"Saiki and I are truly alike, whether in our way of thinking or our goals."
'Sorry, I don't think so.'
"Though the probability is low, there's still a chance he, like me, left another organization to come here."
'I'm really just from an ordinary family.'
"I'm not entirely confident I can fully exploit Saiki, and he's probably already sensed something about me. For now, the best option is to temporarily ally with him."
'Yare yare, what should I do?'
Saiki Kusuo looked at Ayanokōji Kiyotaka in front of him, his mind racing.
Ayanokōji hadn't revealed everything, but his words were close enough.
Saiki hadn't expected things to turn out this way and could only think about how to handle the situation.
'Keep pretending to be clueless and refuse? But Ayanokōji likely knows I'm not ordinary, so that won't work.'
'Agree directly? That would mean admitting... Wait, Ayanokōji doesn't realize I'm a psychic; he thinks I'm like him. And he doesn't want to draw too much attention...'
'With Ayanokōji around, maybe he can help me hide my identity further!'
Saiki's mind was made up. Ayanokōji's sharp insight had revealed Saiki's uniqueness, but even Ayanokōji couldn't possibly guess Saiki was a psychic.
Even Ayanokōji was, in the end, just an ordinary person.
"Alright."
After thinking it through, Saiki nodded at Ayanokōji and shook his hand.
"Then, I'll be counting on you from now on."
Ayanokōji replied.
Saiki began thinking about his next steps.
Ayanokōji had openly revealed that Ibuki Mio was a spy. Even if Saiki had refused Ayanokōji's proposal, he couldn't have used Ibuki to manipulate scores...
Did he really have to come in first place in this exam?
What countless others desired was a huge burden for Saiki.
But if Class C truly came in first, he could just give all the credit to Ayanokōji, making him the center of attention.
...
Another day passed. The other classes were as usual, but Class D, as Shiina Hiyori had said, collectively forfeited and returned to the ship.
But things weren't that simple.
Ayanokōji and Horikita Suzune had seen Class D carelessly spending points by the shore, enjoying their vacation. It was all an act by Ryūen Kakeru to make other classes think they'd given up—
In reality, Ryūen hadn't forfeited. He stayed alone on the island.
Using his clairvoyance, Saiki saw Ryūen climbing a tree like a monkey, seemingly trying to hide temporarily.
'A Robinson Crusoe situation...'
Saiki thought, realizing Ryūen would be surviving on the island with no supplies.
Like the day before, Saiki had to maintain his 'fishing master' persona. Thanks to Shiina's novel, the day passed quickly.
That evening, after returning to camp and eating, everyone prepared to rest as usual.
'Just pass the remaining time without doing anything.'
Saiki thought in his tent, eager to return to the ship and enjoy his vacation.
'Though I can go home every night to enjoy the AC, so it's not that bad.'
The sky outside was pitch black. The others in Saiki's tent breathed evenly, asleep. He prepared to teleport home.
But then, he heard a loud voice outside.
"The time is ripe; I'll start my plan."
'Yare yare, trouble's starting?'
Saiki instantly recognized Ibuki's voice.
After days of lying low, Ibuki was ready to act.
"I need to cause chaos in Class C to move freely."
"Karuizawa seems to lead most of the girls. Targeting her should spark a huge fight in Class C."
'Really?'
Saiki raised an eyebrow, curious about Ibuki's plan—
"I'll steal Karuizawa's underwear."
'Steal underwear...?'
Saiki froze.
'What? Your master plan is stealing underwear?'
Saiki was speechless. He'd expected some grand scheme, not this.
Ridiculous.
'Can one pair of underwear cause a class feud? No way.'
Saiki smiled, dismissing Ibuki's words. He teleported home to rest.
As he dozed, he saw flashes of the future.
Class C students arguing...
Ayanokōji holding underwear...
A sudden fire in the camp...
"?"
Saiki jolted awake, his head throbbing slightly.
This was his precognition, occasional glimpses of the future, often in dreams. It was uncontrollable and only showed fragments, with no clear timeline or cause.
'Yare yare, a fire?'
Saiki's expression turned serious. If a fire broke out, it could be dangerous. He had to prevent it.
'Wait, Ibuki said stealing underwear would cause a feud... Did it work?'
Saiki was surprised, struggling to believe underwear could spark a crisis.
Maybe... the feud led to an argument... someone set a fire in retaliation? Or an accident during the fight...
Saiki's mind raced, sleep forgotten.
'I must stop this.'
He teleported back to the tent.
Using his powers, he found where Ibuki had hidden Karuizawa's underwear and moved it back with telekinesis.
.....
The next day arrived.
"Saiki, you're up early again... But you look tired. Didn't sleep well?"
Hirata Yōsuke asked, turning to Saiki.
'Barely slept.'
Saiki thought, blaming the heat.
Soon, everyone left the tents. Saiki kept an eye on Ibuki.
"Girls change clothes daily, right? Karuizawa should notice her underwear's missing. I hid it in the boys' clothes. When they find it, they'll fight for sure!"
Ibuki thought, watching Karuizawa—
But minutes later, Karuizawa chatted with other girls, leaving the tent, seemingly unaware.
"What? She didn't notice?"
Ibuki looked surprised.
'Sorry, I couldn't let your plan work.'
Saiki thought, feeling slightly guilty toward Karuizawa.
After morning roll call, Saiki headed to the river to fish, maintaining his persona. At least it kept the class idiots away.
Sakura Airi was busy elsewhere, giving Saiki rare alone time.
'Didn't rest well yesterday. Nothing should happen today. I'll rest, then catch some fish later.'
Saiki leaned against a tree, closing his eyes, but soon fell asleep.
Just then, Sakura Airi rushed over.
"Saiki... You've been working hard... I brought you food and water..."
She'd left early to prepare these, wanting to ease Saiki's burden.
"Huh? Is Saiki asleep?"
Seeing Saiki leaning against the tree, she placed the food nearby and sat beside him.
"First time seeing Saiki sleep... He must be tired from helping everyone fish..."
"But he's still wearing that hairpin... It looks dangerous. I'll take it off..."
Sakura stared at Saiki, her breathing quickening. She hesitated, then reached for the hairpin on his forehead.
...
"?"
Saiki jolted awake.
"Strange, I feel uneasy... How long did I sleep?"
He shook his head, preparing to stand—
But as he touched the tree, the two-meter-wide tree snapped like a toothpick. The broken top shot out, shattering nearby trees.
'...'
Saiki froze, then realized something was wrong. He stepped forward, leaving a huge crater in the ground.
'Damn.'
He touched his hair, finding the right hairpin missing.
It wasn't an ordinary hairpin but a limiter made by his brother, Kusuda Yukitsu, to restrict his powers.
Without it, Saiki could destroy the world in an instant. Even a light touch could be devastating.
'Yare yare, the limiter's gone? What's happened...?'
As he thought, countless voices flooded his mind.
"What's wrong? The tracking system's malfunctioning!"
"The computer shows everyone's on the other side of the world??"
"What the hell's going on?!"
Foreign languages also flooded his mind. Without the limiter, his telepathy covered the entire planet.
'Did I accidentally teleport the island and ship elsewhere?!'
Saiki quickly moved the island back to its original location.
"It's back to normal?"
"No, it's not!"
"One student's still farther away!"