Chapter 143: The School Website, I’ll Just Break It!

Soon after, Yamauchi Haruki left the classroom.

After Yamauchi left, many students in the class secretly followed him, wanting to know what was going on.

Saiki was among them.

'I'm not here to watch the drama. It's just that everyone else came, and it's normal for people to be curious about Yamauchi's situation, right? If I didn't come, it might seem suspicious. That's why I followed everyone else. Let me repeat, I'm not here to watch the show.'

After saying this in his mind, Saiki turned his gaze toward Yamauchi, who was not far away, along with the others.

"Uh, so... what did you want to say...?"

At the corner of the stairs, Yamauchi asked nervously, his words stumbling.

[I'm so nervous! Is Sakayanagi going to confess to me? How should I respond?]

On the other side, Sakayanagi Arisu shyly brushed her hair back with her left hand.

[From a psychological perspective, this is an unconscious attempt to make herself look more attractive in front of someone she likes.]

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought to himself.

[But Sakayanagi definitely has her own agenda for doing this.]

"Could it be that Sakayanagi really likes Haruki?!"

Ike Kanji muttered in frustration, likely interpreting Sakayanagi's expressions and actions in his own way.

"No, no, that's too ridiculous! It's so fake! There's no way she likes Yamauchi."

Hasebe Haruka seemed to want to say it was a woman's intuition. She frowned and cursed under her breath.

"Yeah, yeah, I think so too."

Sakura Airi, who was watching the situation, seemed to agree with Hasebe's words.

"Should I say men are just simple? How could anyone fall for that? It's obviously an act."

"Is she really acting?"

"Honestly, as a guy... I can't really tell."

"She's definitely acting."

Hasebe nodded firmly.

"Like Horikita said, she's probably trying to get information about our class."

"But wouldn't that be too obvious? There should be a smarter way, right? Secretly contacting Yamauchi would make it less suspicious and increase the chances of success."

Yukimura Teruhiko frowned in confusion.

"It's too noisy here, and there are too many people around... Should we move somewhere else?"

Sakayanagi tilted her head slightly and spoke to Yamauchi.

"Yeah, yeah... Sure, let's do that!"

Yamauchi nodded vigorously, his smile growing even brighter.

"Then, please accompany me."

Sakayanagi quickly walked out of the school building.

Saiki could clearly hear her thoughts.

[Heaven or hell, I'll give him a ticket to both. Which one he chooses is up to him.]

'It's definitely hell.'

Saiki didn't even need to think to guess the outcome.

[Damn it, if they change locations, it'll be harder for us to follow them.]

The others present knew that this wasn't the right time to continue following, so they dispersed.

'Yare yare, as curious as I am, there are more important things to deal with.'

With that thought, Saiki also left the school building—

Heading to the school's dessert shop.

Meanwhile, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka also left the school building and returned to his dorm.

On the way back, Ayanokoji's mind was racing.

[This time, Sakayanagi is targeting Ichinose using rumors, right?]

[If it's just rumors at this level, it's definitely not enough. Sakayanagi might use more extreme methods to destroy Ichinose. Ichinose is outstanding, but she's no match for Sakayanagi.]

[However, all of this is within my calculations.]

Ayanokoji's expression remained unchanged.

[If my calculations are correct, Ichinose will eventually be crushed by Sakayanagi.]

[When that happens, Ichinose will be cornered, and her mental defenses will be at their weakest. All I need to do is guide her slightly, and she'll pull herself back from the brink of collapse.]

[This way, Ichinose will gradually become dependent on me, seeing me as someone she can confide in, even a mental support. I'll have another pawn to use, and in the future, I'll be able to compete with Saiki to some extent.]

[Not just Saiki, but that man will probably make a move too. Inserting other people from the White Room into the school is definitely something he would do.]

[But unlike Saiki, anyone from the White Room is absolutely no match for me. Absolutely not.]

Ayanokoji thought to himself.

At that moment, Hasebe Haruka and others from the study group caught up to him.

"Do you have a moment?"

Meanwhile, Saiki had arrived at the dessert shop.

Today was the day the shop released a limited-time flavor, and Saiki immediately used the VIP card Horikita Manabu had given him to purchase the limited-edition cake at a discount. He quickly found a corner seat and sat down.

'Yare yare, the cake is in perfect condition right now. If I take it back to the dorm, the taste might be affected. I'll just eat it here!'

Saiki eagerly prepared to enjoy the cake in front of him.

Just then, a figure appeared beside him, holding a plate with the same cake.

"What a coincidence, Saiki-kun!"

Saiki looked up to see Shiina Hiyori.

[Today is the day the dessert shop releases a new flavor, so I knew Saiki would come here after school...]

