The Pain of an Inferior: A Blistering Love Comedy That Begins After a Broken Heart - Chapter 48

“There’s only seven survivors left…”

“… We have 34 hours until the end of the game, right?

Kajita Shuuichi, a man of medium height, dark hair and dark eyes with an average face and physique, and Senrei Madoka, a well-groomed girl with bluish black hair and peach-colored eyes, were standing in an area lined with high-rise buildings, checking the map.

Both of them are wearing their school uniforms, but are stained with dust and blood, indicating that they have been through a certain amount of hardship.

Shuuichi’s the 3 of Spades. The condition for clearing the game is that [No one has the A of spades]. However, the A of spades is owned by another player at this moment.

Madoka is the Q of spades. The clear condition is [You must have a card of rank 1-10 regardless of its suit]. At the moment, she has the 3 of Spades that Shuuichi had at the beginning, the 4 of Spades that she got from another player after a scuffle, the 2 of Hearts that she picked up in the field, and the 6 of Clubs. Madoka has only met half of the requirements to clear the game.

“As long as I can kill the 5 of Spades and the Joker, I can fulfill Madoka’s clear condition.”

The mod that Shuuichi is using is one that shows the survival status of all players and the cards they have.

Currently, the 5 of spades has nine cards. With the nine cards including the five of spades and the Joker’s card change function, Madoka’s clear condition can be met.

“… Do we really have to kill them?”

The Joker at least has to go.”

The Joker has to kill all the players to clear the game. They didn’t see it, but it looks like some of the players have already been done in by the Joker.

If it were possible, Shuuichi would like to see the Joker go down with the 5 of Spades, but he didn’t thought that it will work out that easily.

Shuuichi doesn’t know if it was intentional or not, but his clear condition is not in conflict with his beloved childhood friend.

Shuuichi vows to survive this crazy game at any cost and return to his peaceful life.

It’s already mid game. Many players have already died.

He can’t escape from reality as he did at the beginning of the game.

“Soon this area will be a restrcited area… Shall we go? Are there players around?”

“I’m fine… There’s no one within 300 meters.”

Madoka had installed a mod to detect players within 300 meters.

If there’s a player within 300 meters, the location of the player can be determined every 20 seconds.

Shuuichi looked around to see which route he should take.

As Shuuichi relaxed because there were no players around, a black shadow appeared in his eyes. The shadow hid behind a car.

Shuuichi recognized the shadow and reacted with a speed that could be described as a reflex, protecting Madoka.

“Eh?!”

A single semi-automatic gunshot resounds.

Not once. Not twice.

Again and again, the shot rang out until both Shuuichi and Madoka are dead.

Shuuichi’s body shielded the bullets from reaching Madoka.

“Shuu-kun?!”

Shuuichi’s body became heavy. Madoka cannot support him and fell down with Shuuichi in her arms.

She did not understand what was happening.

Shuuichi was already dead, and he didn’t even left any last words.

A dull light is seen over Shuuichi’s shoulder.

There was a man with his arm on the front of the car, aiming at Madoka with a gun. He is definitely within a distance of 300 meters. However, Madoka’s detection mod did not respond.

“Why is tha-”

Madoka was shot right between her eyes without given any time to think.

She fell to the ground, clutching Shuuichi’s body tightly.

The gunman approaches them cautiously, holding his weapon at the ready.

After shooting them, Haruka came approached the bodies and collected the cards scattered around them, as well as the mods they were carrying.

“3 of Spades, here it is…”

After collecting all the cards, Haruka turns on his heel and leaves.

He took one last look at the dead bodies of Shuuichi and Madoka, and a sorrowful and pitiful expression appears on his face.

“Goodbye…”

The murmur melted into the air.

Haruka quietly left the place.

The detection jamming mod wore off and entered a cooldown time. It will be thirty minutes before it can be used again.

?

“I’m back”

“Welcome back”

Haruka arrived at a building where Shirogane Tsuyuri was hiding. They met up at the lobby.

“Here’s the 3 of Spades.”

Haruka handed Tsuyuri the 3 of spades he just got.

Tsuyuri had obtained 3 of Hearts and 3 of Diamonds along the way. With the 3 of Spades, Tsuyuri can fulfill her clear condition [Three of a kind], to clear the game.

Tsuyuri now has a new status “Clear” in her menu window.

If she can maintain this status at the end of the game, Tsuyuri can return to the real world.

“I got the clear status… Thank you, Obi-kun…”

Tsuyuri’s expression was gloomy as she conveyed her gratitude.

