They had neither the desire to improve nor any sense of danger. Even after all that explanation, they simply took it in with a vacant, “Huh.” A frustration only those who had tried teaching others could understand tightened around my chest.

Did none of them have any thoughts on this?

At last, the Regressor, who had been sitting quietly with her arms folded, opened her mouth. Oh, what would she ask?

“Why are you telling us this?”

Sigh. Not a question, but an interrogation. Just what I should have expected from someone with terminal suspicion.

I replied without hiding my disappointment.

“You're complaining even when I give you information?”

“Of course. Tantalus is a Level 5 classified facility. Information about the layout of a Military State classified facility carries at least an equivalent security classification. Yet here you are, casually telling us about it when we have no security clearance whatsoever. You're disclosing classified information across a gap of five whole levels. Why?”

I told her, and she still gave me shit. How could anyone live suspecting absolutely everything? Couldn't she just say, “Wow, how fascinating,” like the vampire and accept it?

The Regressor looked unlikely to back down without a proper explanation. I decided to give her just a little of my reasoning.

“Because you need to know this to develop a sense of ownership.”

“Ownership?”

“That's right. You know about yesterday's Resistance attack, yes?”

“So?”

“So?” she said, cool as could be. Anger surged through me, and I shouted at her.

“Am I the only one using this ground? Am I the only one defending it? Somehow, unfairly enough, I seem to be the only one doing any work. If you live here too, show a little concern! The ground was literally about to collapse beneath us, and what were you all doing, lazing about in your rooms?!”

You need to realize the ground beneath our feet could give way at any moment before you'll feel any urgency to stop it!

“Who went to collect the supply crate? Me! Who spotted the Resistance in advance? Me! Who stopped their plan? Me again! I got stuck with everything. All of it fell on me alone!”

“Isn't that your job?”

“Staying alive is everyone's own job! If I don't save you, are you just going to die?”

“Have you ever saved me?”

“Glad you asked! Do you know what the Resistance intruders were planning yesterday? Watch!”

I strode up to the blackboard and rubbed out both edges of Tantalus with my fingers. Then I slashed a chalk line through the middle.

“Here! The opposite side! And the center! They were going to plant three bombs in these spots and detonate them simultaneously to split Tantalus in half and send it plummeting!”

I thumped the blackboard, and the Tantalus in the drawing shook, shedding chalk dust. Its carefully maintained balance began to fail at the crumbling edges, and it tilted. Once a massive structure loses its balance, its own weight becomes its deadliest enemy. Then came the explosion at its center, driving the final wedge into it.

At the outcome, the Regressor let out a soft gasp.

“Oh.”

'Tantalus... Is this how it collapsed?'

Tantalus could not hold. It cracked in two and fell into the depths. Thus the Tantalus in the drawing met its downfall.

I pounded the blackboard again, snapping the Regressor out of her thoughts.

“Well? This nearly happened to the very ground beneath your feet! And you all sat around without a care, only strolling over once everything was finished! If I hadn't actively stopped them, all of us, myself included, would have ended up lost in the bottomless pit! Am I right or wrong?”

Even the Regressor, who had maintained her defensive posture with her arms crossed, finally had to concede. She quietly unfolded her arms, glanced aside, and muttered.

“... You're right, I suppose.”

“Are you grateful to me or not?”

“Thank... It's not enough to warrant thanking you. You were saving your own skin too.”

Look at her clinging to her pride to the very end. Couldn't she manage a single word of thanks?

“Wow. That's rich, coming from someone who was delighted to have a new sparring partner when an intruder attacked. How does your mind even work?”

“?! H-how?”

“How did I know? You think I wouldn't notice? That guy in military armament headed straight for the first floor, and ages later you came out with his neck, Trainee Shei! You could clearly have taken his head off in a single exchange, so why did you bother trading blows with him?”

“W-well, I lack real combat experience.”

“So you put your life on the line because you need combat experience. While the other intruders were planting bombs, no less! That complacency is what created this crisis! Tantalus is only safe because I responded in time!”

Every word I said was sound. The Regressor tried to pick holes in my argument as a defense mechanism, but however hard she tried, she couldn't find anything to seize on. She clicked her tongue and conceded.

“Tch, fine. I'll step in next time. Happy?”

“Excellent! Be sure to remember that promise!”

From the memory that had briefly crossed her mind, at least a few more people would invade this place in the future. Presumably, one of them would be formidable enough to play a part in the world's destruction.

And I was supposed to stop them? Not a chance. Not only was it impossible, I didn't want to. I'd had to risk my life just to deal with Kanisen and the other Resistance members. Why should I have to face anything worse?

“From now on, deal with whoever drops in here yourselves. Don't put it off thinking someone else will handle it! Whoever finds them first takes care of them! Understood?”

