Chapter 379
At noon, bathed in warm sunlight, Yerin was strolling through the Gray Reaper Theme Park with Unnie Sehee and Unnie Seoah.
Tupang tupang.
Next to Yerin walked a Gray Reaper with a grumpy expression, also going tupang tupang.
‘This theme park turned out better than I expected…’
Her eyes sparkled at the completed scenery, which was quite different from what she had seen during the construction.
Water droplets splashed up from the fountain, shimmering in the sunlight, and beneath her feet lay a soft, fluffy walkway.
Mini Reaper statues placed all around welcomed visitors in cute poses as if they were alive.
Turning her gaze far away, a gigantic Gray Reaper statue stood tall, serving as the park’s landmark.
Just then, Yerin turned her head at a sudden scream resembling a cheer.
“Faster!”
“Aaaah!”
As a roller coaster with seats specially for Mini Reapers zipped by, the cheers of the passengers began to fade.
That roller coaster with Mini Reaper seats probably only exists here.
A smile spread across Yerin’s face.
For her, who had been coming in and out of this place since it was under construction, the completed look felt somewhat satisfying.
“First, let’s eat before we have fun!” Unnie Sehee shouted, and Yerin and her group headed toward the dining area of the Gray Reaper Theme Park.
On the way to the dining area, Yerin felt the surrounding gazes.
Where once there were eyes mixed with fear and curiosity, now they were filled with friendliness and interest.
Click click.
The sound of cameras clicking echoed from a distance.
“Look, the Reaper is now a total celebrity!”
Yerin chuckled as she lightly stroked the ponytail of the Gray Reaper.
‘….’
Whether it was because the Gray Reaper was an object or just indifferent to others, it didn’t react at all to the gazes around, just slowly licking an ice cream.
Yerin, slightly bothered by the shutter noises she had heard so far, pulled out her phone to check the internet.
As expected, the Gray Reaper’s pictures were plastered all over various internet communities and news articles.
When she read comments expressing envy towards the Gray Reaper’s attached human, she involuntarily tensed her shoulders, and when she read comments saying the Reaper looked cute instead of scary, she nodded in agreement.
‘Of course, the Reaper is cute!’
But soon after, she frowned at the following comments.
– Seeing it in person feels weirdly pressuring, so it’s hard to approach.
– Even if I want to go close and take a picture, my feet won’t move.
– Nobody actually approaches. It really feels like a fierce beast, like a tiger, when you see it up close.
There were many such comments.
Hmph.
Yerin looked around.
Only then did she realize.
Strangely enough, there were suspiciously few people around Yerin and her group.
“Hmph. The Reaper is cute…”
Yerin mumbled quietly.
*
I was sitting in the dining area of the Gray Reaper Theme Park with Sehee and Seoah, along with Yerin.
Yerin’s unlimited pass was tied to my hair like a headband, and it was quite bothersome.
‘This headband is so annoying.’
I grumbled and tapped on the unlimited pass.
It wasn’t too bothersome, but the more I cared about it, the more annoying it felt.
It felt like a small dot I had drawn with a marker on my glasses when I was human.
Turning my gaze, I saw Yerin smiling brightly at me.
Feeling the positive emotion rushing in with that smile, my heart softened instantly.
‘Well, if Yerin likes it that much, this should be okay…’
Looking around, the dining area was filled with Mini Reapers everywhere.
On one table, a Golden Reaper was munching on pudding with its attached human.
A Wild Golden Reaper roamed around the restaurant, eyeing delicious snacks.
And I could also see a Black Reaper, whose hand had turned into a knife, meticulously dismantling a well-cooked pork rib to feed its attached human.
At that moment, what caught my eye was a small Golden Reaper tilting its head in front of a bubble tea.
It was quite adorable, confused about how to drink from a straw that was much larger than its mouth.
The Golden Reaper kept attempting to shove its mouth into the oversized straw or peering into it with its eyes.
“Ah, you shouldn’t do that!”
Finally, as the Golden Reaper tried to shove its head into the straw, its attached human was startled and lifted it up.
Seeing that, curiosity suddenly bubbled up in me.
‘I wonder what would happen if I forcibly shove a Golden Reaper’s head into the straw?’
