Classroom of the Elite, I Can Add Points Infinitely Chapter 42

Yabu Nanami and Yamashita Saki, standing to the side, caught sight of their friend's rare display of bashfulness. They exchanged surprised glances, immediately engaging in a silent, telepathic conversation through their eyes.

"No way, is Shiho actually making that face? This has to be a first, right?"

"Shiho is just too innocent. She can't bring herself to tell a lie to someone's face."

"Shiho? Innocent? Saki, are you joking with me? How on earth does that word have anything to do with Shiho?"

"Look~ just look at her. Doesn't it fit perfectly?"

"That's because she's been bewitched by Aragaki-kun's good looks. Honestly, Shiho is really acting like a girl in love. I was actually quite moved when I heard her say she'd stay behind to sacrifice herself earlier."

"Exactly! A girl who forgets her friends for a pretty face, a greedy one who wants it all for herself—give me back my touched feelings!"

"Huh? You're acting weird too!"

Aragaki Shun watched Manabe Shiho trying her best to appear nonchalant, a faint smile curling the corners of his lips. There was something quite satisfying about his own strengths leaving opponents who wanted to belittle him completely speechless.

However, seeing the girl on the verge of becoming embarrassed to the point of anger, he didn't dwell on the topic, instead brushing it off with a casual remark: "If you don't think so, then just consider it my rambling."

"Let's not waste any more time. Manabe Shiho, Yabu Nanami, and Yamashita Saki, I know Ryuen sent you to tail the students from Class A. You're trying to provoke and disrupt us so that someone from Class A loses their patience and initiates a violent conflict, right?"

"How did you know that?"

Manabe Shiho's eyes widened, but she immediately realized her mistake, reflexively clamping her mouth shut and glaring at Aragaki Shun instead.

"Very good. It was just a guess before, but now you've helped me confirm that my hypothesis was correct."

Aragaki Shun put on an expression that said, "Thanks to you."

In truth, even if Manabe Shiho hadn't reacted at all, Aragaki Shun would have still been certain of the tactics Ryuen Kakeru would employ.

After all, this was a man who used violence to coerce his own classmates into submission. The purpose behind him sending subordinates to tail and monitor Class A students could only be one of a few possibilities; it wasn't hard to guess.

But since Manabe had taken the bait herself, Aragaki Shun didn't mind misleading her, letting her believe that it was her own slip-up that led to the discovery of Ryuen's plan.

Clearly, the girl took it at face value; she stood there pale, not knowing what to do.

"What? Worried that once Ryuen finds out you leaked the information, he'll have someone beat you up?"

Aragaki Shun's gloating remark directly infuriated Manabe Shiho, and then... well, she just got angry, staring at this man with red-rimmed eyes.

"Look on the bright side. Do you really think Ryuen Kakeru expects you to get the better of me? He can't even do that himself!"

"Just tell him that you ran into me while I was hanging out with Shiro-nami and the others, which is how you were discovered and tricked out of the intel. Can that guy really demand anything unrealistic from you after that?"

The Manabe trio: "..."

Even though what you're saying is the truth, aren't you afraid of getting beaten up for being so arrogant?

Oh, right, you're the best fighter in the entire school. Never mind then.

"So, getting tricked out of some intel really isn't a big deal. You should be thinking more about how to spend this reward reasonably."

Before the three of them could understand what Aragaki Shun was talking about, they saw him pull out his phone and swipe a few times.

The next moment, their phones chimed one after another, all notifications of Private Points being deposited.

87. Anonymous Point Card; Misunderstood

Looking at the ten thousand Private Points that had appeared on their phones, Manabe Shiho and her two friends were momentarily stunned.

Ten thousand Private Points might not seem like much, but one had to remember that for everyone in Class C, their total disposable points for the month of May were only twenty thousand.

In other words, the Private Points Aragaki Shun had casually transferred to them were equivalent to half of their monthly living expenses.

"This... what is the meaning of this?"

Manabe Shiho exchanged glances with her two friends, looking lost. Finally, Manabe took the initiative to ask Aragaki Shun about his intentions.

"Life in Class C isn't easy, is it? With only twenty thousand Private Points for living expenses this month, you have to be extremely frugal with food and drink just to make it to next month."

