"Saiki... Is he really that terrifying...?"
Sakayanagi Arisu pursed her lips. The words Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had just spoken were difficult for her to accept in such a short time.
There was a student in this school who was even better at chess than Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
Although Sakayanagi Arisu knew that Saiki had exceptional abilities, she never expected him to surpass Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in chess.
She lowered her head and looked at the chessboard in front of her—
[While replaying the match earlier, I couldn't even immediately grasp the purpose behind Saiki's every move. It was only afterward that I realized Saiki had predicted every single one of Ayanokoji's future moves... Thinking back on it now, it's truly terrifying. It's as if every thought in my mind had been seen through.]
Sakayanagi Arisu's forehead was beaded with sweat.
"But... If Saiki has such incredible abilities, why did he choose rock-paper-scissors as the event? No matter how you look at it, that event relies heavily on luck, right? Even if you can predict the opponent's psychology, it only increases your chances of winning to a certain extent..."
Sakayanagi Arisu asked with some confusion.
"But Saiki is different."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shook his head.
"Saiki's grasp of people's personalities and inner thoughts has reached an exaggerated level. Even I can't predict everyone's actions, but Saiki can."
"You... You're saying that even in rock-paper-scissors, Saiki could completely predict what I might choose?"
Sakayanagi Arisu found it hard to believe Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's words.
"Exactly."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded.
"That's practically a superpower, isn't it?"
"In a sense, it's not impossible. According to psychological research, a person's actions, their environment, and a series of other factors can subconsciously influence their psychology. It's possible that at some point when you met Saiki, he already planted a psychological suggestion in you, making you act in a way that aligned with his expectations."
"That... That's just too absurd... But it's not entirely impossible."
"I'm just stating a possibility. As for things like rock-paper-scissors, if the school system hadn't selected it, Saiki's actions would have been meaningless. So, if you say it's luck, you're not wrong."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka then stood up from his seat.
"Of course, this is all under the assumption that the school's exam system wasn't tampered with beforehand."
"Hmm..."
Sakayanagi Arisu nodded, a terrifying conjecture forming in her mind.
Perhaps, before this exam even began, Saiki had already taken various measures. Otherwise, there were just too many 'coincidences'...
Sakayanagi Arisu even felt that Saiki might have done something during the draw.
"However, during this exam, Tsukishiro didn't take any action. His reaction to Saiki last time has been on my mind."
Sakayanagi Arisu said slowly.
"Maybe he did take some action. In my understanding, he's not the type to sit back and do nothing. But it's possible that something unexpected happened, like him not expecting Saiki to be our class's command tower—I should go now. If I return too late, it might draw attention."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said, preparing to leave.
"Right, I should also keep my promise."
Sakayanagi Arisu nodded.
"Ayanokoji-kun, I'm not your enemy. I once saw you dominate your opponents in the White Room. Since then, I've grown to love chess. I always believed the day would come when I'd face you in a match. Today, I came here precisely because I wanted to meet you—from now on, I'll keep some distance from you to avoid raising more suspicions. Please also convey to Saiki-kun that I won't cause him any more trouble in the future."
"Understood."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded.
...
Meanwhile, Saiki was on his way back to the dormitory when a familiar figure appeared in front of him.
"I just heard about what happened, Saiki-kun."
The voice belonged to the former student council president, Horikita Manabu. However, his tone wasn't as serious as usual, and there was a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his lips.
"When the points are updated next, your class will replace Class A, won't you? Their leader, Sakayanagi, is a very capable person. However, because her methods are a bit too extreme, I don't think she's a suitable candidate for the student council, which is why I never invited her to join—defeating her wasn't an easy task, but you managed to do it. Impressive."
"It's not my achievement. We just got lucky with the events drawn, as they were mostly in our favor. The other students in our class also gave their all during the exam—most importantly, your sister had already made preparations beforehand. I just followed her instructions."
Saiki said slowly.
"The results of this exam were also told to me by Suzune."
Horikita Manabu said slowly.
After the exam, Horikita Suzune had immediately informed Horikita Manabu that she was about to rise to Class A.
At the time, Horikita Suzune had been somewhat conflicted. She wasn't sure how Horikita Manabu's special exam had turned out, so she couldn't show too much excitement. But in the end, she chose to tell her brother the news right away.
Because she had accidentally let her true feelings slip, the barrier between the siblings had lessened significantly.
"Suzune seems to care about you a lot too. She's asked me many questions about you, but I kept my promise and didn't say too much."
Horikita Manabu said slowly.
[From Class D to Class A in just one year—well done, Suzune!]
Although Horikita Manabu's face showed no change in expression, as if this were a matter of course, he was actually quite happy inside.
"I know you must have done something. I believe that in the future, you'll become someone who can influence the school even more than Nagumo and I."
Horikita Manabu didn't hold back in praising Saiki.
'Yare yare, I don't want to become something like that...'
Saiki replied in his mind, but he still spoke up.
