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A tired high school student hurried along the school route, greeted by the chilly air.

Having had a restless night plagued by strange nightmares, the student felt the fatigue settling in and zipped up his uniform collar against the penetrating cold as he rushed towards school.

In the midst of his hurried journey, he noticed a crowd of people gathered in the middle of the road, buzzing with whispers.

The gathering point was dangerously close to an unnecessarily steep staircase that the student had to pass by on his way to school.

Given the frequent accidents on the treacherous steps, it was likely that someone had slipped while hurrying down again.

“They say there’s been another serial murder case.”

“Really?”

But as the weary student edged closer to the scene, the murmurs of the other students flipped his expectations upside down.

There were a lot of police officers and people everywhere.

Barrier tape was erected in a way that completely blocked the path.

Contrary to his earlier assumptions, this seemed to be a more serious incident.

It was probably related to the ‘serial murder’ cases that had been a hot topic in the news and gossip lately.

A murder case targeting individuals wandering alone in Mapo District after 6 PM.

With already over ten victims reported and new ones appearing daily, the entire Mapo District was gripped by fear.

Even the academies, schools, and convenience stores closed their doors before 6 PM, which meant that even the tired student, who usually wouldn’t care much about such incidents, was aware of it all.

While there was a fearful atmosphere at school, the tired student thought of it as just a passing incident.

With such focused attention and investigative efforts, he figured it was only a matter of time before the murderer was caught; he was just puzzled as to why that hadn’t happened yet.

“Yawn.”

The tired student stifled a yawn as he joined the line forming behind the other students.

As much as he didn’t want to deal with this annoying waiting, there was no other option.

If he didn’t go through these stairs to get to school, he would have to take a long detour.

The staircase one must pass to get to school.

The sidewalk narrowed because of the barrier tape.

For these two reasons, the students had no choice but to line up around the area where the murder occurred.

As he got closer to the stairs, a fuzzy memory from his nightmares started to resurface.

The yellow full moon shining down over the stairs.

Puddles filled with blood.

And the stairs running slick with a flow of blood.

It seemed like in that moment, he had been looking up at the moon, laughing.

As he blankly stared at the barrier tape marking the scene, it felt as if puddles of blood were bubbling up on the empty asphalt.

In the blood puddle floated the decapitated head of a man.

The smell of blood hit him so strongly that he could hardly breathe, and the student closed his eyes and shook his head.

“I’m just tired from lack of sleep.”

When he opened his eyes again, the blood puddle was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a strange person in a large helmet standing in front of him, speaking.

“Student, are you feeling unwell?”

Looking down, he noticed a name tag.

[Researcher from Object Association.]

What seemed like a strange person turned out to be a perfectly ordinary employee.

But why were they wearing a helmet?

Well, it seems the Object Association ended up showing up after all.

Considering how elusive this criminal had been, it made sense that it could be an object.

“No, I’m fine. I’m just feeling dizzy from lack of sleep.”

“Really?”

The researcher sounded a bit doubtful, but they let the student go and walked away with a light step.

As he passed the murder scene and climbed all the way up the stairs, he felt a refreshing sensation.

The expansive view and the release felt as the gathered students dispersed onto the wide road.

In the midst of that, a very unfamiliar fragrance began to drift in from somewhere.

It was a delicious scent he had never encountered nearby before.

Turning to find the source of the aroma, it seemed like a small golden something was gazing intently at him from the corner of the alley adjacent to the murder scene.

*

Tap tap tap.

Finally making his way behind Yerin, he arrived at a basement area that had transformed into something exceptionally splendid compared to its construction phase.

Unlike before, the entrance to the basement was equipped with a high-tech security system.

And on either side of that entrance, ornate golden reaper reliefs adorned the wall.

It depicted the Golden Reaper stretching out its arms in a welcoming gesture, wearing a bright smile.

A fitting sculpture for the entrance!

Seeing the relief, the Golden Reaper excitedly dashed towards it.

Looking back at Yerin and me, with the same welcoming pose and cheerful expression, it mirrored the large relief perfectly.

Upon reaching the entrance’s security door, mini handprints were stamped all over it.

From my hand-sized palm to mini reaper handprints.

