The birthday party, overall, ended successfully.
Aside from Kushida Kikyo and Yamauchi Haruki, the others were at least genuinely trying to give Saiki a surprise.
"Well, Saiki-kun, we'll be heading out now."
Hirata Yosuke stood at the door of the room, speaking to Saiki.
Sudou Ken and Ike Kanji had already left, but Hirata Yosuke and Sakura Airi had stayed behind to help Saiki clean up the room.
"Yeah."
"Saiki-kun, if you ever run into any trouble, please let me know."
Hirata Yosuke patted Saiki on the shoulder, looking at him with a deeply concerned expression.
[Saiki-kun might have been bullied in the past, which is why he's so quiet. But even so, he's still contributing to the class in his own way. I feel like I can't compare to him...]
'Please stop making assumptions.'
Saiki felt a bit helpless in his heart.
"Sakura-san, aren't you leaving?"
"Um... I... I'll just help clean up a bit more..."
Sakura Airi stammered her response, but she managed to convey her intention to stay a little longer.
"Then I'll head out first."
Hirata Yosuke gave a meaningful smile and then left the room.
"Um..."
After Hirata Yosuke left, Sakura Airi quickly approached Saiki. She reached into her bag, fumbling nervously for a moment before pulling out a small instant camera.
Though it looked small, it was quite elegantly designed and must have cost Sakura Airi a significant number of points.
"Um... I didn't know what you liked, Kusuo-kun... so... I... I just bought this..."
For Sakura Airi, this was her first time giving a gift to someone, especially to a boy, which made her incredibly nervous.
[I just feel... feel like... I should give my gift separately... I don't know why... but it feels better this way... I wonder if Kusuo-kun will like it... What if he doesn't?]
At this moment, Sakura Airi's mind was racing, trying to think of something else to say, but all that came out of her mouth was, "Happy birthday."
"Thank you."
Saiki took the gift from Sakura Airi and nodded at her.
"Um... Kusuo-kun... in a few days..."
[Kusuo-kun... are you free in the next few days? Could you go on a date with me...?]
In Sakura Airi's heart, she was practically shouting these words, but at this moment, she couldn't muster the courage to say them out loud.
Even though she had practiced many times before.
"...Could you..."
Just as Sakura Airi was about to make some progress, there was a sudden, urgent knock at the door. This completely shattered the words she had been preparing for days, and she quickly went to open the door.
Standing there was Karuizawa Kei.
"Karuizawa-san?"
"Sakura?"
Both of their faces showed surprise. Clearly, neither of them had expected the other to be here at this time.
[Karuizawa-san... why is she here to see Saiki now... Could it be...?]
[Why is Sakura here? Everyone knows she has feelings for Saiki, but she stayed here alone?]
"Um... Saiki-kun... I... I'll be heading out now..."
As she spoke, Sakura Airi quickly left Saiki's room, almost as if she were running away.
"Why was Sakura here? Did she say something to you just now?"
Karuizawa Kei leaned forward slightly, her gaze becoming serious, as if she were a girlfriend checking up on her boyfriend.
'Hey, hey, this isn't any of your business, and why are you so concerned about this?'
Though Saiki thought this in his heart, he still said:
"She just gave me a gift and wished me a happy birthday."
"Really? Sakura-san seems to pay a lot of attention to you, doesn't she?"
"I don't feel that way."
"I can't tell if you're just dense or pretending not to notice."
Karuizawa Kei pursed her lips, then took out a small, exquisite box from her bag.
"Here, this is your gift!"
Saiki took the gift from Karuizawa Kei. It seemed to be a custom-made bracelet.
"It doesn't look like it's made of germanium, just a regular accessory, but it probably wasn't cheap."
Saiki thought to himself.
"If you're grateful, you'll have to repay me a hundred times over!"
Karuizawa Kei lifted her chin slightly, smiling as she spoke.
After their relationship had grown closer—at least from her side—Karuizawa Kei's attitude toward Saiki had changed quite a bit from before.
'I really don't want to deal with such troublesome things.'
"Yeah."
Though his thoughts were completely different, Saiki still nodded perfunctorily, but he used his powers to check Karuizawa Kei's phone and saw her birthday was still a long way off.
"Are you free in a few days? I heard there's a new fortune-telling shop on campus, and it's supposed to be really accurate!"
"Probably not."
Saiki answered almost without hesitation.
"I already promised Sudou and Ike that I'd go swimming with them at the pool, so I don't think I'll have time."
'This is the best excuse, and it shifts the blame onto Sudou and the others.'
Saiki thought to himself.
During the earlier gathering, Sudou Ken and Ike Kanji had mentioned this, saying they planned to go to the pool during the break. The pool was open to students during the summer, and they had agreed to go together, even Sotomura Hideo had joined in.
Of course, Saiki knew their intentions weren't pure. Their goal was to secretly film the girls changing clothes, but since their tiny cameras hadn't arrived yet, they couldn't carry out their plan for now.
Saiki definitely wouldn't participate in such a thing, but he could at least use it as an excuse to avoid Karuizawa Kei.
