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The candy mountain, sharp as a needle and so high that its peak is hardly visible.

There was a Golden Reaper slowly climbing that candy mountain.

All the other Golden Reapers who had been climbing the mountain had vanished, leaving only one Golden Reaper just a step away from the summit.

In front of the Golden Reaper heading for the top stood a large candy rock, split open to reveal its sweet insides.

‘Looks delicious.’

It was a candy rock made of layers of candy in various colors, resembling a well-polished stone.

And at the center of the rock, a beautifully crystallized lemon-colored candy sparkled like a gem.

With an appearance that made it seem irresistible, the Golden Reaper slightly parted their lips and stared blankly, but soon shook their head vigorously to chase away the distracting thoughts.

Gulp.

The Golden Reaper swallowed their accumulating saliva and hurried on their way.

A candy mountain that no Golden Reaper had conquered.

Behind it were candy rocks that looked delicious.

Many Golden Reapers had tried to break through the unexplored territory of the Golden Reaper but were swept away by the allure of candy and gave up their ascent.

And while munching on the delicious candy rocks, they would naturally turn their steps back to the research institute.

The taste of the delicious candy invoked a desire to share it with an Attached Human or perhaps Mother.

The Golden Reaper strengthened their resolve, recalling the story relayed by their Orange Younger Sibling.

‘Beyond the mountain, there’s the most delicious pudding in the Mini Reaper Garden!’

The Orange Younger Sibling often told lies, much like a mother, but they believed that beyond the mountain, there would surely be a magnificent landscape and sweets, and slowly walked on.

The moment the Golden Reaper reached the summit of the mountain, they instinctively struck a victory pose.

A spectacular scenery was reflected in the eyes of the Golden Reaper, divided into white and black.

On one side lay a white snowfield extending to the horizon beyond the mountain.

On the opposite side, an endless sea of hot chocolate surrounded the Mini Reaper Garden.

And the mystical boundary where the cold, pure white snowfield met the warm, dark sea of hot chocolate.

A chilly wind from the snowfield carried with it a slightly different scent than what had been felt in the garden until now.

Cold, sweet, and milk-like fragrance.

The Golden Reaper, with an exceptionally happy expression, began jumping down the mountain, but ended up tumbling head over heels.

Roll, roll, thud.

The Golden Reaper couldn’t stop rolling and soon plopped down into the white snowfield.

Nom nom.

Buried in the snow, the Golden Reaper started munching on the snow that entered their mouth and suddenly opened wide in astonishment.

‘Delicious!’

The Golden Reaper smiled broadly at the thought of sharing this news with the other Golden Reapers.

*

I was hiding inside a hamster vending machine, watching Mini Reapers wandering around the snowfield.

The once-empty snowfield now had quite a few Mini Reapers visible.

Among the Mini Reapers, the most striking feature was the large statue made of snow.

It depicted the Orange Reaper, pointing beyond the mountain, and the Golden Reaper, struggling to climb the mountain.

‘Isn’t there the most delicious pudding beyond the mountain?’

To me, who knew that beyond the mountain, there was just a sea of hot chocolate before going to Russia, it was quite a funny statement.

It seemed that the Orange Reaper, who could probably fly, had made up a lie to tease the Golden Reaper, and somehow it turned into a semi-truth.

Perhaps that’s why, even now, some Golden Reapers were scouring the snowfield, searching for the ‘phantasmagoric pudding.’

During this, I spotted a Golden Reaper with antennae sticking out in front of the vending machine.

In the arms of that Golden Reaper was a piece of sugar-coated fruit with a bite taken out.

Whenever a Golden Reaper first tasted the fruit from this vending machine, they always exhibited a similar reaction.

The Golden Reaper’s eyes widened in pure delight, and their antennae shot up into the sky.

Well, hamster-style sugar fruit is indeed tasty.

As I glanced away, I spotted a hamster shedding tears as it was having its fruit snatched away.

Watching the suffering hamster with satisfaction, a small golden face popped out from the corner of the vending machine.

It was a curious Golden Reaper using ghosting to sneak a peek inside.

The Golden Reaper’s face, puffy from the sugary fruit, reflected a mix of curiosity and appetite.

‘!’

As the Golden Reaper secretly peeked inside the vending machine, it stumbled upon the hamster, which had been hidden away.

Startled by the interior view, the Golden Reaper closed its eyes tightly, rubbing its hands together as if it couldn’t believe what it was seeing.

But what they saw remained unchanged.

Why are they acting like that?

But upon considering it from the Golden Reaper’s perspective, it made sense.