It’s no wonder.

In order to get her clear condition, Haruka had committed many atrocities.

Starting with Kuzuryuu’s murder for the K card, Haruka assassinated Kijima behind his back and threatened Yui.

He stole Yui’s J of Spades card, and left her behind with Serie.

He killed Kageyama Gonzou, the 9 of Spades, Reizei Suzu, the 10 of Spades, and just now killed had Shuuichi and Madoka, both by surprise.

To the Joker’s astonishment, Haruka had killed six people on his own.

Haruka had already met his clear condition by gathering a royal straight flush. The only reason he killed Shuuichi and Madoka was to save Tsuyuri.

Since Shuuichi and Haruka had competing conditions, it couldn’t be said that he only killed them for Tsuyuri. However, Tsuyuri felt that Haruka had killed them for her sake.

Haruka’s atmosphere didn’t change. But Tsuyuri can see him looking down frequently.

Haruka’s speech has decreased to the same level as Tsuyuri, and he rarely made idle talk anymore.

“In a couple of hours this area will be off limits, so let’s go for a short walk.”

“Okay…”

Haruka slung the sling attached to the assault rifle in his hand over to his shoulder and hung it in front of his body. He threw away a half-full magazine and replaced it with a new one.

Tsuyuri also checks the holster on her belt for her self-defense pistol, and followed Haruka.

The sun has already set, and the area is gradually getting darker.

“How are the other players doing?”

“They are still in the same place. One of them is moving, but not that much.”

Tsuyuri has installed a powerful mod that can detect the location of all players every fifteen minutes, and she reports to Haruka from time to time.

Using the undetectable mod that Haruka has, he can easily escape from Tsuyuri’s detection, but even now, she has never failed to detect him. Tsuyuri doesn’t know if he just doesn’t use it or if he doesn’t have it.

“Anyway, let’s go see Koizumi-san and Sakuragi-san.”

The Joker player, whom they have not seen yet are not shown on the map, but those of Sakuragi Yui and Koizumi Serie, whom she have already met, are shown on the map.

The remaining survivors, excluding the Joker, Haruka and Tsuyuri, were Sakuragi Yui and Koizumi Serie, whom they have first met.

“Sakuragi-san hates you. She might pull something off.”

If Yui had any weapons, Haruka could not complain about being shot.

“I can’t return her J of Spades to her, but if we give her Shirogane-san’s extra card, she can complete her clear condition, [form a Blackjack].”

If Tsuyuri gives up 10, 9, or 2 of her dozen cards except for the 3 of Spades, 3 of Hearts, and 3 of Diamonds, she can fulfill the condition.

“I know I’ve killed a lot of people, but if we’re going to survive, it’s better to survive as many people as possible.”

“Yeah, that’s right…”

Tsuyuri agreed with his opinion.

Yui would definitely have a grudge against Haruka, but if they could convince her to join them, the four of them could take on the Joker.

If Yui could forget her personal grudge against Haruka for a while, then Haruka, Tsuyuri, Serie and her would not have to fight each other.

“Let’s rest here for today.”

Haruka and Tsuyuri are at a three-story mansion located at the end of a large garden.

It was a conspicuous and spacious house in an upscale residential area. The house is large and spacious, plus it has three floors, which would reduce the possibility of being killed by grenades or guns from the outside.

“I’m going to go turn on the lights in the surrounding houses, so make yourself at home first.

“Okay… Be careful.”

Haruka went outside and turned on the lights of all the houses around them.

The Joker is rather far away, but only about ten kilometers. It would take the Joker at least three hours to get there on foot.

Tsuyuri has a light, but Haruka is still worried about a night attack, so he turned on the lights of the houses around him.

The Joker has the right to open the Joker Box, a box in which they can obtain powerful equipments.

Among them, there might be a night vision scope that can give them an advantage at night.

Haruka wanted to eliminate as much disadvantage as possible, so he turned on all the lights other than street lamps.

Turning on the lights of the houses within a hundred meters around him, Haruka retured to the mansion.

“Welcome back.”

Tsuyuri greeted him and they enter the living room. Haruka puts down his gun and lied down on the sofa.

“I’ve put some hot water in the bathtub, so you can go ahead and get in.”

“Got it.”

Feeling a little sleepy, Haruka took a bath prepared by Tsuyuri.

He washed his hair and body, and left the bathroom after soaking himself thoroughly in the hot water.

Instead of using the hair dryer, he used a towel even though it would take longer to dry his hair and urged Tsuyuri, who was having a light meal in the living room, to take a bath.

