Although Ryuen Kakeru was speaking mockingly, he was still somewhat surprised inside.
The kick he had just delivered wasn't even at full strength—it was just a test. Yet, it had elicited such a strong reaction from Hosen Kazuomi.
[Is this guy faking it? Is he trying to bait me into attacking him so I get expelled? But with the surveillance cameras here, his attack on me was too obvious. I'm clearly acting in self-defense, so there shouldn't be any issues.]
Ryuen Kakeru thought to himself.
In reality, it was Saiki who had used his powers to amplify the force of Ryuen Kakeru's kick.
"Damn it."
Hosen Kazuomi cursed under his breath. Being humiliated by Ryuen Kakeru had left him feeling embarrassed, and he was desperate to regain his pride.
[I can't underestimate this guy!]
"What are you doing, Hosen?"
At that moment, a middle-aged man in a suit appeared before the group.
"Hosen, I know you're excited, but I've already strictly taught you the school rules—to the point where your ears should be ringing."
"I know, I know."
"If you know, then disperse quickly. How can you fight in the middle of the hallway?"
"This doesn't even count as a fight."
Hosen Kazuomi clicked his tongue in annoyance and then left the scene first.
"My apologies. Let me briefly introduce myself. I'm Shiba Katsunori, the homeroom teacher for Class 1-D. I've just started teaching at this school, and I look forward to working with you all."
The middle-aged man introduced himself. He was the homeroom teacher for Class 1-D, Shiba Katsunori—
However, Saiki knew that Shiba Katsunori wasn't just an ordinary teacher.
[According to orders, we need to bring Ayanokoji Kiyotaka back. What actions will these first-year students take?]
Saiki could clearly hear Shiba Katsunori's thoughts.
'Yare yare, not only did they send in two students, but they even sent a teacher? Are the people in the White Room really that bored...'
[Also, is this Saiki? The higher-ups specifically instructed us not to have any unnecessary contact with him. What's the reason for that? Does he have some connection to the teacher with the same surname who entered the school with me? But Saiki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seem to be quite close. It won't be easy to bring Ayanokoji back while avoiding Saiki.]
Shiba Katsunori muttered to himself.
'I feel like I'm being treated as a nuisance... But as long as it doesn't involve me, it should be fine.'
Saiki thought to himself.
Hosen Kazuomi and Nanase Tsubasa seemed like potential troublemakers, but their target was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Generally, they shouldn't involve Saiki—
Moreover, it was almost certain that they weren't assassins from the White Room. If they were, they would have received similar orders to Shiba Katsunori.
This was fine. Whether it was White Room assassins or other troublesome first-year students, their target was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. The latter would undoubtedly focus his attention on these opponents, and with Sakayanagi Arisu having already decided not to cause trouble for Saiki...
'Finally, I might be able to have a peaceful school year!'
Saiki felt like he might finally be able to experience a normal high school life.
...
"Ryuen, I didn't expect your reaction to be faster than I thought."
At a corner of the staircase not far away, Ibuki Mio glanced at Ryuen Kakeru.
"You even dodged that gorilla's sneak attack. I underestimated you before."
"Maybe it's just intuition."
Ryuen Kakeru smiled and shook his head.
He hadn't expected Hosen Kazuomi to suddenly attack him at that moment—and yet, he had somehow sensed the attack.
[How strange.]
Ryuen Kakeru was actually a bit puzzled.
"But if that gorilla provokes Saiki, it's definitely going to be entertaining."
This was the one thing he was certain of.
...
Horikita Suzune then proceeded to interact with some of the other first-year students, but the results weren't ideal.
With no other choice, the group prepared to leave the first-year area of the school building.
"The progress is much worse than I expected."
Horikita Suzune shook her head helplessly.
"I thought that being from Class A would attract a lot of attention from the students, but that's not the case at all. Even though we're in Class A, our average academic ability is the lowest among the four classes. This exam is purely a test of academic ability, so we're at a huge disadvantage. Not only that, but it seems someone has been spreading information about our class's academic performance behind the scenes."
Horikita Suzune frowned slightly. She had thought that being in Class A would give them an advantage in the exam, but that wasn't the case.
"Some students are demanding personal points as compensation. This is likely Hosen's or someone else's idea. Although our class's total personal points could cover the cost, agreeing to such demands would only lead to more demands in the future—and these points could have a significant impact later on."
Horikita Suzune spoke very seriously. After all, 20 million points could prevent a student in the class from being expelled, which could have major implications in the future.
"So no matter what, we need to find a way to pair up with suitable first-year students..."
"Hey~ If you're looking for an excellent partner, I'm right here~"
At that moment, an unfamiliar voice sounded behind the group. The others immediately turned their attention to the speaker—in fact, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had noticed the person a few seconds earlier.
Saiki, on the other hand, had noticed them a full thirty seconds earlier, having clearly heard their thoughts.
[So this is Ayanokoji-senpai~ The so-called perfect creation, the masterpiece of the fourth generation, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. I'm sure the fifth-generation students must feel intense hatred toward you.]
'Yare yare, so the White Room assassin has arrived?'
Saiki immediately deduced the person's identity.
"Are you eavesdropping?"
Horikita Suzune frowned at the girl.
