While Shibusawa Tatsuhiko was enduring the hardships of serving as a follower and carrying Edogawa Ranpo on his back, Asou Akiya was in the kitchen skillfully preparing Chinese cuisine.
Unlike French meals, which were often enjoyed by two people sitting across from one another, Chinese food was the kind of cuisine that only felt truly lively when shared among many people. Whenever moments like this arrived, Akiya found himself grateful that he had come to know so many people.
Eating hot pot alone.
Eating a meal of three dishes and a soup alone.
Those kinds of days were simply too lonely.
"Randou, go remind Ranpo to come home."
"Alright."
Randou knew the dishes were nearly finished. Letting them sit for too long would ruin their flavor, so under Akiya's indulgent gaze, he stole a bite before leaving the kitchen. Then he picked up his phone and went outside to check whether Ranpo-kun had started heading home yet.
With Randou gone, Nakahara Chuuya poked his head into the kitchen.
"Need any help?"
Akiya sprinkled salt into a dish with a seasoning spoon and smiled.
"Help me set out the bowls and chopsticks. Fukuzawa-san will be joining us as well, so we'll need five place settings in total."
Chuuya walked over to the cupboard and skillfully took out a set of clean bowls and chopsticks.
Everyone in the household had their own designated tableware, so there was no possibility of mixing them up. The patterns on them were custom-made.
Edogawa Ranpo's bowl and chopsticks featured the most stereotypical teddy bear design imaginable.
At fifteen years old, he was still unbelievably childish.
After completing his daily duty of mentally criticizing Ranpo, Chuuya looked at the set that belonged to him.
His bore the image of a little dinosaur.
A smile immediately spread across his face.
Ever since he had squeezed his way into this family, he had gained Randou's acknowledgment. He was no longer an orphan from the Suribachi City slums with no parents and no home.
Now he had a family.
His father is Asou Akiya.
His mother is Randou...
Of course, this family dynamic was something he only dared whisper to himself in the privacy of his own thoughts.
After all, there was no way Randou-san would ever agree with such a description.
"Why isn't Ranpo back yet?" he muttered.
Ranpo, one of the members of the household, was always capable of throwing Nakahara Chuuya's emotions into disarray.
That childish brat was his older brother.
For a period of time starting soon, he would be following his father's suggestion and accompanying Fukuzawa-san and Ranpo to work, while also attempting to uncover the true nature of Fukuzawa-san's ability.
Outside the villa, Randou, who had gone out to bring everyone home, stared in surprise at the steps leading up through the garden.
A complete stranger was carrying Edogawa Ranpo on his back.
Sweat had soaked the bangs hanging over the stranger's forehead and trickled down his pale cheeks, dampening the collar of his clothes. His snow-white hair had been braided into a style reminiscent of lily blossoms, but it was now somewhat disheveled, with the ends of the braid firmly clutched in Ranpo's hand.
Putting aside his bedraggled appearance, the stranger was undeniably handsome.
He was a beautiful Japanese youth with white hair and crimson eyes. He was not particularly tall, and his skin was so pale that it rivaled that of naturally fair-skinned Europeans and Americans. There was an unmistakable sense of frailty about him, an almost sickly delicacy.
A thought surfaced in Randou's mind.
All of the beauties of this country seems rather delicate and fragile.
Even Fukuzawa Yukichi, the famed "Silver Wolf," had lost much of his tough and imposing image in Randou's eyes after he learned that the man was an extreme cat lover whom cats themselves inexplicably disliked.
Perhaps this was what people online meant when they said that every man secretly harbored a little kitten in his heart.
Meanwhile, one of Ranpo's hands was holding his phone, having just finished receiving Randou's call. His legs—hardly long enough to be impressive—were spread carelessly as he sprawled across the other boy's back, causing trouble like an overgrown child.
"Ranpo-kun?"
Randou spoke after a brief pause, observing the pair with amused interest.
Behind them, Fukuzawa Yukichi finally came into view.
His face was filled with helpless resignation. The entire way back, he had been carefully watching the two boys to make sure neither of them fell onto the road. As a guardian, he truly could not have been more conscientious.
"Randou-san! Look!"
Edogawa Ranpo enthusiastically waved at the elegant Frenchman.
