Wow. What a surprise. I actually had a dream.
Ordinary people often attach the prefix "nonsense" to dreams, trying to diminish the significance of those chaotic illusions. But I know. In many cases, dreams aren’t merely nonsense.

When asleep, the human consciousness is at its weakest, and amidst the ebbing neural signals, the noise that sneaks through becomes dreams. They’re hard to interpret, buried under layers of embellishment, but at their core lies the root of the subconscious, unperceived even by oneself.

Well, most people fail to uncover it, so it ends up as nonsense dreams. But my case is a bit different.
The memory that crept into my mind while I was asleep. “Fill the room?” Whose memory is this?

“Woof! Woof woof!”
“Wake up! Wake up!”

The sound of barking intruded into my ears, breaking my train of thought. Frowning with my eyes still closed, I thought, Nonsense dreams are better than dogs. At least they don’t wake me up.

“Azi, could you tone it down with the barking?”

Of course, words alone wouldn’t stop it. Azi pounded on the bed, shouting loudly.

“Get up! It’s morning!”
“Lazybones!”

“I’m not a lazybones. I’m engaging in a sacred struggle against the cruel morning that dares to dominate humanity.”

“Lazybones!”
“You should be diligent!”

Not a rooster, yet always waking me up right on time. Tch. Just when I wanted to enjoy some rare, deep sleep. Animals can be more relentless than humans.
Fine, fine, I’m getting up. I’ll think about that dream later. Now, what was it about? It must’ve been a nonsense dream.

“Ugh. Why are you singing rounds?”

When I opened my eyes, I was met with two identical Azi faces staring back at me. Startled, I shouted.

“Cerberus!”

“Woof! It’s me, Azi!”
“Cerber…? Is it food?”

“Not Cerberus, huh? Since there are two heads, a bicephalic dog?”

“I have one head!”
“Idiot!”

“I’d prefer not to be called an idiot by a two-headed dog!”

What in the world is going on? Upon waking, Azi was duplicated. Did the King of Strays show up or something? This is a hassle. One is already overwhelming, but two?
I instinctively tried using mind-reading but hesitated. Right, Azi is the King of Dogs. I can only read what Azi outwardly projects. Trying would be pointless anyway...

“Look at that surprised expression. Truly a rare sight~.”

It worked? What’s going on? Did Azi eat something weird and turn human while locked up somewhere? Or has my mind-reading evolved?

“Father is quite defenseless while asleep~. Even though the King of Humans lost all his power, would he really have no means of protecting himself? More observation is needed!”

What the... Azi was Hilde.
Tch. For a moment, I thought I was undergoing a growth phase. Then again, it’s absurd for humans to read a dog’s thoughts. Not that I need mind-reading to understand them. Let’s give it a shot anyway.

“Wake up! Woof! Wake up! Woof!”

Ugh. Nothing.

Without using mind-reading, I can tell Azi is trying to wake me up. However, my mind-reading can only pick up Azi’s feelings or actions, and even that is too chaotic to decipher. Azi seems intent on showing kindness, but leaving me to sleep would be kinder.

“What’s going on? Why so noisy... huh?”

Pulling the curtains open, the regressor’s eyes widened as they saw the duplicated Azi. Resting my chin on both hands, I presented Azi like a showpiece.

“Ta-da! Azi-beros.”
“It has two heads!”

Does that really matter? Ignore the trivial details, will you?

“Woof! Stop right there!”
“Woof woof woof!”

Unlike most humans, Azi didn’t seem particularly wary of a copy of itself. Instead, as the other “Azi” noisily ran about, Azi wagged its tail furiously and joined in the commotion. The two dashed around in a precarious game of tag, just barely avoiding toppling over the furniture.

“With two Azis, the chaos is squared.”
“One of them isn’t Azi. It’s an impostor.”

The regressor grumbled as they watched Azi and “Azi” frolic.

“What kind of person does that? Putting on dog ears and a tail, then running around pretending to be a dog? There’s a limit to bad taste... What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“That’s literally what Azi does. Azi has dog ears, a tail, and acts like a dog all the time.”
“What are you talking about? Azi is the King of Dogs! What’s wrong with the King of Dogs acting like a dog?”
“Strange. Didn’t you treat Azi like a human? You complained I wasn’t taking good enough care of Azi when I didn’t properly entertain it. And when I tried giving Azi leftover food, you made a fuss. But now, you’re saying it’s natural for Azi to act like a dog? That’s contradictory.”

Honestly, I think treating a dog like a human is more problematic than a human acting like a dog. If you’re going to treat a dog like a human, at least hold them to the same standards of responsibility. If they don’t work, aren’t useful, and yet get all the pampering, then they’re not a pet—they’re a master.

