"That's right. Saiki sent me here."
After a moment of thought, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded.
"What did he send you here for? To warn me and make me drop out? Haha..."
Ryuen Kakeru let out a bitter laugh and shook his head slightly.
"Let me bear this alone. I can drop out..."
"What are you talking about?! And why are you giving me your points?"
Ibuki Mio's face showed a hint of anger.
"Because you hate me, that's why I'm giving them to you. You can split the remaining personal points among yourselves. Katsuragi and Sakayanagi will probably declare the contract void because I'm dropping out, but there's nothing I can do about that."
Ryuen Kakeru shrugged.
"Ryuen, are you serious?!"
Ishizaki Daichi shouted, unable to believe Ryuen Kakeru's words.
Although he had been subdued by Ryuen Kakeru's violence, Ishizaki Daichi actually admired him.
"Stop shouting. I can hear you just fine."
Ryuen Kakeru waved his hand.
"Saiki sent me here to talk some sense into you."
At that moment, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke expressionlessly.
"Talk sense into me?"
"Saiki doesn't think dropping out is a wise choice. He believes you'll regret it if you leave this school."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said.
[If it's Saiki, he would probably do this.]
"Why does Saiki care about this?"
"If you leave without understanding why you lost here, your growth will end."
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't you care why you lost to Saiki?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? What's the point of keeping me around? Keeping me, who knows the inside story of Class B, doesn't benefit you at all. You don't know when I might spill the beans. I'm a threat to you, aren't I?"
"That's right... If I had to come up with a reason, it's that if you could help us defeat Sakayanagi or Ichinose, Class B would have an easier time in the future. Besides, if we can keep the contract you made with Katsuragi, Class A will slowly be worn down—most importantly, if you suddenly drop out, Sakayanagi or Ichinose will think you were defeated by X. That would cause a lot of trouble for Saiki later. In other words, keeping you around is more beneficial for Class B."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka paused, then continued,
"But ultimately, whether you drop out or not is your choice. It's also your choice to doubt us. However, Saiki has no intention of making this public. What happened here won't be revealed by him. In other words, you have no reason to drop out. If you still want to drop out under these circumstances, we won't stop you."
"If that's the case, then don't stop me. I don't trust people easily."
After saying this, Ryuen Kakeru left the rooftop, leaving Ibuki Mio and the others staring at each other in confusion.
"Seriously, I can't understand what this idiot is thinking!"
Ibuki Mio said irritably but followed Ryuen Kakeru and left.
Ishizaki Daichi and Albert Yamada were also about to leave, but at that moment, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stopped them.
"You don't want Ryuen to drop out so easily, do you?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said slowly.
...
A few hours later, the school dormitory was very quiet. Almost everyone was asleep—
Except for Saiki.
At that moment, he was using his clairvoyance to observe Kushida Kikyo's movements.
It was very late, but Kushida Kikyo hadn't fallen asleep.
What had happened today made it impossible for her to sleep.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
Kushida Kikyo cursed in her room. Even without using telepathy, Saiki knew who she was targeting.
Losing to Horikita Suzune was something Kushida Kikyo could never accept.
"Damn it... Because of the bet, I can't openly target that horrible woman anymore! I can't let her off the hook... Whether it's Yamauchi, Ayanokoji, or Saiki, I'll make sure they suffer!"
'Yare yare, you're really persistent... But it seems like you'll cause me a lot of trouble in the future. I'll have to deal with this problem.'
Saiki thought to himself.
Unlike when dealing with Ryuen Kakeru, Saiki couldn't use direct methods to make Kushida Kikyo back down.
However, he had an idea.
He could use mind control to make Kushida Kikyo a bit more... normal.
Kushida Kikyo targeted Horikita Suzune and others because she believed they knew about her past and might reveal it.
If Saiki could make Kushida Kikyo believe that 'these people would never reveal her past,' perhaps the problem could be solved.
'Yare yare, I don't usually use this ability because it could affect the real world. But if I don't use it, I'll probably have to deal with Kushida's antics for the next two years.'
As Saiki thought this, he activated his mind control ability.
'Kushida Kikyo, you believe that I, Horikita Suzune, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka will never reveal your past. You won't cause trouble for them in the future.'
Saiki felt like he had forgotten something, but he couldn't remember what it was at the moment.
After Saiki activated his ability, Kushida Kikyo froze for a moment, then muttered in confusion.
"Strange, why was I so worried about this? Horikita, Saiki and Ayanokoji would never reveal my past, right? I don't know why, but I trust them! There's no need to take any special actions against them!"
Hearing Kushida Kikyo's muttering, Saiki let out a sigh of relief. For now, it seemed Kushida Kikyo wouldn't cause him any more trouble in the future—
"However, I can't let Yamauchi off the hook. That guy humiliated me during the exam... I'll never forgive him!"
