The Pain of an Inferior: A Blistering Love Comedy That Begins After a Broken Heart - Chapter 26

“Ria, I need to talk to you.”

“Whaat is it?~”

During break time, Haruka talked to Ria about something. It was, of course, about the tennis club.

Ria tilted her head a little and waited for Haruka’s next words with sleepy eyes.

“Won’t you join the tennis club with me?”

“Sure. I’m free after school anyway.”

It was a unanimous consent.

“But why the tennis club?”

“Because Claudia-san belongs to the club and I want to see Ria’s wearing a tennis uniform”

“Your motive is too impure.”

With a giggle, Ria smiled with narrowed eyes. Haruka is caught in the moment and smiles too.

“But I can’t speak for others either. I just want to be with you all the time and I’m not interested in tennis.”

“It’s embarrasing so stop it”

Haruka’s cheeks turn red in dismay at the sudden outburst of her feelings for him.

Ria can’t stand the reaction anymore, and she asks for it, unable to hold back.

“Haruka, give me your ear.”

“What?”

Haruka tilts his face a little and turns his eyes toward his classmates and her right ear toward Ria.

Ria covers his ear with her hand and brings her face close to his. She kissed his ear gently. The sound of her lips stimulates her hearing.

“I looove you”

Ria pulls away from him, whispering her love to him. Her face was slightly hot.

“-!!!”

She was so full of love that Haruka couldn’t help but stroke her hair messily with his hands.

Ria screamed with happiness, smiling and letting him do what he wants.

Shiono Yunika was sitting alone in the far seat, watching the two’s interaction.

(They really get along well with each other, don’t they?)

It had been only two months since they had met, but they are so close that it could be said that they had been best friends for ten years.

Yunika receives two notices.

[Obi Haruka has joined the tennis club.]

[Ise Ria has joined the tennis club.]

It was a sudden participation in a club activity.

It seems that Shinku, who is also a member of the tennis club, also received the notice. They stopped chatting and looked in the direction of Haruka and Ria. It was only for a moment, and she immediately turned to the direction of the person she was talking to.

According to their profiles, both Ria and Haruka had never joined the club before. Should she show them around after school?

Yunika gets up and goes to them.

?

After school, Haruka and Ria were heading to the club building with Yunika who was leading the way.

“So, Obi, how was your date with Shinku?”

Yunika asked about the date, smiling a little. Haruka put his hand on his chin and thought about how he should answer. He had to take into consideration the possibility that what he was going to tell Yunika might be conveyed to Shinku directly.

“Claudia-san’s good posture made it hard for me.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Claudia’s posture is pretty good. Watching her walk and sit with such good posture only made me conscious, so I had to be mindful of mine as well..”

It’s not just her posture. Every single gesture she did was polite and beautiful. It was not that she was trying to look elegant, but her movements conveyed that discipline was drilled into her for a long time.

Since Shinku, who was walking next to him, was like that, Haruka also had to be conscious of his posture as he went out on the date.

Unexpectedly, Yunika’s impression of the date was very different from what she had expected.

“Your impression is also unusual, isn’t it?”

“You can’t expect normality from Haruka…”

“That’s rude.”

Yunika was surprised.

Yesterday, she had been a little curious and had asked Shinku how she felt about the date, and her reaction had not been too bad either.

When Shinku was in elementary school, she went on a date with a few promising boys, but she had a bad memory about them. It was strange that her date with Haruka had been so favorable.

“If I have a chance to date Claudia-san again, I would like to go on a picnic next time.”

“You mean to sit in the sun like you did with me?”

“That’s right. Basking in the sun, looking around the works of art in the area of the watchtower, and so on.”

Ria recalls the time when she was invited by Haruka to visit the Watchtower area a while ago.

They lay down on the grassy field and slept under the warm sunlight. At that time, before she became special to Haruka, she couldn’t give him the same sweet atmosphere that she does now.

Now that they are in a special relationship, Ria thinks that it would not be bad to go back to the Watchtower area and be pampered until the sun goes down, and dreams about how she would spend her holidays.

“A picnic with Shinku…”

Yunika can only see her saying that her legs hurt or that she can’t walk anymore, and eventually she will complain bitterly about it.

Suddenly, Yunika imagined herself going on a picnic with Haruka and Ria.

They would go around the Watchtower area with Haruka and Ria and eat their lunch outdoors, making light conversation as they went. It seemed like fun just to imagine it.