'Yare yare, even this was seen through...'

[But Saiki arrived ten minutes later than I expected. Did something happen on the way?]

'It was Sakayanagi and Yamauchi.'

[As long as I can see Saiki, that's enough. After all, I need his help.]

'As expected.'

Saiki's gaze fell on Shiina's face.

"Shiina, this isn't a coincidence, is it?"

"You caught me. I guessed you'd come today."

Shiina smiled, not hiding her intentions, and sat down across from Saiki.

"I also wanted to try the cake here. I don't eat it often... This portion is too big for me. I can't waste it, so I'll share it with you!"

With that, Shiina neatly cut her cake in half and placed one half on Saiki's plate.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to discuss Ichinose with you."

Shiina's expression grew serious.

"Have you heard anything about Ichinose?"

"You mean those strange rumors? Yeah, I've heard them."

"That's it. Do you know who's spreading them?"

"No... I don't."

Saiki gave a negative answer to avoid getting himself into more trouble.

"Honestly, I don't want to see Ichinose suffer. Even though I don't have many friends, she treats everyone equally."

Shiina had been in the same group as Ichinose during the training camp exam, so they had grown quite close.

"Saiki-kun!"

Shiina's expression became even more serious.

"I usually dislike hurting others, but if it's to protect a friend, I think sometimes you have to fight."

"Yeah."

"Even though we're in different classes and Ichinose is technically my enemy, there must still be a way to help her. I haven't figured it out yet... but could you help me?"

Saiki fell into thought after hearing Shiina's words.

If it were the old him, he would have refused without hesitation. As a psychic, Saiki didn't want to cause himself more trouble. The more he did, the more unnecessary problems he might create.

But...

'Ichinose and I are on good terms. She's been kind to me and has helped me out before. Yare yare, I don't like owing people favors. Besides, after dealing with Ichinose, Sakayanagi might turn her attention to me. Not to mention, I've eaten Shiina's cake.'

Saiki thought to himself, glancing down at the cake on his plate before speaking.

"Sure, I'll help. But I can't guarantee I'll be of much use."

"Saiki-kun! Thank you so much!"

"No need to thank me. You and Ichinose have helped me a lot too. But do you have any ideas?"

"I... I haven't thought of anything specific yet, but with your help, we'll figure something out."

Shiina leaned forward slightly.

"Saiki-kun, I heard from Ibuki... that you're really good at computer programming?"

'?'

A hint of confusion crossed Saiki's mind.

"I heard you can write viruses and hack into other people's phones."

"Well... yeah."

Saiki could only nod. This was an excuse he had made to intimidate Ryuen and his group and to explain the previous recording incident. He hadn't expected Shiina to know about it.

"Then, could you hack into the school's message board and delete the posts?"

Shiina asked.

Most of the rumors about Ichinose had spread from the school's online forum.

"Even though the rumors have already spread, if we don't delete them, the situation could get worse and cause more damage."

"Hacking into the school's website... wouldn't that violate school rules?"

"I've checked the school rules. There's nothing about 'hacking the school website,' and we won't cause any financial loss to the school."

Shiina replied. She had thoroughly studied the school's rules since the first semester.

"Also, if possible, could you investigate who's spreading these rumors?"

"I see. I'll take care of it tonight..."

At this point, Saiki could only nod and agree.

If it were up to him, he might have just used a large-scale mind control to make everyone believe that the rumors about Ichinose were false. However, that ability could have unpredictable consequences. Given the current situation, since Shiina might come up with a plan, it was better to cooperate with her.

"That's great! Thank you so much, Saiki-kun! But I'm curious, have you studied programming or something like that before?"

"I took some classes before, just casually..."

The lies were piling up.

"You learned this much just from classes?"

"I... know someone who's really skilled in computers and technology. He taught me a few things."

In a way, Saiki wasn't lying.

But the face of the person he hated most flashed through his mind.

"I see... No wonder you're so skilled... Saiki-kun, is there any other cake you'd like to try? My treat!"

"Well, if you insist, I'll have a citrus parfait."

That night, back in his room, Saiki turned on his computer and logged into the school's website. Other than online shopping, he had never visited the site before.

Although the school prohibited communication with the outside world, there was an internal forum where students could chat freely, with almost no moderation.

Saiki quickly found the rumor section of the forum. The most popular post was about Ichinose Honami, and it had been up for several days.

With a slight use of his psychic powers, Saiki successfully deleted the posts—

"If I just delete them, Sakayanagi will probably post again. It's a temporary fix, and the school staff might get suspicious."

After some thought, Saiki used his powers again.

"Then I'll just break the school forum's server."