"Horikita, being able to compete with someone from the track and field club is impressive."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka walked up to Horikita Suzune, who had just crossed the finish line, and spoke to her without any expression. He handed her a bottle of water.
"This isn't something worth boasting about. On one hand, a Class D student got injured unexpectedly, and on the other, I didn't manage to take first place. I only got second."
As she spoke, Horikita Suzune took the water bottle from him and gulped down a few mouthfuls. The event had indeed drained a lot of her energy.
However, Horikita Suzune didn't seem particularly emotional about the result. This outcome was within her expectations.
"Maybe it was an accident, but you didn't notice the movements of the girl behind you."
As Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke, his gaze shifted to the distance, where Kinoshita Minori was being helped off the track by her classmates.
"It seemed like she was trying to bump into you just now."
"What?"
Horikita Suzune's eyes showed a hint of surprise, as if she found it hard to believe Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's words.
Ryuen Kakeru's plan was within Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expectations. He had guessed that Ryuen would use similar tactics to try and frame Horikita Suzune.
[His goal probably isn't to injure Horikita but to use Kinoshita's injury to frame her.]
[If no one intervenes, Class B will likely suffer a significant blow in this exam. They could be outmaneuvered by Ryuen in many events, just like in the pole-toppling competition and the girls' obstacle race. In theory, our class should have suffered a major defeat—and students like Sudo and Horikita, whose emotions are easily influenced by others and the situation, might have caused internal chaos or even infighting.]
[But since the class has been consistently winning, that hasn't happened. Is this Saiki's doing? I originally wanted Horikita to grow through this, but since Saiki has made this choice, it's no longer necessary. I'll just give Horikita a heads-up.]
As Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought this, his gaze remained fixed on Horikita Suzune. He then continued:
"It was probably Ryuen's orders."
"Earlier, during the pole-toppling competition, I noticed that Class D's movements were a bit off. It seems I was right..."
Horikita Suzune's expression grew serious.
"But to go to such lengths, they must have prepared quite a bit... And to target me during the race, they'd need someone who could keep up with my speed... Kinoshita being in the same group as me—was that really a coincidence?"
It was only now that Horikita Suzune realized the truth.
It wasn't a coincidence that Kinoshita Minori was in the same group as her.
Ryuen Kakeru had planned to target Horikita Suzune, which is why Kinoshita Minori was assigned to her group.
This was definitely not a last-minute decision.
"But... how did he know which events I was participating in? Unless... Ryuen knows our class's participant list!"
Horikita Suzune suddenly understood, her mind racing as she considered the possibilities.
[Even in this situation, Horikita managed to deduce the existence of a traitor? Adversity can sharpen one's abilities, but so can success... Is this what Saiki is trying to convey to me?]
'??? What are you talking about?'
Not far away, Saiki, who had overheard Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's thoughts, looked utterly confused, completely unaware of what the other was talking about.
However, since Horikita Suzune now knew about the traitor and Class D's actions against her, it would save Saiki some trouble.
"It seems there's a traitor in our class! Someone leaked information!"
Horikita Suzune rubbed her chin, her expression growing more serious.
"And the only person who could do something like this... is Kushida Kikyo."
[During the second special exam on the cruise ship, I couldn't figure out why our group's VIP identity was guessed, and why the other classes were so convinced by Ryuen's words. Now, it's clear—Kushida Kikyo, the VIP, revealed her own identity.]
Horikita Suzune finally pieced everything together.
Her motive was obvious.
She wanted Horikita Suzune to be expelled.
"Are you planning to make this public?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka asked expressionlessly.
"No."
Horikita Suzune shook her head decisively.
"Kushida has a lot of popularity and connections in the class. If I reveal this directly, not only might others not believe me, but it could also cause chaos within the class. I went to the same middle school as Kushida, and her class suddenly collapsed one semester. I don't know the exact reason, but I'm sure Kushida was involved."
"So, how do you plan to handle it?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka asked.
"I won't alert her for now. After the sports festival, I'll confront her directly."
"And then what?"
"Kushida's actions seem to be targeting me, but I have to admit she has exceptional abilities. I think she's a valuable asset to our class. If possible, I want to turn her into a force that helps us rise to Class A."
Horikita Suzune nodded seriously.
'Seriously? After all this, you still want to use Kushida to help you reach Class A?'
Nearby, Saiki's expression didn't change, but there was a hint of surprise in his eyes. He hadn't expected Horikita Suzune to have such thoughts.
"Alright."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded.
"The next event is the first-year tug-of-war. All participants, please gather at the center of the field."
At that moment, the school's announcement system rang out.
'Yare yare, this event again?'
Saiki sighed slightly. Another team event.
'But tug-of-war isn't too bad for me. I can just go through the motions without exerting any real effort.'
Tug-of-war was one of the few events Saiki could tolerate.
"Kusuo-kun, do your best!"
Sakura Airi cheered him on from the side.
'I don't want to do my best.'
