Classroom of the Elite, Kusuo Saiki

"Ah."

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji nodded; he couldn't get any meaningful information for the time being.

"Is everything alright here? I'll head back to my dorm now."

.....

The next day, at eight o'clock in the morning, Kusuo Saiki was having breakfast in a coffee shop with some other students around him when his phone vibrated.

"As arranged by the school, you were not selected as a special student. You will need to act independently as a member of the group and take the exam. The exam will begin at 1 p.m. today. This exam will last for three days starting today. Students in Group 'Mao', please gather in Room 'Mao' on the second floor."

'Oh dear, has the information regarding the recipients of preferential treatment been confirmed yet?'

As Kusuo Saiki thought to himself, he could also hear the thoughts of some people nearby.

[Damn it, I'm not a privileged person!]

I wish I were a recipient of preferential treatment! What a pity!

Am I a recipient of preferential treatment?

Kusuo Saiki heard a familiar voice beside him, which seemed to be Kikyo Kushida's voice.

'Was Kushida chosen as a recipient of preferential treatment? But he's in another group, so it has nothing to do with me.'

Kusuo Saiki finished his coffee and prepared to return to his room to rest.

But at that moment, Kusuo Saiki caught another familiar voice. He was about to get up and leave when the owner of the voice appeared in front of him.

Horikita Suzune and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka were also beside him.

"Qi Mu, did you only leave after you saw me arrive?"

Horikita Suzune's sharp gaze fell upon Saiki Kusuo.

"I just finished eating."

"But you don't have any plans for the future, right? Let's talk about the exam."

Horikita Suzune's words seemed to carry an air of unavoidable refusal.

As expected, Qi Mu appeared here.

'Did you come looking for me on purpose?'

Kusuo Saiki felt somewhat helpless; since things had come to this, he had no choice but to stay.

"Ayanokouji, you and Saiki are in the same group, right?"

Horikita Suzune ordered a coffee and sat down next to Saiki Kusuo.

"Ah."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji sat on the other side as well and slowly nodded.

"This is our team's roster."

As Horikita Suzune spoke, she placed her phone in front of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and Saiki Kusuo, which displayed the names of their Tatsu-gumi—the Ryu-gumi.

Kusuo Saiki glanced around and saw that Suzune Horikita and Kikyo Kushida were in the same group, as was Yosuke Hirata. However, the group members from the other classes were a bit different.

The names of Ryuen Sho from Class C, Ryuji Kanzaki from Class B, and Kohei Katsuragi from Class A also appeared prominently on his list.

Ryuen Sho and Katsuragi Kohei are both leaders in their respective classes, while Kanzaki Ryuji serves as Ichinose Honami's deputy in Class B. It can be said that the members of the Ryu Group are basically people who hold leadership positions in their classes.

"I feel that the grouping must be based on some kind of pattern, perhaps on academic ability, or perhaps on a comprehensive score or something like that."

Horikita Suzune spoke to the two of them.

"Therefore, I feel that the preferential treatment status of each group is not random, but comes according to some kind of pattern. By the way, I am not a preferential treatment recipient."

'There is indeed a pattern, but if I told you that the selection is actually based on the order of names, wouldn't you be very disappointed...?'

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself.

We need to find a way to help the members of Class D in each group get high scores, so that our class points can be further increased.

Horikita Suzune thought to herself that she was concerned not only with the situation of her own group, but with the situation of the entire class.

[We're just one step away from Class A... With a little more effort, we can make it to Class A!]

As she thought this, Horikita Suzune's expression seemed to become serious.

'Although we've reached Class B now, the gap between us and Class A is still quite significant.'

On the other hand, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's expression remained unchanged.

Horikita is probably thinking about moving their class up to Class A.

'You really know her too well.'

However, this class advanced from Class D to Class B in just four months, a speed that far exceeded my expectations. The class lacks cohesion, and the leader's personality is also somewhat lacking; they still need more experience. According to my calculations, our class would have advanced to Class C at the earliest next semester, but now we're already in Class B. This shows just how outstanding Qi Mu's abilities are.

Why am I being dragged into this for no reason? I just want to spend my three years of high school peacefully.

