It was a cruise suite room, originally expensive, but made even more so as Objects increased.
On the balcony of that suite room, at a table and chairs, the man was leisurely enjoying coffee while feeling the refreshing sea breeze.
A smile spread across his lips, faintly tinged with memories that were once painful.
I thought it was just a painful journey for my sister’s sake, but I never thought it would turn out .
The life of a ‘Chosen One’, lived as if abusing his own body to chase his sister’s traces.
That had now returned as a lot of money, bearing fruit in the form of a journey with his sister.
Now the man was at the starting point of a journey to see the whole world, just as his sister wished.
The journey he thought he would wander alone and lonely had changed into a noisy and happy one with his sister’s resurrection.
The fluffy carpet in the cruise suite room.
The cozy sofa and large flat-screen TV.
Luxurious furniture made of teak wood.
The soft lighting illuminating them.
Perhaps if the Purple Reaper hadn’t revived his sister, he wouldn’t have been able to enjoy all these things properly.
Turning his head to look inside the cabin, he saw his sister and the Purple Reaper sitting at the dining table.
His sister, looking exactly as she did in his memories from long ago.
That appearance, transcending time, was so exactly like her old self that even now, it felt like if he closed and opened his eyes, all of this might be a dream.
And in front of his sister was the Purple Reaper wearing an eyepatch.
The Purple Reaper, whose whole body had rusted to protect the man, had recovered considerably.
Only one scar remained.
One eye had a reddish tint, as if slightly rusted.
Confirming this, the Purple Reaper had made an eyepatch with a beaming face and was wearing it over one eye.
His sister was poking the Purple Reaper’s soft cheek playfully.
His sister, who had always liked Objects, finding them fascinating, also liked the Purple Reaper very much.
Perhaps because of this, his sister often teased the Purple Reaper.
The sister, who had been poking its cheek, held out an espresso cup to the Purple Reaper.
“Come on, you have to try this too. It’s the same coffee as brother’s.”
Sure enough, his sister started teasing the Purple Reaper again.
A small cup containing espresso, though quite large for the Purple Reaper.
The Purple Reaper held the espresso cup given by his sister, contemplating deeply.
The Purple Reaper trying to imitate the man’s actions.
And the Purple Reaper who likes sweet things and dislikes bitter things.
He could feel those two types of Purple Reapers fighting fiercely in that small head.
The Purple Reaper stuck out its tiny tongue and licked the hot espresso.
And perhaps because it was too bitter, it stuck out its tongue with a ‘Blehh’ expression, looking like it was about to cry.
Seeing this, the man got up from his seat, picked up a sugar cube he didn’t particularly like, and crunched on it.
Then he held it out to the Purple Reaper, telling it to eat too.
The Purple Reaper grinned broadly and began to gnaw on the sugar cube.
The man, quietly watching the Purple Reaper, ruffled his sister’s hair vigorously and said:
“Don’t tease it too much.”
Then, his sister replied ‘Okayyy’ in a slightly sulky voice and turned on the TV, sitting down in front of it.
[There are places in the world beyond government control. This Free City Alliance is one example. The three cities forming the alliance are each ruled by their respective dominant families.]
[But behind that freedom lurks high crime rates and weak public safety. Places untouched by the police, a world outside the bounds of law. What is life like here?]
The TV was showing the quite famous Free City Alliance in China, accompanied by narration that sounded like a documentary.
Dark alleys visible just beyond bustling streets.
People strutting through that darkness.
A bright and dynamic night street, as if night never comes.
As a city alliance whose Object technology was said to have developed as much as America’s, it had a unique city view.
“Free City Alliance?”
The sister muttered while watching TV, then her eyes lit up as she shouted towards the man.
“Brother! How about China for our next destination?”
The man lightly tapped his sister’s head with his fist and said:
Mini Reaper Garden, Marshmallow Plains.
Walking on the marshmallows without any particular thought, I saw a great many Golden Reapers walking on four legs.
Is it popular these days?
The Golden Reapers’ sense of taste was sometimes hard to understand.
Compared to things that naturally made one think ‘Why on earth do they ?’, walking on four legs was rather acceptable.
The funniest time was when Golden Reapers were found crammed into every washing machine available at Sehee Research Institute.
The institute management staff’s extreme panic at seeing that sight was a bit amusing.
Just as I was about to dismiss it as another one of the Golden Reapers’ eccentricities, I suddenly felt suspicious.
It was a signal sent from my knowledgeable and wise brain.
No, even so, playing quadrupedal is strange?
As such curiosity welled up, I started observing the quadrupedal Golden Reapers closely, and some Golden Reapers began to flee hastily on four legs.
It was a desperate escape that felt like shouting ‘Ack, run away!’ just by running.
