After the tug-of-war competition ended, the various events continued.
Scavenger hunts, horseback battles... all sorts of events began one after another. Saiki found it all rather baffling. These events felt like kindergarten games, so why were they included in the sports festival?
However, in these events, the Red Team, including Class B, achieved fairly good results—on the other hand, Class D's morale seemed to have plummeted, and their performance suffered significantly as a result.
"Strange, why does it feel like Class D has lost their fighting spirit?"
"Yeah, I don't know why their performance has dropped so much."
"I feel the same way."
The students of Class B were buzzing with discussion, but only Saiki knew the truth.
[Ryuen said that Class B is trying to drain our stamina.]
[Ryuen told us to give up on this sports festival.]
[We're going to lose class points again... but it seems there's no other choice...]
Saiki could clearly hear the thoughts of the Class D students. It seemed Ryuen Kakeru had already given up on the sports festival.
Although Saiki didn't know the exact reason Ryuen Kakeru had chosen to give up, it seemed to have something to do with him.
Soon, it was time for the final event: the mixed-gender relay.
Unlike the previous events, this 1200-meter relay would involve students from all grades divided into several groups, meaning first-year students would have the chance to compete alongside second and third-year students.
Quickly, everyone followed the referee's instructions and took their positions. Saiki was assigned to the final leg of the relay.
'Yare yare, what a hassle... I didn't expect to be chosen for this event in the end.'
Saiki sighed inwardly. Due to his carelessness during the physical tests and a series of unexpected incidents, he had been forced into participating in this event.
Since the race was quite long, each class had to send three boys and three girls as participants. For Class B, the boys were Sudo Ken, Hirata Yosuke, and Saiki, while the girls were led by Horikita Suzune.
[Looking at the lineup, our class's relay team isn't bad. If Ryuen's plan had succeeded, Horikita might have been injured and unable to participate in this relay, and Sudo's condition might have been affected too. In that case, our class's relay performance would have been far from ideal. But none of that happened.]
Nearby, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka silently watched the participants on the field. Due to the limited number of spots, he hadn't been selected for the relay team.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wasn't particularly interested in Horikita Suzune, Sudo Ken, or even the outcome of this class competition.
However, he had developed a slight interest in one thing, like a seed that had just begun to sprout.
[If Saiki and I were to race on the track, who would win?]
[Since coming to this world, I've never been able to run at full speed.]
[Perhaps Saiki is faster than me.]
Unlike Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Saiki had no interest in this event whatsoever.
He glanced around, observing the other participants in his group—since this was a school-wide event, the Red and White teams were mixed, with several classes randomly grouped together. The final rankings would be based on the total time taken to complete the race.
Saiki was in the innermost lane, while the adjacent lane was occupied by Shibata So from Ichinose Honami's class.
In the third lane was a student from Class 2-A, someone named Nagumo Miyabi.
Saiki vaguely remembered the name but couldn't recall where he had heard it before.
And in the outermost lane was someone Saiki had met before.
Horikita Manabu.
Earlier, Saiki had used his telepathy to broadcast their thoughts, helping to resolve the conflict between the awkward siblings and slightly easing Horikita Suzune's aloof personality.
However, Saiki and Horikita Manabu had never interacted much, not even exchanging words. They only knew of each other's existence.
As the starting whistle blew, the first-leg runners from each class shot forward almost simultaneously. Sudo Ken, being an athletic powerhouse, quickly took the lead, maintaining a several-meter advantage and successfully passing the baton to Horikita Suzune, the second runner.
[Suzune, not bad.]
Horikita Manabu watched Horikita Suzune's performance intently.
Horikita Suzune maintained the lead and passed the baton to the next runner—but from this point on, the gap between their class and the others began to shrink rapidly. If it weren't for Sudo Ken and Horikita Suzune's strong performances, Class B might have already fallen behind.
The Class B runners were gradually overtaken by others, causing some panic among the spectators.
However, thanks to Hirata Yosuke's efforts, Class B managed to maintain a decent position within their group.
But then, the leading runner from Class 3-A, who was about to pass the baton to the fifth runner, tripped about fifty meters from the handoff. Although she quickly got up, Class 2-A seized the opportunity to take the lead and quickly widened the gap.
"This race is ours, President Horikita if possible, I'd love to race you."
Nagumo Miyabi smiled at Horikita Manabu, as if all these unexpected events were part of his plan.
"It seems we'll win in total points too. This is the dawn of a new era~"
"Do you really intend to change this school?"
Horikita Manabu's expression remained unchanged as he calmly looked at Nagumo Miyabi.
"The student council up until now has been too boring, too rigid in maintaining traditions. They talk tough but never forget to provide relief measures, and the rules are too naive—hardly anyone gets expelled. We don't need that anymore. So, I'll establish new rules and create the ultimate merit-based school!"
