'Yare yare, even though they're siblings, it wouldn't be good if something happened on school grounds.'
Saiki Kusuo muttered to himself in his mind.
During the tense moment between the siblings, Saiki Kusuo subtly used his psychic ability to directly transmit their inner thoughts to each other.
"So that's how it is... Brother, I'm sorry... I always thought that was the only way to earn your approval..."
After hearing Horikita Manabu's words, Horikita Suzune quickly spoke to her brother.
[So Brother has always hated me for being like this?]
"Since you already know, I won't say much more."
Horikita Manabu released her hand, took a few steps back, and adjusted his glasses.
[Did I just blurt out my thoughts without realizing it?]
Horikita Manabu was still a bit confused, but since Horikita Suzune already knew his thoughts, he could only let things take their course.
"I hope you understand this and grow from it. Know why you were placed in Class D."
Horikita Manabu's tone seemed to calm down a bit, and the atmosphere between him and his sister eased slightly.
"I... I'll do my best!"
'Horikita's usual arrogant demeanor is just her imitating her brother, huh? Well, hopefully, after today, her personality will improve a bit. Not that I interact with her much anyway.'
Saiki Kusuo looked down at the can in his hand. The coffee was finished.
'It's too late now. I should head back. Today's been such a hassle.'
He tossed the can into the trash and headed back to the dorm.
...
The next day, Saiki Kusuo arrived in the classroom as usual. Today was no different from any other day.
Saiki Kusuo slightly raised his head, his gaze shifting forward. At this moment, Kushida Kikyo was happily chatting with a few classmates, as if the person from last night wasn't her at all.
[In this school, I need to find someone to rely on. Only then can I secure my place in the class and avoid being bullied by others... I've been focusing on reviewing the exam questions lately, so I haven't had a chance to act... For now, Hirata seems like the most suitable target.]
[Among the boys, there aren't many reliable ones. Hirata has the best reputation and grades, and he's not bad-looking. He's the best target... Ike, Sudo, and Yamauchi are completely out of the question. Ayanokoji is decent-looking, but he's too gloomy.]
[Koenji is too flamboyant, and Miyake isn't great either...]
Saiki Kusuo turned his head toward the source of the voice. It was Karuizawa Kei.
Like Kushida Kikyo, Karuizawa Kei had a good reputation, though mostly among the girls. Her somewhat delinquent vibe seemed to make her quite popular among the female students.
However, for Saiki Kusuo, people with good social connections were the hardest to get along with. They tended to attract too much attention, and Saiki Kusuo didn't want that attention to fall on him. As a result, he had almost no interaction with Karuizawa Kei.
At this moment, Karuizawa Kei's gaze swept across the faces of all the boys in the class, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses in her mind.
'Hey, hey, are you scanning products in a supermarket or something?'
Saiki Kusuo complained in his mind as Karuizawa Kei's gaze finally landed on him.
[...]
'Hey, hey, think something already!'
Karuizawa Kei's eyebrow twitched slightly, and she then looked down at her phone.
[What's his full name again?]
'...'
For a moment, Saiki Kusuo didn't know what to say, but for him, this was probably a good thing.
[Saiki... From what I've seen so far, there's nothing special about him.]
On the other side, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had been quietly observing Saiki Kusuo, though he would never guess that the latter had been aware of his thoughts all along.
[I haven't found anything unusual about him in the past two days. Was Chabashira-sensei's information wrong?]
[No, that's unlikely. From my interactions with her, she may seem indifferent to class matters, but she would never pass up an opportunity to climb higher. So, she must know something about Saiki. He must have enrolled through some special means, which is why Chabashira-sensei is suspicious of him. But it's clear that her suspicions are only at the surface level. She's trying to use me to gather more information.]
[From the current situation, Chabashira-sensei might already know something about me, probably because of the special arrangements made by Matsuo for my enrollment. That man probably couldn't arrange for other White Room students to enter the school in such a short time. Even if he did, they shouldn't pose a threat to me—but even a one percent chance can't be taken lightly. After all, I haven't been able to gather any useful information about Saiki. If he's really pretending, he's definitely not an ordinary person.]
In just a few seconds, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's thoughts raced.
'What exactly is this White Room? It sounds like some shady training facility or an unlicensed gym. From Ayanokoji's thoughts, I can guess most of it, but it seems there's a possibility of more White Room students entering the school later. I just hope their target is Ayanokoji and not me.'
Saiki Kusuo sighed in his mind. It seemed his life at this school wouldn't be as peaceful as he hoped.
Just then, the classroom door opened again, and a slender figure appeared in front of everyone.
A red uniform, a white skirt, and pale thighs wrapped in black knee-high socks—Horikita Suzune had arrived.
As she entered the classroom, everyone's eyes fell on her.
The long hair she had yesterday was gone, replaced by a shoulder-length cut.