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Late afternoon at the Yellow Reaper’s hideout.

The Ashen Girl opened her mouth with a worried expression.

“You know, I’ve been experiencing really strange things lately.”

The Yellow Reaper, who was making dolls in the corner of the hideout, turned to her words.

“Yesterday, I ate the candy my brother gave me, but it was so sour that when I spat it out, it turned into a wriggling pile of cockroaches. It was so creepy, but after a moment, it turned back into just a regular candy.”

“And this morning when I went to school, the building looked like ruins. I was so surprised that I rubbed my eyes and when I looked again, it was ‘normal’ again.”

The girl recounted a few more strange occurrences.

It was like something was overlaying her vision—stories of hallucinations that lasted less than a second.

“Am I going crazy? Or is it the mental pollution from the Object?”

Upon hearing that, the Yellow Reaper closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head vigorously in denial.

It seemed like she was saying, “You’re not crazy!”

“Thank you. It’s just that for some reason, I can’t talk about this to anyone. The moment I mention it, it feels like everything might collapse.”

The Ashen Girl knew the rumors about Mini Reapers not understanding human speech properly, but for some reason, the Yellow Reaper seemed to understand.

“Still, I’m scared. The hallucinations are happening more often.”

The Ashen Girl hunched over with her knees hugged tightly, looking pale.

Seeing her anxious, the Yellow Reaper was at a loss.

It was as if she didn’t know how to comfort her and was unsure of how to approach.

During that time, the Yellow Reaper spotted the doll outfit in the corner and put it on.

Wearing the Golden Reaper doll outfit, the Yellow Reaper flashed a bright smile like the Golden Reaper and rushed towards the Ashen Girl.

Bam!

Maybe because she ran too energetically, the Yellow Reaper couldn’t stop in time and bumped into the Ashen Girl’s foot, rolling over.

Watching that, the Ashen Girl let out a quiet laugh, “Heh.”

The doll outfit had button-like eyes and looked odd.

Moreover, the once passive Yellow Reaper was now desperately trying to comfort her in such a silly outfit.

The girl lifted the Yellow Reaper in the doll outfit and poked her with her finger, saying, “Can you even see ahead with those button eyes?”

As she said that, the Ashen Girl let out a soft giggle, like air escaping.

However, the Yellow Reaper was so startled by the girl’s words that her mouth dropped open wide.

‘The doll outfit isn’t working!’

The Yellow Reaper changed outfits numerous times and played around with the now relaxed Ashen Girl.

A Blue Reaper casting spells.

A Red Reaper breathing fire.

Even a Purple Reaper moving shadows.

The Yellow Reaper showcased a variety of Reaper doll outfits.

Time passed, and as the sun got closer to the horizon.

“Well, I’m off. See you tomorrow.”

The Ashen Girl turned her back on the sun and said goodbye to the Yellow Reaper.

In that moment, the Yellow Reaper held out a doll she had been making for the Ashen Girl.

With button eyes, ash-colored hair, and worn-out ragged school uniform.

It was a palm-sized doll resembling the Ashen Girl, crafted by the Yellow Reaper.

“Wow, you made me a doll? Thank you.”

The Ashen Girl beamed as she received the doll.

“You made it really well. Our school uniform is pretty but really complicated and fancy, but this is so identical!”

As the Ashen Girl hugged the doll tightly and walked away, the Yellow Reaper stared at her longingly.

*

In the courtyard of the Sehee Research Institute, where the grass was lush and filled with mini animals.

A tiny Tyrannosaurus had settled down there.

Inside, surrounded by a cute little fence made of marshmallows, small Tyrannosauruses swarmed around.

Chubby Tyrannosaurus.

Feathered Tyrannosaurus.

Quadrupedal Tyrannosaurus.

Tyrannosaurus with lips.

Overheated, red-faced Tyrannosaurus.

It was a mini dinosaur zoo where all imaginable Tyrannosaurs breathed life.

To create the true Tyrannosaurus that I recognized, they were a kind of Tyrannosaurus miniature made by the Green Reaper.

If none of those many Tyrannosaurs were real, I would have to ask the Yellow Reaper to make me a real Tyrannosaurus doll outfit.

For the Yellow Reaper’s doll outfits were powerful enough to fool me.

However, fortunately, since there were over 30 different types of Tyrannosaurs, there was indeed a real one included.

But it seemed the Green Reaper wasn’t fond of the real Tyrannosaurus.

“Meh…”

‘Not special…’

I tugged at the leaf of the whining Green Reaper.