It would be one thing if I were alone. But with a Regressor and the Progenitor of vampires here, why should I do the work?! Strong people doing jobs that required strength—now that was a positive influence!

“If someone with ill intentions drops in next time, I won't lift a finger against them!”

Good. Now I had a plausible excuse to run away when the next intruder attacked. Whew. One free pass against criticism. I'd gained something truly precious. Next time someone came, I'd scatter the undying one's hands and feet around and play dead.

As I plotted my escape, the vampire tilted her head and spoke.

“Are you not making rather too much fuss over yesterday?”

“A f-fuss?”

Did having your life hang by a thread count as making a fuss these days? I was so incredulous I couldn't close my mouth, but the vampire went one step further.

“Did you not resolve everything yesterday quite easily? You tidied it all away as neatly as cleansing your palate after a meal, and now you have so much to say.”

“Cleansing my palate?”

Did she actually think I'd disposed of the Resistance with ease?

Being overestimated was nice. But the instant it became an excuse to saddle me with extra work, it turned into a cursed shackle. I hastily waved my hands.

“No, please don't put your faith in me! Unlike you, I'm an ordinary human with only one life! I can't shrug off a gunshot like Trainee Tyrkanzyaka, and I don't have all sorts of bizarre tools like Trainee Shei! This body is all I have!”

“Indeed. And with that body alone, did you not dispose of three of them? Without spilling a single drop of blood, at that.”

“What does three matter? Two of them were small fry, and the third wasn't much either! They weren't dangerous at all! It's not that I'm particularly impressive!”

“Your final opponent was unquestionably a knight. You subdued and even restrained that knight without a scratch. When I sensed his death, the only wound on his body was the one with which you finished him.”

“No, that was...”

“Besides, are you not more skilled than Shei? Those who are stronger and stand higher naturally bear greater duties.”

This was bad.

The vampire was utterly convinced I was stronger than the Regressor!

Knowing nothing of the modern world, the vampire was remarkably receptive to information and stimuli from outside. Even if I told her the roof of Military State headquarters split open to reveal a giant magic golem that flew across the sky, she would believe it. Much like a newly hatched bird learning about the world.

“If you bear the title of Instructor, you ought to think of stepping forward to lead. Should one who serves the state not lead its people from the front?”

And even now, she couldn't abandon her old-fashioned lecturing, scolding me on the basis of that conclusion!

I didn't mind her mistaking me for someone strong. I'd intended that to some extent. But overestimating me this much was dangerous.

They'd misunderstand all on their own, then resent me when the misunderstanding cleared up. And if it didn't, they'd push me into mortal danger.

The higher you climb, the more dangerous the fall. What to do? It was time to deflate this impression a little.

At least the Regressor had a discerning eye. Surely she would start catching on?

'He subdued a knight without a scratch? With his bare hands, too? ... Could I do that? No, not in my current state, before I've finished conditioning my body. Tch, I hate to admit it, but... I think he's stronger than me. For now.'

Don't judge me just by what someone says! Please, watch me fight before you decide! If you hate admitting it, check with your own two eyes!

Tch. Stay here any longer, and I'd wind up having to protect the Regressor. No choice. Time for an emergency escape.

I set my nails against the blackboard and dragged them across it. The spine-chilling noise made the Regressor grimace and the vampire furrow her brow. At the back, Azi, who had been sleeping on her belly, yelped and leaped straight up.

Secret technique: Blackboard Scratching.

A technique for interrupting an unfavorable conversation with a hideous noise and escaping danger. Having drawn everyone's attention with this forbidden art, I shouted.

“Then we'll take turns. Whatever else you say, I cleaned up this time, right? The next time some villain attacks, one of you can deal with them! That is all...!”

“Woof! Woof, woof! Woof!”

Now Azi was barking furiously at me. What was her problem?

“Grr! Woof! Woof, woof!”

At a guess, she seemed angry over a little blackboard scratching while she was sleeping.

A dog's hearing was dozens of times sharper than a human's, and Azi, their king, could even hear whispers from the other side of Tantalus. She only ignored them because she wasn't particularly bright and had learned to tune out meaningless noise. If I muttered “mutt” anywhere in Tantalus, she would hear it wherever she was, raise her tail stiffly, and bare her teeth.

A noise attack against a dog like that was super effective. Thinking of it that way, I felt a little sorry. About one dog hair's worth.

Still, as a human, I couldn't bow to a dog first. I held my head high and glared at Azi.

“Who told you to sleep through the damn lesson? Besides, you scratch concrete with your claws. A human can scratch a blackboard a little. What are you going to do about it? Defy me?”

“Grr! Woof!”

That meant yes.

Absurd. A mere dog, rebelling against a human? How insolent. I'd show her exactly what separated humans from dogs.

