Upon handling the blue moon and exiting the cave, I found the lake outside to be completely untouched.

Still calm, pristine, and as mysterious as ever.

Honestly, the lake itself was such an anomaly that I assumed it would disappear once the blue moon was destroyed.

Perhaps it would dry up, no longer able to maintain its water level.

Or maybe the sunken city beneath it would corrode and decay, polluting the once-clean waters.

But neither of those things happened.

The only thing that changed was ownership.

Yangcheon-gu Lake, still in its unchanged state, now belonged to me.

The lake’s mental contamination ability, which made people view it and the Objects favorably, had also transferred to me.

Though it had slightly deteriorated to the point where it wasn’t very noticeable.

The Blue Reapers seemed thrilled about the lake's new existence.

They were so energetic that they asked if they could take charge of managing the lake. When I said yes, their faces lit up with joy.

The Blue Reapers immediately began gathering, assigning different areas of the lake among themselves.

Why are they so excited?

Do they just like lakes that much?

In the end, the powers I gained from dealing with the blue moon were twofold:

A minor mental contamination ability, and an additional domain that I could control like my own garden.

Dawn was approaching, as the sky started to turn blue.

Since the incident was over, I retrieved the research lab personnel, who had been evacuated into the Garden, and brought their ferry back to the lake’s surface.

There was a faint scent of hot chocolate, but it didn’t seem like a big deal.

The pale blue light of dawn began to shine on the scattered researchers.

They lay around in various positions, looking as if they’d fallen asleep after a night of partying.

Now that I think about it, quite a bit of time has passed, and they must be starving.

But as I observed their faces, they seemed to be in good condition.

Maybe the Mini Reapers took care of them?

Perhaps the Golden Reapers gave them some hot chocolate, or the Blue Reapers worked their magic.

As the sunlight grew stronger and bathed the entire deck in a warm, golden hue, the researchers began to wake one by one.

Se-hee, who had been lying in the middle of the deck, woke up and mumbled groggily.

"Ugh... Is it morning already? When did I fall asleep?"

Stretching and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Se-hee looked slightly confused as she gazed at the lake, which reflected the bright morning sun.

Still looking a bit drowsy, she pulled out her phone from her pocket, checked it, and her expression quickly shifted to shock as she shouted in surprise.

"What’s going on? How did so much time pass?"

Clearly startled by the time that had passed while they were asleep, Se-hee immediately called Kim Joong-rae to check on everyone’s safety.

"There are no injuries or missing people. It seems they were just asleep, fortunately."

"Hah, that’s a relief. Nothing worse than an accident while on a trip."

The atmosphere on the deck grew more chaotic as people gradually realized how much time had passed.

Still, since no one was injured, the mood wasn’t too bad.

"Reaper, we were supposed to have fun at the lake, but we’ve lost so much time."

Yerin looked somewhat downhearted, disappointed that her vacation plans had been ruined.

Even in the face of an Object-related incident, Yerin hadn’t changed a bit.

With the lost time, there was a debate over whether to make the most of the remaining hours or return to the research center, as staying any longer might be dangerous.

But the conclusion came from an entirely different direction.

"Are you from Se-hee’s research lab? We’re from the Object Association. We need your cooperation to investigate the Yangcheon-gu Lake incident."

Se-hee and the other researchers were taken away by the association’s investigators.

I watched Yerin, who looked particularly forlorn, through the makeshift quarantine room as I ate a pudding.

Since everyone would be late coming back, I might as well return to Se-hee’s research center.

Hehe.

[Confirmed deaths from the Yangcheon-gu Lake incident have exceeded 780. Combined with the uncounted missing persons, it is estimated that the total number of victims may reach into the thousands.]

The security room in Se-hee’s research center had the TV on, where breaking news about the Yangcheon-gu Lake incident was being broadcast non-stop.

It was to be expected.

All of Korea was in a state as though it had just woken up from a trance.

It felt like the entire country had been dreaming.

Looking back now, it was hard to comprehend.

<Everyone living in Korea wanted to visit Yangcheon-gu Lake.> <Everyone in Korea loved Yangcheon-gu Lake.>

<No matter what happened involving Objects, it wasn’t considered strange at all.>

How terrifying it is when everyone shares the same thoughts.

