'Oh right, I almost forgot about this. It's probably Ryūen's doing.'
The moment Saiki heard this, he immediately reached a conclusion.
He had already known what Ryūen was planning, but since Ryūen hadn't acted yet and it didn't affect him, Saiki had temporarily pushed the matter aside.
"That was self-defense!"
Upon hearing Chabashira's words, Sudo jumped up, loudly explaining,
"They started it! They were jealous that I became a starter and came to provoke us!"
"It would be easier if there were witnesses."
Chabashira narrowed her eyes slightly, as if she had anticipated Sudo's reaction.
"Tch..."
Sudo tried to say something but ended up silent.
"Damn it... there was no one around at the time!"
Sudo was frustrated, racking his brain to recall what had happened yesterday.
Using his telepathy, Saiki learned the general situation from Sudo's mind. There might be some bias due to personal feelings, but Saiki knew Sudo wasn't the type to start fights easily. Still, Ryūen seemed to have exploited his temper.
"Everyone! Did anyone see the whole incident?"
At that moment, Kushida stood up from her seat, acting as if she deeply cared about Sudo.
"This must be Ryūen's tactic."
"Getting Sudo expelled would put our class in crisis—a perfect gift for Ryūen. Then I can use Ryūen's hand to eliminate Horikita later."
"Of course, Ryūen knows this too."
Kushida thought to herself.
Saiki could easily broadcast Kushida's thoughts to the class, revealing the truth, but that would likely cause even greater chaos.
Kushida's middle school class had apparently collapsed for similar reasons.
After Kushida spoke, the classroom fell silent.
But in Saiki's ears, it was noisy.
"Sudo? Feels like something he'd do."
"Definitely Sudo's fault!"
"Why didn't he drop out during midterms? Now we've lost points this month!"
Though no one spoke aloud, Saiki heard their thoughts clearly.
Since Sudo wasn't well-liked and had a bad temper, everyone assumed he was guilty.
'Legally, you're innocent until proven guilty, but here, it's reversed—Sudo has to prove he didn't start the fight to avoid blame.'
'Even if there's a witness, it won't help. They're classmates, and there's no solid evidence. Ryūen probably picked a spot with no other witnesses.'
'Hmm, a bit tricky. The easiest way is to later transmit the thoughts of those involved directly into others' minds. It'll be messy, but Sudo's not a bad guy, just dumb and hot-headed.'
Saiki knew that fighting at this school meant expulsion.
As he thought, he picked up a unfamiliar voice.
"Sudo... is innocent... I saw everything... and recorded it..."
'Huh?'
Saiki was surprised, instinctively looking toward the source.
It was a girl with long red hair. Her glasses didn't hide her beauty, and her curvaceous figure rested on the desk.
'What's her name again?'
Before his X-ray vision could penetrate her skin, Saiki finally recalled her name.
Sakura Airi.
She was practically invisible in class, rarely interacting with others. Saiki had never spoken to her, so he hadn't recognized her at first.
'A witness? Seems legit, but why not speak up?'
Saiki wondered why Airi wasn't revealing the truth.
"If I speak up... I'll draw attention... and my part-time job as an online idol will be exposed... I can't..."
'Another social recluse?'
Saiki thought. This school seemed full of them.
'Letting that idiot get expelled would be sad. If Airi provides evidence...'
As Saiki pondered, Ayanokōji's thoughts surfaced in his mind.
"When 'witness' was mentioned, Airi's expression and movements changed noticeably."
'You noticed that too?'
"She might know something, but I won't approach her yet."
'Maybe Ayanokōji can handle this.'
"Saiki glanced at Airi just now. Did he notice her reaction too?"
'Honestly, no. I used my powers to hear her.'
"You should just drop out, Red-hair."
Meanwhile, a light, mocking voice sounded beside Sudo.
Golden hair, mixed-race features—Saiki remembered his name: Kōenji Rokusuke. Top of Saiki's 'People I Never Want to Interact With' list.