Classroom of the Elite, Kusuo Saiki

At this moment, Kusuo Saiki could only sigh. In his eyes, being considered on par with Rokusuke Koenji would be a world-destroying event.

"it is good."

"Thank you so much, Saiki-kun!"

Kikyo Kushida's smile instantly became even brighter, her voice rose a few octaves, and her body leaned slightly towards Kusuo Saiki.

[Damn it, Saiki! He seems to have such a close relationship with Kushida!]

Kusuo Saiki ignored Kanji Ike's unspoken thoughts and could only follow Kikyo Kushida and the others.

Immediately afterwards, the group of students who had been in the classroom went around the school in pairs to ask other students if anyone had witnessed the incident. Kusuo Saiki and Kikyo Kushida were in one pair, while Suzune Horikita did not participate.

They didn't have any classes this afternoon, so Kusuo Saiki had no choice but to follow Kikyo Kushida around the school.

Even with upperclassmen she had never met before, Kikyo Kushida was able to greet them very naturally, which made Kusuo Saiki marvel at Kikyo Kushida's social skills. It seemed that the latter spoke more in one afternoon than Kusuo Saiki had in half a year.

However, they came up empty-handed all afternoon.

......

Soon, the sun was nearing its setting, and the sky turned a dusky yellow.

Kikyo Kushida and Kusuo Saiki arrived at the school's playground for a short rest. Kanji Ike and the others, along with Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, were also resting there. Ken Sudo, who had been taken to the office earlier, also joined them.

"Has anyone found any information about witnesses?"

Kikyo Kushida looked extremely anxious and immediately asked, while everyone else present could only give a negative answer.

"hateful....."

Ken Sudo stomped his foot in frustration.

Everyone else was panting heavily, but Ayanokouji Kiyotaka didn't do anything special, simply gazing into the distance—

A familiar figure appeared before everyone.

"Kushida, Saiki, what are you doing? There are so many people here!"

Honami Ichinose walked briskly to the front of the group, her upper body swaying slightly as she did so.

Wow, another stunning beauty has arrived!

[Isn't she Ichinose Honami from Class B?]

[Does she still know Saiki...? Wait, I remember now, she was eating with Saiki and Kushida at the beginning of the semester!]

Kusuo Saiki instantly sensed that the three idiots' anger towards him had increased significantly, so he could only try to shift his gaze to the others.

Kikyo Kushida then told Honami Ichinose the whole story, and the latter immediately nodded vigorously:

"Our Class B can also help you! Maybe we can find some useful information."

"Really? Thank you so much, Ichinose-san!"

Upon hearing Ichinose Honami's words, Kushida Kikyo immediately broke into a very happy smile and almost hugged him.

[They actually asked students from other classes for help? A sense of unease emanated from Kushida.]

Meanwhile, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji was quietly observing Kikyo Kushida and Honami Ichinose. He knew of Honami Ichinose, but they hadn't had much contact.

'Did Ayanokouji also notice Kushida's strange behavior? However, Ayanokouji doesn't have the superpower of reading minds, and he hasn't personally witnessed Kushida's berserk state.'

Kusuo Saiki simply nodded to Honami Ichinose in greeting, without saying much more.

Kushida didn't actually feel grateful to Ichinose Honami, because helping Sudo wasn't her true intention; she just wanted to use the opportunity to show that she cared about her classmate.

'But Ichinose simply wants to help... It's rare to find someone like that in this school. Kushida probably wants to impersonate someone like Ichinose Ho.'

At this time, in Kusuo Saiki's mind, there were a total of three people who had had some contact with him and whose personalities were within the normal range: Yosuke Hirata, Hiyori Shiina, and Honami Ichinose.

As for the rest.

Kusuo Saiki glanced at the trio of idiots out of the corner of his eye, only to be met with gazes that were a mixture of envy and anger.

Let's leave aside the other monsters and demons for now....

"Then I'll head back now! I'll come find you if there's any progress!"

Honami Ichinose waved to the crowd and then left the plaza.

[That damn Qi Mu, how does he know all these girls for no reason?]

'I'm sorry, I didn't want to either.'

