'What's going on?'
At that moment, Saiki Kusuo looked at Ayanokōji Kiyotaka with a completely baffled expression, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Horikita's actions exceeded my expectations. She had already contacted Chabashira-sensei beforehand, ensuring she only accepted Horikita's test questions and barred others from reviewing them. Not only that, she also made Chabashira-sensei pretend to accept others' questions later, deceiving Kushida into thinking her plan succeeded. In reality, the test papers sent to Class D were swapped, rendering all the answers Kushida gave Ryūen meaningless."
'?'
"However, I acted before that. I anonymously informed Ryūen about the situation. He's smart enough to know that cooperating with Kushida would only worsen his class's situation. Ryūen understands the pros and cons, so he had no choice but to strike a deal with me to swap the test questions. Given this, Kushida's exam score is unlikely to be satisfactory."
'???'
"Saiki probably figured this out too. He must have tampered with Kushida's stationery as a precaution or to further destabilize her mentally."
'???? Who would know if you don't say it?'
Saiki Kusuo was utterly speechless. Earlier, he'd been busy with the book club and hadn't known about Horikita Suzune's actions. When he finally saw her, she was completely focused on studying, giving no hint of her plans.
In the end, had Horikita Suzune and Ayanokōji Kiyotaka already arranged everything?
'Damn, what was the point of all my efforts then?'
Saiki Kusuo almost slammed his fist on the table.
Meanwhile, Kushida Kikyō had just received a spare pen from Chabashira Sae. After writing her name, she glanced at the test questions and froze.
"Why? Why are they different?!"
"The questions Ryūen sent me don't match the exam at all! Did he trick me?! No, that wouldn't benefit him… What's going on?!"
"I can still score over eighty on these questions… But that's not enough to beat Horikita?!"
Kushida Kikyō's body trembled slightly, her right hand gripping the pen tightly, as if she might crush it at any moment.
Her inner turmoil was written all over her face.
"Kushida's composure is clearly shaken. Horikita is the undeniable victor this time."
Ayanokōji Kiyotaka thought to himself.
'Well, that settles it, I guess.'
Saiki Kusuo sighed inwardly. He hadn't expected exams in this school to be so complicated.
'Let's check on the others first.'
Using his clairvoyance and x-ray vision, Saiki Kusuo scanned the test papers of those around him.
'Sakura, Karuizawa, and Satō… Their scores are decent, no immediate danger. Miyake and Hasebe are the same… Yamauchi's accuracy is much higher than expected. Has he been studying hard these past few days?'
After confirming the class's overall performance, Saiki Kusuo filled in his answers and calculated his score precisely.
Minutes later, the exam ended, and everyone was given a ten-minute break.
Kushida Kikyō stood up, her body trembling slightly, her face dark with anger.
"It's all your fault."
Her murderous gaze fixed on Yamauchi Haruki.
"Wh-what?"
Yamauchi instinctively shrank back, completely clueless about her accusation.
Kushida Kikyō clenched her teeth, wanting to say something, but with so many people around, she couldn't risk damaging her image. She swallowed her words.
"Kushida seems off today."
"Maybe she didn't study enough?"
"Weird, I've never seen her so out of it before."
The students whispered among themselves, observing Kushida's unusual behavior.
...
In the afternoon, after all subjects were completed, the students left the exam hall.
Horikita Suzune directly approached Kushida Kikyō, with Saiki Kusuo and Ayanokōji Kiyotaka trailing behind. As for Yamauchi Haruki, he'd already disappeared.
"I'm confident I'll score above ninety-eight. How about you?"
Horikita Suzune asked, though Saiki Kusuo sensed a hint of unease in her voice.
If her plan failed, she'd face expulsion.
"Even without the results, it's obvious."
Kushida Kikyō muttered sarcastically.
"At best, I'll get eighty, maybe even less. So, you've won this bet, Horikita."
Despite her words, Kushida's voice was filled with resentment.
"Is that so…"
Horikita Suzune frowned slightly.
"Kushida has no reason to lie. Her score is really that low?"
"We'll know the results soon. Does our bet take effect once the school announces the scores?"
"No need. You've won this bet."
Kushida Kikyō's voice trembled, her eyes burning with anger.
"Is she mocking me?"
"So, I can trust you won't interfere with me anymore?"
"I'll honor our agreement, even if I disagree. Do you want me to put it in writing?"
Kushida Kikyō sounded impatient.
"No need. Let's start with mutual trust."
Horikita Suzune extended her hand, offering a handshake.
But Kushida Kikyō didn't respond, her gaze cold and distant.
"I hate you the most. I think I hate you even more now."
She walked past Horikita Suzune, ignoring the handshake.
"I won't interfere, but I won't help you either. Don't forget that."