"There's a guy here who looks just like a Chinchilla cat!"
The first thing out of his mouth was a direct critical hit.
"...A cat."
The smile on Randou's face froze for a moment.
A trace of displeasure immediately appeared on Randou's face.
"I'm not a cat."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko did his utmost to keep his back straight. His body was pitched forward as though he might collapse at any moment.
"This is the person who lost a bet to Ranpo," Fukuzawa Yukichi explained.
Almost instinctively, Fukuzawa glanced toward Shibusawa Tatsuhiko again.
He really did resemble a white Chinchilla cat.
Even his eyes carried the same exhausted, dispirited look.
As someone who genuinely loved cats, Fukuzawa turned to Ranpo's guardian and said, "Randou-san, I've brought Ranpo back on time."
Kind-hearted as ever, Fukuzawa helped lift Ranpo off the other boy's back.
The moment the burden was removed, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko nearly lost his balance.
His vision was whitening around the edges.
After exhausting his physical strength, he braced both hands against his knees, struggling to remain conscious. Through sweat-dampened lashes, he finally managed to get a clear look at the man who had come to pick up Ranpo-kun.
His first thought was simple.
It wasn't Asou Akiya.
Randou... san?
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko had no prior impression of him.
Neither had Randou ever been mentioned in the information he had gathered on Ranpo.
The man was a foreigner.
He wore an expensive brown overcoat, earmuffs, and gloves. A scarf was tucked into the fluffy fur collar around his neck, concealing the skin beneath. At first glance, the foreign young man looked less like a resident of Yokohama and more like an international model posing on the cover of a fashion magazine, endorsing a winter collection.
He stood around one hundred and eighty-five centimeters tall, and with the thick-soled winter boots he was wearing, his apparent height approached one hundred and ninety centimeters.
Yet the most striking feature was undoubtedly his face.
Handsome and romantic, it was accompanied by a pair of melancholy, affectionate eyes.
Those eyes seemed capable of softening a person's very bones, as though inviting them to share a graceful court dance amid the splendor of Versailles.
Black hair.
Green eyes.
British? Italian?
No.
French.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko recognized the brands of the gloves and scarf.
"Are you alright?"
As one of the owners of the villa, Randou asked the question gently, his voice carrying a natural warmth and concern.
"..."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko was very much not alright.
By the time he had carried someone all the way here, stopping and starting countless times along the journey, half his life felt as though it had been drained away. The only reason he had managed to reach this villa at all was because he had stubbornly refused to admit defeat, forcing himself beyond the limits of his physical endurance.
Displaying an unexpected burst of mercy, Edogawa Ranpo declared, "Ranpo-sama is going home to eat dinner now. You can leave."
Maintaining a blank expression, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko wiped the sweat from his face while his mind rapidly searched for a solution.
Should he leave?
Or should he stay?
He still had not met Asou Akiya.
Would he have to wait for another opportunity?
Moreover, the French young man standing before him gave him a faint but unmistakable sense of danger. His instincts were sounding a warning. There was something about this person that seemed capable of threatening him.
Something was off.
No matter how he looked at it, the Frenchman named Randou seemed to occupy the role of... Ranpo-kun's guardian.
But how could a Frenchman possibly have a familial relationship with a Japanese boy?
Turning toward Fukuzawa Yukichi, who was preparing to leave, Randou said, "Fukuzawa-san, why don't you stay for dinner before you go? Akiya made quite a few dishes, and some of them should suit your tastes."
Fukuzawa looked toward Shibusawa Tatsuhiko with concern.
"I need to see him home. I may not have the time."
Edogawa Ranpo immediately grinned.
"You're worrying too much, Fukuzawa-san. His driver will be here to pick him up any moment now!"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's lips tightened into a straight line.
After spending an entire day beside Edogawa Ranpo, there was very little he had been able to conceal.
Being seen through in this way was profoundly unpleasant.
It could not really be called malice.
Yet neither was it kindness.
If Asou Akiya's way of understanding people resembled a sharp blade that dissected them completely, followed by a gentle warmth that accepted everything it found, then Edogawa Ranpo was different.
He was a child.
His gaze was eternally innocent—and cruel.
