"Is that so?"
Horikita Manabu looked at Saiki, sensing that the other wasn't lying.
"It seems you've put in more effort than others—far more than even me. It must have been quite a journey for you."
'Yare yare, I didn't put in any effort at all. I've had psychic powers since birth. But if we're talking about hardship, then in a way, you're not wrong.'
Saiki answered in his heart.
"First, take note of these two numbers. One is mine, and the other is Tachibana's. If you run into any trouble after graduation, I'm always available to discuss it with you. If you can't memorize them now, you can write them down, but make sure to delete them afterward."
Horikita Manabu then gave Saiki two phone numbers—though Saiki didn't actually need to write them down to call him, he still pretended to memorize them.
"Thank you very much."
Saiki said.
"There's something I'd like to confirm with you as well. Consider it a parting gift for my graduation."
At this point, Horikita Manabu's expression grew serious.
"Why do you hide your talents?"
'Because if my identity as a psychic were exposed, it would probably cause a huge uproar worldwide. And I definitely wouldn't be able to live a normal life anymore.'
Saiki thought this in his heart. After a moment of consideration, he continued speaking.
"I just don't want to attract too much attention. Otherwise, my daily life might be disrupted."
Saiki wasn't lying.
"Lately, I've been thinking about what I've accomplished at this school and what I haven't. But didn't you come to this school to leave something behind as well? If that's the case, I think you should strive for it as much as possible. Even if you can't leave anything for the school, leaving something for the students would be enough. The memory of a student named Saiki might remain in the hearts of others."
Horikita Manabu spoke very seriously at this moment.
'Leave something behind?'
After hearing Horikita Manabu's words, Saiki didn't respond immediately but instead pondered for a moment.
"Is Suzune not here?"
After thinking for a long time, Horikita Manabu finally spoke, seemingly wanting to ask Saiki if he knew where Horikita Suzune was.
Although there was still some time before he had to leave the school, Horikita Manabu was eager to see his sister as soon as possible.
"She might be nearby."
Saiki said slowly.
When Saiki arrived here, he had already used his telepathy to know that Horikita Suzune was indeed nearby.
[My brother is about to leave. How should I talk to him...?]
Horikita Suzune had actually arrived earlier than Saiki, but she had been struggling with how to approach her brother, so she hadn't shown herself.
"When I came here earlier, I saw a girl who looked a lot like Horikita, but I didn't have time to confirm it at the time."
Saiki said.
"Is that so?"
Horikita Manabu's brow relaxed slightly.
"She's over there. Do you want to go see?"
"Sure."
Soon, Horikita Manabu walked in the direction Saiki pointed and saw Horikita Suzune standing by the wall, looking conflicted.
"What should I say...? My brother is about to leave the school..."
"Suzune, what are you doing here?"
When Horikita Manabu saw Horikita Suzune, he asked with some confusion.
"Ah? Brother!?"
Horikita Manabu's voice pulled Horikita Suzune's thoughts back to reality, startling her.
"I... I... I was thinking about how you're graduating, so... but I didn't know what to say..."
Horikita Suzune, upon seeing her brother suddenly appear in front of her, was at a loss for words. She had prepared many things to say, but upon seeing her brother, she forgot everything.
"How... how did you see me here?"
"Saiki said he saw someone who looked like you, so I came over to check. It really is you."
"Saiki?"
Horikita Suzune turned to look behind Horikita Manabu, but Saiki had already left.
...
'Yare yare, let these siblings have some time together. It has nothing to do with me.'
Saiki thought this in his heart, then began walking back to his dorm.
However, there was one more thing he needed to take care of before that.
"Saiki-kun, do you have a moment?"
Standing in front of Saiki was Matsushita Chiaki—
Just like with Horikita Suzune, Saiki had heard Matsushita Chiaki's thoughts from a distance. She had been following him all day.
Originally, he had planned to avoid her, but since she kept following him, he decided to use this opportunity to settle the matter once and for all.
After all, being followed every day was quite troublesome.
"What is it?"
"Can we talk?"
"I have something to do later..."
"It's fine. It won't take long."
Matsushita Chiaki immediately said, not giving Saiki a chance to refuse.
"Alright, what do you want to talk about?"
"Saiki-kun, are you close with the former student council president?"
Matsushita Chiaki asked curiously.
While following Saiki earlier, she had noticed that he seemed to have a close relationship with Horikita Manabu.
"Not really. We're just acquaintances."
Saiki replied.
"But I accidentally saw the two of you talking earlier, and it seemed like you were quite familiar with each other."
"Not really. He just asked me about his sister, that's all."
Saiki shook his head.
[Saiki is definitely playing dumb. How could it just be about that?]
'Tch, she really doesn't believe me, huh?'
[In that case, I'll just get straight to the point.]
"Saiki-kun, you're actually really amazing, aren't you!"
Matsushita Chiaki decided to cut to the chase.
After all, there were too many mysteries in her mind.
"What do you mean?"
Saiki pretended not to understand.
"During the sports festival, you showed physical abilities far beyond everyone else..."
'That was an accident. I didn't mean to...'
