...
Shiina Mahiru walked behind Saiki with her face blushing like a bubbling teapot.
Shiina Mahiru [Ah, this is so embarrassing. Something like that actually happened. It would've been better if I'd just asked him to help me carry it from the start.]
(Indeed.)
Shiina Mahiru absentmindedly stared at Saiki's back, and finally spoke up. "Saiki-kun, what do you think about engagements?"
[What?]
Saiki couldn't imagine Shiina Mahiru asking something like this at all.
Shiina Mahiru quickly explained, "Ah, no, it's just that I heard your family arranged an engagement for you before, right? I heard this from someone else."
[It was called off.]
"Why?"
Shiina Mahiru thought for a moment, then asked, before lowering her head again. "Ah, sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, never mind."
[Is there anything you do or don't want to say?]
[I just don't like engagements, that's all. Besides, for me, only a boy and girl who like each other mutually have the conditions to date. And at the very least, it has to be built on a foundation of trust. Only when both sides agree can it be happy. That's what real romance is, and only then can you talk about marriage later.]
[Though to be honest, I don't have much interest in romance stuff anyway.]
This was probably Saiki's excuse to himself, since a long time ago he did have someone he liked.
But it was just simply liking someone's appearance, and that was before his x-ray vision appeared. Now that he had x-ray vision, it was a whole different story.
Shiina Mahiru's eyes lit up. "Yeah, exactly. Saiki-kun, you think the same way, right? Mhm, yep. That's right. Something decided privately by the family like that can't really be called an engagement at all."
Saiki's thoughts matched Shiina Mahiru's perfectly. An engagement without feelings was just a blank sheet of paper. She really hated that kind of thing, just like her own parents.
Shiina Mahiru [Mhm, mhm. Even though Saiki-kun is a really weird person, he's actually pretty good when it comes to romance and feelings!]
(I am a normal person. I'm not weird at all.)
...
[Here.]
Saiki handed the bag in his hand to Shiina Mahiru. They had arrived.
"Thank you."
Shiina Mahiru walked into the house. Before closing the door, she didn't forget to say goodbye to Saiki. "See you, Saiki-kun."
[See you.]
Lying all sprawled out on the sofa, lying all sprawled out on the sofa, the phone suddenly rang.
Ring ring ring ring ring... click.
[Moshi moshi.]
"Hello, is this Kusuo? How have you been lately?" A deep, resonant male voice came through. It was Saiki's grandfather.
Saiki sat up. [It's fine. I've gotten used to the environment. I feel like I'm learning a lot at school by being out on my own.]
"Hm, that's good. I heard from your parents too. While training yourself out there is nice, I still think it'd be better if you came back so I could keep an eye on you. I'm a bit worried, after all..."
[No need to worry at all. I'm doing great, and I can train myself even more clearly. Compared to a while ago, I feel like I've improved a lot.]
"Oh, that's good then. Next month's money, I'll transfer it to your card after your exams are over. I won't meddle much in your school life or other stuff, but when it comes to grades, you need to improve as much as possible. No slipping back. Otherwise, I'll bring you back home."
(How do I improve on 100 points? Hypnosis? That won't work, Grandpa.)
[I got it.]
... click. The call ended.
[Phew~]
Saiki didn't really have any particular feelings toward this grandfather. Anyway, he was different from his maternal grandfather. His maternal grandfather was super tsundere—looked strict on the surface but was actually really good to his grandson. As for this grandfather, he showed his affection for his grandson without holding back at all, but Saiki still didn't have any special feelings about him.
Grandpa was strict in other ways too.
[Time to prepare for the exams. Well, this level is still manageable. I'll reward myself a bit and make something good.]
Saiki got up, walked to the kitchen, and took out two packs of instant noodles...
The morning sunlight was bright but not glaring, like a gentle mother softly waking the sleeping earth. The dawn light was poetic, scattering golden hues across the fields. Every leaf danced with vibrant life. The morning air was fresh as if filtered, and a light breeze carried the faint scent of grass and flowers. The morning weather was so invigorating that even the birds seemed to be singing praises for the new day.
In the morning classroom, everyone gathered around Saiki, discussing the upcoming exams.
"Exams are coming up soon. Ugh, what a pain." Sakamoto Yuuji said while messing with Saiki's hair.
"Bear Two, looking at you like that, you definitely studied in secret again." Yoshii Akihisa said from the side, sporting dark circles under his eyes.
(You don't have the right to say that about anyone.)
Tsuchiya Kouta wiped his camera. "All set. How about you, Saiki? It's Golden Week, so you reviewed at home, right? It went okay?"
[Eh, it was fine. After my hard work reviewing, I'll do my best.]
"I'm so jealous of Saiki. He's so smart. Ugh." Yoshii Akihisa scratched his head.
"No matter how much you study, there's always stuff you'll forget on the test."
(Forget? I've never worried about that. As long as I've seen it once, I can remember everything in the book.)
"You're just too nervous, Akihisa. But anyway, whether you forget or not, I feel like the results won't change." Sakamoto Yuuji smiled.
Kinoshita Hideyoshi walked over. "I heard that if you're nervous, writing the character for 'person' in your palm and swallowing it will make you less nervous. It might work for you, Akihisa."
"Hideyoshi, you're here too. Does that method really work?"
(Purely psychological.)
Yoshii Akihisa waved and introduced. "Oh right, Saiki, you've rarely seen Hideyoshi, huh? This is Kinoshita Hideyoshi."
Kinoshita Hideyoshi placed a hand over his chest and said, "Hello, Saiki-kun. I'm Kinoshita Hideyoshi. I've heard a lot about you from Akihisa and the others. By the way, this old one is a boy."
Before Hideyoshi finished, Saiki already knew what he was thinking.
[Boy, right? I know.]
"Ah, looks like you misunderstood. This old one already said..."
Kinoshita Hideyoshi excitedly grabbed Saiki's hands, eyes sparkling. "What? You could actually tell? As expected of you, Saiki. You really have sharp eyes, mhm mhm."
(Well, whether someone has superpowers or not, anyone can tell. Though he does look a bit like a girl.)
Yoshii Akihisa bit on a scarf. "But I'm so jealous of Saiki."
"What the heck? Saiki's already surrounded by so many beautiful girls, and now even Hideyoshi isn't spared? Why, damn it."
"So jealous. He even got to shake hands with Hideyoshi. A while ago Nakamura confessed to him and got rejected, and he still couldn't get close."
The surrounding classmates pointed and whispered, chatting noisily.
(You guys calm down. This is a boy.)