For the sake of his own amusement or mood, he could casually drag into the open the very things you most wanted to keep hidden, exposing them for everyone to see.
In that respect, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko and Edogawa Ranpo were not so different from one another.
The difference was that Shibusawa Tatsuhiko was colder.
He had no interest in paying attention to fools he considered beneath him.
Most of the time, he could not even be bothered to mock them. The very thought of wasting energy on such people felt tedious and unworthy of his attention.
The scales in his heart tipped decisively toward the option of leaving.
He could always come back another time.
"Randou, hurry and let them come inside."
Asou Akiya's clear, pleasant voice sounded from the villa entrance. Then he noticed Shibusawa Tatsuhiko standing there.
"Hm? Why is Shibusawa-kun here?"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's body trembled.
His mind buzzed.
The exhaustion from staying awake all night, the injury to his abdomen, and the strain of carrying someone all the way here suddenly reached their breaking point.
At that moment, he decided to do something completely contrary to his usual nature.
If he wanted to break Edogawa Ranpo's prediction, then he had to act in a way that defied all common sense.
Edogawa Ranpo suddenly bristled.
"No!"
He lunged forward and grabbed Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's arm a split second in advance.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko cast him an indifferent glance.
Then, deliberately accelerating his heartbeat and depriving his brain of sufficient blood flow, he collapsed with remarkable efficiency.
Edogawa Ranpo actually failed to catch hold of the suddenly slippery opponent.
Asou Akiya froze.
Even Randou narrowed his eyes at the sight of the boy dropping unconscious from sheer exhaustion.
Only Fukuzawa Yukichi reacted immediately.
Taking a swift step forward, he rushed over to examine Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's condition. His heart rate was abnormally fast. Judging from his experience, this was no act.
The boy had genuinely fainted.
"He's unconscious."
"..."
Asou Akiya stepped forward and discovered that Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's lips were dry and cracked, while his face was drenched in sweat. He looked so pitiful that it was hard to associate him with the villainous final boss who would appear in the movie version. Instead, he looked like a poor teenager who had been mercilessly abused by physical exertion.
It did not take Akiya long to determine who had bullied Shibusawa Tatsuhiko into this state.
The realization left him both amused and exasperated.
"Ranpo, you've been far too mischievous."
After saying that, Asou Akiya moved to pick up the guest lying on the ground, only for Randou to tug lightly at his sleeve.
"Randou?" Akiya asked in confusion.
"Let Fukuzawa-san take him to the hospital," Randou suggested. "We don't have a doctor in the house."
"If it's only physical exhaustion, some glucose water and a period of rest in the guest room will be enough."
No sooner had Akiya finished speaking than Edogawa Ranpo began trembling with indignation. Pointing accusingly at the seemingly cold and aloof Shibusawa Tatsuhiko—who, in critical moments, was perfectly willing to sacrifice his own dignity to achieve his goals—Ranpo exclaimed,
"This guy did it on purpose! Akiya, don't fall for it! He only agreed to carry me home because he wanted an excuse to see you!"
Akiya lightly knocked him on the head.
"And whose fault was it for provoking him first? He's a member of the Shibusawa family. If something happens to him at my front door, it would be difficult to explain no matter how you look at it."
Ranpo puffed up with grievance.
"He's shameless!"
Asou Akiya looked at Randou, then looked at Ranpo.
Suddenly, he seemed to understand something.
With no better choice, he turned to Fukuzawa Yukichi and said, "Fukuzawa-san, I'll have to trouble you to carry him inside. I'll go speak with his driver and let him know that Shibusawa-kun will rest here for a while before leaving."
Hearing this tactful compromise, Fukuzawa visibly relaxed.
He nodded gratefully.
"Thank you."
And so, thanks to his status and family background, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko successfully achieved his objective.
In a weakened and unconscious state, he was carried into the villa and laid to rest in one of the guest rooms.
The family of four, along with Fukuzawa Yukichi, sat around the dining table on the first floor enjoying dinner together.
Edogawa Ranpo was busy picking apart a serving of candied apples when Nakahara Chuuya asked curiously, "What's the deal with that guy?"
The person he was referring to was, of course, the unconscious Shibusawa Tatsuhiko.
Ranpo muttered unhappily, "I underestimated just how thick-skinned he is."
