Classroom of the Elite, I Can Add Points Infinitely Chapter 50

"I would like for you to pretend to be my boyfriend, Aragaki-kun. Of course, this wouldn't stop you from finding a real girlfriend, and if you want, I can fully take on all the responsibilities of a girlfriend."

As the leader of Class A who swept through all the clubs at the start of the school year and has since kept the other three first-year classes firmly under his thumb, Aragaki Shun is undoubtedly at the very top of the hierarchy among all the students in this school.

That is why she is proposing this fake relationship here; when it comes to ways to improve one's campus status, this is the only clumsy method the girl can think of.

In truth, she had originally wanted to approach Yosuke Hirata.

After all, he is not only a central figure in Class D, but he also presents himself to the outside world as kind, selfless, and helpful.

If she were to seek his help, he would surely agree.

The girl wouldn't even have to give anything up to easily obtain the protective umbrella she desires.

But when Aragaki Shun suddenly arrived in Class D and exposed the truth about this school, she learned that the four first-year classes are actually in a competitive relationship, and more importantly, that Class D is the worst of the four.

This forced Karuizawa Kei to change her thinking; if the competition in this school is truly this intense, then having status only within Class D is absolutely not enough.

The experiences of the past month or so have proven this point.

As a member of the "defective" Class D, one is naturally looked down upon by the higher-ranked classes.

Not to mention, there are those delinquents in Class C among the first years who deliberately incite conflict.

Under these circumstances, she must latch onto a stronger person who has a higher status and the ability to suppress the entire first-year grade.

She doesn't need youth, and she certainly doesn't need true love; all she wants is to protect herself, nothing more.

Karuizawa Kei stares at Aragaki Shun with hollow, nervous eyes. She has laid out everything she has to offer, yet she still has no confidence that he will agree to her request.

For the past month, she has been monitoring information on Aragaki Shun, trying to study his personality, but so far she only knows roughly that he likes reading and eating, has a strong sense of responsibility, and treats his own people in Class A quite well, but shows no mercy when squeezing points out of other classes.

How should she put it? He is indeed a very suitable host for a parasite; as long as one is recognized as "his own," they would be filled with a sense of absolute security.

But the problem is that he is simply too popular in this school. Even though she has some confidence in her appearance, she isn't confident that he would necessarily agree to her request for a relationship.

Under Karuizawa Kei's increasingly anxious gaze, Aragaki Shun thinks for a moment before shaking his head, directly rejecting the proposal, which causes the girl's tense expression to teeter on the brink of collapse.

"I can provide you with a certain degree of protection, but pretending to be in a relationship is out of the question."

It is merely a simple exchange of interests; this bit of leverage isn't worth Aragaki Shun going out of his way to play the role of her boyfriend.

Suddenly seeing a glimmer of hope where she had almost despaired, light erupts in Karuizawa's eyes. She stands up eagerly, looking at the leader of Class A once more: "Then what do I need to do?"

Whether they are in a relationship or not doesn't matter, as long as he can protect her.

Karuizawa Kei knows she isn't particularly smart, and she understands even better that she is just a parasite, so if he has a more suitable method, she will certainly obey him obediently.

"It's simple. Since you have a certain status in Class D, use that identity to do some things for our Class A."

"Do you want me to act as an undercover agent in the class competition?"

Karuizawa Kei is somewhat surprised. This kind of thing is nothing to her; she had expected to receive some much harsher demands.

However, Aragaki Shun denies her assumption.

"Not an undercover agent. From now on, you are Class A's representative in Class D. I need you to openly recruit Class D students for me."

101. Karuizawa Kei: What's wrong with being a tool?

Does the scattered mess that is Class D even need an undercover agent planted in it?

Aragaki Shun indicates that there is no need to play such sneaky games. As long as he openly extends an olive branch, there will naturally be plenty of those "defective" students who see no hope of rising up who are willing to kneel and act like dogs.

"Among the three lower-ranked first-year classes, Class B has the strongest foundation, and Class C is the most dangerous under the control of Ryuen. Only Class D, which ranks at the very bottom, not only has the worst overall quality but doesn't even have a leader who can fully integrate the class's strength."

Yosuke Hirata and Kushida Kikyo can only be considered coordinators; they can coordinate the overall atmosphere of Class D on a daily basis to keep it from falling apart completely, but neither of them has the authority of a leader to make the final call.

On the contrary, the "gyaru" persona that Karuizawa Kei disguises herself as appears more assertive, but her influence is limited to the female students; the boys in Class D would never follow her instructions.

And outside of those three, people like Horikita Suzune and Yukimura Teruhiko participate actively in class competition and yearn to rise to Class A, but they are used to acting alone and have no idea how to integrate into the collective; they are completely unqualified to represent the others in Class D.

"A Class D like this has no qualifications to step onto the first-year competitive track; it can only become a tool for the three higher-ranked classes to use against each other."

"And since they are going to be tools for the higher-ranked classes anyway, why not just submit to the strongest?"