Haruka ate a small amount of preserved food, and laid down on the sofa with his hair still wet.

“Wait for me… I’ll definitely come back… I promise…”

He thought of his beloved girlfriends, Ria, Miyako, and Yuzurika, in that order.

He can’t die. He must kill the Joker at any cost and return home.

He sank down on the sofa, letting the drowsiness take him over.

Haruka spent a while in a state of uncertainty, as if he were conscious or not.

“Obi-kun… Obi-kun… Wake up…”

Tsuyuri’s voice whispered in his ear. Her voice is small but clear, and it stimulated Haruka’s brain.

Haruka woke up and slowly got up.

“You can’t relax on the sofa, you have to sleep on the bed, no?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The clock is displayed, showing the current time. It seems that he has been asleep for about an hour.

“Where’s the Joker?”

“He’s barely moving. It’s okay.”

Haruka slung the assault rifle on the table on his shoulder and went to the bedroom under Tsuyuri’s guidance.

The bed was made of expensive materials and was large enough for two people to sleep side by side.

Haruka placed his gun on the table near the bed and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Meanwhile, Tsuyuri threw herself on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. She quickly displays the map, making sure to check it every fifteen minutes.

Neither the Joker nor Yui and Serie seemed to move at night. The light spots on the map hardly moved at all.

Tsuyuri closed the map and look at the ceiling again. A different kind of tension, different from the one she was feeling before, moved through her body.

The door to the bedroom opened, Tsuyuri jolted straight up.

“I’m back.”

“Welcome back”

Greeting each other frequently became a habit for both of them.

“There was another bedroom nearby, so I’ll sleep there.”

Haruka said without hesitation, as if he didn’t want Tsuyuri’s opinion, he grabbed his gun and went to leave the room.

Tsuyuri grabbed his arm and held him back.

“No… Stay with me.”

Tsuyuri’s eyes were moist and she pleaded desperately.

Haruka looked up at the sky and answered.

“…. Okay.”

He puts down the gun and sits down on the bed.

Tsuyuri sat down right next to Haruka.

She leaned down on Haruka’s shoulder with a blank expression on her face.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah…”

The players holding the 9 and 10 spade cards attacked them earlier. Perhaps the fear from that time is still lingering through Tsuyuri’s mind.

Haruka hugged Tsuyuri’s shoulder and warmed her body as he always does with Ria.

“Obi-kun… Thank you for helping me…”

“You’re welcome.”

“That’s why…here”

Tsuyuri then stood up directly in front of Haruka and looked down at him.

“?”

Haruka tilted his head, not understanding her words and actions, and then Tsuyuri suddenly hugged Haruka on the front.

Surprised, Haruka put one hand on Tsuyuri’s back and held her lightly.

“I give you the right to monopolize my body.”

“I don’t want it.”

“…… Muu.”

Tsuyuri’s expression was serious as she locked eyes with Haruka at close range.

“You must accept your compensation.”

“I didn’t mean to save you…”

Haruka looked into Tsuyuri’s eyes.

Her cheeks are slightly flushed, her eyes moist. However, he can’t read her true intention just from her expression.

Haruka could’nt grasp whether she was saying this out of affection, or whether she was really saying it in a business sense.

“Not eating the meal set before him is a man’s shame.”

Saying this, Tsuyuri took Haruka’s lips with hers.

“nChuu.. …… Obi-kun… Protect me from the Joker… Tonight, I’ll pay you what I owe you until now and tomorrow’s protection fee…”

Tsuyuri’s words reminded him once again of her character.

Tsuyuri easily accepted the Haruka committing murder and decided to work with him without getting conflicted.

Even when Haruka easily chooses to kill, Tsuyuri does not condemn him at all, nor does she say a word to him, but rather cooperated with him.

It was obvious from her words and actions that Tsuyuri is a realist.

This time, she was probably trying to make Haruka’s love for her even deeper and to make him more protective of her.

“Okay… Will you be my partner?”

“Yes… Come here… My first time… I’ll give it to you.”

Hugging Haruka as hard as she could, Tsuyuri surrendered her body and virginity to Haruka.

(Sorry, Ria.)

Haruka apologized in his mind as he took her on his lap and devoured her mouth.

Compared to Yuzurika and Ria, who are taller than 170, and Miyako, who is 160, Tsuyuri was much smaller.

The difference in body size was so great that when Haruka hugged Tsuyuri, her body would be completely covered by his.

After kissing and caressing her, Haruka pushed him down on the bed.

The pressure on her small body made her body sink deeper into the bed.

