My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

People jokingly say things like "you've already lost at work," which is definitely not wrong.

In such a world, blindly pursuing dreams would only bring pain and regret; just imagining it makes one sigh.

Simply liking something won't work.

Therefore, they need to strengthen themselves. They accumulate knowledge, observe those who only dream, and confirm that they are different from those people to motivate themselves.

—Because they refuse to give up no matter what. How can they possibly refute that behavior?

"...You don't understand reality at all. Reality is different from ideals."

"I've known that kind of thing for a long time! There was that guy at the amusement park who aspired to be a writer and kept submitting his work everywhere, and now he works at a company! That guy who proudly showed off that he passed the second round of the competition, and he's still a NEET! Of course, I know reality very well..."

The man clenched his fists, so excited that his nails almost pierced his skin.

"If I said I wanted to be a light novel author, 99% of people would burst out laughing and say, 'Stop having such a boring daydream,' or 'You brat, face reality!' I know all that! But..."

Yes, we all understand reality.

We know that terrorists won't suddenly attack classrooms; the streets won't be teeming with zombies, and everyone will have to take refuge in household goods stores.

When people hear someone declare that they want to become a game scriptwriter or light novel author, most would think it's an absurd daydream, like the boring fantasies mentioned earlier.

No one will genuinely support you, and no one will seriously try to stop you. Even if you are serious about your dreams, others still won't take them seriously.

So, one day we'll give up on that dream and laugh at ourselves for having daydreamed, and at those who are still daydreaming. We'll laugh it off.

Even so, Cai Muzuo still managed to cry and sniffle at the same time, expressing his dreams in a trembling voice.

"Now I finally understand that even if I don't become a writer in the future, I will still continue writing. I don't like those things because I want to be a writer! I want to be a writer because I like them!"

To be honest, I envy him.

I envy his ability to view everything without doubt or pessimism, his naive honesty in deciding his future based solely on the phrase "because I like it." Even folly has its limits; his frankness has reached a dizzying level.

To be able to honestly say "I like it" is a strength that shines brightly. It's neither a joke nor a show of bravado, but a pure feeling from the bottom of my heart that I've long since sealed away.

Therefore, if... if Zaimuzu and I win this game... then I might try to believe it—but if I lose, I still won't believe it.

"...The timber stand, it's your turn."

I pressed my fist, which was holding the card, against the chest of the timber stand.

He gently touched his chest, feeling his heartbeat. Then, he took the cards from my hand and stepped forward to sit down.

"...Now that things have come to this, no matter what they say, I will not give up."

As we passed each other, he whispered something to me with a calm tone, his voice quite pleasant. No! I'm so afraid I won't forget those words!

He took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to stop himself from choking up.

"...Phew, you've kept me waiting. Let's settle this once and for all..."

We have a total of eight cards left: the Jack of Spades, the 8 of Clubs, the 3 of Hearts, the 4 of Diamonds—and four 6s.

"Take this! Infinity Slash!"

He quickly pulled out a deck of cards and slammed them on the table with a "bang." I got it: an 8 laid flat on its side is the symbol for infinity; plus the "cut" card, it's a Slash.

"Hachiman."

I stopped him from giving me the playing cards along with the game.

You don't need to say everything; I know it all.

I sat down and laid out the cards in my hand.

The time is ripe. It is precisely because we have suffered defeats all along and have always been in the weakest position, yet we have refused to give up, that we are now able to launch this move.

Is this resilience? Patience? Spiritualism? Or is it simply a case of "where there's a will, there's a way"?

No, we've been waiting for this moment from the very beginning.

Therefore, the defeats before this point are not considered defeats at all. Those insignificant defeats in the past were all paving the way for the final victory.

You only truly lose a game when you admit defeat. The man standing behind me never admitted defeat or mistakes until the very end; therefore, he was arguably the man closest to victory.

Even when all hope seems lost and hope is extinguished, if one can still shout out, relying on nothing but one's own pure will to persevere...

Then, that can be called a "dream".

It is a priceless fantasy that is hard for others to shake, and it is also an extremely rare reality in the world, which only a very few people can possess.

Just thinking about it makes me shudder. The feeling of climax is indescribable, and I can't help but utter the lines I've been longing for.

"...We won't lose."

"That's right, no."

The two men, back to back, uttered this line together:

"We won't lose!"

I grabbed the four cards and slammed them onto the table.

"The end of genesis TMRevolution type D!"

Material base, stop arguing, just leave the word "Revolution"! Why are you talking so coolly? I almost witnessed your talent.

Yuihama gave a wry smile, and Yukinoshita let out a mocking sigh, shrugging to indicate "Pass".

Qin Ye and Sagami looked at the woodwork base with resentment, as if something was stuck in their throats.

Of course.

They must have played games like this before, but from some point onward, they saw many different things, and the simple feeling of "liking" was no longer enough to satisfy them, so they began to look for reasons.

They hesitated briefly, perhaps pondering their next move or reflecting on their past experiences.

"Pass..."

"Well done, Hachiman, leave the rest to me!"

Unable to contain his excitement, Cai Muzuo snatched the cards from my hand with a broad smile.

"Sword ofjack...THE Reverse."

He deliberately spoke in a cool way, but as you can see, it was just a Jack of Spades.

"Hey! Are you an idiot? If we use the '11 Revolution,' then our original revolution will have lost all meaning!"

Using "11 Revolution" in the event of a revolution will result in a reversal. Just as "opposition to opposition is approval," the numerical strength will return to normal in this round. Now is clearly the time to deplete weaker cards...

