"Hōsen actually withdrew from the exam...?"
Nanase Tsubasa glanced at her tablet, her lips tightening.
She knew Hōsen Kazuomi was a highly capable student. Why would he withdraw?
And Yagami Takuya withdrew too... What's going on?
Nanase hadn't overheard Saiki and Amasawa's earlier conversation and didn't know Yagami's true identity. She couldn't make sense of the situation.
Still, since Hōsen and Yagami withdrew individually, their teams could continue the exam.
Of course, their scores would be affected.
"Maybe Yagami and Hōsen had a conflict~"
Amasawa chuckled, shrugging.
"Hōsen's on our team, after all. I'll check the starting point... Ayanokōji-senpai, things are like this now. I'll head back to the start."
In truth, Amasawa was worried about Yagami and wanted to confirm his condition quickly.
"But Ayanokōji-senpai, I'm not your enemy."
After saying this, Amasawa left, disappearing into the rain.
---
"Hōsen and Yagami's signals stopped here."
Meanwhile, Tsubaki and Utomiya arrived at the spot where Yagami and Hōsen had been. They saw the medical team and teachers carrying the two away on stretchers.
Both seemed conscious, but Yagami's eyes were hollow, as if his soul had been drained.
Hōsen, once imposing, now cowered, trembling as if he'd faced something terrifying.
"Other students, leave immediately."
Tsukishiro waved them away. Tsubaki and Utomiya could only watch from a distance.
"What happened to them...?"
Utomiya looked puzzled.
He knew Hōsen was arrogant, but now he clutched himself like a scared child.
"I don't know."
Tsubaki shook her head.
She'd planned this to draw out Saiki, protecting first-year students—and more.
"Earlier, Hōsen's GPS was close to Saiki's, but Saiki's signal didn't stop. I don't get it... Did they not meet? Did Yagami and Hōsen clash instead? But that doesn't make sense. We tested the watches; the GPS can't be tampered with..."
Utomiya's expression grew serious.
"Unless... they never met? But how? The GPS can't be destroyed..."
"No, the answer's becoming clear."
Tsubaki's lazy gaze sharpened.
"You said the GPS can't be altered, right? But that's a mistake. The watches' tech is beyond us."
"So... Saiki missed Hōsen for some reason?"
"You're missing something. Who provided the exam equipment?"
"Saiki... Saiki's brother, Saiki-sensei. Wait—!"
Utomiya realized.
"Could Saiki know how to alter the GPS? Or his brother did it remotely? This whole exam could be Saiki's setup."
Tsubaki was stunned. She'd just realized this too.
Who was Saiki Kusuo?
Though they'd never interacted, Tsubaki was curious about Saiki. She'd noticed first-year students' interest in him.
Ayanokōji too.
Tsubaki knew Ayanokōji's past—
One of her relatives had been part of that world.
*Saiki Kusuo, who are you?*
*Could we use him to destroy the White Room?*
The thought crossed Tsubaki's mind.
"What now?"
"Our plan to target the second-year teams is likely failed. We'll have to let things play out."
Tsubaki replied.
---
Back at the start, Tsukishiro briefly asked Hōsen what happened. Hōsen claimed he'd fallen and was fine.
In Hōsen's memory, he'd fought Saiki and lost badly.
But he didn't know why he now feared Saiki irrationally, as if he'd faced a monster.
Naturally, Hōsen couldn't explain this.
After dealing with Hōsen, Tsukishiro went to Yagami, dismissing others to question him alone.
But Yagami seemed unable to communicate, his gaze blank, like a shell.
"What happened to him?"
Tsukishiro sighed. He'd warned Yagami not to provoke Saiki, but he'd done it anyway.
Clearly, Yagami paid the price.
As for Amasawa, she'd avoided expelling Ayanokōji and even helped him at times. The White Room deemed her a traitor.
Normally, Tsukishiro or Sakayanagi would punish her, but with Sakayanagi's "accident," he couldn't act, leaving Amasawa free.
Currently, the fifth White Room generation paled compared to Ayanokōji.
At least Ayanokōji didn't provoke Saiki.
"He deserved it."
Tsukishiro glanced at the zombie-like Yagami, then his phone buzzed—an unknown number.
He knew who it was.
"Ayanokōji-san."
"Bring Yagami back."
Ayanokōji Atsushige's voice was urgent.
Tsukishiro had just messaged him about Yagami.
As a White Room asset, Yagami's retrieval made sense.
This meant Yagami was done.
"Time to process his expulsion. What a hassle."
---
At the White Room's secret base, Ayanokōji Atsushige set down his phone, wiping his forehead.
"Saiki-san, is this acceptable? I warned him! This was his doing, not ours!"
His voice grew frantic, distancing himself from Yagami's actions.
"Barely acceptable."
Atsushige stared at a massive screen.
Saiki Kūsuke's face loomed on it.
"I need test subjects. This Yagami will do. The last one, Yamauchi, was useless. Anyway, this is settled."
Saiki's image vanished, leaving Atsushige gasping.
---
Day seven, rain halted the exam. By day ten, it resumed.
"Kiriyama, isn't Nanase's strategy messy? He should've taken the lead by now, but it's day ten, and he's still tied with Kōenji! It's because he's dragging his feet on Kōenji!"
Mikitani checked his tablet, showing Nanase's team at 236 points and Kōenji at 224.
Kōenji needed one more reward to overtake him.
"Even if Nanase crushes him, he'll only place third. Losing to a solo second-year would reflect poorly on both of us!"
Kiriyama's expression darkened.
"I've heard about his enrollment rumors—bribing upperclassmen, buying points. What did you think then?"
"I figured he was a rich, show-off idiot."
"I thought he was a capable rich kid with decent physical skills but no standout achievements. He's disliked because he's careless, acts above exams, and never takes anything seriously."
*So Nanase didn't see Kōenji as a threat.*
Kiriyama thought.
"Something changed. In this exam, Kōenji's giving it his all. His endless stamina might carry him through."
Mikitani said seriously.
"Kiriyama, aren't you doing anything?"
"I... think it's time to deploy the Free Squads."
Nanase had formed six three-person teams from B and D classes, acting as his limbs. Two followed his orders, while one avoided penalties.
This explained why some third-year teams ranked low—not everyone could handle the exam alone.
"How many Free Squads will you use?"
"All six under my command. Full deployment."
"Six? Seriously? Kōenji's alone. Four teams with mine would suffice. Keep two in your team—"
Kiriyama cut him off.
---
"Only Koenji poses a threat to us. If we ensure he doesn't take any action these few days, victory will be ours. It's better to be safe than sorry."
"By the way, did Nagumo mention any other teams he's worried about? If we focus all our spare teams on Koenji, no one will be watching the others."
"No need to worry. Nagumo's probably overthinking."
Kiriyama Ikuto shook his head.
He knew exactly who Nagumo Miyabi was worried about.
But Ikuto couldn't quite understand why Nagumo was so focused on Saiki Kusuo.
After all, Saiki seemed so ordinary... utterly unremarkable.
Come to think of it, Saiki's rank should drop to beyond the top twenty, given how many third-year students have been targeting him lately...
Lost in thought, Ikuto's gaze fell on the rankings.
The leaderboard refreshed almost simultaneously.
10th: Saiki Kusuo