Welcome to the Classroom of Espers (Classroom of the Elite x The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.)

Chapter 11: Surviving the Midterm Exams

After witnessing the quarrel between the Horikita siblings, the next morning I was waiting for someone in front of the dormitory.

I thought standing around like this from early in the morning might make me stand out, but there were also other students waiting for friends, or loitering under the pretense of “coincidentally” meeting their classmates, so there was no need to hide myself.

Besides, it was still a little early, and there weren’t many students around, so I didn’t need to worry too much.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Saiki-kun.”

After waiting for a short while, Ichinose Honami—already dressed neatly in her uniform—appeared.

“Sorry, did I make you wait long?”

I shook my head.

If anything, I felt guilty for sending her a message so late at night in the first place.

“You wrote in your message that you wanted to talk about the test—what’s the matter?”

We should talk about that while walking.

Standing around here would be fine too, but more students would start coming out sooner or later.

It would be troublesome if people saw me together with Ichinose-san and started trying to pick on me.

“Ah, you’re right.”

At my suggestion, we left the dorm.

“So… what about the test?”

(I thought Saiki-kun wasn’t the type to worry about that sort of thing… Did something happen?)

I could have explained everything in the message yesterday, but sending it at that hour would have turned into a long conversation and delayed our sleep.

Besides, if it’s in writing, there’s a trace left behind.

“Huh? Your phone? I just need to look at this?”

(What could it be…)

I had already typed out the details in a memo app, so I handed her my device to read.

“Umm… (Yesterday, a kind senpai gave me this year’s midterm exam questions and answers… huh— wait, WHAT!) Ehh!? The questions and answers!?”

She was loud.

I didn’t think it was something worth that much surprise, but on second thought, openly admitting to having the actual questions and answers to a school test was bound to shock someone.

“S-sorry… but, is this really okay…?”

(Isn’t this basically cheating? If they found out, we could lose class points, or worse, get suspended—or even expelled… But why would a senpai even have something like this…)

Her worries were unnecessary.

These questions and answers were from the year before last, and even the copies I’d reproduced showed dates from last year’s test.

Both second- and third-year students had taken the same tests at this stage of their first year. On top of that, I’d also received copies of a quiz with the last three problems being university-entrance-exam level.

“Even the quiz? Ah… (you’re right, it’s the exact same as the one we just had.)”

When I showed her the past papers I’d gotten from Horikita-senpai, Ichinose-san’s face shifted from surprise to understanding.

“A kind senpai, huh… (Who could it be? And why would they give it to Saiki-kun? Did he have a close acquaintance before enrolling here? …I guess I shouldn’t ask.) No, never mind, sorry.”

I was relieved she didn’t pry.

It was true that a kind senpai had given them to me, but telling her that person was the student council president felt… inappropriate.

It was also hard to explain that the reason I wanted to test them out myself was because I had inadvertently reproduced the exams through psychometry and felt compelled to confirm whether they were real.

“So then, why are you giving me these past exams? (Should I hand them out to everyone in Class B? But if that were the case, Saiki-kun could do that himself…)”

No, that wouldn’t work.

If it became known that I’d gotten the past exams from a senpai, then some of my classmates—or even several of them—might start relying on me and Horikita-senpai.

Horikita-senpai might be fine saying “please rely on me,” but I’d have to say “no.”

Besides, I don’t think Class B needs them anyway.

“You mean for Class D?”

Yeah. From what I’ve heard, they might actually have students expelled this month for having zero points.

If they got their hands on these, Class D would benefit, and either Class B—or even Ichinose-san herself—could use it as a way to gain their gratitude.

“Why don’t you give them to Class D yourself, Saiki-kun?”

I may know a few of their students one-sidedly, but they don’t know me.

You, on the other hand, must have acquaintances in Class D.

And honestly, I’m not suited to this kind of transaction.

Ah, but—please don’t take any points for it.

“Huh, for free?”

I got them for free too.

Whether you pass them along as paper copies or data, that’s up to you.

In fact, I’ll leave the timing, the method, and even who exactly you give them to—all of it—to you.

“(I still think Saiki-kun could hand them over himself though…) Alright. Forget Class A—but what about Class C?”

(If possible, I’d rather not get involved with them right now… and besides, I don’t think he’d feel any sense of obligation or gratitude from it.)

I wouldn’t mind if she gave them to Class C too, but Ichinose-san seemed to have her own reasons for disliking the idea.

I decided to leave that to her discretion as well, but I did hope she would at least pass them to Class D.

“(He’s really insistent about Class D…) Can I at least ask why?”

As I said earlier, Class D has zero class points, and I’d heard some of them even failed the recent quizzes.

It may be their own fault, but I can’t help but feel sympathy for the decent students who get dragged down with them.

As for things like Chabashira-sensei deliberately delaying the announcement of the test scope, or my slight pity for the younger Horikita—those were details only I knew, and I had no reason to tell Ichinose.

“I see… yeah, that makes sense… oh, wait—huh?”

When I added that lending a helping hand to Class D would probably earn her favor in the eyes of the student council president, for some reason Ichinose suddenly stopped walking.

I turned to look back, wondering if I’d said something strange, only to find her standing there with her mouth open in shock.

“(So Saiki-kun was also worried about me not making it into the student council…) Umm, Saiki-kun, if it’s about that, you don’t need to worry. I’ll be fine. So maybe… you should be the one to give them to Class D after all.”

It wasn’t so much “worrying about her,” but rather the fact that her not getting into the student council wasn’t her fault.

Still, if I brought up this Nagumo character, it would reveal that I’d met with the student council president… Though, come to think of it, that wouldn’t really get me exposed.

I could just say it was something I’d heard from that “kind senpai.” If I told her to watch Vice President Nagumo’s behavior until Horikita-senpai retired, and then decide for herself whether or not to run, that should be enough.

