Theoretically, Saiki Kusuo's physical strength should make it impossible for him to sneeze. However, after hearing Chabashira Sae's words just now, he felt an inexplicable itch in his nose.
The person Chabashira Sae was talking about was clearly him.
If Horikita Suzune ever found out how desperately Saiki Kusuo wanted to stay in Class D, she'd probably think he was unreasonable.
'Good thing she'll never know,'
Saiki Kusuo thought to himself, then continued his 'secret observation.'
"Could someone like that really exist?"
Horikita Suzune furrowed her brow, her eyes filled with confusion. But her expression quickly turned serious as she continued to express her disbelief to Chabashira Sae.
"Even if you take this to the school's higher-ups, nothing will change—do you have some reason why you must be in Class A?"
Chabashira Sae seemed completely unbothered by Horikita Suzune's words.
"...I'll take my leave for today, but remember, I haven't accepted this situation."
Horikita Suzune hadn't responded to Chabashira Sae's statement yet.
"Got it, I'll keep it in mind. Oh, by the way, I brought someone else to the office—someone related to you. Ayanokōji, come out."
At that moment, Ayanokōji Kiyotaka emerged expressionlessly from the break room, leaving Horikita Suzune visibly surprised. She had no idea why he was there.
"Horikita, you should listen to what's coming next. Consider it a hint for getting into Class A."
Chabashira Sae's gaze shifted to Ayanokōji Kiyotaka as she spoke.
"I've seen your recent test scores, Ayanokōji. You're a very peculiar student—50 in Japanese, 50 in math, 50 in English... and, by the way, this minor exam was also a 50."
"Coincidence really is a terrifying thing,"
Ayanokōji Kiyotaka remarked casually.
"You're quite the annoying student, aren't you? Math problem number five—less than 10% of the school got it right, and you solved it perfectly. But you got this almost-guaranteed question wrong..."
"Just a coincidence, really."
'Looks like this has nothing to do with me,'
Saiki Kusuo thought, observing their conversation. Horikita Suzune seemed to struggle with the idea, but Saiki Kusuo already knew Ayanokōji Kiyotaka's true nature.
Since it seemed their conversation wasn't about him, Saiki Kusuo prepared to stop using his clairvoyance and leave the restroom.
"And it seems there's someone in this class even better at controlling scores than you."
At that moment, Saiki Kusuo heard Chabashira Sae's words and felt an instant sense of unease.
"I'll deny controlling scores, but are you saying someone really manipulated this exam's results?"
Ayanokōji Kiyotaka asked, his gaze fixed on the entrance exam scores on Chabashira Sae's desk.
"Who?"
Horikita Suzune demanded immediately.
"Are the two of you close with Saiki Kusuo?"
Chabashira Sae asked abruptly.
'???'
Saiki Kusuo's brows furrowed. He hadn't expected his name to come up.
'Is it really me? But it shouldn't be. I haven't slipped up, so why would Chabashira-sensei mention my name?'
Saiki Kusuo was confused. He'd acted completely ordinary, so why was he under suspicion?
'No, no, no. Given Chabashira-sensei's personality, she's probably just throwing out names to mislead others... I can't use telepathy right now, so I don't know what she's thinking. What a nuisance... It's probably because of Kûsuke.'
Saiki Kusuo knew he hadn't enrolled through regular means. Saiki Kûsuke had pulled strings to get him in, much like Ayanokōji Kiyotaka's enrollment method. That's why Chabashira Sae suspected him.
Everyone at this school had exceptional talents in some area. Even Sudō Ken, who was terrible at academics, excelled in basketball. Compared to them, Saiki Kusuo seemed too ordinary.
'This is slightly concerning.'
Saiki Kusuo thought. If Chabashira Sae made another move, it could cause trouble.
First, Saiki Kusuo used clairvoyance to check if the nearby men's restroom was empty, then instantly teleported to a stall near the office.
Teleportation had a three-minute cooldown, but that was more than enough time for him.
'The office is still too far for telepathy to work clearly.'
Saiki Kusuo thought, activating another ability.
Invisibility.
His body became optically invisible, completely transparent to the human eye. The ability took one minute to activate, lasted up to ten minutes, and would deactivate if someone touched him. Before school started, he'd used this ability to avoid the school's countless cameras while scouting the campus.
After activating invisibility, Saiki Kusuo quickly headed toward the office.
"Saiki?"
Horikita Suzune sounded puzzled. She hadn't expected Chabashira Sae to mention that name.
"Saiki Kusuo? He's practically invisible in class, right? I've only spoken to him a few times. If I remember correctly, his minor exam score was decent—probably because he got the questions in advance. But he's only mid-tier in class rankings."
'Looks like the average student hasn't noticed anything unusual.'
Saiki Kusuo nodded, then turned his gaze to Ayanokōji Kiyotaka beside him.
"Saiki? I haven't talked to him much, but compared to others, I guess we're somewhat familiar."
Ayanokōji Kiyotaka replied slowly. In terms of class relationships, his situation wasn't much different from Saiki Kusuo's.
"Saiki Kusuo, huh? I guess I really overlooked him before."