Classroom of the Elite, Kusuo Saiki

"The environment here seems nice, and there are places to shelter from the sun. Why don't we rest here for a while? As for the toilet, I think we can set it up here for now."

Please, please don't mention the word "toilet" again.

Saiki Kusuo was somewhat helpless; this was probably the term he heard most often these days.

Fortunately, the debate over whether to purchase a second toilet has finally come to an end, and the opposition has finally agreed to it.

"Then we need to consider the rest. I think we should identify a base to set up camp, or perhaps a nearby base—I wonder if there are any people here skilled in wilderness survival?"

Hirata Yosuke immediately asked, and almost everyone's eyes were on him at the same time.

'Hey, is it really possible for a high school student to be an expert in wilderness survival?'

Kusuo Saiki was at a loss for words and turned his gaze to the others.

What? Wilderness survival? Who knows that?

I don't want to run around in this heat!

[This looks like an incredibly grueling job; only an idiot would want to do it.]

'Oh dear, is that really so?'

Kusuo Saiki was not surprised by the various thoughts and feelings of the students in the class; in this situation, such thoughts were normal.

Kusuo Saiki also didn't plan to participate in such an event. After all, most people would stay here, and being in the minority would not only cause trouble for himself, but also attract the attention of others and make them have expectations of him.

Just like everyone else, stay here and rest.

As Kusuo Saiki thought to himself, he was about to find a place to sit down and rest.

But at that moment, a terrifying sound rang out.

"Um, if everyone doesn't mind, I can go!"

The speaker was none other than Kikyo Kushida.

The gazes of the boys who had previously been reluctant to participate in the exploration changed instantly.

"I attended!"

"Count me in too!"

"Me too! Me too!"

"Hey, hey, hey, didn't one of you just say that only an idiot would participate? Kushida, you're the one with superpowers!"

Kusuo Saiki complained.

'Forget it, even if they want to participate, it's none of my business. After all, only a minority are willing to go out. Even if they stay here, nothing will happen to them.'

"The five of us will go together too!"

At that moment, Ike Kanji suddenly raised his hand, drawing everyone's attention to him.

The five of them... were the three idiots plus Kiyotaka Ayanokouji and Kusuo Saiki.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, you agreed to participate so righteously, so why did you have to drag me along? You guys probably didn't want to participate either!"

Kusuo Saiki immediately shifted his attention to the other people.

[This looks really interesting, let's participate!]

What does this mean?

If I participate voluntarily... I think it will make the girls in my class look at me in a new light!

'There's absolutely no way that's possible.'

Whether you participate or not is up to you, but you can go check out the outpost you saw earlier first.

'Aren't you an escapist?'

Kusuo Saiki glanced at Kanji Ike, whose attention was entirely focused on Kikyo Kushida.

'Damn it, if I refuse now, I'll probably be condemned by everyone. I might even be ranked among the top three most hated characters in the class, alongside guys like Kougenji. Absolutely not!'

Kusuo Saiki had no choice but to nod reluctantly and step forward.

'Fortunately, apart from the three idiots, the other participants were pretty normal...'

"This sun feels so refreshing, my body needs energy~ I'll join in too!"

At that moment, Koenji Rokusuke also stepped forward and signed up for the exploration mission.

'Hey, hey, hey, why are you suddenly being so proactive again today?'

Kusuo Saiki had a bad feeling.

"There are exactly twelve of us now, so we can divide into four groups to move around!"

Hirata Yosuke smiled and then let the twelve people form their own teams.

'Whoever it is, hurry up and team up with me, Chi! I hereby declare that you have shed your primate monkey form and returned to humanity. You're the one...'

As Kusuo Saiki thought to himself, his peripheral vision remained focused on the others. He had only one thought in mind: he absolutely must not be grouped with Rokusuke Koenji.

But within seconds, the rest of the group had already formed their teams.

Now there are only three people left.

Besides Kusuo Saiki, there are also Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Rokusuke Koenji.

'Oh no, there are only these two left...'

