Saiki Kusuo's Classroom of the Elite

'Yare yare, I really don't want to get involved in this ridiculous competition,' thought Saiki as he stood at the starting line following the teacher's instructions.

Meanwhile, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka approached and stood beside Saiki.

[Perhaps this is a rare opportunity. I want to give it a try.]

At that moment, Saiki overheard Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's thoughts, and the latter turned his head to look at Saiki.

"Kusuo, I have an idea."

"What?"

"Do you want to see my true strength?"

"Huh?"

"I want to race against you."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka replied.

[I've rarely taken the initiative to challenge others like this, but recently, I've felt a growing desire to challenge Kusuo. It's a feeling I never experienced in the White Room, like a seed planted in my heart that has gradually grown and matured.]

Saiki thought to himself.

'Yare yare, I initially thought Ayanokoji was the type to avoid conflict.'

Saiki pondered.

'This kind of scene usually happens in hot-blooded anime or sports anime, where someone finally reveals their true strength to face another, and the other responds with equal effort. But—'

"Sorry, I refuse."

Saiki replied.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's speed was undoubtedly the fastest among everyone. Racing against him would definitely draw attention.

"Is that so?"

Ayanokoji's eyebrows twitched slightly.

[Did Kusuo outright reject my challenge? That makes sense. After all, Kusuo wouldn't take on challenges that offer him no benefit. If I want to challenge him, I'll have to wait for another opportunity...]

'Yare yare... Is the misunderstanding about me deepening?'

Saiki pursed his lips helplessly.

Not only that, but he could also feel a gaze focused on him from behind.

Horikita Manabu.

[Kusuo will definitely hide his strength during this run.]

'You guys... really know how to cause trouble for me... It seems I'll have to agree to his request for now. After all, I accidentally revealed some unnecessary strength during the sports festival. If I deliberately hold back this time, it'll definitely raise suspicions... And if I don't agree to Ayanokoji's challenge now, he might cause more trouble for me later.'

Saiki sighed inwardly and finally spoke to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka again.

"Alright, let's race this time."

"Oh?"

"But only for the first 100 meters. As for why, you should understand."

Saiki said, thinking to himself.

'Earlier, Nagumo suspected me. I told him I'm only fast at the start, and my stamina drops off quickly afterward. This way, I can somewhat prove my point and legitimately slow down later.'

"Hmm."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded, his eyes seemingly filled with anticipation. However, Saiki didn't believe Ayanokoji actually felt such emotions.

"On your marks, get set!"

With the teacher's final command, all the students lined up at the starting line.

[3.5 kilometers... That's so long...]

[I really don't want to run...]

[Why do we even have PE class...]

Most of the surrounding students shared the same thoughts.

"Go!"

The starting gun fired, and all the students sprinted forward.

Generally, the most important thing in a long-distance race is pacing. If you start too fast, you'll likely run out of stamina later, so most people maintain a moderate pace at the beginning.

However, two people shot ahead immediately after the start.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Saiki.

[In my life so far, I've never run seriously in the open world.]

[This situation is completely different from when I ran indifferently in the emotionless room.]

[It's January, and my body is bathed in the cool breeze. I don't care about the others' speed. Right now, competing with the man running beside me is everything.]

'It's just a run... It's not that serious.'

Saiki felt somewhat helpless.

3.5 kilometers—even without using teleportation, he could reach the finish line in a few seconds. But to avoid causing panic, he had to maintain a speed similar to Ayanokoji's.

In just a few steps, they had already pulled ahead of the others by several body lengths.

Saiki initially planned to end the race in about ten seconds, but he didn't expect that his and Ayanokoji's actions would catch the attention of certain individuals.

[Ayanokoji and Kusuo? Is that Ayanokoji guy really that fast?]

Horikita Manabu was surprised.

[It seems Kusuo is finally planning to go all out. Although I don't want to participate in such a meaningless race, if Kusuo is willing to go all out, then this race has meaning.]

Horikita Manabu also got serious, running with all his might to keep up with the two of them!

'Wait, didn't you just say you didn't want to participate in this race? Why are you suddenly joining in?'

Saiki hadn't expected things to escalate like this.

'And if you suddenly get serious, won't that guy...'

[Interesting, interesting. Those first-years, Kusuo and Ayanokoji, are really fast. And Horikita-senpai is taking it seriously too? Let me join in for a bit!]

The owner of this thought was none other than Nagumo Miyabi, who also started running with all his might.

After the first 50 meters, the gap between the students began to show.

Saiki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka were in the lead, with Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Miyabi just one body length behind.

'No way, no way... Isn't this just making us more conspicuous? And in this situation, I can't slow down now!'

Saiki felt a bit of regret, but it was too late.

Another person appeared behind the four of them.

[Koenji Rokusuke.]

