The Pain of an Inferior: A Blistering Love Comedy That Begins After a Broken Heart - Chapter 47

Haruka and Tsuyuri were walking in a quiet residential area outside the school.

Haruka reviewed the clear conditions of all the players over and over again.

3 of spades [no one has the A of spades]

K of spades [the initial holder of A of spades is dead].

The 3 of spades depends on the situation, while the K of spades clearly requires Haruka’s death. Apart from that, there is a joker whose clear condition is total destruction of all the other players.

Then, Haruka checked at his own clear condition.

[Complete a Royal Straight Flush]

Since the thirteen cards that are dropped are clearly stated to be random in suit and rank, naturally he should not expect them.

Haruka needs 10 of spades, J, Q, K, or a joker.

In fact, the four cards of 10, J, Q, and K does not require Haruka’s initial card to be cleared. However, in terms of the clear condition, 10 and J must be bargained or robbed.

Haruka cannot choose the uncertain way of bargaining when he wants to return home for sure.

He has to kill them at any cost, and he has to get the cards.

“Oi!!, anybody here?!”

“Anybody here?!”

The voices of a man and a woman echo in the deserted residential area. They are quite clear because of the lack of ambient noise.

Whatever cards they have, he needs the rule fragments from them anyways. Thinking of this, Haruka turns toward the voice.

“Are you going?”

“I need the rule fragment… I want to survive.”

As if caught by the Haruka’s nervousness, Tsuyuri also looks anxious.

The voices of the man and woman earlier, at least they were not the voices of the people whom he knew. Haruka is relieved, at least a little.

“Oh, it’s a person!”

“Hey!”

Haruka crossed the street at a fast pace, aiming for the two people who were shouting. As they turned to a corner onto a wide street, They see a group of four men and women about a hundred meters ahead.

They were seen from a distance, excited to have found the two.

Haruka stared frantically at the four figures. All of them were strangers to Haruka.

Haruka was relieved that Ria, Miyako, Yuzurika, or his other close friends were not involved. Probably, it was a coincidence that Tsuyuri and Haruka were chosen. In the first place, they are not that close to each other except that he was in the same class with Tsuyuri, so it’s more likely a coincidence.

The group ran up to the two of them. One of the girls greeted them with a smile that did not seem to fit the situation.

“Hello! I’m glad. There are more people here than us.”

“Hello.”

After exchanging greetings, Haruka takes in the faces and statures of the four people in his head.

“Uh, let’s see… Let’s just introduce ourselves…? I guess?”

One of the girls said as she looked at Haruka’s face as well as Tsuyuri next to him.

“My name is Obi Haruka. Nice to meet you.”

“Shirogane Tsuyuri…”

“I am Sakuragi Yui. Nice to meet you.”

A girl of average build for a woman with slightly reddish brown hair introduced herself as Sakuragi Yui. Like Tsuyuri, she was dressed in a school uniform of some school.

She was a beautiful girl with long slit eyes and a pleasant but somewhat strong-willed image.

“My name is Kijima Isao. Pleased to meet you.”

A man almost as tall as Haruka at 5’7″ introduced himself as Kijima Isao. His light blond hair was short and side-swept in a two-block hairdo. He had a flashy earring in his ear and had the appearance of a man who was one step ahead of his age.

“I am Koizumi Serie.”

She was a small, beautiful girl with large breasts that caught Haruka’s attention. Large, round eyes. Her long black hair was braided in a big braid at the back. She has a slightly frightened and shy atmosphere. She was wearing a fluffy yellow one-piece dress that did not show her body line, as if she had a complex about her breasts.

“Kuzuryuu Masaomi.”

He was a tall man with black hair and eyes. Although he was not as tall as Shun, he had a sweet mask that would attract girls’ attention and was taller than Kijima. He looked like a man who would be popular with women. He was dressed in a stylish shirt, pants, and shoes.

“How much do you know about the situation?”

Each of them pondered for a few seconds before answering Haruka’s question.

“About as much as we are being forced to participate in a game we don’t really understand? As well as getting kidnapped.”

