“So, you understand now, Norman? Let me reiterate your criminal charges. Disturbing public order. Property damage. And the suspicion of going against the Cartesius Order. Do you see why you ended up in this situation?”
“No, not at all. Especially that last one is completely unfounded.”
“Is that so? Weren’t your regular trips to the capital part of the preparation for that?”
“You know I was just going there as my sister’s proxy to report to headquarters.”
“Nevertheless, the Cartesius Order suspects you. That’s why I’m interrogating you like this. I can’t just nod and move on when you deny the allegations. The four incidents you told me about seem independent, but that’s why your demerits are stacking up. You should be prepared for some form of punishment.”
Jim let out an exaggerated sigh there.
“It pains me as your friend, you know? If I had someone else interrogate you, you’d likely be found guilty without question, so I took it upon myself to be the interrogator.”
“…Going back to the beginning, what will happen to me if this continues?”
“Execution. We may not have too many agents to spare, but going against the Cartesius Order is a clear act of rebellion. They can’t let someone like that off easy.”
“What if you intervened?”
“Hmph.”
The quality of his smile changed. The grin plastered on until then became deeper, more pronounced.
This was the main issue.
“It’s a deal, Norman.”
His words rang out.
“The benefit I’m offering is simple – avoiding execution. Additionally, I’ll pull some strings to wipe away all your demerits from this incident.”
He prefaced the condition with,
“I want your help in the military utilization of the Unlaws.”
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READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
“…Military utilization?”
“Yes. I shouldn’t need to explain why.”
Norman’s expression was blank.
Not so much devoid of emotion, but rather suppressing some feeling.
Jim was smiling.
Grinning from ear to ear, as if this situation couldn’t be more enjoyable.
“Two years ago, our nation suffered a great defeat on the battlefield and accepted a temporary ceasefire in exchange for a hefty reparation. But that is only temporary. We don’t know when the war will resume. What do we do then?”
The Unlaws each possess various abnormalities. Each one causes incidents according to their mental state.
But what if we could use that for war?
“I absolutely detest those monsters called the Unlaws, but I recognize their utility. It costs to raise them, but the return as weapons is spectacular.”
“…And?”
“Scouting, Norman. I evaluate your ability to handle the Unlaws more than anyone. I want to entrust the special Unlaws forces I’m putting together to you.”
“……”
“Kill the enemy on the battlefield. Or infiltrate as a spy in enemy nations, depending on the abnormality. The era of spies is coming, and of course, I can guarantee favorable treatment and pay.”
“……”
“You once devoted your life to this nation. It’s the same as taking up arms for the country. What do you say, Norman? I want to hear your answer.”
Norman didn’t shrug. No fidgeting, no change in expression.
He just asked one thing.
“What about those four?”
“Of course – they’ll be your pets. Your weapons from now on.”
“I see. That’s enough.”
●
It happened in an instant.
By the time Jim noticed, Norman was in front of him.
Silently, without a sound or presence, he had leapt onto the long table. Jim hadn’t looked away, and Norman’s limbs were bound, yet the documents Jim had been holding were trampled underfoot.
Still, the photos of Shizuku and the others laid out were untouched.
“Gah!?”
Jim tried to stand but failed.
Norman’s kicking foot struck Jim’s right knee, halting his movement.
As Jim pitched forward, an elbow struck his head. As Norman stepped off the table, he grabbed Jim’s neck with his arm.
“Now wait a min-“
“I refuse.”
A dull snap rang out. Norman had broken Jim’s cervical vertebrae. Letting the now lifeless body roll away, uncaring,
“…I’m pretty tired from all this. More importantly, where is this place?”
With weary steps, he leaned on the table in the back.
“Should I go stop those four first, then rescue my sister? Or should I leave the clean-up to someone else…no, maybe we’ll all just run away. I have contingencies prepared for situations like this, but-“
Muttering to himself, he suddenly turned around.
Two things struck him as odd from behind.
The door to the left was half open.
And the body Norman had just made was nowhere to be seen.
“Oh…huh?”
His gaze turned upwards, reacting more to his ears.
The faint but distinct sound of footsteps came from above.
“I see?”
Nodding once, he began collecting items from the table.
Straightening his clothes, he stowed his personal effects and a collapsible cane inside his coat. Checking that the gun was loaded, he finally placed the felt hat on his head.
“Well now…what poor taste that man has.”
The reason for his sigh was the view outside the window.
The nighttime city of Balldlum spread out below. There was only one place this high up with such a view.
“…The Balldlum Tower, huh?”
●
A strong gust of wind blew.
At the very top of the Balldlum Tower.
There was a large bell tower, a symbolic structure housing a massive bell.
The stone bell tower was quite spacious, supported by pillars on all four sides. With no walls, the surrounding city within the ramparts was visible, exposed to the powerful winds.
In its center, right under the great bell, Jim Adamworth waited for Norman Heimish.
Despite having his neck broken, he stood there alive as ever.
“Don’t you find this city strange?”
he opened without preamble.
“Those rampart walls, there are no records of when they were first built. Apparently they originated from nobles supporting the founding of the Cartesius Order. The wealthy moved in, people were employed to serve them, and slowly but surely it developed into a city.”
“So?”
“That former Balldlum has now become, as you know, a nest for monsters. At least one Unlaws incident occurs weekly, keeping you running around the city.”
A result far removed from its original purpose. This city was undoubtedly strange.
“I believe this city is an experiment ground for the Unlaws. The Cartesius Headquarters has investigated, but couldn’t find any definitive answers.”
“Then are you…an Unlaws too?”
Norman thought it was impossible.
Unusual regenerative powers.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if there were Unlaws with such abilities.
The problem was that Jim held a decent position within the Cartesius Order.
“Heavens no. I’d hate to be associated with those monsters.”
“Then what are you?”
“My research specializes in the ranks of the Unlaws, but raising their rank requires either arduous training or severe physical and mental strain. The latter is a shortcut, but we have limited test subjects.”
“…I see. Disgusting.”
“Yes, this is an artificial immortality procedure to forcibly create Unlaws.”
“Preposterous. If you want to mass produce that for military use, just mass produce it.”
“Unfortunately, the success rate is low. It rarely works, whether for regular people or the Unlaws themselves. So far, I’m the only success case.”
“You’d have been better off as a failure.”
Norman swallowed the bile rising in his throat, pressing his hat against the buffeting winds.
This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to drag out.
But Jim didn’t stop talking.
“Well, now that I’ve revealed the shocking truth, the situation hasn’t really changed. We’re already shorthanded with the recent disappearance of intelligence officers. Not to mention when I tried to apprehend you, you went on a murderous rampage and killed twenty of my private soldiers. Water under the bridge.”
“If you came at me with lethal intent while trying to apprehend me, I had no choice.”
“Hahaha. So? Fleeing and murder charges have been added to your list of suspected crimes?”
“You’re the mastermind behind it all, aren’t you?”
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