Based on the above results, the increase and decrease in class and individual points in this exam are as follows.
After the points, the units "cl" and "pr" will be attached, which stand for class points and personal points respectively.
[Class A; Minus 200cl, plus 2 million pr]
[Class B: Plus 50cl, plus 3 million pr]
[Class C: No change in cl, plus 2.5 million pr]
[Class D: Plus 150cl, plus 5.5 million pr]
In this exam, the class that Saiki belonged to, Class D, gained a certain amount of class points, and in this exam, they also obtained a second-place result. The distance between them and Class A had already become very close.
However, the biggest winner this time was Class D, the class Ryuen belonged to.
Karuizawa was not exactly smart, and she couldn't understand how Class D, originally in last place, had managed to do it.
"Huh?!" Karuizawa was a little surprised.
"Class D is actually the biggest winner this time?"
"Looks like it."
Saiki nodded his head.
He knew what kind of tactic Ryuen had used, Ryuen had collected the entire class's phones and found out who the VIP was, and he had also secretly formed a cooperative relationship with Class B's Kushida.
Karuizawa looked at the information above with some doubt. After finishing browsing it, she immediately closed the information. Upon entering the main menu, however, the personal interface of the phone immediately popped up.
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[Name: Saiki]
[Student number: xxxxx]
[Birthday: August 16]
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[Huh! Saiki's birthday is just in a few days?!]
'Oh no, letting Karuizawa see that is going to be a bit of a problem.'
Saiki hadn't expected that Karuizawa would actually see his birthday.
To Saiki, birthdays weren't something particularly worth celebrating.
For ordinary people, birthdays are usually accompanied by surprises, with others secretly preparing gifts and the like.
But for Saiki, the concept of a "surprise" had never existed.
This was also one of the reasons he considered his psychic powers a burden.
[There probably aren't many people in the class who know Saiki's birthday, right? When the time comes, I'll secretly prepare a surprise for him! I bet he'll be really surprised!]
Thinking of this, the corners of Karuizawa's mouth couldn't help but rise slightly.
'Sorry, the moment you thought that, the surprise was already gone.' Saiki responded like this in his heart.
"It's getting late, I'm heading out first!"
Karuizawa stood up from her seat, waved at Saiki, and then left the room.
'Geez, what a hassle.'
Saiki sighed and shook his head helplessly.
'But tomorrow, I should be able to return to school… I hope I can spend summer vacation peacefully… Please don't let any weird things happen.'
'This already-not-so-long summer break is nearly half over… I just want to stay at home and do nothing.'
———
At the same time, several hundred kilometers away, in a government building, a young girl with slightly tanned skin was processing some paperwork. Her facial features were delicate, and she had an extremely proud figure.
"Advanced Nurturing High School, huh? Although the time for student enrollment has already passed, if I go in as a merchant or staff, I should still be able to enter."
"I heard that school has everything. If that's the case, then maybe opening a small fortune-telling shop there wouldn't be a bad idea!"
"I foresaw that my destined one is at that school. The initials are S.K., super talented… I'm really curious what kind of person he is!"
The girl muttered to herself, a smile on her face.
"Excuse me, are you the fortune teller?"
A staff member in uniform walked up to the girl.
"Yup!"
"Your application for the fortune-telling shop has been approved. In a bit, a ship will take you and other staff into the school. Your shop location and related information about the school are all in your manual."
"Alright, thank you for the hard work!"
She replied with a smile.
———
[On the Cruise Ship]
"How is that possible?"
The people of Class B looked at the information on their phones, with surprised expressions surfacing on their faces. They hadn't expected that Class D, originally in last place, would get first place in this exam.
Horikita Suzune's eyes were filled with astonishment, mixed with a trace of something else, as she stared unwaveringly at the boy in front of her with an arrogant smile on his face.
Ryuen.
Just moments ago, when everyone was discussing the exam content together, Ryuen had appeared here too and uttered provocative words to them, as if the entire exam had been under his control.
"You… What exactly did you do?"
Horikita Suzune questioned. She couldn't understand how Ryuen could have guessed the identity of their group's VIP.
And yet their group still ended up with Result One.
This meant Ryuen had not only guessed the VIP's identity, but also held absolute core evidence, making the other class members believe in the identity as well.
This was nothing less than provocation.
