'First, I'll expose all your online comments, then reveal your inner thoughts to everyone around you, so they know exactly what kind of person you are.'
Saiki Kusuo's lips curled into a slight smile as he gave the clerk a meaningful look.
'Not only that, but from now on, you'll step in dog poop every day, your toilet paper will tear, you'll choke on your food, and you'll have nightmares every night...'
[I feel like... something just changed about Saiki...]
'This intuition is scarily sharp. Is this what they call the sixth sense?'
Hearing Sakura Airi's thoughts, Saiki Kusuo immediately shifted his gaze away from the clerk to avoid letting Sakura Airi notice too much.
"Since everything's settled, let's head back!"
Kushida Kikyo said, leading Saiki Kusuo and Sakura Airi out of the electronics store and back to the square.
"Now that the camera's fixed, I'll head out first! Let me know if you need anything later! Don't forget we have class this afternoon!"
Kushida Kikyo waved at the two, seemingly having something to do, and left the group. Saiki Kusuo also prepared to leave.
"Um... please wait a moment... Saiki-kun..."
Just as Saiki Kusuo was about to leave, Sakura Airi suddenly spoke up, stopping him.
Saiki Kusuo turned around, his gaze falling on Sakura Airi. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Sakura Airi nervously looked away, her eyes fixed on the ground.
[I should... I should thank Saiki-kun... His name is Saiki, right? I must express my gratitude...]
Sakura Airi thought to herself, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything for a long time.
'This is too much for her. Let's just forget it.'
Before Saiki Kusuo could finish his thought, Sakura Airi mustered all the courage she had, which wasn't much, and spoke in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible:
"Th-thank you... Saiki... Saiki-kun!"
If it were an ordinary person, they probably wouldn't have heard what Sakura Airi just said—but Saiki Kusuo, being a psychic, naturally could.
"You're welcome."
"Um... about Sudo-kun... I did see what happened... I'm really sorry... I didn't have the courage to speak up earlier... I saw the whole thing... It was the guys from Class D who provoked Sudo-kun first..."
"It's fine. If you don't want to testify in court, that's okay."
Saiki Kusuo said calmly. If Sakura Airi didn't want to testify, he wouldn't force her. After all, Saiki Kusuo already had his own plan in mind.
"About that... I... I'm not ready yet."
"Don't push yourself too hard."
Saiki Kusuo gave a brief response.
At this moment, it might have been better to say something encouraging, but Saiki Kusuo wasn't the type to say such things in this situation. He also didn't want to get too involved with the people around him.
After chatting for a bit, Saiki Kusuo left the square, while Sakura Airi watched his retreating figure from a distance.
[I feel like... Saiki-kun is special... but I can't quite figure out what makes him special...]
Sakura Airi thought to herself, but because of the distance, Saiki Kusuo didn't hear her.
...
Meanwhile, in a private room at the school's KTV.
"I'm sure Class D is in complete chaos right now."
Ryuen Kakeru leaned against a girl with a pretty face, a smug smile on his lips.
Sending a classmate to frame Sudo Ken was part of his plan.
Earlier, he had sent Yamawaki to test the waters, but it didn't work out. Still, it didn't matter much to the overall plan.
"Fighting in this school is no small matter. Even if he doesn't get expelled, Sudo Ken will at least be suspended for over a month. It might even affect their class points, and their class could end up in internal conflict."
Ryuen Kakeru's smile grew even wider, as if he had already won.
...
After school in the afternoon, Saiki Kusuo left the classroom and headed to the school's package pickup point.
Although the school had almost everything you could want, it wasn't possible to provide every single item.
So, the school also offered an online shopping service. Students could use the school's dedicated shopping website to buy items not available on campus—even items not listed could be specially ordered through customer service.
Of course, all of this required points.
At the start of the school year, Saiki Kusuo hadn't used the school's online shopping site, as he generally didn't have any special wants.
But not long ago, while browsing the site out of boredom, he discovered that you could also buy some experimental equipment, which gave him an idea.
Buying germanium products.
Although his telepathy allowed Saiki Kusuo to know others' thoughts, the trouble it caused him far outweighed the benefits.
Telepathy was uncontrollable, forcing Saiki Kusuo to live in a noisy environment every day, and it also robbed him of many joys in life.
No surprises in life, getting spoiled by passersby while watching movies... For Saiki Kusuo, this was an absolute disaster.
But there was a way to block out others' thoughts: germanium.
He had discovered this by accident. Although he didn't understand the principle, as long as he had germanium on him, he could block out others' thoughts, allowing Saiki Kusuo to enjoy a bit of normal life.
Saiki Kusuo had previously ordered a germanium ring from the shopping site, and it had finally arrived that afternoon.
Saiki Kusuo eagerly picked up the ring from the pickup point and immediately put it on—
Almost instantly, the world fell silent. All the thoughts were gone!
'Amazing, amazing!'
Saiki Kusuo couldn't help but smile.