About a week ago.

The Military State abruptly mobilized its troops.

The military authorities requisitioning soldiers to maintain public order was so routine it hardly qualified as news, but this time the scale was on another level. Leaving only the minimum forces needed to defend the borders and strategic locations, they gathered every available soldier in the cities. It was as though they were waging war against the cities themselves. While people hid trembling in their homes at the sight of soldiers filling the streets, the Military State began using its assembled forces to carry out a massive arrest operation.

Petty criminals left alone because the seriousness of their offenses was debatable. People whose names had merely been put on wanted posters. Resistance members hiding with the help of citizens.

And quite a few citizens who were simply unlucky and innocent.

All were trampled beneath the military boots roaming every street and taken into custody.

Kanisen could not escape the searches either.

Back when the Military State was still a kingdom, Kanisen had served as a squire in a prestigious order of knights. He had retired into seclusion after the military took power, but the Military State's intelligence service still considered him dangerous and kept him under surveillance.

Naturally, this operation brought soldiers to his little house as well.

So far, this was nothing unusual in the Military State. Prominent figures from the kingdom's days received unexpected visits from soldiers. A single remark would be seized upon as a pretext to drag them away and put them through an ordeal.

There was, however, one difference this time: Kanisen really was a rebel, and he was preparing a terrorist attack against the Military State in the near future.

The moment Kanisen sensed something amiss, he grabbed only the bare minimum of equipment and fled. The comrades with him fled as well.

Discovering that its casual probing had struck a rich vein, the Military State immediately gave chase.

But Kanisen had once served in the military himself, even if it had been during the kingdom's days. Sensing something suspicious about all this frantic activity, he infiltrated the Military State's supply service instead of simply running away. There, he learned something astonishing.

Numerous dangerous criminals had escaped from Tantalus, the great prison that held history's worst offenders, and the Military State had assembled its troops to prevent the chaos they might cause.

He had gained astonishing information, but he had little time left. The pursuit was relentless, and there were too many enemies. Resistance here would accomplish nothing. He would merely be swept away and crushed by their overwhelming numbers.

Then, as if by a miracle, a way out appeared before him.

A supply crate meant for Tantalus, left abandoned without a destination after the prisoners escaped.

Thoughts flashed past like a life flashing before one's eyes. To glean information in that brief moment, I hammered those flickering memories into my brain.

My head hurt. Clutching my throbbing skull, I pulled myself up out of the stream of thoughts.

A sudden, large-scale search. Resistance members fleeing from it. After skimming through how they had ended up here with my mind reading, I could only lament the sheer absurdity.

Those fucking idiots in the Military State. They were always pretending to be so meticulous, yet they hadn't even opened that crate.

I wanted to shake the golem that had so smugly announced the supplies would arrive right away. Couldn't you check them again before sending them? Don't you even inspect the goods?

Thanks to the Military State's negligence, five Resistance members had stubbornly held out inside, eating their way through the food. Groaning in pain in a space too cramped to so much as move a hand, they burst out the instant they landed, as though they had been waiting for nothing else.

I was the first person they encountered, and with their grievances against everything in the world, it was only natural that they poured their hostility onto me.

Haah. The Resistance, huh.

Resistance members were mostly just young people with a lot of complaints about society. I might be at the bottom of the pecking order here, but I had no intention of losing to a bunch of immature brats. Shall I teach the little kiddies a proper lesson? I'm what you grow up to become, children.

As I loosened up my hands, a strapping young man thrust a gun at me and shouted sharply.

"Don't move! Hands up!"

I hastily raised my hands. Not much I could do against a gun.

Phew. What a relief. If Azi hadn't licked my shoulder, I wouldn't have been able to raise my arm and might have died. I should thank her.

... No, hold on.

My arm hurting in the first place and my being out in the yard at this exact moment were both Azi's fault. If I hadn't been playing fetch with you, I wouldn't be facing the Resistance unarmed!

"Woof?"

Azi had been wagging her tail furiously, apparently delighted to meet new humans, but tilted her head at my burning gaze. With my arms still raised, I glared at her.

