Classroom of the Elite, Kusuo Saiki

This further confirms that these three people are no different from idiots.

Chapter 10: An Encounter at the Library, Shiina Hiyori Makes Her Appearance

After the trio of idiots left, Kusuo Saiki headed straight for the school library with a very clear goal.

"Oh dear, yesterday was the first day of school, and I needed to buy some daily necessities, plus I needed to figure out how to use the jelly machine, so I didn't have time to go to the library."

'I've heard that the novel resources there are very abundant; perhaps we can find some hidden gems.'

'Although most of the people at this school seem a bit odd, the resources are abundant, making it a pretty good choice.'

Thinking of this, Kusuo Saiki couldn't help but smile slightly. After all, for someone with superpowers like him, reading mystery novels was one of the few things he could find enjoyment in.

The most important thing is the suspense.

Because of his telepathic abilities, daily life holds no surprises for Kusuo Saiki. If he watches a movie, he will be spoiled by the thoughts of the people around him if he doesn't choose the premiere screening. Moreover, in a confined space, the thoughts of others will be incredibly noisy, making it impossible for him to concentrate on the movie.

Therefore, Kusuo Saiki prefers to engage in solitary entertainment, and reading novels is one of his activities.

Kusuo Saiki strode into the library. Although he had come here before the start of the semester to take a look, he had only roughly observed the layout of the library and had not seen what kind of books were inside because his invisibility could only last for ten minutes at most. However, the library was very large and could easily accommodate the entire school, so one could imagine how rich the variety of books inside would be.

This made Kusuo Saiki even more excited.

He looked around and saw that there weren't many people in the library, only a few scattered senior students—after all, young people have more exciting and enjoyable entertainment options, and not many people are willing to come to the library to read books.

'It's great that there aren't many people.'

For Kusuo Saiki, this was undoubtedly a good thing. He quickened his pace and, using his X-ray vision, easily found the section for the mystery novel.

However, Kusuo Saiki faintly heard a strange inner voice.

[Enough, but not enough...]

Is it also in the mystery/detective fiction section?

Kusuo Saiki walked to the shelf where the mystery novels were located, and in front of him was a girl with long silver hair.

She wasn't very tall, and her pretty face was adorned with two pale purple eyes. Her slender legs, encased in black over-the-knee stockings, were encased in her short skirt.

The girl was standing on tiptoe, seemingly trying to reach a book on the upper shelf, but because of her petite stature, she couldn't reach it. The hem of her short skirt swayed with her body, and her fingertips could only lightly touch the side of the book, but she couldn't take it down at all.

"Is it because of your height that you can't reach it? Sorry, that's not my problem. I'm not the kind of person who's overly helpful."

Saiki Kusuo thought to himself.

The man next to him could probably reach it... but he was too embarrassed to ask...

I don't know how to communicate with others... Even though school has been in session for two days, I still don't know many people in my class...

What should I do...? Should I talk to him...? Did he come to this bookshelf because he's also interested in mystery novels?

As the girl thought to herself, she tilted her head slightly and glanced at Kusuo Saiki out of the corner of her eye. Her face was full of hesitation, but she also seemed a little afraid of being noticed by Kusuo Saiki.

Just as the girl was struggling with her decision, the book that was her goal seemed to shake twice and then lose its balance and fall.

"Hey?"

The girl was pleasantly surprised and quickly caught the book. It seemed that her efforts had paid off, and the book finally fell to the ground.

Of course, this wasn't 'lucky'; rather, it was because Kusuo Saiki used his telekinesis to move the book a few centimeters outward, allowing the other person to barely touch it.

Just now, Kusuo Saiki heard the girl's thoughts, learned the books she wanted to read, and also learned her name.

Hiyori Shiina appears to be a student in Class C.

"Oh, well, I'll help you out a little, that way it'll save us some trouble."

Kusuo Saiki muttered to himself, then turned his gaze to the bookshelf in front of him and began to select which novels were suitable for him.

If you're simply borrowing books to read, as long as you return them within the specified time, the points you spend are negligible.

Kusuo Saiki's gaze swept across the rows of books. He had read quite a few mystery novels before, but he still tried to read the very famous ones. Famous meant more readers, and his telepathic abilities would force him to know the plot in advance, so he preferred to choose some lesser-known, obscure novels.

Although many obscure novels are of low quality, and some even have absurd plots, they are actually a better choice for Kusuo Saiki. If he can find a high-quality novel, it will be a treasure.

Kusuo Saiki's gaze fell on one of the books. He had never heard of the name before, so he reached out to take it down.

[Is it Simmons' *Kill Yourself*? He actually chose this book! Although it starts with the gimmick of killing oneself, it goes on...]

Just as Saiki Kusuo placed his finger on the novel, Shiina Hiyori couldn't help but mentally replay the entire plot of the book.

‘…’

At this moment, Kusuo Saiki's face was full of black lines.

He deliberately chose a novel that seemed rather obscure, but he didn't expect that the quiet-looking girl next to him had actually read it.

