"For now, Horikita is a highly valuable tool to cultivate. With her as a puppet drawing attention, I can move more freely within the class, which also helps prevent unexpected situations."
"But before that, she needs to grow first."
"To become a suitable pawn, Horikita must at least become a decent leader in the class. First, she needs to improve her relationships with others."
Ayanokōji Kiyotaka thought this as he brought Horikita Suzune here, hoping to slightly improve her relationship with the other classmates.
He knew very well why Horikita Suzune had been assigned to this class—it was because of her aloof personality.
To take things further, Horikita Suzune needed to be 'accepted' by those around her.
Little did Ayanokōji Kiyotaka know that his inner thoughts had already been clearly heard by Saiki Kusuo.
Ayanokōji Kiyotaka was undoubtedly a strange person.
"As Chabashira-sensei mentioned, anyone who fails the upcoming midterm exams will be expelled. Horikita doesn't want anyone in our class to leave, so she wanted to take this opportunity to discuss how we can prepare for the exams. She just didn't have a good chance to express herself earlier."
Ayanokōji Kiyotaka explained further.
"I see."
Ike Kanji nodded slightly, looking surprised.
"I thought Horikita was the type who didn't care about her classmates at all... I didn't expect her to actually be concerned about them."
'Your original assumption wasn't wrong,'
Saiki Kusuo responded to Ike Kanji's inner thoughts.
"I don't care what happens to you people holding us back. If possible, I'd rather you all got expelled so you wouldn't drag down our class."
"If it weren't for Ayanokōji saying that 'someone getting expelled might affect the class ranking,' I wouldn't even be here."
"I'm determined to move up to Class A, and I won't let any of you hold me back!"
At that moment, Horikita Suzune muttered to herself.
Saiki Kusuo felt a bit helpless. Horikita Suzune's aloof personality was indeed a problem.
And Ayanokōji Kiyotaka actually wanted to 'use' someone like her?
However, thanks to Ayanokōji Kiyotaka's words, the others seemed to slightly warm up to Horikita Suzune.
"What's with that act? It's disgusting to watch."
Without even thinking, Saiki Kusuo knew the voice belonged to Kushida Kikyō.
If he were to transmit their inner thoughts directly to everyone else right now, the situation would likely spiral out of control.
Saiki Kusuo didn't want them causing chaos in his room.
"Saiki's room is so clean—there's not even a speck of trash. It's like he's never really slept here. Could it be that Saiki doesn't actually sleep in the dorms every night?"
Just then, Saiki Kusuo picked up another thought, and his heart skipped a beat upon hearing it.
The voice belonged to Ayanokōji Kiyotaka.
After entering Saiki Kusuo's room, Ayanokōji Kiyotaka began observing his surroundings, trying to piece together clues about Saiki Kusuo's identity.
'This guy... is even more troublesome than I expected. His observational skills are terrifying.'
Saiki Kusuo started thinking of an explanation.
"No, the chances are very low. Saiki's room is located in a more secluded area. If he left the dorms at night, other classmates would have seen him. And even if he did leave, where could he stay? Unless it's in someone else's dorm, which is also unlikely. If he's been staying elsewhere, others would have noticed by now. Plus, there's no real reason for him to do that."
"At this point, it's more likely that Saiki is a clean freak. That's why his room is spotless, without a single piece of trash."
Saiki Kusuo sighed in relief. Being labeled a clean freak was better than having the truth discovered.
While Ayanokōji Kiyotaka had strong observational skills and high intelligence, supernatural abilities were still beyond his understanding.
"The snacks Saiki brings back are mostly sweets. I've seen him in the cafeteria a few times, and he always buys sweet treats. He seems to really enjoy them. Is it just a personal preference? If someone engages in intense mental work for long periods, they need to replenish sugar. Maybe..."
'He just likes eating them.'
"There are a few mystery novels on the desk. Saiki seems to visit the library occasionally, probably to borrow related books. I don't mind reading either, and mystery novels can sharpen one's reasoning skills to some extent. Saiki's logical reasoning must be decent. Later, I could intentionally bring up mystery novels as a topic to get closer to him and probe for more information."
'I'll just say I read them to pass the time.'
"For now, there's no way to gather more information about Saiki. He reads mystery novels and likes sweets, which suggests he has a good mind. But that's all I can gather for now. Is he really the man sent by the White Room? But anyone from the White Room is no match for me."
'What White Room? What man? That's got nothing to do with me.'
If possible, Saiki Kusuo would have loved to tell Ayanokōji Kiyotaka directly that he had nothing to do with the White Room.
But that was impossible.
'First, I need to find a way to dispel Ayanokōji's suspicions... Damn... Being placed in this school is nothing but trouble.'
Before enrolling, Saiki Kusuo never imagined his high school life would be this exhausting.
He had to dispel the others' suspicions about him quickly, or the next three years would be nothing but trouble...
"Since everyone's here, let's get started! I brought lots of snacks for everyone!"
Though she was cursing Horikita Suzune in her mind, Kushida Kikyō showed no emotion on her face, appearing cheerful instead.
"Alright, let's begin!"