Chuuya was not entirely convinced.
"Ranpo, stop bullying people. Last time, you tricked him into coming to challenge me, and his injuries probably haven't even healed yet. No matter what, he's still a young master from a wealthy family. You can't expect someone like that to do manual labor."
Asou Akiya had never been one for strict rules like don't talk while eating or sleeping. Sitting at the table, he asked directly,
"Ranpo, tell us exactly what happened."
His tone carried a dangerous edge.
"Including the bet you conveniently forgot to tell me about."
Oh, so he'd grown bold enough to make wagers with the White Qilin now?
And bold enough not to mention it afterward?
Under the table, Ranpo kicked Chuuya repeatedly with his foot.
Chuuya could only offer a helpless look before scooting his chair farther away.
Fukuzawa Yukichi secretly found the scene amusing. Watching Ranpo who normally feared nothing and no one outside, hesitantly recount the entire sequence of events was surprisingly entertaining.
Unfortunately, both he and Ranpo had severely underestimated Asou Akiya's anger.
The more Akiya listened, the angrier he became.
Ranpo defeating Shibusawa Tatsuhiko was not the issue.
The real problem was that he never should have used Chuuya as part of the wager.
The clash between Draconia and Upon the Tainted Sorrow carried the possibility of triggering Corruption.
If Corruption were activated, Nakahara Chuuya could lose control entirely and be driven into a fatal berserk state. Once unleashed, the power could not simply be switched off.
And if that happened, even if Akiya raced to Aomori Prefecture at top speed, there would be no way to bring Dazai Osamu back in time.
"Things turned out fine this time, but what if you'd lost?"
"How much experience do you actually have with battles involving abilities?"
"Did you ever consider the possibility of an ability spiraling out of control?"
"Did you make any preparations whatsoever to deal with the consequences afterward?!"
"You only did it because you thought it would be fun!"
After being scolded so harshly, Edogawa Ranpo did not dare utter a single word. His heart trembled, and he lowered his head to focus on eating.
"Fukuzawa-san, if something like this happens again in the future, stop him without hesitation. Don't indulge him just because that's his personality."
For the first time, Asou Akiya spoke with unmistakable severity.
He felt that everyone had fallen into the same misunderstanding.
"Listen carefully, Ranpo may become very powerful in the future, but right now he is absolutely not invincible. He's still too young. His confidence has grown excessive, and the amount of information available to him is limited. There are many situations he has never encountered before, and unfamiliar circumstances can lead him to make incorrect judgments. Your blind trust in him will eventually harm him!"
Fukuzawa Yukichi lowered his head in shame.
As an adult, he had completely overlooked this problem.
Meanwhile, Nakahara Chuuya chewed his rice dryly and thought to himself:
Other than Dad, nobody would dare say Ranpo is overconfident. Ranpo really is that capable. We've practically never seen him make a mistake.
"I arranged for you to come into contact with Shibusawa Tatsuhiko because I could guarantee your safety!"
Akiya's gaze sharpened.
"And what about you?"
"If you want to imitate me, then the first thing you need to do is abandon that habit of looking down on others!"
At that moment, Akiya wanted nothing more than to twist Ranpo's ear and force the lesson into his head.
Going from crippling inferiority to overwhelming self-confidence—
The leap you'd made was simply too large!
Ranpo instinctively shrank back, avoiding Akiya's gaze. In a small voice, he muttered, "But I didn't lose. Chuuya won too. He's even my follower for an entire month now..."
Akiya replied coldly,
"Then you won't be getting any family snacks this month. It's perfect timing, actually. Chuuya doesn't like snacks very much, so we'll finally be able to free up some space in the refrigerator and store more chili sauce instead."
"!!!"
Cat.exe has stopped functioning.
Ranpo instantly looked as though the sky had fallen.
Chuuya swallowed nervously.
"Y-Yes. I don't have any objections."
Randou paused his meal and rested one cheek against his hand.
It was quite rare to see the usually good-tempered Akiya genuinely angry.
After the family dinner ended, Randou stayed behind to comfort the thoroughly panicked Ranpo. Fukuzawa Yukichi did not leave immediately either. Instead, he remained in the villa, waiting for Akiya to finish dealing with the situation involving the guest resting in the upstairs room.
