Saiki Kusuo's Classroom of the Elite

'Yare yare, why is she suddenly asking this kind of question? How should I answer?'

Saiki pondered.

He had never really considered such matters before, as what happened to others didn't concern him much—

'I can't say I wouldn't care, though. After all, Karuizawa has made me cake many times, and her baking skills have improved a lot. It would be a shame if she got expelled.'

'But I can't give a definitive answer either.'

'I'll just give a vague response.'

Saiki thought to himself. After a moment of consideration, he spoke up:

"That kind of situation probably won't happen."

'Right, I'll just tell Karuizawa that the school wouldn't force students to drop out, and use that to change the subject.'

Saiki believed his answer was flawless.

However, upon hearing Saiki's response, Karuizawa Kei's face turned slightly red.

'?'

Saiki had a bad feeling.

[Kusuo's words mean... he would never let me face the risk of expulsion, right?]

[Even though Kusuo usually seems cold... he feels incredibly reliable...]

[Honestly, that kind of answer is totally unfair!]

'???'

Saiki was momentarily stunned. Karuizawa Kei had completely misunderstood his meaning.

Saiki had intended to deflect the topic by saying, "The school probably wouldn't do that," but in Karuizawa Kei's ears, it had transformed into, "Saiki wouldn't let that happen."

To Karuizawa Kei, his words sounded like a solemn promise.

'She completely misunderstood...'

Saiki felt a bit helpless and could only avert his gaze to avoid using his x-ray ability to see Karuizawa Kei's skeleton.

"Uh, uh... oh, right, Kusuo, have you heard the rumors about Ichinose from Class C?"

Karuizawa Kei pursed her lips, seemingly trying to change the subject, but also as if she had thought of something, she asked.

"No, what's going on?"

Saiki pretended to know nothing.

The rumor had already spread among the girls, but since the special exam separated boys and girls, it hadn't spread as quickly among the boys, and not many knew about it.

"I heard Ichinose has an absurd amount of personal points... I don't know how she managed that, but I think she might be acting as the class treasurer, holding onto the class's points."

Karuizawa Kei said, her expression gradually becoming serious.

"Recently, there have been rumors that Ichinose might use those points for her own personal desires. Anyone seeing that many points would have some thoughts, right? But even though I'm not close to Ichinose, I don't think she's that kind of person..."

"That's true. Let's just hope this rumor doesn't cause more trouble."

Saiki replied, shifting his gaze to the other side of the cafeteria.

At that moment, Nagumo Miyabi was sitting at a table with other student council members, chatting and looking quite serious.

But Saiki could clearly hear his thoughts.

[The rumors about Ichinose are spreading more and more~ This is great!]

[This way, Ichinose will only grow more desperate, sinking deeper into the quagmire.]

[When she's backed into a corner, she'll have no choice but to come to me. Then I can rightfully make her my pet~]

Nagumo Miyabi's thoughts sounded grating to Saiki's ears.

He knew very well that after this school building exam, something major would happen in the first year of the third semester.

...

Meanwhile, in a secret base of the White Room.

Ayanokoji Atsuomi sat on a sofa, one hand propping up his chin as he tilted his head to look at the man bowing before him.

The man wore a suit and looked ordinary, but beneath his clothes was an incredibly muscular physique.

"Sakayanagi has been sidelined, and I've taken care of everything else."

Ayanokoji Atsuomi spoke in a commanding tone.

"You will now take his place and become the chairman of that school."

"Understood, Ayanokoji-sama."

The man replied with utmost respect.

"Tell him, 'I have no intention of continuing to play these childish games. Return at once.' You won't disappoint me, will you, Tsukishiro?"

Ayanokoji Atsuomi narrowed his eyes, and a powerful pressure filled the room.

"I will do my best to complete the mission."

The man called Tsukishiro nodded firmly.

Tsukishiro Tokinari.

"Not your best. You must."

...

At night, Saiki returned to the dormitory. After briefly discussing the exam arrangements, everyone went to their respective beds to rest.

Koenji Rokusuke lay on his bed, hands behind his head, looking completely at ease and indifferent to his surroundings.

Although Koenji Rokusuke "knew" some things about Saiki, he hadn't made a big deal out of it.

But he would never imagine that what he knew was just another layer of illusion.

Even Koenji Rokusuke wouldn't connect what had happened before with the concept of psychic powers.

'I heard that many groups have had conflicts, but our group has been surprisingly peaceful.'

Saiki murmured to himself. He could clearly sense that the two students from Class D didn't even dare to make eye contact with him, which did reduce a lot of trouble for him.

However, there was something else that bothered Saiki. Throughout the day, he had been picking up on a particular thought, even as everyone else in the room gradually fell asleep. The owner of that thought remained awake.

Hashimoto Masayoshi.

He had an appointment with someone tonight and was waiting for everyone else to fall asleep.

[Everyone's breathing has evened out. It's time.]

Around 1 AM, he silently climbed down from his bed using the ladder, not even taking a flashlight, clearly not wanting to be noticed.

However, no matter how stealthy Hashimoto Masayoshi was, he couldn't hide from Saiki—especially since Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had also noticed the subtle movements in the darkness.

[Hashimoto left his bed. Is he going to the bathroom? In the past week, Hashimoto hasn't gone to the bathroom at night. He must have something special planned.]

