'Horikita... Horikita Suzune? That name sounds familiar. She's in Class D, but it doesn't matter. I don't want to get too involved with these people. As for Kushida's true nature, it seems like one more person knows about it now. But that has nothing to do with me.'
As he thought this, Saiki Kusuo finished his desserts and prepared to leave.
'I have to admit, these sweets are amazing. Even though they're all coffee jelly, each one has a unique flavor and texture. Should I speed up my digestion to eat a few more...'
Just as Saiki Kusuo was about to leave, Kushida Kikyo turned her gaze toward him.
"Saiki-kun, could you do me a favor?"
'You want to use me to help you talk to Horikita Suzune, don't you? I already know your thoughts through telepathy. But you've picked the wrong person. I'm not good at handling interpersonal relationships, and I'm not even familiar with Horikita Suzune. We haven't even spoken a single word. You know I'd fail, so your real goal is just to get closer to me. Sorry, but I'm not interested.'
Saiki Kusuo was about to refuse when Kushida added:
"If you succeed, I'll treat you to dessert!"
"Deal."
...
After leaving the cafeteria, Saiki Kusuo quickly made his way to the school store.
Although he hadn't interacted with Horikita Suzune before, he remembered her voice. The school's population was smaller than that of a typical high school, so using his telepathy, he quickly located her.
'Yare yare, I'll play along for the sake of coffee jelly.'
'It's the first day of school, so all the new students should be buying daily necessities.'
'Even though I can go home anytime, if I don't buy anything, it might raise suspicions. I'll use shopping as an excuse to approach Horikita.'
As Saiki Kusuo thought this, he entered the school store. At the same time, the thoughts of other students flooded his mind.
[I'm out of points this month... I'll have to rely on the free supplies...]
[All I get are free vegetables... I'm always hungry...]
[I'm so jealous of Class A. There's no way our Class D can compete with those monsters...]
'Most of these are upperclassmen from Class D, huh? There's no such thing as a free lunch. They must have lost all their points due to poor evaluations and are now relying on free supplies to survive. What a unique school.'
Saiki Kusuo's eyes quickly scanned the crowd.
'To be safe, I shouldn't waste my points carelessly. Things like game consoles, clothes, and laptops are unnecessary. I can go home anytime, so I don't need them. Even though this is a school, there are too many items here that have nothing to do with studying. Selling game consoles in a school store is a bit ridiculous. If I were to buy those things, 100,000 points wouldn't be enough.'
'The school is trying to equate points with student ability, using material incentives to promote growth. But I'm not interested in these things. I can play games at home, and the same goes for laptops. Aside from buying desserts, these 100,000 points seem pretty useless to me...'
'Wait... a jelly maker?!'
Saiki Kusuo's eyes were instantly drawn to a particular item in the store.
...
In less than a minute, Saiki Kusuo had completed his purchase and was cradling the jelly maker like a treasure.
'Yare yare, this school is amazing. I can't believe I found such a gem. It can make multiple flavors, comes with different molds, and has an ultra-long battery life...'
'Compared to other devices, this jelly maker is a steal. It only cost me 40,000 points!'
'I'll try making my own jelly tonight!'
A slight smile appeared on Saiki Kusuo's face as his steps became lighter.
"Oh, it's Saiki."
At that moment, a somewhat lazy voice sounded beside him.
Saiki Kusuo turned to see a boy of average height with a relatively handsome face. However, his eyes looked somewhat hollow, and his entire demeanor was listless.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Saiki Kusuo remembered his name.
After all, his thoughts were particularly noisy.
[Saiki Kusuo... Judging by his clothes, he's from an ordinary family. His behavior is average, and he doesn't stand out much in class. That's similar to me. Is he hiding something too? I can't gather much information about him yet.]
'Hey, hey, are you a detective? Normal people don't think like this when they meet a classmate.'
[Could he be a student from the White Room? No, if that man had the ability to infiltrate this school, he would've tried to stop me during enrollment. Clearly, his influence hasn't reached this school yet.]
'He's been muttering about the White Room all day. I'm a bit curious about that term.'
[For now, he's most likely just an ordinary high school student. How should I interact with someone like this? I'm still not great at socializing.]
'What a strange guy. And your inner monologue is way too long. If this were a novel, you'd probably take up half a chapter.'
Saiki Kusuo internally complained.
Through telepathy, he learned that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had a somewhat unusual background. He wanted to hide his abilities and past, and he seemed unable to understand ordinary people's emotions. In that sense, he and Saiki Kusuo were somewhat similar.
However, Saiki Kusuo wasn't interested in Ayanokoji. No matter how special he was, he was still just an ordinary person.