"...Hmm."
Saiki nodded. For a moment, he wasn't sure how to deal with the two people in front of him, so he simply nodded and headed toward the starting point alone. After purchasing some supplies, he calmly moved to another area, set up his tent, and rested.
After Saiki left, Tsukishiro Tokinari carried Shiba Katsunori back to the starting point.
"Shiba-sensei? Acting Chairman Tsukishiro, what happened to Shiba-sensei?"
Mashima Tomonari was full of questions when he saw the situation.
Shiba Katsunori had seemingly gone out with Tsukishiro Tokinari just an hour ago, but now he was being carried back like a sack by Tsukishiro.
From the looks of it... Shiba Katsunori seemed to have suffered a severe attack?
Those who could become teachers at this school were no ordinary adults, and for Shiba Katsunori to lose consciousness, something extraordinary must have happened.
"Shiba-sensei accidentally fell off a cliff and seems to have passed out."
Tsukishiro immediately explained.
Of course, he couldn't reveal that he had knocked Shiba out, so he had to fabricate an excuse.
To make his lie more convincing, Tsukishiro even smeared some dirt on Shiba's body to make it look like he had really fallen.
"I'll contact the medical team right away..."
"No need. Shiba-sensei is in good health. Even if he fell, he'll be fine."
Tsukishiro quickly interjected.
"Huh?"
Mashima Tomonari was even more confused.
At that moment, Shiba Katsunori slowly opened his eyes. Tsukishiro immediately put on a concerned expression and stepped forward.
"Shiba-sensei, you're finally awake?"
"Shiba-sensei, what happened to you?"
Mashima Tomonari also stepped forward to ask.
"You fell off a cliff earlier. Do you remember?"
Tsukishiro looked at Shiba and gave him a meaningful glance.
Shiba's consciousness gradually cleared, and he recalled what had happened earlier—he had been knocked out by Tsukishiro.
Had Tsukishiro betrayed him?
No, that possibility was low.
Shiba guessed that Tsukishiro must have had a special reason for forcing him to lose consciousness, so he played along.
"Yes, that's right. I accidentally fell off the cliff over there. It seems Acting Chairman Tsukishiro saved me."
"Really?"
Mashima Tomonari still didn't know the true identities of the two men in front of him. He noticed that Tsukishiro's behavior was a bit strange, but he didn't understand the reason, so he didn't dwell on it.
"Shiba-sensei, are you feeling unwell anywhere? Should I contact the medical team?"
"No, there's no need to trouble them."
"Mashima-sensei, you don't need to worry about this anymore. Let Shiba-sensei rest for now."
"Okay..."
Hearing Tsukishiro's words, Mashima Tomonari pursed his lips and then turned to leave the room.
"Why did you do that?"
Shiba Katsunori asked with a puzzled expression.
"Because you almost got me killed earlier!"
Tsukishiro said in an extremely anxious tone.
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't Ayanokoji-sensei give us orders? He told us not to have any contact with Saiki!"
"Ayanokoji-sensei said to avoid unnecessary contact, but Saiki might have overheard our conversation earlier. He's in the same class as Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. If he shares that information with Kiyotaka, it could have serious consequences."
Shiba's expression gradually turned serious as he spoke.
"That's why I made the judgment that protecting the secrets of the White Room was more important, so..."
"Have you learned nothing during your time in the White Room?"
Tsukishiro scolded sharply.
"Saiki and the forces behind him are not to be trifled with, not even by Ayanokoji-sensei."
"Is that so?"
Shiba's eyebrows twitched slightly, finding it hard to believe Tsukishiro's words.
"You don't understand anything. We initially didn't detect Saiki's GPS. Do you know why? This entire exam is a setup by Saiki. Even we can't tamper with the watch or GPS signals, but Saiki can. Don't forget, this exam's technical support is provided by Saiki's brother, Saiki Kusuke. The fact that he can create such advanced electronic watches—do you have any idea how terrifying the financial resources behind him must be?"
Tsukishiro seemed to be venting his emotions as he spoke to Shiba.
"Not only that, but I've personally experienced Saiki's terrifying strength. Back when I wanted to expel Ayanokoji, I hid a miniature camera in my clothes, waiting for Ayanokoji to slip up. But when I brushed past Saiki once, I was actually knocked down by him."
"You were knocked down by a high school student?"
Shiba's face showed a look of surprise.
"Yes, that's exactly what happened... And not just that, the camera hidden in my clothes was destroyed by him. I didn't even see him make a move!"
Tsukishiro's voice grew more agitated.
"I see..."
Shiba's forehead broke out in a light sweat as he nodded.
"We'll talk about the rest later... I just hope... those two kids don't provoke Saiki..."
Tsukishiro silently prayed in his heart.
….
Early the next morning, Saiki woke up early, left his tent, and headed toward the designated area.
During this time, he had been feeling targeted by students from other grades, and he decided it was time to earn some more points.
After all, if he didn't do something soon, the entire island might explode.
He looked up at the sky, which was overcast and seemed ready to rain at any moment.
"Is it going to rain soon? I wonder if the exam will continue if it rains."
Saiki muttered to himself as he stepped out of his tent.
It was the seventh day, and yesterday, students had unlocked the ability to use GPS.
This feature was useless to Saiki, so he didn't bother using it.
Because of this, he didn't realize that on the map, someone was approaching him.
