---

In the conference room located within the Sehee Research Institute, a meeting was underway.

There were three individuals present in the room: Lee Sehee, Park Seoah, and Kim Jungrwi.

The three of them had taken their seats.

On the whiteboard in the conference room, it read: [Sehee Research Institute Gray Reaper Emergency Strategy Meeting.]

“Let’s get the meeting started,” Kim Jungrwi announced in a deep voice.

“This meeting aims to bridge the perspective gap between Deputy Director and Director regarding the frequent contact between the Gray Reaper and humans.”

As the meeting commenced, Sehee quickly began to speak.

“The changes shown in the photos are obvious. It’s hard to dismiss them as trivial, especially considering it’s about the Gray Reaper.”

Sehee spoke with a confident expression.

On the table she tapped lightly, several photos were laid out.

Written in small letters on the photos were ‘Yerin on.’ and ‘Yerin off.’

All the photos depicted the Gray Reaper in the isolation room, but there were subtle differences.

The ‘Yerin off.’ photo looked a bit darker.

The light of the Gray Reaper appeared slightly weaker, and their expression looked a bit gloomy.

In contrast, the ‘Yerin on.’ photo looked a little brighter.

The light of the Gray Reaper seemed more distinct, and their expression was slightly brighter.

After viewing the photos, Seoah nodded slightly before speaking up.

“I understand that this is the result of isolating Researcher Yerin from the Gray Reaper. But I still feel uneasy. Is it not overly dangerous for a Class S Hazard Object to have frequent contact with specific individuals?”

Seoah voiced her opinion in a calm tone.

“Moreover, it seems likely to end as a temporary phenomenon. There’s a possibility that it could spontaneously develop an interest in something else and regain brightness.”

Sehee refuted her statement.

“That ‘interest in something else’ might not be so favorable from the Institute’s perspective?”

A series of photos laid out.

A photo of the Reaper standing in the middle of a fire-ravaged isolation room.

A photo of the Reaper looking down at an object with broken limbs.

A photo depicting a hole shaped like the Reaper, resembling an Egyptian mural, in the isolation room wall.

These were records of various incidents caused by the Reaper.

“It’s said that the Reaper without Yerin is ferocious. It’s not a conscious action but feels like it unconsciously causes major accidents while craving human attention. Interestingly, when there are lots of people, it may look annoyed but actually becomes quite docile. Of course, when Yerin is around, it just handles things alone! Cost-effective.”

Having finished speaking, Sehee resumed laying out the photos.

A photo of the Reaper interfering with the Blue Lizard playing piano by grabbing one of its legs.

A photo of the Reaper excitedly observing a skull spider with its cheek pressed against the glass of the isolation room.

A joyful photo of the Reaper riding a tricycle.

“These are recent photos. It’s already wandering into different isolation rooms. Well, since the Reaper doesn’t attack humans or anything, it’s okay to observe the situation a bit longer.”

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“I apologize for interrupting the meeting.”

The gathering of worries deep in Seoah’s mind was suddenly interrupted by a knock.

“Director! You need to come out. The Gray Reaper has gone missing due to the ‘Theme Park Invitation Doll.'”

*

In the isolation room where researchers were recording the reactions of the ‘Theme Park Invitation Doll.’

Inside that isolation room, the doll almost handed me an invitation.

As the ‘Theme Park Invitation Doll’ politely offered the invitation and then looked at my face, it smoothly retracted the invitation as if nothing happened.

Then it turned around and approached other researchers as if nothing had occurred, attempting to give them the invitation.

As if it had never offered it at all.

When I stood in front of the doll, it seemed to act as if I were invisible and turned its body away.

Spin.

When I turned, the doll spun too.

Spin.

When I turned, the doll spun again.

It seemed it had no intention of correctly handing over the invitation, so I decided to steal it through a surprise tactic rather than a straightforward approach.

I concealed myself using ghosting and quietly awaited my chance.

The moment the ‘Theme Park Invitation Doll’ handed an invitation to another researcher inside the isolation room, I materialized and grabbed the invitation.

Got it!

“Huh?”

However, the doll clutched the invitation tightly and refused to let go.

A situation where the doll and I were both pulling on the invitation.

I pulled with all my might, but the invitation didn’t budge an inch.

Conversely, the doll also tried to shake me off, but with its small doll body, it would struggle.

The tug-of-war that seemed like it would continue abruptly came to an end.

The grotesque stitching that had been sealing the doll’s mouth ripped apart, completely altering the situation.

“Ugggghhhh!”