About 70% of the quadrupedal Golden Reapers ran away, while about 30% loitered around, not even noticing me watching.
I picked up one quadrupedal Golden Reaper loitering nearby and began to examine it.
A fat Golden Reaper, golden like sunshine, with a plump belly.
As I kept looking at it, the strongly applied illusion lifted, revealing its true form.
Its texture and appearance remained the same, but its eyes had become buttons.
It’s another doll outfit made by the Yellow Reaper.
I thought everyone was too proficient at walking on four legs, so there was this secret.
I slowly unzipped the quadrupedal Golden Reaper struggling in my grasp.
Then, what came out from inside was a Golden Reaper grinning broadly with an ‘Oops! Busted!’ expression.
What, it was a Golden Reaper.
I thought a white Hungry Ghost would be inside, but the Golden Reapers were actually playing quadrupedal.
Feeling disappointed, I started playing with the Golden Reaper that had been playing quadrupedal, and other mini Reapers began to cling annoyingly.
Why are they bothering me instead of making attached humans?
Actually, there was something I realized while observing the mini Reapers whenever I was bored.
About 30% of mini Reapers didn’t have attached humans.
The strange thing was that even when the number of mini Reapers exploded, this ratio always remained similar.
Somehow, I remembered hearing that some ants in an ant colony don’t work at all and just play.
It was a phenomenon reminiscent of that.
You ant-like creatures!
Projecting my will like that, I vigorously kneaded the Golden Reaper’s belly fat.
The Golden Reaper didn’t understand what it meant and just grinned broadly, enjoying the skinship.
And the most peculiar thing was that none of the ‘Orange Reapers’ had attached humans.
They are smart and kind, so why don’t they make attached humans?
It was a day where my curiosity deepened strangely.
Near Sehee Research Institute, a small studio apartment.
The Pudding Reaper was bouncing around on the dining table of that small studio apartment.
It was a little scared that the strange voice might be heard again like that time, but so far, no such sound had come.
Of course, if it listened towards the sky beyond, small voices could be heard.
Where could the legendary pudding be?
But unlike the red star’s voice, these sounds were not unified and felt somehow comforting.
While listening to the sounds from the sky and waiting for its attached human to return, the window slowly began to open.
The sound of the window opening echoed ominously as the being beyond the window slowly began to reveal itself.
A fluffy ball of fur.
An expression full of mischief.
It should be an ally, definitely an Orange Reaper belonging to the ‘mini Reaper garden’.
But feeling strangely uneasy, the Pudding Reaper slowly began to back away.
The Orange Reaper, holding a large bucket, approached the Pudding Reaper and put the bucket down with a thud.
Then the Orange Reaper started poking the Pudding Reaper as if asking for pudding.
It tore off a little pudding and plopped it into the bucket.
But the Orange Reaper still stared down with a smiling face, applying silent pressure.
That cruel exploitation continued until the bucket was full.
Feeling strangely that it would suffer severe treatment like the white Hungry Ghost if it refused, the Pudding Reaper had no choice but to obediently share its pudding.
It’s a secret from the Hungry Ghost Reaper.
And leaving only that will behind, the Orange Reaper left.
The Orange Reaper was flying around, surrounded by cloud meat, with a sad face.
The reason was simple: its fraudulent act against the Golden Reapers had been discovered.
It was a scam where it passed off pudding extorted from the Pudding Reaper as ‘legendary pudding’ and received praise.
Since it was the pudding of the Pudding Reaper cherished by the Hungry Ghost Reaper, no Golden Reaper had tasted it, making it a prank with a high chance of success.
Numerous praises pouring onto the Orange Reaper.
And some Golden Reapers even made sculptures for it.
Namely, the Orange Prophet Reaper ice sculpture!
And the ‘Ice Palace for the Adventurer Who Found the Legend’ made by the Golden Reapers also became the Orange Reaper’s.
But perhaps because the praise was built on lies.
The Orange Reaper’s ambition to become the king of the snowfield ended in an instant.
An Hungry Ghost Reaper with a scary expression, carrying the Pudding Reaper on its shoulder.
The Pudding Reaper had revealed the secret!
When the lie was revealed, the giant sculpture crumbled, and it was kicked out of the magnificent palace.
A grudge formed by pudding must be resolved by pudding.
Vowing revenge on the Pudding Reaper who broke the promise, the Orange Reaper that fled turned its gaze outwards.
Since it would be difficult to enter the institute for a while, the Orange Reaper planned to go on a trip.
It had no intention of finding an attached human like the many mini Reapers going on journeys, but it wanted to take this opportunity to travel far from Sehee Research Institute.
The destination was the vast western continent, bustling with people.