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The gentle sound of the TV echoed in the Sehee Research Institute Lounge.

[The ‘End of the Stars’ incident that recently occurred in Southern Italy has been attributed to the ‘Gray Reaper’.]

[In response, the Korean Object Association plans to visit the Sehee Research Institute directly to inspect the management of the Gray Reaper and elevate safety management protocols to American standards.]

In a way, it was news closely related to the Sehee Research Institute, but the Helmet Researcher merely let it wash over them.

‘There’s no way the Object Association will conduct a proper investigation.’

The Helmet Researcher was far too familiar with the Association to care about their inquiry.

Instead, the Helmet Researcher was busy playing with the Golden Reaper using a long stick-shaped snack.

“Ah.”

As the Helmet Researcher opened their mouth, the Golden Reaper mimicked the action.

And into that mouth went the stick snack.

Then the Golden Reaper happily munched away at the treat.

‘Looks like the biting strength is stronger than I thought.’

Watching the Golden Reaper eat with great enthusiasm, the Helmet Researcher suddenly felt curious.

“Do it again, say ‘Ah’.”

So, after getting the Golden Reaper to open their mouth again, they offered a finger to be bitten.

“Chomp down. Hard.”

The Golden Reaper tilted their head in confusion but then bit down with an ‘Ahn’.

The round teeth didn’t hurt much, but it seemed like a solid enough bite.

As they raised the finger, the Golden Reaper dangled from it, lifting off the ground.

‘They can lift their own body just with biting strength.’

It looked somewhat like a fish caught on a fishing line, causing a smile to spread across the Helmet Researcher’s face.

Then, when they set the Golden Reaper back down, the Golden Reaper licked the researcher’s fingertip with a worried expression.

‘Aren’t you hurt?’

Much like a human might appear as fragile porcelain, the Golden Reaper looked extremely concerned.

Well, from the perspective of the Golden Reaper, who remained perfectly fine even after being shot with a high-caliber sniper rifle, a human would certainly seem like a delicate glass bottle.

“It’s fine.”

The Helmet Researcher patted the Golden Reaper’s head, reassuring them not to worry.

As they checked the time, a considerable amount had already passed.

‘Lunch hour is coming to an end.’

The Helmet Researcher stowed the Golden Reaper back inside their helmet and looked around.

There were researchers immersed in play with Mini Reapers, completely oblivious to the passage of time.

There were so many people playing that it made one wonder how the Research Institute was even maintained.

What was even more astonishing was that there were far more people playing in the courtyard than in the lounge.

‘Coming to the Sehee Research Institute was truly a stroke of genius.’

Despite doing only a fraction of what the Association did, they received ace treatment at the Sehee Research Institute.

The Helmet Researcher summed up their impression of the Sehee Research Institute succinctly.

‘A research institute that hardly does any work.’

The only ones actually doing their jobs were Deputy Director Park Seoah and Senior Researcher Kim Jungrwi.

Even the most crucial security agents were just snacking and playing with Mini Reapers while the Golden Reaper took care of all the patrolling and security duties.

A couple of isolation rooms even had broken locks as a result.

Had the Golden Reaper not been keeping a watchful eye, an Object would have escaped long ago.

Some researchers were even trying to push their paperwork onto Mini Reapers.

Here and there, one could see the ridiculous sight of them teaching their Attached Reapers Korean and English.

Fortunately, aside from the Blue Reapers, none of them seemed to be learning properly.

The Helmet Researcher smiled at the Golden Reaper in their helmet and exited the lounge.

*

The ‘Super Giant Blue Gray Reaper’, with a gaggle of Mini Reapers clinging to it, was darting around the Mini Reaper Garden.

Due to its size, it moved at a lightning-fast speed.

‘So fast!’

The Mini Reapers reveled in the excitement like children on a amusement ride.

‘I wonder when Mom will get tired of playing and stop!’

Although the Mini Reapers were showering it with affections, they had puzzled looks on their faces as they kept on playing.

They thought of it as a kind and gentle mom, and they were very pleased.

Hehe, it seems like the kind mom week is really taking effect.

If everyone gets too complacent, I might just have to pull off a big prank, and it could go unnoticed.

The target was the massive city the Golden Reapers have been painstakingly building out of snow.

It resembled a sandcastle made from lumps of snow, and I was weighing the potential of smashing it.

Hehe.

As I manipulated the Super Giant Blue Gray Reaper, I gazed down at the ‘Blue Girl’ who lay sprawled out like she was asleep in the original form of the Gray Reaper.

‘Interesting. Why can’t I bring her back?’

In fact, before playing with the kids as a giant, I had experimented with resurrecting the Blue Girl.

I planned to resurrect her and then inquire about all those ambiguous and curious things I had wondered about.

But the outcome was a failure.

No matter how much I used the giant’s abilities, the Blue Girl’s soul was entirely absent.

Is she not an Object?

Yet, seeing the Blue Girl’s corpse clearly indicates that she is an Object.

