Classroom of the Elite, Kusuo Saiki

As Kikyo Kushida spoke, her voice rose in pitch.

"Absolutely not. Superpowers are a complete burden to me, and I don't like being the center of attention."

Kusuo Saiki immediately gave a negative answer in his mind, but he didn't say it out loud. He just turned his head slightly and looked at Kiyotaka Ayanokouji next to him.

Humans are creatures who crave praise; no one dislikes being complimented or respected by friends or parents. Striving for praise is a perfectly legitimate motivation, commonly known as the need for respect, a fundamental and indispensable element of social formation.

'No, can just one sentence really make you imagine so much?'

“I think I rely on that kind of thing more intensely than the average person. I really want to express myself, I really want to be noticed, I really want to be praised. The moment I achieve that, I truly feel how valuable I am, and I feel that life is wonderful. But I know my limits. No matter how hard I try, I can't be number one in academics or sports. Second or third place can't satisfy my desires, so I thought—then I'll do something that no one can imitate. I discovered that as long as I can become gentler and more kinder than anyone else, I can become number one in that field.”

'...'

Although Kusuo Saiki already knew what kind of person Kikyo Kushida was, he still had to marvel at her extreme nature after she said those words.

"Thanks to this, I became popular. Both boys and girls liked me. I felt the pleasure of being relied on and trusted. Elementary and junior high school were really happy times!"

"Isn't it painful for you to keep doing things you don't want to do at all? If it were me, I think my mind would have given out long ago."

Horikita Suzune asked with a puzzled look. As someone who was practically a disaster when it came to interpersonal relationships, she couldn't understand Kushida Kikyo's motives at all.

“It’s painful, of course I’m in pain. Every day I accumulate so much stress that it feels like I’m going bald. I’ve even pulled out my own hair or vomited because of anxiety. But in order to maintain my ‘gentle self,’ I can’t let anyone see me like this, so I endure and endure, and keep holding back. But I have my limits, and one day, the limit will come.”

Kusuo Saiki couldn't help but recall seeing Kikyo Kushida venting her emotions one night last semester.

"Didn't you see me venting my emotions?"

Kikyo Kushida narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at Suzune Horikita.

"what?"

Horikita Suzune froze for a moment, her mind racing as she thought back to what had happened.

Meanwhile, Kusuo Saiki had a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead. He was the one who had deleted Kikyo Kushida's memories, and her brain had automatically filled in the gaps, replacing her with Suzune Horikita.

Kusuo Saiki bears approximately 0.2% of the responsibility for Kikyo Kushida's intensified hatred towards Suzune Horikita.

"What sustains my spirit is the internet. It's the only place where I can vent the pressure I keep inside that I can't tell anyone. Of course, I write everything anonymously, but it's all true. I pour out all my stress there, and it makes me feel much better. Thanks to the internet, I'm able to maintain my sense of self and feel happy about the encouragement from strangers online. But one day, my blog was accidentally discovered by a classmate. No matter how well I hide the names of the people in it, it's only natural that it would be discovered since the content is all true. I accidentally got caught talking about all the bad things I said to the whole class, and it's no wonder I'm disliked."

Fortunately, Kikyo Kushida didn't pay attention to Suzune Horikita's reaction and continued talking to herself.

"That's where things started, right?"

"The next day, the content of my blog spread to the whole class, and I was severely criticized by everyone in the class. They had helped me a lot, but everyone's attitude suddenly changed. How selfish! A boy who said he liked me even bumped into my shoulder. Although it was because I wrote on my blog that I found his confession disgusting and wished him dead, it was understandable. A girl who had been dumped by her boyfriend kicked my desk over because I wrote down in detail the reasons why she was dumped and mocked her. In short, I felt a crisis because more than 30 classmates were all my enemies."

As she spoke, Kikyo Kushida's eyes changed, and a murderous intent filled her gaze.

'What a terrifying guy...'

As Kusuo Saiki thought this to himself, he couldn't help but feel pity for Kanji Ike, who harbored feelings for Kikyo Kushida.

'Luckily, Ike hasn't confessed to Kushida yet, otherwise, there would probably be another person on Kushida's list of people he wants to die.'

How did you get through that situation?

"I was just spreading the truth and revealing all the secrets of my classmates, like someone hating someone, or someone always thinking someone was disgusting—I was telling the truth that I hadn't even written on my blog. Then, most of the attacks that were directed at me were directed at the people they hated. The boys started fighting each other, and the girls were pulling each other's hair and knocking each other down. The classroom was in complete chaos. It was really exaggerated back then!"

A wolf-like smile appeared on Kikyo Kushida's cute face.

So that's how it is? Is this the reason why the order in her class has fallen apart?

Horikita Suzune was amazed.

Meanwhile, Kusuo Saiki's gaze was filled with deep confusion.

"Oh my god, what do you mean 'so that's how it is'? A whole class's order was disrupted because of this? Really? This is the kind of absurd plot you only see in third-rate novels! And this led to a class-wide brawl, which means your class already had a bad relationship before, right? A bunch of middle school students turned into this just because they said a few bad things to each other?!"

Kusuo Saiki was internally ranting, while Suzune Horikita looked like she had just realized something.

