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My eyes reflect a moment from the past.

In this research institute, free from the constraints of time, strange phenomena can be witnessed.

Fragments from the past when the Central Research Institute was newly established.

Back when the Object was classified as a national secret.

Researchers secretly conducted studies, bureaucrats retrieved Objects, and the media manipulated information.

It was a memory from 30 years ago when only government-affiliated researchers could obtain that information and conduct research.

She once said:

“Director, please lighten your expression. The Object has surely appeared to grant wishes. It’s a gift from someone like a fairy who wants to help humans. I believe that if we wish, wish, and keep wishing, a happy world will surely come.”

She wasn’t a researcher, an elite, or a bureaucrat.

Just a woman who got caught up in the Objects.

A woman who, even when paralyzed from the waist down by a poltergeist, said such nonsensical things.

“I can’t ask again, but I want to ask once more.”

“Then why is the Object so cruel?”

“Can you still give the same answer as back then?”

The woman in the vision was smiling brightly.

“If the Object grants wishes, then humanity’s desires must be this ugly.”

As I let go of the vision of that woman who once existed in this director’s room, I awaited another vision.

A scene that will unfold in the director’s office in the future.

The future that everyone in the research institute longs for.

I don’t know when, but surely the time of arrival will come.

*

An uncomfortable standoff with the yellow man.

While the very tense man had every reason to be on edge, I had no reason to feel the same, yet the atmosphere was still quite uncomfortable.

I released my ghosting and set foot on the ground.

The man and woman were startled by my sudden appearance in mid-air, but their reactions afterwards differed greatly.

The man became more guarded and tense, while the woman’s wariness noticeably eased.

Usually, many people get scared of me due to the ominous rumors, but there were a few who, for no apparent reason, felt a sense of affinity and approached me. It seemed this woman was one of those types.

The woman knelt down to meet my gaze, beaming a smile as she slowly approached.

“????”

The man’s expression showed he was quite bewildered by her behavior. He wore a look as if to say, “Why is she suddenly acting so foolish and careless?” while the woman focused all her energy on drawing my attention and ignored him.

It resembled the behavior of someone who had discovered a curious wild creature, crouched down and clapping.

“Senpai! She’s coming towards me!”

“…”

The woman exclaimed with excitement, while the man was at a loss for words. The woman seemed too engrossed in her thrill to read the man’s mood.

Had she rarely experienced joy? Although she was merely moving slowly towards me, I could feel the spark in her heart blazing even brighter.

“Hmm, you remember that the Gray Reaper is an Object classified as having a special danger level, right?”

“…”

The woman was trembling slightly, extending her hand towards me slowly. Her serious expression looked so intimidating that a wild animal in the same situation would likely flee in fright.

I was irritated by how slowly her hand was coming towards me, and feeling a bit sorry for her trembling with tension, I simply reached out and grabbed her hand.

“Wow!!!”

The woman suddenly let out a loud voice. Surprised, she tried to pull her hand away, but before she knew it, she was tightly gripping mine and not letting go.

“I’ve got your hand!”

“My hand is tiny!”

“And doesn’t it smell nice?”

Before I knew it, the woman was pulling me into her embrace, marveling at me.

Well, it might be a bit noisy, but I could say the firewood adds to the flame, which might as well be considered a meal.

*

My head is throbbing.

Why, you ask? Because the detective’s junior started blabbering nonsense.

“Senpai! Let’s take her to the Detective Agency and hide her a bit! Doesn’t she seem harmless?”

The junior mentioned while shaking the Gray Reaper’s hand.

Seeing his lack of attention to the sinister rumors surrounding the Gray Reaper made me question if this guy really was my junior.

Of course, I too had adjusted my perspective a bit.

Though it appeared extremely dangerous through my monocle, I thought, ‘The Gray Reaper isn’t dangerous after all.’

The flaw of my monocle is that it only shows a mere fraction of the Object’s abilities, so perhaps there’s something among the dreadful powers of the Reaper that neutralizes the fearsome ones.

Ultimately, it turns out my initial assessment was correct.

Most of the incidents regarding the Gray Reaper were just misunderstandings.

“Sure, do whatever you like with the Reaper, junior. But shouldn’t we focus on escaping first?”

“Oh! Right. We should escape first!”

“The first condition to escape is to endure for three days. Fortunately, the situation has improved significantly. Enduring for three days is now much easier than I thought.”

The junior asked with a puzzled expression.

“Why has the situation suddenly improved? Nothing has really changed.”

“Well, it’s because the Gray Reaper is now in our hands.”

“?”

Seeing the junior’s innocent expression, I felt another headache coming.

