Classroom of the Elite, Kusuo Saiki

However, Horikita, from beginning to end, I never considered you an ally. Both you and Hirata were merely tools for me to achieve my goals.

"Surely not. Why would a high school student like you have this character? Is it because of that white room thing?"

[For me, nothing else matters, as long as I'm the final winner, that's enough. I imagine Qi Mu feels the same way.]

'Really, don't drag me into this...'

The only person who's hard to control is Qi Mu. But for now, we're not enemies. That man will definitely try everything to get me expelled, so maybe I can use Qi Mu to deal with them more easily.

'This has nothing to do with me.'

At this moment, all that was left in Kusuo Saiki's heart was regret. If he had known this would happen, he would have been better off not forming an alliance with Kiyotaka Ayanokouji.

If I hadn't intervened, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka might have set fire to the camp... How terrifying.

'But this exam should be over now, and I should be able to get some rest.'

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself.

.....

"Katsura, explain yourself!"

"You are fully responsible for failing this exam!"

"Because of your wrong decision, not only did we not get good grades on the exam, but we even lost all our personal points!"

Before reaching the area where Class A's room was located, the students of Class A surrounded Katsuragi Kohei, pointing fingers at him.

Although Class A achieved second place in this exam, the mere 120 points, and the fact that they would have to transfer their individual points to Class D, was an absolutely unacceptable failure for Class A.

Katsuragi Kohei did not refute anything, but simply nodded silently. He was very clear that his judgment was wrong, which led to this result.

Outside the crowd, a local boy with slicked-back hair and a somewhat nonchalant look leaned against the wall, watching all of this from afar.

Masayoshi Hashimoto, a key member of the Sakayanagi faction.

During this exam, it was Hashimoto Masayoshi who secretly contacted Ryuen Sho, revealing his identity as the leader of Class A.

Seeing Katsuragi Kohei being condemned by everyone, Hashimoto Masayoshi smiled and took out his phone, dialing a number:

"This time, the Katsuragi faction's influence within the class will likely be severely weakened."

"Yes, it is."

A light, even slightly amused, female voice came from the phone's earpiece.

"However, this time, Class C—no, it's already Class B—their results have exceeded expectations."

......

Meanwhile, in Class D's room.

"How is this possible... What exactly happened?"

Mio Ibuki's eyes were full of doubt; she still couldn't believe that the class score was zero.

"We guessed the wrong leader of a class, and someone else guessed my identity too. It's that simple."

Long Yuanxiang's expression looked very calm.

Class D scored 0 points in this special exam, but they were not clear about the specific points deducted, so Long Yuanxiang was unable to determine which name was wrong for a while.

[Ibuki's photos are genuine. Although Kaneda didn't obtain physical evidence, he's unlikely to betray me. It's also unlikely that the Class A group deliberately provided me with false information due to internal strife.]

This time, Class C came in first place with 300 points... They were promoted to Class B in one go... Without a doubt, they correctly guessed the leaders of the other three classes, including my identity.

That means...they very likely discovered Ibuki Mio's spy identity...so the keycard might have been deliberately revealed. It's not highly probable that an ordinary student could forge a keycard...did they somehow change the leader's identity? Climbing from Class D to Class B within the last semester, this class is no ordinary one; there's probably some troublesome individual among them.

Long Yuanxiang's mind raced, and his previously calm expression instantly turned serious:

"My goal was simply to obtain a contract from Class A; the points from this exam were just a side benefit—but I never expected someone to interfere with me. I'm determined to find that guy!"

.....

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ship, Hiyori Shiina was analyzing the results of the exam in her room.

"This exam score is zero... It's almost certain that I guessed the wrong class leader, and someone else guessed correctly."

"Judging from the scores, it was probably Saiki's class that did it. They probably already knew Ibuki's identity, so they gave her the wrong information and misled Ryuen..."

"Could it have been Saiki who did it?"

Hiyori Shiina mentally reviewed the various aspects of the exam. Although she had withdrawn early, she was still able to glean useful information from the words of others.

"The most likely explanation is that their class has changed its leader, and I heard that Qi Mu was sick before... Could this be their method of changing leaders?"

"Is Saiki really sick... or is it...?"

"Forget it! Since Qi Mu is sick, I'll naturally go and take a good look at him!"

