Chapter 445
I escaped using teleportation from the Hungry Ghost Reaper who had no intention of falling.
The destination was already set.
It was my cozy isolation room nestled deep inside Sehee Research Institute.
Feeling it instinctively, it seemed like Yerin was about to start skipping class.
I thought it wouldn’t be bad to spend some time in the isolation room, cuddled up in Yerin’s arms, so I naturally headed there with teleportation.
As the moment of teleportation passed and I opened my eyes, the familiar atmosphere welcomed me.
Soft shadows cast by gentle lighting flowed along the walls and draped over the large TV screen, which was turned off.
But what caught my eye more than the cozy furniture was, as always, the Mini Reapers filling my room.
Sehee Research Institute had many rest areas for Mini Reapers, but no matter how many facilities there were, the number of Mini Reapers in my isolation room never decreased.
Perhaps because the number always seemed to remain the same, I started to wonder if they were buying and selling rights like “Mom’s Isolation Room Day Pass.”
Across from the TV, there was a fluffy, large bed.
At first glance, it seemed empty, but I could feel subtle movements beneath the thick blanket.
When I peeked under the blanket, as expected, it was packed with Mini Reapers.
Packed so tightly there was no place to lie down!
It looked like an egg carton filled with colorful Easter eggs.
“Ah!”
“Mom!”
“Hehe.”
As I lifted the blanket, the Mini Reapers who had been hiding and wriggling under it smiled brightly.
Their laughter seemed filled with the mischievous joy of “Ah, we’ve been caught!”
When I waved my hand, the Mini Reapers moved in a wave, creating a space perfectly sized for my body on the blanket.
The silhouette the Mini Reapers formed was almost an exact replica of my shadow.
How could so many Mini Reapers coordinate so precisely just by eye measurement?
The cooperative skills and agility of the Mini Reapers never ceased to amaze me.
As I settled into that space, the Mini Reapers chuckled and pulled the blanket up over me.
It was truly an automatic bed!
As I lay on the bed and turned on the TV, the news anchor and a panel of experts began discussing on the screen.
[Recently, the missing Golden Reaper has reappeared, and normal activities have resumed. How do you interpret the implications of this missing incident?]
[Yes, this incident clearly illustrates how dependent our society is on the Golden Reaper. Particularly, it has demonstrated the significant impact of the Golden Reaper in terms of emotional stability.]
Listening to the content vaguely, it was a discussion about the return of the Golden Reaper and societal stability.
[What specific changes have occurred?]
[During the week the Golden Reaper was missing, the city’s anxiety index rose by 47% compared to usual. Notably, even though the crime rate didn’t actually increase, citizens’ feelings of anxiety grew considerably.]
I watched the flowing discussion on TV with interest, holding a Golden Reaper in my grip and sending out my will.
‘That’s your story.’
‘?’
But perhaps the Golden Reaper didn’t understand Korean, as it just tilted its head in confusion.
Just as I was about to tease the Golden Reaper that “humans don’t like you guys!” one of them jumped onto the bed and sent out its will to me.
‘Mom! Secrets aren’t secrets!’
‘?’
Then it looked up into the air and started sending its will toward me.
Hearing the strange will that said ‘Secrets aren’t secrets!’, I recalled who the Golden Reaper talking was.
That child was the Golden Reaper who had kept the secret even when I turned it into a thing.
‘They burned everything!’
‘The secret is a harmful object!’
‘A human asked for help!’
‘They went on an adventure with the purple sibling!’
What on earth is going on?
Perhaps the Golden Reaper had so much to say that I couldn’t grasp what was happening from the fragmented short responses.
I had a certain level of confidence in deciphering the Golden Reaper’s language, but this time, I had no confidence at all.
Especially since the Golden Reaper often jumbled the timeline, the lengthy story was quite problematic.
So, I called the frequently mentioned Purple Reaper and asked what had happened.
‘What on earth happened that you kept it a secret from me?’
Then, the Purple Reaper began to explain the incident to me more coherently, starting from how they couldn’t call me due to the contract conditions of ‘Man of the Lamp,’ and proceeded in chronological order.
After hearing the story, I thought it was the kind of story that deserved to be kept a secret.