Nakahara Chuuya watched this scene of family conflict unfold before his eyes and, all at once, understood why Ranpo was not invincible.
If Ranpo truly were invincible, then a situation like this would never have happened.
Predictions concerning the human heart had their limits.
The moment he realized that, some of the fear he had always felt toward Ranpo quietly faded away.
Randou stroked Ranpo's hair, letting him bury himself in his lap as he complained in a tearful voice, "I want snacks."
Randou replied mercilessly,
"No. Akiya said no. If you want to eat them, do it outside."
Ranpo let out a pitiful whine.
Randou agreed completely with Akiya's assessment.
"You went too far this time."
Ranpo drooped his head and could not deny it.
Who could have known that ordering the Little Orange Cat around would end up stepping on a landmine?
There were simply too many secrets hidden inside that Little Orange Cat.
Taking advantage of the fact that Akiya had gone upstairs, Randou prompted Ranpo for a spoiler.
"What exactly is that boy's relationship with Akiya?"
Sniffling intermittently, Ranpo answered,
"He's the young master Akiya met during that business trip last Saturday. His family has connections to government agencies. They probably invited Akiya to help guide him or something. The protagonist of Akiya's newest novel, Tears of the Muse, was modeled after him. That's why he ended up getting drawn all the way to Yokohama."
Randou's hand paused in the middle of stroking Ranpo's hair.
"Shikawa Ryuuji was based on him?"
This stray cat had come charging in with frightening momentum.
Akiya, why is it that every time you go on a business trip, you end up teasing another cat?
After dumping Ranpo back into Fukuzawa Yukichi's care, Randou rose without hesitation.
"I'll go upstairs and take a look."
Inside the second-floor guest room, Asou Akiya had brought up a portion of dinner and placed it on the bedside table. Shibusawa Tatsuhiko had already awakened and was sitting upright in bed. Having drunk some glucose water, he appeared much better than before, yet he remained quiet as a doll, his crimson eyes fixed steadily on Akiya.
Asou Akiya pretended to have forgotten the earlier incident of him fainting and asked gently,
"Did you need something from me?"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko replied,
"The novel you wrote for me—does it have a continuation?"
Of all the novels he had read, only that one remained unpublished.
And of all those novels, only that one contained no romance.
Its protagonist, Shikawa Ryuuji, had drifted farther and farther down a path devoted to the pursuit of beauty and love.
Without even blinking, Akiya answered,
"No."
A look of confusion appeared on Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's face.
"But the ending... stopped at the moment he recovered his memories."
The renowned fashion designer Shikawa Ryuuji had regained his memories, and the frenzied smile that appeared on his face was impossible to understand.
Then the story ended abruptly.
Patiently, Akiya tried to guide the still-salvageable Shibusawa Tatsuhiko.
"What kind of person do you think spends their life chasing the past?"
"A person with a deep emptiness in their heart..."
"That's right. The emptiness within Shikawa Ryuuji was his lost memories. The moment he recovered those memories, his life had already reached its end. He was no longer Shikawa Ryuuji, but the nameless person he had been before losing his memories. That person does not need a name, because..." Akiya paused before finishing softly, "the story has already ended."
In the movie as well, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's life had effectively ended the moment he recovered his memories. Everything that followed—the madness, the obsession, the destruction—was merely the lingering shadow of a dead man, a humanoid Ability that had torn apart the façade of humanity.
That was not beautiful.
The proud image of the White Qilin that Shibusawa Tatsuhiko had possessed in life was utterly destroyed.
The Tears of the Muse was destined to be an aesthetic and melancholic tale. It was a work Akiya intended to publish overseas. It needed literary elegance. He could not fill it with too many knives, too much tragedy, or too much poison.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's fingers tightened around the soft blanket beneath him.
"What exactly are you trying to imply?"
Akiya smiled.
"Nothing at all. Eat first."
Looking somewhat dispirited, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko lifted his eyes toward him and reached for the meal. However, his movements were sluggish, and pain from his abdomen slowed him down. Remembering that he had been beaten up by Chuuya, Akiya asked,
"Did you apply any medicine?"
"No."
Akiya fetched a tube of ointment for external injuries and placed it in his hand.