Yunika, who had not been able to make friends with anyone other than Shinku for nine years in the elementary school, had been longing to play with others.

She has been playing VR games for hours with Shinku, but basically, she doesn’t play outside much. At the most, she just goes to the clothing and accessory stores.

Moreover, she doesn’t enjoy playing with people in the high caste, like she did during the last time they played the Apocalypse game. She would rather hang out with people whom she would want to have a good time with.

Yunika joined Shun’s group only for her own protection, not because she enjoys being with him. People at the top often look down on people at the bottom. Many of the members of Shun’s group are no different, spending their days looking down on and ridiculing others.

Even though Yunika understands that their attitude is the right one, it is hard for her to accept it.

Therefore, Yunika often spent her free time alone. Fortunately, she is used to being alone.

Last week, when she was assigned to cleaning duty, she had a chance to talk with Haruka and Ria.

It was more comfortable for Yunika to be with these two different people who are completely out of the school caste.

“Yunika, would you like to go on a picnic with us sometime?”

As if sensing Yunika’s feelings, Ria invites Yunika to join them.

“Well… Maybe I’d like to go.”

Embarrassed, Yunika answers honestly. It warmed her heart. She prayed that the invitation was just not a social call.

“Then, the three of us should go out together sometime. I wonder if Claudia-san would come if I asked her?

“Who knows…”

While chatting and laughing, the three of them arrived at the tennis court.

There is not a soul in sight, and it is so deserted that it is hard to believe that there are more than a hundred members in the club.

Four unmanned courts stand in a quiet row.

As they enter the tennis court, the three names on the list of the tennis clubs glow orange, and their status changes to “active”. Yunika immediately removes the “active” status manually. Yunika’s name on the list turns gray.

“Hey, Yunika’s name is grayed out,”

“She set hers to offline mode since boys would come for Yunika if she’s
active.”

“It’s not easy being a pretty girl.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

She swallows Ria compliments and nods her head. Yunika does not deny that she is beautiful.

Whether she admits or denies her beauty, other women will backbite her no matter. If that’s the case, she ended up proudly boasting the beauty her mother and father have given her.

“The lockers in the locker room are marked with your size, so wear tennis wear that fits you. The washing machine is over there.”

Yunika points to a small square white building next to the locker room.

Throwing dirty tennis uniforms into the washing machine in the building will automatically wash and dry the uniform, and it automatically puts the uniform back in the designated locker in the locker room.

“Yunika, can you get my clothes from the women’s locker room?”

Ria begs Yunika with her hands clasped together and one eye closed.

Ria had not registered her transgender status because she was too lazy to do so, so she gets a warning when she enters the women’s locker room.

“Okay. Just tell me your size.”

“Right… Hmm, I sent it.”

Haruka, who has been watching Yunika enter the women’s locker room after receiving the data, also enters the men’s locker room to change.

A clean room with a soft and pleasant smell greeted Haruka.

Lockers with sizes S, M, L, XL, and XXL are lined up. Haruka picked up his size L tennis wear and started to change.

While he was changing, there was a knock at the door.

“Haruka, can I come in?”

“Sure~”

Haruka allowed her to come in because he was currently putting on his tennis pants. Ria entered the locker room with her tennis wear under one arm.

As Haruka took off his blazer and shirt, he noticed that Ria was staring at the changing process with a red face.

“Haruka, your upper body is quite firm, isn’t it?”

“I tried hard to make Miyako like me, but it was all in vain.”

For the past two years, Haruka has been going to the gym with Yuzurika and doing muscle training with Yuzurika’s help every day.

All in order to make Miyako like him. He read an article that women find men’s abs attractive, so he worked out a lot, especially his stomach.

“I-it’s not a waste… It’s making my heart beat faster.”

Ria approached Haruka unsteadily and touched his abdomen with her fingertips.

The sensation of her fingers tracing his body was like a caress, he almost squealed.

“Amazing… You’re so hard…”

“Ria… Wait a minute, that’s dangerous…”

Holding Ria’s slender wrists, which were caressing his abdomen without any hesitation, Haruka rebuked her in a low voice. The area down below was about to become as hard as his abdominal muscles.

Ria realized what she’s doing and backed away, looking up at Haruka shyly.

Haruka quickly put on a striped A10 tennis shirt, he shoves his uniform into his locker and leaves the locker room to Ria.

