Ayanokōji wasn't trying to cover for Saiki; he genuinely believed Saiki had mastered such techniques.
After Saiki dealt with Ryūen Kakeru and others, Ayanokōji had asked about Saiki's abilities, learning he had 'terrifying strength, even knocking Albert flying with one hit.'
Even Ayanokōji couldn't achieve that.
This led him to believe Saiki had mastered Aikido, a more esoteric martial art. Ayanokōji had studied various martial arts, self-defense, and combat in the White Room, but Aikido was only a concept to him.
So, he concluded Saiki must have mastered it to achieve such feats.
*'Is it about regulating the body and controlling "qi" to deflect external force? I've heard of this unique technique, but it wasn't taught in the White Room. I thought it was exaggerated, but Saiki seems to have truly mastered it.'*
*'Hey, don't just add this to my character…'*
Saiki felt helpless, but thanks to Ayanokōji's words, his psychic abilities remained hidden.
*'Looks like I'll have to keep up this act…'*
The downside was Saiki now had to pretend to be a martial arts master.
At least it was more believable than being a psychic.
"You bastard!"
Hōsen, furious at Saiki's immobility, raised his fist and slammed it toward Saiki's forehead with all his might.
The attack had no effect on Saiki, like a speck of dust landing on him, but Saiki pretended to block it, then countered, sending Hōsen flying.
Saiki used telekinesis to soften the blow; otherwise, Hōsen might have been seriously injured.
*'How is he so easily overpowering Hōsen? Is he a monster?'*
Nanase Tsubasa, usually expressionless, showed fear for the first time.
"You son of a bitch, I'll kill you!"
Hōsen, humiliated by his defeats, instinctively reached into his clothes.
He wasn't impulsive enough to kill, but he planned to use the same tactic he'd intended for Ayanokōji on Saiki.
Being overpowered by the frail-looking Saiki was a huge insult.
But he couldn't find his knife.
*'What? Where's my knife?!'*
Hōsen was confused. The knife he'd hidden inside his clothes was gone.
*'Heh, this is a school, after all. To avoid accidents, I moved your knife with my powers earlier.'*
Saiki thought to himself.
"I'll kill you!"
Hōsen scrambled to his feet, ready to attack again—
But Nanase suddenly stepped in front of him.
"Hōsen, it's over."
"Get out of my way, or you'll regret it."
Even toward a classmate, Hōsen's killing intent was palpable.
"Hōsen, look over there."
Nanase pointed to the side. Hōsen followed her gaze and saw Ayanokōji recording the scene on his phone.
"What are you doing?!" Hōsen roared.
"Just recording to prevent things from escalating," Ayanokōji replied flatly.
"So what if you're recording? And Nanase, the student council president, has already…"
"What if we bypass the student council and take this directly to the teachers?" Ayanokōji continued.
"Even with some permission, if things go too far, I doubt Nanase would stand by."
"You…"
"And if I release footage of you, the leader of Class 1-D, being defeated, do you think your status in the class will remain the same?"
Ayanokōji narrowed his eyes.
"I wasn't defeated!" Hōsen insisted, but he was shaken.
He knew if tonight's events got out, his standing in the first year would suffer.
"Damn it!" Hōsen cursed.
"This won't end easily," Horikita said. For their class, this was an opportunity not to be missed.
"If you don't want this released, there's only one solution: partner with at least five students from your class with B-rank academics or higher."
...
Ten minutes later, Hōsen stormed off in anger, while Nanase stayed behind, deeply bowing to the second-year students.
"Can you tell us what's going on?" Horikita asked sternly, frowning at Nanase.
Nanase had promised cooperation, but it had turned into violence.
Horikita realized Hōsen's goal from the start seemed to be conflict with their class.
It made no sense.
"If you don't explain, our Class 1-D will be at a disadvantage."
Nanase sighed.
*'If we don't reveal the truth, our class will face retaliation from the second years.'*
"You knew this would happen… right?"
Nanase nodded.
"Yes. The goal was…"
She paused, about to reveal the plan, but since Hōsen hadn't drawn his knife, she stopped.
