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Tap. Tap.

A Color Hungry Ghost, about the size of a basketball, was pulling a large cart with regular footstep sounds.

The Color Hungry Ghost and the cart were slowly approaching me.

As I watched the old, creaky cart that rattled as it moved closer, I felt a strange unease despite it not being anything special.

It felt like that cart might carry me away somewhere.

When I turned my head to look beside me, there was a White Hungry Ghost with an expressionless face.

“Kyu!”

It seemed that the long-lost friend was actually happy to see me.

After all, it wouldn’t be possible for a Color Hungry Ghost or a White Hungry Ghost to haul me off and dump me somewhere with their abilities, so I figured it was just my overthinking.

But feeling slightly uncomfortable, I squatted down and reached out to gently pat the back of the Hungry Ghost.

Surely, a good Hungry Ghost wouldn’t take me to the Seoul Forest and abandon me in a cart, right?

However, when I smiled kindly and stroked its back, the Hungry Ghost tensed up with a very startled expression.

It then began to glance at me out of the corner of its eye, starting to gauge my intentions.

That expression seemed to say, ‘What kind of crazy thing is this maniac about to do?’

It was such an unpleasant look that I couldn’t help but dig into its back with the hand I was patting it with and take a bite.

“Kyu-hing-hing.”

I was trying to soothe the White Hungry Ghost, but I ended up taking a bite again.

Of course, the Hungry Ghost always had a similar look, but these days I had begun to read its expressions more easily.

Having bullied the Hungry Ghost frequently, I had somehow reached the level of being able to decode its expressions!

Even though I still couldn’t distinguish between individual Golden and Black Reapers, being able to differentiate the White Hungry Ghost’s expressions first…

I felt a bit like a failed mother, but there was no helping it.

How could I tell apart twins when their personalities or actions were slightly different?

It was strange that Yerin, who could distinguish millions of twins, was considered ‘normal.’

As I continued to bite at the White Hungry Ghost, a Color Hungry Ghost finally reached my side.

Then, from the cart’s loading area, the Alchemist’s Younger Sister dashed out with a panicked expression.

“My sister is acting weird! Help me!”

She started pouring out various stories towards me, who was in the setup of not understanding anything, saying that her sister had suddenly lost consciousness.

Thus began the Younger Sister’s story about the Alchemist’s strange behavior when they went to the Seoul Forest.

*

Once, surrounded by brains-eating zombies, the Younger Sister and the Alchemist were wandering around again searching for materials for the “Soporific.”

“The Golden Reaper has gone off somewhere.”

Unfortunately, they had separated from the Golden Reaper who had defeated the zombies.

The Golden Reaper, who had suddenly appeared from the forest and quickly hacked all the zombies to pieces, had vanished somewhere chasing the fleeing Orange Reaper.

Clearly, when the Golden Reaper had first appeared, it had shown a gentle expression towards the Orange Reaper.

But seeing the Orange Reaper gradually slip away, it made a realization, and then with a greatly angered expression, it began to chase after the Orange Reaper.

Thus, the Younger Sister and her group, having parted ways with the Mini Reapers, were striving to achieve their purpose of coming to Seoul Forest.

“I can’t find any materials. This is a pretty common sample, yet I can’t find it anywhere.”

But even after searching for quite a while, the herb collection wasn’t going smoothly at all.

“What kind of herb is it that there’s none at all?”

“It’s called ‘Danjeolchao.’ It has quite a unique appearance.”

Curious, I asked, and her sister showed me what the needed herb looked like, with an expression that didn’t seem too hopeful.

It was a herb with distinctive colors and shapes, which looked easy to find.

And as I slowly looked around, there was an enormous amount of ‘Danjeolchao’ sprouting all over the place.

‘…?’

Could it be that these are similar to ‘Danjeolchao?’

Of course, it must be so.

With this many around, there’s no way her sister could have missed them.

To learn the difference between the similar plants and ‘Danjeolchao,’ I plucked a few of the discovered plants and showed them to her sister.

“Sis! Is this ‘Danjeolchao?'”

However, her sister’s response as she examined the plucked plants was contrary to my expectations.

“Yes, you’ve found what I missed! Where did you find these?”

“?”

Something felt off.

“Sis, this ‘Danjeolchao’ is everywhere around here. It’s like there’s not a single spot without it.”

Strange.

With this many, could she possibly be joking?

But when she heard my words, her sister clamped her mouth shut with a serious expression and began to think deeply.

After a considerable amount of time, her sister raised her head and smiled faintly as she said,

“I’ll need to do something else from now on. Could you gather a basket full of ‘Danjeolchao’ for me?”

“Okay, got it.”

Even though that smile felt a bit unsettling, I nodded and started collecting the abundant ‘Danjeolchao’ around.

Her sister appeared to open the notebook she usually used, but she merely opened it and wasn’t doing anything.

She was muttering in such a quiet voice that it was nearly inaudible.

“This is bad. The distortion of perception is already occurring. Is it distorting the perception so that the ‘Danjeolchao’ won’t be seen, making it impossible to create the Soporific? Soon, I won’t be able to recognize ‘Danjeolchao’ itself…”

I couldn’t fully comprehend, but it seemed like an extremely serious situation.

