Near Seoul, Golden Horn Isolation Zone.

In a zone where people with Golden Horns on their heads and their families were gathered to live, an argument was taking place.

"Come on, stop being so stubborn. Now's the best time to sell it. I know a dealer who offers a fair price and is very trustworthy."

"I absolutely won't sell it! Who in their right mind would sell their horn?"

A man with a pleading expression followed a girl with a Golden Horn as she walked briskly ahead, ignoring his words. He opened his mouth again.

"But it disappears naturally once you turn 30 anyway. If you cut it off and sell it now, you make some money. It’s a win-win, don’t you think?"

"No way! An older friend of mine sold hers, got depressed, and ended up committing suicide. Don’t tell me you were the one who introduced her to that dealer!"

The man exaggeratedly denied it, his expression showing surprise.

"Absolutely not! I know all about depression care. I have a horn too, don’t I?"

"Oh! If it’s so great, then why don’t you sell yours first? Your horn!"

The girl with the Golden Horn spun around and shouted. The man had been following her around for a full 30 minutes, so it was understandable that she was irritated.

"Oh, this? I can't sell it. It's my business tool. If I cut off my horn, I can't come in here anymore. Then what would I do for a living? You said you're planning to move out soon, right? It would be nice to have some extra cash. And it's dangerous to go outside with the horn still on your head. There are so many people out there who might target you."

"Anyway, I'm absolutely not selling it!"

As the girl with the Golden Horn slammed the door shut upon arriving home, the man's noisy voice finally faded away.

The girl knew that not everything the man said was wrong.

It was true that crimes involving horn theft had been increasing rapidly recently.

But still, she had to go out.

She had to find her only sister, who had disappeared.

The detective agency was bathed in pleasant sunlight, and I was enjoying it from a rocking chair.

<The damage amount in this incident is expected to set a new record for the highest Object-related damage...>

The TV was noisily broadcasting that the financial damages from the "Iron Tower Pulsation" incident were reaching an all-time high.

And for good reason—around Seoul Forest, there had been numerous research institutions related to the area, but they had all been reduced to dust in an instant.

Many other buildings had also vanished into thin air.

Of course, the construction industry was booming with all the new work.

"Senior! Come to think of it, isn’t our country the first?"

"The first?"

The junior, who had been slumped over the desk, suddenly lifted his head and spoke.

"The first country to reclaim land taken by an Object! Even the US hasn’t reclaimed any, right?"

"Well, I think there have been a few cases in the US and China, but this might be the first time reclaiming such a vast area taken by an Object as powerful as the Ice Throne."

The junior's eyes sparkled.

"Who were the people who reclaimed Dobong-gu? They risked their lives to infiltrate and succeeded in the mission! This will definitely be made into a movie, right? It has to be!"

"I heard there’s already talk about it, but who knows when it’ll actually come out. In this day and age, it's rare to find such heroic tales, so it looks like the government will support it."

"Of course they will!"

The junior laughed foolishly.

"Oh, by the way, I heard you failed a case?"

At the mention of the case, the junior, who had been full of life, wilted again like a withered cabbage on the desk.

"No, it's not that I failed... someone solved it before I did. Honestly! Isn’t it a scam if the place that commissioned the case ends up solving it themselves?"

The junior flailed about on the desk in frustration.

Well, no matter how unfair it seemed, the contract had clearly mentioned that, so there was nothing he could do.

"I should get going."

I stood up, put on my coat, and straightened my appearance in the mirror.

"Where to all of a sudden? We don’t have any cases, do we?"

"I have a feeling that an important case is calling me."

"What?"

Leaving my bewildered junior behind, I headed out.

Yawn.

For some reason, I felt bored and yawned.

Even though I was completely free from physical fatigue, I yawned.

Maybe this was just an old human habit.

The TV was showing a debate over something trivial.

It was the same discussion that had come up when the Iron Tower first appeared and when the Ice Throne in Dobong-gu first emerged.

<It’s time to move the capital! There are many places with much better locations!>

<Do you really think it would be safer somewhere else? Just recently in Daejeon, there was an Object that turned people into food!>

They were talking about leaving Seoul and settling elsewhere.

For nearly 10 years, this same conversation had come up every year, yet surveys always showed that most people preferred to stay in Seoul.

