"Me?"
Saiki was momentarily stunned, completely caught off guard by Horikita Suzune suddenly mentioning his name.
"Indeed, that's right!"
Beside him, Sudo Ken suddenly realized something.
"I remember seeing Saiki buying some cooking equipment at the supermarket right after school started, right?"
At the beginning of the school term, Saiki had gone to the school supermarket to buy tools for making pudding and other desserts that could be made in his room. Some of his classmates had seen him at the time.
Although Saiki did have some culinary skills, they were mostly related to desserts.
"I…"
Saiki was about to refuse, but Horikita Suzune didn't give him the chance.
"Saiki-kun is very skilled at cooking," Horikita Suzune immediately said.
"I see. Then consider this a special treat for you all—I was originally planning to team up with someone who's good at cooking… but if my taste buds can be satisfied, I'll agree to team up with Sudo-senpai. After all, teaming up with someone who can cook or someone who's good at fighting is about the same."
Amasawa Ichika said with a smile,
"As long as it's a guy, anyone is fine—but, are you really good at it? Even if you're just making it up, it's fine, but the evaluation will be quite strict."
[So it's Saiki after all? My original target was Ayanokoji-senpai, but if it's Saiki-senpai, that seems fine too. I'll use this exam to learn more about him.]
'Hey, hey, this has nothing to do with me.'
Saiki turned to look at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka beside him.
'If it were Ayanokoji, he'd probably figure out her identity right away. If he knew she was from the White Room, he'd definitely keep her from getting close to us. I'll leave this to you, Ayanokoji!'
At that moment, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was carefully observing Amasawa Ichika.
[I can't get any useful information from Amasawa Ichika right now, but one thing is certain: she approached us with a purpose.]
'That's right, that's exactly it. Do your best to keep Amasawa Ichika out of this.'
[But I can't confirm her identity.]
'Hey, hey.'
[And if she were a White Room student, she probably wouldn't approach me so directly.]
'This person is from the White Room, right?'
Saiki felt a bit helpless. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who could usually deduce many things from subtle clues, couldn't get any useful information from Amasawa Ichika.
At this moment, Saiki was like the Seer in a game of Werewolf. Although he had identified the "Werewolf," he couldn't reveal the truth right away.
Saiki turned to look at Sudo Ken. Given Sudo's personality, he probably wouldn't accept this either—
"Saiki-kun, it's up to you!"
Sudo Ken patted Saiki on the shoulder, looking at him with an extremely earnest expression, as if saying, 'My life is in your hands.'
'Yare yare…'
Saiki felt a bit helpless. At this point, he couldn't refuse, so he gritted his teeth and nodded:
"Alright."
"Then let's do it today!"
Amasawa Ichika clapped her hands with a smile.
"Today? Isn't that a bit too rushed?"
Horikita Suzune immediately objected. Although Saiki did have some cooking skills, she wasn't sure how skilled he really was.
"It's fine. Let's do it today," Saiki said.
'I don't want to spend too much time dealing with this person. Let's get this over with quickly.'
"What about the cooking utensils…"
"I have everything," Saiki said.
"This…"
Amasawa Ichika pursed her lips, surprised that Saiki seemed genuinely skilled at cooking.
"Then I'll go prepare the ingredients for you, senpai. I'll come to your room later to join you for dinner!"
…
Amasawa Ichika parted ways with the group and left. Horikita Suzune, looking anxious, turned to Saiki.
"Saiki, are you really good at cooking?"
"It's edible, at least," Saiki replied.
He did have some knowledge of cooking, but what gave him confidence wasn't just that.
On one hand, using his telepathy, Saiki knew that Amasawa Ichika herself didn't know much about cooking.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was the same.
For Ayanokoji Atsuomi, this was just mundane and useless.
However, unlike Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Amasawa Ichika, from the fifth generation, seemed to have undergone additional training in social skills, and cooking might be part of that.
On the other hand—
'What's there to worry about for a psychic?'
Saiki had already prepared himself.
…
Soon, Saiki returned to his dorm to prepare. Using his psychic powers, he moved a set of cooking utensils into his room.
In the next moment, he used his teleportation ability to return home.
After all, Saiki had another trick up his sleeve: calling for backup.
His mother, Saiki Kurumi.
Saiki returned home and found his mother, briefly explaining the situation at school. However, he didn't mention anything about the White Room or assassins, only saying that it was part of a school exam where he needed to showcase his cooking skills.
As a housewife, Saiki Kurumi was quite skilled at cooking, and even Saiki acknowledged this.
Tears welled up in Saiki Kurumi's eyes.
"Kusuo, our Kusuo has finally made friends. Sniff."
'…The cooking utensils are already prepared.'
"Yes! For Kusuo and his new friends, I'll do my best as a mother!"
After getting Saiki Kurumi's agreement, Saiki used his teleportation ability again to bring himself and his mother back to school.
"Is this Kusuo's room? It's so nice! This school is so luxurious!"
Saiki Kurumi's eyes were filled with curiosity, as she didn't know much about Saiki's actual situation at school.
'She'll be here soon. Please be ready!'
"Don't worry, don't worry!"
