'Um... actually, I just really wanted to eat pudding.'
Saiki responded to Ryuen Kakeru's words in his mind. Although he had almost been suspected, he had somehow managed to avoid suspicion in the end.
'Seriously, Ayanokoji is completely unreliable...'
"I see..."
Kushida Kikyo nodded thoughtfully. After considering Ryuen's words, she felt that they made sense.
"But why would Manabe from your class be in contact with Yamauchi?"
"I'm not entirely sure yet. Although her actions were based on my observations, Manabe probably isn't aware of this. I haven't tipped her off, so we might be able to use this to our advantage. If anything happens with Yamauchi, let me know immediately. Also, be careful—Yamauchi might already suspect your betrayal."
"Alright, I should head back."
Kushida Kikyo nodded and then parted ways with Ryuen Kakeru, preparing to return to the field.
'Yare yare, I didn't expect Yamauchi to be caught up in such an unjust situation.'
As Saiki pondered this, he suddenly heard a familiar voice in his mind.
[Seriously, what's Sudo trying to prove? And that annoying Saiki, getting so close to Kushida. Even Sakura-san seems to care about him now. And that fiery Karuizawa is always hanging around him too. I'm so jealous! It'd be great if he got injured and I could take his place!]
This voice belonged to none other than Yamauchi Haruki, who had just finished training and was now slacking off under the pretense of going to the restroom.
'Yare yare, serves him right.'
Saiki narrowed his eyes slightly.
Although Yamauchi Haruki was part of the "idiot trio," he was fundamentally different from Sudo Ken and Ike Kanji.
Ike Kanji, despite having some perverted tendencies, was a decent friend and had a fairly good reputation. He had also contributed a lot to the class during the summer break.
Sudo Ken had a fiery temper and was straightforward, but as a friend, he was loyal and never hid his thoughts, always speaking his mind.
Yamauchi Haruki, on the other hand, was different. His only strengths were his inexplicable confidence and his lecherous tendencies. In critical situations, he might even stab his friends in the back.
After hearing Yamauchi Haruki's thoughts, the slight sense of guilt Saiki had felt earlier completely vanished.
"Ah, Kushida-san?"
At that moment, Yamauchi Haruki, who hadn't actually gone to the restroom but was instead slacking off nearby, bumped into Kushida Kikyo as she walked out.
"Yamauchi?"
Kushida Kikyo's expression changed slightly when she saw Yamauchi Haruki.
[Why is this guy here? Has he been following me?]
Kushida Kikyo's eyes were filled with suspicion.
'He's just slacking off.'
[Kushida-san is looking at me! And her gaze is different from usual! Could it be... she noticed my heroic efforts during the run earlier?]
Yamauchi Haruki's face turned slightly red, and he shyly looked away.
That's the look of a predator eyeing its prey.
"Yamauchi-kun, what are you doing here?"
"I was just..."
Yamauchi Haruki couldn't admit he was here to slack off, as it would lower his standing in Kushida Kikyo's eyes, so he continued his earlier lie.
"I was on my way to the restroom."
[The restroom isn't in this direction. Something's definitely off about him.]
Kushida Kikyo's mind raced, but she maintained her smile.
"Alright, I'll head back to the field now. Yamauchi-kun, do your best! I'll be keeping an eye on you~"
As she spoke, a faint aura of killing intent emanated from Kushida Kikyo.
"Sure, I'll do my best!"
Yamauchi Haruki, completely oblivious to the killing intent, beamed even brighter upon hearing Kushida Kikyo's words.
[Kushida-san said she'll keep an eye on me! This is amazing! It looks like I have a chance with her! We'll go on a date, watch a movie in the afternoon, hit up karaoke, and then at night... Ike will be so jealous!]
'More like you're digging your own grave.'
Meanwhile, Kushida Kikyo hurried back to the field, her face devoid of any smile, her eyes icy cold.
[That guy, that smile... was he mocking me?]
[He probably knows a lot already...]
[It seems the list of people to expel just got longer. Yamauchi Haruki, I won't let you off the hook.]
'Yare yare, such terrifying killing intent...'
Saiki sighed inwardly. After ensuring no one was around, he deactivated his invisibility and returned to the field.
'Kushida leaked class information. Changing the participant list would cost a lot of points, and Ayanokoji doesn't seem to have any intention of revealing this. I guess I don't need to take any action either.'
But it seems Class D is planning something sneaky.
If it involves violating the spirit of sportsmanship, I can't just sit back and do nothing.
Saiki thought to himself.
...
A month later, the day of the sports festival finally arrived.
After a rather uneventful opening ceremony, the various events began.
The sports field was massive, with multiple events taking place simultaneously.
Sudo Ken participated in several events early on and achieved decent results.
Saiki was also forced to participate in some events, including a few sprint races.
During the races, Saiki carefully controlled his speed, ensuring he didn't finish first but also avoiding last place, maintaining a middle position.
"A middle position should be fine."
Saiki thought to himself as he grabbed a towel at the finish line and pretended to wipe off sweat.
At that moment, Sudo Ken and the others surrounded him.
"Not bad, Saiki. I underestimated you a bit."
Sudo Ken patted Saiki's shoulder and smiled.
?
Saiki's eyes were filled with confusion.