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought to himself and prepared to quietly get up to follow Hashimoto Masayoshi.

But just as Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was about to move, a wave of intense drowsiness washed over him, quickly pulling him into sleep.

It was Saiki's doing.

'Yare yare, even though I'm curious about this, it's better to avoid trouble.'

After forcing Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to sleep, Saiki used his psychokinesis to float out of bed, preparing to leave the room silently. After all, his teleportation had a cooldown period, and it would be inconvenient if an unexpected situation arose.

Just as Saiki was floating in mid-air, Totsuka Yahiko, who had woken up needing to pee, opened his eyes, and their gazes met—

'Yare yare, why did Totsuka have to wake up now?!'

As Saiki gripped his memory eraser stick, ready to give Totsuka Yahiko a good zap, the other's thoughts reached his ears.

[Oh my god, I just saw Saiki flying?! Wait, this must be a dream, right? I'm still asleep? I can't believe I'm dreaming about Saiki... But I really need to pee. I drank too much water today. Maybe if I try to open my eyes in the dream, I'll wake up...]

Thinking this, Totsuka Yahiko continued to stare at Saiki.

'He thinks it's a dream?'

Saiki breathed a sigh of relief but still used his hypnosis ability to put Totsuka Yahiko to sleep. Then, he activated his invisibility and followed Hashimoto Masayoshi.

Hashimoto Masayoshi didn't head to the bathroom. Instead, he went downstairs, wearing indoor shoes, and soon, another figure appeared before him.

"Hey, Ryuen."

"What do you want?"

The newcomer was none other than Ryuen Kakeru.

Ryuen Kakeru looked puzzled, unsure why Hashimoto Masayoshi had called him out.

"I wanted to talk to you about something. If we met in the cafeteria, you'd attract too much attention. That's why I had to call you out at this late hour."

"On the last day?"

"Exactly because it's the last day. This is when everyone is sleeping the deepest."

"...I see. That makes sense."

'Yare yare, so it's Ryuen?'

Saiki, hidden nearby, muttered to himself.

Although it seemed like the two had no connection, Saiki knew very well that during the uninhabited island exam, Ryuen Kakeru had teamed up with Hashimoto Masayoshi to deal a heavy blow to the Katsuragi faction.

"I'm not one to beat around the bush, so I'll get straight to the point. Are you really not going to be the class leader anymore?"

"You seem to have trouble believing that. Sakayanagi already asked me the same question."

"At the very least, I find it hard to believe that you were defeated by Ishizaki and the others."

Hashimoto Masayoshi said slowly.

[Although I heard that Ishizaki and the others were troublesome, in our group, they've been surprisingly obedient. That's not normal.]

Hashimoto Masayoshi thought to himself.

'Yare yare...'

"That guy aside, Albert is a real handful. If it came to a straight-up fight, he'd be a tough opponent."

Ryuen Kakeru said with a smile, knowing full well that Hashimoto Masayoshi wouldn't believe him.

"I see. So Albert is a threat, huh? But the Ryuen Kakeru I know wouldn't just fear an opponent like that. He's the kind of man who always thinks of a way to fight back."

His suspicion didn't lessen—it only grew.

"I'm just tired of dealing with people who might betray me. As long as I can keep squeezing points from your Class A, I'll stay in a safe position. I have no reason to save those guys."

"I see. So that's your truth."

"Do you accept it?"

"I don't know. Honestly, it's better to remain half-convinced. Besides, personally, I'd prefer you to stay as you are."

"So you can keep earning pocket money?"

"Exactly. I want a 'guaranteed Class A' just like you."

[If I can save up 20 million points, I can buy my way into Class A.]

[Even though I'm in Class A now, who knows what the future holds? For example, Class B is already very close to Class A.]

[Class points aren't as important as personal points. If I can save up 20 million personal points, it's like having a guarantee of Class A.]

Saiki could clearly hear Hashimoto Masayoshi's thoughts. This was his true intention.

He wasn't truly loyal to Sakayanagi Arisu.

If Katsuragi Kohei's abilities surpassed Sakayanagi Arisu's, he would betray her without hesitation.

"If you want a guaranteed victory, you must be prepared to betray Sakayanagi, right?"

"If necessary."

Hashimoto Masayoshi said with a smile.

"Betraying Sakayanagi won't come cheap, Ryuen~ After all, no one's position is higher than hers right now. I've managed to stay in a favorable position, you know?"

"I'll watch and see how far your bat-like diplomacy takes you."

"I'm quite good at navigating social situations. I'll skillfully keep myself in a favorable position—but it's great to be able to talk like this directly. Your eyes haven't lost their spark."

Hashimoto Masayoshi yawned, adding this last comment.

"That said, Class B is the biggest threat, right?"

"Why do you say that?"

"If you calmly observe their class, you'll see they're full of talented individuals. If we want to graduate in our current class, I'd like to crush them as soon as possible."

Hashimoto Masayoshi's gaze sharpened.

"I didn't expect you to praise them so highly. Is there a guy you're particularly interested in?"

Ryuen Kakeru asked with a smile.

"There is. For example, the one who truly defeated you—Class B's X—is actually hiding in our group, right?"

Hashimoto Masayoshi also smiled.