….
Meanwhile, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Nanase Tsubasa were also preparing to move to the next area.
"We need to think about how to proceed next."
"Right."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded, looking at the map on his tablet. There were two routes to the next area.
[If we want to reach the destination in the shortest distance, crossing the mountains at D2 and D3 would be faster. If the conditions were the same as before yesterday, I would have chosen this path without hesitation. But the weather isn't great now, and it feels like it's going to rain soon. Once it starts raining, the roads will become difficult to navigate, and the mountain paths will become dangerous.]
"What should we do?"
Nanase Tsubasa leaned forward and asked.
"I think... taking the detour to E2 would be safer."
"From my perspective, I'd prefer to take the mountain path."
Hearing Ayanokoji's answer, Nanase Tsubasa responded this way.
"If it starts raining, the mountain path will become quite dangerous."
"I think most of our competitors will choose to take the longer route due to the weather. But precisely because of that, this is a great opportunity for us. If we can reach the destination before the rain starts, we can earn more points."
"What would you do if I didn't choose to take the mountain path?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka asked tentatively.
"...If that's the case, I'll challenge the mountains alone."
"Being inefficient has its limits. Hosen and Amasawa might not even come to E2."
[Nanase clearly has some goal in mind. I haven't figured out the reason she wants to move together yet. If we part ways here, I might never find out the answer.]
"Alright, if you're determined, I'll climb the mountain with you."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said.
"Thank you."
Nanase Tsubasa nodded, but her expression remained calm.
[Seeing Nanase's expression as she answered, I realized one thing: Nanase is certain that I'll accompany her up the mountain. She must be planning to do something to me there.]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought to himself.
"Then let's start moving right away."
As Nanase Tsubasa spoke, she had already shouldered her backpack and was heading in a certain direction—
However, her gaze gradually turned cold.
[I will bury you there, senpai.]
….
At the same time, Saiki had already reached the first designated area and was heading to the next.
But just then, his telepathy picked up on a thought.
[Saiki, I'm going to make you pay.]
'Yare yare, the troublesome guy is here after all.'
Saiki sighed and shifted his gaze to another direction.
In the direction of his gaze, the towering figure of Hosen Kazuomi emerged.
"What a coincidence, Saiki-senpai. What are you doing here?"
Hosen Kazuomi wore a scornful smile as his eyes locked onto Saiki.
'Yare yare, did he find me using the GPS signal?'
Saiki shook his head slightly—
At the same time, his X-ray vision noticed a walkie-talkie in Hosen's pocket—
[Those two from Class C want to use me to eliminate the second-year groups. That works for me. Although the personal points on Ayanokoji are tempting, before that, I need to settle things with Saiki!]
Saiki immediately understood why the first-years had been targeting him earlier.
They probably wanted to eliminate more second-year groups to ensure the safety of the first-years.
Over the course of the semester, to exact revenge on Saiki, Hosen Kazuomi had been engaging in extreme physical training to increase his strength.
The current Hosen Kazuomi was much stronger than when he had first fought Saiki.
'It's not just this guy who's troublesome.'
Saiki subtly glanced in another direction with the corner of his eye—
There, Yagami Takuya was holding a camera, filming the situation from a distance.
[As long as I can capture footage of the two of them fighting, I win. Whether it's Saiki or Hosen Kazuomi, they'll both have leverage in my hands, and I can use them as I please.]
Yagami Takuya's thoughts were piercingly clear.
However, Hosen Kazuomi didn't notice Yagami's presence.
After confirming with his telepathy that no one else was around, Saiki shook his head again.
Some things couldn't be left unhandled any longer.
"What's wrong, Saiki-senpai? You look troubled. Are you scared of me?"
Hosen Kazuomi wore a mocking smile as he stepped closer to Saiki.
"If you kneel before me, I might go easy on you and only give you a light injury."
As he spoke, Hosen Kazuomi reached out and poked Saiki's shoulder forcefully—
But at that moment, Hosen's finger was suddenly grabbed by Saiki.
"What?!"
Hosen Kazuomi was shocked. The movement was so fast that he hadn't even reacted—
Not only that, but even Yagami Takuya, who was secretly watching from a distance, hadn't seen Saiki's move clearly.
"This guy is so fast!"
Hosen Kazuomi instinctively tried to pull his finger out of Saiki's grip, but it was impossible, as if it were stuck in a block of stone.
"Ah, you guys really bring me too much trouble. In a way, you're even more annoying than Ryuen."
Saiki sighed, then lifted Hosen Kazuomi like a plastic bottle and slammed him into the ground!
"Wh-what?!"
Hosen Kazuomi was completely stunned.
What just happened?
Why was he suddenly on the ground?
It wasn't until a few seconds later that Hosen Kazuomi felt the intense pain.
"You're a bit annoying."
Saiki swung his fist, aiming for Hosen Kazuomi's face. The fierce gust of wind distorted Hosen's features—
In that instant, every cell in Hosen Kazuomi's body trembled, and he was enveloped in overwhelming fear.
It was the feeling of being on the brink of death.
Hosen Kazuomi had never experienced such a feeling before.
However, Saiki's fist didn't land. It stopped just in front of Hosen's face.
And beneath Hosen Kazuomi's pants, a warm liquid began to flow.
His eyes became completely hollow.