A hamster, tied up and endlessly crying, with no legs.

A sugar flamingo sharping its beak at the hamster, demanding it to produce sugar fruit.

And me, grinning like a wicked boss while watching it all.

Truly, it was the scene of adorable hamster exploitation!

Perhaps this is why the furious Golden Reaper charged at me.

The Golden Reaper, approaching me, placed their hands on their hips and began looking up at me with an extremely angry demeanor.

For some reason, that pose was so cute that I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

And as I just kept smiling at the Golden Reaper, they pressed against my face and started throwing punches.

Thump, thump.

I laughed cheerfully and gently cupped the Golden Reaper in both hands.

Then, bringing the Golden Reaper close to my mouth, I conveyed a small intention as if whispering in their ear.

‘Yerin’s neck injury. That hamster did it.’

At that, the Golden Reaper looked shocked again, alternating their gaze between me and the hamster.

‘Really?’

‘Yep.’

The Golden Reaper asked again as if they couldn’t believe it.

Now that I think about it, after playing with two candies, it seemed that Golden Reapers have been asking again more often.

Is there some sort of rule?

Surely, they wouldn’t have a credit rating system or something?

A kind Golden Reaper wouldn’t do something so scary, right?

Hmm hmm.

While I nodded and organized my thoughts, the Golden Reaper vanished somewhere and reappeared holding a sharp toothpick.

‘?’

Then, standing next to the hamster, they started poking it with the toothpick, insisting that it should quickly make fruit.

And occasionally, when hungry, they would sneak out a piece of fruit from the vending machine to munch on.

Thus, the number of vending machine staff had increased by one.

*

Quite some time has passed since the Siberian Incident was resolved.

The Sehee Research Institute Director, Yerin Oh, and even the Gray Reaper were experiencing a peaceful time without any strange antics.

Seoah was setting up multiple cameras and filming something within that tranquil daily life.

The ordinary camcorder screen displayed a Golden Reaper playing joyfully.

Sitting on the table in the Deputy Director’s Office, it looked like they were engaging in a game of clapping hands like children.

But something felt odd.

As if there was something on the opposite side, they were playing while touching the air.

When I turned my gaze to another camera, the scene was reflecting quite differently.

The image of the Golden Reaper and a Sprout Reaper clapping hands and playing together was clearly visible.

‘So Sprout Reaper is a spirit after all.’

Seoah recorded various phenomena as she observed that scene.

It seemed that the Sprout Reaper would often stick out its tiny tongue to tease.

Seeing that cute display, Seoah couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

There were many other remarkable things she had captured besides the Sprout Reaper.

The phenomenon of Golden Reapers disappearing suddenly, or returning to the Mini Reaper Garden—those were the cases too.

In contrast to other cameras, Mini Reapers could feel when they were being filmed by the spirit camera.

When she snuck up to shoot them, they would instantly sense it and turn to look.

Seoah was carefully documenting each different reaction exhibited by each Mini Reaper.

The Sprout Reaper primarily stuck its tongue out, while the Golden Reaper would jump straight at the camera the moment it was shot.

Each Mini Reaper demonstrated a variety of reactions.

‘Lucky that James lent me the spirit camera.’

Finally using a spirit camera that was impossible to obtain domestically, Seoah smiled with satisfaction.

Of course, the recorded material could not be officially published.

Since it was borrowed unofficially, it would be wiser to keep it under wraps.

In that Deputy Director’s Office, the TV quietly buzzed in the background.

[So, does this mean there haven’t been any objects appearing in Southern Italy for 20 years?]
[That’s correct. Ever since the blessing of the stars was bestowed upon Southern Italy, it has continued that way.]
[Wow, that’s impressive.]

It was a story about Southern Italy, from which people had started to shy away for already 20 years.

‘Italy, huh…’

With the rumor of objects rejecting other objects, it had become a region where countless researchers flocked.

And it was a place where no one had ever returned.

*

In the courtyard of the Sehee Research Institute, at the Cloud Fish stop.

Many Mini Reapers had gathered there, waving their hands towards the black cloud fish.

‘Awesome little sibling!’
‘Have a good trip!’

The black cloud fish had arrived at the Sehee Research Institute quite some time ago but still hadn’t found an Attached Human, intended for the Purple Reapers.

On top of the cloud fish, a Purple Reaper was perched.

Looking down at the Mini Reapers, the Purple Reaper nodded and then swished their cloak and turned around.

And the black cloud fish slowly started to ascend into the sky.

The destination? The whole world!

An adventure began to find an Attached Human suitable for the Purple Reaper.