“Do you know why they don’t release the Hungry Ghost right away in the institute?”

“Yes! It’s because it would be a massive loss for the Central Research Institute if high-level personnel like researchers are sacrificed to the Hungry Ghost, right?”

“Then why are they stalling and not letting the researchers escape? They could just let everyone go and release the Hungry Ghost immediately!”

The junior answered with an unimpressed expression.

“Oh come on. If the Gray Reaper mixes in with the researchers and escapes, it would be a disaster. We’re letting the Hungry Ghost loose because of the Gray Reaper. Don’t you get that?”

I tapped the junior’s head, expressing a face that seemed to call for violence with my cane.

“Exactly! That’s why it’s ironical. If we don’t know where the Gray Reaper is, we can’t let the researchers escape.”

“Huh? But hasn’t the Gray Reaper already passed through the Isolation Room? Why determine that the institute can’t escape?”

“Well, I’m not quite sure why they came to that judgment. Nevertheless, the fact that the Gray Reaper is still here, without escaping, is evidence, isn’t it? No one would want to linger too long in such a dull, foreboding place.”

Given the constantly fidgeting demeanor of the Reaper, it seemed likely he would want to leave if he lost interest. But since he was still here, it made for a quite reasonable assumption that the outer walls of the institute maybe made it impossible to escape, similar to the Isolation Room.

“Oh.”

That reminded me there was a larger problem at hand.

“Excuse me?”

“Now your role has become very important. You can have fun with the Reaper, right?”

There was still the challenge of keeping the Gray Reaper entertained to ensure he wouldn’t escape while I utilized ghosting.

*

It had already been three days since I met the detective duo.

It was a surprisingly enjoyable time, thanks to the diligent efforts of the detective and his assistant, which kept things from getting dull.

If they hadn’t made such efforts, I would’ve probably fled in ghost form after hearing about the Hungry Ghost.

Surprisingly, the stories from the male detective were the most entertaining.

Mixed with embellishments, the tales of his experiences as a detective were quite engaging.

However, there was absolutely no reaction to the spark inside my heart. The male detective likely felt neither affinity nor aversion towards me.

In contrast, the female’s behavior was close to that of doll play, lacking excitement yet possessing excessive friendliness, producing effects opposite to the detective’s.

“It’s almost been three days.”

“Thanks for your hard work during this time.”

Their struggles over the past three days extended beyond just playing with me.

Since the woman was a temporary worker at the research institute, she had to report for duty periodically.

The male detective was busily avoiding regular searches, erasing traces, and ensuring I didn’t appear on the surveillance camera.

It was fortunate that the woman could bring food and water.

Having to steal food and water periodically? That would have multiplied the difficulty several times over.

The woman stood beside the detective, arms full of documents, while the man glanced at his pocket watch, timing their efforts.

The man placed his hand on the woman’s shoulder and twice tapped the floor with his cane.

The man seemed flustered when he tapped the floor again, but nothing happened.

“It’s no good.”

“Then what do we do?”

Whatever was happening, it appeared their plan had failed.

*

Three days have passed. The junior seemed to have enjoyed his time without a care, but it had been quite a challenging schedule for me. Fortunately, the Reaper showed interest in my story.

Now, once we escape, the request would be complete.

Beside me stood the junior, arms full of documents. After placing a hand on his shoulder, I tapped the floor twice with my cane. The destination is the Detective Agency!

“It’s no good.”

“Then what do we do?”

After trying again and again, the teleportation Object didn’t move me to the desired location. I had never heard of Objects breaking down, so was something interfering?

Could it be? I glanced towards the Gray Reaper, who was still puffing his cheeks like a hamster and continuously munching on snacks while observing us.

“The Object is acting up. It’s time for Plan B.”

“Wow! You had a Plan B as well?”

“No. I don’t. I need to create one now.”

Lighting a pipe, I voiced my desperate repetition.

“Watson, have you discovered anything here?”

“Watson, have you discovered anything here?”

“Watson, have you discovered anything here?”

The smoke rising from the pipe turned a hue red like the light from Watson’s gas lamp.

And suddenly, I found myself holding Watson’s gas lamp.

“Ugh, you’re gonna use that? It feels a bit off…”

Ignoring the usual worries of the junior, I queried Watson.

“Watson, someone is blocking my movement. Do you know the reason?”

[Director’s Room]

The smoke wrote out words like blood.

Hmm, is there an Object in the Director’s Room that is hindering movement? It seems I need to go see to get an estimate.

I skillfully extinguished the flame of the gas lamp. I could swear I heard a giggle at that moment.