What is sleep? Why on earth does life need time to sink into itself, utterly defenseless, shutting out all outside stimuli?

I don't know the precise reason. But we can roughly infer how sleep affects humans by examining its absence, much as we might guess a shape from its shadow. Without sleep, we grow ill-tempered and as sensitive as sharp needles, tire easily, and find our consciousness flickering precariously. Even those called saints grimace when they first wake up, so sleep must surely replenish something in the mind.

Yet because we cannot fully understand the mind, neither can we understand the role of sleep.

We can only drift through unconsciousness, waiting for something to wake us...

Then something grabbed my leg. I woke up in an instant.

It doesn't matter how deeply asleep I am. That dizzying sensation of my body leaving the ground strips me not only of sleep, but of every kind of comfort. The horrible feeling that Mother Earth has abandoned me hounds my soul.

Mother Earth's curse is nothing elaborate. All she need do is refuse to support us, and we humans tumble into the abyss.

"I'm sorry please spare me I was wrong!"

I pleaded desperately as I fell. And then.

CRASH!

An instant. Not even half a second later, I hit the floor. Before I could recover from the impact, I scrambled to my feet.

"Hah. Hah. Hah."

I took a defensive stance and hurriedly scanned my surroundings.

I had landed fifty centimeters below my low military bed. Something had tugged my foot while I slept, pulling me out of bed and jolting me awake.

It didn't take long to discover what had pulled me.

"Woof."

Azi gave me a curt bark with a frosty expression, then opened the door and left. She was clearly still unhappy with me after our recent argument over the stolen food.

Still, she'd woken me up despite that, so apparently she hadn't come to hate me completely.

No. What a strange thing to say.

Dogs are born incapable of hating humans.

"Azi."

"Woof."

Azi turned only her head to look at me. In the past, her whole body would turn toward me when I called. Now, she only glanced my way.

But, well, a dog is a dog, whatever it does.

"Come to the dining hall."

Her tail moved. Her ears pricked up. I couldn't read her thoughts, but I didn't need to. No other creature could express itself so clearly without words.

"Woof? Food?"

"Yes. I've got something very important to cook today."

"Woof! Food!"

The mere mention of food instantly cheered her up, and she bounced on the spot. Haha. You really shouldn't be so excited.

Because today, you're the one I'm cooking.

"I'll come after I wash up, so go ahead and wait for me."

"You wash too often! Woof! All your fur will fall out!"

"I'm not going bald yet! You just don't wash enough! Never mind that. Hurry downstairs and bring her along! Not you or me. Her!"

"Downstairs? Woof! Okay!"

Azi smashed through a nearby window and jumped down. Look, just because I said to go downstairs didn't mean she had to take the shortest route.

At any rate, Azi had understood me and gone to fetch the Regressor. How had she known who I meant without a name? Azi had only three terms for referring to people: me, you, and her. Incidentally, the "her" slot couldn't hold more than one person. Third person in the truest sense.

Thank goodness there were only two living humans in Tantalus. Add just one more, and imagine the confusion.

"Now, then. Shall we get ready?"

Whistling, I gave myself a quick wash with my water ration. Today, I would finally settle things with the stew-stealing puppy who had plagued me so relentlessly in Tantalus.

By the time I put on my clothing packet and headed to the dining hall, Azi had already brought the Regressor. The two were polar opposites. While Azi was thrilled at the prospect of food, the Regressor looked at me with hollow eyes, then abruptly turned away, timid and overcome with emotion.

'Why did he have to call me here...'

The Regressor recalled last night's humiliation. Her attempt to eavesdrop had been thoroughly exposed, and she'd shut herself in her room, half out of her mind with embarrassment. She might even have cried a little.

Not sobbed aloud with tears streaming down her face, but cried inwardly, overwhelmed by misery and self-loathing. Having me see through her concealment must have been quite a shock.

I'd assumed she took life rather casually because she could regress even if she died, but apparently she was far more sensitive and perfectionistic than I'd expected.

'Damn it, damn it. Damn it! That first attempt was so obvious! Of course he'd be on guard after catching me there! Shei, when will you stop trying to cut corners? Give it your all every single time!'

No, stop beating yourself up. Had you spent the whole night thinking about that? Without even sleeping?

'Underestimating him was another problem. Just because he failed to detect my concealment last time, I decided that was the limit of his abilities. Getting away with it once while his guard was down was no guarantee I wouldn't be caught the next time...!'

This was driving me crazy. It had been troublesome when she wanted to kill me, but having her act as if she wanted to kill herself was even worse. And perhaps out of embarrassment, she wouldn't even meet my eyes.

Good grief. What a pointless fuss. Maybe I should lighten the mood.

"Trainee Shei, did you have trouble sleeping last night? Your eyes look rather sunken."

The Regressor merely mumbled something instead of giving me a clear answer. It seemed to be her way of telling me not to talk to her, but not a chance.

Mind reading.

'Tch. He's the one who kept me awake, and now he's playing innocent...'

Someone could get the wrong idea hearing that. Fortunately, I was the only one who could hear it, so there was no risk of misunderstanding.

You must have been awfully upset, Regressor.

"How much did you hear?"

