Classroom of the Elite, Kusuo Saiki

"Failed? Why?"

Long Yuanxiang narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze revealing a chilling killing intent.

"I......"

For a moment, Yamawaki was at a loss for words. The fact that he had fallen twice in a row because his shoelaces had come undone was absurd, and he himself didn't quite understand what had happened. However, faced with Ryuen Sho's intimidating aura, he could only recount the whole story in detail.

Upon hearing Yamawaki's words, Ryuen Sho was also stunned for a moment.

[What is this guy talking about? Falling down twice because of his shoelaces? Even a fully functional carbon-based life form shouldn't do something like that.]

[Given his audacity, he would never dare lie to me, especially not about something so outrageous. My original plan was simply to test him today; since it didn't work, so be it. We'll have plenty of other opportunities.]

However, Takeru Sudo from Class C still has a fiery personality that can be used. Finding a way to get him expelled should be a significant blow to their class. Start with Class C, gradually eroding them... probably after the midterms.

A meaningful smile appeared on Long Yuanxiang's face.

'Oh, I see.'

Upon hearing Ryuen Sho's thoughts, Saiki Kusuo immediately understood the other party's general plan.

As previously suspected, Ryuen Sho wanted to exploit Sudo Ken's personality to get him expelled from school.

'As a high school student, is this what you think about every day?'

Kusuo Saiki muttered to himself.

'However, how did they know Sudo had a bad temper? He shouldn't have lost his temper at all while they were monitoring him...'

Just then, there was a rapid knocking at the door.

"Oh, are you here?"

Ryuen Sho slightly raised his chin, while Yamawaki, ignoring his own exhaustion, took the initiative to open the door.

'Oh dear, no wonder.'

Kusuo Saiki narrowed his eyes slightly because the face that appeared at the door of the private room was one he was very familiar with.

Kushida bellflower.

"You, who are you?"

Yamawaki was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Kikyo Kushida to be here.

"Although we've exchanged messages before, this is our first official meeting, Kikyo."

Ryuen Sho maintained his smile, looking at Kushida Kikyo with the same gaze one would give a predator.

[What a terrifying woman. I never expected her to reveal information about her classmates to me so readily. With her around, we should be able to bring down Class C much faster.]

"Nice to meet you! Please take care of me!"

Kikyo Kushida greeted him with a smile, looking like a cute and energetic girl.

However, Kusuo Saiki knew perfectly well what the other party was really thinking.

[Ryuen wants to target Class C—perfect, whatever. What happens to the class now is none of my business. I only have one goal: to get rid of Horikita Suzune. I must make him drop out, and Ryuen is just a weapon I can use.]

They both wanted to take advantage of each other.

It was Kikyo Kushida who told Sho Ryuen about Ken Sudo, which led the latter to decide to take advantage of his personality.

'What a troublesome pair of guys.'

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself that this would bring even more trouble to the class.

"You're willing to betray your own class to cooperate with me, what is your purpose?"

"It's just about getting rid of someone I think needs to be eliminated from school."

In that instant, Kikyo Kushida's expression changed, and her once clear eyes now cast a cold gaze.

Chapter 45: Studying later? Who would believe your nonsense?

Is this woman... really the same person I saw before?

At this moment, Yamawaki looked at Kikyo Kushida with a somewhat incredulous gaze. When he first saw her during the day, he thought she was an angelic girl, completely different from how she appeared now.

'So you finally know what this guy really is? But actually, he's far more terrifying than you imagine.'

Kusuo Saiki, who remained invisible, had been silently observing the group.

"Sudo Takeru is impulsive and easily angered, while Horikita Suzune is arrogant and conceited..."

Ryuen Sho narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on the message sent by Kushida Kikyo on his phone screen.

“Haruki Yamauchi and Kanji Ike are of little value, and Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Kusuo Saiki are of little presence.”

'Not very noticeable? That's true.'

Kusuo Saiki nodded in satisfaction.

"Is Kusuo Saiki the guy with glasses?"