So, I spoke under the assumption that I didn’t know him personally—mentioning that he was rumored to fool around with girls and even use underhanded methods just to push his way into Class A.

I’d heard all of this from the president, of course, but he had in turn heard it from former Class A student council members who had been Nagumo’s classmates. Their stories contained a degree of personal resentment, but apparently most of it was true.

“Eh, Vice President Nagumo did that…? I see… (Saiki-kun really knows a lot… Was that why he skipped the study session yesterday—for my sake? …No way, that can’t be it, ahaha~)”

Of course not.

It was the president who brought up Nagumo in the first place.

Anyway, I’d already sent her the data for the past exams, and now I handed her the paper copies as well. From here on, the matter was in her hands.

I’d deleted the data from my phone, and the psychometry-copied exam papers were left at home. In other words, the only people who knew I’d ever had them were Horikita-senpai and Ichinose-san.

As long as the two of them stayed quiet, everything would settle neatly.

“…Sigh… alright. I’ll keep an eye out for the right opportunity, and without mentioning you, I’ll hand them to someone in Class D, okay?”

Yeah. Sorry to trouble you, but I’m counting on you.

Between the two of us, you’re far more suited to this—you’re well-known in our year, have a wide circle of acquaintances, and are publicly acknowledged as an excellent student.

“It kind of feels like I’m just taking advantage of you, which doesn’t sit right with me… But I also don’t want anyone from our grade to get expelled. (Besides, now I owe you a favor too, Saiki-kun.)”

I don’t have a cowardly pride or an overblown sense of shame, and I never intended to put you in my debt.

“I can use the past exams for Class B too, right?”

Of course. You’re the one who owns them now, so use them however you like. Just—don’t mention my name.

“O-okay, okay, I got it already!”

Good.

With that, the burden on my shoulders was lifted. With the past exams in hand, Class B—who already had decent fundamentals and average academic ability—should have no problem with the midterms.

Of course, for future regular exams they won’t be able to rely on past papers, so I won’t be able to lend a hand past this first midterm.

“Alright. Thanks. I’ll make sure to tell everyone that. Really, thank you, Saiki-kun.”

I don’t think I’ve done anything worth that much gratitude, but—well. Anyway, I’ll head off here, so you can go on to the classroom first.

“Eh!? Wait, isn’t this the part where we walk together?”

Our business is finished. Besides, Ichinose-san is famous outside her class too—walking together would only draw more attention.

That’s why I made a point of coming to school earlier like this.

“So you really hate standing out that much…”

She looked pretty taken aback, but it was true—I hated standing out.

And besides, there was another reason I couldn’t walk to class with Ichinose-san.

I felt bad for her, but I had used hypnosis to make everyone except her see me as nothing more than an old janitor.

If anyone happened to see us walking together in the morning, it would instantly become the talk of both the boys and the girls.

That’s why I had to separate from her once, slip away somewhere without cameras, and then return to the dorm before heading to school again.

(Would being with me really make him stand out that much…? Feels like Saiki-kun’s just overthinking things…)

You really should pay a little more attention to your own looks and personality.

Well then—see you later.

“Ah, yeah, see you later…”

(Saiki-kun really is kind of strange…)

With a slightly stiff smile, Ichinose-san gave me a small wave as I left.

I slipped behind the school building, where there were no cameras or people, and instantly teleported back to my dorm room.

All that was left was to undo the hypnosis and head out for school again.

Of course, the security cameras had already recorded the strange sight of Ichinose-san walking to school alongside a janitor.

But since I’d made sure to arrange our meeting spot somewhere the cameras couldn’t reach, and since the actual handoff of the past exams wasn’t recorded either, it would just look to everyone else like a kind girl happened to walk alongside a staff member and chat a little on her way to school.

That was the conclusion people would naturally draw.

When I returned to school, the real janitor was already watering the flowerbeds near the entrance.

“Morning.”

The only issue was that the janitor himself—and Ichinose-san—had no memory of that walk together.

Still, since neither of them realized, and because I’d been careful about the timing, everyone else just chalked it up as something that “could happen sometimes.”

So it never became a problem.

Thanks to that, Class B—and all the first-years, really—were able to finish the midterms without a single expulsion.

—Well, apparently there was one student in Class D who fell short by a single point.

But it seemed Horikita’s little sister and Ayanokouji-kun had bought that point off Chabashira-sensei, and the matter was quietly settled.

It really was true—you could buy anything with points.

It’s something worth remembering.

Now I could finally take it easy until the special exam scheduled for summer vacation.

. . .

(…Seriously, what the hell, Komiya and Kondo. The tests are finally over, I can finally focus on basketball again, and you just had to call me out.)

So much for relaxing.

While I was grumbling about that, I spotted a certain Class D student—the red-haired, red-marked, basketball-playing idiot who reminded me a little too much of Sakuragi Hanamichi.

He was heading toward the special building, where there were relatively few cameras.

He didn’t have the look of someone being summoned by a teacher, or called out by a girl, either.

Hmm… I wasn’t usually one to stick my nose into other people’s business, but maybe I’d follow him—just a little.

. . .

Note: 

Ayanokoji and Horikita’s reputation skyrocketed, and so did Ichinose’s.

Ichinose handed the past exam papers to Kushida, who then passed them on to Horikita, Ayanokoji, and Hirata.

Compared to the original story, the past papers were distributed earlier, and it was discovered early on that Chabashira-sensei had not changed the scope of the test.

However, since it was meaningless to give them to the failing group who hadn’t built up their basics, the papers were only distributed to the class at the same timing as in the original story.

Because it was openly stated that the papers had been obtained from Class B, Class D came to feel indebted to Class B.