"Your class has Horikita Suzune and Hirata Yosuke, but as long as you're here, they don't matter."
Sakayanagi Arisu spoke with utmost seriousness.
Sakayanagi Arisu was the biological daughter of Sakayanagi Narimori, the chairman of the school's board of directors.
Sakayanagi Narimori had once known Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's father, Ayanokoji Atsuomi, and was aware of the existence of the White Room. However, Sakayanagi Narimori did not support the White Room project, which was why he had specially approved Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's enrollment in the school.
When Sakayanagi Arisu was young, she had accompanied her father to the White Room and, through a glass window, had seen Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
From that moment on, Sakayanagi Arisu had been deeply interested in Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"It seems you really do know me well. But aren't you going to tell anyone else about this?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at her expressionlessly as he asked.
"I don't want to be disturbed. Burying a false genius is something only I am suited for."
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled, gently tapping the ground with her cane.
"This boring school life has finally become a little more interesting."
"Is that so? Then can I ask you something?"
At that moment, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke up.
"It's an honor to receive a question from you. Feel free to ask. If you want to know why I know you, I can tell you."
"No, I'm not interested in that. I just want to know one thing do you really think you can bury me?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expression didn't change, and there was no emotion in his eyes.
"Haha sorry, I couldn't help but laugh. But I'm not mocking you. After all, I know exactly how capable you are. From now on, I'll be looking forward to it. Destroying your father's greatest masterpiece will fulfill my lifelong wish."
Sakayanagi Arisu maintained her smile, appearing very confident in her abilities. However, before she could finish speaking, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka continued:
"There are indeed people who could bury me, but you're not one of them. I've already met that person."
"Huh?"
Sakayanagi Arisu's eyebrow twitched slightly.
She knew very well that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wasn't lying.
"I wasn't lying earlier either. I had almost no involvement in the previous incidents. They were all caused by someone else and I believe that, at present, only that person could possibly defeat me. Sakayanagi, you're not qualified yet."
After saying this, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't linger. He turned and walked away.
[Defeat me? That's exactly what I want. My own defeat would mean that man's defeat, proving that everything he's done is wrong.]
[Of course, I hope someone can resolve the sad contradiction in my heart. However, Sakayanagi Arisu, you're not the right person for that. I've already met the one who could potentially defeat me.]
[Although we're currently in a cooperative relationship, perhaps one day we'll become rivals. If that happens, you're the only one who could possibly defeat me—Saiki.]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought this to himself as he quickly left the special school building.
After Ayanokoji Kiyotaka left, Sakayanagi Arisu stood there, momentarily stunned.
"Besides Ayanokoji... there's someone else? Horikita Suzune? Hirata Yosuke? How is that possible..."
...
Meanwhile, Saiki, who had just finished packing up his things in the classroom, was preparing to head to the school's dessert shop to buy a coffee pudding to enjoy back in his dorm.
Saiki had no idea what was happening with Horikita Suzune and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
'Yare yare, today has been full of too many events. It's more exhausting than a regular exam.'
Saiki sighed inwardly.
While the class had undoubtedly achieved great success in the exam, it was a complete failure for Saiki, who just wanted a peaceful life.
Because of his performance in several events, Saiki had become slightly more noticeable in school, which was not a good thing.
Saiki quickly left the classroom. The dessert shop would be closing soon, and he couldn't afford to waste time.
But at that moment, Saiki heard a familiar voice in his mind.
[I need to get Saiki to join the student council. He'll be the strongest force to oppose Nagumo after I leave.]
'Yare yare, so this is how it is, huh?'
Saiki knew exactly whose voice this was Horikita Manabu.
'Damn it, he's standing right at the only exit. To leave the building, I have to go through there, and the student council can freely access the surveillance cameras. I can't just use my powers recklessly.'
Saiki knew he had no choice. To get his pudding as soon as possible, he had no option but to brace himself and interact with Horikita Manabu.
He took a few steps forward, and Horikita Manabu noticed his presence.
"You're here."
Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses, his gaze immediately shifting to Saiki.
[Why is the president so interested in this Saiki guy? He even had me record their running earlier... Although he did run pretty fast in the first half, he only ended up in fourth place. It doesn't seem like a big deal... This is really strange.]
Beside Horikita Manabu, Tachibana Akane's eyes showed a hint of confusion.
"Is there something you need?"
Saiki asked, though he already knew why Horikita Manabu was here. He still had to pretend not to know.
"There's an open position in the student council. Would you consider joining?"
Horikita Manabu asked.
[Joining the student council is something most students dream of. It means having authority over other students and even the ability to change school rules.]
Hearing Horikita Manabu's words, Tachibana Akane was stunned.
"President, are you serious?"
[The president wants to directly approve Saiki's entry into the student council? Really? Aside from the sports festival, he hasn't shown anything special. I checked his grades, and they're pretty average too. Ichinose and Katsuragi were clearly more capable, but the president rejected them. And now he's inviting Saiki to join the student council?]
"What's wrong? Are you questioning my decision?"