“Miiing!”

Turning my eyes away from the Green Reaper, who was starting to make a Tyrannosaurus, I noticed the Mini Reapers gathered around.

They swarmed around a single red candy I brought.

At that moment, a Golden Reaper jumped confidently from the palm of an Attached Human.

‘Challenger!’

‘So brave!’

As the Golden Reaper appeared to go for the candy, the Mini Reapers gathered around began to clap and cheer.

However, contrary to that spirited demeanor, the Golden Reaper’s challenge came to an abrupt end.

‘Kiaaaa!’

The Golden Reaper lightly touched its tongue to the red candy, grimaced, and then quickly ran back to the Attached Human.

Once back on the Attached Human’s palm, the Golden Reaper sprawled out like it had sustained a major injury.

As it stuck its tongue out, looking all cute, the Attached Human poked the Golden Reaper’s soft tongue with a finger.

Well, that candy was way too sour.

I wondered if it was likely to be taken off the shelves.

Should I stock up on it beforehand and use it for pranks?

As I was deep in constructive thoughts for the future, I spotted the culprits that had triggered this challenge.

The White Hungry Ghost and the Black Reaper.

It was a rare combination to see, and they were continuously licking the red candy they had tucked in.

As they licked the candy, their faces started to scrunch up.

And soon their faces returned to normal, and they licked again.

Seeing their faces contort, it was a bit surprising that they kept sitting there eating.

I, on the other hand, would never eat it…

*

The Ashen Girl was tormented by endless discomfort.

‘Something feels off.’

Whether she walked around school, strolled the streets, or laid in bed, the strange feeling never left her.

Something was definitely wrong, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

Even the doll given to her by the Yellow Reaper felt strange.

Everything felt odd except for the Yellow Reaper.

*

Sitting in the school cafeteria, the rice seemed to wriggle like bugs.

‘…’

As always, she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them, finding the rice was just normal rice.

However, her appetite had vanished, and she threw it all away.

*

Walking down the corridor, she noticed that the floor tiles beneath her feet were disappearing one by one as if they had lost their teeth.

She hurried into the classroom, and the hallway looked just like usual.

Even though nothing seemed different, the location of the missing tiles remained vividly etched in her mind.

Gripping the pocket that contained the doll the Yellow Reaper had gifted her, she muttered to herself.

‘I’m okay.’

‘I will be okay.’

*

On a school holiday.

To meet the Yellow Reaper, as she stepped outside, everyone was wearing strange outfits.

Clothes that were too worn down to even be used as rags.

The Ashen Girl hugged the doll given by the Yellow Reaper tightly and squeezed her eyes shut.

But when she opened her eyes, the doll was also dressed in ratty, torn clothes.

Startled, the girl threw the doll away.

As soon as she threw it, everything was ‘normal.’

Picking up the doll, she apologized.

‘Sorry.’

*

Dinner time.

When she opened the door to call her brother, she found him lying in the room.

He looked like a corpse.

It seemed he wasn’t breathing.

When she opened her eyes again, he was lying in bed like usual.

‘Am I going crazy?’

The Ashen Girl missed the Yellow Reaper deeply.

*

The Ashen Girl was walking toward school with a pale expression.

‘I’m okay. I’m okay.’

Holding the small doll in her pocket tightly, she muttered as if casting a spell.

When someone called her name, she forced a smile and turned around.

But standing there was not a friend, but an Object.

“Eek.”

A monster made by intertwining zigzagging wires and coating them with white clay to make it look like a human.

‘Why does this only happen to me!’

Tears almost welled up, so she clenched her eyes shut.

And when she opened her eyes, nothing had changed.

There were Objects here.

There were Objects there.

Everywhere was filled with Objects.

At that moment, the Object creaked as if to speak, but the girl couldn’t understand what it was saying.

The girl grew even paler and threw her backpack down and started to run.

She ran so hurriedly that she felt like she was going to die, but before long, she stopped feeling out of breath.

Looking down at her hands, she saw her hands as pale as stone.

One leg that used to move fine no longer moved properly and dragged behind her.

So she stopped walking.

The Ashen Girl stared blankly at her body.

The school uniform she had thought was so pretty and liked was now worn and tattered.

As she moved her fingers, white powder dizzily floated up.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

‘Haha, haha.’

She had thought everything was strange except herself…

But even at this moment, one worry remained in her heart.

‘What if I was an Object?’

‘What if the Yellow Reaper doesn’t like me?’

 

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