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The Black Reaper was smiling with a bright expression, but deep within the transmitted will was a deep-seated resentment.

The baby shark-like teeth appeared even sharper.

These little ones were seeing Yerin for the first time, yet suddenly calling her a traitor?

To gather more information, I infused some will into the Black Reaper.

‘A traitor? Why on earth is she a traitor?’

At that, the Black Reaper made a sad face, and a gloomy will was transmitted.

‘Mom, did you forget again?’

As the will of the Black Reaper was conveyed, other melted Black Reapers crawled over and clung to my body.

‘Mom, are you still in pain?’

‘Sweet mom. You can’t be in pain.’

‘If you’re in pain, you can eat us!’

The Black Reaper gently patted my cheek with a sad face, saying that mom forgets if she gets hurt.

And then, as if to repeat what mom had said, the Black Reapers transmitted their will.

‘Mom said all humans are traitors!’

‘Humans burn their whole bodies as firewood and are told to cut off their tongues!’

‘If there’s not enough firewood, they’re told to stab themselves with needles!’

Some Black Reapers even twisted their bodies into sharp stake-like needles.

I mean, if you get stabbed with those needles, won’t you die from excessive bleeding?

A sinister sound was spilling from the mouths of the good little ones.

What kind of education has the corpse inside the Black Sphere received?

A mom who eats her own children if she’s in pain…?

Somehow, I felt a sense of kinship with the corpse inside the sphere, but it also felt like I was drifting further away.

This can’t continue.

The children need to grow up as well-behaved as the Golden Reaper.

I gathered the Black Reapers who received faulty education and transmitted my will.

Humans are not traitors, and I conveyed the will to not cause pain.

‘Not a traitor?’

‘Not cutting off the tongue?’

‘If I don’t cut the tongue, will the human die soon?’

‘It seems I need to cut the tongue….’

They tilted their heads in confusion, but in the end, the children accepted my words.

They’re really good kids.

By the way, why are they so obsessed with cutting tongues? Is there some reason?

But when I tried to ask about that in detail, the Black Reapers just beamed and said, ‘I don’t know!’

The Black Reaper’s attitude toward humans, along with the resentment, was merely someone else’s borrowed notion.

Having completed the re-education, the Black Reapers returned to human form and slowly approached Yerin.

‘Mi-an-ne….’

‘Let’s play together….’

Although Yerin might not be able to receive the Black Reaper’s will, she seemed to understand something just from their change in demeanor, and she smiled as she embraced the Black Reaper.

Yerin wore a happy expression, holding a newly formed Mini Reaper.

And caught in the wave of that feeling, the Black Reapers melted away, smiling happily.

‘It’s warm.’

‘I’m happy.’

The Black Reapers transformed into happy, slime-like figures.

Clap clap.

Seeing that, the Golden Reapers clapped, their expressions filled with emotion.

It was a happy daily life in the Isolation Room.

*

In the dimly lit Detective Agency, the late afternoon sunlight gently filtered in, brightening part of the room.

The tired and disheveled Yellow Detective entered the room, bringing a slightly dark atmosphere with him.

His coat was covered in the city’s dust, and his hat was askew, revealing traces of exhaustion across his face.

The Detective’s steps seemed slow and heavy, each one dragging with weariness.

Sitting in a creaky chair, the Yellow Detective slowly sipped from a mug on his desk, grimacing slightly at the taste of over-brewed coffee.

His sharp and keen eyes were hidden beneath deep dark circles.

The Black Agent, watching with a worried expression, asked,

“Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m fine, I’m fine. Just a little tired, but I can handle it.”

Lifting his head slowly at the Black Agent’s words, the Detective spoke in a weary voice.

But that tone felt hollow, as if it was just a customary response.

To the Black Agent, the Detective seemed a bit off lately.

He had been talking to himself more often and occasionally taking off somewhere in silence.

He looked like someone being chased by something unseen.

Carrying an invisible burden, he seemed pressed down by something invisible.

But even when asked, he would mumble or shift the conversation elsewhere.

With a serious face, the Black Agent said,

“If something’s wrong, just say it. I’ll help.”

The Black Agent spoke gently, focusing on the Detective’s face, looking for any clues or cracks.

But the Yellow Detective merely shook his head slowly and smiled faintly.

“It’s really okay. There’s no special problem.”

Rather, in the Yellow Detective’s exhausted expression, a firm will could be seen.

Underneath the slowly spinning ceiling fan, the juniors also wore worried faces, but there was not much they could do.

“Ah, right. Go check this out with the Young Miss.”

The Detective pulled out a map from his pocket as if he had just remembered.

It was a map of the area around Odaesan.

Although it was said to be occupied by Objects, this map indicated that there was a village right at its center.

“If we go to this village, I think we can grant the Young Miss’s wish. Walking under the sun, that is.”

“Really?”

