[I want to join the study session with Kusuo-kun... but I don't have the courage to say it...]
Saiki could always hear Sakura Airi's thoughts. After hesitating for a moment, he sighed and stood up from his seat, walking over to where Sakura Airi was sitting.
"You're here, Sakura."
"Huh... huh?"
Sakura Airi was startled, nervously looking up at Saiki. She hadn't expected him to notice her so quickly and quickly stammered,
"W-what a coincidence! Kusuo-kun..."
"Was it really a coincidence...?"
Saiki looked at her.
"It really was a coincidence!"
Sakura Airi nodded vigorously.
"I saw you looking back at me..."
"Um... sorry..."
Sakura Airi, realizing her lie had been exposed, awkwardly scratched her head.
"Do you want to join the study session with us?"
Saiki asked.
'If I don't take the initiative, Sakura will probably just follow us around. It's better to just address it directly to avoid her trailing us and causing more trouble.'
"I... why are you asking, Kusuo-kun?"
"I saw you with your backpack and books. You must be here for the study session, right?"
"Ah..."
Sakura Airi hugged her backpack shyly.
[I do... I really want to join the study session... but I've never really talked to anyone else...]
Although Sakura Airi's body language and demeanor clearly showed she wanted to join, she still seemed too shy to voice her thoughts.
After all, aside from Saiki, Sakura Airi hadn't spoken a word to anyone else in the class.
Sakura Airi's mouth opened slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.
"Aside from Sato and Karuizawa, the others in the class are mostly loners too. It shouldn't be a problem."
Fortunately, Saiki had telepathy, so he knew exactly what Sakura Airi was thinking.
However, Saiki had to admit that Sakura Airi had changed quite a bit compared to before. If it were the old her, she would never have dared to come to a place with so many people.
But now, Sakura Airi was here...
In a way, wasn't that a huge improvement?
[Karuizawa-san and Sakura-san are here too... If I don't join the study session... the gap might widen...]
'What gap? You better be talking about academics.'
As Saiki thought this, Sakura Airi nodded vigorously:
"O-okay..."
With that, Sakura Airi followed Saiki to their table, where the waiter added an extra chair.
No one at the table had any major objections to Sakura Airi joining.
"Everyone here is pretty much the loner type."
Hasebe Haruka said this, but her gaze briefly swept over Karuizawa Kei and Sato Maya.
"Before we start, Saiki, can I ask you a few questions?"
At that moment, Miyake Akito, who had been quiet until now, turned his attention to Saiki.
"What's up?"
"Saiki, your performance during the sports festival was really impressive. We had no idea you were so good at sports."
Miyake Akito considered himself decently athletic, but he believed Saiki's physical abilities far surpassed his own.
"It was just luck."
Saiki said expressionlessly.
Most people would be thrilled to hear such praise—but Saiki couldn't feel happy about it.
He didn't want any "impressive" moments.
"Saiki, do you have a girlfriend?"
Hasebe Haruka, sitting nearby, narrowed her eyes slightly and asked curiously.
Although she didn't interact much with others in the class, Hasebe Haruka was actually very interested in class gossip.
"No."
Saiki answered without hesitation.
At the same time, Sakura Airi, Karuizawa Kei, and Sato Maya all turned their gazes toward Hasebe Haruka.
[Why is Hasebe suddenly asking that?]
[Does Hasebe have feelings for Saiki too?]
[Hasebe-san...]
Seemingly sensing the stares from the other three, Hasebe Haruka quickly explained:
"I'm just curious about that kind of thing."
"By the way, Saiki-kun, did the track and field club invite you after the sports festival?"
"They did, but I turned them down."
Saiki replied.
After the sports festival, several sports-related clubs had approached him, asking if he wanted to join. But for Saiki, club activities were just a burden.
Especially sports-related ones.
If he accidentally broke a world record during practice, it would be a huge hassle.
"Let's focus on studying now."
To save time and escape sooner, Saiki spoke up.
"Right."
...
After about two hours, today's study session finally ended.
Although he was reluctant, Saiki had diligently explained the key points of the subjects to the others.
"I had no idea you were so good at these subjects, Saiki-kun. No wonder Horikita-san told us you're really good at studying."
Hasebe Haruka said to Saiki.
'I just wanted to finish this study session as quickly as possible. The sooner I teach them, the sooner I can leave.'
Saiki thought to himself but replied,
"I'm just slightly better at these subjects than others."
"Thanks for your hard work, Saiki. You tailored the tutoring to what Hasebe and I struggle with. You must have spent a lot of time preparing yesterday. Really, thank you."
Miyake Akito said to Saiki.
"No problem. I was just reviewing anyway."
With his telepathy, Saiki could instantly know which subjects the others struggled with. Plus, this level of knowledge was as easy as 1+1=2 for him, so he hadn't spent much time preparing.