As if to escape from the guilt of killing people, Haruka laid on top of her and continued to spew out his desires.

He continued to seek for Tsuyuri in a way that he had never shown to Yuzurika, Ria, and Miyako, baring his animalistic nature as if he was just operating on his instincts.

Even after Tsuyuri passed out from being forced to climax repeatedly, Haruka continued to defile her body.

“…. Thank you for being by my side until now, Shirogane-san.”

The gentle voice of Haruka’s voice reached Tsuyuri’s hazy brain.

Feeling her hair softly stroked, Tsuyuri fell into a deep sleep.

?

The next day, when Tsuyuri woke up, she didn’t find Haruka next to her.

The sun had already risen, and the sky was bluish, with a thin mist hanging over it.

Still in a daze, She was surprised when she checked the clock, and woke up.

It had been seven hours since she had slept with Haruka last night.

Tsuyuri blamed herself for falling asleep unprotected for seven hours. Depending on the Joker’s move, she might have died.

(But..It’s because Obi-kun was asking for me so hard..)

Tsuyuri blushed as she remembered her affair with Haruka.

Even though she wiped her body clean, there was still a strange feeling left inside her. In addition, her legs and feet are wobbly.

Shaking her head to dispel her worries, she opens the map.

As she glanced at the map, Tsuyuri’s eyes widen in astonishment.

The area detection mod is not working.

She fumbles in her pocket, but her fingertips do not hit anything. The mod that she had put away is missing.

It seems that Haruka had taken it out of her pocket while she was sleeping.

“Obi-kun…”

Frowning at the hot, sexually charged smell that wafted through the room, Tsuyuri quickly got ready and left the house.

However, she couldn’t walk well because of the lingering effects of last night’s violent affair.

Tsuyuri was afraid to fight the Joker, but she still wanted him to take her with him.

Being alone was the scariest thing of all.

“Obi-kun…”

Tsuyuri walked towards him with small steps, calling out his name.

?

A few moments after Tsuyuuri lost consciousness, Haruka left the house and went to the Joker’s location.

Haruka had confirmed the deaths of Yui and Serie with the mod that he stole from Shuuichi, which could confirm their survival status and the cards in their possession.

He thought that the Joker slept at night, but it seems that he was working diligently to eliminate the players.

Haruka, who became more emotional after his physical encounter with Tsuyuri, decided to fight against the Joker alone.

In the first place, he didn’t think that Tsuyuri’s presence would make any difference.

Using Madoka’s mod that detects players within 300 meters, and also using the detection mod for the whole area, he always checked for the Joker’s position.

Haruka arrived at a shopping arcade near a big department store.

Judging from the position of the light spot fifteen minutes ago, the Joker is here or is very close by.

Fifteen minutes have passed since the last update, and the map is updated.

The light spots of the Joker and Haruka are almost overlapping.

At last, the Joker is within 300 meters.

He could meet him at any moment.

Haruka used his detection jamming mod to escape the Joker’s detection.

There is no sound of life, no sound of machines, no sound at all. It’s a very lonely and silent world. Haruka strained his ears and waited for any change.

Suddenly a nearby building exploded. The explosion is not big, but the strong shockwave shook Haruka’s brain.

Next, the building next to it exploded as well. This time, something is seen flying at high speed.

The Joker seems to have a rocket launcher or a missile launcher of some kind.

“You hear me, Haruka! You don’t owe me anything in this world! I’ll kill you right here!”

“… What’s with that guy?”

The Joker spoke loudly to Haruka, who was hiding behind a building. It was the voice of a woman whom Haruka did not recognize. He’s relieved that it’s not someone he knows.

Tilting his head to the side as she spoke nonsense, Haruka bends down and ran toward the direction from which the missle came from.

“There you are!”

A woman’s voice echoed.

The newly launched missle passed over Haruka’s head and destroyed the building behind him.

He immediately raised his gun and shoots back.

However, the bullets are blocked by a transparent blue wall that appeared in front of the Joker.

Seeing this, Haruka pulled out the pin of a grenade and threw it in a big heap.

The Joker flees, the grenade only damaged a building.

“Obi Haruka! Poor you! It’s such an unfortunate end! It’s not your lucky day to get caught up in such a crappy game!”

“…… That guy.”

The Joker shouted in a high-tensioned, somewhat excited voice. Haruka didn’t understand what she was saying.

Haruka sees a missle flying toward the car he’s hiding in, and he quickly escaped by jumping into the shadows.

The impact came a beat later, and he endured it by curling his body.

