In the common room, about an hour before the 10 PM lights-out, the atmosphere was quiet. No one spoke, maintaining an awkward silence.
The group members weren't exactly close, but there were no conflicts either. For Kusuo, this was just right—a chance to enjoy some peace.
Just then, someone knocked lightly on the door.
"Who could that be at this hour?" everyone wondered, surprised by the late visitor.
"Maybe it's a teacher," Ishizaki Daichi said disinterestedly.
"Could be," replied Komiya Kyōgo, who was sleeping nearest the door. He sat up and asked who it was.
Kusuo already knew the visitor's identity.
"Are the first-years still awake?" Nagumo Miyabi asked with a smile from the doorway.
*'How can you even ask that?'* Kusuo thought.
"President Nagumo, what's the matter?" Kyōgo asked quickly.
"As fellow group members, I came to check on you. May I come in?"
"Of course!" Kyōgo led Nagumo inside. Another person followed her in—Kiriyama Ikuto, the vice president, who looked nervous. He glanced at Kusuo briefly before looking away.
Nagumo immediately surveyed the room and smiled. "The room layout is just like Horikita's and the third-years'. I invited Horikita and the other third-years here, but they've already gone to bed. Too bad. It's just us second-years now—but this is a great chance for our grades to bond!"
"Bond… emotionally?" Kyōgo paused, confused.
"I told you, I'm here as a group member to check on you. There's no TV, computers, or phones here—honestly, no decent entertainment. But there's still something to do."
Before entering the school, all electronic devices had been confiscated.
Nagumo pulled a small box from her pocket.
"Playing cards?"
"You might think it's boring to play cards these days, but in a retreat like this, it's a classic!"
Nagumo sat down, tore open the sealed box, and removed the tape.
"To make the game more exciting, let's bet on something. Any ideas? I'm open to suggestions."
*'Even if I ask, the first-years probably won't suggest anything in front of me.'* Nagumo thought, her words clear to Kusuo.
"We already decided on breakfast duties, right? Let's reset that and decide it with this bet. The losing grade will make breakfast for the winning one!" Nagumo suggested with a smile.
*'My goal is to increase the first-years' burden and shift our work onto them.'*
*'But that's not my main objective.'*
*'I'm just here to probe these first-years further.'*
*'Yare yare, she's definitely up to no good.'* Kusuo thought, lying on his bed without getting up.
"But the third-years aren't here…," Kyōgo worried.
"It's fine. This is just between our two grades. We'll handle our two days each, so four games total. It won't affect the third-years."
"What do you all think?" Kyōgo asked the others.
"I don't care. Up to the leader," Hashimoto Masayoshi said, and the others nodded.
*'Yare yare, the decision's up to me?'* Kusuo was reluctant to get involved in more trouble.
But then he thought, this could be a good opportunity for the first-years.
Each grade had to wake up early two days to make breakfast for everyone, starting as early as 4 AM. For students already exhausted from intense activities, this was torture.
Even for someone like Kusuo with supernatural abilities, extra sleep was always welcome. Waking up earlier to make breakfast meant more potential trouble.
If possible, Kusuo wanted to avoid these extra tasks.
Now, Nagumo had delivered the opportunity.
*'Nagumo wants to mess with us first-years? Fine, I'll return the favor.'*
Kusuo narrowed his eyes, looking at Nagumo.
*'The first-years can't refuse me, right? I'll suggest the simplest game, drawing the joker, since I've already tampered with the cards.'*
*'Yare yare, of course she'd cheat. But it doesn't matter.'*
"I have no objections, but I'm not good at card games, so I won't participate," Kusuo said.
"Not participating? That's a shame, but if so, have two first-years join us. We're only two as well."
After a minute of discussion, the first-years decided to exclude Kyōgo and Hashimoto from the game—mostly because no one else wanted to play.
Kusuo didn't participate but had already decided to interfere.
Using telepathy, he learned that Nagumo had marked the cards earlier that day.
So, he'd just use his restoration ability to return the cards to their state from yesterday.
That way, Nagumo's scheme would fail.
Plus, since Kusuo never left his bed, even if Nagumo suspected something, she'd never guess it was him.
Everything was going according to Kusuo's plan.
"What card game should we play?"
"Let's keep it simple with Old Maid. The last person with the joker loses," Nagumo suggested with a smile, starting the game with Kiriyama.
Old Maid is a common game where players distribute cards and take turns drawing from their neighbors. Pairs are discarded, and the last player with the joker loses.
"Playing quietly is no fun. Let's chat while we play."
Nagumo had Kyōgo shuffle the cards, then dealt them, saying, "I'll deal first, but from the second round, the loser shuffles and deals."
The others nodded, though they felt slightly constrained.
Only Koenji Rokusuke seemed unfazed, continuing to lie down and sleep.
As Nagumo Miyabi dealt the cards, his smile gradually stiffened.
"Strange, where's the Joker?!"
Nagumo had secretly marked the back of the Joker, ensuring only he could identify it, guaranteeing his victory. However, as he dealt the cards, he didn't see the marked card. In a blink, all the cards were distributed.
"How is this possible... the Joker's gone? I clearly marked it earlier. Did I miss it? I shouldn't make such a rookie mistake."
Nagumo was perplexed but forced himself to continue the game.
Players took turns drawing cards. As the game progressed, Hashimoto Masayoshi and Kiriyama Ikuto finished their cards, exiting the game. Only Yukimura Teruhiko and Nagumo remained.
The Joker was in Nagumo's hand, with only two cards left. The final draw would decide the winner.
Yukimura, feeling tense as the fate of the first-year students' early mornings hung in the balance, slowly reached out—
toward the Joker.
The last person to draw the Joker loses.
As Yukimura was about to touch the card, a voice echoed in his mind.
'It's the one next to it.'
Yukimura abruptly changed his choice, drawing the adjacent card.
The outcome was decided!
The first round went to the first-year students.
"Yes!"
Yukimura, excited, was about to celebrate but restrained himself, knowing he had defeated the student council president.
"Not bad, how did you know which card was the Joker?"
Nagumo, feigning nonchalance, asked with a smile.
"I didn't know; it was just a hunch, telling me to choose that one."
Yukimura replied.
"A hunch...?"
Nagumo's smile seemed to stiffen.
'Oops, let me explain. I'm Yukimura's hunch; I used telepathy to intervene when they drew cards.'
Saiki Kusuo, observing from a distance with his X-ray and telescopic vision, could see everyone's cards.
He effortlessly manipulated the game.
'Since you tampered with the cards, don't blame me for doing the same.'
Saiki narrowed his eyes, watching Nagumo.
Despite Nagumo's casual demeanor, Saiki clearly heard his inner turmoil.
"How is this possible? My mark's gone? This can't be! Someone must've tampered with my deck. But who? Who had access? Kiriyama? No, he's incapable. Horikita? Maybe, but when? He must've seen through my plan and tampered with my cards. He'd need an accomplice... No, that's not Horikita's style."
"Damn it, who ruined my plan?!"
Nagumo's frustration peaked. Losing the game or making breakfast wasn't the issue; someone had tampered with his cards without his knowledge.
"Was it a first-year? Yukimura? No. Saiki? Unlikely. Koenji?"
Koenji seemed the most probable suspect, given his unpredictable behavior and tendency to act mysteriously. If someone had infiltrated the second-year room, Koenji was the likely culprit.
"Damn it!"
Nagumo glanced at Koenji, who remained asleep, unconcerned with the game.