You're the reason I'm about to get captured, so do something about it!

I contorted my face every way I could to convey that message. After staring at me, Azi's eyes sparkled, and she nodded as though she understood. That's right, King of Dogs. Time you finally earned your keep.

"Dog woman, hands up! You too!"

"Woof!"

Azi barked cheerfully and raised her hands just like me.

Right. What did I expect from you? You're so free with that tail of yours, welcoming any human who shows up.

The young man looked slightly suspicious at Azi's utterly sunny expression. I hoped he might attack her, but...

'... She's obedient for a filthy dog beastkin. Looks a little slow, but she doesn't seem dangerous for now, so I'll leave her be...'

Apparently, appearances had influenced his judgment. What a shame. If he'd just fired and picked a fight with Azi, they would each have taken a doggy punch and ended up with something broken.

The young man waved his gun threateningly and shouted.

"Right! Now that everyone's hands are up, get on your knees and down on the—!"

"Alpha. Enough."

A middle-aged man appeared silently from behind the crate. Stepping forward with an air of ease, he placed a hand on the shoulder of the man called Alpha. As Alpha caught his breath, the middle-aged man took hold of his gun barrel and slowly lowered it.

Breathing hard, Alpha asked,

"Boss?"

Whether by age, skill, experience, or simply appearance and presence, there was no mistaking this man for anything but the leader. Kanisen stepped out before me.

His strength showed in his firm strides. Even if the world collapsed, he looked as though he would fall a little later than it did. Despite spending days hunched inside a crate, his body and mind seemed steadfast, without so much as a scratch.

Kanisen, the leader of this Resistance group, admonished Alpha.

"We still know nothing about this place. I understand you're frustrated and anxious, but right now we need words, not guns."

"... I'm sorry. I was impatient."

"It happens. I understand. We've been cooped up far too long."

Stroking his coarse beard, Kanisen swept a cold gaze over Azi and me. Then he glanced toward Tantalus, its searchlights shining in the distance, and approached me with a calculated smile.

"My apologies. Did we give you a fright?"

They really had startled me. Nodding, I shouted with a measure of sincerity.

"Of course you did! W-who are you people? Pointing guns at me out of nowhere!"

"There's no need to be wary. We are enemies of the Military State, and we are on your side. Allow me to apologize for the gun. And you are...?"

Kanisen trailed off, prompting me to introduce myself.

Polite, yet projecting just enough authority to demand an answer. The natural way he probed for information about me could fairly be called exemplary. All the while, he kept thinking.

'Young. Bare-chested. He's not wearing an instructor's uniform, let alone a military one, so he doesn't seem affiliated with the Military State. Lean and nimble, but he doesn't look strong. I heard most prisoners escaped. If he was the first to come collect supplies under these circumstances, he's likely a laborer. In that case, we can get what we lack most... information about this place.'

The Resistance hadn't chosen some useless chaff as its leader, it seemed. He thought rationally and judged quickly. Even after descending into the legendary prison in the bottomless pit, Tantalus, and emerging for the first time after enduring three days in a tiny crate, he remained composed.

I liked his type. It made it obvious how I should behave.

The image another person formed in their mind defined me. If he thought I was a laborer, then I would become the most perfect laborer he could imagine.

A slightly slouched stance, no attempt to hide my exhaustion, and a touch of fear and bewilderment in my voice. Thank goodness I wasn't wearing my instructor's uniform. It saved me having to explain it. Deliberately making my weary gaze waver, I imitated how a laborer would react to intruders.

"I-I was brought here about a week ago. Soldiers suddenly barged in and arrested me, then tossed me in here without a word of explanation and told me to work. I-I don't know anything. I don't have any money, either."

"What work do you do?"

"Odd jobs! Cooking and cleaning and things!"

"I see. So you were dragged here by the wicked Military State."

"That's right. I didn't deserve this."

Kanisen nodded in satisfaction and extended his hand.

"As I thought, we are comrades. We too have a score to settle with the Military State."

"What?"

When I reluctantly held out my hand, Kanisen seized it and shook it vigorously. He was so damn strong my whole body swayed.

