Chapter 86: The First Birthday of High School Life, Full of Troubles

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ship.

"How is this possible?"

The students of Class B stared at the message on their phones, their faces filled with shock. They hadn't expected Class D, which had been at the bottom, to take first place in this exam.

Horikita Suzune's eyes were filled with both surprise and a hint of something else as she stared intently at the boy standing in front of her, who wore a smug smile.

Ryuen Kakeru.

Just moments ago, while everyone was discussing the exam, Ryuen Kakeru had appeared and taunted them, as if the entire exam had been within his calculations.

"You... what exactly did you do?"

Horikita Suzune demanded, unable to understand how Ryuen Kakeru had figured out the identity of the Privileged Student in their Dragon Group.

Their group had ultimately achieved Result 1.

This meant that Ryuen Kakeru had not only identified the Privileged Student but also obtained absolute evidence, convincing members of other classes of the Privileged Student's identity.

This was nothing short of a provocation.

In reality, this was all due to the cooperation between Kushida Kikyo and Ryuen Kakeru, though no one else would ever notice Kushida's betrayal.

"I understand how you feel, not wanting to admit it. This means you were the most useless one in this group. But don't blame yourself, Suzune. Your opponent was just too strong—and besides, this exam was supposed to be a fierce competition amidst turbulent waves. Class A's faces must be even paler than yours."

Ryuen Kakeru said with a smile.

This exam, he had targeted Class A. In reality, it was also a provocation to the other two classes, showing them that he could easily crush them.

"And then, Suzune, although this is unfortunate news, my next target is you—I'll completely focus on you in the next exam, attack you, and make you suffer until your mind and body are torn to pieces."

Ryuen Kakeru waved his hand, then turned around.

"You'd better look forward to the second semester..."

Just as Ryuen Kakeru was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to look at Yamauchi Haruki in the crowd, a meaningful smile appearing on his face again.

"As for the mastermind in your class, I've got a lead! I'm sure you're here and heard me. I'll completely destroy you."

[Actually, he's not here. Ryuen just glanced at Yamauchi, which is strange. Plus, Yamauchi said some inexplicable things in the room earlier. It seems Saiki used some method to shift Ryuen's suspicion onto Yamauchi. How did he do it? To completely deceive Ryuen, and with Yamauchi of all people, it's hard to imagine what method Saiki used.]

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka responded inwardly. Even Ayanokoji couldn't figure out that this was all done using Saiki's psychic powers.

Meanwhile, Yamauchi Haruki's face was filled with confusion. He had no idea what Ryuen Kakeru was talking about.

After delivering his threats, Ryuen Kakeru left.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes slightly, watching Ryuen's retreating figure.

[I feel like the emotion called 'interest' is sprouting in my heart.]

...

A day later, on August 15th, the two-week cruise finally came to an end. Although it was called a trip, it was essentially just two special exams. The students had only about three days of actual free time.

Still, spending a few days on a luxury cruise without using points was somewhat acceptable.

After the trip, everyone returned to school to enjoy the remaining half of their summer vacation.

Saiki also returned to his dorm, planning to do nothing and leisurely spend the rest of his summer break.

Of course, he knew this would be incredibly difficult.

Meanwhile, at the school's gift shop.

Karuizawa Kei was in the store, picking out a gift for Saiki.

Her eyes scanned the rows of a dazzling array of goods, but after much deliberation, she still couldn't decide on a suitable gift.

"What should I get...? That guy Saiki... besides liking sweets, I don't know if he has any other hobbies. I can't just give him more cake, right? But a birthday cake might work?"

Karuizawa Kei's not-so-bright brain was working hard to think when a familiar voice sounded behind her.

"Karuizawa-san?"

"Huh?"

Karuizawa Kei turned to see Ichinose Honami.

"Ichinose-san, what a coincidence!"

Karuizawa Kei remembered the previous incident and politely greeted her.

"I didn't expect to run into you here. Are you buying a gift for a classmate?"

"Haha, something like that."

"What a coincidence, so am I!"

Ichinose Honami said with a smile.

[Tomorrow is Saiki-kun's birthday! I'm preparing a gift for Saiki!]

Ichinose Honami thought to herself.

During the discussion meeting, everyone had to take out their phones to check information. As the host, Ichinose Honami had inadvertently seen Saiki's birthday and had come to the gift shop to buy him a birthday present.

"Is she buying a gift... for Saiki-kun too?"

Both of them almost simultaneously had the same thought.

"Young ladies, are you buying gifts for a friend?"

At that moment, the shopkeeper noticed them and approached to ask.

"Yes."

They answered in unison.

"For a boy?"

"Yes."

"A boyfriend?"

"Ah, no, no!"

"Then do you want him to become your boyfriend?"

"That's... no!"

Karuizawa Kei's face turned slightly red. In a way, the shopkeeper wasn't entirely wrong. She had previously wanted to pretend to be in a relationship with Saiki.

"It's just a simple birthday!"

