Ichinose Honami lowered her head, her gaze somewhat evasive, occasionally glancing into the distance, the expression on her face looking somewhat troubled.
'Ichinose actually needs my help? That's really rare. This is my rare time to rest without being disturbed.'
In his heart, Saiki was, of course, rejecting, but he also recalled the events that had happened these past few days.
'Ichinose's face actually showed such a troubled expression, she must have encountered a rather troublesome matter. If it's something like Sakura's case, then I can't ignore it.'
'And although I really don't want to get involved in too much trouble, after all, Ichinose also put in a lot of effort for our class and that guy Sudo. To directly refuse probably wouldn't be good.'
'But what exactly is it that she's coming to me for? I really want to take off the ring, No, I can't give up here, I absolutely cannot overly rely on this superpower.'
Saiki was thinking this in his heart, realizing that he didn't really have the right to complain about Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's noisy thoughts.
"What's the matter?"
Saiki immediately agreed, planning to help her solve the problem quickly, so he could make it to the school's cinema before it closed to watch a movie.
"I originally wanted to contact you on the phone earlier, but for a moment, I didn't know how to start."
Ichinose Honami maintained a troubled expression on her face.
"It's like this, I probably… maybe… will be confessed to here."
'Being confessed to here?'
Saiki quickly looked around. There was no one around here. It was just that Saiki had deliberately taken a shortcut in order to reach the cinema as quickly as possible without using his powers.
He didn't expect to encounter Ichinose Honami here.
'This is behind the school building, and it's still a long time before the end of school. Normally, students wouldn't come here, judging from Ichinose's reaction, she clearly doesn't want to accept this confession, and she looks very troubled.'
'Could it be, is it really a situation similar to Sakura's? After all, this school has all kinds of strange people.'
'If that's the case, then it seems I also have to think of a way to deal with them. What ability should I use to teach them a lesson?'
"It's like this… I don't know how to reject people, and I don't want to hurt them… I searched the internet for a long time, and finally found a relatively reliable method."
Ichinose Honami spoke seriously, holding a love letter in her hands.
'So it's just that she doesn't know how to reject the other person... wait, I have a bad feeling about this.'
Saiki immediately realized something was wrong. 'Don't tell me it's that classic trope from third-rate novels and third-rate anime...'
"I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend…"
"I refuse." Without the slightest hesitation, Saiki refused her directly.
Being able to be Ichinose Honami's boyfriend, even if only pretend, would be an irresistible temptation for many boys, but Saiki was very clear, for him, this would be an abyss with no return.
'Yare yare, if I agreed to her request, and this matter got out, the consequences would be unimaginable. Not only would I be the focus of everyone's attention, I might even become the thorn in the eyes of those with deep grudges.'
In Saiki's heart, he almost heard voices like "Kill him" and such.
"Ichinose… who is he?"
And at this moment, behind the two of them, came a strange voice.
Shiranami Chihiro, this was the name of the girl who spoke.
'Wait, what's going on, it's a girl?'
Saiki cast his gaze on Shiranami Chihiro, immediately guessing she was the one who wrote the love letter to Ichinose Honami. But he didn't expect the situation would develop like this.
'I wonder what's really going through their minds... geez, I really don't want to be dragged into this ridiculous event. If some unfounded rumors spread about me later, then my dream of a peaceful school life will be completely shattered.'
Now, Saiki didn't have much choice. He could only choose to secretly take off his ring.
And the moment he took off the ring, the once quiet world became noisy again.
[Love! I love Ichinose so much! I want to always be with Ichinose! Love love love!]
[But… who is this guy? Why is there a boy here?]
[Don't tell me… this person is Ichinose's…]
'Oi oi oi, feels like I've already become someone's target before anything even started.'
Saiki thought in his heart. Only now did he, for the first time, feel the benefit of the mind-reading ability.
'Now there's only one problem left: how do I get out of this situation unscathed.'
"His name is Saiki… he is… he is…"
Ichinose Honami wanted to say something, but couldn't get a word out for a long time.
[I've always treated Shiranami as a good friend… but being confessed to by a girl in the same class… has never happened before… and I don't have such feelings either…]
Hearing Ichinose Honami's inner voice, Saiki suddenly had an idea.
In the next instant, Saiki used his telepathic transmission ability to broadcast Ichinose Honami's inner thoughts.
"I'm really sorry, Shiranami-san. I don't want to hurt you… but I don't have those kinds of feelings…" Ichinose Honami's eyes widened sharply, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.
[I-I accidentally said it out loud?]
'Sorry, I was the one who directly conveyed your inner thoughts.'
Saiki answered in his mind.
'On one hand, I don't want to get involved in these matters; on the other hand, in this situation, expressing your true thoughts is probably the best way to resolve it. If you respond with lies, it might actually cause even more serious hurt… I should avoid this scene. Although I really want to leave right now, it's obviously not the right timing.'
As Saiki thought this, he silently walked to the side, waiting for the inevitable outcome.
"...So that's how it is… I see now… but still, thank you so much!"
After hearing Ichinose Honami's words, Shiranami Chihiro's eyes welled up with tears, which soon overflowed uncontrollably. Then she quickly fled the scene.
'Confession failed, for ordinary people going through puberty, this kind of thing shouldn't be rare. Although it wasn't perfectly resolved, this matter is more or less settled. It's getting late, and the cinema is about to close. If I don't go now…'
"Saiki-kun, may I talk to you for a bit?"
