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The man in the yellow suit flipped through the thick documents handed over by his junior and said.

“Wow~ At this point, it seems like we’ve collected all the data. Looking at these materials now, if we just submit this, it feels like it’s almost over, right? I didn’t need to come after all, did I?”

The junior hesitated and replied.

“Actually, the investigation itself is done. I haven’t seen the Hungry Ghost, but I know where it is. However, the control is too strict right now, and it’s impossible to go outside. Especially in this Central Research Institute, there’s not even a ventilation system to get out. Even trying to break a window, it won’t break.”

The junior sighed and continued speaking.

“I was planning to wait until the control was lifted before going out, but the atmosphere seems off. It’s exactly like the pattern that emerged when the ‘Hungry Ghost’ was about to break free during the investigation. The researchers are hardly moving around, everyone is gathering in the central conference room, and outside access is completely restricted. It’s truly creepy, you know?”

“Definitely, looking at the data, it seems like a situation that warrants it. The Gray Reaper has escaped, and there’s been a murder case that seems to be related to the Reaper.”

The man hummed the Central Research Institute’s jingle.

“The safest national research institute with zero casualties~, and yet there’s been a murder, so it’s a major incident. It’s almost worth bringing out the Hungry Ghost.”

He chuckled softly and added.

“It was good that you called me. If we had waited for the control to be lifted, they would have likely unleashed the Hungry Ghost in the institute. So? You and this data would end up inside its belly.”

“Then let’s hurry back!”

The junior insisted cheerfully to return, but the man could only shake his head.

“I also really, really want to go back, but it’s impossible. My staff can take me anywhere, but I can only use it once every three days. So it means we have to wait three days before we can leave this place.”

“So let’s hope the Hungry Ghost won’t come out within those three days.”

*

“Huh? So what happened?”

Then, the cat let out a small meow.

Even though it was an empty isolation room, lying on the cool floor with a baby kitten on my belly felt pretty good.

I originally came into the isolation room to tease the cat that couldn’t escape, but while getting smacked around by the cranky kitten, I realized one thing.

We could communicate while making contact!

So, I had the baby kitten on my belly while listening to adventure tales. The warmth of its body and soft fur. As I petted the kitten, it was soothing enough to pass the time without any thoughts.

Maybe thanks to the slightly cool air in the isolation room, the kitten seemed pleased to rest atop my warm belly.

“What? If you want to hear more, you want me to pet you better?”

Hehe, I chuckled inside as I listened to the kitten’s meows, feeling as though the frantic happenings of the institute were really a distant story.

Of course, it helped that the isolation room was so well sealed that hardly any sounds could be heard.

It wasn’t my fault at all! The Central Research Institute became very chaotic after the Piranha Butterfly murder case.

The researchers stopped showing themselves, and employees were bustling around searching for me.

Sometimes, I’d see them trying to lure me with something like pudding. But what on earth did they write about me in the Sehee Institute?!

Considering that there wasn’t any mention of the black butterfly, it looked like they might have concluded I was responsible for this incident without a proper investigation.

I think they talked quite a bit about how victims saw butterflies as they were dying.

In the corridor of the institute, a bunch of butterflies had started fluttering around more than before. I’m not sure what criteria they use to choose their targets, but at this rate, it was clear that another incident would occur where a butterfly would bite someone to death.

It was also a bit strange that the researchers had disappeared. Were they hiding in safe places when dangerous objects were roaming around?

Well, even though I was fine with just lying here, it felt like it was about time to get up and move around. I was curious about where the butterflies were coming from, and besides, there was a strange atmosphere filling the institute.

After I communicated my intention to leave, as I picked up the kitten with both hands, it let out cute meows as if to say “Let’s go together.”

But unfortunately, I didn’t have the ability to move in spirit form with it. If I crossed over with the kitten, it would probably get caught in the institute and end up somewhere like the Time Gap.

“I’ll come back to get you if I have a chance.” With this light promise, I left the kitten’s isolation room.