“Are you still alive??”

Haruka fired his gun at towards the sound of the Joker’s voice.

“Whoops!”

The Joker backed away and climbed up the fire escape of a five-story building, using her missiles as a distraction.

As Haruka chases after the Joker, who is hit by the impact of the explosion, a missile launcher came down with a loud noise.

It seemed that the missile launcher was abandoned because it ran out of ammunition.

Haruka adjusted his posture and hurried after her.

Two floors above Haruka, the Joker entered a building.

Haruka entered the building from the floor below where the Joker entered.

As he is about to go up the stairs to the upper floor, Haruka found an elevator.

He peeks inside the elevator without going inside, quickly pressed the button for the upper floor, and pulls out. Muffling his footsteps as much as possible, he ascended the stairs.

The Joker sees the elevator coming up, just as Haruka had expected.

Haruka leaned forward and fired a shot just as the elevator doors open.

“He got me…! That guy!”

She looked around with a pained expression on her face after she confirmed that there is no one in the elevator.

When she heared a noise behind him, the Joker prepared for the worst.

Holding her gun ready, she turns around and sees Haruka with a wide-eyed look of astonishment on his face.

“Sumireko-senpai? Why are you-”

Immediately, the Joker shot out a bullet from the short machine gun in her hand and drove it into Haruka’s torso. As she did so, Haruka reflexively pulled the trigger of his gun.

Haruka’s bullet shot into the right arm of the girl who resembled Sumireko, the impact knocked her to the ground.

Haruka also received a sharp impact and fell backward, losing his posture but managing to stay on his feet.

The VR game they are in has illegal damage levels.

The damage caused by a gunshot is as painful as it is in real life.

Both of them felt a dull, sharp pain that seared to their core.

“Aa-… It hurts… Ahaha…”

“Sumireko-senpai…or not?”

The Joker looked exactly like Nanasaki Sumireko

The only difference was the atmosphere and their hair. Their height and appearance were really similar.

“Kusukusu… I’m her little sister, Sakurako. So you know my Onee-chan.”

The girl identified herself as Sakurako, Sumireko’s younger sister, drew a pistol from the holster on her waist with her left hand in place of her dominant hand, which she could no longer use.

Sakurako was still determined to kill Haruka and survive. She had more than enough chance to survive if she could stop the bleeding, even though she had lost her dominant arm.

As soon as he could, Haruka quickly held up his assault rifle with one hand and pulled the heavy trigger of his firearm. There was no way he could suppress the recoil with one hand, and the barrel of the gun shot up.

However, the first bullet gouged out Sakurako’s neck.

The bullet from Sakurako’s pistol hit Haruka’s shoulder.

Sakurako dropped her gun, and pushed down on the blood flowing from her neck. However, it was not a bleeding that could be managed by holding it down.

“Onee-chan… I…”

Sakurako collapsed.

She still seemed to be breathing faintly, but it would be over soon.

Haruka also sensed his end was near.

His body was heavy, and his fingertips were getting cold.

He felt no pain, but his body can’t move properly. He gazed blankly at the pool of blood that was overflowing from his own body.

The faces of Ria, Yuzurika, Miyako, Yunika, and Tsuyuri come and go like a revolving lantern.

Ria would be sad, but she has Yunika now. It will be all right.

Even Yuzurika, who was almost never at school, is very social and has many friends. She will be fine without him.

The problem was Miyako. Haruka, who had felt her love not only with words but with her body, was worried that Miyako might follow him to his grave. Since she had just came back from the dead, he wanted her to cherish her second chance in life.

“I’m sorry, everyone… I can’t go home… I’m so, so sorry…”

Haruka was hit by a terrible drowsiness that he had never felt before in his life, and could not stay conscious.

Haruka sat still, gradually losing his blood.

His breathing became shallow and short, and then he became quiet.

He loses the light from his eyes and collapsed, unable to maintain his position.

Staring at Sakurako’s corpse, Haruka quietly broke off.

Tsuyuri, who had arrived at the end of the battle, found Haruka’s corpse and burst into tears.

?

[A big round of applause for the finalists, Nanasaki Sumireko, Obi Haruka, and lastly the survivor, Shirogane Tsuyuri!]

The audience applauded loudly.

The audience, who had been quietly watching with bated breath until a few minutes ago, went nuts, creating an intense atmosphere in the venue.

In the midst of it all, there was a girl who was staring at the monitor in a daze.

“Obi-san… Oh no…”

Claudia Shinku gazed at the dead Haruka with a pale expression on her face.