Saiki thought to himself, but he still nodded at Sakura Airi.
He quickly made his way to the gathering point for the tug-of-war participants. As soon as he arrived, Sudo Ken walked up from behind and patted Saiki's shoulder with a smile.
"Saiki, you did great earlier. Keep it up this time too!"
Sudo Ken looked very happy. After all, the class's key players had been on a winning streak, and the point gap between the Red and White teams was gradually widening.
Even though Class D had been using tactics like "Tian Ji's horse racing" to counter Class B's weaker events, Class B was still winning overall.
As a result, the morale of almost all Class B students had soared.
"Everyone, let's give it our all and secure another win!"
Hirata Yosuke shouted to the group, and the others cheered in response.
'Yare yare, such an inspiring speech. But sorry, I'm not planning to put in any effort for this event. If I don't control my strength properly, I might just yank the entire opposing team over.'
Saiki thought to himself.
"All participants, get ready!"
As the referee's voice rang out, Saiki and the other students walked up to the rope and grabbed hold of it.
'Yare yare, this rope is rough. But it should be a bit sturdier than usual.'
Saiki thought to himself.
"I think we should arrange ourselves by height and then use our strength at the start to finish this quickly."
At that moment, Katsuragi Kohei suggested to the group. Although tug-of-war seemed like a simple test of strength, there was actually some strategy involved.
"Katsuragi, what are you trying to command here?"
Next to Katsuragi Kohei, Hashimoto Masayoshi smirked disdainfully, glaring at him.
As a member of Sakayanagi Arisu's faction, Hashimoto Masayoshi was always the first to mock Katsuragi Kohei.
Saiki turned his head and saw Sakayanagi Arisu standing quietly at the edge of the field, watching everything with a meaningful smile.
'She seems like a troublesome person, and her goals are clear. She's targeting Ayanokoji. She seems to know something about the White Room, doesn't she?'
Although they were far apart, Saiki could still hear some of Sakayanagi Arisu's thoughts. She seemed very interested in Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
'But that's fine. As long as it doesn't involve me, it doesn't matter.'
"On your marks!"
At that moment, the referee's stern and loud voice rang out, forcing Hashimoto Masayoshi and Katsuragi Kohei to stop their argument and return to their positions.
On the other side of the rope, the combined forces of Classes C and D looked eager to compete.
The ABCD rankings were only based on previous exam results, but this sports festival wasn't a regular exam. Students like Sudo Ken, who usually performed poorly academically, now had a chance to shine.
"Begin!"
With the referee's whistle, the slack rope instantly tightened, even making a loud creaking sound.
For a moment, the two sides were evenly matched, with neither gaining an advantage.
'Yare yare, even without me exerting any effort, we're evenly matched?'
Saiki thought to himself, leaning slightly as if he was putting in effort.
'If it were anyone else, our class would probably already have the upper hand...'
But at that moment, Ryuen Kakeru's voice suddenly rang out from the opposing side.
"Hey, you better hold on. If you lose easily, I'll have to resort to private punishment—"
This wasn't just an empty threat. He was serious.
As Ryuen casually issued this warning, the rope was suddenly pulled with tremendous force, slowly dragging the Red Team toward them.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"
At the end of the line, Ike Kanji's pained cries rang out.
'Gripping such a rough rope must hurt. Even though it seemed like we were evenly matched earlier, it's clear the Red Team can't hold on much longer. We'll probably lose this round, but since we've won the previous rounds, losing this one isn't a big deal.'
Saiki thought to himself.
But at that moment, Saiki heard a faint sound, like something breaking.
This sound was only audible to Saiki, and he knew exactly what it was.
His ultra-thin transparent gloves.
Saiki had a psychic ability called Psychometry, which allowed him to learn about the past or present of an object by touching it with his right hand. The condition was that his right hand had to touch the target, but like his telepathy, he couldn't fully control it. He considered it the most annoying ability, especially after using the restroom.
However, this ability could be physically controlled. Normally, Saiki used special transparent gloves to suppress it. Since the gloves acted as a barrier, the ability usually didn't cause any issues.
But because the gloves were so thin, they were quite fragile. Even the edge of a book could tear them.
And just now, the rough rope had torn Saiki's glove.
'???'
Saiki realized something was wrong, but before he could react, his fingers had already touched the rope.
Instantly, the thoughts of all the students holding the rope flooded into Saiki's mind.
[Ahhhhhh I don't want to be beaten by Ryuen ahhhhhhhh]
[Ahhhhhh I don't want to be beaten by Ryuen ahhhhhhhh]
[Ahhhhhh I don't want to be beaten by Ryuen ahhhhhhhh]
The thoughts of the Class D students were eerily unified, surpassing normal telepathy. At the same time, countless visions of Ryuen Kakeru beating his classmates appeared in Saiki's mind.
And it wasn't just the Class D students. The thoughts and memories of students from other classes also flooded into Saiki's mind.
Distracted, Saiki momentarily lost control of his strength—
The rope in his hands suddenly snapped.