The Pain of an Inferior: A Blistering Love Comedy That Begins After a Broken Heart - Chapter 49

“Please, Father. Please stop this game. Obi-san and Shirogane-san are my friends.”

Seeing Shinku appealing desperately, Reiji smiled innocently.

“That’s impossible. I don’t have that kind of authority.”

Shinku hoped that Reiji was lying.

From the reactions of the people around her, it’s clear that the organizer of this event is definitely Reiji.

The fact that her father was involved with the criminal organization [Red Rom] was also shocking and upsetting in its own way. But more than that, Shinku wanted to save Haruka and Tsuyuri somehow.

“By the way, that man named Obi, the King told me to let him in, and he was right.”

Reiji said as if he was impressed.

Reiji still doesn’t know what the King’s intention was, but Haruka had entertained the audience more than he had imagined.

He’s good-looking, quick-witted, good at making decisions, and moves well. Not only that, he even made the audience feel wet.

The audience was betting on the survival of the players, and the fact that Haruka killed all the top three odds-on players, Kuzuryuu, Reizei, and Kajita, by himself was appreciated by many people.

“Give it up, Shinku. Just be a good girl and watch with us. You’re gonna end up as a poor victim killed by Red Rom if you don’t bet on the players.”

“……”

What Reiji was saying was such a clean and simple statement that even an idiot can understand it. In fact, Shinku had no choice but to bet on Haruka, because if she doesn’t bet, her life activity would be stopped by the special function of the VR machine.

Even though Red ROM threatened to kill her if she didn’t bet, more than 90% of the guests were definitely enjoying the party. There were a few who were puzzled like Shinku, but really only a few.

“Shinku, I’m not forcing you to understand. But this game will definitely help you grow as a person. It will broaden your perspective. You may not believe it, but it’s true.”

Red Rom does not intervene in any of the games that Haruka and the others are forced to play.

It doesn’t matter how boring the game will get. Everything there was, the strength of the people, the spark of life, the wavering emotions, the changing relationships, is told as it is.

That is why many audiences were fascinated.

There were times when there were no climaxes and the excitement was lacking.

There were times when the game was exciting but the ending was disappointing.

In any case, the fun of the game is not consistent.

However, the popularity of the game has not diminished.

There was certainly entertainment that came from the lack of scripts and rails, with no intervention from the management or customers.

“Oh well. Now it’s time for an eight-hour break in reality. Clear your head a little.”

“…… Yes.”

Shinku’s face fell and her face contorted in frustration.

It was frustrating and sad that she could do nothing but watch as Haruka and Tsuyuri were suffering.

“Come on, Shinku. Let’s log out.”

Shinku logged out quietly as her sister Midori urged her to do so.

After logging out, Shinku woke up in the private room assigned to her. She jumped out to escape from the advanced VR machine and threw herself on the big bed.

“Obi-san…Shirogane-san..I’m sorry.”

She muttered a small apology to the two people who are still trapped in the virtual world.

Shinku knew nothing about it. About the [Red Rom] crime party. She knew nothing. Although she’s in a position to say that she is innocent and not responsible, she can’t escape from the guilt of involving them in the mistake made by her relatives.

?Please… Please… Please survive.)

She could only pray for their return.

If they die inside the game, they will die in the real world as well.

Shinku lied on her bed and looked out of the window.

The sky is a cloudless blue, the exact opposite of her current state of mind.

“Hang in there, Obi-san…”

The small, grainy murmur melted into the air and disappeared.

Shinku was terrified.

?

Tsuyuri, who cleared the game, is currently standing in the pitch-dark world.

Despite the darkness, she hasn’t lost her sense of balance. It was a mysterious place.

[Congratulations on clearing the game!]

A woman’s mechanical voice is heard along with a huge “Congratulations” message.

[But unfortunately, this is not the end of the game.]

“…?”

[The game will be played four times in total. After four games, the audience chooses the best game.

Only the survivors of the chosen game can return to reality. In other words, Shirogane Tsuyuri’s survival is not yet determined.]

Even Tsuyuri, who is usually very intelligent, could not understand what she was saying.