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself.

"Who do you think is the most dangerous person on this list?"

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji continued to inquire.

"Longyuan."

Without hesitation, Horikita Suzune immediately gave her answer.

"Isn't it Katsuragi?"

"Indeed, he is the most outstanding among them, but Long Yuan is the one who deserves more vigilance."

Horikita Suzune continued.

[Longyuan has significant shortcomings, but in many ways, his way of thinking is similar to mine. Perhaps it can be utilized in the future; with a little refinement, it might become a useful tool.]

'You even want to use someone like that? And in your eyes, everyone else is basically just a tool. Are you some kind of campus worker?'

Kusuo Saiki complained.

"Hey, Rinne, you're here so early!"

Just then, a familiar and nonchalant voice came from the other side, and Long Yuanxiang appeared in front of everyone, wearing a coat.

There was another person standing next to Long Yuanxiang—

Ibuki Mio.

"Didn't I advise you not to call me by my name without permission, Ryuen-kun? And you were seen through by others for pretending to be innocent, so now you're openly following Ryuen and don't need to keep up the pretense anymore, right, Ibuki-kun?"

Horikita Suzune's gaze fell on Ibuki Mio's face, her tone full of provocation.

Although no major conflict broke out at the time, it was not long before the other members of Horikita Suzune's class learned that Ibuki Mio was a spy for Class D.

Mio Ibuki's face was full of displeasure, but she wasn't going to argue with her at the moment.

Is Horikita the one who deliberately gave me the wrong information?

Ibuki Mio felt a little curious.

Although Kusuo Saiki was the first leader in their class, no matter how she observed him, he seemed to be just an ordinary person with no talent and posed no threat to her.

"Eating with your tagalong again?"

Ryuen Sho said with a smile, his gaze sweeping over Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and Saiki Kusuo.

'Hey, don't drag me into this. In a way, I'm the one being followed.'

Kusuo Saiki just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible and not waste his precious rest time.

"I think the school's email has already arrived. What's wrong? Has any of you been selected as preferential treatment recipients?"

Long Yuanxiang said with a smile.

"How could I possibly tell you? If I asked you, would you tell me?"

"Who knows?"

As Long Yuanxiang spoke, he sat down on the chair next to him, which made Qi Mukuro realize that this conversation would probably last for a while.

However, what caught Saiki Kusuo's attention was the sentiment he heard from Ryuen Sho.

[Our group's favored member is Kushida, Horikita Suzune would never have imagined that I already know this.]

Long Yuanxiang's lips curled up slightly.

'Oh dear, only a few minutes have passed since the preferential treatment information was released, and Ryuen already knows who the preferential treatment recipient in their group is. There's only one possibility: Kushida leaked the information again?'

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

"How did you manage to take the test on the deserted island?"

Ryuen Sho narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze fixed on Horikita Suzune's face.

"No matter what you ask, I won't answer you."

Horikita Suzune completely ignored Ryuen Sho and continued drinking her coffee.

"Judging from Ibuki's report, you are not the kind of person who can devise such a strategy."

Long Yuanxiang, however, continued in an aggressive tone.

[Horikita Suzune is indeed quite talented within their class, but someone like her shouldn't be capable of devising such a scheme. Deliberately letting Ibuki infiltrate the class while simultaneously providing her with false information—this isn't the style of someone as earnest as Horikita Suzune. In fact, it's somewhat similar to my style.]

There should be another person in Class B who is actually controlling the class.

Perhaps that person is the culprit behind the previous recording incident.

'As long as you don't suspect me, everything is negotiable.'

Kusuo Saiki answered the other person in his mind.

"I'm not stupid enough to be seen through by that kind of guy."

Horikita Suzune glanced at Ibuki Mio out of the corner of her eye, but quickly turned her attention back to her coffee, as if the other person was insignificant.

That arrogant girl, I'm definitely going to beat her up!

Mio Ibuki's angry inner voice was so loud that even Kusuo Saiki found it a bit noisy.

"No, there is definitely someone in your class who controls everything. I believe that. The original leader was Kusuo Saiki—you are Shiina's friend, I remember you."