Aragaki Shun looked at the three of them, his eyes carrying a hint of intentionally revealed pity: "You followed us around the shopping mall today, yet you never carried any bags. Is it because there was nothing you wanted to buy?"

Manabe Shiho and her friends' faces flushed red. "Who do you think is to blame for that! If you hadn't thrown that Ike Kanji from Class D at us and extorted our Private Points, would we have ended up in such a sorry state?"

Facing the girl's resentment-filled accusation, Aragaki Shun merely smiled slightly and continued: "That's right! I did that. But the competitive rules of this school have always been this way. I still left you with twenty-three thousand Private Points; I'd say I've done more than enough."

"However, I'm a kind-hearted person. I can't stand seeing fellow students living in such poverty—coming to a clothing store and not even being able to afford a single new piece of clothing. That's not how cute girls should be treated."

"Don't put on a show of fake compassion." Manabe Shiho lowered her head, her voice tinged with stubbornness: "Our affairs in Class C are none of your business. We have our own ways of solving them; we don't need charity from Class A."

Aragaki Shun shook his head and said: "This is payment for the information you gave me. How you use it is entirely up to you. If you really don't want to accept it, you can choose to confess to Ryuen Kakeru once you return to class and hand over these Private Points to demonstrate your loyalty to the class."

Hand it over to Ryuen Kakeru?

The Manabe trio decided they would rather just spend it all on food and drinks outside.

They didn't have any strange fetishes; how could they possibly be loyal to someone who used violence to rule the class?

After all, only a combination of kindness and severity is the way to lead, but Ryuen Kakeru only had his fists—he hadn't bestowed a single favor.

Since he took charge of Class C, not only had he failed to give everyone in the class any hope of defeating the other classes, but under Aragaki Shun's schemes, their monthly disposable Private Points had plummeted to twenty-three thousand.

What was even worse was that the bastard Ryuen squeezed them for even that amount, forcibly snatching three thousand Private Points from every student in Class C as a "remainder."

Why doesn't that bastard, who is incompetent against outsiders but exploitative toward his own, just die already!

Thinking of this, Manabe gritted her teeth and made a decision: it would be a waste not to take the money.

She widened her eyes, staring fixedly at Aragaki Shun, "What exactly are you trying to do? Don't give me that nonsense about being kind-hearted. If you were really such a good person, you wouldn't have spent last month plundering the upperclassmen and then forcing three classes to sign those contracts!"

"There is no need to be so guarded against me." Aragaki Shun took a few cards out of his pocket and gestured for the three of them to each take one, "The ten thousand I transferred to you just now was truly just a simple payment. The real deal I want to make with you is right here."

"What is this?"

Manabe Shiho exchanged glances with her two friends, then reached out to take the three cards. After examining them front and back several times, she confirmed that she had never seen anything like this before.

"These are Anonymous Point Cards," Aragaki Shun explained. "You can just think of them as checks or bank cards from the outside world."

"As long as you enter the corresponding account number and password on your phone, you can transfer the money in these point cards into your own Private Points accounts. Of course, you can also transfer money from your accounts into these point cards if you wish."

After deciding to plant moles in Class C yesterday, Aragaki Shun had specifically applied for these cards capable of storing Private Points from Chie Hoshinomiya.

This stuff was actually quite easy to obtain. After all, the Advanced Nurturing High School was a simulated society, and modern society was absolutely inseparable from institutions like banks. It was perfectly normal for ordinary people in the outside world to have several savings cards or credit cards.

Therefore, the school had long since considered the students' need for multiple accounts; applying for a point card only required paying a small processing fee.

"I have deposited fifty thousand Private Points into each card. You only need to hide these cards in your dorm rooms. Even if Ryuen Kakeru forces you to show your Private Points accounts, he won't be able to find the money you've stored in these cards."

Hearing that Aragaki Shun had considered things so thoroughly, the trio felt a complex mix of emotions. After looking at each other, Manabe Shiho looked at the handsome young man with a strange expression, "Are you trying to keep us as your mistresses? Isn't keeping three people at once a bit too much?"

Besides, if it were a sugar daddy arrangement, fifty thousand Private Points was a bit low, but considering the other party was a high-quality stock, this aspect was actually acceptable...

"Stop right there! I just hope you can do some things for me in the future. If Class C has any important intelligence, you can send it to me secretly."