“The King of Dogs represents all dogs! Of course, acting like a dog is natural!”
“So, you’re admitting that Azi’s essence is purely canine despite its human-like appearance?”
“I admit... uh… no! I mean, you can’t just treat Azi like an actual dog!”
“Oh, the stubbornness.”

As the regressor raised their voice, Azi stopped playing and tilted its head in curiosity. “Azi” followed suit and approached cautiously.
Tch. So Hilde doesn’t plan to drop the transformation until I figure it out, huh? Fine. Let’s expose them.

“Azi.”
“Woof!”
“Woof!”

Azi and “Azi” responded in unison. As I’d observed before, I couldn’t differentiate them by their voices. Even their barking tones matched perfectly.

“Azi, doesn’t it bother you to see something that looks exactly like you?”
“Woof? Looks the same?”
“What do you mean?”

Azi and “Azi” tilted their heads in unison. Oh, right. Azi’s a dog. It probably doesn’t pay much attention to mirrors or its reflection. It wouldn’t recognize its own appearance, let alone consider its double suspicious. The scent would also give them away—dogs can easily tell the difference. To Azi, “Azi” is just a human imitating its behavior.

“Alright, Azis. I’m going to run a simple test to figure out which one of you is the real Azi.”

“Woof? Toast?”
“Food?”

Sigh. Expecting dogs to care about individuality and dignity is asking too much. Let’s skip the explanations and get this over with.
Among the food the regressor brought out was some dried fruit. I grabbed a piece of persimmon and tore it into smaller portions. The luxurious aroma of the persimmon immediately caught Azi’s attention. As I waved it back and forth, both Azi and “Azi” followed it with their eyes.

“Azi, sit!”
“Woof!”
“Stand!”
“Woof!”
“Good job! Here, eat!”

I tossed a piece of persimmon into the air, and both Azi and “Azi” jumped to catch it. After a brief tussle mid-air, Azi emerged victorious, chomping down on the treat.

With loud chomping noises, Azi savored the persimmon and licked its lips. Swallowing it down in a flash, Azi began hopping excitedly.

“Delicious! So sweet! Delicious!”
“Tasty, right? That’s persimmon. I hid it so I wouldn’t lose it all.”

From now on, I’d have to guard all fruit against Azi. Resigned to this unfortunate truth, I turned my attention to “Azi.”

“Sigh. The King of Dogs is just too difficult. How could I have stolen that? This is too easy to give away~.”

The King of Dogs is formidable, after all. Even for someone as skilled as Hilde, surpassing Azi’s reflexes was impossible. The groundwork was set. Now I could reveal Hilde without raising suspicion.

“Want another piece? Alright, go ahead, try to get it.”

I tore another slice of persimmon and hid it in my palms. Spreading my fingers slightly, I held out both hands to the two Azis.

“Woof woof! Persimmon!”
“Persimmon!”

Without hesitation, Azi shoved its snout between my fingers. The space was too narrow for its whole mouth, so it stuck out its tongue to retrieve the treat. When that didn’t work, Azi licked the persimmon through the gap.

“...Hmm. I could imitate that.”

The original demonstrated a flawless answer. Now, Hilde, let’s see you follow suit.

Hesitating slightly, Hilde mirrored Azi’s behavior and extended her tongue into my hand. From the outside, there was no visible difference, but the feeling against my fingers was distinct. While Azi’s movements were bold and unreserved, Hilde’s held a faint hesitation.

“For an actor, hesitation is unforgivable, but… I suppose it’s a little embarrassing~.”

Humans and animals are different. Even when disguised as a dog, a human still feels embarrassment.

“You’ve got a twisted sense of humor.”

The regressor muttered, but I ignored them. If they didn’t like it, they could just close their eyes.

While my hands became drenched in saliva, Azi’s frustration grew. It began gnashing its teeth, prompting me to hurriedly open my hands and reveal the persimmon. Both Azi and “Azi” quickly devoured it.

“Sweet! Delicious!”
“Delicious! Delicious! Delicious!”

Their reactions were gratifying. Feeding them felt worthwhile. As the two licked their lips clean, their eyes naturally drifted toward the remaining persimmon.

I held it up. “Do you want more?”
“Woof! I’m hungry!”
“I’m starving!”

“Haha. But what should I do?”

In the brief moment when my hands crossed, I hid the persimmon up my sleeve. After a few meaningless gestures, I spread my empty hands wide.

“Ta-da! The persimmon is gone!”
“Woof?!”

Azi looked utterly devastated, as though its world had ended. Even a young child could recognize a sleight of hand, but the King of Dogs believed in the magic, unable to comprehend its disappearance.

Meanwhile, Hilde hesitated, then calmly assessed the situation.

“As the King of Dogs, it would know the persimmon hasn’t vanished based on scent. But it’s too late to act now, so I’ll take the lead this time.”

Hilde raised her nose and sniffed. Azi, hearing the noise, followed suit. Both turned their heads toward me in unison.