Watching as Shiranami Chihiro's figure vanished into the distance, Ichinose Honami looked somewhat listless, as though she was lost in thought, and slowly walked over to Saiki's side.
'Now I really can't leave, can I?' Saiki thought helplessly, but in this kind of situation, he couldn't leave right away.
"I understand now what you meant by refusing me directly."
Ichinose Honami first lowered her head, then raised it again, her gaze focused on Saiki's face.
'Good, as long as you understand. Don't throw this kind of troublesome thing on others so casually. This could literally endanger someone's life, you know.'
Saiki replied in his mind. If that idiotic trio misunderstood something, he might be endlessly pestered.
"You wanted me to understand that I should respond seriously to this matter, right?"
'If you put it that way, I guess that's not wrong. But mainly, I wanted to avoid trouble coming to me.'
"Confessing your feelings to someone isn't something that should be taken lightly… she must have summoned a lot of courage to come here. If I just brushed it off, it would only make both of us regret it. I didn't think of that before. But after accidentally speaking from the heart in front of Chihiro, I finally understood."
"I was wrong. I didn't try to understand Chihiro's feelings, and only wanted to find a way to avoid hurting her. That was wrong of me."
Ichinose Honami shook her head, but her face now showed a bit of brightness.
"Thank you so much, Saiki-kun! If it wasn't for you, I probably would've always felt guilty towards her. Thank you very much for today and for doing something so strange."
"No problem."
Saiki could only nod, hoping Ichinose Honami would quickly wrap up the topic.
"By the way, Saiki-kun, sorry, our class didn't manage to collect any eyewitness evidence either. But we did find out information about the three people who fought with Sudo."
"One of them is named Ishizaki Daichi. I heard he was a delinquent at his previous school, constantly getting into fights, practically notorious. The other two are also members of the basketball team… I don't believe Sudo could have beaten all three of them alone."
"Thanks a lot." Saiki nodded. Although he already knew the relevant details, the name Ishizaki Daichi could still save him a bit of trouble in the future.
"Also, did your teacher mention anything about taking you all on a trip during summer vacation?"
"Not at all." Saiki shook his head. Whether it was true or not, he had no interest in participating.
Ichinose Honami then chatted with Saiki about many topics. By the time the conversation ended, the sky had already darkened.
"It's so late already. Sorry! I took up too much of your time, Saiki-kun!"
"No problem. Goodbye."
Saiki then rushed to the cinema at full speed, but what met his eyes was a line of large words on the signboard, "Closed today for equipment maintenance."
'...%￥#...%*...'
Saiki, for a moment, didn't know what to say, stood dazedly in place, and only after several seconds did he come back to his senses, able only to walk away from the cinema with somewhat absent-minded steps.
'Day after day, what is even going on…'
'If I had used my telepathy earlier, I should have known in advance that the cinema wasn't open today… and I wouldn't have encountered today's strange situation either.'
'No no no, stay calm. It's just that I didn't get to watch the movie. Anyway, I already have the ring, I can just go watch it tomorrow… gotta keep a peaceful mindset.'
As Saiki thought this, he walked toward the dormitory and also put the ring away.
And right at that moment, he heard a very familiar voice.
[Shizuku lives around here, right? No mistake, no mistake, I remember the new student seems to live in this building!]
[It's all that damn glasses guy's fault. Otherwise, I could've gotten Shizuku's personal camera. Not only could I feel Shizuku's body warmth, see Shizuku's private photos, I could've also gotten Shizuku's phone number! That way, I could find Shizuku anytime in the future!]
[Damn it, that glasses guy ruined my good chance! But Shizuku will definitely come out, right? As long as I keep watch here, I'll eventually see Shizuku!]
'Yare yare, did I run into you at just the right time?'
Saiki's eyebrow twitched slightly. The voice he heard was exactly that of the store clerk from earlier in the day. The other party had found the dormitory building where Sakura Airi lived and was preparing to stake it out, wanting to meet her.
A complete and utter stalker.
'I was already planning to properly teach you a lesson, but I didn't expect you'd deliver yourself right to my door? Perfect, just perfect, it's not like I'm taking this chance to vent my frustration or anything!'
Saiki activated his invisibility technique, concealed his presence, and quietly followed behind the man, while all sorts of filthy thoughts were constantly popping up in the man's mind.
And Saiki was also preparing to make a move.
'How many surveillance cameras are around here?'
Saiki activated his psychokinesis, and the surrounding security cameras moved as if they had a life of their own, shifting their lenses to other directions.
At this moment, there was no more surveillance here.
'Then now it's your turn!'
Saiki raised his hand, and not far away, the clerk's entire body was as if picked up and twisted by an invisible giant.
"What's going on?! What's going on?!"
Before the clerk could even react, Saiki's hand turned slightly, and the clerk spun through the air like a yo-yo. However, Saiki still controlled the speed and strength, avoiding excessive force that would've made the guy turn into melted butter like someone from a certain series.
[What's happening———————————— ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah————]
The clerk didn't even have time to let out a proper scream in that instant, but his mind was constantly screaming.
After one minute, the spinning finally stopped. The clerk's consciousness was already fuzzy, and he couldn't even stand. He could only crouch on the ground, vomiting.
[#￥￥…%&%&￥…*]
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