Maybe she is still in shock from the loss of Haruka.

[In each game, the survivor that is the MVP is called to this space.

This time, the only survivor was Shirogane Tsuyuri. Therefore, you were inevitably called to this space.]

“I am…”

Tsuyuri wanted to say something, she wanted to ask something. But she couldn’t say anything and kept her mouth shut.

[The MVP in the game is allowed to keep his or her memory as a reward.

In the second game, the survivor will remember will everything from the first game.]

The message was hopeless, but at the same time there was hope.

Tsuyuri’s eyes lit up with life.

[You are to make good use of the memories of the first game and get around in the second game.

If you survive the second game and are chosen as the best survivor, you can keep your memories for the third game.]

“I can help Obi-kun…”

Tsuyuri is no saint.

She was saddened by Haruka’s death, and although there was a possibility to save him, Tsuyuri also wanted to go home because she had completed the game. That is rather normal.

However, Tsuyuri also wanted to save Haruka. After all, it’s no exaggeration to say that Haruka saved her life. Tsuyuri doesn’t think that she could have completed the game by herself.

The time they spent together and the number of words they exchanged were too few. But they were irreplaceable comrades who shared the same feelings and aimed at the same goal.

Although she had a physical encounter with Haruka not out of sweet and sour infatuation, but in a business sense as a compensation for his protection, Haruka was still her first man. Tsuyuri can’t help but have feelings for him.

Just the thought of having to play the game again disgusted her.

But if she can’t escape, she should use the memories she got to keep to save Haruka.

“Okay…”

Tsuyuri lightly slapped her cheeks with both hands, and regained her strength.

Her brain, which had become a little calmer, is reminded of what the woman had said to her a little while ago.

(The audience picks the best game…)

“~~~~~~~~!”

Remembering the woman’s words, Tsuyuri writhed in agony.

There is a strong possibility that [Red Rom] saw her affair with Haruka. Not only Red Rom, but maybe there were some bad people who had come to watch the show as a spectator.

Her face turned red with shame, and she fell down on the spot.

(What bad taste…).

Due to how tense the game was, Tsuyuri couldn’t think of anything else.

The game that Tsuyuri and the others were being forced to play was probably a spectacle of some value to some people.

It’s easy to imagine the bad guys observing and ridiculing the players’ moves.

In addition, they must have watched Tsuyuri with lustful eyes as she was kept on her knees and made to squeal all night long by Haruka.

Tsuyuri got goosebumps just by imagining it. It was so horrifying that she had a headache.

Tsuyuri was so ashamed, but she tried to keep her composure.

“Enough… Start the next game already!”

In the end, Tsuyuri couldn’t keep her cool and screamed with red cheeks.

?

Read Shinku Interlude [here] (contains R18 elements)

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A fresh breeze caressed Tsuyuri’s cheeks.

She woke up on the roof of a three-story building.

As she looked around, a familiar scene jumps into her field of vision.

She contemplated and thought back to what she have just experienced.

Just as the machine voice said, she remembered everything from the last game.

“With you, Obi-kun… If you survive all the remaining games…”

If one of the four games was chosen, then surviving all the games would ensure them to return home alive.

Though Haruka had already died in the first game, he would be able to survive the second and later games by using Tsuyuri’s memories.

Tsuyuri gets up and leaves the rooftop to look for Haruka.

Since the starting point was different from the previous game, she was worried that she might not be able to meet him. She can’t whine about it. She has to find him somehow.

Tsuyuri reaches into her pocket and pulls out a card.

“…… No way.”

She looks at the card, and is stunned.

The card was the 10 of Spades.

The clear condition is [the total of the cards in your possession must be over 50].

Although it was not realistic, it was the type of condition that could be cleared without killing a single player if she was lucky.

The reason Tsuyuri was stunned was not because of the clear condition.

(The initial cards are different from the previous game.)

In the last game, the first card Tsuyuri was given was the 5 of Spades.

And this time, the initial card is the 10 of Spades.

This meant that Haruka also has a different card.

“What if Obi-kun is the joker? What should I do..”

Though the answer was still unknown, she was at her wits’ end.