As I stepped out into the corridor, I noticed that the place that used to be my isolation room had suddenly been well-furnished.

Just like the isolation room in the Sehee Institute.

A large bed, a TV, a game console, and snacks were waiting for me.

I thought it might be okay to spend a little time here, but I decided to go exploring the institute first because that seemed more interesting, planning to come back for a break later.

Certainly, the Central Research Institute was massive, and there were a significant number of objects currently under isolation. In fact, the Sehee Institute had only me as a consistently isolated specimen. Usually, objects secured by the Sehee investigation team were often examined for a while before being handed over to the Central Research Institute.

The problem was that unless someone was giving a guided tour explaining the objects, they were just strange-looking animals, plants, or things.

Before I knew it, I felt like I was wandering around a zoo, leaving impressions like ‘Wow, that’s funny-looking.’ and ‘Whoa, how is that standing?’ while taking in the sights.

Maybe it was because I developed a kind of internal intimacy, or perhaps due to their unique qualities, one particular isolation room caught my attention.

Inside that isolation room, a blue lizard the size of a human palm was clapping its hands while playing the piano with its two feet.

I found myself irresistibly drawn into that isolation room.

It was skillfully playing quite a complicated piece on the piano with fancy footwork, and it looked quite impressive, like it was dancing.

Where it fell short with its two feet, it seemed to duplicate itself easily and continued the song comfortably.

If this were the Sehee Institute, I’d be trying to persuade Yerin to let me keep one in my isolation room right now…

Oh wow, I admired silently as I became entranced watching the lizard’s dazzling dance.

I promised to take the lizard back to the Sehee Institute with the baby kitten if I had the chance, and then I went off on my journey to find the source of the butterflies.

While searching every nook and cranny of the institute for the source of the butterflies, I found a suspicious duo in a corner of the Central Research Institute’s logistics warehouse.

One was a regular staff member of the institute.

The other was the man in the yellow suit.

The suspicious one was the man.

First of all, his outfit and appearance seemed out of place.

The Central Research Institute had a uniform, so just by looking at the clothing, it was easy to determine the job, but that suit did not look like it belonged to an employee at all.

What was even more concerning was that he was covered in various objects all over his body.

The monocle was an object.

The staff was an object.

The pocket watch was an object.

Objects are often harmful, so I couldn’t understand what kind of guts it took to carry so many around like that.

“Wait a second. There’s an object right in front.”

The man stopped the woman and was staring precisely at the spot where I was. However, it didn’t seem like he could see me; normally, when someone sees me, they scream, “Ah! It’s the Gray Reaper!” not casually referring to me with vague terms like “object.”

Could he see something with that monocle?

With a curious gaze, I stared into the tense, sweating man.

*

Startled by the sudden phrase appearing before me, I warned my junior.

“Wait a second. There’s an object right in front.”

The phrase that appeared was filled with ominous content.

SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1ZkVPckFIOUQvazgrbU1xLzZlZGttVzVKamhBMG0yajlsK3A2aWxEaFNnaA

[It feeds on people’s sorrow.]

[It feeds on people’s grief.]

[It feeds on people’s pain.]

[It knows the fastest way to kill its target.]

It was a message shown by the monocle that reveals only a tiny fraction of an object’s characteristics. Even though the message was visible, the target wasn’t visible, indicating it was likely in a ghostly, incorporeal state.

Having worked as a detective and seen countless objects, this was the first time I encountered an object that radiated malice and had such grim abilities. It appeared to be a being born solely to inflict harm on humans.

Could this possibly be an ability belonging to a devil-like malicious entity spoken of only in folklore!

Seeing the incorporeal state and the grim abilities, it was easy to predict who the target was.

“It seems like the thing in front of us is the Gray Reaper. Be careful, junior. It appears to be two times more vicious than what was known before.”

I used to think the incidents related to the Gray Reaper were mostly false accusations, but had my always-accurate judgment been wrong this time?

Has my once-sharp brain gotten rusty? I certainly thought the public fear created a false narrative!