As the black agent opened the door and entered their lodging, he saw the soft moonlight shining on the living room. However, except for the silver rays filtering through the thick blackout curtains, there was only darkness, giving off a mysterious atmosphere.
In the middle of that softly glimmering moonlight, a certain blonde girl sat. Her golden hair, which shined bright under the faint moonlight, stood out even more than usual.
She was raising her head and looked up at the moon. Moreover, even though she was clearly in the room, her presence was faint for some reason, as if she would melt into the light and disappear at any moment.
As if trying to catch the girl who seemed about to disappear, the Black Agent slowly approached her and opened his mouth.
The strong yet soft voice of the Black Agent echoed through the room, breaking the tranquil silence.
“Oh, you’re here, Ahjussi.”
The girl smiled at the Black Agent as she answered.
It was a bright and warm smile resembling the moonlight, making the room seemingly getting brighter as its curtains were drawn to the side.
After smiling at the Black Agent, the girl looked up at the sky again and said,
“The weather is really nice today too. There is no single cloud in the sky.”
The girl muttered in a voice filled with longing, as if she was talking about something more than just the weather.
As the Black Agent stood next to the girl, the blonde girl stretched out her small, delicate hand and covered the moon with her palm. For some unknown reason, the palm of the girl that she used to cover the moon looked a little transparent.
A little transparent, like a red acrylic plate.
“Young Miss… Your hand?”
“Oh, this? This is what happens when I’m exposed to moonlight these days. I don’t know the reason, but it doesn’t feel like a bad thing.”
I really can’t understand.
The Black Agent thought as he looked at the girl’s face. He had been studying Objects for a long time, yet there were still many things he didn’t know.
The resurrection of himself and the girl who were clearly dead.
The identity of the red moon and its relationship with the girl.
And the girl’s body turned transparent.
Even though there’s so many things he didn’t understand, he had no choice but to just slowly proceed through the path he knew.
The Black Agent cleared his throat and spoke to tell the girl about the news she had been waiting for.
“Young Miss, it seems like the detective has finally found a way for you to walk under the sun again.”
“Really? Let’s go right now!”
The girl reacted without the slightest delay. With a bright smile that seemed to brighten up the space, she grabbed the Black Agent’s hand and urged him to move.
Their destination would be Mount Odae. A dangerous area far from the city where Objects roamed around freely.
The Black Agent started to walk around the room and gathered the necessary equipment. In the meantime, the girl imitated the Black Agent and helped with the preparations.
After finishing their short preparations, they left their lodging and began their journey to Mount Odae.
I lay down inside the containment room and stared blankly at the Golden Reapers who were busily making puddings while wearing chef hats on their heads.
The sight of the Golden Rabbit Reapers making puddings was like watching a miniature kitchen.
Even though they didn’t have to make pudding anymore since the supply of the ‘Gray Reaper Pudding’ had returned to normal, the Golden Reapers were still working hard at the pudding factory.
It was probably their preference, but the Golden Reapers tended to make puddings that they shared with their loved humans themselves.
Was it like giving homemade chocolate as a gift?
The Mini Reapers were a little hard to understand.
After finishing their work, the Golden Reapers with rabbit ears sticking out from their heads scattered. Each one of them held their share of pudding and smiled brightly. For some reason, they felt like office workers leaving work.
Shifting my sight away from them, I picked up a pudding that was floating around inside the bubbles and ate it.
As expected, this rabbit pudding was delicious.
Even though the puddings that the Golden Reapers made was the same as the pudding that James made, it tasted even tastier.
I think it’s because I ate them after seeing them work hard…
Is this the taste of the bourgeois?
As I was lying on the bed with a Golden Reaper and eating the pudding like that, the Golden Reaper on beside me suddenly jumped up as if it had remembered something and grabbed my pinky finger.
I looked at the Golden Reaper with a puzzled expression. However, the answer I got from it was just a jump and excited expression. Judging from the will it conveyed to me, it seemed like it was talking about a certain place, but I couldn’t really tell which palace it was talking about.
Was there a place in Sehee Research Institute that I didn’t know about?
I followed the Golden Reaper who turned into its phantom form and led the way.
The Golden Reaper, who jumped up and down as if it was excited, often looked back to check if I was following it. Seeing that action, I could only laugh because it was cute.
After walking through the long stairs leading underground, I finally arrived at a large, newly built underground facility.
To think such a place existed in the Sehee Research Institute…
However, the most noticeable thing in the large space was the large golden statue in the middle of the room.
Even though It was golden, it had a sour expression that the Golden Reaper would never make, so it seemed like it was a golden statue representing me.
The Golden Reaper who arrived with me was jumping up and down in joy. Even though It was just a basement with a single golden statue, the Golden Reaper was very happy.
Seeing that quite a few Golden Reapers were gathered and running around the golden statue in a circle, it seemed like it was a hot place among the Golden Reapers.
By the way… The statue was incredibly big.
When I looked up at it, it was so big that my neck hurt. Moreover, it also sparkled like it was being maintained every day.
I always wondered where all the money brought by the ‘Gray Reaper’ goods which were flying off the shelves like hot cakes to the point that they were advertised on TV went…
It seemed like it was all spent on making this golden statue.
