[Saiki, what exactly did you do? Even I... even Ayanokoji might not be able to see through you.]
Sakayanagi Arisu narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze piercing past Yamauchi Haruki and landing on Saiki.
[After the next special exam, let's settle this.]
Sakayanagi Arisu issued her challenge in her mind.
And Saiki heard it loud and clear.
'Yare yare, it seems like there's going to be a lot of trouble ahead.'
Saiki sighed.
Beside Sakayanagi Arisu, Kamuro Masumi, Hashimoto Masayoshi, and a rather strange-looking boy had different thoughts in their minds.
[What a pitiful guy. Does he really think Sakayanagi would fall for someone like him?]
Kamuro Masumi looked at Yamauchi Haruki, who was smiling brighter than the spring sunshine, with a hint of pity in her eyes.
[Saiki... what kind of existence is this guy?]
Hashimoto Masayoshi thought to himself.
Until the training camp, he hadn't paid any attention to Saiki. He only vaguely knew what he looked like, and although he remembered Saiki performing well during the sports festival, that was about it.
But now, something had happened that made him take notice of Saiki.
It was the strange statement made by the student council president, Nagumo Miyabi—'He is the man Horikita Manabu admires the most.' And now that he thought about it, why had Horikita Manabu been willing to face Saiki directly in the relay race?
Moreover, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, whom Sakayanagi Arisu valued, had personally mentioned Saiki's name, which made Hashimoto Masayoshi somewhat curious about him.
First, Class D rose to Class B, then Ryuen Kakeru's downfall, and now Sakayanagi Arisu's plan against Ichinose Honami had failed...
If this series of events was truly orchestrated by Saiki...
[Could he even surpass Sakayanagi or Ryuen?]
Hashimoto Masayoshi couldn't help but entertain this thought.
He was a fence-sitter, someone who would only side with the person most likely to come out on top.
[If Saiki really is a terrifying existence, then betraying Sakayanagi wouldn't be a big deal, right?]
'I don't want a follower like you!'
Saiki shouted in his mind.
"Let's talk somewhere else. There are too many people here; it's not suitable~"
Sakayanagi Arisu shifted her gaze back to Yamauchi Haruki.
"Sure, sure, sure!"
Yamauchi Haruki nodded like a metronome and then followed Sakayanagi Arisu out of the classroom.
'Yare yare... Yamauchi is definitely going to have a rough time later.'
Saiki thought to himself.
But whatever happened to Yamauchi Haruki in the future would be entirely his own fault.
"Kusuo-kun..."
At that moment, Saiki heard a very soft voice.
It was Sakura Airi.
"Kusuo-kun... check your desk..."
Sakura Airi said to Saiki, her clear eyes projecting a serious gaze onto him.
'Yare yare.'
Saiki already knew that Sakura Airi had placed a box of chocolates in his desk, but he initially pretended not to know.
[I want... I want to be the first to give Kusuo-kun something... it feels meaningful... I wonder if Kusuo-kun will like it...]
Sakura Airi was extremely shy. In the past, she hadn't interacted much with others, let alone given chocolates to a boy on Valentine's Day. This was something she had never dared to think about before, and she was very worried that Saiki wouldn't like it.
She had originally wanted to give it to him in person, but she was afraid there would be too many people around, so she had come to the classroom early and placed the chocolates in Saiki's desk before anyone else noticed.
"Thank you very much."
Saiki nodded to Sakura Airi.
"Mm."
Sakura Airi saw that Saiki had indeed accepted her gift, and a smile appeared on her face.
A few minutes later, Saiki received gifts from several other girls.
The first was Sato Maya. Although she didn't say anything, Saiki knew that what she had given him was likely a love chocolate.
Kushida Kikyo and Hasebe Haruka also gave him chocolates, but theirs were definitely just friendship chocolates.
Saiki had received four chocolates by the morning, which was quite unexpected for him.
Soon, the day's classes began as usual. Although Valentine's Day was a special holiday for the students, it had no impact on the teachers.
However, during class, Saiki noticed that someone's gaze kept falling on him.
Karuizawa Kei.
Karuizawa Kei's seat was quite far from Saiki's, so her frequent glances in his direction were very noticeable.
[Today is Valentine's Day, and I specially prepared chocolates for this guy. He likes sweets, so he'll definitely like them, right?]
[But I won't give them to him now. There are too many people watching.]
[And if I give them to him now, wouldn't that make me just like everyone else? I want to be special!]
'Yare yare.'
.....
When school ended in the afternoon, Saiki had just finished packing his bag when he noticed that Karuizawa Kei had already left the classroom.
At the same time, his phone vibrated, and he received a message from Karuizawa Kei.
Karuizawa Kei: Come to the back of the school building later. I'll be waiting!
'It would be troublesome if I didn't go.'
Saiki thought to himself, but he still headed to the meeting place Karuizawa Kei had specified.
Seeing Saiki arrive, Karuizawa Kei's face lit up with a smile, and she quickly ran up to him.
"I have something to say. Can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead."
"What day is today?"
"February 14th."
"I mean, what holiday is it!"
Karuizawa Kei pouted, then took a box of chocolates from her bag and lightly tapped Saiki's head with it.