As the Black Agent picked up the map, the Detective replied with a grin.

“Really. But we should leave today. I feel like time is running out.”

The Black Agent expressed gratitude and looked at the window with blinds drawn, where the city was painted in the hues of twilight.

The time for the blonde girl to awaken.

In a hurry, the Black Agent left the Detective Agency.

*

Late afternoon when everyone had clocked out, in the Sehee Research Institute Sleeping Room.

I sneakily infiltrated the Sleeping Room, cloaked in ghosting.

I had come to meet the Sprout Reaper, who was no longer the youngest.

Originally, the Sleeping Room had very few visitors, but these days, there were so many that people had to draw numbers to use it.

There had been a notable increase in the number of people wanting to sleep here, even without any late-night shifts or duties.

The reason for that was the cute pot placed in the corner of the Sleeping Room.

The pot, surrounded by a transparent and strong material, blended in seamlessly with the Sleeping Room’s interior.

And inside that pot, the Sprout Reaper was fast asleep, with only its head sticking out.

I smashed the locking mechanism and took out the pot to observe it.

Seeing the Sprout Reaper sleeping soundly like a dead thing, I felt a playful urge bubbling up again.

How can it sleep so defenselessly!

It seemed like it would be fun to just fly over to Gwanak-gu and toss it into the gooey mess along with the pot.

Without realizing these thoughts, I poked the leaves of the sleeping Sprout Reaper.

As I poked the leaves atop its head, they wriggled away from my fingers as if they were tickled.

The main body was sleeping, yet the leaves moved energetically on their own.

I poked and tugged at the leaves curiously.

Surprisingly sturdy leaves.

Maybe it was because I was bothering it, but the still-sleeping Sprout Reaper frowned, creating a scrunchy face.

Hehe.

*

In the late afternoon, two employees in the Sehee Research Institute Security Room were enduring sleepiness as they continued their arduous work.

“We have to fix the Sprout’s Isolation Room.”

“Did someone try to take the pot again?”

“No, this time it was someone who shouldn’t have touched it who messed it up.”

As the junior employee muttered, ‘Could it be the Director?’, he glanced at the reflected image on the screen and convinced himself.

It wasn’t just a minor offense; there was a Gray Reaper who transcended the law altogether.

The Gray Reaper was shown on the monitor, poking and pulling at the leaves, turning the pot upside down.

Along with the overflowing soil, the Sprout Reaper was ruthlessly sprawled on the floor.

“Why does the Gray Reaper only bother Objects? It seems it’s mainly pranking the Mini Reapers.”

“Who knows? Maybe it’s a sign of affection? For the Objects, they cut off arms and legs, but for Mini Reapers, it’s just playful.”

“Still, sometimes it looks a bit sad. Lately, I can’t help but feel teary every time the Golden Reaper looks so gloomy whenever it loses its pudding.”

Hearing the junior’s words, the senior employee nodded, saying, ‘That’s true.’

The junior, with a bored expression, turned back to the monitor, discussing the recent rumors that had been circulating.

“They say the Deputy Director has been acting strangely lately.”

“Why? Wasn’t he the most stable person?”

“They say he’s been talking to thin air and mumbling to himself, leading to suspicion that he’s been mentally polluted by an Object.”

The senior employee lightly brushed it off, saying, ‘Oh, come on. There’s no way the Deputy Director would do that,’ as he pulled out a blue bean that shone strangely from his pocket.

The curiously glowing blue bean inexplicably attracted people’s attention, prompting the junior to ask.

“Hyung, what is that? It looks like chocolate-coated beans.”

“Oh, this? The Sprout gave it to me. I’m debating whether to eat it or not.”

Upon hearing that it was a gift from the Sprout, the junior jumped up from his seat with sparkling eyes.

“Hyung! If you’re in that much of a dilemma, should I eat it instead?”

“No way.”

At the senior’s firm tone, the junior let out a brief ‘Aww,’ slumping back down in his seat.

“Ha, I don’t know. It’s a gift from the Sprout, so how bad could it be to eat it?”

The senior employee muttered to himself hopelessly and then popped the blue bean into his mouth.

“How does it taste? Is there any change?”

“Um… I don’t know?”

The junior asked with a look of excitement, but the senior felt no difference.

“It might be some kind of health food.”

“Is that so?”

But thinking of how the Sprout had stuck out its tongue, it didn’t seem like it could be anything good.

However, with no observable changes, the senior employee started checking his phone for news, as he usually did.

Hehehe.

At that moment, a faint laughter tickled the senior employee’s ears.

“Huh? Did someone just laugh?”

“No? I don’t hear anything…”

The junior just answered blankly, looking puzzled.

What on earth is this?

Then, a clear laughter of a little child echoed.

Glancing over, the Sprout was perched on top of the monitor, wide-eyed, giggling with laughter.

 

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