“….I can’t remember anything from yesterday.”

“Same for me”.

Haruka let out a sigh.

“Really, I don’t have time for this stupid card game.”

Kuzuryuu pulls out a card from his breast pocket while fuming. He was holding the King of Spades.

Seeing this, Haruka’s expression turns grim. The K of spades is one of the necessary cards for Haruka, and for Kuzuryuu, Haruka’s death was one ofhis conditions to clear the game.

“You all have cards, too, don’t you?”

Tsuyuri, who was standing beside Haruka, felt coldness in Haruka’s voice.

“Yes, I do. I have the J of Spades.”

“… I have the 2 of Spades.”

“I-I have the 7 of Spades.”

Yui said as she took out her card, and Kijima declared his without taking out his card. Serie followed him and declared her card.

“What was written in your rule fragments?”

“Wait a minute, Obi-kun. Are you planning to play this strange game?”

“No. I’m just interested in the rule fragments. Maybe it’ll tell us why we we’ve been kidnapped.”

Kuzuryuu sees through Haruka’s bland act.

“Oi, what’s your card?”

“… Ace of spades.”

Haruka looked straight at Kuzuryuu and answers coldly. Hearing this, Kuzuryuu sneered.

“Whether you participate in the game or not, let’s just exchange our rule fragments. If we have a little more information that each of us has, we might be able to figure out something.”

“Fine.”

“I’m in”

From the atmosphere of their brief conversation, it seems that Kuzuryuu is the only one who thinks rationally and is willing to play the game.

Haruka had no intention to tell the rank of his card if he wasn’t pressured, but Kuzuryuu pursued him in a strong tone without allowing any lies. If he was so concerned about Haruka’s card, it means that he had plans to play the game.

Kijima was just going along with the exchange of rule fragments in a casual manner, and no sense of danger could be felt from him.

Yui definitely does not want to play the game. She is unconciously escaping from reality as if she can’t accept the current situation.

Serie is not so sure. She is suspiciously timid and doesn’t talk much, and Haruka couldn’t see how she perceives the game.

Unfortunately, one of the four new players Haruka encountered has the same rule fragment as Tsuyuri has, but still Haruka was able to learn three new rules.

[Rule fragment 2.

Cards which become difficult to obtain for some reason are reallocated to a random place.

This applies to the case where the card is in an impenetrable area, or where the card can only be removed by destroying a building.]

[Rule fragment 6;.

Food and water can be obtained from randomly placed boxes.

Weapons and mods can be obtained from randomly placed boxes in the same way.

Weapons and mods become more powerful as time goes by.

There is a Joker Box that only the Joker can open. Inside the box are powerful weapons and mods, regardless of the passage of time.]

[Rule fragment 7.

The outer area becomes a forbidden as time passes.

Twenty-four hours after the start of the game, the outer perimeter becomes a forbidden area, and the perimeter is narrowed every twelve hours thereafter.

A warning sound is made when you enter the forbidden area, and you are forced to die after 15 minutes in this state.

The map mod, which can be obtained with high probability, displays the forbidden area. ]

“Joker box…”

Haruka muttered. Kuzuryuu didn’t miss it and answered.

“Considering the hurdle of the Joker’s clear condition, it seems reasonable.”

Yui and Kijima tilted their heads as they saw Haruka and Kuzuryuu thinking about something.

“…. Hey, what do you mean?”

“I don’t understand.”

Haruka shared the newly acquired rule fragments to Tsuyuri, the six of them discussed the future in earnest.

“Let’s find a phone and call the police. Even in the lower levels, there are phones, right?”

“If the Talisman doesn’t work, how can the phone work?”

“Maybe we could find an adult to help us?”

“We’ve been walking around for at least an hour now and we haven’t found anyone except for the six of us, as far as we know. Maybe there’s only fourteen of us, like the window you’re said?”

“You never know. There should be lights on at night. If we go to a building with lights on…”

Whenever Yui came up with a plan, Kuzuryuu and Haruka would criticize her. Kijima would follow up on his ideas, and sometimes interject some banter to keep the conversation going.

