Classroom of the Elite, Kusuo Saiki

"...Could you...?"

Just as Sakura Airi was finally making some progress, there was a sudden, urgent knocking at the door, which completely shattered the words she had been preparing for several days. She quickly went to help open the door.

And what came into view was indeed Megumi Karuizawa.

"Karuizawa-san?"

"Sakura?"

Both of them showed surprise at the same time; clearly, neither of them expected the other to appear here at this moment.

【Karuizawa-kun...why are you looking for Saiki at this time...could it be...?】

[What's Sakura doing here? Everyone basically knows she has feelings for Shiki, so why is she still here alone?]

"Um... Saiki-kun... I... I... I have to go now..."

As she spoke, Sakura Airi quickly left Saiki Kusuo's room as if she were fleeing.

"What's Sakura doing here? Did she just say something to you?"

Karuizawa Kei leaned forward slightly, his gaze becoming somewhat serious, as if his girlfriend were checking up on him.

'Hey, hey, hey, this isn't your business, and why are you so concerned about it?'

Although Saiki Kusuo was thinking this in his heart, he still spoke up:

"They just gave me a gift and simply wished me a happy birthday."

"Really? Sakura-san seems to be paying a lot of attention to you."

"I don't feel that way."

"I really don't know if you're a blockhead or just pretending not to know."

Karuizawa Kei pursed her lips, then took out a delicate little box from her bag.

"Hey, this is a gift for you!"

Kusuo Saiki accepted the gift from Megumi Karuizawa; it appeared to be a custom-made bracelet.

"It doesn't look like it's made of germanium; it's just an ordinary decoration, but it probably isn't cheap."

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself.

"If you're grateful, you'll have to repay me a hundredfold!"

Karuizawa Kei slightly raised her chin and said with a smile.

After their relationship became more familiar—at least unilaterally—Karuizawa Megumi's attitude towards Shiki Kusuo changed considerably from before.

'I don't want to do such troublesome things.'

"Ah."

Although it was completely different from what he had imagined, Kusuo Saiki nodded perfunctorily. However, he still used his ability slightly to control Karuizawa Megumi's phone and check her birthday, which was at least next year.

"Are you free in a few days? I heard a new fortune-telling shop opened at school, and their readings are incredibly accurate!"

"I think should not be."

Without any hesitation, Kusuo Saiki immediately gave a negative answer.

“I promised Sudo and Ike that we would go swimming in the pool, so I probably won’t have time.”

'This reason is probably the best; it also shifts the blame to Sudo and his group.'

Saiki Kusuo thought to himself.

In a summary of the previous gathering, Ken Sudo and Kanji Ike mentioned this matter, saying that they planned to go to the swimming pool during the holidays. The swimming pool is open to students during the summer vacation, and they made an appointment to go to the swimming pool together. Even Yuhide Sotomura came along.

However, Kusuo Saiki knew that their intentions were not pure. Their goal was to take this opportunity to film the girl changing clothes, but since their miniature camera had not yet arrived, they could not carry it out for the time being and had to wait.

Kusuo Saiki will definitely not be involved, but this can be used as a reason to decline Kei Karuizawa's offer for now.

"Oh, Chi and the others have already asked me."

Karuizawa Kei answered immediately.

"what?"

"Ike also made plans with me about the swimming pool, but he said it would be at the end of the month. I'm sure it'll be fine in the next few days!"

Karuizawa Kei wore a bright smile, as if everything was under her control.

'Although it wasn't intentional, I was still tricked.'

Kusuo Saiki felt somewhat helpless, but since the reason he gave was that they couldn't leave, there was nothing he could do but agree to the other party's request.

"That's fine."

Okay! I'll call you then!

Karuizawa Megumi nodded very firmly.

"Hey, happy birthday! You're supposed to wear my birthday present on your hand!"

"Well, thank you."

.....

Before we knew it, several more days had passed.

