The Pain of an Inferior: A Blistering Love Comedy That Begins After a Broken Heart - Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Apocalypse 7

“Why are you here?”

“I’m here to spend time with my friends. We ended up divided into groups of two, and now it turned out like this.”

Haruka was a little happy that the beautiful girl had recognized his face, considering that he spent most of his time at school with Ria.

“So… What is your name?”

Shinku remembered Haruka’s face, but apparently not his name.

“I’m Obi Haruka, from the same class. Nice to meet you.”

“Right…Likewise.”

Haruka held out his hand and asks for a handshake. She tilted her head and shook hands with him in confusion.

Her wrists were slender like Ria’s, and her fingers were long.

“So… What were you doing here, Claudia-san?”

“I was… I’ve been sitting here, waiting for an opportunity to escape.”

“Is that so. Let’s figure out a way out together.”

Though she had wiped her face, traces of tears were visible on her stained cheeks. Her eyes were also red. She occasionally sniffled. It was easy to imagine what she was doing up until now.

It was a terrible game indeed. In addition to the fact that they were not allowed to leave in the middle of the game, the opponent were monsters, and getting damaged caused a certain amount of pain. When Haruka was strangled a few minutes before, he was horrified because he felt that he really was on the verge of dying.

“By the way, Claudia-san, what is that shiny thing?”

Haruka asked, pointing at the glowing blue card that Shinku was holding in her left hand.

“It’s an item that I picked up desu wa.”

He took the card offered by Shinku and looked at it. On the front was written “mortuary”. It looked like a mortuary card key.

“This is…!”

What?”

“I think this is the key to the morgue. We can finally move forward.”

“Can we go back to the original world?”

“I don’t know if it’s possible… Maybe there’s something there.”

Yes, there was something. A way out, or a powerful weapon, or a piece of flesh from the other world, which is a condition for clearing the game. It doesn’t matter, as long as there’s a change to the status quo.

“I’m heading to the morgue. What about you, Claudia-san?”

“Of course I’m going with you. I’ve had enough of this dark and dreadful place.”

“Got it. Follow me.”

Haruka promptly picked up the first-aid kit that he had dropped earlier and left the room with Shinku. The ghost woman was nowhere to be seen.

Haruka didn’t use the light function of his terminal. Instead, he relied on the glowing red and green emergency sign as well as his eyes that has been accustomed to the darkness.

The two arrived at a staircase along the wall and went down to the first floor. This time, he turned on his light since he needed it to search for a map.

Haruka spotted a large map near the entrance of the hospital.

“The morgue’s a little far away. It’s on the second basement floor of the advanced medical wing.”

“I’ll leave it to you to remember where it is.”

“Claudia-san, you’ll have to remember it too, in case I forget on my end.”

“Kuu… there’s no helping it.”

Shinku studied the map with reluctance and dissatisfaction as she was told by Haruka. She had an serious expression on her face, it seemed that she really was serious in memorizing the map.

There was no camera function on the terminal. Shinku had to memorize the route somehow. She examined the direction and landmarks, taking it in as much as she could.

There was probably some guide that they would find along the way. But in any case, the two memorized the path towards the advanced medical wing.

“Let’s go, Claudia-san.”

“Okay.”

Haruka turned off his light once again and heads towards their destination.

The two made good time without seeing the ghost woman nor taking a wrong turn.

Now that the two were relaxed to some extent, they decided to engage in conversation in hushed voices.

“Claudia-san, who was your first partner?”

“It was Kamizato Reika from the same class. I lost sight of her a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, I see…”

It seems that one of them went crazy and the other was trapped in the other world.

“Did you participate in Apocalypse all by yourself, Obi-san?”

“I came with a girl named Ise Ria. She’s in our class.”

“Ise-san?!”

When Haruka mentioned Ria’s name, Shinku raised her voice in surprise.

“Now that you mentioned it, I did notice you two spending time together at school. You shouldn’t associate with a criminal like that.”

“I’m the type who doesn’t judge a person by the letters of their profile.”

Shinku’s mindset was commonplace. Rank E citizens are those who have committed crimes such as assaults and frauds.

Compared to the average rank C, those with an E rank have less money at their disposal. If they commit any misdemeanor, they were placed in a correctional facility and punished without any excuse. Above all, it was natural that ex-convicts deserved to be ostracized. Even though there was a high possibility that Ria had reaped what he sowed, his life until now must’ve been filled with hardships.

Even if everyone would say that Haruka was not a good judge in people, or that he had poor taste in choosing his friends, until he finds out the full story of Ria’s background, he had no intentions of rejecting him.

“Suit yourself. The one who will struggle in the end is you after all.”

“I know. But I’ll be fine.”

Haruka arguably muttered, saying that he knew the implications.

It was true that there were drawbacks in associating with Ria, such as not being approached by anyone else. However, Haruka wasn’t particularly sociable to begin with, so there was a good chance that he still wouldn’t have any frends even if he wasn’t close with Ria. He didn’t find any issue of being friendly with him.

But still, what Shinku was saying was true.

They lived in a world where not only rank E citizens but even rank D citizens were not treated as fellow human beings. Troubles would arise when associating with such people.

Even so, Ria was the first person whom Haruka could truly call a friend, there’s no way he would cut him off.

Haruka had no plans in changing his stance until he could hear Ria’s side of the story.

“This way.”

