Chapter 81: Yamauchi Haruki? Could He Be a Hidden Master?

"Kusuo-kun... please, please go on a date with me..."

Near the ship's rest area, Saiki heard Sakura muttering something to herself as if rehearsing lines.

Although she stammered and couldn't get a complete sentence out, Saiki could use his telepathy to understand what she was trying to say.

[Kusuo-kun... please go on a date with me!]

[No... I can't say it...]

[I... I have no idea how to say it...]

'Yare yare, it seems Sakura has some strange feelings for me.'

Saiki thought to himself with a blank expression.

'I don't want to attract too much attention. Having Ayanokoji around is already more than enough...'

Following his usual approach, Saiki would try to dispel her unrealistic thoughts.

[If it weren't for Kusuo-kun... I probably wouldn't even dare to talk to others. Kusuo-kun is my only friend in this school.]

'Yare yare, let's deal with this later.'

Saiki narrowed his eyes slightly and then approached Sakura Airi.

"Kusuo-kun?! You're already here?"

The moment she saw Saiki, Sakura Airi's face lit up with a surprised smile, but she quickly returned to her usual demeanor.

"Sakura-san, is there something you need?"

Saiki asked.

Although Sakura Airi had gotten permission from Saiki to call him by his first name, Saiki still addressed her by her last name.

"Um... Kusuo-kun, are you free recently?"

"I don't have much going on lately."

"If it's okay... could you..."

Sakura Airi looked up, her gaze falling on Saiki. Her cheeks instantly turned red, and she quickly shifted her eyes elsewhere.

The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't get them out. She lowered her head, her body trembling slightly.

"Is this about your group?"

Saiki cut her off and asked directly.

"Yeah..."

Interrupted by Saiki's words, the tiny bit of courage Sakura Airi had mustered instantly vanished.

As she spoke, Sakura Airi quickly pulled out her phone and showed Saiki the list of her group members.

Sudo Ken and Ike Kanji.

Just seeing the list, Saiki knew this would be an unparalleled ordeal for Sakura Airi.

Saiki could imagine how helpless Sakura Airi must have felt during the meeting.

[What the heck? Saiki is meeting with Sakura privately?!]

Saiki could hear the creepy thoughts of Yamauchi, who was hiding around the corner not far behind him.

Yamauchi, who happened to be passing by, heard Sakura Airi's voice and decided to eavesdrop.

However, he would never have guessed that Saiki already knew his location.

[Damn it, Saiki! How dare he sneak out with Sakura behind my back?!]

'Hey, hey, it's not like I snuck out with her. She's the one who asked me out. And besides, I don't need your permission.'

[Could it be that Saiki is also interested in Sakura? I never expected Saiki to betray me like this!]

'Absolutely not. And when it comes to being creepy, you're on a whole different level.'

[Damn it, I'll confront Saiki later! This guy! For now, I'll just eavesdrop on their conversation.]

'This has nothing to do with me.'

Saiki felt a bit helpless. The creepy gaze fixed on him from behind was making him uncomfortable.

"...So that's the situation with my group... Kusuo-kun, what do you think?"

"Sorry, I'm not very familiar with this kind of thing."

Saiki shrugged.

[Kusuo-kun! Kusuo-kun! Sakura just called him by his first name! I can't accept this! She's never even called me by my name!]

'She's never even greeted you, has she?'

Saiki's patience with the ridiculous presence behind him had reached its limit. He secretly activated his psychic powers.

...

Meanwhile, around the corner, Yamauchi Haruki had been eavesdropping on Saiki and Sakura Airi, but suddenly their voices grew softer.

[Damn it, I can't hear them.]

Yamauchi Haruki peeked around the corner and saw that Saiki and Sakura Airi seemed to have left, their figures disappearing around the hallway corner.

He immediately tiptoed after them.

"...Alright, let's leave it at that. Let me know if anything else comes up."

Just then, Yamauchi heard Saiki's voice again. He quickly hid and peeked around the corner, only to see that Sakura Airi had left, leaving Saiki alone.

[This guy, I'll get to the bottom of this!]

Thinking this, Yamauchi Haruki rushed forward. As soon as he turned the corner, he saw a figure and, assuming it was Saiki, he grabbed the person by the neck.

"You jerk! How dare you sneak out on a date behind my back?!"

But the moment he touched the person, he was immediately thrown to the ground with a shoulder throw. The intense pain made him scream.

"What the hell are you doing, you mad dog?!"

A confused but angry voice rang out above Yamauchi Haruki.

"What?!"

Yamauchi recognized the voice it definitely wasn't Saiki.

What greeted his eyes was the face of Ryuen.

[Huh?! Why is it Ryuen?! I just saw Saiki here!]

Yamauchi Haruki's face was filled with panic, and he quickly apologized.

[What's this guy trying to do? He shouldn't be stupid enough to attack me directly, right?]

Ryuen Kakeru, at this moment, was completely caught off guard by Yamauchi Haruki's sudden attack.

He had previously investigated Yamauchi Haruki and considered him one of the most insignificant members of Horikita Suzune's class. He never expected Yamauchi Haruki to actually attack him.

