Classroom of the Elite, Kusuo Saiki

"It was a plan that Horikita and Ayanokoji came up with together."

"Was it just the two of them?"

Shiina Hiyori's eyes widened slightly, a hint of surprise in them, but she quickly shook her head.

"But the exam is over now, so what's past is past—Qi Mu, have you finished reading the books I lent you? I brought you a few more interesting books!"

......

"Damn, damn!"

In another room, Kikyo Kushida was pounding on the wall while cursing incessantly.

Nothing in this exam went according to her wishes.

She originally planned to make Horikita Suzune the leader, and then use this opportunity to make her fail the exam, so that Horikita Suzune would take the blame.

However, Kikyo Kushida never expected that Kusuo Saiki would become the leader later on.

In the end, Horikita Suzune not only became the leader again, but also gained a huge number of supporters because she achieved first place in the exam!

For Kikyo Kushida, this was an absolutely unacceptable situation.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! I will definitely, I will definitely make you drop out of school!"

Kikyo Kushida's expression twisted, her eyes filled with anger. She then picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, Longyuan..."

.....

After the special exam on the isolated island, everyone enjoyed a three-day break.

During these three days, everyone seemed to have forgotten the fatigue from the previous special exam and enjoyed a three-day vacation on the ship.

The ship is enormous and fully equipped; three days is simply not enough to experience it all.

For Kusuo Saiki, these three days were quite fulfilling.

He sampled all sorts of desserts. Not only that, Kusuo Saiki also brought a germanium metal ring so that he could enjoy various movies in the ship's cinema, which was almost a dream come true for him.

At this very moment, Kusuo Saiki is in the ship's café, sipping coffee and reading a novel. He's wearing a germanium ring, which grants him a period of unparalleled peace.

But just then, Kusuo Saiki's phone vibrated, and before he could take it out, the ship's loudspeaker came on:

"To all students, please note that the school has just sent an email with contact information. Please check your mobile phone and follow the instructions. Also, if you haven't received the email, please contact a nearby faculty or staff member. The information is very important, so please make sure you check carefully. To reiterate—"

"Is there trouble again?"

Kusuo Saiki sighed and had no choice but to take off his ring. At the same time, he picked up his phone and looked at the text on the screen.

"The special exam is about to begin. Students, please assemble in your designated rooms at the designated time. Those who are more than ten minutes late will be punished. Please assemble in room 204 on the second floor before 6 PM tonight. The entire process will take approximately twenty minutes. Please use the restroom beforehand and turn your phone to vibrate mode or turn it off before coming to the assembly point."

"Oh dear, it looks like there's still an exam to take."

Looking at the contents of his phone, Kusuo Saiki already knew that, given the school's track record, this was definitely not going to be good.

After removing the ring, Kusuo Saiki was able to clearly hear the thoughts of other students nearby.

Huh? What's the school up to now?

[What exactly are we supposed to do starting at 8:40 PM?]

[Eight o'clock... Is there going to be another exam?]

'Are the meeting times for everyone not at the same time? It seems they've been divided into several groups again.'

Kusuo Saiki glanced at the time; it was almost time. He then left the coffee shop and went to the room mentioned in the email.

Standing at the doorway of the room, Kusuo Saiki was already able to use his X-ray vision to see what was inside.

Majima Tomoya, the homeroom teacher of Class A, was sitting inside with a serious expression, while in front of him were two students from Class D.

One of them wore glasses, was somewhat overweight, and his unkempt hair seemed to reflect a faint sheen of oil.

Hideo Sotomura was known as "Professor" in his class.

"Oh dear, is the professor over here?"

Kusuo Saiki narrowed his eyes slightly. To any ordinary person, he fit the stereotype of an otaku.

He has a wide range of interests, from bishoujo games to anime, and often says things like he wants to go to the world of anime or that his wife has to be an anime character to be perfect. He is also knowledgeable in history and mechanics, and has some obscure miscellaneous knowledge.

Although he has mastered a lot of knowledge in certain special fields, it also means that Hideo Sotomura has lost the right to choose a partner for the three years of high school. He is not very popular in his class—especially among the girls. However, he has a good relationship with the trio of idiots and they usually talk about some strange topics.

The other person is named Yukimura Keisei, although that doesn't seem to be his name on his student ID card, but he prefers to be called Keisei.

Yukimura Keisei's grades are among the best in his class, but he doesn't seem to have a very good relationship with the girls. He and Saiki Kusuo haven't had much interaction before.

Kusuo Saiki knocked on the door, and after hearing Tomoya Mashima's response, he went into the room and greeted the other two people.

Just then, the knocking sounded again. Before the knocking even started, Kusuo Saiki already knew who it was.

'Oh dear, two more troublesome fellows have arrived.'

The door to the room was opened again, and one of the people inside was Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

Is Saiki here too?