"Eh... Ah!"

Timber blinked several times before realizing the stupid thing he'd done. Was this guy thinking about the thrill of shouting out skill names before even making a move?

This guy is such an idiot. He just said he wouldn't lose, but now it's all over. Besides, Zaimokuza doesn't have a puppet like Juekyou, and I don't know Super God Fist (Note 41: the name of a skill used by a character in the anime "Super Power Squad").

After thinking for a while, Yuihama decided to give up playing a card, and then Sagami quickly played the 2 of spades.

The Joker is currently in the hands of the game company, so no other hand can beat the Two of Spades.

Qin Ye and Sagami exchanged a glance and then sighed deeply.

Now it's their turn to be the dealer, and the revolution is ongoing.

The game club had three cards left, and our two groups each had two. However, with the game club as the dealer, it meant they had solved the equation for a complete victory.

"Alright, I agree with Mr. Swordsman's ambition."

After finishing speaking, Kanade reached out and grabbed two cards.

"But that's just how reality is."

He picked up the two cards as if wielding the scythe of death.

We were still just a little short... If it weren't for that foolish mistake, we would have won long ago. But it's no use saying anything now.

Just as I was thinking, "There's no other way but to take it off"—

"I surrender... No matter how you look at it, there's no way we can win..."

Yukinoshita, who had remained silent all along, sighed and rubbed her forehead. Qin Ye, hearing someone unexpected speak, suddenly stopped what he was doing.

"Huh... Yukino, how did you know?"

"If you just pay attention to all the cards that have been played, isn't the answer obvious? Then, by subtracting our own cards, we can know what the opponent has left. Besides, the rich and poor will exchange cards, and the strong cards are already with the game company, so filtering out the answer isn't difficult."

"Are you Grandma Computer (Note 42: the title of a Japanese song)...?"

While it's true that simply memorizing all the cards played would suffice—a method even elementary school students could conceive of—no one actually does it. Memorizing cards is mentally taxing enough, let alone simultaneously strategizing. Besides, when everyone is engrossed in the game, those other things become irrelevant; only the two jokers matter.

...On the other hand, is this guy an idiot?

「游戏社出鬼牌跟8的组合，8切牌后再出掉最后的方块7。比企谷同学他们剩下红心3跟方块4。无论怎么想，我们都没有胜算。」

After explaining impatiently, Yukinoshita put down her cards and stood up. Wait a minute, do you really know what cards we have? Are you an Alda psychic? (Note 43 is from the anime "Psychic Warriors")

She bit her lip in frustration, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and slowly placed her hand on the hem of her summer vest. Her slender fingers trembled incessantly with humiliation, unable to hold on properly; even I could hardly bear to watch.

"call……"

She let out a short sigh under the snow, gritted her teeth, and gripped the hem of her clothes tightly.

Then, she slowly lifted her vest, revealing the top hidden underneath. Through the gaps between the buttons, one could vaguely see her silky white skin, as white as porcelain.

Although I'm reluctant to admit it, my gaze was completely drawn to her, and I didn't dislike it.

I swallowed hard, and at the same time, I heard a "splash" sound next to me.

What are you doing? Be quiet! What if you miss something?

I glared in the direction of the sound and saw that Qin Ye had accidentally dropped the Joker card from his hand.

"I'm sorry." The other person understood that now was not the time to discard cards, so they quickly apologized and didn't even pick up the cards, turning their gaze back... Seriously, you better watch out.

Then I turned my head back to continue watching... however, something blocked my view.

"Stop! Okay, that's enough."

The skin around my eyes felt soft, like a woman's hands.

I gently pushed those hands away and saw Yui staring at me with the same look she gave me when I was looking at trash.

"do what……"

Yuihama puffed out her cheeks in anger and didn't answer my question. She turned her head to the side, her bun bobbing as she looked very unhappy.

"Yukino, you don't need to take off your clothes."

Yuihama grasped Yukinoshita's hands, stopping her movements. Yukinoshita gradually relaxed her stiff body and weakly returned Yuihama's grip.

"...However, a competition is a competition. Although I feel a little bad about involving you in this."

"Ah, that's not what I meant. You see, we can still win."

After Yui finished speaking, she picked up her cards from the table.

"Hey, 3 is the biggest."

The Joker card that Qin Ye had released earlier landed face up in the play area.

“Eh!”

Sagami's scream sounded like it came from a character in Mitsuteru Yokoyama's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

"what!"

Qin Ye also showed a look of astonishment, like that of a golden-fleshed man.

Under normal circumstances, the 3 of spades is the weakest card, but under special rules, it becomes the only way to counter the wild card. Furthermore, during a revolution, the 3 also ascends to the throne of the strongest card.

In the game of "The Great Poverty," which is a reflection of modern society, it is a fragile yet hopeful entity.

"Come on, Yukino-chan."

Yuihama excitedly handed the last card to the stunned Yukinoshita.

Yukinoshita awkwardly accepted the card, along with Yuihama's smile.

Then, the goddess of victory smiled upon the queen.

The setting sun shone into the game club's office, and in the backlight, someone casually struck a victory pose.

This victory came unexpectedly. Savoring the lingering aftertaste, which was barely noticeable, I said to the members of the game club, "Whether you like it or hate it has nothing to do with whether you have knowledge or not... Life is a game that relies heavily on luck."

Whether a dream comes true or a competition is won depends on luck. That's what "Lucky Man" taught me. However, this kind of game is rather absurd. So, whether Zaimokuza's dream can come true also depends on his luck.