Standing before Saiki and the others was a completely unfamiliar face, likely a first-year student. However, he had a towering physique comparable to Albert, with an arrogant expression plastered across his face.
Beside him stood a petite girl, whose name Saiki had glimpsed in the school's OAA system.
Nanase Tsubasa—her academic ability seemed to be at least a B.
However, thanks to his telepathy, Saiki overheard some thoughts that didn't match their appearances.
"You guys, what are your names?"
The burly boy turned to Nanase Tsubasa, who then pulled out her phone, opened the OAA system, and began comparing names.
"Horikita Suzune, Class 2-A, Academic Ability A-. Perfect, this saves me a lot of trouble."
The boy's face revealed a disdainful smile.
[First-Year Class D Student: Hosen Kazuomi. Academic Ability B+ (76), Physical Ability B+ (80), Adaptability D (32), Social Contribution E (12).]
The moment he saw the boy, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's mind instantly recalled the information about him. When logging into the OAA system, Ayanokoji had memorized almost everyone's information and data.
Whether it was someone who stood out at a glance or someone who seemed utterly unremarkable, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't overlook anyone. After all, the assassin from the White Room could be anyone.
[From Class 1-D, doesn't know us, but it's clear they came here because of us. Could they be assassins from the White Room?]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka secretly observed their reactions while pretending to check his phone, comparing their appearances.
"I'm Nanase from Class 1-D. This is also from Class D—"
"I'm Hosen."
The two first-year students finally introduced themselves in front of Horikita Suzune. Nanase Tsubasa seemed very polite, while Hosen Kazuomi was completely nonchalant, not taking the people before him seriously at all.
[So this guy is Hosen?]
Ryuen Kakeru thought to himself. Saiki glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. It seemed Hosen Kazuomi and Ryuen Kakeru had met before.
"Sudo Ken, Academic Ability D? Slightly better than expected."
Looking at Sudo Ken, Hosen Kazuomi's face revealed a mocking smile.
"You bastard?!"
Sudo Ken's anger instantly boiled over—
If this were the past, Sudo Ken would have charged at him without hesitation.
But now, Sudo Ken had become much more composed. Although he was furious, he didn't take any rash actions.
Meanwhile, Saiki narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the two first-year students.
[That guy is Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, right? Both his OAA stats and his current appearance seem completely ordinary.]
Hosen Kazuomi looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, thinking to himself.
'Ayanokoji? Normally, Ayanokoji is the type of person who blends into the crowd, completely unnoticeable. Yet Hosen immediately shifted his attention to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka—does this mean he might be an assassin from the White Room?'
Saiki thought to himself.
[Expelling this guy would net me 20 million personal points. No matter how you look at it, that's incredibly tempting.]
'Yare yare, so that's what's going on.'
Saiki was gradually understanding the situation.
It was likely that Tsukishiro Tokinari or Nagumo Miyabi had issued a bounty to some of the first-year students, urging them to do whatever it took to expel Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
However, it was clearly only a small group of students. If it were most of the students, the news would have spread throughout the grade. Moreover, when they were in the gymnasium earlier, the other first-year students didn't react particularly strongly to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's presence.
And those selected for this mission were probably not ordinary students.
Hosen Kazuomi was simply interested in the personal points he could gain from expelling Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
What caught Saiki's attention wasn't Hosen Kazuomi, but the girl beside him, Nanase Tsubasa.
[Ayanokoji, I've finally met you—if I can get you expelled, I'll have the chance to meet your father. I'll definitely make him pay.]
[Because he caused the death of 'my' father, and 'I,' 'I' must take revenge.]
[This is why 'I' came to this school.]
'Wait, do you have a split personality?'
Saiki was a bit puzzled. He hadn't heard the thoughts of someone with a split personality before, but Nanase Tsubasa's thoughts were different from what he had imagined—
It was as if she had forcibly created a second personality in her mind.
'Is this chuunibyou? No, this is quite different from chuunibyou. She mentioned Ayanokoji's father, so she must know about Ayanokoji's past identity. But she's probably not an assassin from the White Room... She said Ayanokoji's father caused her father's death...'
Saiki seemed to recall something.
The reason Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was able to come to this school was because of a butler named Matsuo, whose son had also been persecuted, leading Matsuo to take his own life.
Could it be...?
"You came here to find suitable partners, right? Even though you're from Class 2-A, your average abilities seem pretty mediocre~"
Hosen Kazuomi said with a mocking smile.
"We're just here to check out the first-years. I haven't decided to collaborate with your class."
Horikita Suzune immediately responded, trying to take control of the conversation.
"Oh, really? I clearly see that your class's average academic ability is a whole tier lower than Class 2-B. I can't understand how you managed to rise to Class A. Was it luck?"
Hosen Kazuomi sneered.
"Hey, hey, what are you talking about?"
Sudo Ken's anger flared, and he took a step forward, but Horikita Suzune stopped him.
"Besides, if you don't find a partner, you're the ones at risk of expulsion, right? Compared to you second-years, we won't be affected much."
Hosen Kazuomi turned to Nanase Tsubasa for confirmation.
"Yes, I heard that the penalty is three months without personal points, but that's only 240,000 points at most. I don't think it's a fatal issue."
Nanase Tsubasa replied.
[Three months, 240,000 points? Do first-years start with 80,000 personal points?]
Horikita Suzune caught this.
"Horikita-senpai, do you understand now?"