Saiki Kurumi nodded vigorously.
Saiki then used his hypnosis ability to make Saiki Kurumi appear as himself in the eyes of others, while he moved to a distant location, using his clairvoyance and telepathy to communicate with his mother.
Soon, the doorbell rang.
[She's here, she's here!]
Knowing that Saiki's "friend" from the White Room was coming, Saiki Kurumi seemed even more excited than the person involved.
'Her name is Amasawa Ichika. She's a year below us. Due to the exam and other reasons, I have to cook a meal for her—I just met her today, so we're not very close… Be careful, she's not an ordinary high school student.'
Saiki used his telepathy to convey information about Amasawa Ichika to Saiki Kurumi, who then opened the door. Amasawa Ichika, carrying ingredients, arrived at Saiki's room.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Saiki-senpai! I spent half the day preparing these ingredients for you!"
Amasawa Ichika wore a charming smile, her eyes glancing around Saiki's room.
[Finally, I'm in Saiki-senpai's room. Maybe I can find some useful information here.]
"Wow, Ichika-chan, it's fine, it's fine!"
Saiki Kurumi warmly welcomed Amasawa Ichika into the room.
'?!'
Saiki's heart almost stopped. His mother had just spoken to Amasawa Ichika, whom she had just met, in an overly familiar tone, like a parent warmly welcoming their child's friend over—in a sense, that's exactly what it was.
[??!! Saiki-senpai is using a nickname for me? We just met, right??]
Amasawa Ichika was momentarily stunned.
Although her personality was naturally mischievous and playful, Saiki Kurumi's words had disrupted her planned conversation.
[Why is he talking to me like this? Is Saiki-senpai a very frivolous person? No, he should know how important I am to their class, so he wouldn't do anything strange to me.]
[And Saiki-senpai seems different from before, both in demeanor and behavior… he seems a bit more feminine, but there's no doubt it's him.]
[Could it be… Saiki-senpai is also testing me? Interesting, this is the first time I've seen this method. The White Room never taught this. I can't let myself get flustered.]
In Amasawa Ichika's eyes, Saiki Kurumi was Saiki, so she came up with a series of reasons to convince herself.
[Saiki-senpai, this kind of personality-switching disguise ability is really terrifying. No wonder the higher-ups told us not to interact with you… but this makes me even more eager to get to know you better.]
'Yare yare… is this really okay…'
Saiki was also momentarily stunned.
"Senpai, you're so mean. We just met, and it's not that late, but if people notice us alone in the same room, there might be some strange rumors~ Aren't you worried?"
Amasawa Ichika deliberately tested him.
"It's fine, it's fine. Kusuo—I mean, I need more friends to play with!"
Saiki Kurumi said with a smile.
[Kusuo? Why did he say that… I can't figure out his thoughts at all… but if his goal is to test me, there must be a hidden meaning in his words… needing more friends, is he seeing if I can be recruited?]
Amasawa Ichika continued to speculate, then asked,
"By the way, don't you think it's strange that I'm asking a guy I don't know to cook for me? Usually, people would feel strongly resistant, right?"
"It's fine, it's fine. You just need to make more friends! First time's awkward, second time's familiar!"
Amasawa Ichika, completely unprepared for this, could only continue with her original plan, handing over the ingredients she had brought:
"Saiki-senpai, can you guess what dish I want you to make?"
"These ingredients… fish sauce, chili… it's Tom Yum, right?"
Saiki Kurumi, being a housewife, immediately guessed the dish from the ingredients.
And she knew how to make it.
'Impressive…'
Even Saiki couldn't help but admire her.
"Then you can rest here. I've made coffee, and there are candies and snacks! Make yourself at home, don't be too reserved!"
Saiki Kurumi enthusiastically entertained Amasawa Ichika, which left the naturally sociable Amasawa Ichika momentarily unsure how to respond.
[Make myself at home? It feels like… I'm visiting a classmate's house…]
[This level of enthusiasm is a bit too much… Is this also part of the test? It's possible that Saiki-senpai knows about the White Room. I can't reveal my true identity. I need to gather information about him first…]
[The room… doesn't seem to have any valuable clues. The cooking utensils don't look newly bought… So Saiki-senpai really can cook?]
As she thought this, Amasawa Ichika's gaze shifted to Saiki Kurumi—
Who was skillfully handling the ingredients with expert knife work.
[This isn't something you can learn by cramming… Saiki-senpai really can cook… and not just cook, but he's probably mastered it… impressive.]
Amasawa Ichika couldn't help but admire him in her heart.
After about an hour, Saiki Kurumi's Tom Yum was ready.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ichika-chan! Your Tom Yum is ready. The weather's still a bit chilly, so this will warm you up quickly!"
Saiki Kurumi said with a smile.
[He's so confident in his cooking? He didn't even ask about it.]
[I was supposed to judge his cooking skills, but now it feels like I'm a guest at someone's house…]
[I've completely lost the initiative… He's amazing.]
Amasawa Ichika thought this, but the bowl of Tom Yum in front of her was indeed fragrant. She slowly brought a spoonful to her mouth.
In the next second, her eyes lit up.