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The morning sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting golden stripes across the entire detective agency.

My suit coat hanging on the rack was reflecting the sunlight, scattering a yellow hue throughout the room.

The air was filled with the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

It was a familiar scent, energizing in the morning.

Hearing the loud sounds of the TV clashing with the serene morning made it feel unmistakably like a regular morning at the detective agency.

The rocking chair I was sitting in creaked comfortably, and the newspaper in my hand rustled with each page I turned.

The newspaper was mostly covering the recent ‘Trinity Research Institute No. 3’ incident.

[Why on earth did the hungry ghost head to Gwanak-gu?]

[Object licensing regulations have been strengthened, but still fall short of global standards.]

As I flipped through the pages, an article analyzing the Gray Reaper occupied both sides.

Ah, another such article.

Lately, there have been many articles giving a friendly image to the Gray Reaper.

It was rampant across both online and offline platforms.

Especially, the illegal internet newspapers without object licenses were the worst.

Some places were indistinguishable as to whether they were a news outlet or a fan club for the Gray Reaper.

But oddly enough, I didn’t feel any particular sense of crisis.

That was quite strange.

These reckless and seemingly dangerous articles didn’t look dangerous at all.

Yet, my instincts told me that the more a favorable atmosphere for the Gray Reaper developed, the safer Korea would feel.

Well, good things are good, right?

“Sunbae! We’re here!”

Junior No. 1 burst into the detective agency, throwing open the door.

Cheerfully smiling, Junior No. 1 pulled out a large hammer from a long bag.

And behind Junior No. 1, Junior No. 2 and Junior No. 3 entered and bowed.

With his long golden horn, Junior No. 2 and Junior No. 3, looking like an elementary student, took their seats.

Seeing Junior No. 3 still looking like an elementary student, it seemed my younger brother’s condition hadn’t improved.

What was more peculiar was junior No. 2.

The long golden horn that grew during childhood was getting longer, but the reason behind it was unclear.

Well, although I have some guesses, it would be better not to mention it until Junior No. 2 brings it up first.

Handling the desk duties, Junior No. 3 checked something on the computer and spoke up.

“Detective Sunbae. We received a request. What should we do? I sent the details to your phone.”

Ding dong.

With the notification sound, an overview of the request from Junior No. 3 arrived.

[Request for investigation into a large-scale missing persons case related to Black Rust Syndrome.]

Hmm, Black Rust Syndrome is a type of illness where objects sprout like golden horns.

If the golden horn draws favorable feelings from those around, the black rust, conversely, draws disgust and becomes a problem.

If it were a missing case related to Golden Horn Syndrome, it would be a kidnapping, but this time the target of the incident was Black Rust Syndrome.

Since kidnappings concerning Black Rust Syndrome are nearly non-existent, it would be reasonable to consider it a murder case.

I wouldn’t mind taking it on, but I have something else I need to do right now.

“We’re currently tasked with saving the lady of that black fellow, so we should drop it.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Junior No. 3 slightly pouted and returned to her seat.

Just then, Junior No. 2 raised his hand excitedly and shouted.

“I’ll take that one!”

Looking at the phone, Junior No. 2 said, “This request has considerable compensation and involves kidnapping or disappearance of someone with an object illness! It feels like it’s someone else’s story!”

Junior No. 2 rarely showed a slightly excited expression.

Well, while kidnappings and disappearances are common for Golden Horn Syndrome, Black Rust Syndrome is a little different in direction….

“Most likely, the person suffering from Black Rust Syndrome would be the client in this case, right? Are you okay with that?”

“Yes!”

Junior No. 2 answered brightly.

With an innocent expression that seemed completely unaware, but since he’s not Junior No. 1, I guess I have to trust him.

Black Rust is an object that is loathed.

In contrast, the Golden Horn is adored.

Both types of object syndromes have many disappearance cases, but it would be hard to say they live the same lives.

Especially, people with Black Rust Syndrome often dislike those with Golden Horn Syndrome.

Since the difference in government support is quite significant, it’s easy to feel discriminated against.

Being a murder case and related to Black Rust, it would definitely be dangerous.

However, neither rationally nor instinctively did it seem dangerous.

I thought about the hidden presence in Junior No. 2’s chest and said.

“Alright, then go for it. Just don’t forget to be careful when dealing with the client!”

“Yes!”

Junior No. 2 went over to Junior No. 3’s seat, grabbed the request details, and gathered his tools before leaving the detective agency.

Seeing Junior No. 2 leave, I grabbed my coat and stood up.

“Then let’s slowly head out too.”

With Junior No. 1, I left the agency with Junior No. 3 seeing us off.

*

Slowly swaying side to side.

When embracing the Reaper from behind, the antenna above its head swayed, enticing people.

Nom.

When I nibbled on the antenna, it wriggled away, escaping my mouth.

