Before heading to the first-year classrooms, Horikita Suzune also approached Hirata Yosuke and others to share her plans.
"I believe that students with lower academic abilities should pair up with those who have higher academic abilities as much as possible."
Horikita Suzune spoke very seriously.
"In a sense, this exam is quite troublesome. To ensure we score above 500 points, students with an E in academic ability must pair up with first-year students who have at least a B—but conversely, as long as they can pair up with a B or higher student, the exam should be relatively manageable."
As she spoke, Horikita Suzune noticed that many of the students present seemed uneasy, so she continued,
"Besides, we've all worked together and endured the same exams this past year. If we continue to cooperate as we have and put in the effort to prepare, scoring above 250 or even 300 points isn't impossible."
"Yes, I agree."
Hirata Yosuke nodded.
"Additionally, I hope those with a B+ or higher don't rush. Take your time to analyze the situation. To save everyone, we need to prioritize pairing the stronger students first. In any case, whether your academic ability is high or low, make sure to consult me or Hirata-kun before taking any action."
Horikita Suzune addressed the others, then entrusted Hirata Yosuke and other students involved in clubs to inquire about club members and see if they could find suitable candidates.
...
After some discussion, Horikita Suzune, along with Saiki, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and others, prepared to take action.
"I've categorized first-year students with a B or higher in academic ability as high achievers and tried to tally their numbers. In the end, I found that Class A has 17, Class B has 13, Class C has 13, and Class D has 11."
Horikita Suzune said.
"Fortunately, there are no students in our class with an E in academic ability. There are 12 students with a D, so we need to pair them up with high-achieving first-year students as much as possible... But I'm actually surprised that our class doesn't have any E-level students. If this were last year, I feel like there would've been at least three or four."
"Hmm."
Saiki nodded, thinking of Ike Kanji and Sudo Ken.
If it were based on their previous academic performance, there was no doubt that these two would've been E-level.
However, during last year's midterms, Saiki had used his telepathy to forcibly implant knowledge into their minds, boosting their academic abilities to a D or even D+ level.
Not only that, but because they had risen to Class A, they had also started to take their studies a bit more seriously.
Still, they remained the lowest-performing students in the class.
At that moment, Saiki and the others' phones vibrated simultaneously, receiving a message from the same person.
Ichinose Honami: We've been granted permission to hold a first-year and second-year exchange event in the gymnasium from 4:00 to 5:00 PM today. Please gather if you have time.
[Ichinose's thoughts align with mine.]
Horikita Suzune looked up, her gaze shifting to Saiki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, as if testing their reactions.
'Theoretically, if we wait until the exchange event to meet with the first-years, it might already be too late. After all, some second-year students might have already taken action.'
Saiki thought to himself—
However, even so, Saiki didn't plan to take any proactive measures.
After all, it didn't matter who he paired with.
Based on Tsukishiro Tokinari's behavior, the White Room students had likely been ordered not to interfere with him. As long as their primary target was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, it shouldn't affect Saiki.
But if they tried anything—
Then he'd just have to show them the power of a psychic.
Besides, Saiki also wanted to check out the first-year students.
If it were the old Saiki, he wouldn't have wanted to interact much with students from other grades.
But even if he didn't seek out trouble, troublesome people would come to him.
Rather than that, it was better to proactively identify potential troublemakers and prepare countermeasures in advance.
At this school, Saiki had come to realize one thing: no matter how much he tried to avoid conflict, trouble would always find him.
"Alright, let's head to the gymnasium later."
...
Meanwhile.
Nagumo Miyabi arrived in front of Saiki Kusuke's office.
"There's a new physics teacher for the second-years, huh?"
Nagumo Miyabi muttered to himself.
As the student council president, he was naturally aware of staff changes.
However, Nagumo Miyabi was curious about the name "Saiki Kusuke."
Since the start of the new semester, Nagumo Miyabi had encountered a series of "interesting" events.
For example, Acting Chairman Tsukishiro had tasked him with issuing a bounty to expel Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
Nagumo Miyabi didn't know why Tsukishiro had specifically targeted Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, but since it was an order from the chairman, he had no choice but to comply.
Although Nagumo Miyabi was curious about the relationship between Tsukishiro and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, he was even more interested in Saiki.
And he had heard that Saiki Kusuke and Saiki were brothers.
This made Nagumo Miyabi curious about Saiki Kusuke's identity. He really wanted to know who this person was.
He had heard that Saiki Kusuke was the same age as him. If he could become a teacher at this school, it was clear that he was no ordinary person.
Nagumo Miyabi walked up to the door of Saiki Kusuke's office and was about to knock when the door automatically opened.
What he saw inside left him stunned—
The office was filled with all sorts of robots moving around, seemingly assembling something. There were also numerous large screens displaying surveillance footage of the school, alongside high-tech equipment that was completely beyond Nagumo Miyabi's understanding.
"You must be Nagumo Miyabi, the student council president."
Saiki Kusuke sat in the center of the room, on a chair connected to various high-tech devices.
"You've expelled 17 students during your second year."
As Saiki Kusuke spoke, the surrounding screens projected a wealth of information about Nagumo Miyabi.
Birthday, exam scores... even his family background.
For Saiki Kusuke, he had already investigated all of this a year ago.