In truth, all of this was due to the collaboration between Kushida Kikyo and Ryuen. But no one else would ever suspect Kushida Kikyo's betrayal.
"Although I understand that you're feeling unwilling to accept it, it means that in this group, you were also the most useless one. But don't blame yourself, Suzune, your opponent was just too strong."
"Besides, this exam was always going to be a fierce competition amid turbulent waters. I imagine Class A's faces are even paler than yours." Ryuen said with a smile.
This time, his attack was directed at Class A. In reality, it was also a provocation to the other two classes, telling them that he could crush them at will.
"And next, Suzune, though it's a regrettable announcement, my next target is you. In the next exam, I'll go all out targeting you, and make you suffer until your body and mind are torn to pieces."
Ryuen waved his hand, then turned around.
"Look forward to the second semester…"
Just as Ryuen was about to leave, he suddenly seemed to remember something, then turned his head and looked at Yamauchi Haruki in the crowd. A meaningful smile appeared on his face again.
"As for the hidden mastermind in your class, I already have a lead! You're here, and I'm sure you heard that. I'll definitely crush you completely."
[Actually, he wasn't present. Ryuen just looked at Yamauchi for a moment, that's strange. Adding to that the strange things Yamauchi said earlier in the room… could it be that Saiki did something to redirect Ryuen's suspicion onto Yamauchi?]
[How did he do it? To completely fool Ryuen, and to use Yamauchi as the target… I can't imagine what method Saiki used.]
Ayanokoji responded in his heart. Even he couldn't imagine that all of this was done by Saiki using psychic powers.
Yamauchi Haruki's face was full of confusion, he had no idea what Ryuen was talking about.
After throwing down his harsh words, Ryuen left immediately.
Ayanokoji narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Ryuen's departing back.
[I feel that the emotion called "interest" has slightly started to sprout in my heart.]
———
One day later, August 15th, the two-week-long cruise trip finally ended. Although it was called a trip, in reality it had just been two special exams. They had only about three days of actual free time.
Still, all things considered, being able to spend a few days on a luxury cruise ship without spending points was barely acceptable.
After the trip ended, everyone returned to school to enjoy the remaining half-month of vacation.
Saiki also returned to his dorm, planning to do absolutely nothing and enjoy what remained of summer vacation at ease.
Of course, he knew that would be extremely difficult.
At the same time, inside the school's gift shop, Karuizawa was in the shop, picking out a gift for Saiki.
Her eyes scanned over the dazzling shelves of goods, but after struggling for quite a while, she still couldn't pick a suitable gift.
"What should I choose… That Saiki guy… Aside from liking sweets, I don't know what other hobbies Saiki has. I can't just give him more cake or something again… But a birthday cake… that could work?"
Karuizawa's not-so-smart brain was trying hard to think. At that moment, a familiar voice rang out behind her.
"Karuizawa-san?"
"Huh?"
Karuizawa turned toward the source of the voice, it was Ichinose Honami.
"Honami-san, what a coincidence."
Karuizawa recalled previous events and politely greeted the other girl.
"Didn't expect to see you here. Are you buying a gift for a classmate?"
"Haha, something like that."
"What a coincidence, me too!"
Ichinose said with a smile.
[Tomorrow is Saiki's birthday! I'm going to prepare a gift for Saiki!] Ichinose thought in her heart.
During the discussion meeting earlier, everyone had to take out their phones to check information. As the moderator at the time, Ichinose had also accidentally caught sight of Saiki's birthday, so she came to the gift shop to prepare a birthday gift for him.
'She's buying a gift… Could it also be for Saiki?'
At the same time, both girls had the same thought in their hearts.
"Are you two young ladies buying a gift for a friend?"
At that moment, the shop owner noticed them and came over to ask.
"Yes."
They both answered in unison.
"Is it for someone of the opposite gender?"
"Mhm."
"A boyfriend?"
"Ah, no, no!"
"Then do you want him to become a boyfriend?"
"Uh, that's not it!"
Karuizawa's face turned slightly red, because in a certain sense, what the owner said wasn't wrong. She had previously thought about pretending to be in a couple with Saiki.
"It's just a simple birthday, that's all!"
"Birthday? Karuizawa-san, are you buying a gift… for Saiki-san?"
Unable to hold back her curiosity any longer, Ichinose finally asked.
"Ah, you too?" Karuizawa immediately asked.
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