"When Hirata was in a bad state, I saw you having a deep conversation with him, and the next day, Hirata seemed like a completely different person..."
'If I said I didn't do anything, would you believe me?'
"During the recent class vote, Sakayanagi inexplicably gave all her praise votes to you. That was also very strange. Plus, your relationship with the former student council president... all these things have been on my mind..."
Matsushita Chiaki spoke very seriously.
"When you put all these things together, they can't just be coincidences, right? Saiki-kun, you're actually really amazing, aren't you!"
Matsushita Chiaki stared intently at Saiki.
[I want to see if these words will provoke any reaction from Saiki-kun... but it seems he's not showing any. That's to be expected, since he's been hiding his abilities in class for almost a year now.]
'Yare yare, Matsushita really isn't easy to fool.'
Saiki thought this in his heart, pondering how to handle the situation.
If he didn't clear things up with Matsushita Chiaki now, there would definitely be more trouble later.
His mind raced, and he finally came up with a good plan.
'Yare yare, Ayanokoji has caused me a lot of trouble recently. It's time I returned the favor.'
With that thought, Saiki spoke:
"In the end, you've finally figured it out, huh?"
"You're admitting it just like that?"
Matsushita Chiaki was surprised. She hadn't expected Saiki to admit so readily that he had been hiding his abilities.
"That's right. I've been hiding my abilities from the start."
"Why?"
"On one hand, it's because I didn't want to attract too much attention—"
Saiki paused, then continued.
"And on the other hand, it was because of Ayanokoji's instructions."
"Ayanokoji?"
Matsushita Chiaki was shocked. She hadn't expected Saiki to bring up that name.
"You didn't know?"
Saiki pretended to be surprised.
"It seems I've let it slip."
[Ayanokoji... Thinking back, Ayanokoji is also a very suspicious figure... There have been many incidents where Ayanokoji's actions were questionable, but because Saiki has so many mysteries, I've been focusing on him and overlooking Ayanokoji... But why would Saiki-kun mention Ayanokoji? What does his hidden abilities have to do with Ayanokoji?]
More questions arose in Matsushita Chiaki's mind, and she immediately said:
"I know a little, but I'm not clear on the details. I'd like to confirm with you."
Matsushita Chiaki said quickly.
'She's taken the bait, huh?'
Saiki thought this in his heart, then continued.
"Is that so? How much do you know?"
"I'm not sure. You tell me, and I'll see if it matches what I know."
Matsushita Chiaki asked.
[I can't reveal that I know nothing. That way, I'll have a bargaining chip to keep the conversation going.]
"Alright, since you already know so much about me, you probably know most of it already."
Saiki said slowly.
"So I'll just tell you everything."
Hearing Saiki's words, Matsushita Chiaki perked up her ears.
"Actually, my physical and academic abilities are probably among the top in our class. I showed them to Ayanokoji at the beginning, but he told me to hide them."
"Hide them? Why?"
"Because Ayanokoji said that if I revealed my abilities too early, I might become a target for other classes. I could be used as a secret weapon when necessary. It was all Ayanokoji's plan."
"What...?"
Matsushita Chiaki's mind raced, but she couldn't fully grasp the situation. After thinking for a while, she asked:
"Why... why Ayanokoji? Why would you listen to him?"
"Because Ayanokoji is also hiding his abilities. He always scores in the middle of the class during exams, right? That's because he's controlling his scores on purpose."
Saiki said slowly.
"And now, our class has grown, rising from Class D to Class A, so I can show some of my abilities. The reason I became the commander in the last exam was simply because I had protection points. It was all Ayanokoji's arrangement."
"Ayanokoji?"
Hearing Saiki's words, Matsushita Chiaki kept recalling past events. Many of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's actions were indeed suspicious, but because of Saiki, her attention had been focused on him.
[Is Ayanokoji actually the one pulling the strings? Is that possible?]
"By the way, there's one more thing I want to ask. Earlier, I saw Chairman Tsukishiro talking to you about something?"
Matsushita Chiaki had one last question in her mind.
"Chairman Tsukishiro? Oh, that was a few days ago. He was just asking me about my thoughts on the new school environment. Before he talked to me, I saw him speaking with Ayanokoji, but I'm not sure what they discussed."
Saiki said.
[Tsukishiro was talking to Ayanokoji... That day, after Saiki spoke with Tsukishiro, Ayanokoji appeared... So Tsukishiro must have been talking to Ayanokoji! Was his reaction at the time because of Ayanokoji?]
'Yare yare, I've successfully steered the conversation toward Ayanokoji, haven't I? Can't blame me for this. After all, you've caused me a lot of trouble recently.'
Saiki looked at Matsushita Chiaki, who was deep in thought, and deliberately said:
"What's wrong? Didn't you know about this?"
"I know the general idea. Thank you, Saiki! I won't bother you anymore!"
Matsushita Chiaki nodded at Saiki, then quickly left.
[I've been looking in the wrong direction all along! Saiki has indeed been hiding his abilities, but the one truly pulling the strings behind the scenes is Ayanokoji! I never expected this!]
Her thoughts were loud and clear.