'Uh... I just wanted to eat pudding, actually.'
Saiki Kusuo mentally responded to Ryūen Kakeru's words.
Though suspicion had almost fallen on him, he somehow managed to evade it inexplicably.
'Seriously, Ayanokōji is so unreliable...'
"I see..."
Kushida Kikyō nodded thoughtfully, considering Ryūen's words. After a moment, she agreed,
"But why would Manabe from your class be connected to Yamauchi?"
"It's unclear for now. Their actions are based on me noticing, but Manabe probably doesn't know yet. I didn't tip them off, so we might be able to use this. If anything happens with your Yamauchi, let me know immediately. And be careful—he might already suspect your betrayal."
"Right, I should head back."
Kushida nodded and parted ways with Ryūen, returning to the field.
'Yare yare, I didn't expect Yamauchi to end up in such a mess.'
As Saiki pondered, he suddenly heard a familiar inner voice.
[Seriously, what's Sudō's deal, showing off like that? And that annoying Saiki, acting so close to Kushida—even Sakura seems interested in him. Even Karuizawa is hanging around him. So jealous! I hope he gets hurt so I can take his place!]
The voice belonged to Yamauchi Haruki, who had just finished training and was skipping out under the pretense of using the bathroom.
'Yare yare, serves him right.'
Saiki narrowed his eyes slightly.
While part of the "idiot trio," Yamauchi was fundamentally different from Sudō Ken and Ike Kanji.
Ike, though sleazy, was decent to friends and had decent social skills. He'd even contributed to the class during summer break.
Sudō was hot-tempered but straightforward, a reliable friend who spoke his mind.
Yamauchi, however, was driven by unwarranted confidence and lust. He'd even betray friends if it suited him.
Hearing Yamauchi's thoughts, any trace of guilt Saiki might have felt vanished.
"Uh, Kushida?"
Yamauchi, avoiding the bathroom, bumped into Kushida coming out.
"Yamauchi?"
Kushida's expression shifted slightly at the sight of him.
[Why is he here? Is he following me?]
Her gaze was filled with suspicion.
'He's just slacking off.'
[Kushida's staring at me! And her expression's different! Could it be... she noticed my impressive sprinting earlier?]
Yamauchi's face flushed, and he looked away, embarrassed.
'More like the gaze of a hunter eyeing prey.'
"Yamauchi, what are you doing here?"
"I was..."
Yamauchi couldn't admit to slacking, so he continued his lie,
"Heading to the bathroom."
[The bathroom's not in this direction. Something's off.]
Kushida's mind raced, but she kept smiling.
"Alright, I'm heading back to the field. Good luck, Yamauchi. I'll be keeping an eye on you~"
As she spoke, a chilling aura emanated from her.
"Thanks, I'll do my best!"
Yamauchi, oblivious to her malice, beamed even brighter.
[Kushida said she'll watch me! Amazing! Maybe I have a chance with her! We'll go on a date—movies, karaoke, and... Ike will be so jealous!]
'More like you're close to death.'
Meanwhile, Kushida hurried back to the field, her expression cold.
[That smirk... was he mocking me?]
[He probably knows more than he lets on...]
[Looks like another name's being added to the expulsion list. Yamauchi Haruki, I won't let you get away with this.]
'Yare yare, that's some terrifying malice...'
Saiki sighed inwardly. Once alone, he dropped his invisibility and returned to the field.
'Kushida leaked class info. Changing the roster costs a lot of points, and Ayanokōji hasn't announced it, so I don't need to act. But D-Class seems up to something shady. If it violates sportsmanship, I can't ignore it.'
...
A month later, the sports festival finally began.
After a mundane opening ceremony, events kicked off.
The gym buzzed with simultaneous activities.
Sudō initially dominated several events, while Saiki reluctantly participated in short-distance races, carefully maintaining mid-tier rankings.
"Middle of the pack—not bad, I guess."
Saiki wiped fake sweat from his brow.
Just then, Sudō and others crowded around.
"Impressive, Saiki! Underestimated you a bit."
Sudō clapped his shoulder, grinning.
'?'
Saiki was baffled.
"Your opponents were all track team members! Can't believe you placed like that!"
Hirata Yōsuke chimed in, smiling.
'What the—'
Saiki was speechless.
"Kusuo... you're amazing..."
"Nice job, Kusuo!"
Karuizawa Kei and Sakura Airi handed him water, praising him.
...
Before the next event, scores were announced: Red Team led with 2,110 points, White Team at 1,891.
The next event: the Pole Pulling Challenge—a dangerous team competition.
Teams protected their poles while uprooting opponents'. Two poles downed meant victory.
'Yare yare, I'm stuck in this?'
Though aware of his assignment, Saiki was resigned.
'But it's a team event, so I can slack off.'
Facing C-Class and D-Class, he spotted Kanzaki Ryūji among the D-Class troublemakers.
'Supposedly sorted by ability, but Ryūen's class is full of troublemakers.'
Saiki overheard D-Class's thoughts.
[Kill them!]
[Destroy them!]
[Take them down!]
'This is a sports event, not a brawl!'
Saiki narrowed his eyes, glancing at Ryūen.
[In this event, injuries are considered accidental. I've taught them elbow strikes—let's take Sudō out.]
[White Team's taking this one.]
'I see.'
Saiki had already heard Ryūen's plan.
'I wanted to slack, but now I can't ignore this.'
The match began.
A-Class defended, while Sudō led B-Class's offense.
Instantly, D-Class swarmed Sudō, elbowing and shoving him. Despite his strength, he fell, overwhelmed.
"That's cheating!"
Sudō shouted angrily.
"Complaining won't help. Injuries are just part of the game, right?"
Ryūen smirked.
C-Class, though cleaner, effectively blocked B-Class.
Meanwhile, D-Class's Albert easily breached A-Class's defense, toppling the first pole.
1:0!
"Damn!"
Sudō struggled to his feet.
"Round two's starting! We can still win!"
Hirata encouraged him.
D-Class repeated their strategy, targeting Sudō while Albert aimed for the second pole.
Eight D-Class students attacked Sudō, but their strikes seemed ineffective.
"Is he made of steel?"
"This hurts!"
"What's going on?!"
Sudō, unfazed, charged the second pole, toppling it.
1:1.
"Yes!"
Red Team cheered.
"Weird... I felt so powerful just now."
Sudō puzzled over his hands.
"Must be adrenaline and determination! People unlock potential in extremes, right?"
'Yare yare, it's my powers.'
Saiki, expressionless, watched.
He'd used telekinesis to reduce damage to Sudō, inflict pain on D-Class, and enhance Sudō's strength—key to his success.
[Eight couldn't stop him? We'll need more. He's tougher than expected.]
Ryūen frowned.
[But we still have the advantage!]
Albert, despite his strength, couldn't budge the second pole.
"WTF?"
Saiki observed from afar.
'I was going to slack, but since you're playing dirty, I'll teach you a lesson.'