"Could Saiki Kusuo be like Ayanokōji Kiyotaka, someone who hides his true abilities?"
'It seems a few people know Ayanokōji's true nature. While your guess isn't wrong, it's better not to know the truth.'
"If that's the case, I might be able to gain two secret weapons from this year's freshmen. Moving from Class D to Class A isn't impossible."
'Well, I have no intention of moving to Class A. It seems too attention-grabbing and makes you a target for others.'
Saiki Kusuo thought to himself.
At school, he could hear the thoughts of countless upperclassmen.
The other classes were constantly scheming to climb the ranks, trying to pull Class A down.
Meanwhile, Class A students were always struggling to maintain their position.
So, Saiki Kusuo had no interest in joining Class A. As long as the monthly points were enough, staying in Class D was fine.
Of course, this was assuming he wouldn't lack points.
While Saiki Kusuo could teleport home every night, he still needed to eat and handle other matters during the day.
The school provided free food and supplies, but they were basic—just enough to keep students from starving.
Saiki Kusuo had seen many upperclassmen in the cafeteria eating only free meals, with no meat. Judging by their thoughts, the taste of those vegetables was far from enjoyable.
Saiki Kusuo couldn't accept such low-quality food.
"I'll talk to Saiki Kusuo later and see if I can get some useful information from him."
Chabashira Sae finished her cigarette and turned to look at Saiki Kusuo in the distance. She had deliberately waited for him on his way back to the dorm—
But she suddenly noticed Saiki Kusuo change direction, walking quickly in the opposite way.
"Saiki!"
Chabashira Sae frowned and called out loudly, stopping Saiki Kusuo just as he was about to leave.
'Was I spotted? I planned to slip away unnoticed, but there are too many cameras in the school. Otherwise, I'd have just teleported.'
Saiki Kusuo turned to face Chabashira Sae, feeling slightly helpless.
'While her goal is to turn Class D into Class A, this teacher is unreliable and unprofessional in every way.'
Chabashira Sae's hands-off approach usually let Saiki Kusuo move freely, but if she tried to extract something from him, it would be troublesome.
Though she didn't know his true strength, Saiki Kusuo didn't want to expose himself or get involved in class advancement struggles.
"Saiki, were you pretending not to see me? As a student, how dare you ignore your homeroom teacher?"
Chabashira Sae's eyebrows furrowed, her gaze sharp and piercing.
"I just remembered leaving something in the library. I was going to get it."
Saiki Kusuo replied calmly.
"Oh? What did you leave?"
"My student card."
Saiki Kusuo answered slowly.
'I don't believe such a coincidence. What a lame excuse, Saiki.'
Chabashira Sae thought, then said,
"Perfect, I was heading to the library too. Let's go together."
"Alright."
Saiki Kusuo nodded and turned back toward the library with Chabashira Sae.
'I don't buy the "left something behind" story. He was probably trying to avoid me.'
Chabashira Sae followed Saiki Kusuo into the library. As they reached the entrance, a staff member came out, his eyes locking onto Saiki Kusuo.
"You're Saiki, right? You borrowed several books earlier, and I remember you! You left your student card behind!"
The staff member handed the card to Saiki Kusuo.
'Did he really leave his card behind?'
Chabashira Sae's eyebrows twitched, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
The moment Saiki Kusuo read her thoughts, he'd used telekinesis to move his card to the library, making it seem like he'd genuinely forgotten it.
'Even forgetting his student card—Saiki Kusuo seems careless. Was it intentional? Unlikely.'
Chabashira Sae's gaze fixed on Saiki Kusuo, her opinion of him dropping slightly.
This was exactly what Saiki Kusuo wanted—he didn't want this troublesome teacher to target him.
"Saiki, your entrance exam scores were exactly average in every subject. Most students have weaknesses in certain subjects, but your ranks are perfectly average in all. Did you intentionally control your scores?"
Chabashira Sae narrowed her eyes.
As she suspected, Saiki Kusuo had deliberately controlled his scores. Using telepathy and x-ray vision, he'd checked others' results during each exam and adjusted his own.
Even without his powers, he could easily score full marks, but he didn't want to draw attention.
'Hmm, controlling scores to be exactly average might still raise suspicion. Next time, I'll vary my ranks slightly. But since exams are taken one by one, controlling the total score will be more complicated.'
Saiki Kusuo thought, then calmly replied:
"You flatter me, Teacher Chabashira. Controlling scores like that is impossible for most people. And to hit the exact average in every subject, wouldn't I need to know everyone else's scores too?"
Chabashira Sae didn't respond.
Controlling scores wasn't impossible—Ayanokōji Kiyotaka scored exactly 50 in every subject.
But if Saiki Kusuo could precisely control his ranks, he'd be far more terrifying than Ayanokōji.