'I really can't hear anything anymore. What kind of treasure have I found?'
'But why does it feel so strange? Is it because I'm so used to hearing others' thoughts? Maybe I should take it off.'
'No, no, what am I afraid of? Without telepathy, there's one place I must go—the movie theater. That's right, with this, I don't have to worry about spoilers anymore.'
Saiki Kusuo kept a smile on his face.
'When I was younger, there was a movie I really wanted to watch. But two seconds after entering the theater, someone who had already seen it spoiled it for me. Even if I went to the first screening, I'd either get spoiled by the staff or be harassed by the thoughts of other audience members... Now, without telepathy, I can finally go to the movies!'
As he thought this, Saiki Kusuo quickly made his way to the movie theater, a rare sense of anticipation bubbling up in his usually calm heart.
'Finally, I can enjoy some quiet time.'
'I really shouldn't rely too much on my powers.'
'Later, I'll...'
"Saiki-kun!"
"Huh?"
The sudden voice startled Saiki Kusuo, nearly causing his soul to leave his body.
"Saiki-kun... What's wrong? You look really surprised to see me."
Saiki Kusuo turned toward the voice and saw Ichinose Honami standing there.
'Yare yare, without my telepathy, I couldn't sense Ichinose's presence beforehand. I guess I've become too reliant on my powers.'
Normally, Saiki Kusuo could use his telepathy to know if someone he knew was nearby.
But now, with his powers blocked, hearing someone suddenly call his name had startled him.
Saiki Kusuo quickly composed himself and turned his gaze to Ichinose Honami.
'If I had my telepathy, I would've avoided this route. The most annoying thing is running into someone you know during your free time.'
'Why does Ichinose look so flustered? Is there something going on? I can't read her mind now... Maybe I should've taken off the ring earlier.'
'No, no, what am I thinking? I already told myself I can't rely too much on my powers.'
Saiki Kusuo quickly adjusted his emotions and spoke:
"No, I was just passing by."
"I see... Um, Saiki-kun, could you do me a favor?"
Ichinose Honami lowered her head, her gaze shifting nervously, occasionally glancing into the distance. Her expression looked troubled.
'Ichinose needs my help? That's rare. This is my precious free time, undisturbed by others.'
Saiki Kusuo's initial reaction was to refuse, but then he thought about recent events.
'Ichinose looks so troubled. She must be dealing with something serious. If it's something like what happened with Sakura, I can't just ignore it.'
'And even though I don't want to get involved in too much trouble, Ichinose has done a lot for our class and for Sudo. It wouldn't be right to refuse outright.'
'But what does she need from me? I really want to take off the ring—no, I can't give up now. I can't rely too much on my powers.'
As Saiki Kusuo thought this, he realized he didn't have the right to complain about Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's noisy thoughts.
"Sure, what is it?"
Saiki Kusuo agreed, thinking he could quickly help her solve the problem and still make it to the movie theater before it closed.
"I was going to message you earlier, but I didn't know how to bring it up."
Ichinose Honami's face still looked troubled.
"Here's the thing... I think... I might be getting confessed to here."
'A confession here?'
Saiki Kusuo quickly glanced around. The area was empty, as he had taken a shortcut to get to the movie theater faster without using his powers.
He hadn't expected to run into Ichinose Honami here.
'This is behind the school building. It's been a while since classes ended, so there usually aren't any students around—but judging by Ichinose's reaction, she clearly doesn't want to accept this confession and looks really uncomfortable.'
'Could it be a situation similar to Sakura's? After all, this school has all kinds of strange people.'
'If that's the case, I'll have to deal with them somehow. What power should I use to teach them a lesson?'
"Here's the thing... I don't know how to reject someone without hurting their feelings... I searched online for a while and found a somewhat reliable method."
Ichinose Honami spoke seriously, holding a love letter in her hands.
'So she just doesn't know how to reject someone... Wait, I have a bad feeling about this.'
Saiki Kusuo immediately sensed something was off.
'This isn't going to be one of those cliché scenarios from third-rate novels or anime, is it...?'
"I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend..."
"I refuse."
Saiki Kusuo didn't hesitate for even a second before rejecting her.
Being Ichinose Honami's boyfriend, even just pretending, would be an irresistible temptation for many boys—
But Saiki Kusuo knew very well that for him, it would be a bottomless pit of trouble.
'Yare yare, if I agree to her request, once word gets out, the consequences would be unimaginable. Not only would I attract everyone's attention, but I might also become the target of some people's deep-seated hatred.'
Saiki Kusuo could almost hear voices in his head saying, 'Kill him.'
"Ichinose... who is he?"
Just then, a voice came from behind them.
The owner of the voice was Chihiro Shiranami.