Aragaki Shun smiles as he looks at the bewildered girl in front of him, "Don't you agree, Karuizawa?"

"Eh?!"

After hearing Aragaki Shun's request, Karuizawa's heart remains unsettled for a long time, and she lets out a cute, startled sound, "Th-that's true."

The brown-haired girl swallows hard. She feels that perhaps Aragaki Shun is overestimating her by discussing such things with her?

Would you rather just have me take off my clothes? I feel like that would be simpler!

But since the big shot who agreed to be her protective umbrella has asked, Karuizawa, as a parasite, naturally cannot be perfunctory.

"Actually, not many people in our Class D have the resolve to rise to Class A. After the Behavioral Standards Exam ended, everyone gained a certain understanding of Class D's position among the first years."

"The ones most active about class promotion are probably just Horikita Suzune, Yukimura Teruhiko, and those few students with relatively good grades."

"Even Yosuke Hirata and Kushida Kikyo only occasionally encourage everyone to work hard together, but that should just be to maintain the class atmosphere, not because they truly believe Class D students can graduate from Class A."

This is only natural; the students in first-year Class D were all deliberately selected by the school from junior high schools across the country as "defective" products.

Aside from a small number of people with excellent grades but flawed personalities, most of these people were in the lower-middle tier of their schools during junior high.

In other words, most people in Class D have been average from elementary school through middle school, and they remain the same now that they are in high school; for them, this is actually not hard to accept.

And as long as they accept that they are losers, they can slack off without any burden.

"For most people in the class, the benefits of graduating from Class A are indeed wonderful. If they could get them by just lifting a finger, everyone wouldn't mind giving it a try, but if they have to give it their all and still might not succeed, then forget it."

Karuizawa Kei stated the inner thoughts of most people in Class D with great certainty, because she held similar views herself.

Compared to the unreachable goal of promoting to Class A, for the young girl, being able to spend three years safely at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School without being bullied was the greatest victory.

Aragaki Shun: "..."

Although he had guessed it would be like this, he was still a bit speechless.

In other words, everyone in Class D is just thinking about clinging to someone powerful, waiting for a big shot to step up and carry them so they can win while lying down, right?

That doesn't seem quite right either; Class C is the type that, once tamed, will obediently follow the instructions of a big shot and win while lying down.

Given the character of that group in Class D, even if a big shot stepped up to carry them, they would have to be coaxed first, otherwise, they would definitely drag their feet. After all, they are either oblivious to their own limitations or insist on seeking attention despite knowing they are losers.

"In short, most of the students in your Class D right now probably only care about their living expenses for the next three years, not the impossible task of promoting to Class A. Since that's the case..."

Aragaki Shun took out his phone and operated it for a moment. The next second, a transfer notification sounded on Karuizawa Kei's phone.

"I have transferred 100,000 Private Points to you. From now on, you are my representative in Class D."

"How you use this money is up to you. I have only one requirement: you must find a way to recruit as many people in Class D as possible, and make these people voluntarily become assets for Class A in future special exams."

Karuizawa Kei: "..."

Karuizawa was silent for a short while before she understood that Aragaki Shun wanted more people in Class D to be his dogs.

She didn't think this was a problem; after all, in her understanding, the weak must cling to the strong to survive.

It was just that she was a bit worried about whether she could complete this task.

Carrying distrust in her own abilities, the girl lowered her head to look at her phone screen, only to be surprised to find that not only were there an extra 100,000 Private Points on her phone, but also 5 items displayed as Auditing Tickets.

"What are these 5?"

"Auditing Tickets. They cost 20,000 Private Points each and allow someone to go to any class to audit for a full day without deducting any class evaluation points."

Aragaki Shun explained briefly, "I used one of these when I first went to your Class D. I'm giving you the remaining 5."

"You are to act as my representative and establish a faction in Class D. When the time comes, use these Auditing Tickets to invite those you think are trustworthy or worth recruiting to our Class A to get to know us in my name."

Hiss!

Karuizawa Kei understood. So, this was using the tiger's might to intimidate others?

At Kodo Ikusei Senior High School, Class A is undoubtedly the ceiling among the four first-year classes, while Class D students can only stay in the sewers.

As long as Karuizawa Kei uses Aragaki Shun's name to recruit Class D classmates to audit in Class A for a day, once the news spreads, everyone will know that her backing is Aragaki Shun, and the entire Class A.

She is the confidante planted by Aragaki Shun in Class D, a subordinate meant to control the students of Class D for him.

By then, anyone who wants to deal with her will have to think twice about whether they are directly opposing Aragaki Shun; after all, one must consider the master before beating the dog.

Thinking of this, Karuizawa Kei suddenly became exceptionally spirited. "I'll go invite people to join as soon as I get back to the dorms!"

Matsushita Chiaki, Mori Nene, Sato Maya... Karuizawa first considered the members of her own small circle.