Unable to contain my curiosity, I caught a nearby Wild Golden Reaper and tried to push its head into the straw.
“Uwaaah! Mommy is bothering me!”
Unfortunately, the Wild Golden Reaper’s head was too big to fit into the bubble tea straw.
And when I released the Wild Golden Reaper after my experiment, it promptly became furious and started stomping on my head.
Om nom nom.
As I slowly ate the pudding Yerin was feeding me, I tore off a piece of the cookie on the table to feed the angry Golden Reaper.
‘There, there. Mommy is sorry.’
At that, the Golden Reaper quickly relaxed and broke into a goofy grin.
Click click.
While enjoying the meal with Yerin and the others, I lifted my head at the sound of camera shutters ringing out simultaneously.
‘?’
The surrounding humans were all looking in one direction.
“I’ve seen them before on the news.”
“It’s the Golden Reaper Knights!”
Among the chatter of the crowd, I saw Golden Reapers riding on white hungry ghosts, holding spears, rushing off somewhere.
‘I wonder if something’s happening…?’
As I held onto that light question, I turned my head and popped a peanut cookie into my mouth.
*
In the late afternoon, the Ashen Girl was relishing the theme park with the Yellow Reaper.
She exited a large tent labeled “White Hungry Ghost Circus,” her eyes sparkling.
Kyu huhu.
From the tent, the cry of the white hungry ghost soaring through fiery hoops was heard.
“That was fun!”
The girl’s voice was filled with excitement and joy.
The Yellow Reaper quietly smiled at the Ashen Girl’s enthusiasm.
‘….’
They strolled slowly through the theme park, enjoying various rides and attractions.
The Ashen Girl made an effort to ride every ride that small children could enjoy.
If a ‘Mini Reaper Photo Zone’ appeared where she could naturally take pictures with Mini Reapers, she would take a photo with the Yellow Reaper too.
As they walked around the theme park, the Ashen Girl began to feel hungry.
“There’s a place selling fish-shaped bread over there!”
The spot she pointed to had a small food truck.
But there was something curious about it.
Cooking inside the truck was not a human, but a Black Reaper.
The Black Reaper skillfully moved over the hot steel mold and expertly poured in the batter.
The girl watched in awe as she received a piece of fish-shaped bread from a Mini Reaper stamping her unlimited pass.
“Wow, Reapers actually do this kind of work here.”
While eating the fish-shaped bread, the girl suddenly fell into thought.
“I wonder if Mini Reapers might become store clerks outside in the future.”
Hearing those words, the Yellow Reaper nodded slightly.
“I hope that day comes soon.”
The idea made the Ashen Girl giggle, thinking it would feel like living in a fairy tale.
After taking a break, the Ashen Girl stood in front of a large theme park map.
Her eyes sparkled as she pointed to a spot.
“Next, let’s go there!”
The place she pointed to was the “Object Viewing Gallery.”
*
Later in the afternoon, the Ashen Girl arrived at the viewing gallery where various objects were on display.
She was looking up at transparent, gigantic jellies with sparkling eyes.
[Colorful Slime Cluster.]
[Risk Level: Level 2.]
[It is confirmed to be able to change color based on the object it touches.]
[It displays different characteristics for each color.]
[If multiple colors are acquired, it can cause a powerful explosion, so caution is advised.]
[It will be destroyed if the core inside is broken.]
[It should be contained in a transparent material.]
Seemingly enchanted by the jelly’s transparent body, the Ashen Girl couldn’t take her eyes off the slime.
Although it looked somewhat dangerous for an exhibition, she thought the adults had prepared well for it and moved on.
“?”
Just as she was about to move on to another exhibit, a faint sound of cracking reached the Ashen Girl’s ears.
Clang!
At the same time, a huge explosion sound shattered the transparent isolation wall installed in the gallery.
And one by one, the objects began to escape through the broken isolation wall.
Many visitors were frozen in shock, while some quickly dashed out of the gallery.
The Ashen Girl was one of those frozen in place.
‘Oh… what should I do?’
She gazed up at the colorful slime wriggling and changing colors, paralyzed.