Is there something I don’t know?

I couldn’t grasp the reason at all.

While I mulled over this, straining my thoughts, the Purple Reaper emerged silently from the shadows.

It looked like a Rusty Purple Reaper, with patches of rust scattered across its body as if it had been badly injured.

‘?”

Was there a Purple Reaper that looked so hurt?

With a very happy expression, that Purple Reaper clung to me.

‘Mom! Thanks for helping!’

The Purple Reaper rubbed its cheek against mine.

It looked so grateful that it didn’t even care about its usual pretentiousness.

It claimed to have led all the Mini Reapers from the garden for the sake of itself and its Attached Human.

Of course, I hadn’t done anything of the sort, but I affectionately patted the Purple Reaper with a nonchalant face.

‘Of course, of course. I’m always thinking of you all.’

Perhaps because the way I spoke seemed too contrived, the Purple Reaper looked a bit suspicious but soon relaxed and clung to me again.

‘By the way, are you uncomfortable? Should I fix you up?’

I asked the Purple Reaper, looking ragged as if it had been attacked by the Blue Giant, but the Purple Reaper slowly shook its head, saying it was fine.

‘Well, if you say it’s fine, then I can’t do anything about it.’

Then, after some time of clinging and expressing gratitude, the Purple Reaper started to make a serious request.

Normally, it would be a request that would make one want to play tricks endlessly, but since it was ‘Kind Mom Week’, I decided to grant it.

I feel like I’ve been too nice lately.

Hehe.

*

Deep within the Mini Reaper Garden, in the middle of the Sea of Hot Chocolate.

The Blue Reapers had gathered in their hideout, striving to create something.

<"Make it shine like a star!">

It was an endeavor to improve the ‘Strongest Mom Golem in the World’.

The moment they saw the enormous, blue-glowing mom, the Blue Reapers were filled with immense joy.

Even the perpetually happy Golden Reaper remarked, “What a jealous little sibling!”

The Blue Reapers were modifying the golem to express that happiness.

As large as a giant mommy!

Shining like a giant mommy!

But with only about ten Blue Reapers, it was impossible to create such a massive mom golem.

Furthermore, it was challenging to exude the mystical blue light like the giant mommy.

Thus, the concerns of the Blue Reapers only continued to deepen.

*

With the ‘Curse of the Stars’ vanished and all ‘Selectors’ instantly dying and disappearing in Southern Italy.

Amid the chaos that inevitably accompanied the reconstruction, regeneration, and change of the devastated South, a man returned to his hometown.

He was a man who had lived deceiving those around him as a ‘Selector’.

Having finished most of what he aimed to do, he was left with just one final task.

‘Have they really gone… I suppose it’s going to be lonely.’

The man couldn’t hide his feelings of solitude as he glanced around his empty hometown.

Suddenly, the small purple friend that had begun to follow him started to vanish, just as it had appeared out of nowhere.

Although they didn’t speak, it was a creature that seemed to shoot its emotions through its eyes, so it was easy to tell.

That Purple Reaper, it was dreaming of the life of a ‘Resolver’ it once walked.

And so, the man vaguely felt that it would come to this.

Having accomplished all the reasons he had held a pistol, he returned to his hometown yesterday to bury the cherished pistol he had used at his sister’s grave.

Perhaps that was why it had departed.

There was no longer a reason for it to follow him now that he had put down the pistol.

It was inevitable.

‘I might not meet you again, but I hope you’ll be well and not get hurt anymore.’

The man silently made a small wish for the health of the small friend that was now rusty and broken.

‘In the midst of endless travel, I hope to meet the Purple Reaper again with a smiling face when I get to Korea.’

The man began to pack his bags to fulfill his sister’s final wish—to travel the world beyond Italy.

Perhaps he would never return to Italy again.

As far as he was concerned, he intended to keep wandering the world like a wildflower until his life ran out.

Traveling with his sister.

The first destination was Paris, France.

Surely, his sister had said she wanted to stand in front of the Eiffel Tower and take a picture.

She had also mentioned wanting to stroll through the streets of Paris, eating croissants.

There were many other places his sister had wished to go as well.

As he gathered the little belongings and stood at the door, the man felt a throb in his chest.

“Then, let’s go.”

As if speaking to his sister, the man murmured softly and opened the door to step outside.

‘……’

But what unfurled before him was not the quiet first step of a lonely journey.

Standing right in front of him was his sister, looking as if she had been resurrected to her former self.

“Oppa, you’ve really aged a lot.”

With tears in her eyes, she spoke to her brother in a forced cheerful tone.

Then she rushed to him, wrapped her arms around him, and began to cry uncontrollably.

The man tightly closed his eyes, remaining silent as he gently stroked his sister’s head.

As if opening his eyes or speaking would cause this miracle to vanish.

He simply held her as is.

And the Rusty Purple Reaper hid in the shadows, bestowing blessings upon the Attached Human’s joyful countenance.