"Hi, you must be Karuizawa-senpai!"
Amasawa smiled at Karuizawa.
"Huh? Do I know you?"
Karuizawa was confused, as she hadn't met Amasawa before.
"Yeah, I've heard about you, Karuizawa-senpai~"
Amasawa's smile was sly.
*Karuizawa Kei, the female leader of Class 2-A, highly respected among girls.*
Amasawa had memorized all student information before coming to school.
"I'm Amasawa Ichika, from Class 1-A. Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you... Wait, are you the one who partnered with Sudō in the last exam?"
Karuizawa finally recognized Amasawa.
"Yes, it was a deal—Saiki-senpai cooked for me in return~"
Amasawa said deliberately, observing Karuizawa's reaction.
"Kusuo cooked for you?"
Karuizawa's eyes widened in surprise.
*Kusuo cooked for someone else? He's never cooked for me!*
*Technically, I didn't cook it myself, but explaining this will cause trouble. And why would I cook for you?*
Saiki thought, then said,
"It was Horikita's idea. To help Sudō pass the exam, Amasawa demanded someone cook for her."
"Strange demand."
Karuizawa shook her head.
*Karuizawa's reaction is odd. Does she have other feelings for Saiki-senpai? Interesting.*
Amasawa's smile grew wider.
*This girl feels off.*
Karuizawa eyed Amasawa warily.
Just then, Saiki's phone buzzed.
Kiriyama Ikuto: I've got something to discuss with you. Meet me at the mall later.
"I've got things to do, so I'll take off."
Saiki Kusuo stood up, finally able to escape the café.
"Saiki-senpai, don't forget I'm coming to find you later! I want to taste your cooking!"
Amasawa Ichika deliberately spoke loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the café to Saiki.
"That girl's so cute! Is she a freshman?"
"Ichika from Year One, right? And Karuizawa Kei from Year Two is there too. Both are total beauties... So envious..."
"That's Saiki, right?"
*What do they mean by "that's Saiki"? Why do the students already have such weird misconceptions about me?*
Saiki sighed inwardly.
---
After leaving the café, Saiki headed to the mall. He had no idea what Kiriyama wanted, but he doubted it was anything good.
As he passed a newly renovated construction site, he spotted a familiar figure.
Tsukishiro.
Tsukishiro had just put on a hard hat and was explaining the building's structure to the workers. He then sat down to rest.
Unlike his confident demeanor when he first arrived at the school, Tsukishiro now looked exhausted.
*Yare yare, another troubled soul.*
Saiki muttered to himself.
"Ugh, as acting chairman, there's just too much annoying stuff to deal with..."
"All because of the White Room... Ugh, I never wanted this job, but I had no choice."
"This task is such a headache."
*Oh?*
Saiki slowed down as he overheard Tsukishiro's thoughts.
"I can't refuse Ayanokōji's orders. If I did, things wouldn't end well."
"But agreeing isn't simple either. It's not just about bringing Ayanokōji Kiyotaka back. As acting chairman, I've got tons of work..."
"If I force Kiyotaka to return, Ayanokōji-sensei won't be happy. After all, if his greatest creation is dragged back, it'd be a blow to his pride—especially since Kiyotaka's the future leader of the White Room. If I do something to upset him... that'd be a huge problem."
"At this point, getting Kiyotaka back is impossible. I'll just pretend to take action. Even if I fail, Ayanokōji-sensei can't blame me too much... My only worry is those two kids. They're already ignoring my orders. If they do something unexpected, it could cause big trouble..."
*Yare yare, didn't realize you had it so rough.*
Saiki glanced at Tsukishiro, who looked like a pitiful wage slave.
He couldn't disobey his superiors, had to save face for them, and ensure his own safety...
Come to think of it, Tsukishiro really was a pitiful guy.
"I just hope... those two don't cross paths with Saiki. That guy and his backers are pure monsters..."
*Huh? What's that got to do with me?*
"There's a special exam on an uninhabited island coming up... I just hope nothing goes wrong."
*Another special exam? Back to the island?*
Saiki couldn't help but recall the last island exam...
His hairpin had come loose by accident...
If he hadn't found it in time, he might've destroyed the entire island...
*Hopefully, nothing weird happens this time.*
With that thought, Saiki continued toward his meeting with Kiriyama.
---
"You're here."
Kiriyama nodded at Saiki.
"Senpai, what's this about?"
Saiki asked.
He had no interest in taking down Nanase Tsubasa, but he'd promised Horikita Suzune to cooperate with Kiriyama, so he showed up.