Nagumo Miyabi stared directly at Horikita Manabu, watching as the fifth runner approached, already preparing to sprint.
'What are these two talking about?'
Saiki had no idea what they were discussing, but he didn't care either. As long as it didn't involve him, it wasn't a problem.
At that moment, Saiki remembered something. Shortly after the school year began, he and Kushida Kikyo had approached a senior from Class 2-D to buy test papers. During that encounter, he had overheard the senior's thoughts mentioning Nagumo Miyabi.
The reason they were in Class D seemed to be because of something Nagumo Miyabi had done.
'It seems the upperclassmen aren't exactly normal either.'
The Class 2-A runner had arrived, and Nagumo Miyabi successfully took the baton and sprinted forward. The winner of this race was already a foregone conclusion.
However, due to the earlier fall by the Class 3-A runner, the gaps between the remaining classes were tight. Kushida Kikyo, as the fifth runner, maintained a mid-pack position.
While first place was already decided, there were still two spots left in the top three, and the remaining classes were fighting for those positions.
'Yare yare, I'll just aim for a mid-pack finish. Fourth place seems good.'
Saiki thought to himself.
But at that moment, Horikita Manabu's gaze fell on him.
"Saiki from Class 1-B, you might think you've been flawless, but I've been observing the actions of each class. I've noticed your unnatural movements. You're quite special, Saiki!"
Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses, his gaze fixed on Saiki.
'Huh?'
Saiki froze, a hint of panic in his eyes.
Because the field was large and crowded, Saiki hadn't been able to precisely hear everyone's thoughts, so he hadn't noticed Horikita Manabu observing him.
'Could it be... that he noticed me using my powers?'
"Your expression changed slightly. It seems I'm right. During the pole-toppling competition and the tug-of-war, I saw everything you did. I know what you've been up to. You've been manipulating the matches, haven't you?"
'This is bad...'
Saiki's expression grew slightly more serious. If his identity as a psychic were exposed, a flood of trouble would come his way. In this situation, even using his memory-erasing device wouldn't help.
'What should I do... Could it be...?'
"During the pole-toppling competition, you saw through the opponents' tactics and positioned yourself in a spot that was easily overlooked, ultimately scoring. To others, it looked like you were just lucky to be there but I know it was all intentional."
'Huh?'
Saiki was momentarily stunned, unable to process Horikita Manabu's words—but he quickly realized that Horikita Manabu had completely misunderstood him.
'Wait, wait, this is just a coincidence. Are you and Ayanokoji suffering from the same delusion?'
"During the tug-of-war, even though your Red Team was at a huge disadvantage, you suddenly turned the tide. I was watching you the whole time. You weren't using any strength at first, were you? In the beginning, someone who was truly exerting effort wouldn't have such an expressionless face. You deliberately created the illusion that the White Team might win, draining their stamina. But they were smart enough to realize this and chose to forfeit the event to minimize their losses..."
"..."
Every word from Horikita Manabu was completely unexpected to Saiki. He hadn't anticipated that Horikita Manabu would say such things.
"It's just a coincidence."
"I knew you'd say that."
Horikita Manabu's lips curled into a slight smile.
"Your class was initially ranked as Class D, but within half a year, you rose to Class B. That's unprecedented in this school. I've always been interested in your class, and after seeing you at the sports festival, I've more or less figured out the reason. It must be your doing which means the anonymous email with the recording was probably sent by you."
'First, he says all these nonsensical things, but then he accidentally stumbles onto the truth?'
Saiki pursed his lips, about to deny it again, but after a moment of thought, his mind changed slightly.
'Wait, if I deny it outright, it'll be even harder to explain things like the tug-of-war and pole-toppling competitions... That might actually increase the risk of my psychic abilities being exposed... For now, playing along with his delusions might be the best way to hide my powers...'
After thinking it over, Saiki finally spoke.
"What do you want?"
His words seemed to imply confirmation.
This was similar to his earlier conversation with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Although it had caused him some trouble, for now, he didn't have a better way to resolve the situation.
"Nothing much. I'm just curious about you. We'll discuss the rest after this race."
Their conversation lasted only a few seconds. The fifth runners were now approaching the handoff zone.
'Yare yare, what a hassle...'
Saiki felt a headache coming on. The conversation had left him feeling unsettled, so he focused his attention on the runner ahead of him.
'We've dropped to sixth place? Did Kushida slow down on purpose? That's a bit lower than expected. The gap with the runners ahead has widened. I wonder how fast Horikita Manabu is. He's wearing glasses, so he probably isn't that fast. I'll stick to the plan and aim for fourth place.'
As Saiki thought this, he pretended to prepare for the sprint. At the same time, Horikita Manabu had already received the baton and was charging forward—
A second later, Saiki successfully took the baton from Kushida Kikyo and began running.
Almost instantly, Saiki matched Horikita Manabu's speed and began closing the gap with the runners ahead.