Saiki turned his head to see who had spoken. It was Ibuki Mio.
Ibuki Mio loved watching movies. She had a plan to watch every movie ever made. Originally, she had planned to watch this one two days ago, but due to unforeseen circumstances, it had been delayed until Christmas Day.
However, she hadn't expected to run into her nemesis here.
"Saiki… why are you here?!"
Upon seeing Saiki, Ibuki Mio's face immediately showed surprise—but soon, her expression shifted to a mix of fear and disgust.
"You… why are you here… are you following me?"
Ibuki Mio's gaze was filled with extreme wariness.
"No, I'm just here with some friends to watch a movie."
Saiki replied calmly.
He noticed the change in Ibuki Mio's expression. She seemed to hold quite a bit of hostility toward him, which was understandable given what had happened on the rooftop earlier. It was almost impossible for her to be friendly with him after that.
However, Saiki felt that Ibuki Mio had some other emotions toward him as well.
'If I had telepathy, I'd know what she's thinking… No, no, I can't rely too much on my powers. After all, they're just a burden to me.'
Saiki thought to himself.
"Friends…"
Ibuki Mio furrowed her brows, first lowering her head thoughtfully, then looking up at Saiki.
"Even though I hate you, you did stop Ryuen from dropping out…"
'Stop Ryuen from dropping out? What the heck?'
Saiki's eyebrow twitched slightly. He had never heard anything about Ryuen Kakeru dropping out, let alone that he had stopped it.
"But no matter what, I still hate you… Wait, are you going to watch that movie?"
Ibuki Mio noticed the movie ticket in Saiki's hand. It was for the same showing as hers.
The movie was very niche, and the school's theater only screened it once a day. Saiki had chosen this movie precisely because it was so obscure.
"Yeah."
"I didn't expect you to watch this kind of movie…"
"It's my freedom to watch whatever movie I want…"
Saiki thought to himself.
"Kusuo, are you done?"
At that moment, Karuizawa Kei, who had been waiting in the distance, called out to Saiki and waved.
She noticed Ibuki Mio's presence and was momentarily stunned—but soon, Karuizawa Kei walked over to Ibuki Mio.
"Is there something wrong, Ibuki-san?"
Karuizawa Kei thought Ibuki Mio might be here to cause trouble, so she stepped forward to ask, her expression turning serious. The other three girls didn't know what was going on but followed suit.
"Nothing's wrong. I just ran into her by chance."
Saiki explained.
Meanwhile, Ibuki Mio's gaze shifted to the group beside Saiki.
A guy… hanging out with four girls?
On Christmas?
Ibuki Mio's eyes were filled with surprise. In her impression, Saiki was supposed to be a gloomy person. How could he be out with four girls?
And…
One of them looked just like the owner of the fortune-telling shop.
Was she mistaken?
"Let's go in."
Saiki said to the four girls beside him, leading them into the theater and handing out the movie tickets.
Saiki had bought the best seats in the middle of the theater, and their seats were in the center of that row.
However, Saiki had kept the ticket for the far-right seat in the row for himself—
Because when he had met Ibuki Mio earlier, he had seen her ticket. Her seat was in the same row as his.
Not only that, but it was also right next to the far-left seat of their group.
To avoid any awkward situations, Saiki had chosen to sit in the far-right seat, ensuring he wouldn't be sandwiched between two classmates. At most, he'd only have to deal with one person.
"Saiki, why aren't you sitting in the middle?"
Sato Maya, who was sitting a seat away from Saiki, asked. She naturally wanted to sit next to him.
"This is fine. There might be others coming later."
Karuizawa Kei, who was sitting next to Saiki, smiled and said.
'So far…'
Sakura Airi muttered softly. It wasn't clear whether she was referring to the distance from the screen or from Saiki.
"If no one comes later, I'll move to the seat next to Saiki!"
"That seat's so far to the side. It's not as good as where you are now. You're in the center."
"I… I just prefer sitting on the side."
"Ugh, why am I sitting on the edge? Should we switch?"
The others were discussing their seats, while Saiki glanced toward the entrance, where Ibuki Mio still hadn't entered.
'Yare yare, did she decide not to watch the movie because she ran into me?'
Just as Saiki thought he had avoided a potential problem, Ibuki Mio finally walked in. Although the movie hadn't started yet, the theater was already quite dark. Ibuki Mio slowly made her way to her seat, checking her ticket as she went—
And then, she ended up next to Saiki.
"…"
"???? What?????"
Ibuki Mio couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief, unable to believe that the person next to her was Saiki. Saiki was equally surprised that Ibuki Mio had ended up next to him.
'How is this possible? I didn't misread her ticket earlier. What's going on?'
Saiki immediately checked Ibuki Mio's ticket and was shocked to find that her seat number had changed—it was now next to his!
When they had met earlier, Ibuki Mio had also glimpsed Saiki's seat number and realized it was next to hers. To avoid awkwardness, she had asked the ticket seller to change her seat, which cost her a few extra points. Since she had chosen the best row for viewing, she had only adjusted her seat number.
But she hadn't expected Saiki to move to the far-right seat.
[Damn it, I forgot they were a group of five… Wait, did he plan for me to change my seat? Is he deliberately sitting next to me to keep an eye on me?]
Ibuki Mio's mind raced as she considered the possibilities.
Meanwhile, Saiki, due to his germanium ring, couldn't hear her thoughts at all.
'If I had telepathy, I wouldn't be in this mess!'
Saiki clenched his fist.
'Damn it, I have no idea what she's thinking… No, I can't give up now. I've already decided not to use telepathy today, so I have to stick with it.'
Saiki forced himself to remain calm, keeping his gaze fixed ahead.
'There probably won't be many people watching this movie anyway. She'll probably move seats on her own…'
Just as Saiki was thinking this, a group of students suddenly flooded into the theater.
'???'
Christmas was the perfect time for couples to go on dates, and watching movies was one of the most important parts of that. It didn't matter what movie they watched—often, it was a spontaneous decision.
Tickets for other showings had sold out, making this niche movie suddenly more popular.
'Damn it, I considered that this movie wouldn't have many viewers, but I didn't account for the impact of Christmas! Damn it! Another miscalculation!'
As more students entered, the previously empty seats began to fill up, and Ibuki Mio had no choice but to sit next to Saiki.
'Just ignore her. I'm here to watch the movie, that's all.'
Soon, the movie started, and the theater darkened.
Saiki focused his attention on the screen…
But every so often, he could feel Ibuki Mio's gaze on him.
'Stop looking at me…'
Saiki's senses were sharper than an average person's, so even without telepathy, he could feel Ibuki Mio occasionally watching him.
The movie experience was becoming torturous.
It felt like being in prison.
For Ibuki Mio, it was the same. Sitting next to Saiki made her feel uneasy.
[Is this guy keeping an eye on me? But he's not even looking at me… Is he looking down on me? Is he trying to show me that he can easily control my actions but doesn't need to? What an arrogant guy…]
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed Ibuki Mio became, and she clenched her fists.
Saiki tried to focus on the screen, but Karuizawa Kei's hand kept brushing against his arm.
'I can't concentrate…'
Saiki placed his hands neatly on his knees and focused his attention, finally managing to get somewhat into the movie.
'Even though it's niche… and I don't remember the earlier plot, the later parts are pretty good. I'm actually looking forward to how it develops. Coming to watch this movie wasn't a bad choice after all!'
A slight smile appeared on Saiki's face.
Just as the protagonist was about to infiltrate the enemy's base for the climax, the screen suddenly went black.
At first, the students thought it was some kind of special effect, so they waited patiently.
But even after ten, twenty seconds, there was still no image or sound.
'Some movies use black screens as a cinematic technique, but this is way too long…'
Saiki realized something was wrong. Just then, an announcement played over the theater's speakers.
"We apologize for the inconvenience. Due to technical difficulties, this movie will be temporarily paused. We are sorry for the disruption and ask for your patience."
As the announcement played, the theater erupted into chatter.
"Are you serious?"
"Did the equipment break?"
"Ugh, I specifically chose to watch a movie on Christmas!"
Everyone began to complain.
'The climax is about to happen, and this happens?!'
Saiki screamed internally, but he quickly took a deep breath.
'Yare yare, I can't get frustrated. Even though this ruins the immersion, accidents happen. I just need to wait patiently for them to fix the equipment.'
Saiki pretended to close his eyes and rest to avoid the gazes of those around him.
'Just wait… it'll be fine…'
One minute, two minutes… Several minutes passed, and the movie still hadn't resumed.
"What if the equipment is beyond repair and they cancel the showing? They'll refund us, right?"
Just then, Saiki heard Sato Maya say this—
'If they cancel the showing, that's absolutely unacceptable! If I miss this showing, I'll have to come back tomorrow. And once I take off the germanium ring, everyone's thoughts will spoil the ending for me! No way!'
Saiki made a decisive decision and stood up from his seat.
"Kusuo, where are you going?"
Karuizawa Kei immediately asked.
"I'm going to the restroom."
Saiki quickly left his seat and exited the theater. Using his X-ray vision and clairvoyance, he located the projection room and removed his ring to find out what was going on.
[If we can't fix it, we'll have to cancel today's showing.]
Saiki heard the staff's thoughts.
'Absolutely not!'
Saiki immediately used his restoration ability from a distance, reverting the projector to its state from the previous day. The movie started playing again.
"Great, it's fixed! We don't have to cancel the showing!"
Saiki heard the staff's cheers and prepared to return to the theater to watch the most exciting and suspenseful part of the movie.
But just as he was about to put his ring back on, the staff's thoughts reached his mind again.
[These students will never guess that the real villain is actually the male lead's best friend. It's all part of his plan, and in the end, the protagonist has to sacrifice himself to stop him…]
Saiki froze, his entire body turning to stone.
'%&@#%…'