Saiki Kusuo's Classroom of the Elite

In the common room, about an hour before the lights-out time at 10 PM, the atmosphere was eerily quiet. No one spoke, maintaining a delicate silence.

Although the relationships within the group weren't exactly harmonious, no conflicts had arisen either. For Saiki, this was just right—he could enjoy a relatively peaceful time.

Just then, there was a light knock on the door, signaling a visitor.

"Who could it be at this hour?"

Everyone seemed surprised that someone would knock at this time.

"Maybe it's a teacher."

Ishizaki Daichi said disinterestedly.

"That's possible."

Yukimura Teruhiko, who was sleeping near the door, propped himself up and asked who was there while stepping forward.

Saiki, however, already knew who the visitor was.

"First-years, are you still awake?"

Nagumo Miyabi stood at the door, smiling as he asked.

'How can you even ask that?'

Saiki complained in his mind.

"President Nagumo, is there something you need?"

Yukimura Teruhiko quickly asked.

"As fellow group members, I'm here to check on you. May I come in?"

"Of course!"

Yukimura Teruhiko immediately led Nagumo Miyabi into the room. In reality, there was another person who followed Nagumo inside.

One of them was the student council vice president, Kiriyama Ikuto. He looked somewhat nervous, his gaze lingering on Saiki for a moment before quickly shifting elsewhere.

As soon as Nagumo Miyabi entered the room, he looked around and smiled.

"The room layout is indeed the same as Horikita-senpai's. I originally invited Horikita-senpai and other third-years to join us, but they seem to have gone to bed early. What a shame. So, it's just us second-years here—but this is a great opportunity for our two grades to bond!"

"Bond...?"

Yukimura Teruhiko was taken aback.

"As I said, I'm here as a fellow group member to check on you. This school has no TVs, computers, or phones. Honestly, there's not much entertainment. But it's not completely devoid of fun."

Before entering the school building, all electronic devices had been confiscated.

After saying this, Nagumo Miyabi pulled out a small box from his coat pocket.

"Playing cards?"

"You might think playing cards is boring these days, but during a training camp like this, it's a classic!"

Nagumo Miyabi casually sat down in an empty spot, tore off the tape on the unopened box, and opened it.

"To spice up the game, I thought we could bet something. If you have any good ideas, I'd love to hear them~"

[Even if I ask like this, I doubt the first-years will be able to come up with anything in front of me.]

Nagumo Miyabi's thoughts were crystal clear to Saiki.

"We've already decided on breakfast duty, right? How about we reset that decision and use this bet to determine it? The losing side will make breakfast for the winning grade!"

Nagumo Miyabi said with a smile.

[My goal is to increase the burden on the first-years and shift our responsibilities onto them—]

[However, this isn't my main objective.]

[I'm here to further test these first-year students.]

'Yare yare, as expected, you're up to no good.'

Saiki lay on his bed, not saying a word.

"But the third-years aren't here. If we do this..."

Yukimura Teruhiko seemed worried.

"It's fine. This is just between our two grades. We'll only handle our respective two days, so there will be four rounds in total. It won't affect the third-years."

Nagumo Miyabi said with a smile.

"What do you think?"

Yukimura Teruhiko looked at the others in the room.

"Koenji, do you object to using playing cards to decide?"

Nagumo Miyabi asked, shifting his gaze to Koenji Rokusuke in the corner.

"I neither agree nor disagree. The answer is already clear."

"That's not the point. I want to know what you think."

"Then I'll answer you, Student Council President—I have no interest in this conversation. I'm not even thinking about agreeing or disagreeing. Are you satisfied now?"

Koenji Rokusuke seemed completely unfazed by Nagumo Miyabi's status.

Despite this, Nagumo Miyabi maintained his smile.

"Would you like to join the student council, Koenji? I'd love to bring someone as interesting as you into the council. From what I've heard, your academic and athletic abilities are quite impressive—I saw that again today."

"What?"

Kiriyama Ikuto, standing nearby, was surprised.

"Unfortunately, I have no interest in the student council or anything like that."

Koenji Rokusuke replied.

"I thought as much. So, I'll just say you're always welcome. If you ever become interested, feel free to come to me."

After saying this, Nagumo Miyabi turned his attention to the other students.

"I don't mind. It's up to the person in charge."

Hashimoto Masayoshi said, and the others nodded in agreement.

'Yare yare, so the final decision falls on me?'

Saiki felt a bit helpless. He didn't want to get involved in too much trouble.

But then again, this might be a good opportunity for the first-years.

Each grade had to wake up early for two days to prepare breakfast for everyone, which meant getting up as early as 4 AM. For students who had to endure intense activities during the day, this was undoubtedly torture.

Even for a psychic like Saiki, getting more sleep was always preferable. Having to wake up earlier to make breakfast could lead to more trouble.

If possible, Saiki would rather avoid these extra tasks.

But now, Nagumo Miyabi had come knocking.

'Nagumo wants to use this opportunity to mess with us first-years? In that case, I'll have to repay you in kind.'

Saiki narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Nagumo Miyabi.

[The first-years definitely won't be able to refuse my suggestion—I'll choose the simplest game, Old Maid, since I've already tampered with the cards~]

'Yare yare, as expected. With someone like Nagumo, fair competition is out of the question—but no matter.'

