Classroom of the Elite, I Can Add Points Infinitely Chapter 49

"I have things to attend to, so I'm leaving. Remember not to send selfies to just anyone in the future; even I am not as trustworthy as you might imagine."

Ending the call decisively, Aragaki Shun checked the time on his phone. There wasn't much time left before his scheduled meal with Karuizawa Kei.

He had no intention of being deliberately late for something like this.

With that, Aragaki Shun abandoned his leisurely pace and began to run, gradually increasing his speed.

After a few minutes of running, the high-end restaurant they had agreed upon finally came into view. Not far from the entrance, a girl with chestnut hair tied in a high ponytail was looking around anxiously, occasionally glancing down at her phone to check how much time remained before their meeting.

Aragaki Shun calmly slowed his pace, and by the time his gait returned to a normal walk, Karuizawa Kei finally spotted him with a look of pleasant surprise.

Since he hadn't been panting during the run, Aragaki Shun didn't need to adjust his appearance. He walked right up to Karuizawa and greeted her calmly, "It seems I'm a little late. Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No, that's not it! It's still early. I just came to the restaurant early to place the order. It has nothing to do with you, Aragaki-kun."

Karuizawa Kei waved her hands repeatedly. She needed a favor from Aragaki Shun, so she didn't dare let him get annoyed over such a trivial matter.

Besides, she was telling the truth; there were still a few minutes left before the agreed time, so he wasn't technically late.

However, under normal circumstances, wouldn't a boy usually arrive 10 to 15 minutes early if he knew he was going on a date with a girl?

As it turned out, she was the one who initiated the meal and arrived early, yet the boy didn't seem to place much importance on the meeting at all.

Karuizawa Kei felt a bit uneasy, wondering if she would be able to achieve her goal.

"Alright then, let's go inside and eat."

Aragaki Shun could sense the girl's anxiety, but he didn't say anything more.

For him, aside from studying, his greatest hobby was fine food. Everything else could wait until after the meal.

Karuizawa Kei pursed her lips and nodded slightly, taking the lead to guide him into a reserved private room.

Before long, the waiter began serving various dishes that looked quite exquisite.

"Oh?"

Aragaki Shun looked at the spread of food on the table with some surprise, then raised his head to look at Karuizawa Kei with a strange expression.

It had to be said, these dishes were perfectly suited to his daily tastes. Clearly, the girl had gone out of her way to inquire about his preferences.

"...You put a lot of thought into this."

After a moment of silence, Aragaki Shun nodded at the nervous-looking Karuizawa, then turned his full attention to the meal.

Ten minutes later, feeling that his energy had been fully replenished, Aragaki Shun finally stretched and turned his gaze toward the girl with the high ponytail, who had been hesitating to speak.

"Let's go pay the bill first. After that, we can find a suitable place to talk, or would you rather discuss your business here?"

Karuizawa Kei's heart sank. Before she could process what he meant, she saw him glance toward a corner of the room, where a clear, conspicuous security camera was recording everything.

"I'll go pay the bill right now."

Karuizawa Kei immediately called the waiter over. After a brief exchange, the girl pulled out her phone with a pained expression and transferred the Private Points required for the meal.

Tsk, six thousand Private Points for a single dinner. If she recalled correctly, the students of Class D only received a little over twenty thousand points to spend this month.

She really had gone all out!

It seemed that whatever Karuizawa needed from him was truly important to her.

"Where are we going now?"

After settling the bill, Karuizawa looked at Aragaki Shun with flickering eyes. She had thought she was mentally prepared, but it turned out she was still too naive.

"My dorm? Your dorm? Or some other place without surveillance? You choose."

Aragaki Shun stood up and deliberately threw out these options, watching Karuizawa Kei's reaction with interest.

As expected, the girl was visibly shaken, her purple eyes filled with a hint of panic and unease.

Yet, she forced herself to put on a cute smile and shortened the distance between them, using an ambiguous tone, "If that's what you want, Aragaki-kun, I'm fine with anything."

Aragaki Shun looked away, feeling a bit bored. Perhaps in the eyes of an ordinary person, the "gal" persona Karuizawa Kei was playing didn't have any major flaws, but the boy's intuition—which had reached the pinnacle of human capability—was enough for him to instinctively perceive things that were difficult to see with the naked eye.

He didn't need any other reason to be certain that everything she was displaying was a facade.

"In that case, follow me."

Having left the choice to her, Aragaki Shun walked ahead without a care, not even checking to see if she was following.

And clearly, Karuizawa Kei, who had been suffering for over a month, had no intention of running away halfway.

Just like that, the two of them wound through a few turns and arrived directly at the club building.

Aragaki Shun led Karuizawa to open the Cultural and Entertainment Club room. At this hour, most people were at the cafeteria eating dinner, so there was no one else from Class A around.

"Ex-excuse me..."

