The Pain of an Inferior: A Blistering Love Comedy That Begins After a Broken Heart - Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Apocalypse 1

It was Sunday.

It was the day Haruka had promised to hang out with Ria.

It had only been two days since his heartbreak, his wounds still ran deep.

He was looking forward to their holiday date with eagerness, hoping to forget everything.

Haruka waited for Ria while leaning against a pillar in front of the station, the latter arrived exactly at the appointed time of 11 o’ clock in the morning.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Haruka.”

Ria was dressed in a blue beret, a white knit sweater, and a mimori-length navy blue flared skirt, as he came running to Haruka.

His hair, which was usually tied back, was untied and twisted into a loose medium-length bun, which brought out his girlishness even more.

Ria would usually wear women’s clothes not only at school but also when he would go out for fun. Currently, he was more dressed up than usual, whereas he usually wore a more casual outfit.

“Did you go all the way to the hair salon?”

“Well, it’s a date, after all… How is it? Do you like it?”

“It’s so cute!”

Ria brought his curly ends to the front and tilted his head as he asked. Haruka found him endearing.

As usual, Ria was so beautiful that it was hard to believe that he was a man. Although Haruka had once suspected that Ria was faking his gender when he had first met him, his Talisman’s profile definitely showed that he was a man.

Although his chest and shoulders have slightly masculine lines, his whole body has the fleshiness of a woman.

His hairless, translucent arms and legs, His white, shiny, slender fingers, and the sweet smell wafting in the air, all seem to belong to a woman.

His long, fluffy hair, which seems to have been set today, was not a wig but his own. And above all, his beautiful face, which is comparable to Miyako even without makeup, made it difficult to judge his gender correctly.

His natural voice was already cute like a voice in an anime, and he speaks in a calm and relaxed tone.

It was no longer possible to determine the sex of the person without actually seeing them naked.

Ria went to a hair salon and met up with Haruka with a serious outfit, so he looked twice as attractive as usual. The power of this was tremendous, since she was usually attractive on Miyako’s level.

Perhaps because of his heartbreak, Haruka was more conscious of Ria’s heterosexuality than usual.

Although he had been aware of it occasionally in the past, currently Ria’s presence entered his mind so easily that it confused Haruka’s mind.

In order to cool his heated cheeks, Haruka took his eyes off Ria and watched the people passing by the station.

“So, what are we going to do today?”

“This way, I’ll show you.”

Haruka had asked Ria where they were going, but he did not answer.

Instead, he took Haruka’s hand and led the way. Whenever Haruka would spend time with Ria, they would often hold hands with each other.

As usual, he enjoyed the feeling of Ria’s moist hands.

Ria’s eyes were as droopy as ever, but his usual languid mood was gone, and Ria seemed to be in a happy mood currently.

With a kind of smile on his face, Haruka’s diagonally behind Ria as the latter led him by the hand.

After a short walk from where they met in front of the station, they had arrived at their destination.

In front of them was a famous amusement park, [Aurora Note].

It seemed that Ria’s destination was definitely there.

“VR games, huh… I’m not really good at it.”

“Don’t mind about the scores we’ll get. Experiencing a different world, sharing experiences, and strenghtening our bonds.. that’s all that matters.”

“I think the two us are already close though.”

They had only known each other for about two months, but Haruka felt like they had been dating for about a year.

This was their eighth date in just two months since they entered high school. He felt that they were getting along better than he thought they would.

When they entered Aurora Note, Ria quickly released their hands that had been held until then and went to the reception desk. For Haruka, who tends to subconsciously seek for the warmth of another’s human’s body, felt a little sad for Ria’s lost warmth.

“Well then, let’s go. To the [Apocalypse].”

“Eh?”

Ria returned with two key cards in his hands from the reception, and with a big smile on his face, invited Haruka to go to hell.

[Apocalypse] was a game so well-known that even Haruka, who was not familliar of VR games, was aware of it.

It had been dubbed by the masses as the most terrifying horror game in history. It was not possible to log out once players are inside the games.

It was a standard games played by couples, good friends, and other groups in order to form a stronger connection with each other.

The game contents, the main topic of the game, could be summed up in one word: Gruesome. It was said to be a terrible game in which some people would form strong bonds through the game, while many others would break up and fall out with each other as their true natures emerge.

Another selling point of the game was that it could be played in a short time. This was due to the special time rate inside the virtual world.

Amusement parks were equipped with advanced VR machines, so the time rate was much higher than that of individually owned VR machines.

In the case of individually-owned VR machines, the time rate could be set only for up to four. In such a case, four seconds that would elapse in the virtual world would be equivalent to one second in the real world.

On the other hand, advanced VR machines in amusement parks would allow a time rate of sixty. This meant that one second in the real world would be equivalent to up to sixty seconds in the virtual world.