Not wanting to be bothered in case a male member of the club comes and enters the locker room, Haruka waits by the entrance for Ria to finish changing.

“I thought you were a lanky, but you’ve been working out a lot, haven’t you?”

Yunika, dressed in a pink and white mixed tennis wear, compliments Haruka.

“I’m just trying to be popular.”

“Impure.”

“Everyone’s motivation for working out is like this.”

She was wearing a sun visor and the knot in her twin-tail hair was in a different position than usual. It was a little fresh.

“You look so cute in your uniform, Yunika-san.”

“Thank you very much.”

Yunika responds to Haruka’s flirtatious compliments in a careless manner.

[Cute]. She has heard this word from many men in her life. She doesn’t feel anything when she is praised by Haruka.

The door to the men’s locker room opens with a bang.

Inside, Ria, wearing a tennis suit of the same design as Yunika’s, appears with a sense of shame.

The sight of her white thighs peeking out from under her skirt burns into Haruka’s brain.

“…. Ria, you’re so, very cute.”

“Yeah… Thank you, Haruka.”

Unlike Yunika, who he complimented with a cool face, Haruka’s face flushed and he spewed out words filled with his feelings.

Yunika frowns slightly at the difference in his attitude towards the both of them.

Yunika takes three tennis rackets from the storage room by the locker room and hands one to each of them.

“So, do you guys know the rules of tennis?”

“I don’t know the rules in detail, but I know the main part.”

“I’m like that too.”

“Well, let’s just play and learn.”

Yunika walks toward the tennis court. Haruka and Ria followed.

“I’m going to do some warm-up exercises.”

Yunika shares a video file, and the video is displayed in front of them.

A 3D mannequin seemed to be teaching them how to do the warm-up exercises. The three of them lined up and did the preparation exercises as the mannequin taught them.

After that, Yunika taught them how to play tennis, as if they were really playing. Yunika was putting into practice what she had learned from the VR game, that beginners should be taught to enjoy the game first.

For a while, the three of them lightly hit each other’s balls to get used to playing tennis.

Haruka returns Yunika’s ball with awkward movements appropriate for a beginner. However, the force and the way of hitting the ball are typical of beginners, and the ball easily flies off the course.

Ria’s improvement speed was off the charts, and in about 30 minutes she had come close to Yunika’s level of skill, which surprised her.

“Ria, you… You’re so smart. Is it bad to praise your talent?”

“There’s no problem. Thank you.”

When Yunika mentions genetic engineering, Ria smiles coolly and shakes her head, saying she doesn’t mind.

Yunika’s heart is burning. Her competitive nature makes her interested in Ria’s special talent, which is said to be genetically engineered.

“Let’s start the match! Obi, you stay there and watch!”

“Eh? Huh?”

Ria rolls her eyes in surprise. Her eyes dart back and forth between Yunika and Haruka, and she starts to act suspicious.

A scoreboard is displayed beside the tennis court.

The buzzer sounds, signaling the start of the match.

“The rules are three-game matches. Don’t be shy!”

Yunika, the server, releases her serve.

The battle is about to begin.

?

Ria’s talent was monster-like.

She returned Yunika’s sharp serve without fail, and even responded to strong volleys and tightly placed lob shots.

With her long legs and quick feet, she backhanded a ball hit to the opposite side of the court.

This was not her first 30 minutes of action.

Despite the high level of the battle going on, Haruka’s eyes were often on Yunika and Ria’s skorts. Fortunately, they were concentrating on the match and he was not to be blamed.

Tilting his head at the scoreboard, which for some reason kept increasing by fifteen or ten points, Haruka silently watched the outcome of their battle.

Watching Yunika’s serving motion, Ria tried to imitate her by serving at the same speed as Yunika. Yunika returns with her eyes wide open in surprise.

When Yunika showed her a new way to serve, Ria immediately absorbed it and made it her own.

In the first game, Yunika won by three points due to the difference in experience, which cannot be overturned by talent, but in the second game, the game was brought to deuce 40-40, and she lost by two points.

In the third game, it was again 40-40 to deuce.

Both Yunika and Ria were sweating and breathing heavily, concentrating on each other’s every move.

Yunika had the advantage at first, and was about to take the game if she shot again.

Yunika hunted down Ria with more brilliant moves than ever before. Ria tried her best, but her racket could not reach the ball one more time, and Yunika finally took the game by two points.

The words “Game over” were displayed on the scoreboard in large letters.

“Good job, you two!”