"These fifty thousand Private Points are a deposit. Every time you provide me with useful intelligence in the future, I will deposit the corresponding reward into the point card. The more valuable the intelligence, the higher the reward."

The three from Manabe's group: "..."

"What the heck, so he wants us to be spies."

Yamashita Saki looked a bit disappointed. Just a moment ago, she had really thought she was about to be kept by the most handsome guy in the school, and her heart had been racing with excitement.

She hadn't expected to have misunderstood the situation.

"Saki, have some self-respect!"

Manabe Shiho glared fiercely at her friend, who was wearing her disappointment all over her face. After scaring her into silence, she curled her lip at Aragaki Shun, "You actually want to use Private Points to make us betray our class? Do you think we are that kind of person?"

"Do you really think Ryuen Kakeru has a chance to defeat my Class A?" Aragaki Shun didn't want to dwell on the psychological state of these three gyaru anymore; he just said bluntly, "If there's no chance in the class competition, then why wouldn't you want to accumulate more Private Points?"

"Even if the homeroom teacher said Private Points cannot be converted into cash, you can still exchange your saved points for gold to take outside. When you get off-campus, you can convert that gold back into yen, which would at least provide some extra living expenses."

"By following Ryuen Kakeru's orders, you gain nothing and even get your Private Points forcibly confiscated. What exactly are you hoping for!"

88. The 100 Private Points tipped to Ryuen Kakeru

After making the pros and cons clear to Manabe Shiho and her friends, Aragaki Shun ignored their complex emotions and decisively turned to leave the secluded alley.

If he stayed any longer, Aragaki Shun worried that this group of love-struck gyaru might covet his looks and perhaps propose some conditions with a very Sakurajima flavor.

He was only developing a few moles; Aragaki Shun felt that paying some Private Points was enough, and he had no intention of personally using his looks to manipulate them.

After all, they weren't very important figures. Since he had encountered them, he just casually placed a few spare pieces. Even if Ryuen Kakeru discovered it, it would still stir up trouble for the cohesion within Class C, and all he would lose was a few Private Points.

In any case, it was all money plundered from Class C every month. Taking these Private Points into his own hands, then helping the students of Class C redistribute them, while incidentally maintaining a friendly relationship between certain students in Class C and Class A... in a way, this could be considered a win-win.

"Shiho, are we really going to become Aragaki-kun's moles?"

After Aragaki Shun left, the gyaru trio looked at each other for a long time. Finally, Yabu Nanami looked at their leader with unease and trepidation.

"If Ryuen Kakeru finds out, he will definitely have Yamada Albert beat us to death."

Yamada Albert was a burly black student who looked like a small hill at first glance. He was also the person with the greatest physical strength in Class C. In terms of fighting ability alone, even Ryuen Kakeru couldn't compare to him.

It was just that he couldn't match Ryuen Kakeru's ruthlessness and persistence. After being harassed for many days by various despicable sneak attacks, he finally couldn't stand the days where he had to be on edge even while going to the bathroom, so he submitted to Ryuen Kakeru and became his loyal thug.

If even a big guy like Yamada Albert couldn't withstand Ryuen Kakeru's various tactics, then ordinary gyaru like them stood even less of a chance.

If their act of being bought by the leader of Class A and choosing to become moles for Class C were exposed, the final outcome would be absolutely tragic; they would be subjected to Ryuen Kakeru's insane retaliation.

"What are you afraid of? Didn't Aragaki Shun say that there are plenty of people in Class C who don't want to submit to Ryuen Kakeru? Even if we don't agree, others will choose to betray the class."

Manabe Shiho stroked the Anonymous Point Card in her hand while opening her phone to enter the account number and password. Finding that there were indeed fifty thousand Private Points inside, the corners of her mouth curled up.

She waved her hand dismissively, feeling no shame at all about being a traitor. With the life of a beast of burden in Class C—where there was no chance to enjoy life, no way to escape the beatings, and a pile of tasks issued from time to time—who the hell cared about being a mole or not.

To hell with Ryuen Kakeru, claiming that as long as they followed his orders, he could lead them to defeat other classes. As it turned out, Class C's class points were only 20 points higher than Class D's, and the students' monthly living expenses weren't even guaranteed.

"Do you still want to be like today, coming to the shopping mall and not daring to buy anything in the stores? Whoever wants to live this miserable life can go ahead, but I'm done with it!"