"Although things are different now than in junior high, and I don't know the details about the other students in Class B yet, I still have the truth that can break a few people. That's my only weapon right now."

Kikyo Kushida spoke slowly, her meaning very clear: she was essentially threatening the others present, implying that she could easily destroy the order of the class—

However, this posed no threat to Kusuo Saiki. At least with a little mental control or hypnosis, Kikyo Kushida's method would be completely ineffective.

Of course, Kusuo Saiki hates troublesome things and tries to avoid using this ability whenever possible.

Is it really worth going to such lengths?

Horikita Suzune frowned and looked at Kushida Kikyo, asking a question.

"Of course it's worth it!"

Kikyo Kushida gave her answer without any hesitation.

"Then let's choose math! If my math score is higher than yours, Horikita-kun, then you, Yamauchi-kun, Ayanokouji-kun, and Saiki-kun will all have to drop out of school!"

'I never said I was involved from beginning to end, and it's so unfair that one person was exchanged for four!'

Saiki Kusuo thought to himself, while Kushida Kikyo, who had uttered those harsh words, had already left the classroom.

"Is it really a good idea to make this kind of bet with Kushida? After all, she can get the questions directly from Ryuen, right?"

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji turned his head and looked at Suzune Horikita with a blank expression.

"If you're going to gamble, then you absolutely have to win."

Horikita Suzune gave an unwavering answer.

'Oh dear... I didn't say a single word from beginning to end...'

Kusuo Saiki sighed inwardly.

'But on second thought, this might be a good thing. In this school, it seems that any agreement that can be documented has some effect. If Horikita's score is indeed higher than Kushida's, then Kushida probably won't cause any trouble afterward.'

"Besides, although I hate troublesome things, if Kushida continues to collude with Ryuen, and even switches exam papers for the entire class, then we can't just sit idly by."

'They need to be taught a lesson.'

......

On the other side, Haruki Yamauchi had just returned to his dormitory, and he seemed a little absent-minded.

"Yamachi, did Kushida just speak to you privately?"

Upon seeing Haruki Yamauchi return, Kanji Ike immediately began asking him questions.

Although he certainly believed in his heart that Kikyo Kushida could never be interested in Haruki Yamauchi, Haruki Yamauchi was still very curious about it.

"that....."

Haruki Yamauchi was about to say something, but then he remembered Kikyo Kushida's earlier words. If he revealed what he knew, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Um, Kushida-san, he didn't say anything!"

"what?"

Haruki Yamauchi's reaction surprised Kanji Ike, who quickly returned to his room and slammed the door shut.

"What's wrong with this guy?"

Ike Kanji looked completely bewildered.

.....

The next few days seemed calm and peaceful.

Haruki Yamauchi was reluctant to attend the daily book club meeting; ever since that incident, the perfect image of Kikyo Kushida in his mind had been shattered.

But Kikyo Kushida wouldn't give him a chance to escape. Every day after school, Kikyo Kushida would come to find Haruki Yamauchi with a smile:

"Yamachi-kun, you're coming to the book club today too, right?"

These words sounded incredibly gentle to everyone else, and even some of the boys were surprised as to why Haruki Yamauchi had recently received more attention from Kikyo Kushida.

Only Haruki Yamauchi could sense the murderous intent in Kikyo Kushida's words.

With no room for refusal, Haruki Yamauchi could only study with Kikyo Kushida every day.

As for Kusuo Saiki and his group, they studied quite leisurely every day. Although it took them two hours each day, they spent it in a coffee shop, explaining problems to others while drinking coffee and eating desserts, which was not bad.

However, during the daily book club sessions, an unseen battle seemed to be raging among Karuizawa Megumi, Sato Maya, and Sakura Airi.

"Nanxiong, I specially ordered a small cake for you!"

"Qi Mu, you work so hard every day, I ordered you bubble tea!"

"Kusuo-kun... I brought you some... cookies... please try them."

It was less of a book club and more of a group feeding session.

With only a few days left until the final exams, Kusuo Saiki thought that everyone else had studied enough, so after the book club ended, he told the others that they didn't need to come to the book club anymore.

"Sigh, we feel like we haven't learned enough!"

Several people around immediately spoke up.

'When did you all become so studious?'

Just as he was about to leave, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji called him back.

"Qi Mu, would it be convenient for us to talk in private later?"

"......Row."

Kusuo Saiki guessed what Kiyotaka Ayanokouji wanted to talk about, and since he couldn't refuse, he had no choice but to agree. He then left the coffee shop with Kiyotaka.

Chapter 112: Kikyo Kushida, accept your punishment right here in the exam hall!

"Kushida must have already obtained the exam questions from Ryuen. Her academic ability was already quite high. If she got the exam questions in advance, it wouldn't be impossible for her to get a perfect score."

After leaving the coffee shop, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji said to Kusuo Saiki,

"Horikita's academic ability is superior to Kushida's, but considering various factors, it would be quite difficult to get a perfect score."

"Ah."

Kusuo Saiki simply nodded, not seeming particularly concerned.

"Judging from your expression, it seems you're already prepared."

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji noticed Kusuo Saiki's very calm expression and thought that Kusuo Saiki must have thought of a solution.

'yes. ’

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself.