At this moment, Saiki was supporting Asahina Nazuna as they slowly made their way toward the exit.
Along the way, Asahina Nazuna chatted with Saiki with great interest.
"Saiki-kun, you're the first person to push Miyabi into such a desperate situation! Ouch, ouch....."
Asahina Nazuna hopped on one foot as she spoke to Saiki.
"Senpai, are you talking about the uninhabited island exam? I was just lucky."
Saiki said slowly, fully aware that the Asahina Nazuna in front of him was no ordinary person either.
"Lucky? I won't believe such a flimsy excuse."
Asahina Nazuna smiled and said,
"This is the first time I've seen Miyabi suffer such a crushing defeat."
"Didn't Nagumo lose to Horikita-senpai before?"
Saiki asked.
"That's different. Although Miyabi did lose a few times, the gap wasn't that big—and those losses were mostly part of his plans."
Asahina Nazuna continued,
"But thankfully, you were willing to face Miyabi in a real showdown. Otherwise, things might have gotten very messy."
"Oh?"
"If you had kept refusing to face Miyabi, he would have definitely targeted you."
"To be honest, the duel with Nagumo-senpai was completely unexpected. If possible, I didn't want to have any conflict with him."
Saiki sighed and spoke his mind.
The reason he had agreed to face Nagumo Miyabi was partly because he had promised Horikita Manabu not to let Nagumo get too out of hand, as Nagumo had indeed caused him some trouble.
But the main reason was still because of Saiki Kusuke.
If it weren't for his antics during the uninhabited island exam, they wouldn't be in this situation now.
If possible, Saiki would have preferred to ignore Nagumo Miyabi altogether.
"That probably has nothing to do with your intentions. In fact, things might have turned out even worse than they are now. If you had angered Miyabi, not only you but also the people around you might have suffered."
Asahina Nazuna said.
"He probably couldn't do that."
Saiki replied.
"To speak so confidently in front of the student council president? You really are confident."
"After all, the students in our class are no ordinary people."
Saiki responded.
'After all, we have Ayanokoji in our class. No matter how strong Nagumo is, he probably can't win against Ayanokoji.'
Saiki thought to himself.
"You're really special. No wonder even Kiryuin-san is so interested in you."
"Even her....."
Saiki pursed his lips. It seemed Kiryuin Fuka's reputation in the third year wasn't great.
"But there's one thing I have to admit."
"What?"
"Since your duel with Miyabi, his personality has mellowed a lot."
Asahina Nazuna looked up and smiled,
"Perhaps it's because you gave him a defeat he could truly accept. He lost to the former president before, but Miyabi never really believed he had lost. But you're different. This time, Miyabi accepted his defeat wholeheartedly and hasn't done anything extreme since. In the entire world, you might be the only one who could do that."
Saiki didn't respond, as he didn't know how to answer.
"Ah, we're at the exit already? That was fast."
Asahina Nazuna was surprised and turned to look at Saiki.
Since the theme was a maze haunted house, the routes inside were designed to be very complex, and it would usually take a long time for someone to find their way out.
But Saiki hadn't taken long at all.
[How did he find the way out so easily? It took me a long time to memorize the routes.]
Asahina Nazuna thought to herself.
'Yare yare, I'm a psychic. I can just use my X-ray vision to see the structure inside and figure out the correct route..... But the correct route is probably completely different from the one in your head, right?'
Saiki replied in his mind.
"Saiki, how did you figure out the route so quickly?"
"I've played maze-related games before, so I know a bit about the logic."
"I see."
Saiki helped Asahina Nazuna out of the maze, where they were met by Nagumo Miyabi.
"Nazuna, what happened?"
Seeing Asahina Nazuna's condition, Nagumo Miyabi showed a rare expression of concern.
"I twisted my ankle.... It hurt so much earlier.... Huh, weird, why doesn't it hurt anymore?"
Asahina Nazuna looked down at her ankle in confusion. She remembered it looking swollen earlier. Had she been mistaken?
After all, the lighting in the haunted house was very poor, so she might not have seen clearly.
In reality, Saiki had used his restoration ability to heal Asahina Nazuna's ankle.
Since it was an accidental injury, as long as Asahina Nazuna didn't twist her ankle again tomorrow, there shouldn't be any issues.
Of course, Asahina Nazuna..... had the rare trait of tripping over flat ground, so who knew what would happen tomorrow.
"Thanks to Saiki-kun, he helped me get out."
Asahina Nazuna stomped her foot and then spoke to Nagumo Miyabi.
"I didn't expect you to get out so quickly..."
Nagumo Miyabi felt a bit frustrated. After all, the maze he had painstakingly designed had been easily solved by Saiki.
"Thanks to senpai knowing the way."
"How was the experience? Did you get scared?"
Nagumo Miyabi leaned forward, eagerly awaiting Saiki's response.
Saiki pursed his lips, unsure how to answer.
"I see. Any suggestions or feedback?"
"It was all good."
Saiki thought to himself.
For an ordinary person, the haunted house maze might have been a thrilling experience.
But Saiki couldn't feel it.
With his psychic abilities, he rarely experienced surprises in his daily life.
This was also why Saiki considered his psychic abilities a misfortune.
"Still, I won't go back on my promise to you."
As he spoke, Nagumo Miyabi handed Saiki a coupon—instantly, Saiki had already grabbed it, so fast that Nagumo Miyabi didn't even react in time.
