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The late afternoon sunshine cast shadows on the narrow staircase.

James stepped out of the Yellow Detective Office and pulled the business card he had just received from his pocket.

On the faded paper was simply engraved the words “Yellow Detective.”

He stared at the card for a moment before carefully placing it inside his wallet.

He paused for a moment and looked back with a hint of regret, noticing the nameplate hanging on the worn exterior of the building.

It read “[Yellow Detective Office],” and while it didn’t seem that old, it was rusted and faded as if it had weathered decades.

James knew the reason for that.

Due to the curse of the lamp, the owner of the name “Yellow Detective” had changed countless times, so it probably hadn’t been well maintained.

This was the information he had discovered while investigating the James Tower incident.

It amazed him that such an overtly suspicious object was operating in society unnoticed…

Indeed, humanity’s system had many shortcomings in dealing with the threats of objects.

Of course, it might have also been because Korea was particularly inadequate in this regard.

“Boss, are you really going back like this?”

His secretary asked with a puzzled tone.

As he descended the narrow staircase, James let out a light sigh.

“I have no choice. They said they wouldn’t take on anything big for the time being.”

His plan to recruit a clairvoyant detective had failed spectacularly.

Surprisingly, the Yellow Detective had declined the offer without a moment’s hesitation.

However, rather than disappointment, there was a strange sense of anticipation in James’s expression.

“After all, they’re a clairvoyant. I’m sure they’ll contact us when they need something.”

A hint of doubt flickered across the secretary’s face.

It seemed she didn’t think they had that level of foresight.

“We’ll see in time.”

James commented casually, noticing her expression.

According to the institute’s analysis, it concluded that the Yellow Detective’s abilities were only fairly exceptional, excluding the object equipment they possessed, but James predicted it was more than that.

How could someone who managed to escape the curse of the lamp be ordinary?

As he stepped outside, the dazzling sunlight shone on James’s face.

Perhaps due to the warm light, the Golden Reaper dozing above his head awoke.

“Sun!”

With the revitalized Golden Reaper appearing as if it had found water, James instinctively smiled.

As he gently petted the reinvigorated Golden Reaper, the last words of the detective echoed in his mind.

“Hmm, ‘I’ve done all I need to do, so now it’s time for a break…'”

Those words had a strange resonance, feeling like they were more than a simple rejection.

When James turned back one last time to glance at the building where the office was, he saw the detective and his juniors making a ruckus for some reason beyond the second-floor window.

“Senior, the Lamp Reaper said they can grant wishes!”

“Absolutely not.”

Through the slightly opened window, faint voices could be heard.

A junior, filled with excitement, was running away with the lamp, while the detective chased after them.

And there were two other juniors standing by the window, smiling at the scene.

James watched the commotion and got into his car.

With the soft sound of the engine, the car slowly began to exit the building’s parking lot.

‘That dangerous adventure of theirs is probably over now.’

As he glanced back at the office dwindling in the distance, James had that thought.

*

On a late evening when I would usually spend time watching TV in the isolation room.

I was holding Yerin’s hand, heading towards her apartment.

Yerin had said she was throwing a party to celebrate something good happening in her life.

A particularly good thing?

It was likely a party to commemorate something unimportant, but having nothing else to do, I willingly followed along.

It was probably a trivial event, like the 100th photoshoot with the Baby Golden Reaper we had last time.

When we arrived at Yerin’s apartment, the party preparations were in full swing.

Golden Reapers were hanging balloons from the ceiling, while Black Reapers were moving snacks onto the table.

As soon as Yerin got home, she began causing a ruckus, putting a graduation cap on the Saintess Doll and presenting it with a bouquet.

I wondered what she intended to do with those irrelevant items like a graduation cap and a bouquet…

It was for the Saintess Doll, of course.

A graduation cap…

It was a type of hat I had never worn.

To be honest, I didn’t really want to try it now.

“Let’s give a big applause for our Saintess Doll who has learned all the knowledge needed at Sehee Research Institute!”

Clap clap clap.

With Yerin’s bright voice, the sound of applause filled the room.

Then the Lead Doll, which often appeared at Yerin’s apartment, started clapping as well.

Though it looked more like it was slowly bringing its hands together rather than clapping, the smile on its face showed it was genuinely congratulating.

‘Wonderful!’
‘Smart!’

The Mini Reapers residing at Yerin’s apartment were also bouncing up and down, expressing their enthusiasm.