"Birthday? Karuizawa-san, are you buying a gift for... Saiki-kun?"

Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, Ichinose Honami finally asked.

"Ah, are you too?"

Karuizawa Kei immediately asked in return.

[Saiki probably didn't tell anyone else about his birthday. How does Ichinose know?]

Karuizawa Kei was very curious and even felt a little annoyed.

"Yes, earlier when we had to share the information on our phones, I accidentally saw Saiki-kun's birthday. He seems like the type who doesn't like to talk about personal things, maybe he's shy. So I decided to secretly buy him a gift, and I also told his friends."

"You told others too?"

"Yes, I told Kushida-san and the others. They're Saiki-kun's friends, right?"

'???'

At that moment, Saiki, who was invisible and standing behind them, was stunned.

Karuizawa Kei and Ichinose Honami knew about his birthday. To avoid causing himself too much trouble, he had used his invisibility to follow them, never expecting to hear such heavy news.

Originally, he had wanted to avoid trouble, but now he might have to face even more.

Saiki quickly left the gift shop, found a secluded spot to deactivate his invisibility, and used his clairvoyance to observe the others.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the school.

Kushida Kikyo, Hirata Yosuke, Sakura Airi, and the group of idiots had gathered together.

"Tomorrow is Saiki-kun's birthday. Have you all prepared your gifts?"

Kushida Kikyo asked with a smile.

For her, organizing birthday parties for classmates was another way to perfect her image.

"I've already prepared mine!"

Sudou Ken replied with a grin.

"I got Saiki a set of workout equipment! He'll definitely like it. He looks so skinny, he must need some exercise."

'Even without my powers, I can easily make the grip strength meter spin ten times.'

Saiki, who was secretly observing from afar, responded inwardly.

"I bought Saiki a fishing rod! I think he really likes fishing!"

Ike Kanji also chimed in. After the last uninhabited island exam, he had decided that Saiki liked fishing and had prepared a set of fishing gear for him.

'...'

Saiki was utterly speechless.

'Not to mention how deeply you've misunderstood me, but even if you gave me fishing gear, there's nowhere to fish on campus. If I tried fishing in the school's artificial lake, I'd probably get in trouble.'

"I... I..."

Meanwhile, Yamauchi Haruki couldn't get a word out.

He had completely forgotten about it.

The day before, Ichinose Honami had told Kushida Kikyo about Saiki's birthday, and she had immediately spread the news to the others, including Yamauchi Haruki.

However, Yamauchi Haruki had been so engrossed in his conversation with Kushida Kikyo that he had completely forgotten about it.

Although Yamauchi Haruki had set his sights on Sakura Airi, he still harbored some delusions about Kushida Kikyo.

"I've prepared something!"

Yamauchi Haruki quickly nodded. If he said he hadn't prepared anything, he'd probably be looked down upon by the others.

"I... I've prepared something too..."

Sakura Airi lowered her head slightly, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

"Kushida-san and I have already ordered a birthday cake for Saiki-kun from the bakery. We can pick it up tomorrow morning."

Hirata Yosuke, who always wore a smile, said to the group.

"Saiki-kun has contributed a lot to our class. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have achieved such good results in the previous exams."

'Yare yare, they even ordered a cake? There's no avoiding this now.'

Saiki sighed.

...

The next morning, as soon as Saiki teleported back to his dorm from home, he heard a familiar knock on the door.

Although he had considered teleporting his father, Saiki Kuniharu, to the school and using his hypnosis to make everyone think Kuniharu was him to avoid the ensuing awkwardness, his father, being a salaryman, was still at work. Saiki had no choice but to participate in this himself.

As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by the familiar faces of his classmates, including Ichinose Honami. Karuizawa Kei wasn't there, but Yamauchi Haruki was holding an entire watermelon—his gift for Saiki.

"Saiki, happy birthday!"

Everyone cheered in unison. Even Sakura Airi joined in, though her voice was barely audible.

[Saiki-kun must be so touched! He definitely didn't expect such a surprise!]

This was what everyone was thinking—

'.....'

However, for Saiki, the concept of a surprise didn't exist. His expression remained unchanged.

"..."

Everyone fell into an awkward silence.

[Saiki-kun... doesn't seem to smile much. Did something happen to him in the past?]

Hirata Yosuke thought to himself, his eyes showing a hint of concern.

To prevent the situation from getting worse, Saiki quickly said:

"Well... come on in."

Although the atmosphere was a bit awkward, the birthday party proceeded normally. Everyone shared the cake and chatted, and the mood gradually lightened. Later, Shiina Hiyori also arrived, bringing a few hardcover mystery novels.

Saiki didn't know how Shiina Hiyori had found out about his birthday. She claimed to have deduced it after seeing some Class B students buying gifts.

'Yare yare, the cake tastes pretty good.'

Saiki thought to himself as he ate the cake.

Although some of the guests had ulterior motives, overall, it wasn't too bad. Saiki didn't particularly dislike the atmosphere.

The gifts they brought also filled his previously empty room.