Coming to the café for some pudding and then giving a quick lesson didn't feel like a bad deal.
Saiki packed his books into his bag and prepared to leave, but at that moment, his phone vibrated slightly—not just his, but Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's phone also vibrated.
Horikita Suzune: After school, come to the school building.
'Yare yare, this can't be good.'
Saiki thought to himself.
...
Meanwhile, in the school building.
Horikita Suzune had just finished the first study session, and there was still some time before the second one. Most students had already left, leaving only Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, and Yamauchi Haruki.
Yamauchi Haruki had just packed up his things and was about to leave the classroom when Kushida Kikyo walked up to him and smiled:
"Yamauchi-kun, could you wait a moment? I have something to tell you!"
"Sure, sure!"
Hearing Kushida Kikyo's words, Yamauchi Haruki was overjoyed. Being asked to stay behind by Kushida Kikyo was something he had dreamed of.
[Does Kushida-san have something to tell me privately?]
[Could it be... could it be... Kushida-san is going to confess to me?!]
[This must be it! Is my spring finally here?!]
At this thought, Yamauchi Haruki's face lit up with a bright smile, and he began fantasizing about all sorts of scenarios.
But Kushida Kikyo just gave him a cold look, then turned her gaze to the other person in the room—Horikita Suzune.
After the study session ended, Horikita Suzune had stopped her, and Kushida Kikyo could more or less guess what this was about.
[Could it be that Horikita also has feelings for me...? Is this the legendary love triangle?]
Yamauchi Haruki might not be much to look at, but he sure had big dreams.
"Let me get straight to the point."
Horikita Suzune looked at Kushida Kikyo with utmost seriousness. Although she didn't know why Kushida Kikyo had asked Yamauchi Haruki to stay—especially since Kushida had shown interest in him before—Horikita Suzune didn't care. The truth would come out eventually.
"Kushida, the relationship between us is irreconcilable, isn't it?"
"That's right."
Kushida Kikyo smirked coldly.
[Is that really it? Are they fighting over me so intensely?]
Yamauchi Haruki, from start to finish, had no idea how serious the situation was.
"Is it because we went to the same school before?"
"How sudden. Why bring up the past now? I don't like that topic~"
"I don't want to revisit the past either, but this is something we can't avoid."
"If that's the case, then it's true. After all, we've hardly had a chance to be alone—that's right, I've already told you before. I do want you to disappear from this school. Because we went to the same middle school, the same year, and you know about 'that incident.'"
"I've thought about it many times. I did hear about some incident in your class, but as someone with no friends, it wasn't something I was interested in. What I heard was just rumors. I don't know the facts, and I don't care whether they're true or not."
"But you can't guarantee that you don't know the truth, can you?"
Kushida Kikyo narrowed her eyes, her killing intent growing stronger.
"Wait, what are you two talking about?"
Only now did Yamauchi Haruki realize he had no idea what they were discussing.
"Well, it seems I can't bridge the gap between us, and that's the reason. No matter how much I deny it, you can't rule out the possibility that I'm lying. Not only that, but I think you can't tolerate my existence because I know about the incident. That's why you want to expel me from the school."
"That's right."
Kushida Kikyo's smile didn't falter as she confirmed Horikita Suzune's words.
"We're both in Class B, just one step away from reaching Class A. We need to work together."
"That's not the issue for me. As long as I can kick you out of this school, all problems will be solved. After expelling you, I'll work with the other students to climb to Class A."
After hearing this, Horikita Suzune thought for a moment and then said:
"Kushida, how about we make a bet?"
"Oh?"
"In the upcoming final exams, if I score higher than you, I want you to assist me from now on and not oppose me—no, I don't expect your assistance. I just want you to stop hindering me. That's all."
Horikita Suzune's expression was very serious. She had thought this through carefully.
"So, it's not about the total score, but individual subjects?"
"Right."
"That's a pretty absurd bet, Horikita-san. After all, I've never beaten you in an exam before. If it's about total score, it's even harder. And if I win, what do I get?"
"Of course, I know that. We won't compare total scores. We'll pick one of the eight subjects in the final exam to compete in. You can choose the subject you're best at—"
Horikita Suzune paused, then said with absolute determination,
"And if your score is higher than mine, I'll voluntarily withdraw from the school."
"Oh? Are you serious?"
Kushida Kikyo narrowed her eyes, seemingly intrigued by Horikita Suzune's proposal.
"I'm completely serious. That's why I've called a witness."
As Horikita Suzune spoke, another person entered the room.
Horikita Manabu.
Although Horikita Manabu was no longer the student council president, he still held significant authority in the school. With him as the witness, even Kushida Kikyo would have to abide by the agreement.
"If possible, I'd like to add one more condition."
"What?"
"If I win, this guy will have to leave the school with you."
As Kushida Kikyo spoke, she glanced at Yamauchi Haruki out of the corner of her eye.