Although admiration and joyful emotions were scattered into the air, it seemed the Mini Reapers didn’t fully understand what was going on.

[Thank you…?]
The Saintess Doll expressed gratitude with a confused look on its face.

In fact, if we renamed today’s party, it would be “Yerin’s Attempt at Skipping Class Made Possible,” so it was understandable that the Saintess Doll reacted like that.

By the way, that was impressively fast.

To have memorized all those books already.

Was the Saintess Doll particularly smart, or did the original Yerin possess that kind of transcendent intelligence?

From what I’m hearing from the Sehee Research Institute folks, it seems Yerin was quite the genius, so it must have been Yerin’s smartness.

But as I looked at Yerin’s bright expression as she wrapped her arms around me from behind, she certainly didn’t seem very intelligent.

And when Yerin pulled out the camera, a flurry of photos began.

Click! the Saintess Doll wore a graduation cap and held a bouquet.
Click! A picture of Yerin, me, and the Mini Reapers together, all smiling.

The shutter didn’t stop clicking.

The Mini Reapers loved taking pictures.

“Ah!”
“We look the same! Hehe.”

Well, when the Mini Reapers appeared in TV commercials, everyone would watch with excited eyes, so it was only natural.

The Mini Reapers posed in various ways and took pictures with various objects.

They particularly wanted to take pictures with me.

Even though I was too lazy to do anything, they all swarmed onto my stomach, looking cheerful as they snapped photos.

They looked like children out on a picnic, filled with joy.

Once the initial chaos subsided, Yerin, with a smile on her face, said, “We can stay together from now on!”

Uh…

I liked being with Yerin, but staying together all day was a bit bothersome.

However, seeing Yerin looking happy, I didn’t resist and stayed quiet.

‘Well, if I want to be alone, I can just teleport away.’

Thinking that, I snuggled into Yerin’s embrace and ate the cake she was feeding me.

Omnomnom.

As the party’s atmosphere reached a peak, I noticed a long line.

A procession made solely of Golden Reapers.

They were all Golden Reapers, and most of them were cradling tiny white Hungry Ghosts, making for a truly unusual sight.

‘The white Hungry Ghosts are all painted gold.’

Since they were painted gold, the Golden Reapers weren’t tearing them apart to eat.

Instead, they looked like they were cherishing them like attached dolls.

I stared curiously at what that was, when Yerin picked me up and walked toward the end of the Golden Reaper line.

At the end, there was a mini bathing facility exclusively for Golden Reapers.

There were many plastic cups that looked like they belonged in a washstand, and within them, a Golden Reaper was enjoying a bubble bath.

Compared to the luxurious facilities at Sehee Research Institute, it was modest, but the expressions of the Golden Reapers looked utterly happy.

When I met the eyes of the tiny cup filled with bubbling soap, the Golden Reaper smiled brightly.

“Mom!”

It was a happy Golden Reaper holding a white Hungry Ghost in its arms.

*

A gigantic mansion managed by colorful Hungry Ghosts.

It had been quite some time since the Golden Reaper had been living with the Attached Human in the mysterious garden.

Initially, there had been a bit of awkwardness, but thanks to the Golden Reaper’s inherent friendliness, they had completely grown accustomed to spending time together.

It seemed like peaceful days would continue for the Golden Reaper and its Attached Human.

However, strange things had started happening little by little inside the mansion.

Hungry Ghosts that had stopped acting like broken toys.
An unkempt garden.
Suddenly wilting garden trees.

Various oddities occurred, but the Purple Girl seemed to not care much.

When the Golden Reaper pointed out the still white Hungry Ghost, it just shrugged it off casually.

“Sometimes they stop; isn’t that the way it is?”

So she dismissed it lightly.

Then one night.

Even though it was late, the Golden Reaper couldn’t oddly fall asleep as it heard a strange sound in its ear.

It sounded like a human grinding their teeth severely.

So, the Golden Reaper looked toward the only human in the mansion, the Purple Girl, but she was just asleep peacefully, her face calm.

‘….’
Listening closely, the sound was coming from outside the room.

‘What should I do?’

But the Purple Girl had once urged the Golden Reaper not to go outside at night.

“Never go outside the room at night.”

The Golden Reaper felt that the sound of grinding teeth was indeed ominous, yet it couldn’t break the human’s request.

It didn’t sound harmful enough to warrant that yet.