Long Yuanxiang extended a finger and gently touched his chin.

"That's right, you know him?"

Kikyo Kushida asked with some curiosity, not expecting that Sho Ryuen would know the name Kusuo Saiki.

She thought that given Saiki Kusuo's almost invisible presence, he shouldn't have had much contact with people from other classes.

I've only met him once.

Long Yuanxiang replied.

Ryuen Sho and Saiki Kusuo had met once before at the coffee shop. He remembered that Saiki Kusuo seemed to be a friend of Shiina Hiyori from their class.

[Shiina Hiyori and that guy named Saiki Kusuo seem to have a pretty good relationship. Although Shiina Hiyori isn't easy to manipulate, she's a very important person for our class and could play a huge role in Class D in the future. If we make a move against Saiki Kusuo now, our relationship with Hiyori might become strained, so there's no need for that at the moment. Besides, Saiki Kusuo can't offer me much value.]

Long Yuanxiang thought to himself.

'Oh dear, in a way, did Shiina do me a favor?'

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself.

"The reason we were able to get a pretty good score on our first test was because we got the answers to the previous test in advance—the test questions were exactly the same as the previous year's."

Kikyo Kushida said.

"I see, no wonder you were able to surpass our class."

A smile appeared on Long Yuanxiang's face.

While we can't guarantee that future exam questions will be the same as in previous years, it certainly gives us more options.

"However, how did you find out about this? Theoretically speaking, upperclassmen wouldn't tell you these things on their own initiative."

Long Yuanxiang narrowed his eyes slightly and asked.

"I just overheard it by chance."

"You just happened to overhear that?"

Ryuen Sho still found it hard to believe what Kushida Kikyo said.

Is it really such a coincidence? But Kikyo Kushida should know that such a clumsy lie can't fool me. Is it really just a coincidence?

'After all, the actions of superpowered individuals are beyond your imagination.'

"That's really how it is for now. We'll talk about the rest later."

After saying these words, Kikyo Kushida turned around and left the private room.

Is it really just a coincidence? Or was it deliberately orchestrated?

Just consider it a coincidence.

No need to rush. First, we'll gradually bring down Class C, then Class B—and finally, it'll be that self-important 'young lady'.

'Who is that person? You seemed to have mentioned them in your mind last time. Are they from Class A?'

Kusuo Saiki responded in his mind. He sensed that his invisibility was about to end, so he took advantage of the crack in the door that Kikyo Kushida had opened and left as well.

......

In the blink of an eye, Saiki Kusuo was back in his room.

There are just more and more troubles these days.

Kusuo Saiki complained to himself before sitting on the bed, intending to rest for a bit.

Long Yuanxiang seems to be planning to act after the midterm exams, so in a sense, nothing should happen in their class during this period.

'Although it doesn't seem to concern me, if Sudo were to drop out of school like this, it would surely cause a lot of trouble in the class. I don't want to be bothered by these troubles every day, so I'll have to think of a solution.'

Before Saiki Kusuo could rest for long, there was a knock on the door.

Without even opening the door, Kusuo Saiki knew who was knocking—Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

"Saiki, Horikita asked us to tutor Sudo and the others. Sudo just got back. Do you want to go?"

After entering the room, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji asked directly.

Tutoring others? That seems like a lot of trouble. After all, I can't teach them everything I know. What's the typical learning and comprehension range of high school students?

"Let's just send a text message to ask."

"Ah."

After speaking, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji took out his phone.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: Do you guys want to review today's material later?

Takeru Sudo: I just got back from practice, I'm so tired, I'll skip it today! I feel like I've pretty much finished my review!

Ike Kanji: Um... I'm busy right now... It's not convenient... I'll just look at it myself tonight.

Haruki Yamauchi: Ah, never mind... I'll just read a book by myself.

'Unsurprisingly, although they all said they would study hard later, I doubt they would actually do it.'

Kusuo Saiki already knew very well what kind of people these people were.

As long as they don't improve their grades, this book club will continue indefinitely.