WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

Chapter 006

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Only Bad Guardians

Humans are tool-using creatures, born with the dexterity and ingenuity to fashion whatever they need from whatever materials are at hand.

Before heading to Azzy, I had found some shredded rags lying around and roughly stitched them into a ball. It was too crude to be any use in a real game, but more than sufficient for playing around with a dog. I walked over tossing and catching the ball, while Azzy orbited around me as she followed along.

Every time I threw it, her whole body would give a little bounce. Those bright, shining eyes of hers refused to leave the ball for even a second. I drew her gaze with it and led her toward the wide courtyard.

And then.

'Concealed behind this Veil of Darkness, I shall watch clearly and see exactly what you are up to.'

Something strange was trailing behind us. Suppressing the urge to glance back, I made my way slowly toward the courtyard.

How troublesome. Why is she following me around instead of minding her own business? What have I even done?

All I intended to do was train the King of Dogs with a ball and some treats. With the occasional light crack of a whip, too.

It has always been said that training a beast requires the carrot and the stick. I have not a single thing to be ashamed of when it comes to my conduct. But now, with the regressor trailing behind me, the methods available to me were rather limited.

'The King of Dogs is one of the very few Beast Kings who stands on humanity's side. If the King of Dogs ends up turning against humans, the same way she did in my last cycle, it would put me at a serious disadvantage in the battles ahead. If this fellow does anything reckless with Azzy... I'll have to settle it with my life on the line. I have no idea how strong this man is, but I will fight him.'

After reading that thought, I pressed the military state standard-issue whip I had picked up somewhere in the prison deep into my pocket. It seemed likely that whipping would fall squarely within the category of reckless conduct she had in mind.

At its core, training is all about alternating positive and negative feedback. The so-called carrot and stick. Plus one when the subject listens well or does something admirable, minus one when it digs in its heels or does something I don't like. The idea is to apply feedback to specific behaviours and gradually shape the overall pattern in a direction that benefits me.

I had planned to use ball games and scraps of meat as the carrot, and the whip as the stick. But then,

'If he harasses her, hits her, or even so much as puts a collar on her... that's it. I'll give everything I have.'

A chilling killing intent drifted over.

It seemed the whip would have to be sealed away for today. Without negative feedback, efficiency would drop to less than half, but that was still better than losing my head. Carrots only, for now.

At last, I arrived at the courtyard and held the ball up high.

"Ready!"

"Woof!"

The moment I took a throwing stance, Azzy flattened herself against the ground, palms and feet pressed flat, body low. Even so, her tail was spinning like a propeller.

I started light. I rolled the ball along the ground. Azzy shot off like an arrow, snatched the ball mid-run, curved smoothly around, and came bolting straight back to me. Her limbs were human, yet the way she ran on all fours rivalled any proper beast.

She was back in an instant. I made a big show of being impressed.

"Good girl! Azzy, paw!"

"Woof!"

"Good. Left paw!"

"Woof?"

Alright. So she couldn't do that one yet. That was fine. No showing disappointment. It wasn't as if a dog needed to tell left from right anyway.

I pulled out the scraps of meat I had cut earlier and called out.

"Nice! Look at you, knowing paw from foot. You really are the best, Azzy!"

"Woof! I'm the best! Woof woof!"

"The best pup deserves a reward. Here, treat!"

I hid the cut meat inside my fist and held it out. Azzy shoved her snout into my hand and went at it frantically. Just like a miner digging for treasure, she stretched out her tongue toward the meat hidden between my fingers.

Almost there, almost there, I teased her along, opening and closing my fingers just a little at a time. Right when Azzy was starting to get frustrated and tried to shove my fingers aside, I opened my hand wide and exposed the meat. Seizing the moment, she snatched it up immediately.

Enough resistance, and then a clear reward. She seemed to have registered this as its own kind of game. Azzy purred with satisfaction and rubbed her chin against my hand.

'From the looks of it, he does seem to just be playing with her normally...'

What a picture-perfect scene this was. The word pastoral might as well have been invented for a moment like this.

The bond between animal and human. A Beast King, symbol of nature itself, sharing a moment with one man who had come from civilisation.

Well? What do you think, regressor? A flawless scene with nothing to pick at, isn't it?

