In Shizuku’s case, she had to change her hair because of her outfit—her fine, smooth, and beautiful hair. At first, we each held a strand and focused on it. It was honestly quite a perk to touch both her hair and hands the whole time. Her initial shyness was adorable when we’d sit face-to-face, or she’d sit astride my knee, or lean against me. It made me happy how the distance between us gradually evaporated. She was just like a cat. That was one of Shizuku’s charms. She acted reserved in front of others but clung to me when we were alone—these days, we can be wrapped up in each other and still do separate things. When I realized that, I felt almost moved. Well, you’ll never get to see that anyway—not that I’d ever want another guy to…and if they did, I’d have to kill them. El’s eye color had already changed from the aftereffects of her transformation, so it was easy to make her glow. The problem was when she was in canine form. To make it obvious, like her fur was bursting into flame, we began by brushing every centimeter of her. Her canine form was so soft that I wound up dozing off more than once. El would nod off with me, and there were times when I woke up and found myself held by a naked El because she’d turned back. That was something. When I opened my eyes, bam! They were magnificent. But what made El truly special was her kindness and devotion. She did everything for me, and I honestly feel bad about treating her roughly at times. But the trouble is, part of me likes it, too. I’d happily spend the rest of my life being idle and pampered by El. The lines on Miss Lonsday’s body are tattoos now, but we made her veins glow at first—it looked a little grotesque, and I wanted Miss Lonsday to stay beautiful and stylish, so I drew lines on her skin with ink, and we made those glow instead. The challenge was drawing directly on her skin with my fingers—it was dangerous for those, and for my eyes, too. She kept teasing me while I was drawing, but it was necessary, so I held on to my self-control with everything I had. She looked so good when she teased me. It was unfair. That said, Miss Lonsday looks good no matter what she does. She said something similar herself—that if you gathered all the jewels in the world, they wouldn’t come close to her worth. Huh? I said that already? Oh well. It’s worth saying over and over. I’m captivated every time I look at her. Clareth’s glow was the easiest to bring out. She managed it on her own without any help from me. That’s just how much of an amazing prodigy she is. The fun part was thinking of the wing design together. Clareth is really chic, after all—it had to be something fairy-like that matched her look. While we worked on it, she didn’t stop teasing me the whole time…though I have to confess, I don’t mind being toyed with like that. What could I do? Clareth is at her cutest when she’s laughing at my reactions. You probably won’t get this, but her smiles aren’t always the same. The tone of her voice or the angle of her smile can be different. Just figuring out those little differences makes time fly by—she’s truly a girl with demonic charm. “See? It’s simple. Anyone can do it if they care about the other person.” … The four of them were at a loss for words. Shizuku nearly dropped her sniper rifle, Eltiel let out a strange cry, Lonsday dropped her cigarette, and even Clareth’s usual smile faltered as she gaped. They knew Norman cared about them—still, he normally never expressed his feelings in such blunt terms or voiced desire for them openly. “Did my Echo Howling cause it…?” Shizuku alone had a suspicion it might have. She had used Echo Howling to save Norman earlier, but it hadn’t gone normally—to begin with, her power never worked on him directly, and it was the first time she’d projected an echo from one person to another. Was that the reason Norman couldn’t keep his words from spilling out? She didn’t know. She didn’t understand anything—not his words, nor what he was thinking.
✦ ✦ ✦
“…So you’re telling me, Norman…” Confronted with the emotional confession, Jim chose his words carefully before speaking. “What’s needed for Critical Case is understanding and coexistence with an Unlaw?” “Yeah, that’s right. I’ve been saying that all along. Treat them like humans, not monsters. You can love them without understanding them.” “…I see.” At this revelation, Jim nodded, shook, and trembled. “Ha! Ha-ha-ha! I see! So that’s how it is! I finally understand! I finally understand you, Norman! I was mistaken all along!” What Jim Adamworth had been searching for was a way forward, beyond the current Categories. From a distance, the sun began to rise beyond the castle walls, shining on him. “Love! To think that something so vague as love could be the key! Thank you for teaching me, Norman! Ahhh, but that’s a problem since I can’t replicate it! I can’t be a deviant who loves Unlaw—Wait, that’s it! I have a good idea!” The bloodstained boy smiled broadly. “Love me! For you, Norman, I can love you, too! Take me higher!” And with the morning sun at his back, there was an explosion of four lights. Shizuku Teardrop’s long hair glowed a deep blue. Eltiel Siriusflame’s inverted eyes blazed with yellow fire. Vivid red lines raced across the body of Lonsday Enhancedia. Wings of glowing green geometric patterns unfurled on the back of Clareth Airystep. “Critical Case, Deepened State.” A state just shy of their abilities going out of control was something Norman should have been able to stop—but with the combined impact of Norman’s words and Jim’s nonsense, there was no stopping them. Teardrop-shaped bullets blew off one of Jim’s legs, and a hellhound wrapped in yellow flame bit into his torso and flung him through the air, where a jewel leaped up and kicked him back down—as he hit the ground, a fairy’s sword cleaved his head from his body. Jim’s severed head rolled at Norman’s feet as he exclaimed: “Norman! Did you see that?!” Even as only a head, his eyes were as wide as they could go, and he wore the same delighted expression. “You were right! That just now was what I’ve been seeking, a level beyond Category Three…!” “Yeah, yeah. Congratulations. But I’m sorry.” Norman took a pistol from his pocket as he said it. “Now that you know about Critical Case, I’m going to have to kill you.” The morning sun rising behind Norman was blocked by his own body, its shadow now cast upon Jim’s severed head. “I’ll confess to one thing. When you were interrogating me, you were complaining that your agents kept going missing or dead, right?” “Don’t tell me you—” “Yep. I eliminated them.” Norman Hamish readily confessed to his treason against Cartesius. “I did call it a safety valve, but I knew someone like you wouldn’t be able to help taking an interest in Critical Case. So I’m sorry, but—” “You’re going to kill me? Fine by me! Kill me! I’ve always been curious what it’s like to die as a severed head! But, Norman, if I survive this, it must be fate! I’ll definitely come back, and we’ll ascend to greatness together!” “I don’t need to go anywhere.” Norman gave the four of them a quick glance. “What I want to protect is right here.” He cocked the hammer to make clear that his heart was already decided—then pulled the trigger.