[Last time I saw Qi Mu flirting with a silver-haired girl at the coffee shop!]

We were just talking about mystery novels.

[I'm so envious! Ugh! I was hoping to use this opportunity to chat up other girls!]

'So you weren't really trying to help after all?'

Chapter 53: The Journey to Find Eyewitnesses!

After a busy day, Kusuo Saiki returned to his dormitory, intending to rest for a while before going home.

'With so many people in the class helping, they probably won't need me anymore, if nothing else goes well.'

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself.

Just then, he suddenly caught a few familiar whispers, and a few seconds later, the knocking on the door sounded as expected.

'Should I pretend I'm not in the dorm? No, I came back here with them...'

After thinking for a few seconds, Kusuo Saiki finally had no choice but to step forward and open the door.

"Qi Mu!"

The same troublesome guys were still at the door: Kikyo Kushida, the three idiots, and Kiyotaka Ayanokouji.

"What's matter?"

Kusuo Saiki asked, though he knew it was pointless to ask such a question.

"Let's discuss what to do next, since we only have less than a week left."

Kikyo Kushida said very seriously, and then followed the others into Kusuo Saiki's room.

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's gaze wandered around Kusuo Saiki's room, searching for valuable details, but he didn't find any useful information.

The group quickly gathered in Saiki Kusuo's room to discuss their next steps and how to help Sudo Ken clear his name as soon as possible.

Kusuo Saiki remained silent, only able to look at the crowd in front of him with a cold expression.

[Saiki's room looks so clean; it's perfect as a base for future activities.]

"Hey, hey, hey, do you guys really have to discuss this in my room? You could easily do that on a chat app on your phone."

[I'll find a chance to secretly make a few duplicate room cards for Saiki later.]

'I advise you not to even consider it.'

[If we discuss this face-to-face, I can get closer to Kushida-kun!]

'Could you please not stay in my room?'

Everyone discussed it animatedly, but still came to no conclusion. Just then, there was another knock on the door.

'Another troublesome guy has arrived.'

Using his telepathic abilities, Kusuo Saiki determined that the person standing outside the door was Suzune Horikita. However, he quickly deduced Horikita's purpose for being there and opened the door himself.

"Horikita, what brings you here?"

Kanji Ike was somewhat surprised to see Suzune Horikita arrive.

[Did these guys waste the whole afternoon? The witness was right next to us, but nobody noticed.]

Actually, someone noticed, but we all pretended not to know.

"You guys have been working for nothing all afternoon, so let me give you a little hint."

Horikita Suzune shook her head somewhat helplessly, then continued,

"The witnesses are actually right next to us."

"who is it?"

Upon hearing Horikita Suzune's words, Sudo Ken immediately asked anxiously.

"It's Sakura from our class."

Horikita Suzune gave her own answer.

"Sakura...Sakura Airi?"

The others were somewhat surprised when Horikita Suzune mentioned this name, because Sakura Airi was practically invisible in the class.

“When Hirata gave his speech earlier, calling on others to help Sudo, Sakura’s expression was very unnatural. She probably knew something.”

[Actually, Sakura revealed a flaw from the very beginning, but Horikita eventually saw through it.]

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's thoughts echoed in Kusuo Saiki's ears, followed by the thoughts of the others.

[Horikita even noticed this? That's amazing!]

The trio of idiots surprisingly agreed with the idea.

[Tch, why didn't you say this before, and only bring it up now? Are you trying to show off your abilities?]

Meanwhile, Kikyo Kushida's displeasure with Suzune Horikita intensified, but she didn't show it. Instead, she took out her phone and immediately called Airi Sakura—but the latter didn't answer.

"No answer..."

"We finally found a clue..."

Sudo Ken lay on the bed and said somewhat unwillingly.

"Hey, hey, hey, this is my bed. I don't usually sleep here, but if you dare put even a speck of dust on it, every basketball you play after this will be flat."

"However, assuming she is willing to testify in court, it would be meaningless. Regardless of whether this was self-defense or not, it's a minor issue."

After saying this, Horikita Suzune left the room, leaving everyone bewildered.

......