On the surface, rock-paper-scissors seems like a game of luck, but Nagumo Miyabi could minimize the element of chance to the lowest possible degree.
Out of the sixteen participants, aside from Saiki, the other fourteen were all Nagumo Miyabi's subordinates.
Whenever they faced Nagumo, they would automatically let him win.
Therefore, Nagumo Miyabi believed he had a significant advantage in this exam. Saiki didn't stand a chance against him.
Unless Saiki was truly favored by the goddess of luck—
However, luck was something Saiki could control.
'After all, I've never lost a game of rock-paper-scissors.'
Saiki thought to himself.
"Then, Saiki-kun, let's see whose luck is better."
Nagumo Miyabi said with a smile.
Soon, the teacher in charge of the task divided the sixteen students into two groups. Nagumo Miyabi was paired with another third-year student, while Saiki was paired with Kiriyama Ikuto.
"I'm going to play paper."
Nagumo Miyabi wore a relaxed expression as he looked at his opponent and declared what he would play next.
Normally, if someone said something like this during a game of rock-paper-scissors, it might be to psychologically mislead the opponent and predict their move.
The more you think, the more likely you are to make a mistake.
But Nagumo Miyabi had no such intention. His purpose in saying this was simple: to declare what he would play.
"Not just for the next round, but for this entire task, I will only play paper!"
Nagumo Miyabi raised his voice so that everyone present could hear him.
After he declared what he would play, his subordinates naturally understood his meaning.
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
The two players made their moves simultaneously. As expected, Nagumo Miyabi played paper, while his opponent played rock.
The same thing happened in the second round.
"Nagumo Miyabi from Class 3-A advances."
After the teacher announced Nagumo's advancement, he smiled, walked over to Saiki, and patted him on the shoulder.
'Yare yare, it seems like my luck is pretty good today.'
After saying this, Nagumo Miyabi turned and walked away to rest.
The other groups soon finished their matches, and it was finally time for Saiki and Kiriyama Ikuto to face off.
"Saiki, I told you not to interfere with me in this exam, didn't I?"
Kiriyama Ikuto said to Saiki.
"I'm not interfering. I'm just following my own plan."
Saiki replied expressionlessly,
"However, your actions seem to deviate from Horikita-senpai's approach."
Hearing Saiki's words, Kiriyama Ikuto pursed his lips and didn't respond immediately. After a few seconds of silence, he continued,
"Saiki, I hope you lose in this exam."
"Why?"
"Because if you offend Nagumo, your life at this school will become very difficult. You know that, right?"
Kiriyama Ikuto paused, then added,
"If you give up on this exam, you can become friends with Nagumo. After that, you'll definitely enjoy many advantages at school."
'Yare yare, if only that were true.'
Saiki sighed inwardly.
Because he could clearly hear Nagumo Miyabi's thoughts from not far away.
[Saiki, since you want to face me head-on, I absolutely can't miss this opportunity. No matter what, I have to settle this with you. After all, Horikita-senpai is gone, and you're the only one who can give me some excitement now.]
[And....]
[The humiliation I suffered at the hands of your brother, I'll repay you for that! I absolutely won't allow you to withdraw from this exam midway!]
'Even if I intentionally lose, he won't let me off, will he?'
'Besides, I can't afford to lose in this exam.'
'Otherwise, the entire island might sink.'
Saiki thought to himself.
"I'm also going to play paper. It's up to you."
Kiriyama Ikuto frowned, looking at Saiki with utmost seriousness.
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
Kiriyama Ikuto did as he said and played paper.
Saiki played scissors.
"Saiki! Do you know what you're doing?!"
Kiriyama Ikuto shouted, his voice trembling slightly,
"What you're doing is only causing trouble for both of us."
'Actually, losing would cause even more trouble.'
Saiki thought to himself.
"Kiriyama-kun, please watch your behavior."
The teacher, noticing Kiriyama Ikuto's agitation, immediately stepped in to give a stern warning. Kiriyama Ikuto had no choice but to calm down.
It was a best-of-three match, and he had already lost the first round.
"Saiki, you'd better think carefully!"
Kiriyama Ikuto lowered his voice, but his expression grew even more serious,
"This is my last warning to you. This time, I'll still play paper. If you interfere with my plans, it won't end well for either of us!"
Although Kiriyama Ikuto said this to Saiki, his true thoughts were completely different.
[It seems Saiki absolutely won't compromise with Nagumo..... And I don't want to walk away from this exam empty-handed either.]
[Tracking Saiki has already taken up too much time, and I even missed the designated area. If I don't earn any points in this exam, the gap between me and Saiki will only grow wider.]
[Nagumo wants to take first place, and I can't defy him..... So, if I can secure third or even second place, that would be ideal. I'll pretend to give Saiki a chance. If he insists on opposing Nagumo, he'll definitely go against my instructions and play scissors..... Then I'll play rock. Even if this makes it harder for Saiki to trust me in the future, at least it'll put us back on equal footing.]
Kiriyama Ikuto was already scheming in his mind—
However, Saiki heard everything.
'Sorry, but the person standing in front of you has never lost a single game of rock-paper-scissors in over 200 matches.'
Saiki thought to himself as he and Kiriyama Ikuto prepared for the second round.