"We are the Resistance, friends of the people. We seek to defeat the brutal Military State and reclaim freedom and peace."

This was my cue to look surprised. I cried out with exaggerated shock.

"The R-Resistance?!"

After the military ousted the monarchy and took power, grueling labor, low wages, strict control, merciless punishments, and rapid urbanization brought about the collapse of the old order. Those who had lost property or family to the Military State went underground and formed organizations to oppose it.

But the disparate bands of rebels could not withstand the Military State's elite troops. After repeatedly springing up in scattered pockets only to be swiftly suppressed, the rebels themselves recognized the need for an organized leadership and united under an outstanding leader.

That was the Resistance, the largest rebel organization. Those who cried out for liberation from military rule.

Of course, now that the military regime had been in power for so long, ordinary people didn't have a particularly favorable impression of the Resistance. I should mix in a little wariness here. That would be more natural.

"The R-Resistance? You mean those t-terroris—mmph!"

I deliberately cut myself off midway through the word "terrorists" and made a show of clapping a hand over my mouth. Then I looked at him with thoroughly frightened eyes.

A little rude, but a normal reaction for an ordinary person.

As expected, Kanisen found nothing particularly suspicious about my behavior.

"I understand. You must have heard nothing but bad rumors about us. The Military State will have spread propaganda calling us ruthless terrorists."

"Ah, um. Yes."

"But know this. Most of the atrocities the Military State attributes to the Resistance were actually... committed by the military authorities and pinned on us. At heart, we're no different from you, falsely accused by the Military State."

Perhaps because he had once been a knight, his earnest words carried weight. If I'd been an ordinary person, I might have found myself believing him without realizing it.

He was also skilled at first reassuring me that we were on the same side, then building common ground by insisting we were no different. It was quite apparent he had once commanded people.

"Trust us. We came here to help you."

This man.

He had quite a talent for swindling. If he hadn't been a knight, he would have become a back-alley con artist.

Unfortunately, he'd picked the wrong opponent. Of all people, he'd encountered me, the finest con artist in the back alleys. Most of his words were wasted.

Pretending my fear was gradually fading, I answered.

"You came to help me?"

"Of course! Helping those unjustly oppressed by the Military State is what the Resistance does! We will help not only you, but every wronged soul imprisoned here!"

"Oh..."

I let out a small murmur of admiration. Seeing my reaction live up to his expectations, Kanisen laughed heartily.

Taking his eyes off me for a moment, he turned toward Azi, who was still standing with her hands raised.

"Now then, who might this beautiful beastkin lady be?"

Azi cheerfully answered Kanisen's question.

"Woof! I'm a puppy!"

"Puppy? What an unusual name. How did you come to be here, young lady?"

"Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you!"

Azi suddenly bounded over and began running circles around Kanisen. It was so fast and unexpected that even the former knight couldn't react in time. Startled, Kanisen was reaching toward his waist when it happened.

I sensed hostility billowing from inside the crate. Turning, I saw a female Resistance member who had been watching us warily from within aiming her gun at Azi.

"Boss!"

A young woman's voice, unmistakably wary.

Kanisen's face twisted at the sound.

"Sto—!"

'Don't shoot!'

But before he could even begin speaking, the trigger had already been pulled.

BANG!

A bullet burst from the muzzle. Traveling slightly ahead of the gunshot, the armor-piercing round streaked straight toward Azi. It happened in an instant. At such close range, the bullet took less than a moment to reach her.

Still circling Kanisen, Azi suddenly stared straight at the approaching armor-piercing round.

Then caught it between her teeth just before it struck her.

CRUNCH.

A strange sound rang out. Teeth biting into steel. Metal crumpling mercilessly. And that was all.

The bullet's short journey from the muzzle had ended between Azi's teeth.

CRUNCH.

No one had properly witnessed what happened. Kanisen, at least, quickly grasped the situation.

'She caught an armor-piercing round fired at close range? With her teeth?'

Surviving a bullet was common enough. A little training in energy arts, sturdy clothing, or simply being born with a robust constitution could let someone easily withstand a bullet or two. Guns were useful, but they weren't particularly powerful weapons.