Karuizawa Kei followed him into the room. Seeing that their final destination wasn't the boys' dorm as she had feared, the panic in her heart instinctively dissipated quite a bit.

But at the same time, it seemed to prove that Aragaki Shun wasn't actually that interested in her.

Thinking of this, the girl couldn't help but start feeling anxious and conflicted again.

"This is the club room I applied for. There are no security cameras installed here."

Aragaki Shun gestured for Karuizawa to sit on the sofa and poured a drink for her on the coffee table. Only after she seemed a bit more relaxed did he bluntly lay everything out on the table--

"So now, can you explain all of this to me, Karuizawa-san?"

"Aragaki-kun, um, I..."

"If you're planning to confess your feelings or tell me you want to be my girlfriend, then don't bother continuing!"

Aragaki Shun cut straight through the girl's hesitation and the transparent facade of her lies. "I met plenty of girls obsessed with romance back in middle school. Compared to their genuine displays of emotion, your performance is nowhere near convincing."

"Forget it, let's keep it simple! Just say it: what exactly do you want from me? And what can you offer in return?"

100. The Outlook of the Strongest Creature on Earth; A Transaction with Clearly Marked Prices

What do I want from Aragaki-kun? And what can I do for him?

Karuizawa Kei never expected Aragaki Shun to throw such a blunt question at her.

She had originally intended to pose as a lovestruck admirer, slowly revealing her past to gradually elicit his sympathy.

She hadn't expected him to see through her at a glance, cornering her until she had nowhere left to run.

"I..."

Karuizawa Kei's face turned pale instantly. Her eyes darted around, seemingly searching for something to lean on.

Aragaki Shun watched the girl's struggle with indifference. He didn't soften his stance because of her cute appearance; instead, he laid it out without reservation: "I don't mind if you're trying to use me to achieve some goal, provided that you possess enough value yourself."

"It seems you are indeed hiding some unspeakable past, and that is what's forcing you to approach me. But I have no interest in your hidden secrets, so you don't need to worry about me digging for the truth."

"I'll say it again: what do you want, and what can you pay? If I find the transaction reasonable, I won't mind agreeing to your request."

In reality, Aragaki Shun preferred transactions where everything was clearly priced.

You bring your goods, I bring my chips. As long as both parties are willing, the deal is done immediately—clean and simple, with no need for anything else to get in the way.

Unfortunately, reality isn't that simple. More often than not, human interaction cannot be equated to shopping at a supermarket; it is muddled with too many personal favors and emotional entanglements.

Just like how he never actually intended to become the heir to the Aragaki Family. After all, when he was brought into the Aragaki household at the age of five, he was merely an ordinary foster child adopted on a whim by his foster father.

At that time, his foster sister Ayase was only three. His foster parents were hoping to have more children of their own, and even if they couldn't, the inheritance would naturally fall to Ayase. If Ayase wasn't suitable, there were others in the branch families of the Aragaki Family who could step up.

If he had wanted to, he could have fought for it, but having lived two lives and returned to his childhood with the memories of his past life, Aragaki Shun found it difficult to truly identify as a member of the Aragaki Family in this world.

Or rather, he could view his foster parents and Ayase as family and would be willing to help the Aragaki Family within his power in the future, but to inherit everything and shoulder that responsibility? It just felt like something was missing.

To put it clearly, the only people in the Aragaki Family he acknowledged were his foster parents and Ayase. He had no impression of anyone else in the family, so he had no desire to inherit the family name.

So, as he grew older, he tried his hand at the light novel industry, eventually becoming a signature author for the same publishing house as Senju Muramasa. While the main reason was to expand his influence and accumulate Source Power, there was also the consideration of self-reliance so he could support himself in the future.

It was just that, in the process, he performed a bit too well, leading his foster parents—who never had any other children—to inexplicably set their sights on him.

Honestly, he would have preferred for Ayase to have a younger brother to inherit the family business.

As for himself, he just wanted to be an ordinary member of the Aragaki Family, occasionally using the family's name to resolve some minor troubles while building his own career outside.

After all, according to his own values, if one accepts the rights, one should also shoulder the corresponding responsibilities.

If he were just an ordinary foster son, he would only need to find a way to repay his foster parents' kindness. But if he inherited the entire Aragaki Family, the burden would be far too great.

For the time being, Aragaki Shun could harvest at least 4 points of Source Power every month. Even without extra achievements, he could save up 48 points a year.

And with his current physical fitness—having reached the human limit and possessing Immunity to Disease—living another hundred years would be no problem at all.

In fact, he wouldn't even need a hundred years. In just over a decade, once all his attributes were strengthened to over 20, combined with some consciousness-control skills, he would be confident in becoming the Strongest Creature on Earth, making the entire human society revolve around his will.

Under these circumstances, if one were to consider things purely rationally, he should probably detach himself from worldly karma, avoid external interference, and just lay low for a dozen years until he was invincible.