*'Hōsen clearly intended to draw his knife, targeting Saiki. Why didn't he? And who is Saiki Kusuo?'*
*'Heh…'*
Saiki sighed internally. He'd avoided exposing his psychic abilities but had drawn unwanted attention.
"Our original plan was to get Ayanokōji expelled."
Nanase explained calmly, showing no guilt.
"Expel Ayanokōji?"
Horikita and Sudō were confused, seeing no connection to Ayanokōji.
"Ayanokōji Kiyotaka of Class 2-D—expelling him would grant 20 million points. This special exam was proposed to us."
Nanase continued, and Saiki already knew of this plan.
"I don't understand. Who decided on this unreasonable, stupid exam? Why target Ayanokōji specifically?"
Horikita pressed.
"I've said all I can. This situation should make Ayanokōji wary of all first-year classes."
"This doesn't explain anything."
Horikita couldn't grasp why Ayanokōji was the target.
"It's fine. Nanase has helped enough by clarifying this. I'm grateful," Ayanokōji said quickly.
If Horikita kept asking, she might uncover details about the White Room or Tsukishiro, which could be problematic.
"I thought it was best for our class, but 20 million points in another class's hands would create a huge gap. So, I chose to help Hōsen."
"So, your friendliness toward us was all an act for this?"
"No, I genuinely wanted to cooperate and support our classes. But… targeting Ayanokōji was the priority."
Nanase looked at Ayanokōji.
"I believe Ayanokōji doesn't belong in this school."
*'I will have my revenge.'*
Saiki could hear Nanase's thoughts. The guy kept giving himself mental suggestions, and he didn't hide his dislike and hatred for Ayanokoji.
Ayanokoji felt it too.
"I'll have five students from our class with B grades or higher partner with you. And we won't tell anyone about tonight."
After saying that, Nanase left.
Saiki knew he was telling the truth, which was lucky.
After all, his 'martial arts master' persona hadn't spread yet.
"Saiki, are you okay?"
Sudou looked at Saiki worriedly.
Even though Saiki had just subdued Houzen, he was still concerned if Saiki was hurt.
*Saiki... is he really that strong? Houzen's like a monster physically, but Saiki took him down so easily...*
Sudou realized just how scary Saiki's strength was.
"I'm fine, but I was just toughing it out. It hurt."
Saiki said.
But he knew these guys wouldn't believe him.
"Saiki, looks like you've been hiding something from us."
Horikita raised an eyebrow.
"But this could be a secret weapon for our class. Either way, I hope everyone here keeps quiet about today."
"Yeah."
Ayanokoji nodded. This was one of the few times he needed others to keep a secret.
"Let's head back."
...
Meanwhile, Houzen walked back to the dorm.
"Damn it, that Saiki Kusuo... I'll make him pay next time."
Houzen cursed under his breath.
Just then, a slender figure appeared in front of him.
"Houzen, how are you doing?"
It was Amasawa.
"Amasawa, you said you'd help me, but you were nowhere to be seen. I never trusted you anyway."
Houzen glared at her.
"Don't be like that, Houzen. Something unexpected came up~"
Amasawa smiled.
She'd agreed to help Houzen get Ayanokoji expelled, but after yesterday, she was more interested in Saiki.
"You're covered in dust. What happened?"
Amasawa could tell Houzen had lost.
"Say one more word, and I'll kill you."
"Was it Ayanokoji?"
"Ayanokoji?"
Amasawa noticed Houzen's confusion.
*Houzen definitely lost, but it wasn't to Ayanokoji. In Class A, no one should be able to beat Houzen except Saiki.*
Amasawa smiled knowingly.
"What are you smiling at?"
"Nothing—let's just keep working together for the next test~"
Amasawa waved and left.
Houzen's desire for revenge burned brighter.
...
The next day, Nanase, Yagami, and Horikita formed a partnership.
Class A would mainly work with Class B, and some high-scoring students from Class D would partner with the lower-scoring students from Class A.
A week later, the test results were announced.
Class A narrowly beat Class B for first place. While Class A's average scores were lower than Sakayanagi's Class B, their partnered first-year students had more high scorers, giving them the edge. The point difference was small.
Without Class D's high scorers, Class A wouldn't have won.
But the new term had just begun.