'It's just... it really does look like he's training an actual dog, and it's giving me this uncomfortable feeling...'

Oh come on. If even this makes you uncomfortable, what exactly am I supposed to do?

'She is the King of Dogs, but she looks just like a cute little dog beastkin on the outside. She has a human form, and he's treating her completely like a dog... he really is strange. I need to stay on my guard.'

I had read a great many minds by that point, but I could not remember a time I had felt more wronged. Do things right, and she still has complaints.

Treating a dog like a dog is perfectly normal. Treating a dog like a person is what's strange, and treating a person like a dog is called being a deviant.

And if you treat a person like a person, they take advantage of you. That one comes from personal experience.

Therefore, the one and only correct truth in this world is to treat a dog like a dog. I was simply doing the right thing.

After that, I threw the ball and tossed meat scraps a few more times. Throughout all of it, the regressor held her breath and kept watching everything I did.

Repetition breeds complacency. Azzy too was growing more focused on fetching the ball than on the training itself. It was about time to bring out the whip, but the regressor showed no sign of leaving.

Just how long did she intend to keep watching. If she had seen enough, I wished she would go ahead and leave. Too much positive reinforcement and the King of Dogs would start getting ahead of herself.

No. I changed my mind.

Fate is always something you have to carve out for yourself. Waiting indefinitely for her to leave on her own was far too passive. I would drive the regressor off myself.

Not by force, of course, so I would have to use other means.

I shook the ball once more. Apparently not tired of this at all, Azzy caught my signal, flipped herself right over, and was ready to bolt at a moment's notice.

"Go!"

"Woof!"

Azzy answered with a burst of excitement and leapt backwards. I threw the ball a few times, caught it each time, and then hurled it hard in a particular direction.

Straight toward where the regressor was standing.

'Ugh?!'

I couldn't see the exact location. Whatever kind of concealment technique this was, though my mind-reading told me she was somewhere in that general area, all my eyes could see was the bleak, empty expanse of the prison beyond.

But my mind-reading was telling me the regressor was somewhere in that spot.

So it was a matter of picking a rough direction and throwing.

"Fetch!"

"Woof woof!"

'I... don't need to dodge. It missed. But...'

I could make her nervous.

Anyone who relies on tricks like concealment techniques is a voyeur by nature. And what voyeurs fear most is having their presence exposed to the surface.

You think you can just sit comfortably behind your veil and watch at your leisure? Not a chance. Have a taste of what it feels like to be on edge.

"Azzy! Fetch!"

"Woof!"

"Good girl. Once more!"

"Woof, woof!"

"Yeehaw!"

"Awoooo!"

Every time I threw the ball, Azzy howled with joy and bolted after it. And every time she did, the regressor flinched with unease.

Azzy was a wild, unpredictable force of nature when she ran, utterly impossible to anticipate, so every time Azzy came charging past the regressor shrank back, afraid of being bowled over. The thought of keeping watch on me and Azzy had long since taken a back seat.

It had always been true, but there was a particular satisfaction in making life difficult for someone who thought they were being clever.

"Here we gooo!"

"Woof!"

This time the ball flew straight and true toward the regressor. She stared at the ball hurtling directly at her and her eyes went wide.

'No good! If I move too fast here, the Veil of Darkness will break!'

Violent movement would shatter the concealment technique. Gritting her teeth, the regressor curled herself small and rolled quickly across the ground. The ball grazed over her by a hair's breadth, and Azzy came bounding after it right behind. The regressor slowly picked herself up and let out a quiet breath of relief.

'That took ten years off my life... But this is getting too dangerous.'

Good. Operation successful. The regressor was quietly backing away step by step.

'Tch. I need to fall back for now. If she realises I was here, she might start being wary of me in return...'

I still couldn't see her, but the regressor's thoughts were beginning to grow faint. That meant she had put enough distance between us.

Phew. Finally, I could get back to proper training without any interference.

'It's a shame, but it can't be helped. Better than being found out. As long as I'm not discovered, I can find another chance to observe later.'

A strange little thought reached me from the retreating regressor. It sounded very much like she was planning to come back and spy another time. Had she spent all her regression learning how to be a voyeur.

I was sorely tempted to chase after her right now and shout at the top of my lungs that I had already seen through her concealment technique. For now, though, I held back. There was no need to reveal what I could do just yet.