"I definitely can't reach that level. I just want to graduate peacefully."
"Suzune has changed a lot this year. Her growth has far exceeded my expectations. A year ago, no matter what I said, she would faithfully try to respond—whether it was telling her to study, to exercise, or to stop doing this or that. If it were just those things, it would have been fine. But she even started imitating my favorite foods, drinks, and eventually my favorite colors and fashion sense. She completely showed her strong dependence on me."
Horikita Manabu shook his head, but soon raised his gaze and fixed it on Saiki.
"However, now she's realized her own issues and has stopped chasing after this illusion of me... She's a gem that will shine even brighter than I ever could..."
Listening to Horikita Manabu's words, Saiki initially didn't plan to say anything, but after some thought, he spoke up.
"If you had told her your true feelings earlier, she might have avoided many detours."
Hearing Saiki's words, Horikita Manabu didn't respond immediately. After a moment of silence, he nodded.
"You're absolutely right. If I had told her my true feelings earlier, she might have surpassed me sooner and become someone you couldn't ignore... I'll leave my sister in your care from now on. By your side, she'll surely grow even further."
After saying this, Horikita Manabu turned and left.
Left standing there, Saiki couldn't help but complain in his mind:
'Hey, hey, are you just going to dump her on me like that?'
...
March 23rd marked the end of the semester, and the graduation ceremony was held on this day.
The entire student body, along with all the teachers, relevant personnel, and many unseen adults, gathered in the gymnasium to witness the ceremony.
[Two years from now, how will I feel standing in that spot?]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at the podium where the ceremony was being held and thought to himself.
Saiki, who could hear Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's thoughts, also turned to look.
'As for me, I probably won't feel anything special.'
He thought to himself.
"Now, I'd like to invite the class representative who fought to the very end and graduated from Class A to give a speech!"
The host held the microphone and announced loudly, and the atmosphere in the venue became solemn.
Everyone was curious about the outcome of the third-year graduates' final battle.
[Brother... Brother must be the Class A representative!]
Horikita Suzune stared intently at the stage, repeating this thought in her mind.
'That's right.'
Saiki affirmed this in his mind.
When he had met Horikita Manabu earlier, he had already learned the answer.
"The representative of Class A—Horikita!"
Under the gaze of everyone, Horikita Manabu walked to the center of the stage, took the microphone, and began his speech.
"On this day, as we feel the arrival of spring through the fragrance of plum blossoms, we welcome the graduation ceremony—"
...
After the graduation ceremony, Chabashira Sae brought the class back to the classroom.
Today was one of the last days of the first-year semester, and Chabashira Sae had a lot to say.
For example...
About the class rankings.
"You students have truly surprised me. Rising from Class D to Class A is something worthy of being recorded in history. You should all be proud of yourselves!"
Chabashira Sae's face was filled with an unmistakable smile, and her eyes even seemed to glisten with moisture.
[Finally, finally, I've done it!]
She even shouted this in her mind.
"This is my fourth year as a teacher, and you're the second class I've been in charge of. But you're several times more outstanding than the previous Class D students—even the Class A students. That said, whether you can maintain this position until graduation will depend on whether you continue to work hard."
Chabashira Sae lightly tapped the blackboard.
"Tomorrow is the closing ceremony. Even though there are no classes, don't forget it's still a school day. Now, class dismissed."
After Chabashira Sae finished speaking, she left the classroom, and the students also prepared to leave.
At that moment, Saiki caught a voice—
[I've been bothered by something since the end-of-year exams until today—it's about Saiki.]
[If I told someone about this, they might laugh and say it's a crush, but that's not it. I've started to feel a strong sense of wariness toward Saiki-kun. If I told other students about this, they probably wouldn't understand, but I'm trying to find answers in my own way.]
[Exams, sports festivals, rising in the rankings—all these things are shockingly connected. Saiki-kun's presence in the class has grown stronger, and I'm well aware that he's been involved in all of this.]
'Yare yare... Another troublesome person, huh?'
Saiki pretended not to notice.
The owner of this voice hadn't interacted much with him, and it wasn't until recently that Saiki had even said her name for the first time.
Matsushita Chiaki.
Matsushita Chiaki didn't have a strong presence in the class, but Saiki could use his telepathy to catch her thoughts.
Ever since the class ranking rules were announced in the first semester, Matsushita Chiaki had been thinking every day about how to lead the class to Class A—
In a sense, Matsushita Chiaki was like Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Saiki, hiding her true abilities while secretly observing the other students, thinking about who could help her achieve this goal.
Previously, Saiki hadn't paid much attention to Matsushita Chiaki, partly because she hadn't turned her attention to him yet, and partly because he thought that once they rose to Class A, Matsushita Chiaki wouldn't do anything.
However... Things didn't go as planned.
Not only had Matsushita Chiaki turned her attention to him, but her curiosity about Saiki had also grown stronger because of their rise to Class A.
[Saiki-kun, you're hiding something, aren't you? I really want to know more about you.]