The doll began to scream a sound that was unbearable to hear.

At that moment, its muscles swelled uncontrollably, ripping its clothing apart.

A muscled doll with a round face and half-naked upper body—such a thing should not exist.

As the muscled doll pulled the invitation, it could no longer stand on its two feet.

It was merely being tossed around like a reed in a whirlwind.

Eventually, it lost grip of the invitation and tumbled across the isolation room.

‘!’

Fired up, I checked the death condition for the doll.

[Collect 10 Theme Park Stamps.]

Good! Thankfully, it had an annoying condition.

It wouldn’t be right to kill it just because it didn’t give me the invitation, so I should solve it without killing.

With a condition so indirect and cumbersome, it wouldn’t be easy for it to die.

I confidently walked up to the doll and cut off its shoulders.

“Ahhhhhh!”

The doll writhed on the floor in pain at having its arms severed.

Hmph, you should’ve given it to me sooner.

I picked up the envelope that read, [Welcome to Smile Theme Park!] lying on the floor.

Tearing open the envelope and pulling out its contents revealed a simple postcard.

On the back of the postcard was a map detailing how to get to the theme park.

The so-called map looked too vague to be considered an actual map.

It resembled a roughly drawn worm picture more than anything.

The instructions were even more ridiculous.

[Transportation: None.]
[Address: None.]
[Walking: Not possible.]

The front side had an introduction to the theme park written on it.

[Congratulations!]
[You are invited to Smile Theme Park!]
[This invitation is non-transferable, and you must read it to the end.]
[There are a total of 9 types of amusement rides available.]
[Does it seem like too few rides? Don’t worry. There are more than enough.]
[So few people have enjoyed all 9 types!]
[Enjoy the best entertainment of your life at Smile Theme Park!]

As I finished reading the entire introduction, a force suddenly emanated from the postcard.

I accepted that power without resistance.

Suddenly, the sounds began to fade away.

The doll’s wailing grew distant.

The surroundings started to darken.

The moment everything turned completely black,

I found myself in an unfamiliar place.

*

In a detective office bathed in the morning sun, I sat in a rocking chair soaking up the rays.

What I thought was a simple missing person search turned out to be a major case related to a ‘Maker’ as I dug deeper.

I had no ties to the request, so I just went out, but the human trafficking and brutal experiments happening at the Bucheon Research Institute seemed serious.

Moreover, the connection to the recent expo terror incident had surfaced, and the police were slated to storm the Bucheon Research Institute.

Currently, a black guy remained at the Bucheon Research Institute for investigation, and it was going to be a massive hassle.

Sharing investigation results with the police, clarifying the details surrounding the research institute—just thinking about it was dreadful.

No, with the lady around, maybe it would surprisingly be resolved simply?

While pondering about the Bucheon Research Institute, a knock echoed through the room.

Knock, knock.

“Senpai! I’m here!”

Entering through the door was Junior No. 1.

Seeing that there’s a high chance that a Junior No. 2 will appear, I decided to stick with calling the long-timer Junior No. 1.

“Hey, how’s Hyejin?”

“Not so good. But she should perk up soon, right? She is a Golden Horn after all?”

“Well, I don’t know. Mentality varies significantly.”

After the request was completed, Hyejin mentioned she would pay me with her horn if she didn’t have money for the fees.

Of course, I flatly refused.

Illegal and all.

And on top of that, she would 100% die if she had her horn removed after being shocked by her sister’s death.

So I earnestly warned that if she ever brought money without the horn, I would absolutely refuse to take it.

That said, I had no intention of pressuring a girl who had no way of earning money.

It hasn’t been long since she came out of the isolation zone, so finding a job would be tough.

Plus, many were aiming for the Golden Horn, so it’s a more perilous world for people with one, so I decided to extend her a bit of help.

“I’ll reach out once you’re back on your feet! If you can’t find a job, I can take you on as Junior No. 2.” I said, so she would definitely contact me if she had any plans.

Thus, the potential Junior No. 2, Hyejin, was born.

Every request I had a hunch about always turned out to be highly rewarding, so I expected nothing less this time.

This request wasn’t about making a fortune, so it would probably mean that she would help me tremendously later on.

“Hmph, hum.”

Junior No. 1 hummed a song while polishing two hammers until they shone.

“…? What are you doing right now?”

“Oh, since there’s a Junior No. 2, I should use two hammers!”

“Ah….”

Feeling a headache coming on, I rubbed my temples in lament.

In truth, I had hired Junior No. 1 based on a hunch, but at this moment, I was beginning to doubt my instincts.