Then there was Wang Meiyu from Kushida's small circle; that girl would never refuse if she knew it was an invitation from Aragaki Shun.

As for what Kushida Kikyo thinks? Who cares!

102. Karuizawa Kei does not want to be replaced

Aragaki Shun naturally didn't know that Karuizawa Kei was already thinking about how to poach members from Kushida Kikyo.

But he was quite satisfied with the girl's strong initiative, so he took the initiative to remind her: "Most people in Class D can be easily recruited as long as there are Private Points. I'm giving you this 100,000 as initial operating capital; you must use it where it counts. As long as there are results, more money will be sent over."

"For the other part of Class D students who still have ambition, you can tell them directly that I receive 3.06 million Private Points every month, and Class A's monthly class fund is over 2 million."

Gulp.

Karuizawa Kei was directly frightened. There are forty people in Class D, and their total monthly Private Points are only 840,000, not even one-third of Aragaki Shun's personal income.

And 5.06 million a month is already more than a quarter of twenty million.

"That's right. In four months at the latest, our Class A will be able to save up twenty million to help one student from another class permanently join Class A. Over three years, even if we only calculate based on the current savings scale, we can invite nine talents to become members of Class A."

"You tell this data directly to those ambitious talents in Class D and let them think for themselves: is it easier to follow the worst Class D to counter-attack our Class A, or to find a way to prove their own strength and become a talent recognized by our Class A?"

Speaking of this, Aragaki Shun looked at Karuizawa Kei meaningfully. "Of course, this condition also applies to you. As long as you can keep controlling Class D for me, then when we reach the third year, there will definitely be a spot for you in Class A's graduation quota."

Karuizawa Kei: "..."

The girl with the high ponytail fell silent all of a sudden.

Can a parasite like me actually hope for such a thing?

If one were to say that Karuizawa had no thoughts about graduating from Class A, that would definitely be a lie.

After all, even if she could rely on Aragaki Shun's protection to spend three years safely at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School, what about after three years?

If she could graduate from Class A, then even she could rely on the school's power to find a job that would give her a sense of security, right?

"Of course, I'm letting you form a faction close to Class A, but not everyone will be accepted. For instance, those two, Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji, there's no need to recruit them."

Shun Aragaki suddenly remembered those two oddballs in Class D, and couldn't help but emphasize this to Kei Karuizawa, though he figured the girl wouldn't be so lacking in judgment.

"Uh, you don't need to worry about that; our girls' group has a terrible relationship with those two."

"That's good. Take these application forms for the Cultural and Entertainment Club as well. Fill one out yourself and give the others to the members of your faction. Consider this an extracurricular base for us in Class A."

Kei Karuizawa's eyes lit up. She quickly took the application forms, filled out her own, and handed it back to Shun Aragaki before asking expectantly, "Does this mean I can come to this club whenever I want from now on?"

Shun Aragaki nodded. "That's right. All the current members of the Cultural and Entertainment Club are Class A students, and you are the first person from another class to join. Also, the club benefit is 5,000 Private Points per person each month. You can go to the club advisor, Chie Hoshinomiya, to collect them when the time comes."

Five thousand Private Points wasn't much in the eyes of a Class A student, but for an ordinary person in Class D like Kei, this was already a quarter of her monthly living expenses.

With this, she had gained another bargaining chip to win over others in Class D.

With 100,000 Private Points on her phone as initial operating capital, the backing of Shun Aragaki and the entire Class A, the 20 million points for a class transfer as the ultimate bait, and 5,000 points a month as a basic stipend... how did it feel like this job was so easy that just about anyone could complete it effortlessly?

If that were the case, wasn't she just a bit too replaceable?

A trace of anxiety rose in Kei Karuizawa's heart. She knew all too well how severe the jealousy and competitiveness were within the girls' social circles. Once her collaboration with Shun Aragaki was exposed, many people in Class D would surely be plotting in the shadows to take her place.

No! That absolutely cannot happen!

Kei Karuizawa bit her lip lightly. She knew that nothing in life was free; to gain something, one had to pay a price.

In other words, she had to do something to raise her status in Shun Aragaki's mind, or at the very least, ensure he didn't view her as a tool that could be swapped out at will.

Being used or treated as a tool wasn't necessarily a bad thing; at the very least, it proved she still had value worth protecting.

But the prerequisite was that her value had to be unique, or at least possess a certain degree of scarcity, so that she wouldn't be casually discarded by her host.

Simply being a spokesperson for Shun Aragaki in Class D was something Kikyo Kushida or Yosuke Hirata could do, perhaps even better than her. If the requirements were lowered, even Satsuki Shinohara could manage it.

"Is there anything else?"

Shun Aragaki looked at Kei Karuizawa, who had been full of joy just a moment ago, with some confusion.

What was wrong with this person? Why did her mood suddenly become so unpredictable?

He had originally thought she was a pretty decent trading partner; after all, this kind of simple exchange of interests didn't require anything else to be mixed in.