Chapter 31: Hidden Agendas, Are These Really High Schoolers?

[For now, Horikita is a very valuable tool to cultivate. With her as a puppet to draw attention, I can act more freely in the class, which will also help prevent unexpected situations.]

[But before that, she needs to grow a bit first.]

[To become a suitable pawn, Horikita needs to at least become a decent leader in the class. The first step is to improve her interpersonal relationships.]

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought to himself. Bringing Horikita Suzune here was precisely to help her get along better with her classmates.

He knew very well why Horikita Suzune had been placed in this class—it was because of her aloof personality.

To go further, Horikita Suzune needed to be "accepted" by those around her.

What Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't realize was that his inner thoughts had been heard loud and clear by Saiki Kusuo.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was, without a doubt, a strange person.

"Since Chabashira-sensei mentioned that anyone who fails the midterm exams will be expelled, Horikita-san doesn't want anyone in our class to leave. So, she wanted to take this opportunity to discuss with everyone how to prepare for the upcoming exams. She just didn't have a good chance to express her thoughts before."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka further explained.

"I see."

Ike Kanji, standing nearby, nodded in surprise.

[I thought Horikita-san was the type who didn't care about her classmates at all... I didn't expect her to actually care about them.]

'Your original assumption wasn't wrong.'

Saiki Kusuo responded to Ike Kanji's thoughts in his mind.

[I don't care what happens to you deadweights. If possible, I'd rather you all get expelled so you don't drag the class down.]

[If it weren't for Ayanokoji's warning that 'someone getting expelled might affect the class's evaluation,' I wouldn't have come here.]

[I want to rise to Class A, and I absolutely won't let you people hold me back!]

At this moment, Horikita Suzune was muttering these thoughts to herself.

Saiki Kusuo sighed inwardly. Horikita Suzune's aloof personality was also a problem.

And yet, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wanted to "use" her?

However, thanks to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's explanation, the others seemed to have a slightly better impression of Horikita Suzune.

[What's with the act? It's disgusting to watch.]

Without even thinking, Saiki Kusuo knew the source of this thought was Kushida Kikyo.

If he were to broadcast their inner thoughts to everyone right now, the situation would likely spiral out of control.

Saiki Kusuo didn't want them causing a scene in his room.

[Saiki's room is very clean, with almost no trash. It's as if he hasn't been sleeping here much. Could it be that Saiki doesn't actually sleep in the dorm at night?]

Just then, Saiki Kusuo caught another thought, and his heart skipped a beat.

The source of this thought was none other than Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

After entering Saiki Kusuo's room, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka began observing his surroundings, trying to deduce Saiki Kusuo's identity from the smallest details.

'This guy... is even more troublesome than I expected. His observational skills are terrifying.'

Saiki Kusuo was already thinking about how to explain himself.

[No, the possibility is very low. Saiki's room is located deep in the dorm. If he left at night, other classmates would have noticed. And even if he did leave, where would he stay? Unless it's someone else's room, but that's also unlikely. If he stayed elsewhere regularly, someone would've noticed. Besides, there's no special reason for him to do that.]

[For now, it's more likely that Saiki is just a neat freak. That's why his room is spotless, with no trash.]

Saiki Kusuo breathed a sigh of relief in his mind. Although he was now labeled as a neat freak, it was still better than Ayanokoji Kiyotaka discovering the truth.

While Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had sharp observational skills and high intelligence, psychic abilities were beyond his comprehension.

[The snacks Saiki brought back are mostly sweet. I've seen him a few times in the cafeteria, and he always buys sweets. It seems he really likes such foods. Is it just a personal preference? If someone engages in intense mental work for long periods, they need to replenish sugar. It's possible...]

'It's just that I like sweets.'

[There are a few mystery novels on the table. Saiki seems to occasionally visit the library, probably to borrow books. I don't dislike reading either. Mystery novels can help train one's reasoning skills, so Saiki's logical reasoning ability shouldn't be bad. Maybe I can use mystery novels as a topic to get closer to Saiki and gather more information.]

'I'll just say I read them to pass the time.'

[For now, there's no way to get more information about Saiki. He has a habit of reading mystery novels and likes sweets. These more or less indicate that he has a decent mind, but that's all I can gather for now. Is he really someone sent by that man? But if he's from the White Room, there's no way he can surpass me.]

'What White Room? What that man? That has nothing to do with me.'

If possible, Saiki Kusuo would've liked to tell Ayanokoji Kiyotaka directly that he had nothing to do with the White Room.

But that was impossible.

'First, I need to figure out how to dispel Ayanokoji's suspicions about me... Damn it... Being placed in this school was definitely not a good idea.'

Saiki Kusuo hadn't expected his high school life to be so exhausting.

He needed to quickly dispel the others' suspicions about him, or the next three years would be full of trouble...

"Since everyone's here, let's get started! I brought a lot of snacks!"

Despite her inner curses toward Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo didn't show any of her emotions on her face. Instead, she looked very cheerful.

"Alright, let's start!"