Classroom of the Elite, Kusuo Saiki

'But what exactly does she want from me? I really want to take the ring off—no, I can't give up here, I absolutely can't rely on this superpower too much.'

As Kusuo Saiki thought to himself, he realized that he probably didn't have the right to criticize Kiyotaka Ayanokouji for having such a noisy mind.

"Well, what's going on?"

Kusuo Saiki immediately agreed, thinking he could help the other party solve the problem as soon as possible so that he could go see a movie before the school cinema closed.

"I originally wanted to contact you on my phone, but I didn't know how to bring it up."

Honami Ichinose maintained a somewhat troubled expression on her face.

"It's like this, I probably... maybe... I'll get confessed to here."

Will I get confessed to here?

Kusuo Saiki quickly glanced around. There was no one around. He had only taken a shortcut because he wanted to get to the movie theater as quickly as possible without using his superpowers.

However, he did not expect to meet Ichinose Honami here.

'This is behind the school building, and it's been quite a while since school ended, so students usually don't come here—judging from Ichinose's reaction, she clearly doesn't want to accept the confession, and she looks very troubled.'

'Could it be that it really is a situation similar to Sakura's? After all, there are all sorts of strange people in this school.'

'If that's the case, then it seems we need to find a way to deal with them. What ability can we use to teach them a lesson?'

"It's like this... I don't know how to refuse someone, but I don't want to hurt them... I searched online for a long time before I found a relatively reliable method."

Honami Ichinose said very seriously, holding a love letter in her hands.

'So he just didn't know how to refuse her... Wait, I have a bad feeling.'

Kusuo Saiki immediately realized something was wrong.

'It's not going to be one of those classic plots from third-rate novels and third-rate anime, is it...?'

"I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend..."

"I reject."

Without the slightest hesitation, Kusuo Saiki immediately rejected the other party.

Being able to become Ichinose Honami's boyfriend, even if it's just a pretense, is an irresistible temptation for many guys.

However, Kusuo Saiki was very clear that this was an abyss from which he could never escape.

"Oh dear, if I agree to her request, the consequences will be unimaginable if word gets out. Not only will I become the center of attention, but I might even become a thorn in the side of some people with deep-seated grudges."

Saiki Kusuo seemed to hear words like 'Kill him' echoing in his mind.

"Ichinose...who is he?"

Just then, an unfamiliar voice came from behind them.

Shiraha Chihiro was the name of the woman's voice.

Chapter 59: So... this is what Saiki-kun feels?

'Wait, what's going on? Is it a girl?'

Kusuo Saiki's gaze fell on Chihiro Shiranami, and he immediately guessed that she was the one who wrote the love letter to Honami Ichinose, but he did not expect things to turn out this way.

'I have no idea what those two are thinking... Honestly, I don't want to get involved in this ridiculous situation. If some unfounded accusations get out, my dream of living a peaceful life at school will be completely shattered.'

Kusuo Saiki had no other choice but to secretly remove the ring from his hand.

The moment the ring was removed, the world, which had become quiet, immediately became noisy again.

[I love it! I love Ichinose so much! I want to be with Ichinose-san forever! I love it, I love it, I love it!]

But... who is this boy? Why is there a boy here?

Could it be... that this person is Ichinose's...?

'Hey, it feels like we've already become a thorn in everyone's side before it even started.'

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself that only now was he truly experiencing the benefits of his telepathic ability.

'So the only remaining question is how to extricate ourselves unscathed from this situation.'

"His name is Qi Mu... he is... he is..."

Honami Ichinose wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

I've always considered Bai Bo a good friend... but the idea of ​​being confessed to by a girl in my class... has never happened before... and I have no intention of doing so...

Upon hearing Ichinose Honami's thoughts, a sudden idea popped into Saiki Kusuo's mind.

In the next instant, Kusuo Saiki used his telepathic abilities to project Ichinose Honami's inner thoughts.

"I'm so sorry, Bai Bo, I didn't mean to hurt you... but I didn't have that intention..."

Honami Ichinose's eyes widened suddenly, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.

Did I accidentally blurt it out?

'I'm sorry, I conveyed your inner thoughts directly.'

Kusuo Saiki answered in his heart.

"On the one hand, I don't want to get involved in these things; on the other hand, in this situation, expressing my true feelings directly is probably the best solution. Responding with lies might cause even more serious harm... I should probably avoid this situation. Although I really want to leave now, it's clearly inappropriate."

As he pondered this, Kusuo Saiki silently walked to the side, awaiting the inevitable outcome.

"...I see...I see...But thank you so much anyway!"