Tsuyuri, who was not very talkative by nature, and Serie, who was a little timid, watched the exchange between the four of them in silence.

Haruka was thinking about the future.

How to get the cards from Kuzuryuu and Yui.

If he killed them, he would have to kill Kijima, whom he now knew, as well. Tsuyuri and Serie has no conflict with Haruka’s clear condition, so they will not be killed even if Haruka was accussed of murder.

Kuzuryuu is not that big, but he has no openings. In particular, Haruka felt that he was particularly wary of him, the A of spades.

Yui is not quite ready to face the reality even though she is aware of the current situation. She’s easy to be caught off guard if there is no one around.

However, Haruka found it too troublesome if he can’t kill them instantly.

Haruka does not have the skill of strangling or breaking necks. He can continue to assault them until they die, but it will take a long time if he don’t do it smoothly.

So, Haruka guessed that he’ll need weapons.

“By the way, I’m hungry…”

“I’m hungry, too.”

Kijima and Serie both expressed their hunger. The other four were also hungry and thirsty, though they did not say so.

“There might be some in the houses around here, so let’s go look for them.”

“Wait, that’s a crime!”

“There’s no adults here, so it’s okay. It’s an emergency situation!”

Ignoring Yui’s cries, Kijima entered a nearby house.

Haruka also entered a nearby house. Tsuyuri follows him behind.

“I’m going to look upstairs.”

Tsuyuri nodded her head in agreement.

Haruka entered the room on the second floor and looked around.

It was a simple room with only a tattered bookshelf, a desk, and a chair. On the desk, there was a black box, which was obviously different from the others.

(Is this the Joker Box?).

However, Haruka could not find anything like a key. When he put his hand on the lid, it opened easily. It seems that this is not the joker box.

There was no food or water in the box, but a small dagger with a blade of about 10 cm in length was inside the box with its sheath.

“I wonder if a gun or something will come up soon…”

With a sigh, Haruka turned over. He stood there for a while, staring at the floor.

Haruka looks up, sheathes the knife, and inserts it behind his waist, between his pants and shirt.

He checks the time until the game starts.

There are two hours left.

Violence and murder before the game start will incur penalties. If one wants to kill, they have to do it after the game starts.

“Obi, kun…”

Tsuyuri opened the door and peeked into the room with only her face.

“Did you find anything?”

“There was food… And water…”

“I see… Thank you.”

Tsuyuri found two 500-milliliter bottles of water and enough seasoned preserved food for two people on the first floor. Aside from the water, there is far less than enough food for six people.

“There’s probably nothing left here, so let’s go back to the others.”

“Okay.”

Haruka took Tsuyuri back to the others.

After an hour of searching, they found only two boxes with food and water.

Yui’s expression was gloomy as she stared at the boxes.

“Why are there boxes of food and water, but not people…”

“Is this a game after all?”

“In this day and age, you can’t do that kind of nonsense, right?!”

Yui says in an exasperated tone.

In fact, kidnapping six to fourteen people is unrealistic. However, the fact that the abductees were gathered in this way was undeniable. This fact irresistibly consumed her mind.

“Where did you all start to lose your memories?”

Haruka starts to talk about something that is of no importance. It was nothing, just to change to atmosphere.

“I don’t remember anything from the time I got back from club activities… I don’t even remember being abducted.”

“I was on my way home from shopping.”

“I was on my way home from a date with my girlfriend.”

The other three, except for Kuzuryuu, each tell their last memory.

“I had a date with my girlfriend too, and I was going home happy… Seriously, give me a break.”

Looking up at the sky that is gradually turning blue, Haruka sighed for the umpteenth time.

Although Haruka was reluctant to open up to them, he didn’t want to be stuck in an awkward space, so he tried to talk to them moderately to deepen their understanding of each other.

“Oh, by the way, Serie, Yui, and Tsuyuri are very beautiful. I hope one of you can be my lover.”

“Didn’t you say that you have a girlfriend?”

“My current girlfriend is a bit of a pain… Yui, when we get back, will you go out with me?”

“I don’t want a sleazy guy.”