The power that the Man of the Lamp wields, the ‘contract,’ was a dangerous power indeed.
Moreover, if I had met the Man of the Lamp before my possession abilities were enhanced, could I have used the Blue Girl to destroy them?
The probability of a stagnant battle continuing was likely high.
Once the story wrapped up, I patted the Purple Reaper who explained and praised it.
‘Good job. You’re really smart.’
At that, the Golden Reaper next to me looked up at me with a sulky expression.
*
[The jade plate…]
A faint magic from the Lead Doll.
The Saintess Doll, upon hearing that, looked down at the jade plate and, after a moment’s hesitation, handed it over to the Lead Doll.
The jade plate was a valuable item for the Saintess Doll, but she thought the chances of something going wrong were slim.
According to a book the Saintess Doll had written about the holy relics she had seen in the cult, the jade plate was physically very difficult to break, and even if it shattered, it quickly regenerated.
Furthermore, while the Lead Doll gave off a divine aura and resembled a deity, the amount of firewood it contained was rather meager.
[….]
With that, the Lead Doll, holding the jade plate, stared blankly at it.
Motionless, it continued to gaze.
It looked as if it were reading the characters inscribed on the jade plate.
[!]
Then, after some time passed, the Lead Doll began to bite the jade plate with an unusually angry expression.
It bit ferociously as if to crush the jade plate with its teeth.
The sight was akin to that of a brutal beast.
However, the soft teeth of the Lead Doll, as soft as that of the Gray Reaper, couldn’t leave a mark on the jade plate.
[Ah!]
The Saintess Doll was startled to see that and quickly removed the jade plate from the Lead Doll’s grasp.
After pulling the jade plate away from the Lead Doll, she examined its mouth, checking its teeth while scolding it.
[Ah, see? Your teeth are a bit damaged.]
Then, she blew golden firewood into the Lead Doll’s mouth, healing its slightly damaged teeth.
[….]
Perhaps realizing that its own teeth were ineffective, the Lead Doll appeared a bit subdued.
It had the air of ‘How can my teeth not work?’
Of course, the Lead Doll rarely changed its expression, nor did it send out much magic, so detecting its feelings was not easy.
But strangely enough, the Saintess Doll could distinctly feel the Lead Doll’s mood.
The Gray Reaper, who had a slightly more varied range of expressions, was harder for her to perceive.
As I was checking whether the Lead Doll had any injuries, Mini Reapers suddenly swarmed over and began poking at the Saintess Doll.
‘Come on!’
‘Gift!’
The Saintess Doll had the Lead Doll sit on the Large White Hungry Ghost and followed the Mini Reapers.
Carrying a light question of ‘What on earth could it be?’
[!!!]
Following the Mini Reapers, I spotted a large portion of a building halfway up Candy Mountain.
No way!
The Saintess Doll, seeing the familiar-shaped building, rushed toward it eagerly.
Having climbed up the steep slope, which would leave a human breathless, stood a building with a shape that seemed so familiar.
[Aaah….]
It was a building filled with memories of the Saintess Doll and the cult members.
However, by the time the Saintess Doll was born, the cult’s building had already become ruins.
The building appeared to be made of candy, but it was crafted so delicately that I could hardly feel any difference even when I touched it.
Seeing the awestruck Saintess Doll, the Mini Reapers grinned with expressions that conveyed their sense of accomplishment.
And hesitantly pushing the cookie door open, the exact same scene from her memory welcomed the Saintess Doll.
Of course, there were no cult members resurrected inside the building.
That was something even the ‘Gray Reaper,’ the master of the Mini Reapers, couldn’t accomplish.
However, inside the building, Mini Reapers wrapped in black cloth were playing around instead of the cult members.
‘Hello!’
‘Hello!’
Whenever those Mini Reapers made eye contact with the Saintess Doll, they beamed and waved cheerfully.
[Really. This is such a wonderful gift.]
The Saintess Doll gazed at the inside of the cult, pouring out those feelings.
[Thank you.]
*
Deep inside Sehee Research Institute.
In that deep place, a human was trapped.
“Unnie Seoah! Please let me out quickly!”
“Shut up, Object! Where on earth is the real Yerin?”
She was Oh Yerin, dressed in a white researcher’s gown.