Chapter 34: Provoking a Psychic? Getting Knocked Out Hard!

At this moment, Kushida Kikyo was kicking the railing in front of her, cursing Horikita Suzune nonstop. This was completely different from her usual demeanor.

Normally, Kushida Kikyo might hate Horikita Suzune in her heart, but she would never show it on her face. Most people wouldn't notice, and even someone as observant as Ayanokoji Kiyotaka probably hadn't figured out her true nature yet.

However, maintaining such a facade for a long time had built up immense pressure, and now Kushida Kikyo wanted to vent all her emotions while no one was around.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! That damn woman!"

Kushida Kikyo continued to vent her emotions, kicking the railing hard, producing a sharp, metallic clang.

Anyone who knew Kushida Kikyo would find it hard to connect the hysterical girl in front of them with the friendly and cheerful Kushida they usually saw.

It was already quite late, and there weren't many people around, so Kushida Kikyo wasn't worried about being seen—

But in her emotional outburst, she didn't notice that Saiki Kusuo was standing behind a tree not far away.

'Yare yare, the timing isn't great. Maybe I should just go back.'

Saiki Kusuo didn't want to cause himself too much trouble, so he decided to turn around and leave.

Just then, the phone in his hand suddenly buzzed. Someone had sent Kushida Kikyo a message.

'Oh no, why would someone message Kushida at a time like this?'

Saiki Kusuo looked down and saw the name "Ike Kanji" on the screen.

Ike Kanji: Kushida-san, are you free tomorrow?

Ike Kanji: I accidentally bought an extra movie ticket. Want to go together?

'...'

For a moment, Saiki Kusuo had the urge to make Ike Kanji disappear from the face of the earth.

"Who's there?!"

At the same time, Kushida Kikyo had heard the noise and was now storming toward Saiki Kusuo's location.

'It's too late to activate Invisibility now. It takes a minute to prepare.'

'Teleporting away isn't ideal either. Although this area doesn't seem to have surveillance, there are cameras along the way. If Kushida decides to check the footage later, it'll be a bit of a hassle.'

'But luckily, I have a backup plan.'

Thinking this, Saiki Kusuo stepped out from behind the tree.

"Saiki?"

At this moment, Kushida Kikyo frowned, her eyes filled with murderous intent, completely different from her usual cute demeanor.

[Why is Saiki Kusuo here? Did he hear me? Did he hear everything?]

"Did you... hear anything just now?"

Kushida Kikyo's sharp gaze locked onto Saiki Kusuo's face, trying to catch any hint of his thoughts.

"No, what are you talking about?"

Saiki Kusuo replied expressionlessly, without hesitation. If he could play dumb and get away with it, that would be best.

Hearing Saiki Kusuo's answer, Kushida Kikyo was momentarily stunned. She hadn't expected him to deny it so confidently.

[This bastard, what's he playing at? At this distance, he definitely heard me!]

Kushida Kikyo's eyebrow twitched slightly as she leaned forward, her nose almost touching Saiki Kusuo's, her gaze still fixed on him.

However, Kushida Kikyo didn't expect Saiki Kusuo's expression to remain completely unchanged.

"You really didn't hear anything?"

"No."

[How is that possible? He definitely heard me!]

'If you don't believe me, why keep asking?'

Saiki Kusuo complained in his mind.

[I can't believe this guy is still playing dumb. I can't let this slide. If he tells anyone what he saw today, it'll ruin my image!]

[I absolutely, absolutely cannot let that happen again. I have to maintain my perfect image! Absolutely!]

[I need to find a way to shut Saiki Kusuo up. How about this—make him leave fingerprints on my chest and accuse him of misconduct to threaten him! That'll keep him quiet for now. Later, I'll find a way to get him expelled!]

'Hey, hey, you're just a high schooler. How can you think of doing something like this? This is ridiculous.'

Saiki Kusuo's expression remained completely unchanged the entire time. He already knew what Kushida Kikyo was planning.

'Trying to provoke a psychic? I can't just sit back and do nothing.'

"Saiki, stop playing dumb. I know you heard everything. I'm warning you—don't you dare tell anyone!"

Kushida Kikyo suddenly stepped forward, grabbing Saiki Kusuo's hand and trying to press it against her chest to leave a "fingerprint."

But no matter how hard she pulled, Saiki Kusuo's arm didn't budge an inch.

"What?!"

Kushida Kikyo couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. She hadn't expected the seemingly frail Saiki Kusuo to have such strength.

[What's going on?! I used so much force. There's no way someone with his build could be this strong! What's happening?!]

In front of Kushida Kikyo, Saiki Kusuo stood like a statue, unmoving.

'Yare yare, I can't just use mind control casually. Guess I'll have to use that ability.'

Saiki Kusuo thought to himself, first making sure there were no cameras around and using his telepathy to confirm no one else was nearby. Then, he placed his hands behind his back, and a banana-shaped object suddenly appeared in his hand.

"Look, Horikita's over there."

"What?"

Just as Kushida Kikyo was momentarily distracted, the peculiar object in Saiki Kusuo's hand slammed into her cute face. Kushida Kikyo immediately lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

This was Saiki Kusuo's memory-erasing ability. When struck by the object resembling a TV mascot, the target would lose the last minute of their memory.

However, this ability wasn't a straightforward deletion. The erased memory would be filled in by the brain, and Saiki Kusuo couldn't control what the brain would replace it with.

'In any case, let's erase the memory of us accidentally meeting here.'

Saiki Kusuo muttered to himself.