Late at Night, Sehee Research Institute Security Room

The security room at Sehee Research Institute was unusually bustling late at night. Normally, this would be the time when only a few tired employees remained, struggling to stay awake. But now, the room was filled with alert and wide-eyed staff. Of course, it wasn't due to any intense work happening at the Sehee Research Institute.

The employees, some with popcorn in hand, were intently focused on the CCTV screens, watching as a Golden Reaper hopped around carrying a pudding. They were enjoying the scene as if they were watching an entertaining TV show, their expressions akin to those who watch cute cat or dog videos online.

"The Golden Reaper is so cute. I wish I could take one home," one of the staff members mused.

"Me too," another agreed.

On the dark corridor, with even the lights turned off, the Golden Reaper was thudding along quietly. It was trying its best to sneak around, but it was impossible for a glowing Golden Reaper to hide in the dead of night.

The soft glow emitted by the Golden Reaper illuminated the pitch-black corridor, casting gentle ripples of light. What had seemed like a smooth and enjoyable journey for the Golden Reaper suddenly hit a large obstacle.

The path was blocked!

A large steel wall blocked the Golden Reaper’s way, causing it to stop in its tracks. The Reaper, who had been confidently thudding along, now paused and began looking around in confusion.

"Looks like it didn’t know that the barriers go down after midnight in certain areas."

"Well, the Golden Reaper usually falls asleep early in the evening, so it probably didn’t know."

The Golden Reaper wandered around the closed door, seemingly searching for a gap to slip through. But there was no such gap in the standard Object barrier.

If it had been the Gray Reaper, it would have torn through the barrier effortlessly, pudding in hand, and continued on its way. But the Golden Reaper seemed to have no intention of doing such a thing.

"Should we open it for it?"

"Hey, if you get caught doing that, you won’t just get a pay cut."

"But it looks so pitiful."

The Golden Reaper continued to loiter around the barrier, not knowing any other way. It knocked on the steel door, tried climbing up the barrier, but to no avail.

After all its attempts failed, the Golden Reaper hugged the pudding and plopped down on the floor with a sad expression. The high-resolution CCTV, installed by Assistant Director Seo-ah, captured the Golden Reaper’s sad face in detail.

"I don’t care, I’m opening it!" One of the security staff, unable to bear the sight of the sad Golden Reaper any longer, impulsively raised the barrier.

Rumble.

With a loud sound, the barrier slowly began to lift.

***

The Golden Reaper was worried as it looked at the pudding.

Pudding...

It’s best eaten quickly.

But the path to its beloved human was blocked by a large steel wall.

A wall that could easily be broken through.

But breaking human things would make humans sad, so the Golden Reaper could only sit down and wait.

But then, a miracle happened.

Rumble.

With a loud noise, the steel wall began to slowly rise.

The Golden Reaper quickly wiped away its sad expression and dashed toward the rising wall.

Now, it was really just a little further to its beloved human!

***

Sehee Research Institute Director’s Office

Most people had already left for the day, but I was still in the director’s office, buried in books like I was back in school.

Ugh, this is killing me.

This isn’t the kind of exam you can pass with just three months of studying.

People in the industry say it’s easier than it seems, but why is it so hard?

Wasn’t I supposed to be in the industry?

As I mentally cursed the 'Daily Object' law that led to this situation, I turned another page.

Suddenly, there was a soft "thud, thud" at the office door. It was a cute sound, completely different from Seo-ah’s usual intimidating knock.

When I opened the door slightly, I saw a Golden Reaper holding out a pudding as if it were offering a pizza.

I placed the Golden Reaper on my palm and accepted the pudding.

Ah, this is the pudding everyone’s been raving about.

I had been meaning to try it, but I’ve been too busy to even think about it.

"Did you bring this pudding for me? Thanks."

I brought the Golden Reaper closer to my face and gently petted it, but it looked up at me with a somewhat gloomy expression and started to pat the dark circles under my eyes.

Ah, could it be the dark circles?

Is it worried because I look tired?

"Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine. I’ll just eat this pudding and rest today."

I opened the pudding, scooped a small bite with a spoon, and offered it to the Golden Reaper.

Then I took a bite myself.

I’d been exhausted from studying for so long, but seeing the Golden Reaper’s happy smile gave me a boost of energy.