But catching an incoming bullet? Even an expert would find that difficult, and even someone capable of it wouldn't try with their teeth. A mistake would leave the delicate lining of their mouth torn apart.

Yet Azi had done it.

Azi crunched down once on the steel bullet, then grimaced and spat it out. The crumpled bullet bounced across the ground. She cried out indignantly.

"Hot! Hard! Tastes bad!"

The crumpled bullet. The tooth marks on it.

Only then did the other Resistance members belatedly realize what had happened and raise their guns in unison.

"Hold your fire!"

At Kanisen's roar, they all flinched like students being scolded by a teacher and lowered their guns. His face contorted as he shouted.

"Who gave you permission to shoot? Beta, didn't I tell you never to fire until I gave the order?"

The young person called Beta hastily bowed their head.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Then stay put!"

After barking that rebuke, Kanisen respectfully clasped his hands and bowed to Azi.

"Please forgive our rudeness. We are too ignorant to recognize which distinguished personage you might be. May we ask your name?"

'That dog beastkin is no ordinary opponent. If a fight breaks out... we'll all die!'

Oh, he knew his place and even apologized first. Meeting someone so ordinary and normal for the first time since coming down to Tantalus was refreshing. Down here, it felt like even a model citizen such as myself was becoming abnormal.

Of course, it took two hands to clap. Acting normally didn't guarantee a normal response.

"Woof! I'm a puppy!"

"Puppy? Forgive me for asking, but is that an epithet?"

"Name! Woof! Woof! Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you!"

Kanisen stared blankly at Azi, looking as though his mind had gone. Momentarily at a loss for what to do, he turned to me as if seeking a lifeline.

"Er, this distinguished lady..."

"Oh. Apparently she's one of the trainees who stayed here. Says her name is Puppy or something. She's strong, but she follows instructions like an actual dog, so we hang out like this sometimes."

"The King of Dogs, known only in legend? No, surely even Tantalus couldn't hold such a being."

Correct. Smart, too. Apparently he'd picked up quite a bit of knowledge.

Polite, capable of fearing an opponent, aware of his limitations, and knowledgeable to boot. If there had to be trainees down here, I wished they were all like him.

Haah. That made it all the more regrettable.

Having to kill a man like this.

Recovering himself, Kanisen hurriedly asked,

"Are there any soldiers or other prisoners... no, trainees left here?"

"Uh, no soldiers. But there are two more trainees, I think. They're either busy sleeping their asses off or doing their own thing. They probably won't come out unless you set off a bomb or something."

"I see. Thank goodness."

'That sends a chill down my spine. At least two beings like her... No, there was a prison break, so there must have been far more imprisoned here. How on earth did the Military State lock up monsters like these?'

Kanisen sank deep into thought. His thoughts shifted from moment to moment. Wearing an expression of utter ignorance, I calmly read them.

'This isn't a place to underestimate. If we don't hurry with the plan, the other prisoners in Tantalus might stop us. We must finish this as quickly as possible.'

The Resistance was an enemy of the Military State.

The prisoners were enemies of the Military State too.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. All the more so when my enemy is powerful.

Normally, the Resistance would choose to recruit the prisoners, or simply free them outright to create a major burden for the Military State.

Yet for some reason, Kanisen never once considered asking the prisoners of Tantalus for help. As though that hadn't been his objective to begin with.

Why had Kanisen, a terrorist and Resistance member, come to Tantalus? Why had he hidden in a supply crate bound for Tantalus while on the run?

To Tantalus in the bottomless pit, a land cursed by Mother Earth, from which there was no escape?

'Now that we're in Tantalus, we cannot get out. Fleeing in haste, the only equipment we brought was the bombs for the terrorist attack. The only way to inflict meaningful damage on the Military State with these... '

Simple, I muttered cynically.

What else would terrorists do but commit terrorism?

'...is to completely destroy Tantalus, that symbol of oppression, and sink it beneath the bottomless pit.'

These bastards had come here simply to blow the place up. Even if it killed them too.

My gaze turned cold.