Saiki Kusuo's Classroom of the Elite

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka lay on his bed, silently observing the game unfolding beside him.

[Nagumo didn't come here just to bond, did he? He must have some ulterior motive... If it's him, he's probably tampered with the cards.]

[However, Nagumo's smile seems a bit off—it doesn't look like he's genuinely happy... Did something unexpected happen?]

[The second-years lost the first round. Did he lose on purpose to make the first-years let their guard down?]

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka silently pondered these thoughts.

"I lost the first round."

Nagumo Miyabi said with a smile, then picked up the cards and began shuffling them. Since he had already agreed to the game with the first-years, he had no choice but to continue.

However, Nagumo Miyabi hadn't forgotten his other objective—to test these first-year students.

He was particularly eager to find out who had tampered with his cards.

"By the way, how was your first day of classes, first-years?"

As the loser, Nagumo Miyabi began shuffling the cards while casually asking.

"It was exhausting..."

Yukimura Teruhiko sighed.

"But it seems like quite a few of you first-years can handle this high-intensity training."

Nagumo Miyabi said with a smile, deliberately turning to look at the others.

"Like Koenji, for example. He seems to be handling it just fine, right?"

"That's because he was practically walking during the second half..."

Yukimura Teruhiko muttered softly.

"But Koenji does train regularly. Even if it's a long-distance run, it shouldn't be too difficult for him."

Although Yukimura Teruhiko didn't particularly like Koenji Rokusuke, he had to admit the other's talent.

"Oh? He trains regularly? Our schedule should be pretty tight, right? When does Koenji usually train?"

"Probably during the day and before bed. This morning, Koenji had already gone out for a run and returned before 6 AM."

Yukimura Teruhiko explained.

"I see."

Nagumo Miyabi narrowed his eyes slightly.

[If that's the case, then it all makes sense. Koenji could have sneaked into our second-year room and tampered with the cards while we were away.]

He dealt the cards again and began the second round...

A few minutes later, Nagumo Miyabi lost again after drawing the Old Maid.

"Ah, it seems my luck isn't great today."

Nagumo Miyabi shook his head with a smile, though his frustration had reached its peak.

Even though the mark he had secretly made was gone, this game was still largely based on luck. The probability of losing two rounds in a row wasn't high.

Out of four rounds, he had already lost two. This meant the burden of making breakfast for the second-years couldn't be reduced—at best, it would remain the same as originally planned. In fact, because of this game, the second-years might end up doing even more work.

[What is Nagumo doing?]

Kiriyama Ikuto, standing nearby, turned to look at Nagumo Miyabi, his eyes filled with confusion. He didn't know what Nagumo's goal was.

[Did Nagumo lose on purpose? Even if he wins the next two rounds, it won't matter.]

In Kiriyama Ikuto's mind, Nagumo Miyabi definitely had some purpose for coming here, but now he had lost two rounds in a row.

Kiriyama Ikuto's mind raced as he tried to figure out why Nagumo might be doing this.

He would never guess that everything happening now was completely unexpected for Nagumo Miyabi.

[Damn it, I can't let these first-years get too cocky!]

"I lost again. I'll keep shuffling, then."

Nagumo Miyabi continued, secretly holding the Old Maid in his hand. While the others weren't looking, he subtly bent a corner of the card to create a new mark.

[This should work. They shouldn't notice this.]

Nagumo Miyabi then straightened the card again, making it appear normal to everyone else. Only he would know about the tiny crease he had made.

'Yare yare, trying to pull another trick, huh?'

Saiki carefully observed Nagumo Miyabi's actions. After confirming he had made a noticeable crease, Nagumo continued shuffling and then dealt the cards in order.

The marked Old Maid ended up in his own hand.

[It's me? Well, it doesn't matter who holds the Old Maid at the start. It'll just be drawn by someone else early in the game.]

Nagumo Miyabi thought to himself, then continued playing.

What he didn't know was that he had been dealt the Old Maid again because of Saiki's interference. Saiki had subtly used his powers to change the order of the cards. After all, his restoration ability could only be used once per day on the same object, and if the newly made mark disappeared, Nagumo would surely become suspicious.

So, Saiki simply altered the order of the cards.

As long as the Old Maid was in Nagumo Miyabi's hand, even if he knew about the mark, he would still lose if no one else drew it.

Saiki then activated his telepathy...

Soon, the number of cards in each player's hand dwindled, and Nagumo Miyabi's brow began to sweat slightly.

The Old Maid had remained in his hand the entire time, never being drawn by anyone else.

[How is this possible...? Why hasn't anyone drawn the Old Maid? Did they find the mark? Impossible. And the mark is covered by my fingers—how could they have noticed? Is it just pure luck?]

Nagumo Miyabi couldn't comprehend what was happening.

As Hashimoto Masayoshi drew the last card, the Old Maid remained in Nagumo Miyabi's hand. The first-years had won their third round.

This meant the first-years would only have to wake up early to make breakfast once at most.

[Yes!]

Seeing Hashimoto Masayoshi win, the first-years watching from the sidelines cheered inwardly.

"President Nagumo? Even though it's just a game, shouldn't we seniors at least try not to lose so much?"

Kiriyama Ikuto was somewhat dissatisfied. Although he was actually at odds with Nagumo Miyabi, this meant he would have to wake up early to make breakfast.

But at that moment, Nagumo Miyabi glanced at Kiriyama Ikuto out of the corner of his eye, his gaze sharp and filled with a hint of killing intent.