Oh, it lured me in first but then ran away.

The slightly chaotic isolation room of the Reaper.

Watching the Golden Reapers playing the piano, touching the plump belly of the Reaper made me feel like I owned the world.

Ah, happiness.

Originally, this happy moment almost disappeared due to a crisis, but it was resolved well.

Perhaps due to the people being noisy, a minor incident of a Reaper escaping the isolation room occurred.

Reapers escaping is a common occurrence, but it seemed that wasn’t the case for the Object Association.

In the end, any public display that might provoke the Reaper was prohibited for the time being.

Today, for some odd reason, the Reaper caught a blue lizard and tossed it onto the piano in its isolation room to enjoy the music.

It was a wonderful performance no matter how many times I heard it.

Perhaps inspired by that performance, the Golden Reapers also jumped onto the piano and began banging away with the blue lizard.

The music became a bit of a mess but turned into a cuter and livelier sound.

Golden Reaper is adorable!

But dreamy moments always come to an end.

The scary Kim Jungrwi sunbae knocked on the door of the isolation room.

What Kim Jungrwi held in his hand was…

[Gray Reaper Regular Report.]

Ah, right.

I was supposed to submit this to the association last month and had forgotten.

I stepped out of the isolation room with as pitiful of a face as I could muster, but it wasn’t enough to soothe the sunbae’s anger.

Sigh.

In the midst of an abandoned city, a desolate and chilling silence hung in the air.

Buildings with only their skeletal frames still loomed over the empty streets, remnants of a once-bustling city.

The sky had an oddly dull and gray shade that cast a gloom over the ruins.

Amidst this desolate wasteland, a man wandered.

He was a shabby man with tattered clothing.

His face was twisted from prolonged suffering, sunken cheeks and hollow eyes made him look haggard.

In his hands was a badly beaten stray dog, and both his hands were stained with blood.

He wandered aimlessly through the ruins, muttering to himself in a low, coarse voice.

His words were incoherent, mixing memories and fragmented thoughts.

Claiming someone was watching him, he suddenly burst into loud laughter, making it clear that this man was out of his mind.

Eventually, the man reached a building where the ceiling and walls were relatively intact, still retaining a sense of life.

He began scratching the corpse of a dog with his fingers, smearing it onto the walls of the ruins.

Despite the blood oozing from his fingertips as they became ragged, he wouldn’t stop that action.

As time passed, a light of intellect slowly returned to his chaotic and mad eyes.

He looked down at his throbbing hands and muttered.

“Again, this.”

The concrete wall bore a swirling pattern stained with blood.

It was clear that it was a pattern he had drawn himself, yet he couldn’t understand why he was doing this.

The man, losing his sanity several times a day, was living on without dying.

Step by step.

At that moment, in this desolate place where no one was supposed to be, footsteps could be heard.

Upon turning around in a panic at the unexpected intruder, there stood a man armed with numerous lamps.

Brandishing a rusty, elongated rebar, the shabby man stared at him warily.

[Unfortunately, you seem to be having a tough time.]

Even trying to glare at him was difficult; the man seemed to lack focus.

Seeing the obvious object, the shabby man swung the rebar menacingly and shouted.

“Who are you? Get the hell out of here!”

The shabby man had no intention of wasting his precious time, which he could only remain sane for a few hours a day, on such a suspicious man.

The face of the lamp man was obscured, but it seemed he was smiling slightly as he spoke.

[As for me, I am an object of contracts. To be more intuitive, you can call me a contract demon.]

[Don’t you wish to heal your insanity? How about making a contract with me?]

The devil’s offer sounded extremely enticing to the shabby man.

There was a dangerous aura that felt like it should never be accepted, though.

*

As the pesky Yerin was dragged away by Kim Jungrwi, the isolation room was filled with the piano sounds of the Golden Reapers and the Blue Lizard.

When the Blue Lizard struck the piano with dazzling footwork, the Golden Reaper moved its feet in sync.

However, it couldn’t manage to follow properly, and the Golden Reaper looked a bit sullen.

Lately, I’ve been feeling a peculiar sensation from the Black Penguins’ teleportation, and I’ve been trying to trace that feeling whenever I had spare time.

The source of this strange sensation was the Golden Reaper; something felt different.

Was it because he was a rebellious Golden Reaper?

It had been quite a while since he had wandered off and not returned to the mini reaper garden, unlike the other Golden Reapers.

I was a bit curious about how much he liked being with the Attached Human.

Should I visit when I get bored?

*

As Junior No. 2 exited the detective agency, something suddenly popped out from her chest.

“Ah, you can’t come out now!”

A Golden Reaper was sticking its head out from her chest.

When Junior No. 2 pressed down on its head with her finger, the Golden Reaper looked like it was enjoying a head scratch, grinning widely.

This Golden Reaper had uniquely sprouted a golden horn.