It’s probably Sehee who pulled this kind of madness, right?
I mean, Yerin didn’t have enough authority to embezzle the money and Seoah wasn’t the type to spend the research institute’s budget on things .
Even though Sehee looked normal, she sometimes did some weird things…
When I looked at my huge golden statue, I felt strange. I felt slightly good, but also ticklish.
Honestly, I didn’t know why the Golden Reaper liked the golden statue so much, but since it’s a place the Golden Reapers liked, the Black Reapers which had a similar personality with it would probably liked it too.
So, I materialized the Garden of the Mini Reaper around the statue and called the Black Reapers.
However, the Black Reapers that appeared looked more anxious than happy. The way they were looking around the area seemed as if they were preparing for an attack.
I put an anxious Black Reaper on my palm and slowly stroked it. At the same time, I conveyed a question to it.
Is there something wrong?
However, the Black Reaper didn’t answer and just led me to the golden statue.
It then pointed at a panel attached to the golden statue and asked me what was written on the panel through its will.
Well, the mini reapers only felt the emotions, they didn’t understand speech or read letters.
Should I teach them Korean later?
As I looked at the panel with that thought, I realized the panel only had simple content written on it.
< The Golden Statue of the Gray Reaper >
When I told it that it was my name which was written on the panel, the black reaper opened its eyes wide in surprise and looked at me.
Looking at the anxious Black Reaper, I tried to comfort it.
It’s okay. There’s nothing wrong.
When I looked around, I realzied that there were already dozens of Black Reapers gathered around me while looking up at me with worried expressions.
Is it okay for your name to be called, mom?
Is it okay for your name to be written, mom?
As they said that, the Black Reapers were slightly melted into their slime form, trembling with inexplicable anxiety.
What’s the big deal with name?
Looking at them, I plopped to the floor, gathered the Black Reapers in my arms, and conveyed my will.
It’s okay. So don’t be too scared.
After patting them on the back for a long time, the Black Reapers finally returned to their mini reaper forms and smiled brightly.
Sigh… Parenting was hard.
After shaking off their fear, the Black Reaper joined the ranks of the Golden Reapers and enjoyed the golden statue.
The sight of the giant golden statue and the small children laughing and walking around it somehow make it look like a primitive religious ritual.
In the ruins of a city near the spirit barrier which was steadily recovering, where the embers that occasionally spewed out black smoke have long since gone out, a strange fire began to rise again.
James muttered as he looked at the ruins of the city which was engulfed in a mysterious fire that burned stubbornly, completely unaffected by the wind.
“It’s really a mess. I think this area couldn’t be returned to how it used to be.”
James’ words were seconded by his friend from the Object Association.
“Who would have thought that there would be so much ‘burning drug’ that could cause mind corruption buried underground?”
Even though James was covered in a protective suit, he still could smell a delicious charcoal smell.
“By the way, I have read this report. James, this is absurd.”
The friend from the Object Association shook the report submitted by James and said so.
The title of the report was < Gray Reaper Observation Report >.
It was a report about all the activities of the Gray Reaper at its stay in the United States and analysis related to it.
Even though It was widely known that Gray Reaper couldn’t be physically harmed and that it could turn into a ghostly being, it was once again confirmed.
In addition, numerous abilities were also written down in the report.
“With such diverse abilities, there’s no way we could make a proper report. Can we really keep the ‘Gray Reaper’ in the Sehee Reseach Institute?”
“In my opinion, no one can handle the Gray Reaper except for the Sehee Research Institute. Any other research Institute would only bring disaster.”
James supported the Sehee Research Institute with a serious face.
However, his reason for that was nothing big.
“This is the most surprising thing.”
It was a part that was hastily added to the end of the report.
< The Gray Reaper has no vocal organs, but it understands Korean at a native speaker level. >
< It also understands English a little. >
< It seems to be able to communicate through text or gestures. >
James’ friend pointed to the end of the report with his finger and continued.
“Why are you saying that this part should be classified as top secret? An Object that can communicate? There will be endless ways to utilize it.”
“Precisely because of that. It seems like the Gray Reaper doesn’t want to let people know that it can communicate.”
James added quietly, ‘Actually, I thought about leaving it out of the report entirely.’
“The most important thing is to maintain our relationship with the Gray Reaper. When you go to the association, please make a strong appeal about that point.”
“Well, that’s right. It’s indeed important to maintain a relationship where we can receive help indirectly from an Object like the Gray Reaper.”
In a ruin where the level of mind corruption was so severe that it was difficult to approach carelessly, two men made a secret pact related to the Gray Reaper.
It was a promise to maintain the current relationship they had with it.
In an area near Mount Odae, where thick fog covered everything that made it impossible to see even an inch ahead, employees of the Trinity First Research Institute, wrapped tightly in thick fog, began to appear one by one.
On their back, they were carrying large containers that smelled like petroleum.
[Be careful. This fog is an Object.]
The voice of the Vice Director of the First Research Institute was heard in the employees’ ears through the radio.
The place they were currently at was a mysterious landscape with many cloud fish swimming in the thick fog.
However, the Trinity researchers continued to trudge towards their destination without paying any attention to the scenery.
When the deputy director looked up at the sky, a mysterious moon shining in a deep orange color was casting its light over the foggy sky.