Saiki was simply sitting next to Hirata Yosuke, and the latter, through Saiki's usual behavior, had completed a kind of 'self-realization.'
This left Saiki momentarily unsure of what exactly had happened.
Did he really do nothing, yet the problem was successfully resolved?
"It's all because of my previous incompetence... I couldn't do anything myself, yet I kept shouting empty slogans..."
Hirata Yosuke's eyes were slightly moist, but he still reached out to wipe away the tears that had just fallen.
"Thank you so much, Saiki!"
After bidding farewell to Saiki, Hirata Yosuke returned to his dormitory, leaving Saiki alone, feeling somewhat at a loss in the wind.
'?'
...
At night, Saiki returned to his dormitory. After confirming that no one would be looking for him that night, he used his teleportation ability to arrive near a hospital thousands of miles away.
He floated in mid-air, concealed by the night, and no one noticed his presence.
Saiki shifted his gaze to the window of a certain hospital room, his vision gradually penetrating through the glass and landing on the hospital bed.
The person lying there was none other than Hirata Yosuke's former friend.
Having been bullied, he had chosen to jump off a building to end his life, but in the end, he was left brain-dead.
By the bedside, his family still cared for him, hoping that one day he would wake up, though this was almost impossible.
However... with psychic powers, it was a different story.
Saiki slowly approached the hospital bed and reached for the antenna on his head.
A few minutes later, exclamations of surprise came from the hospital room.
...
Late at night, Hirata Yosuke was sitting in his room, constantly reminiscing about his life since middle school, unable to sleep for a long time.
[I always said I would protect others... but I never actually did it...]
Hirata Yosuke sighed deeply.
But at that moment, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
'Check your social media.'
"Why would I suddenly think of that?"
Hirata Yosuke touched his head, shook it, but still sat down in front of his computer and opened his social media account.
At school, actively communicating with the outside world was strictly prohibited, but students could still receive messages or comments on their previous social media accounts, just like Sakura Airi's personal blog, which still received daily messages from fans.
"Someone like me probably doesn't have any friends leaving messages... After all, in middle school, others only felt fear towards me."
Hirata Yosuke shook his head, a bitter smile on his face, and then shifted his gaze to his friend list—
"Huh?"
He noticed that a profile picture that should have been grayed out was now lit up and had sent him a message.
Sugimura: Hirata-kun, I... I've been discharged from the hospital.
Sugimura: I don't remember a lot of things... Was I in a coma for two years? Wow, that kind of drama-like scenario actually happened to me! Haha, my family and the doctors were all shocked! They're going to give me a final check-up later.
Sugimura: I've forgotten a lot of things, but I still remember you, Hirata! We promised to play soccer together! But in the blink of an eye, you've already graduated... I just heard from my family that you seem to have gone to a very special school! It seems like you can't reply to messages during this time, right?
Sugimura: I don't even remember how I ended up in a coma, and my family won't let me contact you, which is strange... Anyway, I'm going for the check-up now, and maybe I'll be discharged soon! It'll take a long time to recover, but when you graduate, we can still play soccer together!
"How... how is this possible?!"
Hirata Yosuke sat there, petrified, because this Sugimura was the very friend who had jumped off a building and become a vegetable.
"Sugimura, Sugimura, Sugimura, he's awake!"
An uncontrollable surge of excitement welled up in Hirata Yosuke's heart. He couldn't wait to send a message to confirm this—but the school's internal devices were programmed to prevent his message from being sent.
However, this event had already ignited hope in Hirata Yosuke's heart, and the last barrier within him had crumbled.
Tears streamed uncontrollably from Hirata Yosuke's eyes as he sobbed.
'Yare yare.'
In another dormitory not far away, Saiki was using his clairvoyance to observe Hirata Yosuke's actions.
He had removed his antenna and used his restoration ability to return Sugimura's brain to its state seven years ago, successfully reviving him from a brain-dead state.
At the same time, Saiki had transferred a portion of Hirata Yosuke's memories into the boy named Sugimura.
Sugimura should have forgotten about the bullying he had endured, but he still remembered that he once had a friend named Hirata Yosuke.
'Yare yare, restoring the brain to its state seven years ago might have some impact on intelligence and the like, but after infusing the memories, he should recover more quickly.'
Saiki then stopped using his clairvoyance and lay down on his bed.
'This time, the matter should be completely settled.'
...
The next day, everything seemed as usual.
Hirata Yosuke arrived in the classroom.
He walked up to the podium and bowed deeply to all the students present.
"Everyone, I'm very sorry for worrying you all this time. It might be too late to apologize now... but if you don't mind, I hope to continue contributing to the class starting today!"
Hirata Yosuke spoke with utmost sincerity.
"It's fine, Hirata!"
"As long as you're back on your feet, that's great!"
"Hirata, we'll always support you!"
The uneasy atmosphere that had been lingering in the class instantly dissipated, and everyone quickly gathered around Hirata Yosuke to chat with him.
Meanwhile, Horikita Suzune crossed her arms and looked at Saiki beside her:
"Saiki, what exactly did you do?"