While thinking about Ria, Haruka guided Shinku while racalling the map that he had memorized.

For a while, the two walked down in the dark hallway in silence. As usualy, they did not encounter the ghost women nor any other monsters.

As the tensions had subdied, Shinku decided to speak.

“By the way, Obi-san…”

“What is it?”

“I heard you and Kureha-san were childhood friends.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Haruka wondered a little at how Shinku knew about that information. His only friend at school was Ria. Maybe she saw him as the strange guy that was always behind Shun and Miyako on their way to school. It seems unlikely that Shun and Miyako would go out of their way to say that Haruka was their childhood friend.

“I’m currently targeting Kureha-san.”

“<i>Haaah.</i>”

“I’d like to know if there’s any method of attack that might work on him.”

Shinku folded her arms and asked imposingly.

“Are you sure you want to be his lover?”

“Yes, that’s right desu wa.”

“Shun is already in a relationship with a lot of girls. I think it would be fine if you just confess your feelings to him.”

Even if asking Shun out would work out, the most she could get out of that was probably just a physical relationship. But considering Shinku’s good status, that might not be what she was looking for.

“That would make me accept his bigamist ways, wouldn’t it?”

“i think having a monogamous relationship with him would be difficult because of Miyako…”

Shun was a womanizer, he had laid his hands on the girls that came on to him all the time. Miyako was the only one that he had treated differently. However such special treatment didn’t make a good impression on Miyako, considering how uneasy she was last time Haruka had talked to her.

“So it wouldn’t work out, huh.”

“You should complain about that to Shun.”

The two walked in a steady manner as Haruka asked.

“So, what happens if monogamy is not possible?”

“Then I will give up desu wa. I am from a noble family, it would be fine if I keep a man for myself, but I would never allow myself to do the opposite.”

Shinku explained that ideally she preferred to have an equal or higher footing to her partner, and that she wouldn’t tolerate it if she was in the lower position.

Shinku’s statement came too strong, it was akin to her haughty attitude.

“That’s rare. Shun is quite the catch, so it’s the first time I’ve heard of someone who would consider in gracefully stepping down in pursuing him.”

Yes, it really was the first time. Haruka gleamed in interest towards Shinku.

“Being one of several wives is just ridiculous desu wa.”

Shinku scoffed snidely as she expressed her thoughts.

It was true that polygamists were often looked down upon when it came to bigamy. For the prideful Shinku, being one of many women must’ve been intolerable.

“…I’m fine with it, I’ll help you. I know a lot of things about Shun.”

Haruka was curious if Shinku could really give up on Shun. He wanted to see if she was just a woman who would go down to a superior man, or if she would stand up for her own beliefs.

“Is that so? I express my gratitude to you, Obi-san.”

Shinku gave a smile and thanked Haruka. However, she was only seeing Haruka as just a tool that might be useful for her ends.

Sensing her intentions, Haruka smiled back at her.

“Let’s exchange contact information when we get back.

It’s essential for us to do so in order to cooperate with each other!”

“Fine. However, I will immediately block you if you keep on talking about unrelated things desu wa.”

“I understand.”

Shinku stretched her hand forward and urged him to go on.

“Let’s not waste time in talking, we have to move on.”

“All right.”

They continued walking in silence, tracing the path that they had memorized.

The hospital was composed of several large buildings, but it didn’t take them too long to arrive at their destination.

In the end, they had reached the basement stairs that leads to the mortuary without encountering the ghost woman.

An eerily lit green emergency light was shining on the basement. The air in the vicinity was tense.

“…Claudia-san, why don’t we hold hands?”

“What? I don’t want to desu wa.”

Shinku rejected Haruka’s outstretched hand with a cold attitude and words that was akin to a tundra.

Shinku’s eyes were illuminated by the faint light as if saying “It’s absurd for a commoner like you to think about holding hands with me, a noble.”

With a serious expression on his face, Haruka replied.

“I’m afraid of moving forward without someone holding my hand.”

It was true that Haruka was afraid, but he nonchalantly lied about not being able to move. He just wanted to feel Shinku’s warmth.

Since Haruka was going to help Shinku in her love affairs in the future, asking to hold her hand should be okay. He hoped that she would give him that much, since he was currently in the midst of dealing of his heartbreak.

“… You seem to be a light man on the inside as well as on the outside.”

Shinku insulted Haruka’s flashy appearance as well as his attitude, it seemed to be what she’s feeling towards him deep inside.

Haruka stared straight into Shinku in the darkness. For a while, a silent pause had drifted between the two. Realizing that Haruka’s will was stronger than hers, Shinku was the first one to fold.

“Haah… there’s no helping it. Since I owe you, I will give a special service desu wa.”

With a brusque attitude as if to say that she was unwilling to do so, she held out her hand towards Haruka.
Haruka immediately took Shinku’s hand before she changes her mind.

Shinku’s hand felt different from Yuzurika, Ria, and Miyako’s. Her hand was very warm, regardless.

“Thank you, Claudia-san. I will remember this for the rest of my life. I’ll be sure to help you get with Shun when we get back.”

“You’re disgusting. Now get on with it.”

As if he being kicked in the behind by Shinku, Haruka moved forward on the stairway that leads to the basement.

With a smile so small so that he wouldn’t be noticed, Haruka squeezed Shinku’s hand a little tighter.

Fan art of Shinku and Yunika shared by the author on his twitter.