As Shiina Hiyori thought this, a happy smile appeared on her fair face, seemingly delighted at the prospect of meeting Saiki.

"Since we're going to the restaurant, let's bring Qi Mu some dessert!"

......

Classrooms and meeting rooms.

"I never expected that Chabashi's class would come in first place this time."

"How on earth is it done?"

"It seems that Chazhu's class has encountered a truly remarkable student this time."

The other teachers were all talking at once about the exam, completely baffled as to how it had turned out this way.

Chabashira Sae had a smile on her face. She had been promoted from Class D to Class B in just one semester, something that had never happened before in the school.

"In any case, the school's location system needs to be changed."

"That's right, the positioning bug is a bit too outrageous."

"This has never happened before since the school was founded. What's going on?"

Chapter 76: The Second Special Exam is Approaching!

After a conversation lasting more than ten minutes, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Suzune Horikita finally left Kusuo Saiki's room.

For Kusuo Saiki, those ten-odd minutes were arguably the longest ten-odd minutes of his life.

"Yay, yay, it's finally over..."

Kusuo Saiki sighed and was about to leave the room when he suddenly caught Shiina Hiyori's thoughts and realized that she had come to visit him specifically.

I wonder if Qi Mu is feeling any better. Please come and check on him as soon as possible.

'Shiina's here too? Although Shiina's a bit different from the others, it's time to go to the restaurant for their special cream puffs, and I don't like being the center of attention, so I'll just pretend I'm not in the room.'

I also specially brought Qi Mu his favorite dessert.

In the next instant, Kusuo Saiki was already sitting in his seat, as if the idea of ​​pretending not to be there had never existed.

Soon, the knocking came as expected, and Kusuo Saiki immediately opened the door to let Hiyori Shiina in.

"Qi Mu!"

The moment Shiina Hiyori saw Saiki Kusuo, an incredibly happy smile spread across her face, and she handed him the bag of snacks.

"I heard you were sick, so I came to see you. I think you'll like this!"

"Thank you so much."

Kusuo Saiki made a concerted effort to look away from the snacks and focus on Hiyori Shiina in front of him.

Meanwhile, Shiina Hiyori quickly scanned the room with her eyes.

[Qi Mu, are you faking illness?]

There was no cold medicine in the room, and no toilet paper in the trash can. If someone had a cold, the room wouldn't be like this.

[It seems the results of this exam were indeed related to Qi Mu.]

'Oops... I overlooked that.'

Kusuo Saiki realized something was wrong and began to think about how to explain it.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had almost exposed himself in front of Horikita Suzune, and now Shiina Hiyori has also noticed the problem from subtle clues.

There aren't many easy-going students in this school.

"Qi Mu, may I ask you a question?"

Shiina Hiyori paused thoughtfully for a moment, then continued,

"You must have been the leader of your class in this exam, right? And you deliberately pretended to be sick to take over the leadership role and fool Ibuki?"

I think this should be the correct answer.

If I say it directly... will it cause a rift between me and Saiki-kun...?

However, if we want to make progress, we must know the truth.

"I won't tell anyone else about these things, and it's okay if it's inconvenient for me to talk about it..."

"You're right."

Kusuo Saiki gave an affirmative answer to the speculation about Hiyori Shiina.

"Oh dear, even if I deny it now, with Shiina's abilities, she'll probably be able to see through it later. To avoid any trouble later, it's better to just admit it now. Besides, given Shiina's personality, she won't tell anyone else about this."

After all, Shiina Hiyori had only guessed the process of the exam, and had not guessed anything related to Saiki Kusuo's superpowers. Therefore, after thinking for a while, Saiki Kusuo did not deny her guess.

Moreover, a certain idea also arose in Kusuo Saiki's mind.

[Saiki-kun, you actually admitted it right in front of me...? Does Saiki-kun trust me a lot to tell me this?]

Hearing Saiki Kusuo's words, Shiina Hiyori was slightly surprised, but soon she felt a sense of happiness instead.

[Saiki-kun is indeed a very capable person... Although I don't want the atmosphere in the class to be ruined, one day, Saiki-kun and I might become enemies... Is there any way to change this...? Wait... If Saiki-kun transferred to our class, wouldn't all of this be solved?]

A certain idea began to form in Shiina Hiyori's mind.

"However, this was not my idea."

But at that moment, Kusuo Saiki continued,