“It’s here! It didn’t disappear!”
“Persimmon smell!”

Hilde, imitating Azi’s earlier actions, tried to nudge her way into my sleeve. However, her head wouldn’t fit. She resorted to using her hand to fish for the hidden fruit.

Hilde's hand reached into my sleeve, but the persimmon was hidden too far up for her to grab. The bulge of the fruit was obvious through the fabric, teasingly out of reach. Hilde sniffed along my arm, inching closer to the prize but blocked by the thin layer of my shirt.

“Too deep. Unless I rip the sleeve, I can’t get it… What would the King of Dogs do in this situation?”

Hilde hesitated, then glanced at Azi for inspiration. Azi, meanwhile, had snagged another piece of persimmon, happily chomping away as though it was the finest delicacy.

“Huh?”

I grinned. “Surprise! There were actually two pieces of persimmon.”

One had been tucked into my pocket the whole time. If the premise is false, all conclusions following it crumble. That’s the cornerstone of a magician’s tricks. From the start, there were always two pieces of persimmon. Azi’s sharp nose had immediately picked up on the deception, wasting no time retrieving the hidden fruit while Hilde was distracted.

And now, as Hilde perched precariously close to me, her face nearly buried in my chest in her attempt to sniff out the persimmon, the evidence was clear.

“Gotcha, Hilde.”

Hilde froze. She looked down at herself, realizing the ridiculous position she was in: half-clinging to me, nose pressed against my chest. For a moment, she stopped functioning, as if her brain had short-circuited.

I retrieved the hidden persimmon from my sleeve and held it up.

“Hilde.”
“…Woof.”
“Feeling a bit embarrassed, aren’t we?”
“…Yes.”

“What are you doing? Come on, change back.”

Reluctantly, Hilde stood up straight. This time, the faint redness in her ears betrayed her flustered state. She scratched the back of her neck sheepishly.

“Ahaha… I was completely caught, wasn’t I? As expected of Father. I can’t outmatch you.”

“Don’t be too disappointed. The one setting the quiz always has a disadvantage. For what it’s worth, you really did seem like a dog.”

“That’s a compliment, right?”

“It is. Here, your prize. The persimmon you’ve been craving.”

I pushed the remaining persimmon into Hilde’s mouth. She gave me a half-hearted glare but accepted it. Even though it had been hidden in my sleeve, the flavor hadn’t diminished, and Hilde’s mood quickly brightened as she savored the treat.

“I thought it would be easier since it was just the King of Dogs… I underestimated you.”

“Hold your head high. Getting caught by me isn’t something to be ashamed of. Anyone else wouldn’t have figured it out, right, Shey?”

The regressor, who had been silently watching the entire time, flinched when I addressed them.

“…Hey, I knew from the start.”

“Just by looking, it’s hard to tell, but with the Seven-Colored Eyes, it’s clear. Seven-Colored Eyes, Green Eyes, activate.”

Shey’s green eyes glinted as they focused on Hilde. The Seven-Colored Eyes were perceptive, able to discern details most would miss. They couldn’t see inside a body filled with energy, but Shey had found a clever workaround.

“I knew it. As I suspected, the clothes give it away. Azi’s wearing a standard, mass-produced shirt, but Hilde’s outfit is part of a specialized clothing packet. Her transformations are thanks to that packet. Even her dog ears and tail are alchemically crafted attachments.”

Indeed, Hilde’s disguises included everything from fur to accessories, all seamlessly integrated through her equipment. It was an impressive feat of alchemy—far more advanced than my own tricks. If I attempted such transformations, I’d exhaust my energy in no time.

“The ears and tail even seem to be bonded to her skin. She’s using some kind of biological interface. That transformation technique is remarkable… but with Agartha’s Mask in my possession, I have no need to learn it.”

While mentally cataloging another potential boon for their arsenal, the regressor shook their head in exasperation.

“Why do you keep coming up with these pointless quizzes? You always get caught in the end.”

Why? Such a simple question.

“Shey, you really don’t get it.”
“What don’t I get?”
“The reason someone asks a quiz is obvious. It’s because they want someone to answer it.”

Because they want to be recognized.
No matter how well they transform, no matter how perfectly they mimic someone else, they want someone to see through it. That’s why they test people. They want someone to say, “I know it’s you.”

Shey tilted their head in confusion.

“So why should we bother figuring it out?”

Regression must dull one’s empathy. Deciding it wasn’t worth explaining further, I ignored them and turned back to my persimmon. I plucked off the stem and tore it in half. The rich, sweet aroma wafted up as I admired the fruit before taking a bite.

Just as I did, Hilde’s thoughts drifted into my mind.

“I see… I wanted them to know it was me. To acknowledge that I’m here.”

Hilde had paused mid-bite, her expression contemplative. My earlier words lingered, resonating deeply as she quietly repeated them to herself.

“To acknowledge me.”