"All your opponents were from the track and field club. I didn't expect you to rank so well!"
Hirata Yosuke also praised with a smile.
'You @#￥@#￥...'
Saiki was utterly speechless.
"Kusuo-kun... you're amazing..."
"Nice job, Kusuo!"
Karuizawa Kei and Sakura Airi immediately handed him water and praised him.
...
Before they knew it, several events had concluded.
Before the next competition began, the initial scores for the Red and White teams were announced: Red Team with 2,110 points and White Team with 1,891 points.
Although the competition had just started, the Red Team already had a slight advantage.
The next event was the pole-toppling competition—a simple yet brutal and somewhat dangerous team event.
The rules were straightforward: several wooden poles were planted in the ground, and each class had to protect their own poles while trying to topple their opponents' poles. The first team to topple two of their opponents' poles would win.
'Yare yare, I have to participate in this?'
Although Saiki had known he was assigned to this event, he still felt somewhat resigned to his situation.
But thinking about it, this event isn't too bad. As a team event, I can at least blend in and not stand out.
Saiki looked up and saw the combined forces of Class C and Class D. While there were familiar faces like Kanzaki Ryuji, there were also many troublemakers from Class D.
Even though classes are supposed to be divided based on overall ability, it seems like Ryuen's class has a lot of problematic individuals.
Saiki thought to himself, also hearing the thoughts of the Class D members.
[Kill them!]
[Crush those guys!]
[We have to destroy them!]
Hey, hey, hey, isn't this supposed to be a sports festival? Why does it feel like a brawl?
Saiki narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on Ryuen Kakeru in the opposing team.
[In the pole-toppling competition, the referees don't have strict rules about actions during the match. So if someone gets injured, it'll be treated as an accident during the competition.]
[I've already taught these guys techniques like elbow strikes. Let's make sure Sudo Ken gets injured in this match.]
[This event will be ours, the White Team.]
'Yare yare, I see.'
Saiki had already heard Ryuen Kakeru's thoughts earlier. It seemed Ryuen was serious.
'I was planning to just blend in, but if they're going to play dirty, I can't just stand by and do nothing.'
Once everyone was ready, the match began with the referee's whistle.
Class A was responsible for defense, while Sudo Ken from Class B led the charge with the other boys from his class.
But at that moment, the Class D students swarmed forward. Some of them surrounded Sudo Ken, using the opportunity to elbow and shove him repeatedly. Despite Sudo Ken's strong physique, the pain was unbearable, and he lost his balance, falling to the ground.
"Hey, you guys are totally cheating!"
Sudo Ken shouted angrily.
"Complaining won't help. In the eyes of the teachers, injuries are just part of the competition~"
Ryuen Kakeru sneered from the sidelines.
Aside from Sudo Ken, the boys from Class C were also handling defense. Although they didn't resort to dirty tactics like Ryuen's class, they successfully held off Class B without Sudo Ken.
Meanwhile, the remaining Class D members charged forward with their elbows raised, easily breaking through Class A's defense—and Albert Yamada had already reached the first pole, using his immense strength to topple it effortlessly.
1:0!
"Damn it!"
Sudo Ken got up from the ground, frustrated.
"It's not over yet! The second round is starting! We still have a chance!"
Hirata Yosuke immediately tried to comfort Sudo Ken.
Although losing two poles meant defeat, the Red Team was now on the brink of crisis.
The second round began, and Class D repeated their strategy. Some members targeted Sudo Ken with fouls, while Albert and others charged toward the second pole.
About seven or eight boys surrounded Sudo Ken, openly using various methods to attack him. Sudo Ken braced himself for the pain—
But to his surprise, the blows didn't hurt much.
Instead, the Class D members were the ones in pain.
"Is this guy made of steel?"
"Ouch, that hurts!"
"What's going on? What's up with this guy's body?!"
Sudo Ken didn't have time to think about it. He charged toward the opponent's pole and easily toppled it.
1:1 tie.
"Awesome!"
The Red Team members cheered loudly.
"Strange, I feel like I'm full of energy all of a sudden?"
Sudo Ken looked at his hands in confusion—but a second later, his gaze shifted forward, and a smile appeared on his face.
"It must be my determination to win and the adrenaline! I've heard that people can unleash unlimited potential in extreme situations. This must be it!"
'Yare yare, it's actually my psychic powers.'
Saiki stood beside Sudo Ken, expressionless.
Earlier, Saiki had used his psychic abilities to help Sudo Ken break through.
He used telekinesis to reduce the damage from the Class D students' attacks and inflicted some pain on them—while also enhancing Sudo Ken's strength slightly. This was the key reason Sudo Ken could take on so many opponents at once.
Thanks to the chaotic nature of the match, Saiki was able to use his powers more freely.
[Damn it, eight people couldn't stop him? We'll need to send more people to deal with him. This guy is tougher than expected.]
Ryuen Kakeru frowned slightly.
[But we still have the advantage!]
Meanwhile, Albert had completely broken through Class A's defense and reached the Red Team's pole, ready to topple it. His physical strength far surpassed that of an average student, even exceeding Sudo Ken's—
But despite this, the pole didn't budge.
"WTF?"
Saiki watched from a distance.
'I was planning to just blend in, but since you're playing dirty, I'll teach you a little lesson.'