Kiriyama Ikuto played rock—
Saiki played paper.
"What?!"
Seeing Saiki's clenched fist, Kiriyama Ikuto was completely stunned.
Why did Saiki play paper?
Kiriyama had said he would play paper. If Saiki wanted to win the task, he would play scissors. If he wanted to cooperate with Nagumo, he would play rock.....
But instead, he played paper?
Kiriyama Ikuto was momentarily dumbfounded, completely unsure of what was happening.
A few seconds later, a terrifying thought occurred to him.
Saiki had completely predicted what he would play.
Even his plan to trap Saiki had been seen through.
[No, that's impossible, right?]
Kiriyama Ikuto was in a daze.
Seeing the outcome of their match, Nagumo Miyabi burst into laughter.
"Interesting, interesting! Saiki, you really are an interesting opponent!"
The competition continued, and in the end, only Saiki and Nagumo Miyabi remained.
Nagumo Miyabi, using his position as student council president, had easily advanced to the final round.
He had declared that he would only play paper, so the others had no choice but to play rock.
However, Nagumo Miyabi was curious about how Saiki had made it to the finals.
Saiki hadn't lost a single round.
Was his luck really that good?
Nagumo Miyabi couldn't help but wonder.
"I've already said that in this task, I will only play paper."
Nagumo Miyabi stood in front of Saiki and said with a smile,
"And the other students probably thought this was just a bluff, so they didn't believe me and lost."
'They wouldn't dare play anything other than rock.'
"Although rock-paper-scissors seems like a game of luck, just a few words can completely change the nature of the game."
'Though I don't need to say anything.'
"Simply saying something like 'I'm going to play this' can plant something in others' minds, making them overthink and turning the game from one of luck into a battle of information and psychology."
'I just use telepathy.'
"Saiki-kun, I'm sure your thinking is exactly the same as mine. You've been using this to win, haven't you? Minimizing the element of luck—that's your strategy."
'I haven't said a word, and for me, there's no such thing as luck.'
Saiki responded in his mind.
"I've said it before, I'll still play paper. Saiki, how will you respond?"
[If I say I'll play paper, will Saiki believe me? In every previous round, I've played paper—but he knows better than to take my words at face value. That's how Kiriyama lost to him earlier.]
[If we assume Saiki won't believe me, then just like before, I'll play rock, and he'll play paper... So, I should play scissors. But I'm not as simple-minded as Kiriyama. I need to think further ahead. Saiki will definitely think of this too, so he'll play rock, and I'll need to play paper...]
[Although it seems like a simple game of rock-paper-scissors, the underlying battle is quite intense. It's been a while since I've felt this excited, Saiki!]
'.....Can rock-paper-scissors really be this complicated? It shouldn't be.....'
Saiki felt a bit helpless, completely unaware that Nagumo Miyabi could overthink a simple game of rock-paper-scissors to this extent.
[Saiki, I'm sure you're also thinking about your strategy right now, analyzing my psychology just like I'm analyzing yours.]
'No..... not at all... I'm not thinking about anything. I'm just waiting for you to decide what to play.'
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah..."
The teacher stepped between the two and signaled the start of the task—
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
Nagumo Miyabi and Saiki both made their moves simultaneously.
Nagumo Miyabi spread his fingers, playing paper, just as he had declared.
However, the others thought Nagumo was simply sticking to his earlier declaration and playing paper, completely unaware of the mental gymnastics he had gone through.
On the other hand, Saiki played—
Scissors.
"Scissors?"
Saiki won the first round!
Seeing Saiki's scissors, Nagumo Miyabi was momentarily stunned, completely unprepared for this outcome.
[Saiki..... Did Saiki see through all my thoughts?]
'In a way, yes.'
[He's always one step ahead of me... As expected of Saiki! I'm starting to understand why Horikita-senpai values you so much!]
'I'm not thinking that much at all!'
[I've been pushed to the edge, but this battle isn't over yet.]
'Rock-paper-scissors.... can't really be called a battle, can it?'
"Let's continue to the second round."
Nagumo Miyabi said with a smile.
[Saiki's thinking is ahead of mine. I need to think even further.]
[Does he think I'll still play paper this round? If so....]
Nagumo Miyabi began another round of mental gymnastics, considering all possibilities.
Finally, he looked up, having come up with a new idea—
[Saiki thinks far ahead, so he'll definitely expect me to change my strategy, right?]
[What if I don't change at all?]
[Saiki expects me to adjust, but I'll stick to the same strategy as before. Most people learn from their mistakes and change their tactics after a loss, but that might not work on Saiki. So, I'll keep my original strategy. Saiki would never expect me to stay the same!]
'I know now.'
Saiki responded in his mind.
"Then let's start the second round. Rock, paper, scissors!"
At the teacher's signal, the two made their moves simultaneously.
Nagumo Miyabi still played paper—
And Saiki still played scissors.
"?"
The confident smile on Nagumo Miyabi's face froze.
[Why why why? Why did Saiki play scissors again?!]
[Could it be....]
[Could it be that he even anticipated my unchanged strategy?]
Nagumo Miyabi was completely baffled.
The other students watching were equally confused, struggling to understand what was happening.
[Is Nagumo really that stubborn about playing that damn paper?!]