I raised both hands toward Azi and gave her an awkward smile.

“Now that I think about it, I do feel a little sorry. Why don't we make up?”

Dialogue and compromise: things humans could do and dogs could not. I tried negotiating with a dog.

It didn't do a damn thing.

“Woof!”

The domestic animal's revolt came so suddenly that I had no time to react. Azi flew across the classroom. Before I knew it, she'd grabbed my shoulders and we were rolling across the floor. When I came to my senses, she had me pinned beneath her in a mount.

She apparently didn't mean to attack, since she kept her claws sheathed and merely pressed down, but that alone left me unable to move. It felt as though iron stakes were pressing into my shoulders.

How could they think I was strong when they saw me like this every day? There had to be something wrong with their eyes.

Still, I couldn't let them see me lose to a dog. Human pride was at stake.

Pinned beneath Azi, I spoke.

“That concludes today's lesson. Everyone, off you go.”

The vampire gathered her parasol and perched on her coffin. The jet-black coffin floated up as usual and flew toward the door with her aboard.

“Very well. That was entertaining.”

“The lesson wasn't meant to entertain you. Hurry up and leave. I'm going to teach this puppy a lesson.”

I locked eyes with Azi for a moment. Hers were full of displeasure. Insolent creature, daring to revolt over a little blackboard scratching. I'd teach her.

The Regressor started to follow the vampire out, then stopped. Her gaze turned toward Azi and me.

'Are they going to fight? If I see those two fight seriously, I should get a rough idea of his strength. Hmm. Let's watch.'

“What are you doing? Is this a show? Unless you're going to get this dog off me, hurry up and go.”

I waved her away from the floor. The Regressor stifled a groan and turned her head.

'He's wary, as I thought. He doesn't intend to show his full strength.'

Wrong. It meant I had no strength worth showing you. There was nothing to see, so get going.

I shooed her away again, and the Regressor turned with a low murmur.

“Fine. You two work it out.”

The Regressor coolly turned and left the room. The thick sheet-metal door shut firmly with a bang.

A moment of silence.

Then a thought drifted in from beyond the door.

'Eyes that see through. Green Eyes...'

“When I said leave, I didn't mean go outside and watch, Trainee Shei. Peeping is hardly good behavior. Hurry along before you embarrass yourself any further!”

The Regressor gave a violent start, then used Wind Step or whatever it was to race silently down the corridor.

'Th-this isn't running away. Right. I'm pretending not to be outside so I can seize a better opportunity later. One step back for two steps forward.'

Pretending, my ass. I sensed all of it. She'd gotten a taste for easy wins through regression and couldn't kick the habit.

Anyway, now only Azi remained, baring her teeth as she straddled me. Being ignored all this time had made her growl even more fiercely.

“Everyone gone?”

“Grrrrrr.”

“Hmm. Looks like it.”

After making sure I couldn't hear any thoughts, I faced Azi, who was glaring straight at me with wide-open eyes.

With more resolve and sincerity than ever before in my life, I spoke.

“I'm sorry, Azi. I won't do it again.”

“Grrr.”

“Aw, don't be angry. I forgot you were there. I didn't know you hated the sound of scratching a blackboard so much.”

“Woof!”

“There, there. Good girl, good girl. Puppy, puppy. Such a good puppy who doesn't get angry.”

“Ruff, ruff!”

“You know I love you, right? Here, I'll pet you. Move your paws.”

“Woof!”

Azi removed her forepaws from my shoulders and immediately spun around. Her twitching ears apparently meant she wanted me to pet her there. What a demanding little master.

With a grunt, I sat up, settled Azi on my thighs, and stroked her tousled hair. Within a few strokes, her face had relaxed completely and she was rumbling contentedly.

“Sigh. My life.”

“Woof!”

“I mean, it's wonderful to have a puppy like you in my life.”

“Woof, woof!”

Well, despite what I'd said, if I had to choose the best specimen among those remaining in Tantalus, it would be Azi.

This wasn't about liking or disliking anyone. It was about return on investment.

Where else could you find someone so stupid, with such a clearly favorable ratio of input to output? Even if I upset her a little, all I had to do was whisper a few sweet nothings, sit her on my lap, and pet her, and she would forgive me. So much easier to handle than the vampire or the Regressor.

Sure, I regularly cooked for her, walked her, and played with her, but that was nothing.

Sure, she had endless complaints and barked at me whenever anything displeased her, but that was nothing.

Sure, she was no help whatsoever when I fought humans. But that was nothing.

... Wait.

Could this dog actually be the most useless one of all?

But I'd already put in far too much effort to cut my losses. Swallowing my tears, I lifted my fingers and added today's upkeep to this furry bundle of sunk costs.