Haruka greeted them, but Yunika pushes Ria with a devilish look on her face.

“Ria, you went easy on me at the end!”

“Eh? I-I didn’t…”

Ria’s words had no power.

“You’re lying. You were acting strange towards the end. You’ll never be able to face your talent if you’re like that! Coward!”

She was angry at Ria for being a pushover, and worry for her future.

Yunika was about to get her even angrier, but Haruka tried to settle the situation by intervening.

“Oh, come on, Yunika. Ria didn’t mean to hurt you either.”

Yunika looks at Haruka with an upward glance. She frowns and sighs. She seems to have calmed down a little.

“…… Well, that’s all right. Let’s continue the practice.”

“Sorry… I’m sorry, Yunika.”

Ria apologized in a small voice to Yunika who turned her back on her heel. Yunika turned around and looked at Ria’s face. Her expression was grim, troubled, and indescribable.

Haruka, who watched the video of Ria’s victory in the competition of the game [Ember], felt a pain in his heart.

“Yunika is right… I have to face it properly, don’t I?”

Ria looked up from her prone position and looked straight into Yunika’s eyes.

“Next time I will fight seriously. So, will you fight me again?

Yunika’s expression softened as she heard Ria’s words filled with her strong will.

“-Then, I’ll fight you next.”

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice came to them, and they reflexively looked for the owner of the voice.

A girl was standing beside them.

Yunika shouts in surprise.

“Manager?! When did you…?”

The girl called “Manager” was wearing the same special uniform as Miyako.

Haruka immediately checked out her profile.

Her name is Nanasaki Sumireko.

She is 20 years old. She is in the fifth year, the same grade Haruka’s older sister, Yuzurika.

At the age of 20, Sumireko had already reached rank B citizenship. She was definitely an excellent person.

She has black hair, which looks slightly purplish in the sunlight, flowing straight down her back. She has a neat face that gives an impression of intelligence. She wears red-rimmed glasses, which adds to her intellectuality.

She wears a sleeveless black shirt and a dark green tie. She was wearing a white coat instead of a blazer. She was wearing a black mini-skirt and black knee socks. Her white thighs peeking out between the black items are dazzling.

“Ise Ria. You’re going to have a match with me next.”

“Eh? Ah… Yes…”

Unsure of the situation, Ria agreed.

“It’s unusual for Manager to join the tennis club”

“We have two new members. I thought I’d hold a welcome match for them.”

Yunika looked puzzled. But she had nothing to say.

“Well then, let’s play.”

Sumireko borrowed a racket from Yunika and went to the court. She was going to play the game in her uniform without changing.

Ria followed with a question mark in her head.

Sumireko takes off her white coat, folds it up, and puts it on the ground. She took off her glasses and puts them on the white coat.

Seeing Sumireko taking off her lab coat, Haruka and Ria were absolutely shocked.

It seemed that a sorcery that alters recognition was used in her lab coat and glasses, by taking them off revealed the real Sumireko.

She was indeed normal until a few minutes ago. But not now.

Her left arm is a mechanical prosthetic hand, and her right leg is a mechanical prosthetic leg. Both of her eyes had been gouged out and replaced by artificial eyes. The whites of her eyes were jet black as if they did not reflect any light, and the pupils were a beautiful, inorganic green light as if they were inlaid with emeralds.

It is a fashion called “Deficit Style”. Although Haruka knew about it, it was the first time for him to see a person actually doing it.

In the olden days, when medical technology had not yet developed, it is said that if a person losts a limb or an eye in an accident, they would not be able to get it back.

Nowadays, however, it was possible to heal them inexpensively. Whether a person losts both arms and legs, organs, blindness, total paralysis, or congenital disabilities, they could be completely healed within a week.

In an age when the five-body satisfaction is taken for granted, some people have come to feel that having physical defects is a part of their individuality.

Although it is not a fashion favored by the masses because of the inconvenience it causes to their daily life, there are certainly a small number of people with a preference for deficit style like Sumireko.

“Amazing…”

Haruka marveled at her mechanical limbs.

“So she just came here to try it out.”

Yunika muttered in exasperation. She was probably referring to the mechanical limbs and eyes.

“Let’s start the game!”

The buzzer sounded to signal the start of the match.

Ria was given the right to serve.

“Here I go!”

She tosses the ball, bends her back, and swings her racket.

A flat serve with a speed faster than Yunika’s was released.