A sudden surge of baseless confidence made me feel like I could actually pass the certification exam.

Oh well.

I’ll eat the pudding and sleep tonight. Then, I’ll get back to studying hard tomorrow!

***

I lay down on the factory floor, looking up at the puddings floating lazily in the sky.

"Oh no, what are we going to do?" Yerin was anxiously pacing back and forth, worried about the bubbles of pudding spreading far and wide.

Is this really something to worry about?

It just means everyone in the country can have free pudding.

But today was so exhausting.

I wasted energy fighting Agwi’s subspecies hand-to-hand.

I wasted more by deploying the Golden Reaper Garden too quickly.

And I wasted even more by unnecessarily warping space to crush the Agwi subspecies.

I’m so tired from using too much firewood.

It was all my fault for dragging things out, so I guess I deserved it.

Poke, poke.

As I lay there exhausted, a Golden Reaper was poking my cheek.

It was offering me pudding, as if to say I should eat too, poking my cheek insistently.

Eating the pudding that the Golden Reaper brought me while watching the puddings float in the sky, I felt a sense of peace.

I guess the Sehee Research Institute will have pudding coming in soon.

It was a hard day, but thinking about all the delicious pudding I’ll get to eat made me feel happy.

Heh.

I’ve dealt with two Objects this time: the killer teddy bear robot and the Agwi subspecies.

But I didn’t gain any new abilities.

Probably because both were physical-type Objects.

No matter how many muscle-bound Objects I destroy, I’ve never gained muscles from it.

This Agwi subspecies, in particular, had amazing muscles. I’d love to get some strength-related ability at least once.

It’s inconvenient not having enough strength—I can’t even open a jar without Yerin’s help.

If there’s no one around to help, I have no choice but to smash it open.

Nom, nom.

As I sat eating pudding with the Golden Reapers clustered around, Yerin called out to us.

"Alright, let’s head back to the research institute!"

When I just stared at her without moving, she walked over, slipped her hands under my arms, and lifted me up like a cat.

She placed me into the vehicle, and we quickly set off.

As I watched the pudding factory fade into the distance, I thought, Ah, there was that bit of slime where I almost left behind a Golden Reaper. But I was too tired and forgot.

It was a bit of a shame.

***

James stood by the hotel window, watching the morning sun rise.

It had been a long day.

After the Gray Reaper left the factory, there were countless tasks James needed to handle.

He called in an Object disposal team to search for any remaining Objects that might be hiding inside the factory.

He sent the unconscious translator to the hospital and dispersed the crowd that had gathered outside the factory.

Now, he needed to prepare for any potential fallout from the bubble pudding incident—meeting with lawyers, talking to journalists he knew, and so on.

It had been a long day, but it wasn’t over yet.

As James took a moment to relax in his hotel room, his smartwatch rang.

The caller was a 'friend' from China.

A man who led a group of anachronistic ninjas.

"It’s been a while since we talked. What’s going on that you’re calling out of the blue?"

[…]

"Yeah, there was an issue. As expected, we were attacked as soon as the factory was built in Korea, under the guise of an accident. If it wasn’t for your request, I would never have set up the factory in Korea."

[…]

"The Gray Reaper? Yes, I met him. Didn’t expect to encounter him so soon, though. Well, it does seem like he’s definitely connected to the 0th artifact."

[…]

"I don’t know about this incident. The timing is suspicious, but Korea has so many of these incidents that it’s hard to draw any conclusions."

[…]

"Alright then. Let’s meet up next time, my friend."

James ended the call and lay down on the bed, his expression filled with concern.

***

Arrival!

We finally arrived at Sehee Research Institute’s Reaper isolation room after leaving the pudding factory.

In my arms was a warm, soft, sleeping Reaper.

I gently leaned over and laid down on the bed with the Reaper still in my embrace.

The Reaper had been so exhausted that it had fallen asleep without even touching the snacks in the car.

Ever since the fight with Agwi, the flames on its chest had dimmed a bit, and it had seemed tired.

The Reaper, nestled in my arms, had a slight smile on its face, as if it were dreaming.

Now that we were in the isolation room, the difference was clear.

The Reaper had turned paler.

Ever since it touched that book, it had started to turn a bit white. I couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.