Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wasn't helping Saiki cover up the truth; he genuinely believed that Saiki had mastered such techniques.
After Saiki dealt with Ryuen Kakeru and the others, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had gone to ask about the characteristics of Saiki's attacks. He concluded that "Saiki possesses terrifying strength, capable of sending Albert flying with a single strike."
Even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka couldn't achieve something like that.
This led Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to believe that Saiki might have mastered a mystical technique like aikido. After all, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had learned various martial arts, self-defense techniques, and combat skills in the White Room, but techniques like aikido, which seemed to defy common sense, were only at a conceptual level for him.
Thus, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka speculated that Saiki might have mastered such a technique, which was why he was able to perform as he did just now.
[Is it about regulating the body and controlling so-called "qi" to neutralize external force? I've dabbled in this unique technique, but it wasn't taught in the White Room. I even thought it was just an exaggerated fabrication, but now it seems Saiki has truly mastered it.]
'Hey, hey… Don't suddenly add such a setting to me…'
Saiki felt a bit helpless inwardly, but thanks to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's words, his identity as a psychic remained hidden.
'If that's the case, then I'll just have to keep playing along…'
The downside was that Saiki now had to forcibly maintain the persona of a martial arts master.
After all, compared to being a psychic, this identity was at least somewhat plausible.
"You bastard!"
Saiki's immobility only made Hosen Kazuomi angrier. He raised his hand with all his strength, clenched his fist, and aimed a punch at Saiki's forehead.
Although such an attack had no effect on Saiki—it was like a speck of dust falling on him—Saiki still pretended to raise his hand in a blocking motion, then pushed back, sending Hosen Kazuomi flying.
Of course, Saiki used his telekinesis to slightly soften the force of his push.
If he hadn't controlled his strength, Hosen Kazuomi might have been reduced to a pulp.
[This guy… he suppressed Hosen so easily? Is he a monster?]
Nanase Tsubasa's previously expressionless face now showed a hint of fear for the first time.
"You damn bastard, I'll kill you!"
Being humiliated twice in a row made Hosen Kazuomi furious, and he instinctively reached inside his jacket.
Hosen Kazuomi wasn't impulsive enough to actually kill someone, but he planned to use the same scheme he had intended for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka on Saiki.
After all, being completely overpowered by someone as frail-looking as Saiki was a massive insult to Hosen Kazuomi.
But he didn't find the knife.
[What's going on? Where's my knife?!]
Hosen Kazuomi had no idea what was happening. The knife that had been hidden inside his jacket was no longer there.
'Yare yare, this is a school, after all. To avoid any accidents, I used my powers to move your knife away earlier.'
Saiki thought to himself.
"I'll kill you!"
Hosen Kazuomi hurriedly got up from the ground, ready to attack again—
But at that moment, Nanase Tsubasa suddenly stepped in front of him.
"Hosen-kun, it's over."
"Get out of my way. If you dare stop me, you'll regret it."
Even though they were classmates, Hosen Kazuomi directed a terrifying killing intent toward Nanase Tsubasa.
"Hosen-kun, I suggest you look over there."
Nanase Tsubasa pointed to the side. Hosen Kazuomi followed her gaze and saw Ayanokoji Kiyotaka holding a phone, recording.
"You bastard! What are you doing?!"
Hosen Kazuomi roared.
"I'm just recording to prevent things from escalating."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said expressionlessly.
"What do you think recording will do? President Nagumo has already—"
"What if we bypass the student council and go directly to the teachers?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka continued,
"Even if we've been given some leeway, if things go too far, I doubt President Nagumo will just stand by and watch."
"You bastard…"
"And if I spread the footage of you, the leader of Class D, being defeated, do you think your position in the class will remain the same?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I wasn't defeated!"
Although he said this, Hosen Kazuomi's confidence was shaken.
He knew very well that if what happened tonight got out, his standing among the first-years would definitely be affected.
"Damn it!"
Hosen Kazuomi could only curse.
"This matter won't be resolved so easily."
Horikita Suzune said. For their class, this was an opportunity they couldn't afford to miss.
"If you don't want this to get out, there's only one solution—you'll have to pair at least five students from your class with academic scores of B or higher with our class."
…
Ten minutes later, Hosen Kazuomi left the scene in a rage, while Nanase Tsubasa stayed behind, bowing deeply to the second-year students.
"Is there anything you can tell us?"
Horikita Suzune frowned, her expression serious as she looked at Nanase Tsubasa.
After all, although Nanase Tsubasa had claimed to want to cooperate with them, things had escalated into violence.
Horikita Suzune realized that from the beginning, Hosen Kazuomi's goal seemed to have been to provoke a conflict with their class.
It made no sense.
"If I don't speak, it seems our Class D will be at a disadvantage."
Nanase Tsubasa sighed.
[If I don't reveal the truth, our Class D might face retaliation from the second-years.]
"You knew about this development, didn't you?"
Nanase Tsubasa nodded:
"Yes, the goal was…"
Nanase Tsubasa paused, about to reveal the plan, but since Hosen Kazuomi hadn't actually pulled out the knife in the end, she didn't say what she had originally planned.
[Hosen clearly made a move to pull out the knife earlier. I thought he was going to use it on Saiki-senpai, but he didn't succeed in the end—why? And just who is Saiki?]