[Did Qi Mu participate?...I want to join too...but there are already twelve people...if I go, there will be thirteen...it will be difficult to assign teams, and I'll just seem redundant...]

At this moment, Sakura Airi, standing in the crowd, fixed her gaze on Saiki Kusuo, a hint of hesitation on her face.

"Please come quickly, please come quickly!"

Deep down, Kusuo Saiki desperately wanted Airi Sakura to switch places with him.

.....

Soon, the various groups began to act separately, and Saiki Kusuo had no choice but to act together with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Koenji Rokusuke.

My perfect body needs to bask in this bright sunshine.

Ah, how beautiful! Standing serenely amidst nature, I am truly beautiful... the ultimate beauty!

I'm so beautiful! I'm absolutely gorgeous!

Koenji Rokusuke's inner thoughts were incredibly noisy to Saiki Kusuo, who was moving swiftly through the forest like a wild man.

'Damn it, this guy is the one who should really be in the zoo.'

'No, no, no, this guy reminds me of a monster called the Golden Lion in a certain game.....'

'In some ways, they really do look very similar.'

As Saiki Kusuo thought to himself, he followed in Koenji Rokusuke's footsteps.

'This guy seems to be heading to a place with a very clear goal. If I remember correctly, it should be a base. That's good. Kogenji can find a base for the class himself, which will save me a lot of trouble...'

But after walking for a long time, Koenji Rokusuke suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Saiki Kusuo with a smile.

"Glasses Boy".

What did you call me?

"I didn't expect you to be a little more beautiful than I imagined. For a mortal, you're already quite good."

'What are you talking about?'

"Can you actually keep up with my perfect pace?"

'? ? ? '

It was only at this moment that Kusuo Saiki realized the problem.

Koenji Rokusuke moved very fast, and most people probably couldn't keep up with him at all—but Saiki Kusuo, who lacked a reference point, didn't realize this at the time and just followed behind Koenji Rokusuke.

Kusuo Saiki turned his head and looked behind him—

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji followed closely behind him.

Kusuo Saiki and Kiyotaka Ayanokouji stared at each other, a silence filling the space between them.

[Gōtenji possesses superhuman physical abilities and athleticism; most people would struggle to keep up with him—yet Saiki did, and showed no signs of fatigue. Now I'm almost certain that Saiki is someone similar to me, and in terms of physical prowess, he might even surpass me.]

'This is a little troublesome, but at least they didn't think it was related to superpowers. Should we erase this memory...? No, the memories that are filled in later might be even more outrageous. It's too late to pretend to be out of breath now.'

Kusuo Saiki sighed inwardly. He knew very well that he was in big trouble. Fortunately, the two people next to him were the Golden Lion, Rokusuke Koenji, and Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, who was also hiding his strength. At least for now, he wouldn't have too much of an impact on his class.

"I have a question I'd like to ask you ordinary people, is that alright? Could you tell me your thoughts on this place?"

At that moment, Koenji Rokusuke suddenly asked.

'What's this guy thinking about now?'

These two mortals are slightly different from the others, so let's test them a little and see if they've discovered anything about this island.

'This guy, although he looks like a golden ape, is actually very meticulous? I underestimated him a little.'

'His words were a test... a probe to see if I had discovered the island was man-made?'

'What a pity for the leader—Gōtenji, I already guessed what you were thinking!'

Saiki Kusuo's mind raced, and he immediately spoke:

"This island shouldn't be anything special, right?"

"Good, I understand. Don't worry about my question. Ordinary people are just ordinary people after all."

Koenji Rokusuke said nothing more, and then strode forward.

Did they manage to get away with it?

At this moment, Rokusuke Koenji's inner thoughts were once again overwhelmed by self-praise, and Kusuo Saiki had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue forward.

As they moved forward, the woods gradually thinned out, and the path widened—

Then a huge cave appeared before them.

"Qi Mu, do you think this is a base?"

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji turned his head and looked at Kusuo Saiki.