After hearing Ichinose Honami's words, Shiranami Chihiro's eyes gradually welled up with tears, which soon spilled uncontrollably. She then quickly fled the place.

"Being rejected after confessing your feelings isn't uncommon for most people during adolescence. While it's not entirely a happy ending, it's resolved. It's getting late, the movie theater is about to close, and if we don't go soon..."

"Qi Mu, could you please have a chat with me?"

Watching Chihiro Shiranami's departing figure, Chizuru Ichinose looked somewhat listless, or perhaps lost in thought, as she slowly walked over to Kusuo Saiki's side.

'Now we're even less likely to escape?'

Kusuo Saiki felt somewhat helpless, but in this situation, he couldn't just leave.

"I understand why you rejected me so directly."

Honami Ichinose lowered her head at first, but then raised it again, focusing her gaze on Kusuo Saiki's face.

"Good that you understand. Don't just casually dump this kind of troublesome matter on others; this could be a matter of life and death for them for the foreseeable future."

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself, if those three idiots misunderstand any information, he'll probably be in for a lot of trouble.

"Qi Mu, you just want me to know that I must respond to this matter seriously, right?"

"That's not entirely wrong, but the main reason is that I want to avoid bringing trouble upon myself."

"Confessing to someone must not be such an easy thing... She must have mustered up a lot of courage to come here. If I just gloss over it, it will only make us both regret it. I never thought about this before, but after accidentally speaking my heart to Chihiro, I realized it."

'...'

"I was wrong. I didn't try to understand Chihiro's feelings. I was only trying to find a way to escape without hurting her. That was wrong."

Honami Ichinose shook her head, but a slight glint remained in her eyes.

"Thank you so much, Saiki-kun! If it weren't for you, I might have felt guilty towards her forever. Thank you so much for doing that strange thing today."

"fine."

Kusuo Saiki could only nod, hoping that Honami Ichinose would end the topic as soon as possible.

"By the way, Saiki-kun, I'm sorry, our class hasn't been able to gather any eyewitness evidence either. However, we did find information about the three people who fought with Sudo-kun. One of them is named Ishizaki Daichi. I heard he was a notorious troublemaker at his old school, fighting almost every day. The other two are also members of the school's basketball team... I don't believe they were beaten up like that by Sudo-kun alone."

"Thank you so much."

Kusuo Saiki nodded. Although he already knew about the matter, the name Daichi Ishizaki could save him some trouble in the future.

"Also, did your teacher mention taking you on a trip during the summer vacation?"

"Absolutely not."

Kusuo Saiki shook his head. Whether the matter was true or not, he did not want to get involved.

Honami Ichinose then chatted with Kusuo Saiki about many topics, and by the time the conversation was almost over, it was already getting dark.

"It's so late, I'm sorry! I've taken up too much of your time, Qi Mu!"

"It's okay. Bye."

Kusuo Saiki immediately went to the movie theater as fast as he could, but what he saw was a line of large characters on the sign.

"Business will be temporarily closed for today due to equipment maintenance."

Chapter Sixty: Help! There's a supernatural phenomenon here!

'……%￥＃……%*……'

For a moment, Kusuo Saiki didn't know what to say. He stood there blankly for several seconds before he came to his senses and left the movie theater with a somewhat absent-minded gait.

'What is all this day after day...'

'If I had used my telepathic abilities earlier, I would have known earlier that the movie theater was closed today... and I wouldn't have encountered this inexplicable situation today.'

"No, no, no, take it easy. It's just that we missed the movie. Anyway, we already have the ring, we can go see it tomorrow... Just relax."

As Kusuo Saiki thought this, he walked towards his dormitory and put the ring away.

Just then, he heard a very familiar voice.

[Shizuku lives around here, right? That's right, that's right, I remember the freshmen live in this building!]

[It's all that damn bespectacled guy's fault! Otherwise, I would have been able to touch Shizuku's personal camera, not only feel her body temperature and see her private photos, but also get her phone number! That way, I could find Shizuku anytime!]

[Damn it, that bespectacled guy ruined my chance! But Shizuku will definitely come out, right? As long as I stay here, I'll see her eventually!]

'Oh my gosh, what a coincidence to run into you!'

Kusuo Saiki's brow twitched slightly. The voice he heard was from the shop assistant from earlier that day. The assistant had found the location of Sakura Airi's dormitory building and was planning to stake it out, hoping to meet with Sakura Airi.

A complete stalker.

'I was originally going to teach you a lesson, but you actually delivered yourself right to my doorstep? Perfect, perfect! I wasn't planning on using this opportunity to vent my frustrations anyway!'