'Yare yare…'
Saiki sighed inwardly. Although he had successfully avoided exposing his identity as a psychic, it seemed he had attracted the attention of some strange people.
"Our original plan was to expel Ayanokoji-senpai."
Nanase Tsubasa spoke without a hint of guilt, her tone polite as usual.
"Expel Ayanokoji?"
Horikita Suzune and Sudo Ken were completely baffled, having no idea what this had to do with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka of Class 2-D—the student who gets him expelled will be rewarded with 20 million personal points. We were given this special exam."
Nanase Tsubasa continued, while Saiki already knew about the plan.
"I don't understand what you're saying. Who decided on such an unreasonable and foolish special exam?"
Horikita Suzune pressed further.
"…I've said all I need to say. Besides our class, Ayanokoji-senpai should now be highly wary of all first-year classes."
"This doesn't explain anything."
Horikita Suzune couldn't understand the reason behind this special exam. Why did it have to be Ayanokoji Kiyotaka?
"It's fine. Just understanding the situation is enough. Nanase has been very helpful, and I'm grateful to her."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka quickly interjected.
If Horikita Suzune kept asking, she might start uncovering things about the White Room or Tsukishiro, which could cause trouble.
"I thought it would be fine as long as it benefited Class D, but in reality, handing over 20 million points to another class would create a significant gap. That's why I ultimately chose to assist Hosen-kun."
"So your friendly behavior toward us was all an act for this plan?"
"No, I genuinely wanted to work with you and support each other's classes. But… targeting Ayanokoji-senpai was the top priority."
Nanase Tsubasa looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka,
"But I believe Ayanokoji-senpai doesn't belong in this school."
[I will take revenge.]
Saiki could hear Nanase Tsubasa's thoughts. She had been giving herself mental hints, not hiding her hatred and disgust for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka naturally sensed it too.
"I'll have five students from our class with academic scores of B or higher partner with you. We won't speak about what happened tonight."
After saying this, Nanase Tsubasa left.
Saiki knew she was telling the truth, which was a small silver lining in an otherwise unfortunate situation.
At least his "martial arts master" persona hadn't spread.
"Saiki, are you okay?"
Sudo Ken looked at Saiki with concern.
Although Saiki had successfully suppressed Hosen Kazuomi, Sudo Ken was still worried about whether Saiki had been injured.
[Saiki… is he really that strong? Hosen's physical abilities are monstrous, but Saiki still managed to overpower him so easily…]
Sudo Ken realized that Saiki's strength was truly terrifying.
"I'm fine, but I was just toughing it out earlier. It hurts."
Saiki said.
But he knew no one would believe him.
"Saiki, it seems you've been hiding things from us."
Horikita Suzune's brow twitched slightly,
"But this might serve as a secret weapon for our class in the future. Regardless, I hope everyone here keeps what happened tonight to themselves."
"Understood."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded. This was one of the rare times he needed others to keep a secret.
"Let's head back now."
…
Meanwhile, Hosen Kazuomi was walking back to his dorm.
"Damn it, that Saiki… I'll make sure you pay next time."
Hosen Kazuomi's face was dark as he continued to curse.
Just then, a slender figure appeared in front of him.
"Hosen-kun, how did it go?"
It was Amasawa Ichika.
"Amasawa, you said you'd help me, right? But from start to finish, I never trusted you."
Hosen Kazuomi's menacing gaze fell on Amasawa Ichika.
"Don't be like that, Hosen-kun. I ran into some unexpected issues~"
Amasawa Ichika said with a smile.
She had verbally agreed to help Hosen Kazuomi expel Ayanokoji Kiyotaka—but after what happened yesterday, Amasawa Ichika had become even more interested in Saiki.
"You're covered in dust? What happened?"
Amasawa Ichika had already guessed that Hosen Kazuomi had been defeated.
"If you keep talking, I'll kill you."
"Was it Ayanokoji-senpai?"
"Ayanokoji?"
Amasawa Ichika noticed the momentary confusion on Hosen Kazuomi's face.
[Hosen was definitely defeated, right? But from his expression, it wasn't Ayanokoji-senpai? As far as I know, no one in Class 2-A should be able to beat Hosen in a fight—except for Saiki-senpai.]
Amasawa Ichika's smile deepened.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Nothing—but let's continue working together during the next exam~"
Amasawa Ichika waved her hand and left.
Hosen Kazuomi was left alone, the flames of revenge burning even brighter in his heart.
…
The next day, Nanase Tsubasa and Yagami Takuya reached a cooperation agreement with Horikita Suzune.
Class 2-A would mostly collaborate with Class 1-B, while some of the higher-achieving students from Class 1-D would partner with the lower-achieving students from Class 2-A.
A week later, the exam results were announced.
Class 2-A narrowly defeated Class 2-B to take first place overall. Although Class 2-A's average academic ability was indeed lower than Class 2-B, led by Sakayanagi Arisu, they had partnered with more high-achieving first-year students, allowing them to slightly edge out Class 2-B in total points and maintain their position as Class A. However, the point gap between the two classes wasn't significant.
Without the high-achieving students provided by Class 1-D, Class 2-A might not have secured first place.
But the new semester had only just begun.