Hosen Kazuomi smiled at her, his disdain becoming even more apparent.
"You bastard..."
Sudo Ken suppressed his emotions and stood in front of Horikita Suzune.
[I absolutely cannot lose my temper, I absolutely cannot lose my temper...]
Sudo Ken repeatedly warned himself.
'Yare yare, this must be tough.'
Saiki glanced at Sudo Ken out of the corner of his eye. Unconsciously, Sudo Ken had been removed from Saiki's list of idiots.
"Want to fight?"
Hosen Kazuomi faced Sudo Ken, still speaking in a relaxed tone.
Sudo Ken was quite tall, but compared to Hosen Kazuomi, he seemed almost petite.
"Don't get too cocky!"
Sudo Ken roared.
"Stay calm, Sudo-kun. You know how this school works, right?"
Horikita Suzune immediately said, pointing to the surveillance cameras nearby.
"I know..."
Although Ryuen Kakeru was a bit annoyed, he nodded and stepped back.
But at that moment, Hosen Kazuomi took a step forward and shoved Sudo Ken.
"Ah!"
Instantly, Sudo Ken lost his balance and nearly fell to the ground—but Saiki's reaction was swift. He had already read Hosen Kazuomi's intentions and used his telekinesis to dissipate some of the force.
Even so, Sudo Ken still staggered.
"Not bad, huh?"
Hosen Kazuomi was a bit surprised. He thought his shove would have knocked Sudo Ken down, but it didn't have the desired effect.
"I know all about you. When it comes to Hosen, you're somewhat famous in the area. I didn't expect you to look so stupid, though. And is your strength really only this much?"
Ryuen Kakeru stepped forward, mocking Hosen Kazuomi.
"Do you know him, Ryuen-kun?"
Ibuki Mio asked.
"Ryuen?"
Hearing the name, Hosen Kazuomi's expression changed, and he grinned widely.
"Hey, hey, what's this? What an unexpected coincidence. I've heard so much about you, Ryuen."
"Looks like you're smart enough to remember names."
"But the Ryuen from the rumors has such a scrawny build... How unexpected."
Ryuen Kakeru's physique, while slightly inferior to Sudo Ken's, was by no means scrawny—but compared to Hosen Kazuomi, there was no comparison.
"You're exactly as I imagined—all brawn and no brain."
"I've wanted to kill you several times during my expeditions. The reason I haven't seen you is because you're scared of me and hiding, right? You let your underlings do the work while you hide?"
"Heh, you're lucky to still be alive, Hosen—if you'd met me, you wouldn't be so arrogant now. You've been lucky so far, never tasting defeat, right?"
As they spoke, their chests were almost pressed together.
In their minds, they both envisioned a scene of intense, hot-blooded battle.
'Yare yare, are they filming a ghetto drama here? Or maybe Tokyo Revengers?'
Saiki complained in his heart.
'And after all, aren't they just middle school delinquents? No matter how you look at it, they're just middle schoolers. Why are the scenes in their minds so intense?'
"Since you're here, why not have a little fun?"
Hosen Kazuomi provocatively looked at Ryuen Kakeru.
[The student council president specifically said that this school believes in absolute individual strength. If both parties agree, fighting is completely allowed!]
"I'm not interested in games with no benefits."
Ryuen Kakeru, unusually, declined the provocation.
[Getting into a conflict with Hosen at this time isn't a wise move.]
"Let's go."
With that, Ryuen Kakeru turned to leave.
[I can't just let these guys leave like this. I need to show them my power!]
Hosen Kazuomi thought to himself, preparing to attack Ibuki Mio, who was standing nearby. However, she was too far away, so he ultimately shifted his target to Ryuen Kakeru.
[Now!]
Hosen Kazuomi suddenly stepped forward, aiming a punch at Ryuen Kakeru's back.
Even Ryuen Kakeru wouldn't have expected the other to do something like this under the school's surveillance cameras—
But at almost the same time, a voice echoed in Ryuen Kakeru's mind.
'Watch out for the sneak attack!'
Ryuen Kakeru reacted instantly, dodging to the side just in time to avoid Hosen Kazuomi's sneak attack.
"What?!"
Hosen Kazuomi was stunned, completely unprepared for Ryuen Kakeru's evasion.
"Now this counts as self-defense!"
Ryuen Kakeru spun around, lifting his leg to kick at Hosen Kazuomi. Although Ryuen Kakeru hadn't received any formal training, his greatest strength was his ruthless approach. If it were an ordinary student, they probably wouldn't have been able to withstand the attack.
But Hosen Kazuomi was no ordinary student!
He crossed his arms in front of him, successfully blocking Ryuen Kakeru's attack.
Ryuen Kakeru's full-force kick posed no threat to Hosen Kazuomi.
"Is that all the strength you've got?"
Hosen Kazuomi sneered.
'Yare yare, it's not just that.'
Saiki thought to himself.
Although it had nothing to do with him, Hosen Kazuomi was getting a bit too carried away.
He needed to be 'handled' a bit.
Hosen Kazuomi, who had initially dismissed Ryuen Kakeru's attack, suddenly felt an immense force on his hands. Even with his monstrous physique, he couldn't withstand it.
A sharp pain followed.
"What?!"
Hosen Kazuomi gritted his teeth, forced to step back to dissipate Ryuen Kakeru's force, but his arms were already trembling.
"Hey, who was the one talking big just now?"
Ryuen Kakeru mocked.