Horikita Manabu turned to Tachibana Akane, his expressionless face exuding a strong sense of pressure.
"N-no, not at all."
Tachibana Akane quickly shook her head.
"So, Saiki, what's your answer?"
Horikita Manabu turned his attention back to Saiki.
"Sorry, I have no intention of joining the student council."
Saiki didn't hesitate for even a second before giving his answer.
'Yare yare, I don't want to attract more trouble. Student council members get a lot of attention, and there's probably a lot of work to do too.'
Saiki muttered to himself. Joining the student council was out of the question for him.
'Besides, that guy Nagumo Miyabi in the student council seems like a real troublemaker.'
"Huh?"
Tachibana Akane was even more shocked.
[This guy just turned down the president's invitation?! Joining the student council is something many students dream of!]
"Is that so?"
Horikita Manabu didn't seem surprised by Saiki's answer. He simply nodded slightly and adjusted his glasses.
"If you change your mind later, you can come to me anytime."
After saying this, Horikita Manabu left with Tachibana Akane, and Saiki quickly made his way to the school's dessert shop.
...
About half an hour later, Saiki, clutching a bag containing his pudding, eagerly began his journey back to his dorm.
'Yare yare, I managed to get the last coffee pudding at the last minute. And today's flavor is a limited edition that won't be available tomorrow. Apparently, it uses a special imported coffee. I can't wait to enjoy this in my room, maybe with a cup of milk tea. Even though today was full of trouble, as long as I can eat this pudding in the end, it'll all be worth it. Food tastes even better after hard work.'
Saiki's mind was completely focused on his pudding.
By now, the sky had grown dark, and there weren't many students still outside on campus.
But at that moment, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Saiki.
"Took you long enough."
The somewhat lazy voice belonged to none other than Ryuen Kakeru.
'Yare yare, another troublesome guy.'
Saiki inwardly groaned.
[Saiki, he's Shiina's friend. But I need to get information about Yamauchi from him. I'll make sure to repay him tenfold for what happened during the sports festival!]
[Kushida's betrayal, Yamauchi already knew about it and even guessed some of the methods I used. He's not a simple guy. I'm sure he's behind all the previous incidents.]
[I need to gather as much information about him as possible, and Saiki is the perfect candidate right now.]
'Huh?'
Saiki was momentarily stunned upon hearing Ryuen Kakeru's thoughts. It took him a few seconds to process what was happening.
During the sports festival, Saiki had been forced to use a series of tactics to hide his identity, which had successfully led Ryuen Kakeru to misinterpret the situation.
Ryuen Kakeru now believed that everything had been orchestrated by Yamauchi Haruki.
However, Saiki hadn't expected this "boomerang" to eventually come back to him.
'Yare yare... I finally managed to shift the trouble onto Yamauchi Haruki, but now it's back on me... Seriously... Is this karma?'
Saiki sighed inwardly.
"Don't be so scared that you can't speak, Saiki. Don't worry, as long as you cooperate with me, I won't do anything to you. After all, you're Shiina's friend."
Ryuen Kakeru grinned menacingly at Saiki.
[Although Shiina Hiyori is an important member of our class, if necessary, I'll have to pry information out of Saiki.]
"Is there something you need?"
Saiki had no choice but to play along.
"You're pretty close with Yamauchi Haruki from your class, right? You're friends, aren't you?"
Ryuen Kakeru narrowed his eyes.
"Not really. We're not that close."
Saiki answered without hesitation.
'That guy and I are definitely not friends.'
"Oh? But what I've heard is different. I've seen you two hanging out a lot. Speaking of which, you had some pretty impressive performances during the sports festival. I never noticed before were you hiding your strength?"
"I've been training a bit."
Hearing Ryuen Kakeru mention "hiding strength," Saiki's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed down. After all, Ryuen Kakeru's intelligence was just enough to perfectly avoid suspecting him.
"Is that so? During the pole-toppling competition, you appeared in a spot no one expected..."
'That was just a coincidence. I got distracted.'
"Was it Yamauchi Haruki's orders?"
"It was just a coincidence."
Saiki answered immediately. He wasn't lying.
However, Ryuen Kakeru wasn't convinced. He pulled out his phone and played a video of Manabe Shiho and Karuizawa Kei. At the end of the video, Saiki appeared, stopping the situation from escalating further.
"You're in the video, which means you didn't record it but it also means you were very close to Yamauchi Haruki, who did record it!"
"What if I told you Yamauchi didn't record it? Would you believe me?"
"Such a poor lie is meaningless."
Ryuen Kakeru's expression instantly darkened, and a murderous aura emanated from him as he slowly approached Saiki. Saiki instinctively shielded the pudding in his arms nothing was more important than that.
"You've reached the limit of my patience. I told you, as long as you cooperate, I won't do anything to you"
"In other words, if you refuse to cooperate, I'll have to use some... persuasion."
"Let me take off your glasses for you. Be careful not to get cut by the lenses~ After all, I might have to punch your face really hard."
Ryuen Kakeru quickly reached out and removed Saiki's glasses.