"This is... Karuizawa?"
Kushida Kikyo frowned, completely caught off guard by the video Ryuen Kakeru had just pulled up.
"As I mentioned earlier, there's a traitor in our class—Manabe Shiho. She tried to bully Karuizawa Kei from your class, and it's because of this video that Manabe was forced to obey X—Yamauchi Haruki."
Ryuen Kakeru spoke slowly.
"What does that have to do with Karuizawa?"
"Have you ever wondered why Saiki stepped in to save Karuizawa and stop Manabe's actions back then? If they really wanted to use this to threaten Manabe, wouldn't it have been more effective to wait until Manabe used even more extreme bullying methods?"
Ryuen Kakeru narrowed his eyes slightly.
"That's true... Then why did he..."
"I can sense that Yamauchi's way of thinking is similar to mine. If I'm not mistaken, his plan was to turn Karuizawa Kei into his tool. By saving her, he could gain her trust and use her for his own purposes."
'Yare yare, no wonder Ayanokoji said you two have a lot in common. Your thought processes are eerily similar...'
Saiki inwardly complain.
"You're saying... Yamauchi planned to turn Karuizawa into his tool."
"Exactly. But because he needed to remain hidden within the class, he chose to use Saiki as his proxy."
"Saiki? No wonder... No wonder Saiki was there that day when Horikita Suzune challenged me to a bet..."
Kushida Kikyo looked as if she had just had a revelation.
"Last time, I tried to pry information about Yamauchi from Saiki, but I was shut down by a recording. Using drones with hidden cameras—even I didn't think of that."
Ryuen Kakeru's lips curled into a slight smile.
'Actually, he just wanted to peep into the girls' changing room.'
Saiki responded in his mind.
Even if Yamauchi Haruki were to appear before them now and explain his true intentions for buying those devices, they probably wouldn't believe him.
"What are you planning to do now?"
Kushida Kikyo leaned forward slightly, her gaze fixed on Ryuen Kakeru.
"By using Karuizawa, we might be able to lure Yamauchi out of hiding and crush him completely."
"When are you going to make your move?"
"The sooner, the better. After all, we already know his true identity. It's just that we haven't been able to act against him yet. But I'm done playing games with Yamauchi. It's time to make him experience true despair."
'Yare yare, my invisibility is about to run out.'
Saiki's invisibility could only last for a maximum of ten minutes. Following Kushida Kikyo here had taken up some of that time, and now he couldn't afford to linger.
But he had already figured out Ryuen Kakeru's true intentions.
Although Saiki was someone who avoided trouble, he also knew that if he didn't take some action now, these guys would keep causing him endless headaches.
...
Time passed quickly, and the sky gradually darkened. It was now evening.
Karuizawa Kei, who had been resting in her room, suddenly received a message from Manabe Shiho.
Manabe Shiho: Come to the rooftop of the special school building.
Manabe Shiho: I need to talk to you about the bullying incident.
Manabe Shiho: If you don't come, I'll spread the truth about your past throughout the school.
Seeing Manabe Shiho's messages, Karuizawa Kei clenched her fists so tightly that her nails nearly dug into her palms. Painful memories flooded her mind, and she could only grit her teeth.
If this got out, the image she had worked so hard to build over the past several months would be completely destroyed.
A sense of helplessness and pain overwhelmed her. Karuizawa Kei didn't know what to do, so she took out her phone and sent a message to Saiki.
Karuizawa Kei: Kusuo... Manabe just messaged me. She wants me to meet her...
Saiki: Don't go. I'll handle it.
As soon as Karuizawa Kei sent the message, Saiki's reply came almost instantly.
Karuizawa Kei: But...
Saiki: It's probably just a misunderstanding. I'll talk to her. It's no big deal.
Karuizawa Kei: Okay... Be careful.
Karuizawa Kei stared at the messages on her phone. For some reason, she had a bad feeling about this.
...
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the special school building—a place where no one usually went, and where there were no surveillance cameras—Ryuen Kakeru was waiting with Albert Yamada, Ishizaki Daichi, and Ibuki Mio.
"Ryuen, are you sure she'll take the bait?"
Ibuki Mio asked, frowning.
"She will."
Ryuen Kakeru leaned against the railing, a slight smile on his face.
"Karuizawa Kei would never want her past to be exposed. No matter what, she'll show up. She won't let the image she's built up over the past months be destroyed."
"But even if Karuizawa comes, what if Yamauchi doesn't?"
Ishizaki Daichi, standing nearby, asked with a puzzled expression.
"If Yamauchi doesn't show up, we can still get valuable information from Karuizawa—how long can she hold out? Even if she doesn't say anything, we can still destroy her."
Ryuen Kakeru smiled.
He wasn't just doing this to crush Class B.
Ryuen Kakeru enjoyed it. He loved the idea of completely breaking someone.
Albert Yamada pursed his lips. He knew exactly how terrifying Ryuen Kakeru could be.
But at that moment, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed from the other side.
"Finally here?"
Ryuen Kakeru's smile widened as he turned his gaze toward the source of the sound.
"Sooner than I expected. Wait—"
Standing before Ryuen Kakeru was none other than Saiki.
"I didn't expect it to be you."