"Oh no, senpai! I just happened to overhear and thought I'd join the conversation!"
The girl smiled.
"Senpai, may I ask your name and academic ability?"
[Of course, I already know everyone's identities. Aside from Ayanokoji-senpai, Horikita Suzune, Sudo Ken... We've known all of you since before we even came to this school. But...]
[So this is Saiki? First time seeing him. Like Ayanokoji-senpai, he has that expressionless vibe.]
'Hey, hey.'
[The higher-ups' orders are clear: we must avoid any unnecessary contact with him, and especially avoid conflict.]
'That's for the best.'
[But this makes me even more curious about Saiki-senpai. I can't wait to interact with him! What kind of person is he? What does he like? What does he do? What is he good at? I want to know everything about him!]
'????'
[Although Tsukishiro is nominally our commander, we don't have to fully obey his orders.]
'Hey, hey, what's with this girl?'
Saiki frowned slightly.
Even though the White Room members had been ordered not to get too involved with him, this girl had developed an inexplicable obsession with him because of it.
Humans are truly strange creatures.
Saiki just wanted to sigh deeply in his heart.
"I'm Horikita from Class 2-D. My academic ability is rated A-. Why do you ask?"
Horikita Suzune inquired.
"Oh~ Your grades seem pretty good."
"Then you should tell me your name too!"
"I'm Amasawa Ichika from Class 1-A. Like Horikita-senpai, my academic ability is rated A."
Amasawa Ichika wore a somewhat sly smile.
Horikita Suzune didn't respond immediately but instead pulled out her phone to verify the information on the OAA system.
"If you're aiming for the top, why not team up with me?"
Without waiting for Horikita Suzune to say anything, Amasawa Ichika offered.
[This is a great opportunity to get closer to Ayanokoji-senpai and Saiki-senpai.]
"That's a generous offer, but I'm not looking for a partner for myself. It's not for me, but for him... Would you be willing to partner with Sudo-kun?"
Horikita Suzune pointed to Sudo Ken, who scratched his head awkwardly.
"Uh~ What's Sudo-senpai's academic ability?"
"D. It's definitely not a good score."
Amasawa Ichika already knew Sudo Ken's academic ability—every student did.
"I see~ In other words, Horikita-senpai is trying to prevent a classmate from being expelled by finding a partner. But if we really teamed up, instead of aiming for the top, we might end up in the lower-middle range."
Amasawa Ichika deliberately put on a troubled expression.
"Yes, there's almost no benefit for you."
"Well, if you ask me nicely, I might be willing to help."
As she spoke, Amasawa Ichika shifted her attention to Saiki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"What about those senpais over there? Are they also looking for partners?"
"His academic ability is C, so it's not urgent. If Sudo-kun doesn't work out, even if the worst-case scenario is pairing with one of them, I'd still be grateful."
"No."
Both Saiki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka rejected the idea simultaneously.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't want to team up with a student whose background he didn't understand without any preparation.
As for Saiki, he wanted to avoid any potential complications.
"Do you two have any objections?"
Horikita Suzune's gaze carried a hint of confusion.
"Oh, wait a minute! I haven't agreed to team up with anyone yet!"
Amasawa Ichika quickly interjected.
"What conditions would you need to agree to team up?"
"Conditions, conditions~ That's a good question~ I do have the right to make such requests."
"I like strong men."
"Huh?"
Amasawa Ichika then spouted a series of bizarre statements, like asking Sudo Ken to post a recruitment notice for an arm-wrestling competition in the school group chat, leaving everyone else momentarily speechless.
'Hey, hey, what is this girl talking about? Is this how White Room-trained people steer conversations?'
Saiki was speechless. This kind of ridiculous dialogue, which only appeared in anime and novels, was coming from someone who was supposedly trained under ultra-strict education.
Not only that, but Horikita Suzune was listening very seriously, only realizing something was off after a while.
"Are you messing with us?"
"Oh no, that's not it. It's just that agreeing directly would be too boring!"
Amasawa Ichika smiled.
[This girl is definitely a weirdo.]
Horikita Suzune thought to herself.
'Hard to disagree with that.'
Saiki thought.
"Besides strong men, I also like men who can cook!"
"Cook?"
Horikita Suzune couldn't understand what she was getting at.
"You're Sudo-senpai, right? Can you cook for me? The best kind."
"C-Cook?!"
Sudo Ken's brain short-circuited at the suggestion.
Cooking was something he had never even considered.
"Of course, it has to be delicious. I'll ask you to cook a specific dish. If you can make something I find decent, then I'll agree to be your partner."
"N-No, I've never cooked in my life!"
Sudo Ken quickly shook his head.
"Is that so? Then I'll take back my offer."
"Can I take Sudo-kun's place?"
Horikita Suzune quickly offered.
"That won't do. Didn't I say I like men who can cook? Besides, if my partner isn't someone who can cook, what's the point of teaming up?"
'Cooking has nothing to do with teaming up!'
"If Sudo-senpai can't do it, then give up. Why don't you find someone who can cook? Oh, but even if you frantically find someone, I won't team up with Sudo-senpai."
Amasawa Ichika smiled.
"Someone who can cook?"
Horikita Suzune seemed to think of something, then continued,
"Saiki-kun, you can cook, right?"