Classroom of the Elite, Kusuo Saiki

Regardless of how to match and deal with possible exam questions, improving each student's grades is not a problem.

Kusuo Saiki certainly didn't want to participate in the discussion, but Yosuke Hirata asked him to go to the school's coffee shop later to discuss the exam with the others.

"Discussing it at a coffee shop would be barely acceptable, since they have food and other necessities there."

As he thought about it, Kusuo Saiki packed his schoolbag.

Just then, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji quickly approached Kusuo Saiki.

"Qi Mu, you're going to have a meeting with them later, right?"

Aren't you going too?

"I'd like to discuss with you beforehand the tactics for what's to come."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji said slowly.

"Hmm...you go..."

Kusuo Saiki nodded. Although he didn't want to waste too much time, knowing Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's so-called tactics would help him prevent that guy from doing anything strange in the future.

"I suppose you've already heard the true meaning of this exam from Chabashira-sensei, Saiki."

Of course, after all, you've already said all of this in your heart.

Saiki Kusuo thought this to himself, but still nodded.

"Let's decide on the pairings for the final exam after the next quiz."

"Ah."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded.

"Because of your scheme, Qi Mu, Long Yuan has focused its firepower on Yamanouchi. I remember that not long ago, Long Yuan seemed to be tracking you."

"Um....."

The image of Ryuen Sho's head rolling on the ground resurfaced in Saiki Kusuo's mind.

"But in the end, it seems that Long Yuan didn't do anything to you. This means that you either diverted Long Yuan's attention or used some method to restrict Long Yuan, which also prevented Long Yuanxiang from taking any significant actions for a long time."

'Are you referring to secretly recording audio using invisibility and then sending the message using superpowers?'

Kusuo Saiki pretended to be very calm and nodded slightly.

"That's impressive, but it probably also means that Ryuen will be even more wary of us. I think Class D is very likely to attack our class in the next final exam. I suppose you, Qi Mu, are also planning to settle things with Class D. Ryuen is a capable person, somewhat like the two of us. In the future, he might become a tool that we can use."

'What exactly is similar about him?! And you'd even want to use someone like that?'

While inwardly complaining, Saiki Kusuo still nodded slightly.

"Um....."

“Longyuan will take action against our class, but I don’t think they are our class’s biggest enemy. There is something we must deal with. It is a cancer cell in our class. If our class wants to go further, then we must get rid of it.”

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's face remained expressionless, but his gaze seemed to turn somewhat cold.

"Kikyo Kushida, I want her to drop out of school. Saiki, what's your opinion?"

"Aha?"

Chapter 106: Class D, let's settle this in this exam!

Kusuo Saiki was stunned for a moment. Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's sudden words to him were somewhat unexpected.

For the future development of Class B, Kikyo Kushida is undoubtedly a scourge—at least until she eliminates Suzune Horikita, her actions will hinder the class's progress.

For Kusuo Saiki, aside from the night he accidentally bumped into Kikyo Kushida and vented his emotions, Kikyo Kushida was at least passable to him on the surface.

'Wait... no... Ryuen caused me a lot of trouble before, all because of Kushida!'

It was only then that Kusuo Saiki realized that he was the indirect victim of all the strange things Kikyo Kushida had done.

"Qi Mu, what are your thoughts?"

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's gaze fell on Kusuo Saiki.

[It seems Sakayanagi from Class A knows about my past, and Chabashira-sensei is threatening me with that man's words. Although Saiki has told me she's a blusterer, given the current situation, we need to prepare for the worst. Horikita is a very suitable candidate; if I can train her, she could become a powerful weapon against these people—but only if I eliminate Kushida Kikyo. If I don't get rid of Kushida Kikyo, then Horikita Suzune won't be able to get started.]

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji seems somewhat fixated on the matter of Kikyo Kushida dropping out of school.

However, for Kusuo Saiki, Kikyo Kushida had no impact whatsoever, and whether or not he expelled her from school was irrelevant; he didn't want to get involved in any more trouble.

"Whatever you want, just do what you think is best."

Saiki Kusuo immediately said.

"understood."

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji nodded, and at the same time, countless ways to expel Kikyo Kushida instantly flashed through his mind.

'What a strange guy....'

