Karuizawa Kei

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Karuizawa Kei (轻井泽慧)
Gender	Female 174 291
Affiliation	Kōdo Ikusei High School; Class D; Mars Group during the cruise ship special exam 6 191 291
Occupation/Role	Student; influential member of Class D’s girls’ group; Ayanokouji Kiyotaka’s covert assistant 182 191 296
Special Exam Role	Mars Group’s Beneficiary, also called the VIP 191
Status	Alive; remains at school after the confrontation with Ryūen 314 315 332
First Appearance	Scanned by Toudou Shizuka on the bus 2

Background / History

Kei experienced prolonged bullying during junior high school. An old scar remains from her traumatic past, which she conceals out of fear that exposure will make her vulnerable again 189 190.

After entering Kōdo Ikusei High School, she reinvented herself as a confident, popular girl. Her public relationship with Hirata Yousuke provided a protective social connection, while her position among Class D’s girls gave her influence within the class 175 189 291.

Appearance

Kei has light-colored eyes, pale cheeks, and a slender build. Earlier scenes describe long hair worn in a high ponytail; a later shopping scene describes meticulously styled short hair 174 291 332.

• High ponytail — Part of the description used by Class C’s students to identify her during their accusations concerning Rika 174.
• Fashion-conscious presentation — Her carefully arranged hair and fashionable clothing remain noticeable during the shopping outing with Ayanokouji and Satou Maya 332.
• Old scar — Discovered by Ayanokouji during their engine-room confrontation and associated with her past trauma 190.

Personality

Kei’s public manner is assertive, impatient, and sometimes dismissive. She initially treats Class C’s accusations as trivial, refuses to cooperate with unwanted filming, and reacts sharply when pressed. Her concern for Class D’s reputation also appears when she complains about Sudo Ken causing further trouble 69 174.

Her confidence conceals a strong fear of renewed bullying and exposure of her past. When cornered, she tries to maintain her defiant image even as her voice and body betray panic. After Yukimura rescues her, she rejects his assistance and distances herself from him rather than acknowledge her vulnerability 185 186 187 291.

Her loyalty to Ayanokouji eventually goes beyond the original exchange of cooperation for protection. She refuses to identify him under Ryūen’s threats and maintains that she has no regrets even after learning how he manipulated her. Following his rescue and renewed promise of protection, she gains a stronger sense of security and resolves to support him actively 292 293 312 315.

Kei also develops romantic feelings for Ayanokouji. She becomes visibly embarrassed when Toudou names those feelings and later shows jealousy toward Satou Maya’s affectionate behavior around him 294 332 333.

Abilities & Skills

Reading People — B-rank

Toudou’s scans identify Reading People (Small Groups), also rendered as Reading People (Cliques), as Kei’s highest documented ranked skill 2 7.

• Understands interpersonal relationships and how to exert influence within a group 191.
• Holds considerable standing among Class D’s girls, making her useful for internal coordination 182 191.
• Ayanokouji considers her capable of addressing class-unity problems that Horikita’s rigid approach cannot readily solve 191.

Attachment to the Strong and Seeking Protection — C-rank

The system identifies Kei’s tendency to seek powerful protectors as a C-rank trait 2 7.

• Relies on Hirata’s social position to help shield her from renewed bullying 189.
• Accepts Ayanokouji’s offer of protection in exchange for assisting his plans 190 191.
• This dependence can be exploited: Ayanokouji uses her vulnerability to recruit her, while Ryūen uses her concealed past to lure her into a trap 189 191 291.

Basic Fashion Styling — C-rank

Her scans list Basic Fashion Styling, also rendered as Basic Fashion Coordination, at C-rank 2 7.

• Maintains a carefully styled, fashionable public appearance 332.
• Tidies her hair and collar after the deck confrontation before thanking Machida 174.

Covert Assistance

Kei becomes an operational partner in Ayanokouji’s concealed class strategies 191.

• Agrees to exchange phones as part of the Mars Group’s layered Beneficiary deception 191.
• Is observed secretly watching a café meeting involving Ayanokouji, Hirata, Kushida, and Horikita; Toudou interprets her behavior as keeping watch 291.
• Discusses Class D’s leaked Sports Festival participant list and the targeting of Horikita with Ayanokouji 225.

Equipment / Items

• Mobile phone — Receives the message signed “Hirata Yousuke” that draws her to the ship’s engine room; later becomes part of Ayanokouji’s Beneficiary plan 187 191.
• Bullying video shown by Ayanokouji — Records the Class C students’ actions. He offers it as leverage she can use to deter further harassment 190.
• Secret photograph with Ayanokouji — Takes a blurry photograph of them after the construction-site incident and looks at it the following morning 315.

