The Enemy of Humanity Isnt the Alarm, but the Morning Itself

The State had this funny saying.

The States research lab undertook all of the worlds research. The bio-engineers who researched the human body and the material engineers who researched the properties of different materials used the same building. As a result of that, they would sometimes accidentally go into each others labs without realizing that they were using the wrong lab until it was time to leave.

Actually, its not even that funny.

Rrrriiiiiiiiiing!

The painful sound assaulted my eardrums. The fact that my ears were still fine after every morning meant that either my ears were more resilient than I thought or that the States engineers did a good job at making the alarms.

To bend without breaking. That was the States material engineers motto.

I wonder how much effort was put into just creating that one sound

You know what, I dont even want to think about it.

Urgh, I hate that so much

Why? Why must that alarm greet me every morning? Why do I need to start every day in agony?

I felt like I was going to lose my mind.

I yelled as I buried my face into the hard pillow.

Someone please turn off that fucking alarm!

Woof!

Huh?

I wasnt expecting an answer, but who was that?

As I lifted my head after yelling some nonsense, I saw Azzy flying through the air. She jumped up in the blink of an eye, leaping toward the wall. She then raised her front paw and struck the annoying alarm clock.

Crash!

Ive said this before, but that alarm clock was like a steel cicada.

The steel cicada that harassed me every morning was trampled under the feet of the four-legged beast. Its gut-like mechanical insides flew everywhere, and the thin plate responsible for the noise cried out for the last time before it was crumpled.

The alarm was pressed so flat against the wall that it had merged into it. In order to take it out, you would need to dig out the wall itself. The gears and metal pieces spread throughout the air. After doing her deed, Azzy came towards me. She wagged her tail, as if she wanted to be praised.

What, do you want me to praise you?

Woof! Woof-woof!

Yeah, sure, you did well. You destroyed the evil alarm clock that harassed me every morning To the point of no restoration.

The core component was completely obliterated.

Unless theres a smithy somewhere here, I dont think its ever going to be salvaged.

I combed my hair back before grabbing Azzys shoulders.

But did you know, Azzy? The thing tormenting me every morning isnt that alarm clock. Thats only a front. My suffering lies in the morning that tells the alarm to ring.

Woof?

Yeah, the real problem is the morning. The fucking morning that makes you repeat the day you just barely got through. I thank you for your virtuous deeds, but this doesnt change anything.

The first thing Azzy said after my long rant was:

Dummy?

?

What did she say?

I was standing with my mouth agape, dumbstruck as Azzy looked up and continued.

Cant see the sun. Dark here. No morning!

Well, no. Even if there is no sun, its still morning.

Woof! Cant see the sun, no morning!

Saying that theres no morning if there is no sun. I didnt know whether to call this optimism or literal dog talk.

I sleep when tired! I like sleep!

Yeah, I also want to sleep whenever. But theres work to be done, so it cant be helped.

Woof? Work?

Stuff like cooking or cleaning. You know, if I dont wake up in the morning, there would be no one to feed you.

As I said that, Azzys ears perked up. Then, she jumped onto the bed, and started to bite and tug at the hems of my clothes. My body was unwillingly dragged out of bed.

No! Wake up! Food! Fooood!

Ok! Ill feed you, so let go! Wait!

Azzy ran all over the place as I made preparations. After pushing the broken bits of the alarm clock to the side with my foot, I wiped my face with a wet towel.

Haaa How am I going to wake up tomorrow now that the alarm clock is broken?

Theres only one reason why I didnt break the alarm clock myself even through all the suffering it put me through. If I dont have it, I wont be able to wake up.

Its a sunless, roosterless abyss. A place that was isolated from the outside world; one where time holds no meaning. As theres no visible morning, theres no way to gauge the time. And it doesnt help that the alarm clockthe only thing keeping time herewas destroyed by the dog.

Is there anything remotely similar to an alarm?

I wanted to hit Azzy on her forehead, but I refrained and let out a sigh.

Well, she did do it out of consideration. Honestly, I did feel relieved when it was smashed.

The hand that initially moved to hit her changed directions to scratch her chin instead. Azzy made a big smile and put her weight onto my hand.

How naively innocent There are absolutely no concerns on her face. I guess its only possible because shes an ignorant animal. I suppose these are the pros of a pet.

I recalled the Clothing Packet I was currently wearing and pulled out a new one. The recalled Clothing Packet could be washed with the laundry or in a tub of water. Electric pulses could make the clothes good as new, but you would need a special device for it. The former method would take longer to dry but could be done anywhere.

After changing into new clothes, I removed my hand from Azzys chin. As if she were attached to my hand by glue, Azzys face followed my hand up for a short moment.