Of course, if you survey people living in Seoul, it’s only natural that the majority would want to stay.

From the perspective of someone who had moved around a lot during their human life, there was one thing that always seemed odd.

People always thought their current location was relatively safe.

Seoul residents believed Seoul was the safest place, while Busan residents thought Busan was safest.

Given that the news constantly reported heinous Object incidents, it was understandable that people felt danger everywhere.

But since they were living in their current location, they probably felt it was bearable.

Tired of the parrot-like repetition on the TV, I turned it off.

Destroying the Golden Hearts must have given me some strange new ability.

It was a power that allowed me to temporarily create something by consuming the inner flame.

The duration seemed to be about a day?

When I tested it, I created a golden doll that looked exactly like me.

Whoa.

This was amazing.

The doll was incredibly detailed, replicating even the texture, and since it didn’t use much fuel, I made a bunch.

When my bed was almost covered in golden dolls, I realized I had a very annoying problem.

The golden dolls started moving on their own.

I couldn’t control them.

The dolls swarmed me as if they were starved for attention.

They clung to me so tightly that I couldn’t even watch TV, so I escaped to the top of the wardrobe.

The ghost cat that had already fled was next to me.

Meow.

With an annoyed meow, it scolded me, asking why I had made such things.

The troublesome dolls had taken over my isolation room.

I felt bad about destroying them.

After all, they were my creations. It wouldn’t be right to make them and then destroy them just because I didn’t need them anymore.

That’s when I noticed Yerin watching from outside the isolation room.

Heh, a great idea popped into my head.

Yes, I’ll just give them all to Yerin.

I sneaked out after hearing that the Reaper had returned, only to be met with a shocking scene.

"The Reaper is everywhere!"

Mini golden Reapers were running around the isolation room in droves.

They jumped up and down, trying to reach the Reaper on top of the wardrobe.

They were smaller than the original Reaper, making them twice as cute!

Mesmerized, I opened the door and entered the isolation room.

The mini Reapers, who had been hopping toward the top of the wardrobe, all turned to look at me.

Receiving the gaze of so many all at once felt different.

Seeing them like this, there were an incredible number of golden Reapers.

One of the golden Reapers that hadn’t yet approached picked it up.

It fit in the palm of my hand.

Wow, it’s so soft.

So cute.

Though initially tense, the golden Reaper relaxed as it realized I wasn’t going to hurt it, climbing up my arm and snuggling against my cheek.

That started a chain reaction, and soon all the golden Reapers in the isolation room swarmed toward me.

Hehe, I’m so happy.

As soon as I left the isolation room, I took a half-day off and left the research institute.

Of course, it was to secretly move the golden Reapers to my house.

Smuggling out Objects? As long as I don’t get caught, it’s fine!

When I released the golden Reapers from the bag into my house, they hopped around and spread out in all directions.

Some climbed up my body and clung to me.

Ah, this must be heaven.

The golden Reapers’ taste in food was similar to the original Reaper’s.

They liked sweet things like cookies.

But unlike the original, they had no interest in TV.

The original Reaper strangely liked to have the news on all the time; I wonder what the difference is?

The golden Reapers were ten times more like cats than the original, leaving nothing untouched in my house, but they were so cute it didn’t matter.

They knocked things over, ran away when I tried to catch them...

Playing with the Reapers, the day passed in an instant.

By late night, the golden Reapers, now sleepy, climbed up my body and started dozing off.

Just like the original, they liked to snuggle when they were sleepy.

As I lay down on the bed, the warmth of the Reapers made it incredibly cozy.

For some reason, my vision was shaky and I felt drowsy.

I was hugging a bunch of golden Reapers tightly in my arms.

‘Yes! This is it!’

Ah, I’m so happy. Days spent with the mini Reapers.

Ah, so happy.

This is happiness.

But the Reapers began to leave my arms one by one, saying their goodbyes.

"No, no! Wait!"

But despite my desperate cries, the Reapers shook their heads with a sorrowful expression.

"Please, don’t leave me. I’m begging you!"

But the Reapers all left, and tears streamed down my face.

Suddenly, I felt a chill and woke up on the bed.

Just like in the dream, I had been crying.

And just like in the dream, the Reapers were nowhere to be found.