'Yare yare, another troublesome guy.'
Saiki Kusuo glanced in the direction Ryuen had left.
'In a way, Ryuen and Ayanokoji are somewhat similar—both see the people around them as pawns and tools... Is this what high schoolers are like now?'
'But there's no doubt that this Ryuen guy will cause a lot of trouble later.'
'Now, there's danger both inside and outside the class.'
Inside the class, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, having heard Chabashira Sae's information, was already suspicious of Saiki Kusuo.
Outside the class, their Class C had become Ryuen's target.
At this moment, Saiki Kusuo really wanted to sigh. This didn't feel like a school at all.
"I'm really sorry, Saiki-kun!"
Shiina Hiyori quickly explained to Saiki Kusuo.
"He's from our class, Ryuen Kakeru... It's best if you don't get into any conflicts with him."
[Ryuen-kun has beaten up almost every boy in the class within the first month of school, gaining control over the class... Although I don't agree with his methods, Ryuen-kun has successfully unified the class. He's quite an impressive person... If our Class D wants to climb back up, Ryuen's strength will probably be necessary.]
'Is this some kind of Crows Zero scenario?'
For a moment, Saiki Kusuo didn't know how to complain. This was supposed to be a school, but Ryuen and his group had turned it into some kind of fighting arena.
'In any case, it's best to avoid conflicts with Ryuen and his group. If it really comes to a fight...'
Even with his limiters, Saiki Kusuo still had trouble perfectly controlling his strength. It wouldn't be impossible for him to punch Ryuen straight out of the atmosphere.
[Holy crap, isn't that Saiki?!]
Just then, Saiki Kusuo heard a familiar voice. It was the idiot trio—Ike Kanji, Sudo Ken, and Yamauchi Haruki. They had probably just finished buying snacks and drinks for the evening gathering and happened to pass by, as the café was close to the student store.
'Compared to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Ryuen Kakeru, the idiot trio's personalities are almost naively simple, with no hidden agendas—but to me, it doesn't make much difference. I can still hear their thoughts.'
Saiki Kusuo thought to himself. The idiot trio were probably more representative of the average high schooler.
[Wait, who's that next to Saiki?]
[A girl I've never seen before! She's not from our class!]
[Saiki's usually so invisible in class, but he's already hooked up with a girl from another class? So jealous! I'll definitely ask Saiki how he did it tonight!]
'I take back what I just said. These three are complete idiots.'
...
After chatting with Shiina Hiyori a bit more about mystery novels, the two left the café.
Shiina Hiyori went back to her dorm first, while Saiki Kusuo headed to the store to buy some snacks as the others had requested.
Although Saiki Kusuo absolutely did not agree with the idea of holding a celebration in his room tonight, things had already come to this, so he had no choice but to go along with it.
After buying what he needed, Saiki Kusuo returned to his dorm to rest. However, he didn't get much rest before his classmates started arriving at his room one by one.
"Sorry for the intrusion, Saiki!"
Kushida Kikyo smiled at Saiki Kusuo, her eyes scanning his room.
"We're here!"
Behind Kushida Kikyo were the idiot trio.
Upon entering Saiki Kusuo's room, the three of them couldn't help but show a look of surprise.
[Saiki's room is so clean?]
'Well, I don't actually sleep here at night.'
[I didn't expect Saiki's room to be so well-organized. I thought it'd be a mess like mine.]
'Please don't lump me together with you. I don't even want to imagine what your room looks like.'
[Saiki-kun's room must've been a mess, but he cleaned it up because he knew we were coming—no, because he knew Kushida-san was coming! While getting closer to Kushida-san, he's also flirting with girls from other classes. Saiki, you're impressive! You've earned my respect!]
'Sorry, but I don't need your respect. And do you have some kind of deep misunderstanding about me?'
As Saiki Kusuo had expected, the idiot trio's brains weren't exactly the sharpest.
Saiki Kusuo had initially considered making his room messy to deter them from holding the celebration there, but he realized that might lead to more misunderstandings or even disdain, so he decided to leave it as it was.
"Sorry for intruding."
Soon, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka arrived, with Horikita Suzune following behind him.
"Horikita? Why are you here?"
Sudo Ken was surprised. They hadn't invited Horikita Suzune, as they knew she would definitely refuse.
[I don't want to participate in such a boring gathering. Celebrating over a second-to-last place? You guys are just deadweight. If it weren't for the leaked exam questions, we'd still be in Class D, and our class points might've been completely deducted!]
Horikita Suzune's impatience was written all over her face.
If it weren't for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka insisting, she would never have come to something so pointless.
'Although it sounds a bit annoying, I actually agree with you.'
Saiki Kusuo thought to himself. Unlike Horikita Suzune, he rarely showed his emotions on his face.
[Aside from Ayanokoji, Chabashira-sensei specifically mentioned Saiki's name. He seems so ordinary in every way... Could he really be controlling his ranking?]
Horikita Suzune's sharp gaze fell on Saiki Kusuo, but it quickly shifted back to Sudo Ken. Just as she was about to say something, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka cut her off.
"Oh, I invited Horikita to come along."