She opened her eyes wide, as if asking Why did you stop? As if to tell me to keep going, she lunged her chin toward my hand.

It seems like she thinks Im either a petting machine, a ball-throwing machine, or a feeding machine.

Sigh.

Just my luck. Why am I being the dogs babysitter?

Well, It cant be helped. Shes my dog. The least I could do is feed her.

Woof?

Lets go and eat.

Woof!

If there was a Worlds Nicest Dog, it would be Azzy on her way to eat food. I went to the cafeteria with the dog who would only become good three times a day.

I should heat up the leftover bean stew for breakfast and have something else in the afternoon. Maybe I should cook, it has been a while after all. Last time, to win over Azzy, I stove-cooked some meat. But to be honest, meat is an ingredient that gives a better feeling of satisfaction when prepared differently Huh? Why is the pot empty? I swear there were some leftovers in here.

I turned my head. To my irritation, Azzy was looking at me with clueless eyes.

I stand corrected. Azzy has never been a nice dog. This mutt with superstrength is a scourge upon this world.

Oi! You ate the last of the leftovers, didnt you?!

Woof-woof? Woof!

Dont play dumb! Theres no one else here who could have done it!

Woof!

You get nothing this morning! Nothiiiing!

Awoooooo!

The howl of the starving dog rang out for a long time.

Todays lesson is about dealing with an ungrateful dog!

Woof!

Azzy, who was lying down in the back of the classroom, barked loudly in defiance to what I said. When I glared at her with flaming eyes, she turned her head with a Hmph.

Hmph. You think I care?

Animals have never known grace and dont even have the intelligence to recognize it in the first place, so theres no need to do anything for them. Theyre just suffering a loss! Let just tell them survive on their own!

Woof! Woof! Grrrrrr!

The Regressorwho had been watching me and Azzy go head to headasked with no interest.

Whats the problem?

Its probably nothing as usual. I couldnt care less, but Ill pretend to ask.

I could hear her impertinent thoughts, but I couldnt help but vent my emotions. I thumped my chest with my fist and responded.

That fucking mutt ate all the leftover food from yesterday!

Bark! GrrrWoof!

Azzy barked, as if she was retaliating. She had the appearance of a human, but all that came out was the bark of an animal.

That was some serious dog noise.

Ugh, come on. If she wasnt a dog with a dogs mind, I would have easily read her mind and came through with unavoidable evidence. Its at these times where not being able to properly read her mind is a problem.

However, the Regressor asked, seemingly missing the whole point.

So what if the dog eats some food?

Some food? Some?

I pinched my forehead and let out a deep sigh.

Seems like youre missing something here, Trainee Shei. The only reason dogs and humans are able to coexist is the fact that it only takes some leftovers to feed these guys every day. Besides, it doesnt take a lot to feed a dog, however!

I pointed my finger at the glutton and yelled.

That thing eats not only the same amount of food as me, but twice as much! And it has the audacity to eat on the same table!

Feeding her just a bit is fine, isnt it? Stop being so stingy.

Stingy? Stingy?

You only say that cause you have fucking everything from money to items after taking everything for yourself! How can you say that to someone like me who has to work every day just to put food on the table?! Didnt you say something about Azzy being a piece of the apocalypse?! Why arent you the one taking care of her?! Isnt that your responsibility as a Regressor?! Why dont you take With great power comes great responsibility to heart?!

I was about to say all that. But since I couldnt reveal that I was a mind reader yet, all that came out of my mouth were plain old complaints.

Then why dont you feed her?!

Ah, sorry. Thats not possible.

I tried feeding her some food from the Bountiful Table but she didnt eat any of it. Its overall plentiful, but each portion of food is so small that it would never be able to fill her.

The thing that came up in the Regressors mindwas the Bountiful Table. Every meal, would produce tons of food that could fill a table.

There were so many little portions of food that with a single stroke of chopsticks, would all disappear in an instant. It was designed so that each meal could provide a great variety of food to taste for a limited stomach.

It was the ultimate luxury item.

It was filled with the most high-end foods just to ensure no one mistook it for anything other than the Bountiful Table.

It definitely isnt just some dog food, since its so precious that the dog cant even eat it.

I wrinkled my forehead and let out a sigh.

Anyway, I dont like eating on the same table as a dog. Im going to leave it here. I wont even pretend to see Azzy anymore. Class dismissed.

Wait. Thats the end?

Yes. I just wanted to share with you all my grievances. Now, you can have the rest of the day off. You wont get every day off, so enjoy this time while you can.

The one thing students love is a day off. The crazy thing is that even the teachers love rest days. Maybe a day off is the worlds greatest good.

After announcing the worlds greatest good, I quickly headed to the door.