The game [Apocalypse] that Ria suggested was also a title with the time rate of sixty.

It was said that the playing time of one game of Apocalypse was around forty minutes, which meant that the players inside the game would spend around forty hours in the horror game world.

Haruka couldn’t stop sweating. It’s not like he was not interested in the game. It’s just that, based on the articles that he had read online about it, he couldn’t help but notice of the absence of reviews saying that it’s not that terrifying.

“It’s just the right amount for a broken heart.”

“… I guess so.”

While he was concerned about his broken heart, Ria, who was walking next to him, seemed to be really looking forward to playing the “Apocalypse”. He wondered if he was just simply curious about the game, but he didn’t point it out outwardly.

Haruka lets out a deep sigh and made up his mind. Even if he had time to prepare, it’s not like he had some countermeasures for it.

“Huh, Haru…?”

As Haruka walked with his shoulders slumped, someone called his name. He turned his head towards the direction of the familiar voice.

“Shun?”

Shun, who was dressed in fashionable clothes, stood besides Haruka. He looked at Haruka and Ria alternately, seemingly surprised with his eyes opened widely.

“So you’re here too, Shun?”

“That’s right. Miyako is here too.”

Shun pointed at behind him. The fact that he went out of his way to tell Haruka conveyed that he wanted him to notice that Miyako was present.

In the distance were several boys and girls who were exuding a prominent presence. Just as Shun had mentioned, Miyako was among them. Each and every one of them had high levels of facial and outfit coordination, which made them stood out.

Haruka, feeling a sense of inferiority, said, “Well, then,” and turned to leave. At his back, Shun called out to him again.

“Are you on a date too, Haru?”

“Yes, it’s a date.”

“I’ll see you later.”

Haruka pulled Ria by the hand, who couldn’t find the right moment to interject. He leaves the scene with a wave of his hand toward Shun.

With a modest smile, Ria bowed his head towards the surprised Shun and left with Haruka.

As they headed towards the keycard-operated VR machines, Haruka had finally came back to his senses and released Ria’s hand. Ria blushed slightly and caressed the hand Haruka had held with his other hand.

“I’m surprised… I didn’t expect to see Shun here.”

“Since we’re in the same venue as them, we will most likely be matched in the same Apocalypse game given the timing.”

“I don’t like that.”

“Why? Even though Uta-san will be there?”

“No, I don’t like it because she dumped me.”

Haruka lets out a deep sigh. Ria giggled in response.

Even though he was heartbroken, he still harbored some lingering feelings for Miyako. It wasn’t easy to completely put an end to such feelings.

Haruka wondered if Shun and Miyako came to the amusement park in order to deepen their relationship inside the Apocalypse. Perhaps one of the girls that were accompanying them suggested the place because they wanted to play as heroines? Alternatively, did Shun’s male friends suggested it because they were interested in the girls that were surrounding Shun? Haruka was not sure which one was the right answer.

In any case, if they were using the game in order to strengthen their relationship, Haruka on the other hand had decided to use it in order to break off from his lingering feelings.

In front them were Cocoon-shaped VR machines lined up in a row in a large white space.

The space gave off an extremely futuristic and inorganic atmosphere.

In the distance, Haruka could see the group of people, which included Shun and Miyako.

It seemed that they were definitely going to the play the Apocalypse, too.

“Well then, I’ll see you inside the game.”

Ria waved goodbye as he opened a door to one of the cocoons and entered.

The outside light of the cocoon changed from green to red, indicated that it was occupied.

Haruka inserts his key card into his cocoon, which prompted the door to open.

The pitch-dark room was lit by a white light.

When he entered the cocoon, the door closed by itself with a lock.

Inside the cocoon, there was only a single, bulky chair.

As he sat down on the chair and leaned his back against it, the sound of a mechanical drive began to emanate from behind him.

[Thank you for visiting Aurora Note.]

An inorganic female voice echoes through the room.

[After the countdown, you will be guided to the start of the game.]

[If you wish to cancel, press the black button on the right to unlock the game.]

[If you cancel, you can join the game again before the key card expires.]

[Please lean your body on the chair in a proper posture.]

The monitor in front of Haruka showed the correct way to sit on the chair. Since he was already sitting correctly, he immediately moved to the next screen.

[Beginning countdown.]

The countdown started from 30 seconds. The count then decreased to 29 seconds, then to 28 seconds, and so on.

[5…4…3…2…1…0….]

[The game will now begin…]

At the same time as the announcement had ended, a high-pitched sound that gave the illusion of shaking visibility rang out.

Without a moment’s time to be surprised, Haruka was robbed of his consciousness.

The horror game from hell will now commence.