At that moment, it felt like the slime was about to charge at the Ashen Girl.
The Yellow Reaper, as if reassuring her, gently patted the Ashen Girl’s cheek and extended a finger.
When the Ashen Girl shifted her gaze to check, a golden something was swimming around near the core of the slime.
A Golden Reaper was happily swimming near the core of the slime.
‘Bad Object?’
‘Bad Object…?’
As the Golden Reaper began to swim closer to the core, the jelly quickly shriveled up.
Even the other objects that had exited the isolation room, moving threateningly, shrank obediently.
[In a moment, the Gray Reaper Theme Park Parade will start.]
At that moment, the announcement of the parade starting was broadcast through the speakers.
At the same time, a Golden Reaper wearing a theme park employee hat appeared, radiating enthusiasm.
“Party!”
“Party!!”
As it raised both hands and beamed with happiness, the Mini Reapers in the gallery began to chuckle and radiate excitement as well.
The Golden Reapers poked the frozen objects, conveying their enthusiasm.
“Let’s play together!”
“Let’s go!”
Thus began the procession of Mini Reapers & objects.
People watched in awe as it unfolded.
“Could it be that the glass breaking was part of the performance?”
It was a moment of sunlight resembling the sun and the late afternoon sunset, alongside the object parade.
*
As the sun set and the colorful moon rose, a chaotic parade parade of objects, humans, and Mini Reapers marched through the theme park.
At a glance, there were enormous tigers capable of swallowing humans easily, as well as colorful jellies that looked harmful.
“!!!!”
Seoah was startled to see dangerous objects mixed into the procession and called the theme park security room, but it seemed no one was picking up.
Sehee and Yerin, aware of what those objects were, were still watching the parade with smiles.
“I didn’t notice it when it was clear, but those jellies are super pretty, right, Sehee Unnie?”
“Yeah, should we get one or two of those for our research institute? There seem to be plenty…”
Yerin pointed at the jellies heavily swarming around the Golden Reapers, chatting away with Sehee.
But from my perspective, those jellies looked like pitiful objects being threatened by the Golden Reapers.
If they could make sounds like a hungry ghost, they would probably cry out “Kyu huhu!”
A rare Yellow Reaper was also spotted near the parade.
It was sitting on the shoulder of an attached human who was watching the parade, gazing up at the human’s face intently.
Surrounding Yerin were employees from the Sehee Research Institute gathering to watch the parade.
Starting with a researcher wearing a Golden Reaper on a helmet, everyone was there.
While everyone had dispersed and played around the theme park, now they were gathered in one spot, happily chatting about the day’s events.
I gazed at the fireworks adorning the sky.
What a delightful, chaotic conclusion to the theme park that harmonizes so well with the Sehee Research Institute.
*
On the top floor of James Tower in the outskirts of Songpa District.
There, James let out a deep sigh as he looked out the window at the fireworks of the “Gray Reaper Theme Park.”
On his desk lay a report about the rapid temperature drop near the Arctic.
“What a headache.”
James rubbed his temples and muttered.
It had barely been a while since humanity had just overcome the crisis of survival caused by the Pacific situation, yet a new threat was looming again.
‘….’
Noticing a serious expression on the face of the attached human, James’s Golden Reaper also rubbed its temples, wearing a serious look.
Seeing that, James let out a small laugh and affectionately ruffled the Golden Reaper’s hair.
At that, the Golden Reaper beamed with joy, exclaiming, “The human smiled!” and giggled.
James turned his attention back to the report.
A rapid temperature drop near the Arctic.
This was undoubtedly linked to the objects.
Fortunately, most countries had given up on the Arctic regions due to the “Snowfield Moon.”
But there was a different issue.
“Frost…”
James frowned as he spoke that name.
Frost was the independent city built on a heap of rocks in the polar regions after the object incident.
It was one of the few places where the “Snowfield Moon” had not appeared.
A place that did not belong to any nation, with minimal contact with the outside world, living by extracting oil independently.
While a considerable number of people lived there, it was so closed off that even James’s research institute found it hard to approach.
“Trying to make them give up their city would be pointless…”
Contrary to the vibrant festival outside the window, James’s worries deepened.