'Maybe this book isn't actually that obscure; let's try another one.'

Kusuo Saiki then moved his finger to another book.

Did he choose this book? The plot is really interesting; he'd never guess that the protagonist is actually the murderer...

[Did they change the book again? That doctor actually fabricated an alibi...]

While the overall quality of this book is only average, its suspense is exceptionally well-crafted...

Chapter 11: Please, please, stop spoiling the plot!

'Hey, hey, hey, how many books have you actually read...?'

At this moment, even Kusuo Saiki was somewhat surprised; the other person had read almost every book he had ever come across...

Then, due to telepathy, Kusuo Saiki was spoiled again.

A mystery novel where the plot is already known is practically meaningless.

This left Kusuo Saiki feeling somewhat helpless. He never expected that after finally escaping Kikyo Kushida and Honami Ichinose to reach the library he had been longing for, he would encounter such a thing.

'It seems this girl named Shiina Hiyori is the real mystery novel fanatic...'

Kusuo Saiki sighed inwardly, but his gaze fell upon the novel in Hiyori Shiina's hands, and a new idea simultaneously formed in his mind.

'Since she's also here to borrow a book, it means she hasn't read it yet...and there's an exact copy! Great!'

As Saiki Kusuo thought to himself, he reached out and tentatively touched the book, while Shiina Hiyori, as expected, did not have any of the mental activity that would lead to spoilers this time.

'Finally found it!'

Kusuo Saiki's lips curled up slightly.

"Excuse me... do you also enjoy reading Raymond Chandler's novels?"

At that very moment, Shiina Yuna quickly walked up to Saiki Kusuo and asked with great curiosity.

"I....."

This sudden action left Kusuo Saiki somewhat bewildered. Just a minute ago, the girl had been agonizing over whether to strike up a conversation with a stranger, but after seeing him pick up the book, she suddenly became incredibly proactive in striking up a conversation.

"I just wanted to pick up any book to pass the time."

Kusuo Saiki immediately replied that he did not want to have too much contact with other people.

"I see... But I noticed you seemed curious about the other books, so why did you choose this one in the end?"

Shiina Hiyori asked with great curiosity. She had been observing Saiki Kusuo's actions and it seemed that he had not chosen randomly, but rather that he had been carefully selected.

"Because I've already read the other books."

Kusuo Saiki casually offered an explanation, which, in a sense, wasn't wrong. Hiyori Shiina's inner thoughts had essentially revealed the entire plot.

However, after giving that answer, he felt a little regretful.

Has this person actually read all of these books?!

[Some of these books are quite obscure even in the mystery genre; has he actually read them all?]

Have I met someone who shares my interests?!

Shiina Hiyori's pale purple eyes seemed to light up, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up slightly, as if she was very interested in Saiki Kusuo in front of her.

For Hiyori Shiina, there are very few people who share the same hobbies as her.

There are many people who enjoy reading mystery novels, let alone those who come to the library to read right after the start of the semester at this school. Because of their different interests, Hiyori Shiina doesn't know how to interact with others.

And now, she has finally met someone who shares her ideals.

Although she appears quiet and reserved on the surface, Hiyori Shiina actually has a very active mind, but she hasn't been able to find anyone with the same hobbies in her daily life.

"I never knew you were so interested in mystery novels!"

Hiyori Shiina leaned forward slightly, her clear eyes fixed on Kusuo Saiki's eyes.

In a sense, Hiyori Shiina was right; Kusuo Saiki did enjoy reading mystery novels, but he didn't like too much social interaction, and Kikyo Kushida alone was enough to keep him occupied.

Finally, I've found someone I can talk to... I've never met anyone like this before.

I've always wanted to make friends... but I've never been able to talk to anyone before...

Wait, am I being too rude? I haven't even introduced myself yet!

Shiina Hiyori suddenly realized what was happening, and a smile appeared on her face:

"Sorry to bother you... My name is Shiina Hiyori, and I'm a member of Class 1-B. You must be a first-year student too!"

Hiyori Shiina introduced herself to Kusuo Saiki in a very warm and friendly manner, while her thoughts were also constantly flowing.

[He just came looking for books too, so he's obviously a freshman who hasn't been at school long... If we're both freshmen, we should be able to have some things to talk about! I've finally found a book-loving friend!]

"Oh dear, oh dear, now it's not easy for me to leave either."

Kusuo Saiki could clearly hear every word Hiyori Shiina said. Although the principle was to avoid too much contact with the people around him, it was not a good idea to leave directly in this situation, so he could only continue the conversation with Hiyori Shiina.

"My name is Kusuo Saiki, from Class D."

Saiki Kusuo said that compared to others, Shiina Hiyori was a relatively normal girl. However, her love for mystery novels was beyond Saiki Kusuo's expectations. Although Saiki Kusuo himself had read quite a few, he could not compare with Shiina Hiyori at all.

However, this is not good news for Kusuo Saiki, as he was just spoiled about more than a dozen novels.

Next time I come to the library, I'd better try to avoid them.

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Saiki-kun! Nice to meet you!"