Kiriyama Ikuto immediately averted his gaze and pursed his lips.

"The first-years are quite lucky."

Aside from Kiriyama Ikuto, no one else noticed the change in Nagumo Miyabi's expression.

At the same time, Koenji Rokusuke, who had been sleeping, suddenly sat up.

"President Nagumo."

"What is it, Koenji? Are you finally interested in joining?"

"I've become a bit curious. How do you think the final round will turn out?"

Koenji Rokusuke said with a smile.

"For some reason, it feels like the current situation isn't what you expected, President Nagumo?"

Koenji Rokusuke had keenly noticed the abnormality in the situation. Nagumo Miyabi wouldn't have

come here just to lose repeatedly.

"What I expected? I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean. I'm just here to bond with my juniors."

Nagumo Miyabi said with a smile, though inwardly, he grew more wary of Koenji Rokusuke.

"Theoretically, even in a game, seniors should have an advantage in experience, right? But that doesn't seem to be the case here. President Nagumo, did something unusual happen?"

"It's just bad luck."

Nagumo Miyabi replied.

If Koenji Rokusuke had tampered with the cards, then the crease he had just made shouldn't have been noticed. From the Old Maid being dealt to him to no one else drawing it, none of this had anything to do with Koenji Rokusuke.

The only explanation was luck.

After hearing Nagumo Miyabi's words, Koenji Rokusuke smiled slightly, satisfied, and lay back down.

[Is it really just a coincidence?]

Nagumo Miyabi was still puzzled but had no choice but to continue shuffling and dealing the cards.

This time, the Old Maid was about to be dealt to him again.

However, Nagumo Miyabi didn't deal it directly. Instead, he quickly concealed the Old Maid in his palm and dealt the next card to himself, silently passing the Old Maid to Yukimura Teruhiko, who was next in line.

'Yare yare, a magician now?'

Saiki thought to himself.

Almost no one in the room noticed Nagumo Miyabi's sleight of hand—only Saiki saw it clearly.

By dealing the Old Maid to someone else, Nagumo could avoid the possibility of it staying in his hand the entire time. He could track its location through the subtle crease on the back.

As long as he didn't draw the Old Maid, his chances of winning were high.

That was Nagumo Miyabi's plan.

However, he overlooked one possibility—Kiriyama Ikuto.

Although Nagumo Miyabi knew the Old Maid's location, Kiriyama Ikuto did not.

Even so, the second-years still held a significant advantage.

Of course, this was assuming no psychic interference.

As the number of cards in each player's hand decreased, the Old Maid was transferred to Hashimoto Masayoshi.

[With this, the chances of winning should be pretty high.]

Nagumo Miyabi thought to himself. Soon, he and Yukimura Teruhiko both ran out of cards and exited the game, leaving only Kiriyama Ikuto and Hashimoto Masayoshi.

Nagumo Miyabi had hoped to stay in the game as long as possible to increase his chances of winning.

However, he hadn't expected to pair up his cards so quickly, leaving him with no choice but to exit early. Although he knew the Old Maid's location, he couldn't predict the other cards.

A few minutes later, the final draw that would decide the outcome was about to take place, and it was Kiriyama Ikuto's turn.

He nervously swallowed and glanced at Nagumo Miyabi before reaching out—directly toward the Old Maid.

"Kiriyama."

At that moment, Nagumo Miyabi quickly spoke up. He wanted to warn Kiriyama Ikuto but couldn't be too obvious.

"Before making a choice, I hope you'll think carefully. Make your decision after careful consideration!"

"I..."

After hearing Nagumo Miyabi's words, Kiriyama Ikuto's outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

[Why did President Nagumo suddenly say that...? Is he hinting at something? Telling me which card is the Old Maid?]

Kiriyama Ikuto was well aware that Nagumo Miyabi wouldn't say something like this without reason.

But just as he was about to change his mind, a thought suddenly surfaced.

'You're the student council vice president and Nagumo's rival. Do you really have to follow his every instruction? Maybe he's trying to embarrass you.'

[That's right. Maybe Nagumo is doing this on purpose. And even if I lose, it's not my responsibility—it's Nagumo's!]

Kiriyama Ikuto thought to himself, then proceeded with his original plan, drawing the card.

The Old Maid!

The first-years had won again—four victories in a row!

This meant the first-years wouldn't have to wake up early to make breakfast at all. The responsibility would fall entirely on the second-years, saving the first-years a lot of trouble.

"Yes!"

Ishizaki Daichi let out a cheer, while the other first-years, though equally thrilled, kept their excitement more subdued.

Nagumo Miyabi turned to look at Kiriyama Ikuto, his face still smiling, but he said nothing.

After a few seconds, he slowly raised his hands and began to clap.

"You first-years are really impressive. We'll honor our bet. We'll handle breakfast for the next two days!"

Although he said this, Nagumo Miyabi's anger had reached its limit.

[Why, why, why is this happening?! I wanted to shift some of the workload onto the first-years, but now we're even busier?! Damn it, damn it, damn it!]

Despite his inner frustration, Nagumo Miyabi hid it all, forcing a smile.

"Thank you so much, President Nagumo!"

Yukimura Teruhiko hadn't noticed any of the hidden intricacies of today's game.

Just then, there was another knock at the door.

"Nagumo, what are you doing here?"

The newcomer was none other than Horikita Manabu.