'If our roles were reversed, this box of chocolates would already be shattered.'
Saiki muttered in his mind.
"Didn't expect to receive chocolates from me, did you?"
Karuizawa Kei's voice rose with a hint of jealousy, and she looked up proudly.
'I actually knew about it last week.'
Saiki replied in his mind.
Last week, Saiki had heard Karuizawa Kei's thoughts. She had been struggling to decide what kind of chocolates to give him.
Originally, Karuizawa Kei had wanted to give them to him a day early, but after some thought, she decided it would be more meaningful to give them to him on the 14th.
"I really didn't expect it."
Saiki said aloud.
"You should be grateful! You can repay me a thousand times over if you want!"
Karuizawa Kei gave a response that was very much in line with her personality.
[Honestly, didn't Saiki prepare any chocolates for me? But of course, I can't just say that outright!]
Karuizawa Kei extended her fist and lightly punched Saiki's chest:
"Did you receive any gifts from other girls today?"
'Yare yare, how should I answer this?'
Saiki never thought he'd have to answer this kind of question one day.
"I know Sakura and Sato gave you some!"
Karuizawa Kei pursed her lips, her gaze fixed on Saiki's face, but after a few seconds, she looked away.
"There's one more thing. The final exams are coming up, you know that, right?"
"Of course."
"I feel like this final exam might be pretty tough... How about you tutor me?"
Karuizawa Kei's gaze returned to Saiki.
"Tutor you? Didn't we already form a study group? We'll probably review together then."
Saiki said.
"That's true... but the subjects I struggle with are a bit different from the others, and I'm too embarrassed to ask!"
Without giving Saiki a chance to refuse, Karuizawa Kei continued,
"It's so cold, so cold! It's already February, but the temperature hasn't risen at all. It's freezing! I'm heading back now! See you tonight!"
"Mm."
Saiki nodded helplessly and then left as well.
"Honestly, is this guy made of wood?"
Ten seconds later, Karuizawa Kei, who had already left, stopped in her tracks and turned around to see Saiki's retreating figure. She was a little annoyed, but she quickly put it out of her mind and returned to her dorm.
But when she reached the dormitory lobby, Karuizawa Kei noticed something sticking out of the gap in her mailbox.
"What's this?"
Karuizawa Kei walked over curiously and opened the mailbox. Inside was a beautifully wrapped box of chocolates.
There was no message or note, so it was impossible to tell who it was from.
"Honestly."
But a smile appeared on Karuizawa Kei's face, as if she already knew the answer.
...
On the other hand, Saiki placed the chocolates Karuizawa Kei had given him into his bag. The next thing he had to deal with was another matter.
After parting ways with Karuizawa Kei, Saiki used his powers to distribute the chocolates he had bought earlier to the people from earlier in the day.
'Don't overthink it. I just don't want to owe anyone any favors.'
Saiki thought to himself.
But Saiki didn't return to his dorm. Instead, he prepared to deal with another matter.
Something related to Ichinose Honami.
After all, shortly after parting ways with Karuizawa Kei, Saiki had faintly heard Ichinose Honami's thoughts searching for him.
'Since the rumors have been stopped, Ichinose can move around more freely now? But why is she looking for me?'
Saiki didn't know why Ichinose Honami was looking for him, but he still headed in the direction of her thoughts.
"Ah, Saiki-kun!"
Seeing Saiki, Ichinose Honami's face immediately lit up with a smile, and she quickly walked over to him.
"I was just asking Suzune and Kikyo where you were. I knew you'd be around here!"
Although Saiki had come here partly because of Ichinose Honami, it was also because this place was close to the café.
"Is there something you need from me?"
Saiki asked.
"There are some things I need to say to you in person!"
"What?"
Saiki was a bit confused, but a bad premonition began to form in his mind.
"I know everything you've done for me, Saiki-kun. Even though you haven't told anyone, I know it was you who helped me so much... If it weren't for you, I might not have been able to move on from my past."
"I'm sure you already know about my past... but I still want to tell you about it myself. Earlier today, I confessed everything to my classmates. Back in middle school, I..."
"...I originally didn't want anyone to know about this, but I realized that if I didn't face this mistake, I would never grow... Thank you so much for everything you've done for me! I'm so sorry for making you worry about someone like me!"
As she spoke, Ichinose Honami bowed deeply to Saiki.
But in front of Ichinose Honami, Saiki's face was filled with question marks.
'??????????'
'What's going on? Why is Ichinose suddenly thanking me and telling me everything about her past? I already knew, but she didn't have to tell me everything!'
'My previous actions should have been flawless. Even Ayanokoji and Sakayanagi could only suspect me at most. So how did Ichinose find out?'
Saiki had used various methods to solve problems while avoiding drawing attention to himself.
But in the end, Ichinose Honami still found out?
Why?
Saiki wanted to use his telepathy to find out the reason, but he couldn't extract any useful information.
"How... how did you know?"
Unable to help himself, Saiki asked.
"Hiyori told me. She said it was definitely you who did something."
Ichinose Honami answered very seriously.
"It was Shiina..."
Saiki sighed helplessly. If Shiina Hiyori had deduced it, then it was indeed possible.
But he never expected that Shiina Hiyori would tell Ichinose Honami about it.