"…Is that so? Too bad, but it can't be helped. These are the terms."
Horikita Suzune nodded. This was an acceptable outcome for her.
"Horikita, remember, my bet was only about not interfering with you. As for Yamauchi and Ayanokōji, they're not included in our agreement!"
Kushida Kikyō's gaze shifted to Saiki Kusuo.
"And you, Saiki. I never imagined you were on Horikita's side. My mistake. From now on, you're on my enemy list too."
'Yare yare… Was everything we did pointless?'
Saiki Kusuo felt speechless.
'And I'm not on Horikita's side! I'm just a psychic who got dragged into this… I didn't expect Kushida to play with words like this. To avoid future trouble, I'll have to act.'
Saiki Kusuo's gaze locked onto Kushida Kikyō, who had already walked away.
'Looks like Kushida Kikyō needs a personality adjustment today.'
...
Ten minutes later, in an empty forest on school grounds.
"You're slow, Kikyō. Did it take effort to shake off your classmates?"
"What do you want, Ryūen?"
Kushida Kikyō showed no pretense, her anger blazing. Her gaze was sharp, like a drawn blade.
"Hmm?"
Ryūen Kakeru smirked.
"Why were the questions and answers you gave me completely different from the exam?!"
Kushida Kikyō's killing intent radiated outward.
"I swapped the questions before the deadline. What's the issue?"
Ryūen Kakeru feigned indifference.
"I told you I'd do anything to get Horikita expelled. I betrayed my allies, swapped Class B's questions, and exchanged them for your Class D math answers. If you'd kept your end of the deal, Horikita would've been expelled by now. But you betrayed me!"
"What? Are you angry over that?"
"This was our chance to expel Horikita and weaken Class B, giving Class D more points!"
"You're completely wrong, Kikyō. Your questions weren't used in the exam."
"What?!"
Kushida Kikyō froze at Ryūen Kakeru's words.
"Impossible! Chabashira-sensei accepted and confirmed my questions!"
"Horikita Suzune acted first, preventing your questions from being officially adopted. Thanks to her, we not only lost our chance at victory but almost died, as we were all counting on this plan."
Ryūen Kakeru's voice carried a chilling edge.
"No, impossible! How could she…"
"If you doubt me, wait for the exam results. Class D will likely lose to Class B. Our agreement is void since we gained nothing. Naturally, we won't show you the correct answers. It's only fair."
Ryūen Kakeru leaned slightly, his gaze locking onto Kushida Kikyō.
"Let me be clear, Kikyō. You should thank me, not hate me."
"Thank you? I lost to Horikita! What should I thank you for?!"
Losing to Horikita Suzune was a profound humiliation for Kushida Kikyō.
"Check your pockets and bag."
At Ryūen Kakeru's words, Kushida Kikyō frantically searched herself—
Her face paled in shock.
She found several small notes in her pockets, filled with answers.
"How… How is this possible?!"
"There's more, I'm sure."
Ryūen Kakeru smiled.
Ayanokōji Kiyotaka, under the alias 'X', had contacted Ryūen Kakeru, leading to the termination of their partnership with Kushida Kikyō.
"Your bag should have more cheat sheets…"
Kushida Kikyō, stunned, opened her bag, revealing numerous cheat sheets.
Ryūen Kakeru's eyebrows twitched at the sheer number.
Meanwhile, Saiki Kusuo, using his invisibility, silently observed from a distance.
'Yare yare… Forgot about that. I went overboard with the cheat sheets…'
Saiki Kusuo bit his lip.
Using his powers, he'd easily created many cheat sheets and delivered them to Kushida Kikyō during the exam. He'd indeed gone a bit overboard.
But after hearing Ayanokōji Kiyotaka's words, he'd completely forgotten about it.
"When were these planted…"
Kushida Kikyō's eyes were filled with confusion.
"Has anyone been near you recently?"
"No one… Wait, Yamauchi!"
Kushida Kikyō suddenly recalled,
"During the exam, my pencil case and stationery were damaged. Only Yamauchi, my partner, had the chance to get close!"
"You knew Yamauchi was suspicious yet kept him close? How foolish!"
Ryūen Kakeru scoffed.
"I thought keeping him close would let me monitor him better. Any unusual behavior would be obvious… But when did he act… I didn't notice…"
*'It was a psychic ability. Naturally, you couldn't detect it.'*
Saiki Kusuo thought to himself.
"Interesting. You thought you could control Yamauchi, but he's been monitoring you. He saw through your actions and disguised himself well. Even I couldn't openly target him without risking him reporting to the school. But—"
Ryūen Kakeru's smile turned predatory.
"We can create a situation where Yamauchi has no choice but to act."
Ryūen Kakeru pulled out his phone, displaying a video of Karuizawa Kei and Manabe Shiho.