After completing the rather meaningless physical tests, the events each student would participate in during the sports festival were finally decided. As the second-place finisher in the physical tests, Saiki was assigned to multiple events. Not only did he have to participate in the pole-toppling competition, but he was also required to join the relay race and the cavalry battle, which involved the entire student body.
Once the list was finalized, Saiki leaned against a wall, his eyes reflecting a sense of utter despair. He had never imagined things would turn out this way.
'Yare yare, this is a huge problem... What should I do? I definitely can't aim for a top position, but if I end up in last place, I'll surely be blamed by everyone... I guess I'll just aim for a middle-of-the-pack result. That should keep me under the radar.'
Saiki thought to himself.
Not far away, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's gaze fell on Saiki.
[It seems Saiki has quite a few events to participate in.]
'You're not much better off.'
Saiki shook his head helplessly. He hadn't expected that both he and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka would end up being outmaneuvered by Sudo Ken.
[It looks like he's going to make a move during this sports festival.]
'Sorry, but I don't have any such plans.'
[What will he do? Help Horikita grow during this sports festival? Eliminate the class traitor, Kushida? Or ensure the class wins this competition?]
'I haven't thought about any of that at all.'
[I'm curious, Saiki. Just how far can you go in this sports festival?]
'Hey, hey, hey, I'm planning to do absolutely nothing.'
Saiki thought to himself, filled with resignation.
...
Starting the next day, the class would head to the sports field for practice. Although it was just practice, Saiki couldn't afford to be careless. He had to meticulously control his strength.
Meanwhile, the rest of the class was also busy training.
"Huff... huff..."
On the running track, Sakura Airi struggled to reach the finish line—but she was still the last to arrive, and her time was far from satisfactory.
Sakura Airi's academic performance wasn't too bad, but when it came to physical activities, she was a complete disaster.
"Good work, Sakura-san!"
Hirata Yosuke approached her and handed her a bottle of water.
At that moment, Sakura Airi was gasping for breath, on the verge of collapsing. Still, she managed to steady herself and looked around, searching for Saiki.
[Is Kusuo-kun nearby?]
Sakura Airi thought to herself.
[Kusuo-kun seems to be really good at sports... I need to... I need to do my best too.]
"Um, Sakura-san, maybe you should take a break. You've already worked really hard."
Hirata Yosuke spoke to her. Although the long run was indeed exhausting, he hadn't expected Sakura Airi's physical condition to be this poor.
"It's okay... I... I can run one more lap..."
Despite her words, Sakura Airi's legs were trembling from exhaustion.
"You should really take a break..."
On the other side, the rest of the class was practicing various events under Sudo Ken's supervision.
While Sudo Ken's academic performance was abysmal, when it came to sports, he was a completely different person—focused and serious.
"Use your waist! Put power into your waist!"
"Kanji, you're doing all the movements wrong!"
"No, you need to do it like this... How can you be so clumsy?!"
Although Sudo Ken's tone wasn't exactly pleasant, he was genuinely invested in helping everyone improve, a stark contrast to his usual carefree demeanor.
"Kusuo-kun, I bought you a drink!"
At that moment, Saiki had just finished pretending to practice some events. Karuizawa Kei approached him with two sports drinks in hand, offering one to Saiki.
"You're going to be participating in so many events this sports festival. Looks like you'll have a chance to show off your skills."
'I'd rather not.'
Saiki responded in his mind, but he still accepted the drink.
"Karuizawa, you've been getting along really well with Saiki-kun lately, huh?"
At that moment, another girl from their class approached with a meaningful smile.
"You two, could it be that you're already~"
"What are you talking about!"
Karuizawa Kei patted the girl's back, speaking in a firm tone. However, a faint smile still lingered on her face.
"But it's strange. Where did you buy the drinks, Karuizawa? The nearest vending machine is outside the gym, right?"
Saiki asked, puzzled.
"Oh, there's a temporary water stand that just opened nearby. I bought it there."
As she spoke, Karuizawa Kei pointed to the other side of the field.
"The owner seems familiar, like I've seen her somewhere before."
"Huh?"
Saiki sensed something and turned his gaze toward the water stand. The owner was a young woman wearing a mask.
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"I'll go buy some more water for later."
Saiki quickly walked over to the water stand and looked at the owner. Her figure and tanned skin instantly gave her away. Moreover, he could clearly hear her thoughts.
[I've already done my research. This person is Saiki, pink hair, initials... It's definitely him!]
[Saiki's physical abilities are this good? Looks like he's going to be a key player in their class's sports festival.]
[There are a few girls nearby who seem really interested in Saiki. They might be potential rivals.]
These thoughts belonged to none other than Aiura Mikoto.
"What would you like, student?"
Aiura Mikoto pretended not to know anything and asked Saiki.
[Saiki actually came over! Now I can observe him properly!]
'You do remember I have telepathy, right?'
Saiki transmitted his words directly into Aiura Mikoto's mind.
[Oh no, I forgot about that.]
'Why are you still at school?'