A well-behaved White Qilin like this was truly a rare sight.
"You're still wearing the hair tie, I see."
His gaze drifted toward the side of Tatsuhiko's face, where he spotted the gift he had once bought for him. Reaching out, Akiya removed the loosened ribbon and gently combed through the tangled strands with his fingers.
"Your hair's gotten a little messy. If you have the strength later, go take a bath. I'll prepare some clothes for you. And stop arguing with Ranpo. My original intention was for the two of you to become friends."
The gloom weighing on Shibusawa Tatsuhiko seemed to ease slightly.
In a slow voice, he said,
"I'm not angry with him."
Akiya immediately exposed the lie.
"How hypocritical."
Tatsuhiko replied calmly,
"I learned it from you, Analyst-san."
A Port Mafia analyst who maintained dealings with government agencies—
There was undoubtedly something shady going on behind the scenes.
Akiya pondered his attitude for a moment, satisfied after giving the cat a few strokes, and decided to retreat.
"Alright. Finish your meal and get some rest. I'll have your driver come pick you up tonight."
As for spending the night here—
Absolutely impossible.
Randou's sensitivity toward cats had already reached the level of an allergy.
Sure enough, the moment Akiya pushed open the door, he found Randou standing outside waiting for him. His lover was gazing toward him and the long-haired boy in the guest room with eyes that appeared melancholy on the surface, but were in reality quietly keeping watch.
Akiya folded his arms across his chest.
"What are you overthinking this time?"
Randou smiled.
"Nothing. I'm simply relieved to see you come out so quickly."
The French beauty, whose long black wavy hair contrasted sharply with the white-haired boy in the room, leaned forward and kissed Akiya on the cheek, openly declaring the nature of their relationship. Under Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's slightly widened gaze, he spoke in a gentle voice.
"Akiya, let's throw this chinchilla cat out."
It was rather annoying.
Looking at Shibusawa Tatsuhiko, Randou felt as though he were seeing a faint reflection of his former self.
In response, Akiya wrapped an arm around Randou's waist and closed the door behind him, cutting off the view from the guest room. He pressed the jealous Randou against the door and captured his lips in a kiss deep enough to leave him breathless. Only after pulling away did he guide Randou's head to rest against his neck and say with refreshing straightforwardness,
"My dear, you're one of a kind."
Inside the guest room, separated by only a single door, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko stared at the entrance.
After deducing what had just happened outside, he silently began considering a series of questions.
[So Akiya-san's lover is a man? They're in a same-sex relationship? They were kissing?]
[His lover dislikes me?]
[My chances of getting closer to Akiya-san have decreased…]
[Possible solution—have this person killed?]
[No. That won't work. There's no way to conceal it afterward. My ultimate goal is to obtain the Ability crystals of Asou Akiya, Edogawa Ranpo, and Nakahara Chuuya. Once I've thoroughly investigated their information and found a way to raise the priority level of Draconia, I'll test them again.]
With that conclusion reached, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko lowered his gaze.
For the moment, patience was the wiser choice.
The moment he decided to retreat, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko felt an inexplicable emptiness in his chest, accompanied by profound disappointment.
He couldn't beat a single one of them.
That man was simply far too good at raising children.
Fortunately, Akiya had a weakness—love.
The question was whether threatening Akiya-san's lover would have any effect.
For example... cutting off that beautiful long black hair.
A devilish smile slowly appeared on Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's face, as though he had already glimpsed an amusing future.
Did they really think he hadn't noticed?
Akiya-san liked people with long hair the most.
His own white hair was very beautiful, wasn't it?
Absentmindedly stroking the ribbon in his hand, the boy continued analyzing every member of the household.
Afterward, he applied medicine to himself.
Beneath his clothing, dark bruises spread across his abdomen. His waist was slender, his snow-white hair cascading over his shoulders and body.
At that moment, a scheming little manipulator was officially born.
As for him not applying medicine before—
Wasn't that simply because he wanted Akiya-san to discover it afterward and feel at least a little guilty?
And if that still wasn't enough...
Then perhaps he should learn how to cry.
Exceeding other people's expectations and breaking through the limits he had once set for himself—
That, too, could be considered a form of growth.