Even though Yamauchi Haruki kept apologizing, almost to the point of kneeling, Ryuen Kakeru wasn't ready to forgive him. He was about to punch him to teach him a lesson.

[Wait a minute!]

Just then, Ryuen Kakeru stopped and carefully observed Yamauchi Haruki, then glanced around.

[He's connected to Horikita. He was with her during the library study sessions, and he's also close to Sudo. I never considered him before, but if he's the mastermind behind Class B, he might be hiding his true identity... Could it be... that Yamauchi Haruki is pretending to be weak?]

[And was he deliberately trying to provoke me into attacking him? He's probably planning to pretend to be bullied by me and report it to the school, just like what happened with Sudo Ken... There are no cameras around here.]

[If this were at school, I could teach him a lesson, but we're on a ship. Most of the student council members aren't here, so any disputes would be handled by the teachers... I see...]

Ryuen Kakeru's face broke into a sly smile. He reached out Yamauchi Haruki thought he was about to get hit and flinched but instead, Ryuen Kakeru politely helped him up.

"Huh?"

Yamauchi Haruki's face was filled with confusion.

"How careless of you."

Ryuen Kakeru narrowed his eyes.

[You're my next target, Yamauchi Haruki. I'll make sure you fall into despair.]

...

Meanwhile, on the floor below, Saiki's forehead was beading with sweat.

Earlier, he had used his psychic powers to teleport Yamauchi Haruki to the floor above him. Since the two floors had similar layouts and Yamauchi Haruki wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, he wouldn't notice the change. Saiki also used hypnosis to make Ryuen Kakeru appear as himself in Yamauchi Haruki's eyes.

There were no cameras around, so Saiki didn't have to worry about being discovered.

Originally, he had wanted to use Ryuen Kakeru to teach Yamauchi Haruki a lesson. With a bit of control, nothing too serious would happen.

But Saiki never expected things to turn out like this...

'But thinking about it, this might be a good thing for everyone else. Ryuen's attention is now entirely on Yamauchi.'

Saiki thought to himself, feeling a slight twinge of guilt for Yamauchi Haruki.

[Wow, Ryuen's being so nice to me?! Am I really that awesome?]

Hearing Yamauchi Haruki's thoughts, Saiki's already minimal guilt vanished entirely. He even felt that Yamauchi Haruki's punishment wasn't harsh enough.

"Kusuo-kun... why are you sweating? Is it hot here?"

"A little."

"Then... let's go somewhere else... How about the dessert area? I heard the ice cream there is really good... My treat..."

"But don't we not use points on the ship?"

"Oh... right..."

Sakura Airi's face turned red with embarrassment.

"By the way, Kusuo-kun... I've been reading some mystery novels lately... Could you recommend a few?"

Saiki's eyebrows twitched slightly. He hadn't expected Sakura Airi to ask such a question.

"Sure, but let's head to the dessert area first."

"Okay, okay."

...

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

"That Karuizawa girl is so annoying!"

"Yeah, she acts like she's so great all the time."

"We'll have to find a way to let Rika confirm it herself. But whether it's her or not, I can't stand her. Let's deal with the exam first, though. We'll handle this later."

At this moment, Manabe Shiho and her friends were cursing Karuizawa Kei.

Whether Karuizawa Kei was really the one who bullied Rika or not, they had already lost all goodwill toward her.

But just then, footsteps sounded behind them.

"Excuse me, can I bother you for a moment?"

"Who are you?"

Manabe Shiho's gaze fell on a face she had seen not long ago.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"What do you want?"

Manabe Shiho's eyes held a hint of hostility, as Ayanokoji was also a classmate of Horikita Suzune.

"Earlier, there was that incident between you and Karuizawa, right? You asked her if she had a conflict with your classmate at the café."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke slowly.

"What about it?"

Manabe Shiho frowned.

"While I'm not 100% sure, I did see Karuizawa getting into a dispute with a girl from another class."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said expressionlessly.

"Really?!"

Manabe Shiho immediately closed the distance, her voice stiff as she asked. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded lightly and continued:

"Probably. I remember the atmosphere was bad, or rather, it felt awkward, so I thought I'd let you know. That's all."

"It's definitely her! No wonder she didn't let me take her photo!"

Hearing Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's words, a fierce glint appeared in Manabe Shiho's eyes. After exchanging a few more words with Ayanokoji, she left.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka silently watched Manabe Shiho and her friends leave.

[I didn't actually witness the scene, so if the conversation dragged on, my lie might have been exposed. My goal was to add fuel to the fire and make their conflict even more intense.]

[Only by creating a stage for Karuizawa to perform on, destroying everything, and then rebuilding it can I achieve my goal.]

[This must be Saiki's plan. Even without communicating with him, our thought processes align in this regard. Karuizawa will be my gift of goodwill. Once she's polished, I'll hand her over to you. You might become a valuable ally in dealing with the White Room.]

To Ayanokoji, Saiki was the only one who stood on the same level as him.

...

Meanwhile, Saiki, who was eating ice cream, felt a sudden chill.

'What's with this ominous feeling?'