When I turned to look at Yerin with a puzzled expression, she pretended to press her palm against the wall and said,

“Press your palm against the palm-shaped depressions!”

Upon hearing that, I placed my palm on the slot adjusted to my height, and with a cheerful mechanical sound, the security door began to open.

It operated similarly to a fingerprint scanner.

“This is a rest facility made for the reapers, so the entrance was designed for easy access!”

I realized Yerin had been taking palm prints of mine on paper and clay for some reason lately.

It seems I had completely underestimated her ingenuity.

I had no idea a door like this was in the works from her fascination with molding my palm prints every day.

Well, technically speaking, it wouldn’t have mattered if there was no entrance since ghosting in and out would suffice, but pressing my palm to enter felt rather novel.

As I passed through the security door, I stepped into a lounge-like room.

The lounge was stocked with an array of snacks and beverages.

There were also small chairs and mini snacks designed with the mini reapers in mind.

Thinking they might enjoy it, I turned around to see the mini reapers glued to the security door, having a blast.

They gleefully pressed against the mini palm-shaped depressions, eagerly waiting for the automatic door to open.

It looked like it would take a long time for every mini reaper to get their turn with the door!

I gathered the mini reapers who seemed less interested in the security door and those who already enjoyed pressing palms, and we moved beyond the lounge.

Beyond the lounge was a beautifully decorated corridor.

Soft white light illuminated the corridor, flanked by golden statues resembling me and the mini reapers.

The mini reapers seemed fascinated by the golden statues shaped like them, their eyes sparkling as they pressed their faces against the glass walls surrounding the statues.

There was even a gold statue made to my height, which reminded me of the doll I had forgotten about.

The dolls that looked just like me, which I found at the workshop of the Blue Girl.

There were so many of those dolls, and I thought, “I should give some to Sehee, Yerin, and Seoah!” but I totally forgot about them.

Compared to those dolls, the golden statue certainly looked a bit clumsy.

After all, the dolls from the Blue Girl’s workshop were indistinguishable even when lying next to each other.

As I walked out, admiring the gold statues, I found myself in a spacious bathing area as the corridor came to an end.

A massive fountain made a refreshing sound, and the large hot tub felt like a swimming pool.

And there was a gigantic golden statue that caught the eye instantly.

No matter how many times I looked, I couldn’t help but be amazed by its size.

While I looked up at the statue, the sound of tiny feet splashing on the wet floor rang through the air.

“Big Mama Golden Statue!”

The Golden Reapers, who strangely loved the golden statue, rushed over, jumping with joy.

As I looked around the bath filled with a beautiful mosaic ceiling casting vibrant colors, the mini reapers had already entered a small tub scaled to their size, splashing away.

The most unexpected of them was the Orange Reaper.

I thought they would dislike water due to their fluffy hair, but unexpectedly, they were the first to plunge into the water and enjoy the tub.

With their white hair flowing freely as they splashed about in the water, mini reapers played among the strands.

And watching them with a smile was the White Hungry Ghost.

Now that I think about it, since the Hungry Ghost Reaper had been around lately, I hadn’t eaten the White Hungry Ghost, so their expression seemed quite cheerful.

Somehow, I felt a little mischief growing in my heart.

There must be tons of opportunities for playful antics in the bath, right?

Hehe.

*

As the school time passed, the number of people visibly dwindled at the now quiet murder scene.

At the scene, police officers and researchers from the association were examining it.

“Seriously, the ghosts are surely making a fuss about this.”

The police wore puzzled expressions at a scene lacking any trace of evidence.

Even after several incidents, they still couldn’t find a single clue.

Even if they arrested suspicious individuals based on CCTV and circumstances, murder cases would still unfold the very next day.

It was truly a case with no resolution.

Moreover, this time, the victim was a police officer.

Even as they emphasized to work in pairs, murder still occurred when one was alone.

Though the police officer who had been paired up claimed they had always been together, checking the CCTV and other evidence revealed that claim lacked credibility.

Amidst such a scene, a researcher dispatched from the association was walking around with a Mental Pollution Measurement Device in hand, examining the area.

“Hey there, is there anything you’ve found?”

“Yes, I’m tentatively planning to report this case to the association as a ‘murder case caused by an object.'”

As the researcher looked up to respond, the device in their hand indicated a “danger” level.