Chapter 235

Thud. Thud.

A Color Hungry Ghost, about the size of a basketball, was making rhythmic footsteps while diligently pulling a large cart.

It was coming directly toward me, slowly but surely.

Even though there was nothing particularly special about the sight of the old cart creaking as it approached, I couldn’t shake an odd feeling.

The uneasiness that this cart was going to pick me up and carry me somewhere unknown.

When I glanced to the side, there was a White Hungry Ghost, seemingly without a care in the world.

“Gee!”

If anything, it looked delighted to see an old friend after a long time.

Then again, it’s not like either the Color Hungry Ghost or the White Hungry Ghost has the ability to load me onto a cart and dump me far away, so it must be unnecessary worry.

Still, my heart felt uneasy, so I squatted down, extended my hand, and gently patted the ghost’s back.

Would a ghost ever actually put me on a cart and abandon me at Seoul Forest?

But when I smiled kindly and started petting its back, the ghost tensed up with a look of extreme confusion.

Then it began sneaking sideways glances at me, trying to read my intentions.

Its expression seemed to say, “What crazy thing is this monster planning now?”

Such an unpleasant look! So I ended up using the hand that was supposed to be petting it to tear into its back and eat it instead.

“GEEEEEH!”

I was just trying to cheer up the White Hungry Ghost by petting it… and then I ate it.

Of course, hungry ghosts always had similar expressions, but recently, I’ve grown skilled at reading their subtle nuances.

Because I’ve been tormenting them so often, I’ve reached a level where I can interpret their expressions!

Even though I still can’t distinguish individual Golden Reapers or Black Reapers, I can already tell the difference in expressions of a White Hungry Ghost…

This made me feel somewhat like a failure as a mother figure, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

How does one differentiate between twins with slightly different personalities and behaviors?

It’s Yerin who can tell apart hundreds of thousands of twins—she’s the strange one.

While I kept tearing into the White Hungry Ghost, the Color Hungry Ghost finally arrived in front of me.

From the cart emerged the Alchemist’s Younger Sister, looking frantic.

“Sister’s acting weird! Please help!”

She exclaimed that her sister had suddenly lost consciousness and started spilling out all sorts of stories to me, even though I’m pretending not to understand her language.

Her story began with the strange behavior of the alchemist when they visited Seoul Forest.

***

Some time ago, the younger sister and the alchemist narrowly escaped death surrounded by brain-eating zombies. Now, they were wandering around again in search of ingredients for a “suppressor.”

“The Golden Reaper disappeared somewhere.”

Unfortunately, they had parted ways with the Golden Reaper who had helped defeat the zombies.

In the forest, the Golden Reaper had suddenly appeared and instantly decimated all the zombies before chasing after the fleeing Orange Reaper and vanishing somewhere.

Initially, the Golden Reaper had looked affectionately at the Orange Reaper upon first seeing them.

However, noticing the Orange Reaper gradually slipping further away, the Golden Reaper realized something and began angrily pursuing them.

Thus, the group of mini reapers and the younger sister continued striving to achieve their purpose in Seoul Forest.

“There are no ingredients at all. It’s such a common sample, yet it’s completely gone.”

Despite searching for quite some time, they hadn’t managed to properly gather any herbs.

“Exactly what kind of herb are you talking about?”

“It’s called ‘Danjeolcho.’ It’s rather uniquely shaped.”

Curious, I asked, and the older sister reluctantly showed me the appearance of the necessary herb.

It was a plant with quite distinctive colors and shapes, so it should have been easy to find.

And when I slowly looked around, there were tons of ‘Danjeolcho’ sprouting everywhere.

“?”

Could these plants resemble ‘Danjeolcho’?

Of course, that must be it.

There were so many; there’s no way the older sister wouldn’t have noticed them.

To learn the differences between the similar plants and the real Danjeolcho, I picked a few samples and showed them to the older sister.

“Sis! Is this Danjeolcho?”

But the older sister’s reaction after carefully inspecting the plant was unexpected.

“You found something I missed. Where did you find it?”

“?!”

Something felt off.

“Sis, this Danjeolcho is everywhere around here.”

This was strange.

With so many around, was she playing around?

However, upon hearing this, the older sister became extremely serious, tightly closed her mouth, and began deep contemplation.

After a considerable amount of thought, the older sister lifted her head, smiled faintly, and said,

“Since I need to handle other matters now, can you fill this basket with ‘Danjeolcho’ for me?”

“Okay.”

Though the smile felt somewhat out of place, I nodded and started gathering the abundant Danjeolcho nearby.

The older sister pulled out her usual notebook as if preparing to do something, but she simply opened it and didn’t do anything else.

She was muttering quietly under her breath, almost inaudibly.

“This is bad. Distortion of perception is already happening. Could the Danjeolcho be warping our recognition to make it invisible? Soon we might not be able to recognize Danjeolcho altogether…”

Though I couldn’t fully understand her words, the situation seemed dire.