However, after meeting Kiriyama, Saiki sensed a shift in his thoughts.
"I'll fill you in on Nanase's recent situation."
"What's up?"
"You really don't care, huh."
Kiriyama said slowly,
"Nanase has been off lately. He's distracted no matter what he does."
"Oh?"
Saiki couldn't believe the overconfident Nanase was acting this way.
"I'm not sure what happened to him, but it seems he changed after meeting the school's new physics teacher."
"The new physics teacher..."
Saiki had a bad feeling about this.
"Right, your brother, Saiki Kûsuke. Are you two close?"
"Not at all."
Saiki replied without hesitation.
Is that true?
Seeing Saiki's reaction, Kiriyama was briefly confused but didn't dwell on it:
"Do you know what Kûsuke did to Nanase?"
"No clue. We barely talk."
Saiki answered, thinking:
*Yare yare, he probably wouldn't go as far as experimenting on students... or would he? I'll have to ask him later.*
"Well... with Nanase off his game, the next special exam is our chance to take him down."
"Next special exam?"
Saiki feigned ignorance.
He'd already heard about the exam from Tsukishiro earlier.
"Yeah, we haven't gotten official notice, but the student council's already preparing supplies—it's almost certainly the uninhabited island again, though the rules are unclear."
Kiriyama explained,
"This is our best shot to beat Nanase."
"Oh."
Saiki nodded—
but he knew Kiriyama wasn't being honest.
I just need to win and get enough points to move up to Class A!
Beating Nanase isn't easy. He controls the entire third year. I can't take on the whole grade alone.
But if I can get into Class A... that's enough.
*Yare yare... he's given up, huh?*
Saiki looked at the vice president. Kiriyama seemed to have abandoned his agreement with Horikita.
Saiki didn't call him out, though. It wasn't his problem what Kiriyama did.
Besides, if Kiriyama stopped fighting Nanase, it'd save Saiki a lot of trouble.
"Blame Class B's freaks..."
"Kiriyama."
Just then, a unfamiliar voice called out from nearby.
Kiriyama heard his name but didn't react immediately.
Damn, why is he here? Pretend I didn't hear him.
"Kiriyama, didn't you hear me?"
The voice was slightly louder this time.
"Speak of the devil..."
He muttered, reluctantly turning toward the voice.
Sitting on the bench was a third-year girl.
She had her legs crossed, looking utterly relaxed.
*Cross-dressing Kōenji?*
Saiki shook his head, horrified at his own thought. But the girl did share many similarities with Kōenji Rokusuke.
Saiki checked his phone and saw her name on the OAA.
She was Kiryūin F'ka from Class 3-B.
"What do you want?"
Despite being classmates, Kiriyama was clearly annoyed, his expression unchanged.
This is all her fault. She's why I can't get into Class A.
*Such deep resentment.*
Saiki thought, then looked back at his phone.
Kiriyama resented Kiryūin deeply, but Saiki noticed she was the only student with both physical and academic abilities in the A+ range.
The only one in the entire school.
"Heh, I saw you with an interesting underclassman, so I thought I'd say hi."
Kiryūin smiled, then turned to Saiki,
"I've heard about you. Even Nanase is keeping an eye on you. That special physics teacher is your relative, right?"
*Yare yare, looks like I've caught a troublesome person's attention.*
Saiki thought.
"This doesn't concern you, Kiryūin."
Kiriyama's tone was filled with unhidden anger. He stood up, ready to leave,
"What's up, Saiki? Let's go somewhere else to talk."
"Spending time with a guy like him won't do you any good."
Kiryūin spoke meaningfully.
"It's more worthwhile than being with you."
"Saiki's the one who decides that. Kiriyama, can you leave already?"
Kiryūin smirked,
"Or would you rather chat with me alone about something more interesting?"
"This girl is just like Takarada from your class. She's beyond saving as a person. For three years, she's contributed nothing to our class beyond her own grades. She only acts alone—she's the odd one out, always butting in recklessly."
As Kiriyama Ikuto spoke, his tone grew bitter.
*'Hmm… Our class's attitude toward Takarada seems pretty similar, doesn't it?'*
Saiki Kusuo glanced at Kiryuuin Fuka, a thought forming in his mind—
*Absolutely do not get involved with this cross-dressing Takarada—Kiryuuin Fuka.*
However, Saiki also knew that leaving abruptly might cause trouble.
*'Someone, please come and get me out of here.'*
Saiki thought desperately.