"Hahahaha! This is fun! Today, I'll run beautifully in the wind!"

Koenji Rokusuke laughed loudly as he ran, his breathing not faltering in the slightest.

[These five guys are so fast?!]

[Wait, isn't this just a PE class?! Why are they going so hard?!]

[Hey, hey, this is a long-distance race! Starting at this speed, are you guys crazy?!]

The students behind them were stunned, completely unprepared for the five of them sprinting at short-distance race speeds.

Moreover, in a long-distance race with many participants, the pacing of the leading group is crucial. Those behind tend to unconsciously match the speed of the leaders.

The speed of Saiki and the others forced everyone behind them to run faster, completely disrupting their rhythm.

Meanwhile, Saiki, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and the others continued their seemingly meaningless race.

[I've already used all my strength, but Kusuo is still keeping up... Is this Kusuo's maximum speed? Or... is Kusuo not even using his full strength?]

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced at Saiki as he ran.

'In a sense, I am using my full strength—using all my strength to ensure I don't fall too far behind you.'

Saiki thought to himself.

Even though Ayanokoji and the others possessed physical abilities surpassing those of ordinary adults, they were no match for a psychic.

'Yare yare, if I lose, it might look like I'm holding back, which would lead to more trouble... But if I win... Let's just keep it a tie.'

Saiki controlled his speed, carefully matching Ayanokoji's pace to avoid overtaking him.

Meanwhile, the PE teacher, who was overseeing the class, was stunned. He had never taught these students before and had no idea they were this fast.

[Are these guys crazy? This is a long-distance race! If they start at this speed, they won't be able to keep it up later!]

[But... their speed for the first 100 meters is insane!]

[Even Horikita and Nagumo... couldn't catch up immediately?]

The PE teacher swallowed hard and could only watch silently.

In just 100 meters, Saiki and the others had already created a huge gap between themselves and the rest of the group.

Finally, the curve marking the end of the first 100 meters came into view. Saiki maintained his speed—but suddenly, Ayanokoji accelerated again.

'You said you were already using your full strength, didn't you? Are you lying to yourself too?'

Saiki had no choice but to slightly increase his speed, matching Ayanokoji as they reached the curve.

A tie!

In less than a second, Nagumo Miyabi, Horikita Manabu, and Koenji Rokusuke arrived almost simultaneously, with Horikita Manabu leading by half a body length.

Saiki didn't care about their speeds.

Now was the time to slow down!

After passing the curve, Saiki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka tacitly slowed down, as if they had exhausted their stamina, allowing the others to overtake them.

Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Miyabi passed them, though their speeds seemed to have dropped slightly.

Koenji Rokusuke, however, stopped beside Saiki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"For ordinary people, Ayanokoji-boy and glasses-boy, you two are quite good!"

Koenji Rokusuke laughed a few times before slowing down to a walk on the track.

He wasn't tired—he simply felt the interesting part was over.

Koenji Rokusuke had already exercised earlier in the morning, yet he was only slightly behind Horikita Manabu and almost tied with Nagumo Miyabi.

'Hey, hey, why do you call Ayanokoji by his last name but call me "glasses-boy"? Yukimura also wears glasses, you know?'

[I accelerated at the end, and Kusuo also accelerated. It seems he might be holding back. If that's the case, maybe I should have gone all out from the start. Perhaps then I could have seen what Kusuo is truly capable of.]

'You say you're using your full strength, but you're not even doing that yourself. You're really something...'

Saiki felt that agreeing to Ayanokoji's challenge was even more meaningless now.

...

Over an hour later, the long-distance race finally ended.

Horikita Manabu came in first, and Nagumo Miyabi second, as expected.

On the other hand, the third and fourth places weren't taken by Saiki or Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

The two of them counted the surrounding runners and finished around 20th place.

As for the others, although they eventually completed the race, almost everyone was completely exhausted. Even the physically strong Albert Yamada and Ishizaki Daichi were gasping for breath, as were the upperclassmen. Yukimura Teruhiko, who wasn't in great shape to begin with, nearly fainted after the long run.

"Impressive, you two."

Horikita Manabu approached Saiki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and said.

[Although it might increase the risk of Nagumo noticing that I've interacted with Kusuo, ignoring them outright might raise even more suspicion.]

Horikita Manabu's tone was slightly rushed, and his breathing was faster than usual.

Even the nearly perfect Horikita Manabu was somewhat drained after the intense sprint followed by the long-distance run, with sweat beading on his forehead.

"We just sprinted at the start, but our stamina gave out later, so we slowed down. We only finished around the middle."

Saiki quickly explained.

[It's clear that both of them deliberately slowed down after 100 meters. Everyone else is completely exhausted, but these two don't seem tired at all, especially Kusuo, whose breathing is completely normal.]

'Yare yare, I forgot to fake being tired. But there's nothing I can do about it now.'