And like that, the regressor vanished from our awareness. She had her own affairs to attend to, so she would not be coming back.

The only one who returned to me was Azzy, ball in mouth.

"Woof! Woof!"

Impatient at my not throwing, Azzy nudged the ball toward my feet with her nose. She was hurrying me along, telling me not to stop. I bent down to pick it up, then looked down at Azzy with a considerably colder eye.

"You're happy as long as I play with you, aren't you?"

"Woof! Woof! Happy! Happy!"

Is that so. My shoulder was nearly aching by that point. And here you are enjoying nothing but thoughtless pleasure, aren't you.

There was no longer any unseen observer watching us. Between the two of us, all that remained was nature's unfeeling law.

I was human, and Azzy was a dog. Between the two of us, a perfectly clear hierarchy existed. Like oil floating to the surface of water, like smoke rising to the sky. Without something to stir things up, top and bottom would always settle into their proper places.

That was what rank order meant.

I yanked the whip roughly out of my pocket.

"Playtime is over, mutt."

"Woof?"

I put the ball away in my pocket. Azzy's eyes went wide, and she stared at me with the expression of someone who had just been swindled right in front of their face.

Having cut short Azzy's fun, I declared without mercy.

"The party's over. There's no more meat for you either. Back to your kennel, before I change my mind."

"Bark! Bark! Bark!"

She was yapping her displeasure, telling me to stop teasing and keep playing. I didn't miss the faint irritation stirring beneath those barks.

I knew it would come to this. Dogs have no sense of moderation. Whatever they enjoy, they want it to go on forever. Words alone won't persuade them.

That was why humans invented the whip. I snapped it through the air in a wide arc. The crack rang out, sharp and threatening.

"Enough. Listen up. Do I have to spend all day playing with you?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, aren't we bold. Talking like it's already decided."

I raised the whip high.

Today was the day for real training with the King of Dogs.

"You'd better unlearn that notion right now."

The next moment, I brought the whip down toward Azzy's back.

This whip was not something I had made myself. It was a standard-issue whip personally endorsed by the military state's Ministry of Defence.

The military state was notorious for making shoddy goods, but by the same token its whips were second to none. Crafted from treated leather reinforced with meticulously refined iron segments, it was a quality piece that could hold its own as an actual weapon.

The crack of it slicing through the air inspired fear, while the impact of the iron segments brought pain. And used properly, it could deliver pure pain without causing internal injury, which made it ideal for handling beasts.

Let the mark it leaves on your body be your lesson. The greatness of humanity....

"Yipe!"

And then Azzy moved.

Azzy's head turned at nearly the same speed as the tip of the whip. To my eyes it looked like film with frames cut out, movement happening in stuttered, disconnected beats. Azzy tracked the incoming iron tip with perfect clarity, and at the very moment the whip was about to strike her, she bit down on it. Then, with just her teeth, she snapped the whip clean through.

Crack.

The standard-issue military state weapon, crafted from treated leather reinforced with meticulously refined iron segments, rated fit for lethal use.

Azzy chewed it like gum for a moment, then spat it out.

"Grr. Tastes bad."

I stared at the severed end of the whip.

A whip is not something you block with your body. The tip of a cracking whip can break the sound barrier. Anyone who flails around trying to catch a whip without knowing what they're doing will get their skin torn off.

And yet.

The King of Dogs had bitten off only the very tip of the whip that had been aimed at her back, with absolute precision.

If she could snap treated leather reinforced with iron segments just by twisting her head...

"Grrrrrrr."

Ah. Right.

She was a dog, yes, but she was the King of Dogs.

Mm.

I carefully pocketed what remained of the whip and picked up the ball again.

"...Under normal circumstances this would be where I call it a day, but it also happens to be the first day. Shall we play just a little longer?"

"Grrrr..."

"Here, fetch!"

"...rr. Woof! Woof!"

And Azzy took off happily after the ball again.

Right. Establishing hierarchy could wait for a bit later. For now, I would just play until Azzy was satisfied.

I hadn't lost. I simply found the time spent with a dog so enjoyable that I had decided to keep it going a while longer. I was playing with a dog, as a human. Nothing more.

Ah. How pleasant. I was happy.

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