Listening to the chatter beside him, Haruka looked at the time until the game started.

The game would start in three minutes.

He left the circle and made up his mind.

Haruka went to the rooftop of a nearby old building.

Leaning against the rusty fence on the rooftop, he tried to clear his mind once again.

Although it’s only idealistic, there is a possibility that all the cardholders of 10, J, Q, K, and A can survive and live.

Haruka, who has the A, gets the 10, J, Q, and K of spades from the other survivors, and clears his condition.

Kuzuryuu with K clears his condition by fulfilling the Q condition and having a joker card.

The player with Q finds an A and a 10, which may or may not be present, from the randomly placed cards, and clears the other cards by any means.

The player with J makes 21 with a card he finds or another player’s card, without using his own J, and clears his condition.

The player with 10 makes a total of 50 or more with cards he/she finds or other players’ cards, without using his/her own 10.

Of course, this is impossible. Luck was also strongly involved. It’s not realistic.

Haruka looked up at the brightening sky with a resigned expression on his face.

“Yo, Obi”

“What’s wrong? Kuzuryuu?”

Behind Haruka stood Kuzuryuu. It seemed that he went out of his way to chase after Haruka, who was now alone.

“I’ve come to negotiate. In exchange for my card, I want you to cooperate with me.”

Kuzuryuu offered his card, the K of spades.

“That’s very kind of you, but are you sure?”

“Yeah, you seem like a trustworthy guy.”

The words “The game is about to start” were suddenly displayed in a big font in front of their eyes.

From now on, violence will not be punished.

“So it begins….”

Kuzuryuu muttered as he looks around.

“Yes, it has.”

“…. Well, that’s all I’m going to say.”

“…… Thank you.”

Kuzuryu holds out his hand with the card.

Not knowing what he was thinking, Haruka hesitated in alarm. However, he finally reached out his hand to take the card.

Just before she was about to accept it, the card fell out of Kuzuryuu’s hand.

It was an ordinary event. The card just fell out.

Haruka immediately bent down to pick up the falling card.

Immediately after, he feels a shock to his head.

He found himself on the ground.

With his consciousness almost fading, he realized that he had been kicked by Kuzuryuu.

However, before Haruka could get himself into a good position, Kuzuryuu attacked him.

Haruka tried to defend himself, but he was kicked in the arms and abdomen, and is unable to move properly.

Kuzuryu grabbed Haruka by the collar and dragged him around, then he bent down and tightened his grip on Haruka neck from behind.

“Ggh…. Gah…”

“Die like this!”

Kuzuryuu made a fatal miscalculation, he who smartly drove Haruka to the brink of death.

Haruka took out the knife he had hidden between his pants and shirt and plunged it into Kuzuryuu’s side.

“Guah?!”

Haruka was released from Kuzuryuu’s chokehold, and he fought back without catching his breath.

He kicked Kuzuryuu’s jaw, and inserted the knife sideways into the convulsing Kuzuryuu’s heart.

The knife cuts through the blood vessel of Kuzuryuu’s heart without being blocked by his ribs.

Thus, under the clear blue sky, a player died.

It happened so fast.

“Obi..kun..?”

“Shirogane-san…”

Tsuyuri stood at the entrance to the rooftop with a stunned expression on her face.

Haruka holds out his bloodstained hand to her.

“Let’s escape together… We don’t have a conflict of interest.”

Frankly, Haruka doesn’t know if this was a good idea. He asked for Tsuyuri, who seemed to be a hinderance.

“Okay… I’ll follow you.”

Tsuyuri understood the nature of the game now, and seeked the protection of a strong man.

Haruka also wanted to keep Tsuyuri close to him, to hold down his heart that was about to be swallowed by the darkness.

“I found a first-aid kit at a private house… Come here… I’ll take care of you.”

“Thank you…”

Although a person died in front of her eyes, Tsuyuri didn’t seem to be disturbed to the point of confusion.

Nor does Haruka see any hatred or rejection towards him.

Perhaps Tsuyuri’s mind is more quick witted than Haruka thought, as well as her thought process being more pragmatic.