[Hirata's previous state was something no one could persuade him out of. Even Wang from our class tried to talk to him several times but failed... Why was Saiki able to convince Hirata? In just one day, he caused such a change in Hirata... What exactly did Saiki do?]
"I didn't do anything."
Saiki answered truthfully.
During the day, he had simply sat next to Hirata Yosuke, and Hirata had practically pulled himself out of his predicament.
"Everyone's recovery process is different. Even after a big fight, most people will act like nothing happened the next day."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was nearby, chimed in.
However, even as he spoke, questions arose in his mind as well.
[Saiki, what method did he use to completely change Hirata? Was it direct verbal stimulation, or some other method?]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka also didn't understand what Saiki had done and felt somewhat puzzled.
"Good morning, Horikita."
At that moment, Hirata Yosuke walked up to Horikita Suzune with a smile and greeted her.
"Did you hit your head? Your mindset seems to have changed quite a bit from yesterday, though you don't seem to be bluffing..."
"Yesterday, I talked a lot with Saiki-kun, and some of the things I was struggling with finally became clear. Also, a problem that had been bothering me for a long time was resolved."
Hirata Yosuke smiled, his bright eyes free of any doubt.
"To regain the trust I lost, I will do my best. I hope you can tell me the details of the special exam later."
Horikita Suzune nodded, pondering for a moment.
[So it really is related to Saiki?]
"Understood. Then you'll have to let me assess your condition and see if you're really useful. Is that okay?"
"Of course."
Hirata Yosuke extended his hand and shook Horikita Suzune's, and the previous conflict between them had completely vanished.
...
Unconsciously, several days passed, and it was finally the day to confirm all the class exam subjects.
In the morning, in the classroom, Horikita Suzune was making the final confirmations.
During this time, Horikita Suzune had been coordinating the work, and the revitalized Hirata Yosuke was able to provide some assistance.
"First, our class's ten events are English, basketball, archery, swimming, tennis, table tennis, typing skills, soccer, piano, and rock-paper-scissors. Additionally, the ten exam events for our opponent, Class A, have been announced."
Horikita Suzune listed all the exam events.
They were chess, rapid mental calculation, Go, modern literature exam, social studies exam, volleyball, math exam, English exam, group jump rope, and dodgeball. Among these, group jump rope involved over twenty participants, while the other events had a larger number of participants. Chess was the only individual event.
Moreover, under Class A's setup, no matter the event, the level of intervention from the command tower was minimal—except for one event.
Chess.
Chess: Requires one participant, with a time limit of one hour (lose if time runs out).
Rules: Follow standard chess rules. However, after the 41st move, the time limit will not increase.
Command Tower: Can issue instructions at any time during the game, for up to thirty minutes.
[Chess... This event must have been prepared by Sakayanagi.]
[Since we don't know which of the ten events will be chosen on the day, we can't slack off on any of them. Moreover, since many of the events require a large number of participants, we'll need to allocate a significant amount of time and effort to organizing the teams and practicing. We also can't boldly use places like the gym for practice, as we might be monitored by Class A.]
[However, if we spend a lot of time practicing but those events aren't chosen, all our hard work will be in vain—but if we don't practice...]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought to himself.
"Does anyone know how to play Go or chess?"
Horikita Suzune asked.
"I do."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't hesitate and immediately raised his hand.
"I remember how to play chess, but I know nothing about Go and have never played it."
[As for Go, I did learn it in the White Room, but to avoid being assigned to other events, I can only say I don't know how to play.]
"What about Saiki?"
Horikita Suzune immediately asked, as she had noticed that the command tower's level of intervention in this event was much higher than in others. In a sense, this event could very well become a battle between command towers.
Horikita Suzune sensed the uniqueness of this event, though she simply thought it was Sakayanagi Arisu choosing her most proficient event.
"I know a little."
After thinking for a moment, Saiki replied.
"Alright, I'll first gather information on what everyone is good at."
Horikita Suzune nodded and began asking others about their strengths.
After about ten minutes, the basic statistics were complete.
At that moment, Yukimura Teruhiko approached Horikita Suzune.
"Horikita, I have an idea."
"What is it?"
"We might be able to get information about Class A in advance."
"Oh?"
"We could try to win over Katsuragi to our Class B. Katsuragi's subordinate, Totsuka, was expelled because of Sakayanagi, so he must hold a grudge. I've passed by Katsuragi several times these past few days, and he's clearly not the same as before."
"Do you think he would betray his class just to catch Sakayanagi off guard?"
Yukimura Teruhiko adjusted his glasses and continued:
"If we rise to Class A, we could offer Katsuragi the right to transfer classes. How about using that as a condition? Moreover, this way, even Katsuragi would become our ally. We're just one step away from Class A, so it should be a tempting offer for Katsuragi."
"That makes sense, but I can't agree with your proposal."
Horikita Suzune said very seriously.
"Why... why not?"
"I think Katsuragi is undoubtedly in a difficult position, but even so, I don't think he would accept such a condition and betray his class. After all, our class can't come up with twenty million points right now, and if we're making promises about the future, they lack credibility."
"I think it's worth a try."
At that moment, Saiki spoke up.