Mental limits, objectification side effects, suppressor resistance, and suicide—all sounded incredibly serious.

So I hurriedly gathered more Danjeolcho.

Something was definitely wrong.

“Sis, I’ve collected enough.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

The older sister didn’t even glance at the basket but smiled kindly.

I wanted to ask what was going on, but her exhausted smile stopped me.

Perhaps my worried expression betrayed my thoughts.

“Let’s go home now.”

The older sister gave a small smile and gently patted my head, but it didn’t feel reassuring.

Even after returning with a full load of Danjeolcho, the older sister’s unusual behavior didn’t stop.

She couldn’t see the Danjeolcho she had already classified and organized.

Right in front of her eyes, piled high on the table!

“Listen carefully. First, put the Danjeolcho into a pot…”

Afraid to open her eyes, the older sister kept them tightly shut while explaining how to make the “suppressant,” which she usually forbade me from touching because it was dangerous.

Now, however, she was teaching me how to make the medicine and asking me to prepare it.

Once the medicine was finished, the older sister, looking relieved, said:

“Thank you. If I take this, go to the Gray Reaper. The Gray Reaper that destroys objects hostile to humans.”

Then, she swallowed the suppressant pills she normally took once a week in stacks, with a very sleepy expression, and handed over a book.

“Haha. This was supposed to be your birthday present, but I’m giving it to you early.”

“It’s an alchemy textbook for you. Though it’s incomplete, study alchemy using this book. There will definitely come a time when it’s needed.”

The older sister’s expression while flipping through the alchemy book she prepared for her younger sister resembled that of an elderly person delivering their final wishes.

After finishing everything she needed to say, the older sister collapsed into a deep sleep.

***

That concluded the younger sister’s story.

Upon closer inspection, the alchemist, originally a harmless object, was beginning to emit harmful vibes.

Why was she explaining all this to me?

Even though I had perfectly acted like I couldn’t understand her language, lately, more people seemed convinced that I could comprehend speech.

Was she really expecting me to solve this problem?

Based on what the alchemist had said, it seemed like she expected me to kill her…

The Gray Reaper that destroys hostile objects.

The alchemist turned into a hostile object.

What happens when the two meet?

The alchemist gets shredded to pieces!

Still, killing the alchemist in front of the younger sister felt too harsh, so I hesitated. Then, I realized I had felt this aura somewhere before—it was the energy from the Color Universe where the red monster had vanished.

Could the alchemist have transformed into a harmful object due to this influence?

For some reason, this thought came to mind, so I teleported the entire alchemist party inside the Mini Reaper Garden.

I remembered how the red monster hadn’t even noticed the garden or easily entered it.

***

Though I impulsively moved the alchemist party into the Mini Reaper Garden, the alchemist remained unconscious.

It was definitely related to the Color Universe, but there was no change.

The only activity was the younger sister’s close friends, the Golden Reapers, enthusiastically rushing toward her.

The younger sister refused their playtime, saying she wasn’t in the mood right now.

However, whether due to mental pollution from the Golden Reapers or her desire for comfort, she eventually allowed them to cling to her.

Golden Reapers patting the younger sister’s cheeks perched on her shoulders, with the younger sister trying hard to maintain hope despite her slightly melancholic expression.

The Golden Reapers nibbling on the younger sister’s cheeks, perhaps due to their recent mummy game, added a playful touch.

As the Golden Reapers began nibbling, the younger sister giggled softly, finding it ticklish.

Golden Reaper nibbles do feel like something soft sticking to you, strangely ticklish.

I knew this well since whenever I ignored them to watch TV, they would stick to me and start nibbling.

It was so ticklish that I had to pause my TV watching and play with them for a bit.

The Golden Reapers and the younger sister, engaged in cute banter, suddenly turned their full attention to me.

It started with the younger sister.

She stared at me with hopeful eyes, expecting me to fix the alchemist.

Then the Golden Reapers joined in, sending me their support.

“Mom, you can do it!”

Hmm.

No matter how much they cheered me on, the only solution seemed to involve turning the alchemist into snack-human after killing them.

Plus, there was no 100% guarantee of resurrection within the garden, meaning there was a real risk of permanent death.

Boom. Boom.

While I was pondering, something massive approached with a thunderous sound.

A colossal Jelly Pig, towering three stories high, was moving while carrying what looked like a house on its back.

Even for someone like me, who frequently plays in the Mini Reaper Garden, this was a novel and fascinating sight.

When the Jelly Pig knelt in front of us, a staircase unfolded from the structure on its back.

Descending the staircase were two Butler Hungry Ghosts dressed in formal attire.

They were also carrying a stretcher designed to transport patients.

“???”

Confused by the sudden turn of events, I watched as the Butler Hungry Ghosts proceeded to transfer the unconscious alchemist onto the stretcher without acknowledging my bewilderment.

“???”