[Here, you can see numerous abandoned boats. The remnants of past joy only weigh more heavily on our hearts.]

Watching the broadcast of empty, joy-filled boats left abandoned, a security room staff member spoke up.

"To think that people wanted to go to such a dangerous lake… I guess we should consider ourselves lucky not to have gone."

"Yeah, we’re lucky. Even though our research center was fine, hearing about all the deaths is still chilling."

Munching on potato chips while watching the news, another staff member posed a random question.

"Now that I think about it, don’t you find something strange about all this?"

"What’s that?"

The security staff, grimacing as though imagining something scary, continued.

"What would you think if you came home to your one-room apartment, took a shower, and came out to find all your laundry neatly folded? I’d probably scream, call the police, and spend the night at a friend’s place."

"I’d probably grab a baseball bat and search every corner of my place."

"Right? Normally, something like that would be terrifying."

The staff member scrolled through his phone as he spoke.

"But in a way, the Yangcheon-gu Lake incident has its upsides too."

"Upsides? What could those be?"

"Think about it. Now that we know the Blue Reapers are responsible for these things, it’s no longer scary—it's just cute. But if there hadn’t been a Yangcheon-gu Lake incident? We would’ve freaked out and made a huge fuss."

Reflecting on this, the man nodded his head.

"Yeah, that’s true."

"Imagine how heartbroken our kind and gentle Blue Reapers would’ve been if they saw us react like that. So, in a way, there’s something good about it."

"Ah... I see."

The man, looking perplexed, half-heartedly agreed.

The senior security officer had recently started feeling a bit distant from his junior, who seemed overly fond of the Blue Reapers.

His junior had taken to wandering around, searching for Blue Reapers, though catching one was a challenge given their habit of appearing and disappearing at will.

"Senior! Senior! Look at this!"

"What is it now?"

Nom nom nom.

As the senior approached, he spotted a Blue Reaper, calmly sitting in the junior’s hand, nibbling on pudding.

The little Reaper was wearing its hat low, covering its face, but it was unmistakably a Blue Reaper.

"How did you do it?"

"My sincerity got through! The Blue Reaper understood my feelings!"

The junior beamed with pride.

"Do you know that the Blue Reapers feel slightly cool, like water? Ah, so cute."

Stroking the Blue Reaper’s hat, the junior wore a look of pure happiness.

Watching this, the senior decided he should also grab a pudding for himself.

On TV, footage of the Hydra battle and the Gray Reaper played.

The incident in Korea had even reached the United States, a clear sign of its global significance.

An Object capable of controlling an entire nation?

It was an Object that shocked society, more so than one that could be physically destroyed.

The fight between the Hydra and the Gray Reaper had garnered particular attention.

The scene of overwhelming destruction.

The Gray Reaper, bouncing around with an expressionless, almost bored look, left viewers in awe.

Then, to see the Hydra defeated so dominantly...

There are few Objects capable of intentionally destroying or subduing others, which made the Gray Reaper’s uniqueness stand out even more.

This was especially true as more Objects that the Gray Reaper had seemingly dealt with came to light.

Because of this, there were even talks in the U.S. about trying to bring the Gray Reaper over.

Though there were still voices of caution, urging more careful investigation before making any decisions, the idea had its supporters.

The Gray Reaper’s stoic expression and apparent ease in battle had even gained a fanbase overseas.

As a result, James had immediately contacted Se-hee’s research center after seeing the footage, using the contact information he’d received from Yerin.

In the end, through discussions with the research center's vice-director, they managed to reach a positive agreement.

The contract was simple: the Gray Reaper would be the new face of their pudding advertisement.

"The pudding the Gray Reaper enjoys!"

That was the slogan, along with an image of the Gray Reaper eating pudding, which would adorn the packaging.

Since sales of the pudding had slowed due to its association with Objects, they decided to take a bold marketing approach.

Of course, there were significant risks.

Public criticism of Objects, government regulations, and other potential issues loomed large, but James had decided to take that gamble.

In his hand, James held a new pudding package featuring the Gray Reaper enjoying pudding.

Its name: "Gray Reaper Pudding."

James planned to return to Korea soon, partly because of this pudding venture.

There was also something else he wanted to show the Gray Reaper.

As he looked at the bag containing another "Artifact 0," James wore a meaningful expression.