Saiki asked. According to the rules, the fortune-telling shop was only supposed to be open during the summer break. Once the school year started, they were supposed to leave. Why was she still here?
"I didn't just sign a contract for the fortune-telling shop. I also have a gift shop and a merchandise store on campus—selling water at a stand like this is perfectly fine, right? So, I found a business opportunity to sell water at the sports field. There's no problem with that, is there?"
Aiura Mikoto immediately replied with a smile.
...
Saiki wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words. After all, Aiura Mikoto wasn't wrong, and she wasn't breaking any school rules.
"But how did you know I was here?"
"The school's sports festival is coming up, so of course students will be coming to the sports field to practice."
Aiura Mikoto scratched her head and smiled.
"Besides, from a distance, I could see this overwhelming aura! It was about two hundred meters in diameter. I didn't even need to think to know it was you!"
"You haven't done anything strange, have you?"
"No, no, I'm just here to make some money and survive! But, Saiki..."
As she spoke, Aiura Mikoto seemed to remember something and said to Saiki,
"I just saw a girl who seems really terrifying in every way."
After saying this, Aiura Mikoto pointed toward Kushida Kikyo, who was chatting and laughing with others in the distance.
"I've never seen a girl like that before. It's like she's constantly hiding her true self."
"Yeah, I know."
Saiki nodded. As a fellow psychic, Aiura Mikoto had immediately seen through Kushida Kikyo's true nature.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
"Don't worry, I definitely won't do anything weird!"
Saiki stared at Aiura Mikoto for a moment, making sure she wasn't up to anything unusual, before leaving the temporary water stand. However, he seemed to notice something and shifted his gaze toward Kushida Kikyo in the distance.
...
"I'm going to the restroom."
At the same time, Kushida Kikyo excused herself from her friends and quickly left the field—but instead of heading to the restroom, she turned a corner and arrived at a secluded spot in the hallway.
A familiar figure was already waiting there: Ryuen Kakeru.
"You're finally here."
Ryuen Kakeru wore a meaningful smile as he looked at Kushida Kikyo.
"Here's the list of events our class is participating in!"
Kushida Kikyo maintained her cute smile, a stark contrast to what she was currently doing, and handed over a file on her phone.
"Not bad."
Ryuen Kakeru scanned the list, which matched his expectations.
"Sudo, Horikita, Hirata—they're definitely your class's key players... And this Saiki guy, he's participating in so many events too?"
"This is the situation in our class. Don't forget our agreement."
Kushida Kikyo narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Of course. I haven't forgotten about making Horikita Suzune taste the bitterness of defeat."
Ryuen Kakeru immediately responded. He had already made it clear that he intended to deliver the most devastating punishment to Class D during this sports festival.
[Physical ability alone won't be enough. The key is in the arrangement of personnel.]
[By pitting the weaker members of the class against the stronger members of other classes, and then targeting the remaining members, we can secure victory.]
[Additionally... If we can injure key players like Horikita Suzune and Sudo Ken, their performance will definitely suffer.]
As he thought this, Ryuen Kakeru's smile widened. He had already devised a plan to deal with Class B.
'Yare yare, I'm hearing some dangerous stuff.'
At that moment, neither Ryuen Kakeru nor Kushida Kikyo realized that Saiki was right beside them, having heard every word. Saiki had already picked up on Kushida Kikyo's thoughts and Ryuen Kakeru's voice, so he used his invisibility to follow them.
"I'll make sure Horikita Suzune gets injured during this sports festival."
Ryuen Kakeru said, then added as if remembering something,
"By the way, your class's Yamauchi Haruki, he's not participating in many events, is he?"
"Yamauchi?"
Kushida Kikyo was puzzled upon hearing the name.
"That's right. From what I can see, Yamauchi Haruki from your class might be the mastermind behind everything. It's possible that he was the one who made that recording earlier."
Ryuen Kakeru's expression grew serious.
"What? That guy's been a complete idiot from start to finish!"
Kushida Kikyo frowned, completely taken aback by Ryuen Kakeru's suggestion.
"That's exactly what makes him so clever. You've never suspected him, have you?"
Ryuen Kakeru paused for a moment before continuing,
"Earlier, he attacked me, possibly to test my skills or to provoke me into attacking him. I've had my suspicions about him for a while now. Recently, I noticed that Manabe's behavior has been unusual. After the meeting at the gym, she, who rarely eats sweets, went and bought a pudding and left it in a certain spot—I've been watching her and saw that Yamauchi was the one who took the pudding."
'Yare yare...'
Hearing their conversation, Saiki couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
'I think I've caused something big...'
"Pudding... I remember that Saiki from our class really likes sweets. Could it be..."
As Kushida Kikyo spoke, Saiki's sweat intensified:
'What should I do? I feel like I need to do something...'
But at that moment, Ryuen Kakeru cut her off:
"That's too naive. Everyone knows Saiki likes sweets. Do you really think he'd do something so obvious? And what's the point of buying pudding? This is all part of Yamauchi's strategy—to misdirect our attention and make us suspect Saiki."
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