
"Papa! Mama!"
Gustave released Anya's hand, and the family of three embraced tightly.
Come to think of it, Anya was rather carefree. Though time in her world barely passed while she was away, this child had spent several days playing aboard the Bamboo Staff after getting lost before even thinking about going home. Still, this was pretty typical behavior for a normal five or six-year-old - they just got distracted easily.
Gustave watched the family reunion with satisfaction. Based on Loid and Yor's appearances and the surrounding architecture, he tried to place whether this was from an anime, movie, or TV series he'd seen. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind. When he'd arrived in the One Piece world, many series hadn't been created yet, and he wasn't much of a manga reader anyway, so he had no idea what world this actually was.
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