"Oh, Ike already asked me about that."
Karuizawa Kei immediately responded.
"Huh?"
"Ike also invited me to the pool, but he said it would be at the end of the month. These next few days should be fine, right?"
Karuizawa Kei's face was bright with a smile, as if everything was under her control.
'Even though it wasn't intentional, I've been outmaneuvered.'
Saiki felt a bit helpless, but since his excuse didn't hold up, he had no choice but to agree.
"Alright then."
"Great! I'll call you later!"
Karuizawa Kei nodded vigorously.
"Here, happy birthday! You have to wear the gift I gave you, okay?"
"Yeah, thanks."
...
Before he knew it, a few more days had passed.
Saiki spent most of these days in his dorm, passing the time alone, occasionally teleporting home to change up his meals.
He also noticed that more and more people in the class group chat were discussing fortune-telling.
Kushida Kikyo: There's a new fortune-telling shop on campus, and it's really popular! They can tell you about love, career, and more!
Ike Kanji: It's supposed to be super accurate!
'Yare yare, as soon as Kushida says something, Ike is always the first to reply.'
At this moment, Saiki was lying in bed, scrolling through his phone.
Sudou Ken: Fortune-telling? I'm kind of interested.
"Even you're interested in fortune-telling?"
Saiki frowned. Several girls in the class had already tried it, and they all said it was accurate.
For Saiki, of course, he didn't believe in such things. In a way, he also had a form of fortune-telling—precognition. However, this ability was uncontrollable, and he could only get a general sense of the future, not specific details.
"Usually, fortune-tellers just say vague things to make people feel validated, but there are still plenty of people who fall for it. I didn't expect such a shop to pop up on campus."
Saiki muttered to himself.
Just then, his phone rang. The caller was Karuizawa Kei.
"Saiki, where are you? I'm at your dorm door, open up!"
Karuizawa Kei's cheerful voice came through the phone.
'You ask where I am, but you're already at my door?'
Saiki sighed. His telepathy also sensed Karuizawa Kei's presence, so he opened the door.
Karuizawa Kei was wearing a prettier outfit today, making her look even more cute and lively.
"Let's go, Saiki! Everyone in the class group is talking about the fortune-telling shop. Let's go check it out!"
As she spoke, Karuizawa Kei leaned slightly toward Saiki—
But Saiki instinctively moved back half a meter at a speed beyond human perception, causing Karuizawa Kei to almost lose her balance and fall.
"Ah!"
Karuizawa Kei barely managed to steady herself and turned to look at Saiki.
[Wasn't Saiki just next to me? Did I imagine it?]
"Let's go."
Saiki said slowly, just wanting to get today over with and return to his dorm.
Just then, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka happened to be coming out of his room.
[Karuizawa and Saiki? It seems Karuizawa is completely under Saiki's control now.]
'What are you thinking about all day?'
[A few days ago, Sudou asked me to invite Horikita to go fortune-telling, but she refused without hesitation. I'm a bit interested in fortune-telling myself.]
[But there were too many people in line that day, and I ran into Ibuki. Since fortune-telling requires two people, and she didn't seem interested in teaming up with me, I had to come back.]
[Today, I thought I'd try my luck, but I ran into Saiki. Did he suggest this, or was it Karuizawa's idea?]
'You're interested in fortune-telling? And you've already gone once? Has your character changed?'
Saiki inwardly complained, realizing that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka would be joining them.
"We're going too!"
Karuizawa Kei loudly announced their plans, as if making some kind of statement.
"Then let's go together."
...
Soon, Saiki and the others arrived at the school's shopping area. As soon as they reached the floor where the fortune-telling shop was located, they saw a long line of people. The crowded hallway was completely packed.
'Wait, there shouldn't be this many students in the school, right?'
'And it's just fortune-telling. Do you really need to bring so many people?'
Saiki inwardly complained.
He hated crowded places the most because all the noise would flood into his mind, making it impossible to discern who was around him.
"There are too many people..."
Saiki planned to use this as an excuse to dissuade Karuizawa Kei, as she didn't strike him as a particularly patient person.
"It's fine, we'll just wait!"
Karuizawa Kei smiled and nodded, pulling Saiki into the line.
Meanwhile, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seemed to have run into Ibuki Mio again. What a strange coincidence, but this time they seemed to have successfully teamed up.
[I've heard that fortune-telling here requires two people. If Saiki and I go together... it's almost like we're a couple.]
'Sigh.'
Saiki sighed inwardly. Of course, he didn't want to participate in this, but since he had no excuse to refuse, he had no choice but to go along.
Just then, his phone vibrated twice.
He took it out and saw two messages that had arrived almost simultaneously.
Sakura Airi: Kusuo-kun, are you free? I want to go to the fortune-telling shop on campus... but it seems you need two people... I didn't know who else to invite, so I thought of you. If you're busy, it's okay...
Shiina Hiyori: Saiki-kun, are you interested in fortune-telling?
'Yare yare, is this really such a coincidence in this world? As long as they don't show up here, it should be fine.'
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought to himself.