"By the way, Saiki, there's one more thing… do you know about that previous recording incident?"
Shiina asked with a bit of curiosity. She had agreed to help Ryuen with the investigation, but after confirming that there wasn't a traitor in the class, even Shiina couldn't find any more clues.
"If it's inconvenient to talk about, that's okay too!"
Shiina simply wanted to know the answer to the mystery. Her curiosity was very strong.
"Sorry, regarding that matter, I also don't really know."
Saiki shook his head. "Alright then, it's okay."
Shiina once again revealed a smile toward Saiki, looking just like spring sunshine, bright and radiant.
[Saiki-kun doesn't know either? That recording, how exactly was it done? To obtain that kind of recording without making any sound, I'm afraid only a superpower user could do it! Just how did that person manage it? Truly impressive.]
Upon hearing Shiina's inner thoughts, Saiki's heart skipped a beat, Shiina's seemingly joking thought was actually the answer to the mystery.
[Also, this time's exam is also considered to be a riddle, guessing the leaders of each class. Generally speaking, the higher the person's status in the class, the lower the chance they'll be the leader in this exam, because they are just too noticeable.]
'I suspect you also have superpowers.'
"It's getting late. I should head back too! See you on the boat."
Shiina glanced at her watch, then said to Saiki and quickly left the area.
'Was Shiina hinting at me about Ibuki's goal? But it's better to just pretend I don't know.'
While thinking that, Saiki shifted his attention back to his fishing rod. At this moment, Sakura Airi, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly opened her mouth, "Saiki-kun… just now, that person was?"
As she asked, her eyes couldn't help but look toward the direction where Shiina had left.
"She's from Class D, her name is Shiina. We met by chance in the library, so we got to know each other." Saiki explained.
Perhaps due to the awkward atmosphere earlier, neither Shiina nor Sakura Airi had introduced themselves to each other.
At this moment, Saiki could still hear Shiina's inner thoughts from not far away.
[That girl just now next to Saiki-kun… who was she… I was talking with Saiki-kun the whole time and forgot to greet her… Would it leave a bad impression…]
"I see."
Sakura Airi nodded slightly, and her gaze couldn't help but fall on the book in Saiki's hand.
[So… Saiki-kun also likes reading books?]
———
A few hours had already passed. Saiki checked the number of fish in his bucket. Though it should be fewer than Ike Kanji's, for him, it was the most perfect amount.
Sakura Airi didn't actually help much either. Basically, it was all Saiki using superpowers to let the fish jump into the net themselves.
There were quite a few kinds of fish in the river. Saiki just randomly picked a few and used his powers to catch them. Though he didn't know much about fish, since they appeared on the island, they should be edible species.
[I… I should have helped Saiki-kun a bit, right…]
Saiki clearly heard Sakura Airi's inner thoughts, but he didn't say anything about it.
After tidying up the equipment a little, Saiki and Sakura Airi had already returned to the camp, and Ike Kanji and the others had also come back from fishing.
"You guys went fishing too? Tch, not good, Saiki, your catch is a lot less than Ike's!"
Seeing the bucket of fish Saiki had, Yamauchi Haruki, who had done basically nothing all day, laughed and mocked him.
"No, no, no!"
But seeing the fish that Saiki brought back, Ike Kanji's expression suddenly changed drastically.
"?"
A bad premonition emerged in Saiki's heart.
"You actually caught XX Fish?! This type is extremely hard to catch! Not only does it have high requirements for depth and distance from shore, but it's also picky about bait, and they're super strong, the fishing gear provided by the school can't handle them easily… but Saiki, you caught them, and several at that?! Amazing, Saiki! I didn't expect you to be a fishing expert too!"
It was the first time Ike Kanji looked at Saiki with such admiration.
'???'
Saiki looked down at the fish in his bucket, and those fish seemed to be looking back at him with deeply resentful eyes.
These fish were just randomly caught using his psychic powers, he never expected things to turn out like this.
"Really? Saiki is that amazing?"
Hearing Ike Kanji's words, the others also gathered around.
[So… Saiki-kun is even so skilled at fishing? Clearly, when he was fishing, he looked so confident.]
Beside him, Sakura Airi also widened her eyes, her gaze fixed on Saiki.
'Damn it… I suddenly became way too conspicuous in class… I totally didn't expect things to turn out like this. Tomorrow I absolutely cannot choose fishing again…'
Saiki made up his mind. At this moment, Hirata Yousuke also walked over,
"Thanks to you, Saiki-kun! The fishing tasks for the next few days will have to rely on you and Ike-kun."
"Long live Saiki!"
"Saiki is awesome!"
Surrounded by everyone, Saiki could only stand dumbly in place, completely unable to refuse.
———
As the sky gradually darkened, after enjoying a rich grilled fish dinner together, everyone began their free activities again.
Some people went into their tents to sleep early, some walked around nearby. Though it was summer and the sky wasn't fully dark, people mostly stayed around the area.