"Nice to meet you, Saiki-sensei."
Nagumo Miyabi was momentarily stunned by the surroundings, but he quickly regained his composure and continued,
"Regarding the expulsions, they were the result of careful consideration. I believe that in this school, strength is everything..."
"Strength is everything? I don't disagree with that, but in reality, there's not much difference between you students, is there?"
Saiki Kusuke said nonchalantly.
To him, everyone else was foolish and incompetent, no different from single-celled organisms.
Even Nagumo Miyabi was no exception.
Hearing Saiki Kusuke's words, Nagumo Miyabi's veins bulged on his forehead, and a surge of anger rose in his heart.
In his eyes, these words were nothing but mockery.
[First, Saiki repeatedly ruined my plans, and now his brother comes to challenge me?]
Nagumo Miyabi clenched his fists, a new thought forming in his mind.
[No, no, this is also an opportunity for me. If I can defeat this guy, I can humiliate both Saiki brothers...]
"You've misunderstood me. I'm not here to provoke or mock you."
At that moment, Saiki Kusuke spoke to Nagumo Miyabi.
"I didn't..."
"No need to explain. I already know what you're thinking. I spent a few seconds studying you earlier. You seem like someone who craves victory, someone who values individualism. I agree with that. I also believe that individual ability is more important than anything else. It's really hard to communicate when there are idiots in a group."
Saiki Kusuke shook his head.
Hearing this, Nagumo Miyabi grew even more irritated.
[This guy acts like he can read my mind, always looking down on me from above!]
"To be honest, your thoughts aren't hard to guess. Just by observing your expressions, I can tell what you're thinking~"
Saiki Kusuke once again voiced Nagumo Miyabi's inner thoughts.
"..."
Nagumo Miyabi was momentarily speechless.
"You're definitely not happy with what I just said, are you? You want to prove yourself in front of me, right?"
Saiki Kusuke's lips curled into a slight smile as he snapped his fingers. Almost instantly, a row of numbers appeared on the surrounding screens.
"What's this?"
"These are the questions from last year's first-year special exam. You know about the rapid mental calculation test, right? Each round increases in difficulty."
Saiki Kusuke said.
"Although the exam only went up to the tenth round, I've modified the program so the difficulty can increase indefinitely. Let's compete~"
"This..."
Nagumo Miyabi wasn't sure whether to accept.
"Don't worry, I won't leak this. No one will know. Consider it a casual pastime."
Saiki Kusuke said.
"After all, although it's a bit troublesome, it still has some value as part of my research."
"Fine."
Nagumo Miyabi, seething with anger, gritted his teeth and nodded.
"Then let's begin. Just input your answers on the computer over there."
"If we're using devices..."
"You think I might cheat, right? Don't worry, just input your answers. I'll write mine down. That's fair, right?"
Saiki Kusuke said with a smile.
Nagumo Miyabi pursed his lips and nodded, sitting down in front of the computer screen.
The first question appeared quickly, and it was no challenge.
The second, third... and so on, were the same.
By the eighth, ninth, and tenth questions, both had answered correctly.
But starting from the tenth question, the difficulty increased significantly.
On the eleventh question, Nagumo Miyabi still provided an answer, but it took him a few seconds longer than before.
Saiki Kusuke displayed his answer, which was correct.
[This guy...]
Nagumo Miyabi was well aware that Saiki Kusuke had already written down the answer before he even input his own, and he hadn't made any corrections.
[Did this guy memorize the questions beforehand? Why is he so fast? No, even if he did memorize them, what's the point? Did he know I'd come to him today?]
Nagumo Miyabi grew increasingly uneasy.
On the twelfth question, Nagumo Miyabi took several seconds to come up with an answer, while Saiki Kusuke wrote his down almost instantly.
In terms of speed, Nagumo Miyabi had already lost.
"Shall we continue?"
Saiki Kusuke asked with a smile.
"Continue..."
Nagumo Miyabi forced himself to nod.
To be fair, Nagumo Miyabi's response speed was already very fast. Horikita Suzune could only make it to the ninth question, while Katsuragi Kohei could only handle up to the eighth.
But the person before him, Saiki Kusuke, was a complete monster.
By the thirteenth question, Nagumo Miyabi's hands were trembling slightly, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
He couldn't figure out the answer to this question for a long time.
"What's wrong, student council president? Hit a wall? Your individual ability is still far from impressive~"
Saiki Kusuke said with a smile, not writing the answer but speaking it directly.
"The answer is 188,345.345."
[Is this guy really not cheating? This level of calculation is beyond genius, isn't it?]
Nagumo Miyabi was filled with confusion. Even if he could solve the problem, he couldn't match Saiki Kusuke's speed.
It was as if Saiki Kusuke knew the answer just by glancing at the question.
At that moment, Nagumo Miyabi's phone vibrated slightly. It was a message about student council matters, which gave him some relief.
"I'm sorry, Saiki-sensei, but I have some student council business to attend to. I need to leave."
"Is that so? Then let's play again next time."
Saiki Kusuke said.
To him, this level of calculation was no different from 1+1=2.
Nagumo Miyabi awkwardly nodded and then fled the office like a man escaping.
"What kind of person is this guy?!"