Kushida Kikyo's face once again showed a twisted expression, her eyes turning fierce.
'Yare yare, did I forget about Yamauchi? Well, it doesn't matter. In a way, it's good for Class B.'
Saiki muttered to himself.
'The day's troubles are finally over. Seriously, it feels like this day has been so long, like it's spanned several chapters. I should take a break.'
With that, Saiki used his teleportation ability to return home.
...
Meanwhile, Karuizawa Kei lay in bed, unable to fall asleep.
For some reason, after what had happened that evening, every time she closed her eyes, Saiki's image appeared in her mind.
Although she had realized during the sports festival that Saiki seemed more talented than others and had been hiding his abilities—she hadn't expected him to single-handedly deal with Class D that night...
"Seriously... this is totally unfair! This is the kind of hero-saving-the-damsel scene you only see in movies and novels!"
Karuizawa Kei muttered to herself, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"He's good-looking, athletic, and his grades are great too... Even though he usually acts cold, he still risked himself to help me. And when he eats sweets, he's completely different... Is this what they call gap moe?"
Karuizawa Kei recalled Saiki's image, unconsciously adding a 'filter' to him in her mind.
She had already had some feelings for Saiki, but after that night, those feelings had likely grown several times stronger.
"Ugh, what am I thinking—"
"But I should thank him properly."
"By the way, how hard is it to make cake or pudding?"
...
The next day, Saiki returned to the dormitory, tidied up a bit, and then left his room, heading to the elevator to go to class.
But just as he opened the door, the door to another room nearby also opened.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stepped out of his room at the same time.
[As I expected, Saiki not only defeated Ryuen Kakeru and turned him into a tool but also made Karuizawa more dependent on him.]
'This guy already knows about what happened yesterday?'
Saiki wasn't too surprised.
'But what's going on in your head? I just wanted to avoid more trouble from Ryuen Kakeru in the future.'
"Good morning, Saiki."
"Morning."
The two simply greeted each other without saying much more and walked toward the elevator.
The elevator soon arrived at their floor, and the doors slowly opened. Inside was Kushida Kikyo.
"Good morning, Saiki-kun and Ayanokoji-kun!"
Seeing the two, Kushida Kikyo immediately put on a bright, sunny smile.
"Morning."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded.
[Even though we've already had a falling out, she's still keeping up the act when it's just the three of us?]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seemed a bit puzzled.
"About yesterday, please don't take it to heart. I was a bit out of line. Let's continue to get along as classmates from now on!"
Kushida Kikyo said with a smile.
[Strange, why is Kushida suddenly saying this? It's completely contradictory to her behavior yesterday. Is she trying to lower our guard? No, Kushida wouldn't use such tactics. After all, she openly declared war on me and Saiki yesterday. There's no point in pretending today.]
[It's like Kushida has become a different person. Why did she change so much overnight? Is it because of Ryuen? Unlikely...]
[Did Saiki do something to Kushida?]
'Hey, hey, how did you connect this to me?'
Saiki felt a bit helpless.
"However, I should make one thing clear. Yamauchi is still my enemy. If you side with him, it means you're opposing me again—I hope you won't stand by Yamauchi's side in the future."
"Sure."
Both Saiki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded.
'At least it seems like the trouble is over for now.'
Saiki thought to himself.
...
In the following days, Saiki enjoyed a relatively peaceful period.
In Class B, Kushida Kikyo indeed stopped causing trouble for Saiki and the others—as for Yamauchi Haruki, he spent every day on edge, but his grades seemed to have improved.
Meanwhile, rumors began to spread in Class D that Ryuen Kakeru had given up his position as leader.
He no longer acted with Ishizaki Daichi and the others, becoming silent and not speaking to anyone.
Many believed that a conflict had broken out between Ryuen Kakeru and Ishizaki Daichi, with Ishizaki Daichi emerging victorious.
But no one knew what had really happened.
Until one day, Ryuen Kakeru received a phone call from someone and left the dormitory late at night, heading to the school plaza.
It was very late, and the weather was cold. Almost no one was outside.
But at the plaza, a few people seemed to be waiting for Ryuen Kakeru.
"I didn't expect you to reach out to me, Sakayanagi."
Ryuen Kakeru looked at the group. They were all from Class A, and in the center was Sakayanagi Arisu.
"I have some questions I need to ask you in person."
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled.
"You look badly injured. It doesn't look like you were beaten up—more like you fell."
"Let's just say I fell."
"I heard you've stepped down as the leader of Class D."
"I knew you'd want to confirm that."
"Is it true?"
"What will you do if it is?"
Ryuen Kakeru actually smiled.
Sakayanagi Arisu had come to Ryuen Kakeru to confirm one thing—
Whether the person who defeated Ryuen Kakeru was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"Was it Ayanokoji who defeated you?"
"Ayanokoji?"
Ryuen Kakeru's eyes showed a flicker of confusion.