Ike Kanji asked Saiki fishing questions for more than twenty minutes. Even though Saiki kept saying it was just luck, Ike didn't believe him at all.
After twenty minutes of constant pestering, Saiki finally managed to send Ike away. Just when he thought he could finally rest, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka came over.
"I didn't expect you to be so skilled at fishing."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka praised Saiki with a blank expression.
"Just lucky."
Saiki replied helplessly. During the day, Ayanokoji had gone out with Horikita Suzune to investigate other classes.
"Saiki, what do you think about Ibuki's appearance?"
Suddenly, Ayanokoji changed the topic and looked toward Ibuki.
Saiki shifted his gaze to Ibuki Mio. Right now, she had somewhat gotten closer to some girls in the class.
[During this time, I couldn't figure out the leader of Class C. I can't ask directly either, that would make my intent too obvious.]
Saiki could clearly hear Ibuki Mio's inner thoughts.
'Ibuki is actually a spy sent by Class D. But I can't say it out loud, since she's still useful to me.'
While thinking that, Saiki was preparing to pretend not to know anything and reply.
But just as he was about to speak, Ayanokoji opened his mouth first,
"You've probably realized too, right? Ibuki is likely the spy sent from Class D, today when I was investigating other classes, I discovered Class B also received a student from Class D. I don't believe in such coincidences. So I think those two are most likely the spies, and their goal is to discover the leaders of other classes."
[Earlier when Ibuki Mio showed up near our class, that was already suspicious. After learning that Class B had a similar case, I became certain.]
[I figure Saiki must have realized it too, but didn't expose it, probably planning to use Ibuki against them?]
[Looks like Saiki's thinking is almost the same as mine.]
'You bastard…'
Saiki looked at Ayanokoji. In some sense, their thoughts were indeed alike, deliberately keeping the spy close.
Only, Ayanokoji wanted to use the spy to gain better results, while Saiki was the opposite, he just wanted to use Ibuki Mio to control the class's points.
When the time came, he would create a chance for Ibuki Mio to "accidentally" find out his identity as the leader, and then use it to adjust the score...
But now, Saiki's plan could be said to be completely ruined.
Ayanokoji had just directly told him that Ibuki Mio was a spy. So if she discovered Saiki's identity later, she would definitely be suspicious!
If Ayanokoji hadn't said anything, Saiki could've pretended to be clueless, but now he didn't even have that option.
'Damn it, Ayanokoji, what exactly are you trying to do?'
Saiki's brain spun rapidly, trying to find a countermeasure.
'Can I only forcibly play dumb now? Pretend to…'
[If it's the previous personality of Saiki, he'd definitely pretend to not know anything. But the more he hides it, the more it proves how capable he is.]
'You bastard!'
Saiki clenched his fist and could only slowly open his mouth, "I also somewhat suspected her."
"When did you notice?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka continued asking.
"From… the beginning." Saiki wasn't really lying, he had heard her inner thoughts from the start.
"So it's like that. Was it because you noticed the dirt under Ibuki's fingernails back then?"
'?'
Saiki hadn't noticed that at all, but could only nod.
[Saiki's observation skills really are excellent, not inferior to mine, maybe even better.]
[There was dirt under Ibuki's nails. I also checked the spot she was at earlier, the soil looked freshly dug, and there was a radio transmitter hidden there. I saw a similar one with Ryuen during the day.]
[But even after seeing through the spy's identity, Saiki still brought Ibuki back. He must be planning to use her. His thinking is very similar to mine.]
'…I wasn't thinking that much at all…'
Saiki didn't know how to respond.
[As expected, Saiki and I are the same kind of person.]
'Sorry, I'm a psychic, different from you.'
After a few seconds of silence, Ayanokoji spoke thoughtfully,
"Saiki, between rising to Class A and living a peaceful high school life, which do you choose?"
"Of course the latter." Saiki didn't hesitate at all and answered immediately.
"Getting to Class A draws too much attention. I just want a quiet life."
"Looks like we have a lot in common." Ayanokoji nodded toward Saiki.
[Since I can tell that Saiki is hiding his strength, then he's likely already noticed what I'm hiding too. He may not be a product of the White Room, but since he's so similar to me… maybe he comes from some other experimental facility like it.]
'Although I do know, please never tell me. I don't want to get involved in all kinds of trouble. I was born into an ordinary family, don't randomly give me a made-up backstory.'
"Although I have no interest in rising to Class A either, due to certain special reasons, I currently have to accomplish it." Ayanokoji said this. In front of Saiki, he no longer bothered to hide his identity.
"Hmm…" Saiki could only nod.
"So, in this exam, I want to get a higher score. If needed, I can assist you. You don't dig into my past, and I won't dig into your matters."
Ayanokoji walked up to Saiki and extended his hand.
"Saiki, let's cooperate."
[Saiki and I are just too similar, whether in thought process or goal of action.]
'Sorry, I don't think so.'
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