Ryuen Kakeru's eyebrow twitched slightly. Saiki's appearance was somewhat unexpected.
"Is Yamauchi too scared to show up himself? Did he send you as a disposable pawn?"
[Yamauchi not showing up is a smart move, but sending Saiki here means he's treating him as a pawn, right? Is Saiki willingly sacrificing himself? Or... does he have some delusion that he can handle this?]
Ryuen Kakeru's mind raced.
'Yare yare, while I usually hate getting involved in troublesome situations, your recent actions have been really annoying. Especially what you were planning to do—I can't let that happen. I'll have to teach you a lesson.'
Saiki looked at Ryuen Kakeru expressionlessly.
'After all, Karuizawa has treated me to plenty of puddings and cakes. As a thank you, I'll settle this for her.'
"If you kneel down and lick my shoes right now, I might let you leave here unharmed."
Ryuen Kakeru sneered, completely unaware of the gravity of the situation.
"Yare yare, while I don't like making things complicated, someone like you needs to be taught a lesson. And I've been pretty stressed out lately."
Saiki spoke slowly.
"As for Yamauchi, he has nothing to do with this."
"What are you talking about?"
Ryuen Kakeru scoffed.
"Did Yamauchi send you here to spout nonsense like this? If I release the video about Karuizawa, the lies she's carefully built up will be completely destroyed."
"That video? I've already deleted it."
"What good does that do? The video is still—"
Ryuen Kakeru suddenly realized something and quickly pulled out his phone. He had asked Manabe Shiho to send him the video earlier.
But now, the video was nowhere to be found in his gallery.
"How... how is this possible?!"
Ryuen Kakeru was stunned, completely baffled by what had just happened.
[How is this possible? How could he remotely delete my video? No one's touched my phone... Could it be... a system vulnerability or malware?!]
Ryuen Kakeru, who was usually calm and collected, was now visibly shaken—more so than during the sports festival.
'It's psychic powers.'
Saiki answered in his mind but decided to play along.
"I just used a virus. Remotely controlling your phone is child's play. The same goes for the recording."
"No way... You're lying! I've already investigated. Yamauchi used hidden cameras and drones..."
"He just wanted to peep into the girls' changing room."
"Bullshit!"
"Tch."
Saiki sighed. Even though he had told the truth, Ryuen Kakeru refused to believe it.
But there was no doubt that Ryuen Kakeru was shaken.
[How is this possible? My initial assumptions can't be wrong! Yamauchi should be the mastermind, and Saiki is just his pawn! That's right, there's no way I'm wrong!]
Thinking this, Ryuen Kakeru forced himself to calm down and signaled Ishizaki Daichi to attack Saiki.
"Ahhh!"
Ishizaki Daichi clenched his fists and charged at Saiki—
He had been a bully in his middle school, and his fighting skills were terrifying. It wasn't until he came to this school that Ryuen Kakeru had tamed him.
But even so, an ordinary student would be no match for Ishizaki Daichi.
Ishizaki Daichi's fist aimed straight for Saiki's chest, striking with full force.
It felt like he had punched a solid boulder.
Even without using his psychic powers, Saiki's physical strength far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
[How is this possible?! This guy looks so skinny, but he's this strong?!]
Ishizaki Daichi's face showed a look of terror.
'Yare yare, while I don't like drawing attention, in this school, if I don't do something, trouble will come knocking on its own.'
Saiki thought to himself, then reached out and lightly tapped Ishizaki Daichi.
"#$%&"
Ishizaki Daichi instantly lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.
"What?!"
Ibuki Mio, standing nearby, was stunned. She hadn't expected Ishizaki Daichi to be taken down so easily.
[What was that? It looked like such a simple move! No, I've heard that if you hit certain pressure points, even a light strike can knock someone out... Could Saiki be a master at this? Was everything he said earlier true? Is he the real X behind Class B? No wonder I failed during the uninhabited island exam... It was all Saiki's doing!]
A surge of anger rose in Ibuki Mio's heart. She stepped forward, performed a side flip, and aimed a kick at Saiki's head—
Saiki raised his hand, effortlessly blocking Ibuki Mio's attack, then gave her a light push. She flew backward and landed on the ground, unconscious.
Albert Yamada followed, but his fate was no different from Ishizaki Daichi and the others.
[H-how is this possible?]
Everything had happened so quickly that Ryuen Kakeru was left dumbfounded. He hadn't expected his three strongest subordinates to be taken down so easily.
And he hadn't even been able to see Saiki's movements clearly.
To Ryuen Kakeru, Saiki had simply made a few casual moves and effortlessly defeated them all.
[What kind of technique is this guy using?! Damn it...]
None of Ryuen Kakeru's plans had gone as expected. He had never suspected Saiki, and now this had happened.
Shock—followed by a sense of excitement. Even though everything had gone off the rails, Ryuen Kakeru's desire to defeat Saiki grew even stronger.
"Not bad, not bad. I never expected you to be so ruthless. This is getting interesting. I really want to see the look of fear on your face!"
Ryuen Kakeru lunged at Saiki like a wolf—
But in the next moment, he was sent flying in the opposite direction, as if launched by a soda bottle rocket, and crashed to the ground.