'Hey, hey, hey, what you want to do has nothing to do with me. Can you please not drag me into this?'
Saiki Kusuo thought to himself.
Every time he said or did something, Ayanokōji Kiyotaka would imagine a bunch of ridiculous things.
Earlier, Saiki had hinted to Ayanokōji that Chabashira Sae was someone who liked to exaggerate. Yet, Ayanokōji still seemed determined to get their class upgraded to Class A.
"Ayanokōji, before we go on, I need to ask you something. Shouldn't you also want a peaceful life? Why are you so fixated on reaching Class A?"
Saiki finally couldn't hold back and asked.
"Because of some unavoidable reasons, I guess."
"Were you threatened by Chabashira?"
Saiki had to push the conversation forward himself.
[Saiki actually noticed this? Impressive.]
'With telepathy and clairvoyance, it's hard not to.'
[But he probably still doesn't know about the White Room.]
'The white gym? Or the white tutoring center?'
[Since Saiki brought it up, I can share some of the truth with him.]
"Hmm."
Ayanokōji nodded.
"Chabashira did ask me to help her reach Class A under certain conditions, which are tied to my past."
"Whatever Chabashira says, she's probably just lying to you."
Saiki continued.
"Yeah, that's very likely. But there's no solid evidence yet. On the other hand..."
Ayanokōji paused, then went on,
"I've become a bit curious about the changes happening in this school. I want to see what unfolds here. Also, to prevent any unexpected events, I think it's best to cultivate someone I can easily control. That's why I'm helping Horikita grow, though this sports festival might end in a big loss."
"Do whatever you want, just don't involve me."
Saiki sighed, addressing Ayanokōji.
"Got it."
Ayanokōji nodded.
[Saiki seems to have his own plans. I'll just watch for now.]
'Hey, I just don't want to be involved...'
---
The next day, the class discussed the sports festival participants. There were two main groups.
One wanted everyone to have a chance, while the other, led by Sudō Ken, prioritized class performance.
Horikita Suzune also represented this group.
Unlike Sudō's straightforward proposal, Horikita added rules to support weaker students. Top performers could transfer points to those with lower scores.
Horikita's rules satisfied most of the class, and her proposal was approved.
[If it were me, I'd arrange for someone to oppose Horikita's proposal. Even if it passed, it would show her that things don't always go her way.]
[Karuizawa is the best choice. She leads the largest group of girls. If she opposed it, many girls would likely agree. But I'm not Saiki, so I can't control her completely.]
[Kushida could also help, but as a Class B traitor, she's not a good choice.]
Ayanokōji had his ideas, but since Saiki didn't want to get involved, nothing came of it.
Saiki looked around. Some still disagreed with the decision but had to accept it due to the vote.
With the plan set, they moved on to selecting participants for each event.
Sudō, Horikita, and Hirata Yōsuke, with their strong physical abilities, signed up for many events. But some events still had no participants.
"Hey, Kōenji, aren't you helping?"
Sudō glared at Kōenji Rokusuke, who hadn't joined the discussion.
Though annoyed, Sudō knew Kōenji had incredible physical strength. In a recent swimming class, Kōenji had beaten him.
If Kōenji participated seriously, he'd guarantee top rankings in individual events.
"Not interested. Do what you want."
Kōenji replied casually, fixing his hair without looking at Sudō.
"Don't joke!"
Sudō's anger rose.
"I'm not joking. I have no reason to be forced by you. Even if you could force me, I wouldn't listen."
Kōenji smirked arrogantly.
"You..."
Sudō's anger peaked, but remembering past events, he forced it down.
"Let's go to the gym for a fitness test. That way, we can assign events based on everyone's abilities. What do you think?"
Hirata intervened, and the others agreed.
'Ugh, a fitness test...'
Saiki frowned. He'd planned to stay unnoticed, but this changed things.
'No big deal. I'll just aim for average results during the test.'
---
Soon, Class B arrived at the gym for the tests. Since it was open, many students from other grades were there, making it noisy.
The first test was grip strength. Hirata and Horikita brought two grip meters, and testing began in order.
'Grip strength first, huh?'
Saiki observed the equipment, planning his approach.
'I'm near the end, so I'll just average the earlier scores...'
Just then, Ayanokōji handed him the grip meter.
"What? Already? I thought I was near the end."
Saiki was confused.
"Sudō wanted to go first to show 'leadership,' so the order changed. He went first, I went second, and now it's you."
Ayanokōji explained.
"Fine..."
Saiki carefully took the grip meter. He'd been distracted and missed the earlier changes.
'Damn, I was supposed to be near the end! Now I'm third, with only Sudō and Ayanokōji's scores to reference. I'll just observe for now.'
Saiki used his clairvoyance to check Hirata's notebook:
Sudō Ken: 82.4
Ayanokōji Kiyotaka: 60.6
'What's the average grip strength for high schoolers? No idea... Since Ayanokōji scored sixty, I'll aim for around sixty too.'
Saiki thought, carefully controlling his strength.
This was the hardest thing for him—he needed extreme focus.
"Hurry up, Saiki! What's taking so long?"
Sudō urged impatiently.
'Don't rush me.'
Saiki thought irritably.
But this momentary distraction caused him to lose control. The grip meter's needle spun wildly—
'!!??'
The gym lights flickered for half a second before returning to normal.
"What was that? Power issue?"
Everyone looked confused. Sudō glanced at Saiki's grip meter, which stopped at 70.1.
'Close call...'
Saiki sighed in relief, smirking slightly.
His grip strength had briefly peaked, so he used his powers to flicker the lights, distracting everyone.
He continued squeezing, spinning the needle back, but with no time to adjust, it stopped around seventy.
'The grip meter's shell cracked, but I fixed it with my powers. Sudō scored eighty-something, Ayanokōji sixty-something, and I'm in the seventies. Should be fine—it's their average.'
Saiki thought, then turned to Sudō—
Only to see Sudō's shocked expression.
???
"Saiki... I didn't expect you to be this strong."
"?"
"You look so weak, but your grip strength is amazing!"
"??"
"I thought Ayanokōji was the surprise, but you're even better!"
"???"
Saiki felt uneasy.
After Sudō finished, he'd given the grip meter to Ayanokōji, who asked Sudō about average grip strength. Sudō, joking, said sixty.
In reality, high schoolers average only around forty.
Ayanokōji's sixty already surprised Sudō, but Saiki's seventy shocked him.
"Saiki scored seventy?"
"Really? That's incredible!"
"Unbelievable... He looks so weak..."
The class buzzed, while Saiki facepalmed.
'I messed up! Forgot Ayanokōji's score was meaningless! Damn!'
Saiki never imagined his careful planning would fail due to Sudō's joke.
"Saiki's second, Ayanokōji's third..."
Sudō shook his head, then continued,
"You two didn't sign up for events, right? You must participate now, especially you, Saiki! How did you train? You don't look like it..."
Ikkanji, who just finished, looked envious at Saiki's score.
[I want to participate! I'll get points and attention from girls...]
'Take my spot!'
Saiki thought, knowing it was impossible.
This sports festival wouldn't let Saiki stay unnoticed.