Kusuo Saiki has been spending most of his time in his dorm these past few days, passing the time alone, and occasionally sending messages home to change up his food.

He also noticed that more and more people were discussing divination in the class group chat.

Kikyo Kushida: A fortune-telling shop recently opened at the school, and it seems to be very popular. They can tell you things like love and career!

Kanji Ike: It seems incredibly accurate!

"Hey hey hey, as soon as Kushida finishes speaking, Ike will definitely be the one replying the instant the next."

At this moment, Kusuo Saiki was lying in bed, continuing to scroll through his phone.

Takeru Sudo: Fortune telling? I'm quite interested.

"Are you interested in even someone like you who does fortune telling?"

Kusuo Saiki frowned. Several girls in the class had already participated in the divination, and they all said it was very accurate.

As for Kusuo Saiki, he naturally wouldn't believe these words. To some extent, he also has the ability to divine—to foresee the future. However, this ability is uncontrollable, and he only knows a general direction, not the specific details.

"Generally speaking, fortune tellers just say some ambiguous things to gain the customer's sense of agreement, but there are still quite a few people who fall for it. I didn't expect there would be such a shop in this school."

Kusuo Saiki muttered to himself.

Just then, a phone call came in, from Karuizawa Megumi.

"Qi Mu, where are you? I'm at your dorm room door, open it!"

Karuizawa Megumi's incredibly cheerful voice rang out from the phone.

'Did you ask me where I was, but then arrive at my door ahead of time?'

Kusuo Saiki sighed. At the same time, his telepathic senses detected the presence of Kei Karuizawa, and he pushed open the door.

Karuizawa Kei changed into a prettier outfit today, making her look even cuter and more playful.

"Let's go, Qi Mu! Everyone in the class group is talking about divination, let's go check it out!"

As she spoke, Karuizawa Kei leaned forward, resting slightly against Saiki Kusuo—

However, Kusuo Saiki subconsciously retreated half a meter at a speed exceeding the limits of human visual perception, causing Megumi Karuizawa to almost lose her balance and fall to the ground.

"what!"

Karuizawa Kei barely managed to maintain her balance and turned to look at Saiki Kusuo.

Wasn't Qi Mu just next to me? Did I see things wrong?

"lets go."

Saiki Kusuo said slowly, he just wanted to finish today's business as soon as possible and go back to his dormitory to rest.

Just then, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka also happened to come out of his room.

[Karuizawa and Saiki? It seems Karuizawa is now completely under Saiki's control.]

What are you thinking about all day long?

[A few days ago, Sudo asked me to invite Horikita for a fortune telling session, but Horikita refused without hesitation. I'm somewhat interested in things like fortune telling.]

However, there were too many people in line, and I even ran into Ibuki. Fortune telling requires two people to be in a group, and she didn't seem interested in teaming up with me, so I had to come back that day.

I was thinking of going out to try my luck today, but I unexpectedly ran into Saiki. Did he suggest it, or was it Karuizawa's idea?

'You're interested in fortune telling? And you've even been to one? Has your persona changed?'

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself, "This means Kiyotaka Ayanokouji will also be joining me."

"Me too!"

Karui Itsuki announced her and Saiki Kusuo's next move in a loud voice, as if to express a certain attitude.

"Then let's go together."

......

Soon, Kusuo Saiki and his companions arrived at the school's shopping mall. As soon as they reached the floor where the fortune-telling shop was located, they saw a long queue forming, with a dense crowd filling the originally wide corridor.

'No, this school shouldn't have this many talented students, right?'

'And it's just a divination; is it really necessary to bring so many people?'

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself.

He hates crowded places the most because all sorts of voices flood his mind, making it impossible for him to tell who else is around him.

"There are too many people..."

Kusuo Saiki planned to use this reason to persuade Kei Karuizawa to give up, since in his impression, the latter was not a very patient person.

"It's okay, we'll just wait!"

Karuizawa Kei smiled and nodded, then led Saiki Kusuo into the queue.