"... H-hear what?"

"You kept coming back over and over after I chased you off yesterday. I thought I was throwing a boomerang. Please don't do that again."

"Urgh...!"

Normally, the Regressor would have gotten angry or raised her sword, but her diminished self-esteem had left her defense mechanisms out of order. And thanks to some peculiar law of conservation in this world, the lower her self-esteem sank, the more valuable I felt.

Ah, I shouldn't be doing this. It was too much fun.

"Woof! Food!"

I'd been tempted to tease her a little more, but that would do for today. Azi was pestering me.

"Now, Azi. Wait a moment. I have something to say."

"No! Woof! Say it while we eat!"

"Why, you little..."

Couldn't you go somewhere and lose a little self-esteem, too? Did dogs never get discouraged?

"Ahem. Anyway. I've called you here today because I've found a lead on the food thief who has been throwing Tantalus into chaos for so long."

"Woof!"

Azi demanded food, apparently utterly uninterested. You shameless little thing. Let's see if you stay that way when I shove the evidence in your face.

I walked to a corner of the dining hall and picked up the doll-sized golem I'd left there. As I prodded it here and there to check whether it was working, its head suddenly swiveled as if in response.

So the operator was connected. I lifted the golem and set it on the table.

"As our witness, we have Captain AB, Military State communications officer and the golem who's been camping out in the dining hall. Hello, Captain AB! Say hello!"

『...』

"Yes, lovely to meet you!"

Neither the Regressor nor Azi showed much change in attitude at the sight of the golem. The Regressor had stopped caring after deciding yesterday to leave it alone, and Azi wasn't particularly interested in anything that wasn't human.

This introduction wasn't going anywhere. Perhaps it was time to dust off the puppetry skills I'd used to entertain little children in my younger days.

I held the golem under its arms and made it waddle like a puppet. While its movements caught Azi's attention, I pressed my lips together and addressed her with ventriloquism.

"Hello, Azi!"

"Woof?"

Azi tilted her head, looking back and forth between the golem and me. The voice was coming from my direction, but the golem was waving, so she must have been wondering what was going on. Playing innocent, I waggled the golem's arms and legs and continued throwing my voice.

"Nice to meet you! My name is AB!"

"Woof woof? Human?"

"That's right! I'm human. Though I'm trapped in here right now! You're a puppy, aren't you?"

"Woof! That's right! I'm a puppy!"

"You look like such a good girl!"

"Thank you! You look very hard!"

"Let's be friends! Would you give me a lick?"

"Okay!"

『... Stop that.』

As Azi brought her nose closer, the golem moved faster than it ever had before. Knocking my hands away, it stood on its own two feet and dodged her face.

A flat voice issued from the golem's speaker.

『The Military State advises observers to avoid direct contact with trainees wherever possible. However, pursuant to Special Provision 2, I am disregarding regulations at security level 2 and below in light of the present situation.』

Having made that declaration, the golem stood up straight on both legs. Was it better made than I'd thought, or was the operator simply accustomed to it? Despite the miniature model's proportions being quite different from a human's, the synchronization remained intact.

『I am Captain AB, Military State communications officer. I am responsible for communications between Tantalus and the Military State authorities. Be advised that destroying this unit may adversely affect communications and your evaluations as trainees.』

Even without mind reading, it was obvious whom that warning was meant for. There was only one person here who would maliciously destroy the golem.

The Regressor stared sullenly at the golem standing on the table.

"I don't care about penalties. But I've made an agreement with that man, so as long as you don't crawl out of the dining hall and start snooping around, I'll leave you alone."

『Surveillance, supervision, and observation of Tantalus are my duties.』

"Really? I just can't help smashing devices that spy and eavesdrop all the time."

『Some people do suffer from that sort of disorder: extreme sensitivity to being watched. Military hospitals offer free treatment for such conditions. I recommend visiting one for treatment.』

"... Oh, getting cheeky, are we?"

『However, under the present circumstances, you would be unable to visit a military hospital. Your wishes have been noted. Disregarding regulations at security level 2 and below, I will temporarily suspend observation duties for this unit's safety.』

The two glared at each other for a moment before the Regressor snorted and got up first.

"If that's everything, I'm leaving."

Huh? Already? I stopped the departing Regressor.

"Ah, wait! You need to stay and observe these proceedings!"

"Not interested. Just keep that golem under control. If it comes out of the dining hall on its own, I might smash it before I realize what I'm doing."

The Regressor left the dining hall without looking back. Even in her dispirited state, her hatred of the Military State seemed unchanged.

Meanwhile, Azi, who hadn't understood a word of the exchange, looked at me with clear, innocent eyes and asked,

"Woof. What's this one saying?"

She must have meant the golem. Azi hadn't understood any of its stiff language. I answered listlessly.

"Don't hit it. Don't bite it, either. It says that hurts."

"Woof! I don't bite! I'm a good puppy!"

"Yes, yes. I know. You're good."

"Awooo! I'm good! Good!"

As I stroked Azi's head, I clamped my hand down on it and murmured ominously.

"But what sort of bad puppy gobbled up every last bit of that meat stew in the pot last night?"

"W-woof?"