In Kusuo Saiki's mind, another person's thoughts almost drowned out Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's.

[Holy crap, it's these guys?!]

The visitor was none other than Karuizawa Megumi.

Her honey-colored hair was tied into a high ponytail, and her delicate face was adorned with a pair of jewel-like eyes that looked somewhat playful.

However, in Kusuo Saiki's mind, Megumi Karuizawa's thoughts never stopped.

That guy from Waicun looks like a loser, a total shut-in. He's disgusting.

[Yukimura's grades are pretty good, but he always has that grumpy face. I really don't know what he's pretending for.]

[Ayanokouji, well, she's alright looking, but her personality is too gloomy, and she doesn't really stand out in class.]

The moment they met, Karuizawa Kei mentally gave each of these boys a score.

[Damn it, it's Karuizawa!]

[Am I going to be in a group with Karuizawa? This is troublesome.]

Both Hideo Sotomura and Keisei Yukimura seemed to have some dissatisfaction with Megumi Karuizawa.

Kusuo Saiki didn't participate much in class affairs and wasn't aware of any conflict between them; it seemed they simply disliked each other.

Kusuo Saiki remembered that Karuizawa Megumi had previously set her 'hunting target' as Hirata Yosuke, but it seemed that due to a series of events at the school, her plan had to be postponed.

Honestly, compared to Hirata, these guys are no match at all.

Oh, by the way, is Qi Mu here too?

【he.....】

Kusuo Saiki was curious about how he was perceived by Megumi Karuizawa.

Anything is fine, as long as it's higher than the villages outside the village, that's enough.

Although he seems very aloof, Qi Mu actually did quite well in the last exam, even getting sick for the sake of his classmates. He's also quite handsome, much better than those three guys, and his popularity among the girls seems to have increased slightly. Perhaps he could be a backup plan for this summer vacation.

'Wow, the rating isn't bad at all!'

Kusuo Saiki didn't expect that he was actually well-regarded by Megumi Karuizawa. However, this was not a good thing for him. She was the kind of person who easily attracted attention, and they were not compatible at all. Moreover, Kusuo Saiki had no interest in her 'summer backup' plan.

Out of politeness, Kusuo Saiki nodded to Kei Karuizawa as a greeting, while simultaneously casting his gaze upon her, his X-ray vision unconsciously activating—

Kusuo Saiki narrowed his eyes slightly as he noticed that the other person's body was covered in scars.

Chapter 77: What truly lies beneath Karuizawa Megumi's heart?

"You are Sotomura, Yukimura, Ayanokouji, Karuizawa, and Saiki from Class D, right? Now, I will explain the special test."

Majima Tomoya's voice was somewhat cold, like that of an emotionless robot.

"Wait, wait a minute, I don't understand. What does 'exam instructions' mean? Wasn't the exam already over? And where are the others?"

Karuizawa asked a series of questions, and it was clear that Majima Tomoya, as her teacher, was somewhat dissatisfied with her performance.

"I am not accepting any questions at this stage. Please listen to me quietly."

Although his tone remained unchanged, Majima Tomoya exuded an undeniable seriousness.

"In this special exam, the school will use the Chinese sexagenary cycle as a metaphor for all first-year students and divide them into twelve groups. We will hold exams in those groups to test their thinking abilities."

Majima Tomoya said slowly.

"Wait, wait, did you just say 'Thinking'? While I know you're portrayed as an English teacher, it's really strange that you suddenly switched to English in this context, with this sentence and this noun."

Kusuo Saiki kept complaining to himself.

What is Thinking?

Karuizawa asked earnestly.

'are you serious?'

Kusuo Saiki glanced at the other person.

"Didn't I already say? I won't take questions."

Majima Tomoya then reprimanded Karuizawa Megumi again before continuing,

"The basic abilities required of adults can be roughly divided into three categories: Action, Thinking, and Teamwork. Only those who possess these abilities are qualified to become outstanding adults. The previous deserted island exam focused on teamwork, but this time it's Thinking. This will be an exam that requires critical thinking skills. In other words, critical thinking skills are the ability to analyze the current situation, clarify the issue, understand the problem-solving process, and prepare accordingly. It also includes the ability to be creative and create new value—these will become very important to you in the future."

'...Are you really not just making things up?'

Although Kusuo Saiki thought this to himself, he did not say it aloud.

"Therefore, this exam will be conducted in twelve groups, and you will be in the same group..."

Why am I in the same group as them?

At that moment, Karuizawa Megumi spoke up again.

Wouldn't it be more convenient and faster to organize all the students together for the explanation?

"Can't you be a little quieter and listen to what people are saying? The exam might have already started. If you say something unnecessary and get points deducted, can you take responsibility? You were like this on the deserted island, even more of a drag on the class than others. Don't cause any more trouble for the class."