Saiki thought to himself and soon spoke up.

"I have no objections, but I'm not good at card games. I won't be participating."

"Not participating? That's a shame. In that case, you first-years can choose two people to join us. There are two of us, so it'll be even."

...

After a minute of discussion, the first-years decided to send Yukimura Teruhiko and Hashimoto Masayoshi to participate in the game—mainly because no one else wanted to join.

Saiki didn't choose to participate, but he had already decided to interfere with the game.

Using his telepathy, Saiki learned from Nagumo Miyabi that he had secretly marked the cards earlier in the day.

All Saiki needed to do was use his restoration ability to return the cards to their original state.

This way, Nagumo Miyabi's scheme would be completely foiled.

Moreover, since Saiki had stayed in bed the entire time, even if Nagumo Miyabi became suspicious, he would never guess that Saiki was behind it.

Everything was going according to Saiki's plan.

"What game should we play with the cards?"

"Let's keep it simple—Old Maid. The person left with the Old Maid loses."

Nagumo Miyabi said with a smile, then pulled Kiriyama Ikuto into the game.

Old Maid is a common game where each player is dealt a hand of cards. Players take turns drawing a card from the player to their left or right, trying to form pairs. The first player to get rid of all their cards wins.

"Playing in silence is boring. Let's chat while we play."

He had Yukimura Teruhiko shuffle the cards, then took them and dealt them out, saying,

"I'll deal the first round, but from the second round onward, the loser will be responsible for collecting, shuffling, and dealing the cards."

The others nodded after hearing this, though they were still somewhat restrained.

Only Koenji Rokusuke remained indifferent, continuing to sleep.

As Nagumo Miyabi dealt the cards, his smile gradually stiffened.

[Strange, where's the Old Maid?!]

Nagumo Miyabi had secretly marked the Old Maid card, something only he could recognize, ensuring his victory.

But as he dealt the cards, he couldn't find the marked card. In the blink of an eye, all the cards had been dealt.

[How is this possible...? The Old Maid is gone? I clearly marked it earlier. Did I miss it? I shouldn't make such a basic mistake.]

Nagumo Miyabi was filled with confusion but had no choice but to continue the game.

The players took turns drawing cards. As the game progressed, Hashimoto Masayoshi and Kiriyama Ikuto finished their cards and exited the game, leaving only Yukimura Teruhiko and Nagumo Miyabi.

The Old Maid was in Nagumo Miyabi's hand. He only had two cards left, meaning the final draw would determine the outcome.

Yukimura Teruhiko was nervous, knowing that the fate of the first-years' early mornings rested on his shoulders. He slowly reached out—

Toward the Old Maid.

The person left with the Old Maid loses.

Just as Yukimura Teruhiko was about to touch the Old Maid, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

'It's the one next to it.'

Yukimura Teruhiko abruptly changed his target and drew the card next to it.

The winner was decided!

The first round went to the first-years.

"Yes!"

Yukimura Teruhiko was about to celebrate but quickly restrained himself, remembering that he had just beaten the student council president.

"Not bad. How did you know which card was the Old Maid?"

Nagumo Miyabi asked with a casual smile, though his expression seemed slightly stiff.

"I didn't know which card was the Old Maid. I just had a feeling that I should pick that one."

Yukimura Teruhiko replied.

"A feeling... huh?"

Nagumo Miyabi's smile seemed to stiffen further.

'Yare yare, let me explain. I was Yukimura's "feeling." I used my telepathy to interfere while they were drawing cards.'

Saiki watched the game from afar. With his x-ray vision and clairvoyance, he could see everyone's cards from a distance.

He could easily manipulate the game's outcome.

'Since you tampered with the cards, don't blame me for playing a little trick of my own.'

Saiki narrowed his eyes, looking at Nagumo Miyabi.

Although Nagumo Miyabi appeared unfazed, Saiki could clearly hear the internal screaming in his mind.

[How is this possible? How is this possible?! My mark is gone? How could this happen?]

[There's only one explanation—someone tampered with the cards. But who? Who had the chance to touch the cards? Kiriyama? No, he doesn't have the ability. Horikita? Possibly, but when did he do it? Did he see through my plan and tamper with the cards? If he did, he'd need someone to help him... No, no, Horikita doesn't operate like that. It's impossible.]

[Damn it, damn it! What's going on? Who messed up my plan?!]

Nagumo Miyabi's mind was in turmoil. His frustration had reached its peak.

In reality, losing the game or making breakfast wasn't the most important thing to Nagumo Miyabi.

What mattered most was that someone had tampered with his plan without him noticing.

[Was it one of the first-years? This Yukimura guy? No, impossible. Saiki? He shouldn't have had the chance either. Could it be... Koenji?]

Countless thoughts raced through Nagumo Miyabi's mind. For now, Koenji Rokusuke was the most likely suspect.

He was unpredictable, often disappearing and reappearing, doing strange things. If someone had sneaked into the second-years' room to tamper with the cards, Koenji Rokusuke was the most likely candidate.

[Damn it, damn it!]

Nagumo Miyabi glanced at Koenji Rokusuke, who was still asleep, completely uninterested in the game.