Limit of mental strength, objectification side effects, tolerance towards the Soporific, and even suicide.

From just hearing them briefly, they sounded like critical issues.

So, I started to hurry and gather ‘Danjeolchao.’

Something was definitely wrong.

“I’ve gathered everything.”

“Thanks.”

Her sister didn’t even look at the basket and smiled gently.

I wanted to ask what was wrong, but that smile looked so strained that I couldn’t.

Could it be that my worried expression showed on my face?

“Then let’s go back now.”

She smiled lightly and patted my head, but strangely, it didn’t feel okay.

Even after returning with a ton of ‘Danjeolchao,’ her sister’s strange behavior didn’t cease.

She could no longer see the ‘Danjeolchao’ she had classified herself.

In front of her, on the table, it was piled high!

“Slowly put them in the ball…”

With an expression as if afraid to open her eyes, she squeezed them shut and started explaining how to make the ‘Soporific.’

Normally she would never let me touch the alchemical tools, claiming they were dangerous, yet now she was telling me how to make the medicine and asking me to make it.

Once I finished creating a mountain of the medicine, her sister, looking lighthearted, said,

“Thank you. And when I take this medicine, go to the Gray Reaper. To the Gray Reaper who destroys hostile objects.”

Then, her sister swallowed down a mountain of the Soporific that she used to take one pill a week and handed me a book with a very sleepy expression.

“Haha. This was meant to be a birthday gift, but I guess I’m giving it to you early.”

“It’s an alchemical textbook meant for you. It’s still incomplete, but study alchemy a bit with this book. There will definitely be a moment when you need it.”

Her expression as she passed the alchemy book she made for her Younger Sister radiated a vibe similar to an old man giving a farewell.

Once she had said everything she wanted to say, her sister collapsed into a deep sleep.

*

The Younger Sister’s story ended just like that.

After hearing it and looking carefully, I noticed that the Alchemist, once a harmless object, was gradually beginning to emit a harmful aura.

By the way, why was she explaining that to me?

My act of pretending not to understand her words must have been seamless; still, it seemed like more people were becoming convinced that I could understand lately.

But did they really think I could solve things?

It seemed from what the Alchemist said that she was expecting me to kill her…

A Gray Reaper that destroys hostile objects.

An Alchemist that has turned into a hostile object.

What would happen if those two met?

A torn-apart Alchemist!

I had been hesitating, thinking it was too much to kill the Alchemist in front of the Younger Sister, and then I realized I had felt that vicious aura from somewhere before.

It was the energy from the Color Universe, where the Red Monster had vanished.

Could it be that she transformed into a harmful object due to the influence of this energy?

As this thought bubbled up, I moved the Alchemist and her group entirely inside the Mini Reaper Garden.

I remembered that the Red Monster hadn’t even recognized the garden and couldn’t enter easily.

*

Although I impulsively put the Alchemist and her crew inside the Mini Reaper Garden, the Alchemist was still out cold.

It was clear that it was related to the Color Universe, yet there were no changes.

The Golden Reapers, who were close to her Younger Sister, were simply rushing toward her with bright faces.

Her Younger Sister declined the Golden Reapers’ requests to play, saying she didn’t feel like it at the moment.

However, whether it was due to the Golden Reaper’s mental pollution or the desire to be comforted, she ultimately allowed them to cling to her.

The Golden Reapers, with slightly gloomy expressions, sat on her shoulders and gently patted her cheeks.

And her Younger Sister, trying hard to keep up some hope, looked to the side.

The Golden Reapers that clung to her cheeks were lightly nibbling at them as if they were playing mummies.

As the Golden Reapers started biting down, her Younger Sister let out a small giggle, feeling tickled somehow.

Indeed, it feels oddly ticklish because when the Golden Reapers bit her, something soft stuck to her.

Considering how I ignored the Golden Reapers and the TV, I knew this feeling well—they’d attach and start nibbling at me.

I had to stop watching the TV for a moment to play with them; it felt that ticklish.

As she played with the Golden Reapers, her Younger Sister and the Golden Reapers soon began to stare at me intently.

It all started with her Younger Sister.

With an expectation that I might be able to fix the Alchemist.

Then, the Golden Reapers began to fix their gaze on me as well, sending me their encouragement.

“Mom, you can do it!”

Hmm.

No matter how much they cheered me on, the only solution appeared to be killing the Alchemist and turning her into a snack-human.

Moreover, it’s not guaranteed that she would completely revive in the garden, so there was actual risk of her really dying.

Thud. Thud.

As I was pondering like this, there was a huge booming sound, and something began to approach.

A giant jelly pig, looking like it could be three stories tall, was moving along while carrying a house on its back.

It was something I had never seen before, even as someone who often played in the Mini Reaper Garden.

When the jelly pig came to a stop in front of us and bent its knees, a set of steps descended from a structure on its back.

And from those steps, two Butler Hungry Ghosts dressed neatly appeared, carrying a stretcher meant for transporting patients.

‘?’

Ignoring my confusion about the situation, the Butler Hungry Ghosts began to move the unconscious Alchemist onto the stretcher.

‘???’

What on earth is going on?