Relationships

• Ayanokouji Kiyotaka — Protector, covert collaborator, and romantic interest. Their arrangement begins through threats and mutual exploitation, then develops toward greater trust after he rescues her and apologizes 189 191 294 312 315.
• Hirata Yousuke — Publicly presented boyfriend and an early source of protection. Ayanokouji challenges the security of this relationship when recruiting her 157 175 189.
• Toudou Shizuka — Class B acquaintance, observer, and manipulator. He records her bullying, later interrupts Ryūen’s threatened violence, exposes Ayanokouji’s identity, and confronts her about her dependence on him 7 185 205 292 293.
• Machida Koji — Intervenes when Class C’s girls attempt to film her forcibly. Kei thanks him awkwardly after they retreat 174.
• Yukimura Teruhiko — Rescues her from the storage-room assault, though she rejects his immediate offer of help. She later expresses sympathy for his situation during the Beneficiary exam 185 186 198.
• Manabe Shiho, Yabu Nanami, and Yamashita Saki — Class C antagonists who confront her over Rika, assault her, and exploit her fear of past bullying 174 183 185 188.
• Rika — Class C student at the center of the initial accusations. Later joins the engine-room assault after pressure from Manabe 174 188.
• Ryūen Kaku — Uses Kei’s concealed past to trap her and demand the identity of Class D’s hidden strategist 291 292.
• Ibuki Rei — Physically restrains Kei and binds her hands during Ryūen’s trap 291.
• Satou Maya — Her affectionate behavior toward Ayanokouji provokes visible displeasure and jealousy in Kei 332.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Enrollment and Class D

• Toudou first scans Kei aboard the bus, identifying her social-reading ability, protective attachments, and fashion skill 2.
• Assigned to Class D, she meets Toudou and Hirata at the notice board and expresses mild envy of Class B’s reputation and atmosphere 6 7.
• During the deserted-island exam, Toudou reports a theft incident involving Kei to Ichinose and Kanzaki, leaving its handling to Hirata and Class D 157.

Cruise Ship Harassment

• Her self-deprecating remark during the first Mars Group discussion creates tension and suspicion between the classes 169.
• Manabe, Yabu, and Yamashita accuse her of cutting ahead of and pushing Rika in a café queue. Kei denies remembering the incident and knocks Manabe’s phone away when its camera is pointed at her without permission 174.
• Machida stops their attempts to crowd and film her, threatening teacher involvement if the confrontation continues 174.
• The trio later forces Kei into a storage room. Under pressure, she acknowledges remembering a collision but disputes responsibility; the encounter escalates into physical abuse and threats before Yukimura intervenes 182 183 184 185.
• A message signed “Hirata Yousuke” subsequently draws her to the engine room, where the trio and Rika corner her. Manabe recognizes and exploits her history of bullying, while an attempted escape fails 187 188.

Ayanokouji’s Recruitment and the Beneficiary Plan

• Ayanokouji observes the engine-room assault without stopping it. After the attackers leave, he threatens to expose Kei’s past and argues that Hirata cannot guarantee her safety 189.
• He then promises protection, shows her recorded evidence of the assault, and offers a working arrangement 190.
• Kei accepts. Ayanokouji identifies her influence over Class D’s girls as a means of strengthening internal unity and reveals that he knows she is the Mars Group’s Beneficiary 191.
• His plan uses phone exchanges to direct suspicion toward Yukimura or himself while keeping Kei’s actual role concealed. Kei recognizes the intended layers of deception 191.
• During the public status disclosures, she presents herself as a Non-Beneficiary despite being the actual Beneficiary 196.

Bullying Evidence and Interclass Conflict

• Toudou uses footage of Kei’s assault to pressure Ryūen, securing a 550,000-Private-Point transaction and revealing that Ayanokouji also holds the recording 205.
• Manabe later confesses that an unidentified person used the bullying incident to blackmail her into obtaining information about Ryūen’s plan against Horikita 256.
• Ryūen’s investigation focuses on Yukimura, Ayanokouji, and Toudou as witnesses who could have obtained the leverage 256.

Ryūen’s Construction-Site Trap

• Kei obeys an anonymous demand to come alone to a remote construction site during heavy rain. Ryūen’s group is waiting, and Ibuki binds her hands behind her back 290 291.
• She refuses to reveal Ayanokouji’s involvement. Toudou interrupts Ryūen as he prepares to pour cold water over her, then names Ayanokouji himself 292.
• Toudou explains how Ayanokouji manipulated the shipboard incident to create dependence. Kei is shaken but declares that she has no regrets about their time together 293.
• With her reluctant permission, Toudou uses her phone to summon Ayanokouji 294.
• When Ayanokouji arrives, Kei fears for his safety and urges him to flee. Watching him defeat Class C’s fighters overturns her understanding of his strength and restores her sense of safety 297 298 300 301.

Aftermath and Growing Attachment

• Kei tells Ayanokouji that discovering his deception has not destroyed her faith in him. He apologizes and renews his promise to protect her 312.
• Chabashira checks her condition afterward, finding no substantial injuries beyond minor wrist abrasions and fright 314.
• The following morning, Kei reflects on the ordeal while looking at their photograph. Her conflicting emotions settle into a stronger sense of security and belonging, accompanied by a decision to support him 315.
• During a later shopping outing, she shows jealousy toward Satou Maya and embarrassment when Toudou teases Ayanokouji about his companions 332 333.

Notable Quotes

“I... have no regrets.” 293

“But, I haven't been disappointed in you because of it. Not at all.” 312