Faced with that, inheriting the Aragaki Family was redundant. He shouldn't even value his foster parents and Ayase too much; after all, to some extent, bonds are weaknesses.

But humans are not purely rational creatures. At the very least, Aragaki Shun couldn't bring himself to erase all his emotions and act solely for profit.

If he were truly heartless, he could choose to look out only for himself and reject the whole Aragaki Family mess. In that case, Ayase would end up shouldering the responsibility, and his foster father would pick some capable son-in-law as the heir... It just feels wrong. He might as well do it himself.

He went to such lengths to reach invincibility in hopes of living as he pleased in the future, but that was no reason to suppress his nature and wrong himself now.

If his life were in danger, he could endure humiliation, but marrying Ayase and inheriting the Aragaki Family clearly didn't fall into that category.

It was just that, rationally, he never wanted to get too deeply involved with anyone, so that when he achieved longevity in the future, he wouldn't be moved by the sight of those around him growing old and dying.

In the end, he decided to forget it. Let emotions take their natural course. Even if he were to feel sad for a while due to the disparity in lifespans, he didn't want to fall into a cycle of distortion and regret now.

Letting Ayase marry someone else with tears in her eyes? He really couldn't bring himself to do that!

In a dozen years, I'll be the Strongest Creature on Earth. Am I going to take this kind of grievance now?

To hell with the theory of lifespan!

Source Power is omnipotent. At worst, I'll just craft a few contract-type or blessing-type skills to fix it!

Of course, this only applied to Ayase. Only for the foster sister he had raised since childhood would Aragaki Shun cast aside his rational, profit-driven mindset and choose to be willful.

As for Karuizawa Kei, who was standing right in front of him? Forget it.

We aren't close at all, so let's not talk about feelings. Just put all the chips on the table.

If we can make a deal, we will. If not, then forget it.

"Still hesitating?"

Watching Karuizawa Kei, who kept opening her mouth but couldn't find the words, Aragaki Shun made a move to see her out. "I don't have much time to waste here. If you feel the timing isn't right, then please come back and talk to me once you've made up your mind."

"No! That won't work!" Karuizawa Kei's pupils dilated sharply. She seemed truly desperate and could no longer sit still, finally blurting out her self-abandoning request to Aragaki Shun, "Please, please be my umbrella and guarantee that I won't be bullied at this school."

"As long as you can agree to this, Aragaki-kun, I'll give you whatever you want. Even, even if it's that..."

At this point, Karuizawa Kei could no longer hold back. She slumped dejectedly onto the sofa, tears streaming down her face, her sorrowful posture evoking a sense of pity.

In a trance, the girl felt as if she had returned to that nightmare in middle school. Because she was pretty, she had been dragged into the girls' restroom by delinquent girls in her class despite having done nothing wrong, where bucket after bucket of ice water was poured over her head, chilling her to the bone.

But she could only endure it in silence, for whenever she had tried to resist, it only invited even more vicious abuse from those people.

She couldn't do anything on her own and could only remain silent, letting them bully her, thinking that if she just swallowed her pride and endured, it would eventually pass.

Yet, she hadn't expected that her silence would only make them more tyrannical, eventually escalating to the point where they directly took a knife to her abdomen.

At that moment, Karuizawa Kei was filled with unimaginable terror; she truly thought she was going to die.

Even though she struggled and survived, the scar remaining on the left side of her abdomen still served as a constant reminder of the cruel bullying she had faced back then.

It was a wound that time could not wash away; every time she saw it, her stomach would instinctively spasm, making her feel nauseous and sick!

That was why, after coming to Advanced Nurturing, she tried her best to hide that past, learning from the delinquent girls who had bullied her to craft a persona as a strong, aggressive gal, doing everything in her power to climb to a high position in her class.

But that alone was not enough!

A feigned strength would eventually be exposed one day. When that happened, the group of girls she had intimidated would surely lash out in a fit of rage. If it ever reached the point of being stabbed again, Karuizawa had no confidence that she would survive a second time.

Therefore, the disguise could not be broken. She had to remain strong, and if she couldn't do it herself, she would become a lowly parasite, clinging to someone truly powerful.

Even if she had to give up everything, as long as she could protect herself, it was fine!

Even if it meant giving up her dignity, her freedom, and her body, as long as she never had to face that hell again, it would be worth it.

Thinking of this, Karuizawa Kei fought through the weakness in her body, forced herself to perk up, and once again stated her position to Aragaki Shun—

"That's how it is! As long as you are willing to protect me, Aragaki-kun, I'm willing to do anything."

"So that's how it is." Aragaki Shun nodded. With this, all the oddities about Karuizawa Kei could be explained. "Then I want to know, how do you want me to protect you? After all, we aren't even in the same class, and I can't keep an eye on your situation at all times."

Seeing that Aragaki Shun did not immediately refuse, Karuizawa Kei was overjoyed and hurriedly proposed her idea.