"What a strange guy..... As for losing to you, I truly accept it."
Nagumo Miyabi dropped his usual somewhat fake smile and looked at Saiki with genuine seriousness,
"Saiki, are you really not considering joining the student council? I think you're the only one qualified to be the next student council president."
"Sorry, I refuse."
Saiki didn't hesitate and immediately replied.
"Is that so..... Alright."
Nagumo Miyabi didn't say more and simply let Saiki leave.
Saiki's destination was very clear.
The dessert shop!
Time passed quickly, and soon it was November 12th, Friday, the last day of the cultural festival.
All classes were seriously preparing for the event. After school today, the student council would lead a preliminary rehearsal, which would serve as an important test for the real challenge tomorrow.
Class A, where Saiki was, had prepared four main activities.
The first was a maid café, with revenue coming from drinks like tea and coffee, as well as light snacks and desserts. Saiki was in charge of all these.
After this was announced, some students suggested to Saiki that they could charge customers for taking photos with the maids. However, considering that Horikita Suzune and Sakura Airi were among the maids, Saiki rejected the idea.
The second and third activities were outdoor stalls selling barbecue and Western-style bread. These stalls generated their own revenue and also accepted orders from the maid café. If someone placed an order, students responsible for delivery would go to the stalls to help fulfill the orders. To take advantage of the maid café's uniqueness, they also offered a limited menu, which added a few new items to the existing menu sold at the stalls.
The fourth and final activity, added with extra budget, was an outdoor quiz competition for children.
After school, everyone gathered in the designated classroom for the rehearsal, and other students from the class also came to watch.
"I didn't expect Horikita and Saiki to rent two classrooms. Impressive."
"Can't wait to see the girls in their maid outfits."
"Saiki's the manager? So envious....."
At this moment, the classroom had been completely transformed, looking like a real café.
The rehearsal began quickly, with Hirata Yosuke and others playing the role of customers while the rest handled the service.
With so many people watching, even the usually calm Matsushita Chiaki was a bit stiff and nervous.
Sato Maya, Karuizawa Kei, and Wang Mei Yu also didn't seem as smooth as during practice.
Kushida Kikyo and Hasebe Haruka, however, performed as well as usual.
As for Horikita Suzune—
Although she looked incredibly cute in her maid outfit, her expressionless face was a bit hard to accept.
[Having Horikita as a maid..... feels so strange..... But, but I'm also a bit excited? What's going on?]
'You'll have to ask the mastermind behind this.'
Saiki overheard his teammate's thoughts and turned to look at Aiura Mikoto beside him.
At this moment, Aiura Mikoto was also playing the role of a maid, seemingly enjoying it very much.
[Wow, she's so big!]
[Her figure is amazing! But why is she in our classroom? She's not from our class, right?]
[Isn't she the owner of the fortune-telling booth? Why is she here?]
Just then, the sound of plastic hitting the floor echoed through the classroom. Wang Mei Yu had accidentally knocked over a glass on her tray.
The person involved froze in the tense atmosphere caused by the accident, but Matsushita Chiaki immediately sprang into action.
"I'm very sorry!"
She calmly handled the situation, gently patting Wang Mei Yu's shoulder and instructing her to bring another glass of water. Then, she grabbed a cloth and began cleaning the floor.
"You're amazing, Matsushita-san! It's hard to believe this is your first time!"
Horikita Suzune couldn't help but praise Matsushita Chiaki's handling of the situation.
[But the biggest problem isn't them.]
Horikita Suzune sighed inwardly, and Saiki knew exactly what she was worried about.
Sakura Airi.
At this moment, Sakura Airi still hadn't appeared in front of the others.
For her, wearing a maid outfit and appearing in front of everyone was simply too difficult.
'Is it really too much for her? But we have enough maids. If it comes to it, we'll just have to assign Sakura to.....'
But just then, Saiki heard gasps from the people around him. He turned to see the entire class's gaze focused in one direction.
The focus of their attention was a maid wearing white stockings. Between the black skirt and white stockings, her fair thighs were faintly visible.
She had beauty that rivaled anyone present, with her twin tails giving her a lively appearance.
And her pink hair made her identity clear.
Sakura Airi.
But the sheer contrast was beyond everyone's expectations.
"Who is that? Did we get a new student in our class?"
"That's Shizuku! The online idol! Why is she here?"
"Wait..... she looks a bit like Sakura-san!"
Everyone was talking, and Hasebe Haruka was also staring intently at her.
"Are you..... Ai-chan?"
"It's me, Haruka-san!"
At this moment, Sakura Airi's face was lit up with a bright smile that she rarely showed, like a ray of spring sunshine.
For Sakura Airi, dealing with such situations was extremely difficult.
But Sakura Airi also remembered what Saiki had said earlier.
The cultural festival might be the only one during high school.
Not only that, but Saiki had also said..... that the maid outfit suited her perfectly!
So Sakura Airi took that step forward, completely breaking through her limits!
Although she appeared cold on the surface, deep down, Sakura Airi longed to become as cheerful and outgoing as Shizuku, making friends with everyone around her.
"Saiki, what did you do?"
Horikita Suzune turned to Saiki with a puzzled expression.
"I didn't do anything. Sakura-san has grown a lot on her own."
Saiki replied directly.
'It seems my worries were unnecessary.'