"Shiho is right, it would be a waste not to take this money," Yamashita Saki said, comforting her companion. "Even if we don't act as moles, Aragaki Shun can find others in Class C. People like Tokito have been secretly dissatisfied with Ryuen Kakeru all along. Do you think they would be able to resist accepting Aragaki Shun's recruitment?"

Since someone was bound to backstab the class, why couldn't that person be them?

Instead of letting others sell them out in exchange for Private Points, it was better to strike first and earn this money themselves.

"But..." Yabu Nanami wasn't necessarily loyal to Ryuen Kakeru; she was just worried about the consequences. "What if we get caught?"

Manabe Shiho didn't care about that—

"According to what Aragaki Shun said, he has already deposited ten thousand Private Points into everyone's accounts in Class C. We only need to hide the point cards in our dorms, and no one will be able to find evidence that we are moles."

The way Aragaki Shun had acted so wealthy at the time had made her incredibly envious. But thinking about it now, it seemed like all these Private Points were just the money confiscated from their own Class C, right?

On the contrary, the money in the point cards they held had nothing to do with Class C, which meant that only the three of them had truly profited.

"Alright, we've already taken the money, so there's no point in regretting it. Keep this matter to yourselves, otherwise, everything you're worried about will become reality."

Manabe Shiho stepped forward and pinched Yabu Nanami's cheeks, warning her viciously, "The three of us are now tied together on the same rope. If you dare to drag me and Saki down with you, I'll strip you naked and throw you onto Aragaki Shun's bed. Then you can pray that he'll be able to shield you from Ryuen's retaliation!"

"Eh, eh~" Yabu Nanami's face turned bright red instantly. No longer worried about their undercover status being exposed, she began to playfully wrestle with Manabe, "No way! It was clearly you who wanted to go, Shiho, so why are you pushing the blame onto me?"

"What did you say? Say that again!"

"Isn't it true? Saki and I both saw it—you actually had that kind of shameful look on your face."

"I was just angry! Don't you dare spout nonsense!!"

"Hehehe~ Really? There are no outsiders here now. Who are you putting on an act for in front of your sisters..."

While the Manabe trio was still fooling around, on the other side, Ryuen Kakeru, who was patrolling the Advanced Nurturing environment with his subordinates, felt his mood turn incredibly gloomy.

[Aragaki Shun]: "Ryuen-kun's methods are a bit boring, but in recognition of your hard work in trying to entertain me, I'll tip you these 100 Private Points."

Looking at the email sent by that bastard from Class A and seeing the 100 points that had indeed arrived in his personal account, Ryuen Kakeru's expression turned ferocious.

"Interesting! This is truly interesting! Hahaha~ Aragaki Shun, is it? To think you'd dare treat me like a clown in a circus... Hahaha~ I will definitely make you know what it means to regret this!!"

But before Ryuen Kakeru could finish venting the fury in his heart, the panicked voice of his follower, Ishizaki Daichi, suddenly came from the side, "This is bad, Ryuen-boss! Aragaki Shun from Class A suddenly sent me this."

Ishizaki Daichi looked as if he had been stung by a poisonous bee, hurriedly showing his phone to Ryuen Kakeru, terrified that if he were a second too slow, he wouldn't be able to explain himself.

Ryuen Kakeru looked at Ishizaki's phone with a gloomy face, only to see an email sent by Aragaki Shun along with a transfer record of 10,000 Private Points--

[Aragaki Shun]: "Ishizaki-kun, your information fee has been sent. I hope you can bring me more surprises next time."

[Aragaki Shun]: "Our Class A sincerely invites talented individuals from all classes to join us. We hope to continue our cooperation in future special exams. Class A will never be stingy with Private Point rewards, and if you make a significant contribution, we are even willing to pay 20 million Private Points to transfer you to our class."

88+1. Horikita Suzune, Exposed

"Ryuen-boss, I absolutely have no intention of betraying you! I don't know why Aragaki Shun would suddenly send me this email and transfer 10,000 Private Points either. This so-called information fee is definitely fake; I never traded any information with him!"

Ishizaki Daichi hurriedly explained to Ryuen Kakeru, cursing Aragaki Shun in his heart for having no sense of sportsmanship.

Even if you really wanted to recruit me, you could have at least picked a more appropriate time! Couldn't you have waited until late at night to transfer the Private Points?