Kusuo Saiki looked at Kiyotaka Ayanokouji with a sense of helplessness. Fortunately, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji was now on the same side as him, otherwise this guy might have caused even more trouble.

"Let's go to the coffee shop first and meet up with Hirata and the others."

"Ah."

......

Soon, Kusuo Saiki and Kiyotaka Ayanokouji arrived at the coffee shop. Yosuke Hirata, Megumi Karuizawa, Kikyo Kushida, and Ken Sudo had already arrived, while Suzune Horikita arrived last.

"Hey, hey, you guys can have your own meeting, there's no need to drag me in."

Kusuo Saiki mentally complained, then slightly shifted his gaze to Ken Sudo.

'But regarding the exam, not only is Karuizawa there, but is Sudo there too?'

For some reason, Kusuo Saiki felt that Ken Sudo's presence in this place was somewhat out of place, as if Ken Sudo would have a hard time understanding what the people around him were saying.

I probably look like I'm being very serious.

At this moment, Takeru Sudo was sitting in his seat with a serious expression, his gaze fixed on the others.

Just as Kusuo Saiki found a seat, Kei Karuizawa, who had arrived earlier, stood up from her original seat and quickly sat down next to him, pushing a plate of dessert next to him as well.

Before Kusuo Saiki arrived, Megumi Karuizawa had already ordered dessert for him.

'Well done, Karuizawa!'

Saiki Kusuo praised in his heart.

"Let's start by talking about the next quiz."

Horikita Suzune took a sip of her milk tea and then spoke with a serious expression.

"We probably don't need to worry too much about it, right? The book clubs that have been held since the midterm exams are a lot of a burden for everyone, and the school seems to have assured us that our class score won't be affected by this quiz."

"That's what Karuizawa Megumi said from the side."

This time, the pudding has a new flavor.

Kusuo Saiki's attention was completely elsewhere, his gaze fixed on the pudding in front of him.

"Horikita just had milk tea, so it's okay for me to have a bite of pudding now, right?"

"Yes, I don't plan to force everyone to review. However, I don't think the school is implementing quizzes purely to assess students' academic performance, since we just had our midterm exams. It's meaningless to have two exams in a short period of time."

Horikita Suzune said that she also seemed to have noticed the implication in Chabashira Sae's words.

'Hmm, this tastes good.'

At this moment, Kusuo Saiki has already begun to enjoy the food.

"So, the quiz itself is meaningful? Does it serve a purpose beyond assessing academic ability?"

Karuizawa Kei's brain was clearly not as sharp as Horikita Suzune's, and she still looked puzzled.

"If the reason for holding the quiz is not to confirm our academic ability, then it means one thing: the quiz results will affect the selection of partners for the final exam. That should be it."

Hirata Yosuke immediately realized what Horikita Suzune meant.

"Do you understand, Sudo?"

Horikita Suzune turned her head and looked at Sudo Ken.

At this moment, Takeru Sudo's brows were furrowed, and he looked very serious and focused.

"Well, it's almost there."

【I don't understand at all! What are they talking about? Is a simple quiz really this complicated? But I'll pretend I do! That way they'll definitely look at me with more respect!】

Kenjiro Sudo thought to himself.

[Sudo probably didn't understand.]

Horikita Suzune realized almost instantly that Sudo Ken was just bluffing, but she was too lazy to call him out on it.

"There must be rules for pairing students for the final exam. In other words, as long as we can find the rules, we can use a powerful strategy to counter the final exam."

Just then, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji spoke up.

'The texture is excellent, and the sweetness is just right; it's not cloying at all.'

"What do you mean?"

"I believe this quiz will determine the pairings for the final exam."

I think so too.

Horikita Suzune nodded.

Oh no, I can't understand a word they're saying...

A bead of sweat appeared on Takeru Sudo's forehead, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes.

"Is it possible that students with similar scores might be grouped together?"

Karuizawa Kei understood the dialogue quite accurately and stated the possible rules.

"Aren't there also those kinds of questions where the answers are very similar, like the ones where you answer correctly or incorrectly?"

When Sudo Ken heard that, he tried his best to make his brain, which was not much bigger than a walnut, work quickly, and finally managed to catch up with the others' thinking and say the rule he had come up with.

"However, if you don't guess the rules correctly, the consequences could be very serious."