In a small, cozy room, I stared blankly at the blue girl while the Golden Reaper suddenly popped onto my shoulder, bouncing up and down.

The same Golden Reaper I had asked to watch over the Mini Reaper Garden appeared, informing me that the "Angler Reaper" had shown up in the garden.

Upon hearing the news, I immediately made my way to the Mini Reaper Garden.

As soon as I arrived in the garden, which always exuded a sweet fragrance, I spotted the Angler Reaper lying in the middle, surrounded by a bunch of Golden Reapers.

The Golden Reapers were staring at the lying Angler Reaper, bickering among themselves, each holding a different opinion.

The debate was whether or not this Angler Reaper was a "younger sibling."

Since it resembled one of them and gave off a similar vibe, some of the Golden Reapers were convinced it was a younger sibling, a sort of giant sibling mk.2.

On the other hand, others argued that because it didn’t have logs for firewood, it wasn’t a sibling.

It was an adorable squabble between the two factions of Golden Reapers, each with opposing opinions.

Even from my perspective, the Angler Reaper was a bit ambiguous.

It clearly wasn’t a Mini Reaper, as it lacked the logs, but it seemed that after mimicking me, it also ended up mimicking my aura and energy.

Since there wasn’t a clear answer, the debate among the Golden Reapers, which seemed like it could drag on forever, ended surprisingly quickly.

The Golden Reapers realized that with their limited reasoning, there wasn’t a way to settle the matter. So, they gathered in a circle, each selecting a representative, and faced off against one another.

What were they planning? Were they about to have a rap battle on the topic of "What is a younger sibling?"

However, instead of the rap battle I expected, the chosen representatives faced each other and began hopping around, engaging in combat.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at their unexpectedly macho way of resolving a debate.

Thud. Thud.

One Golden Reaper wore a serious expression as they threw light jabs, while the other dodged with flashy footwork.

The intense fight, where it seemed like either could win, finally ended when one of the Golden Reapers raised both hands in triumph, shouting "Victory!"

It appeared that due to their immunity to physical attacks, the rule was that the first to land three clean hits could declare victory.

I briefly wondered, "Do they really not need a referee for this?" But after some thought, I realized that with how honest these Golden Reapers were, a referee was probably unnecessary.

Once one side won, all the Golden Reapers stood up and began hopping around in joy.

Wait, what happened to the debate? How did this suddenly turn into a celebration?

Unfortunately for the Angler Reaper, the winner was from the "Not a Younger Sibling" faction.

Thus, the Angler Reaper’s status was decided—not as a sibling, but as a "snack."

But was that really a snack?

It looked just as springy and alive as before its death.

Except for the missing halo, the Angler Reaper appeared almost identical to when I had fought it.

Usually, when creatures revived in the Mini Reaper Garden, their texture transformed into something like a biscuit, and their appearance would change significantly. Yet the Angler Reaper remained just as white and soft as it had before.

It lay there, smiling contentedly, as if asleep.

I swung my fist through the air, waiting for the Angler Reaper to wake up.

I was going to fulfill the wish I had before it died.

"Smack the Angler Reaper’s head relentlessly!"

The thought of landing punch after punch on the creature that had constantly evaded my attacks was exhilarating.

Twitch.

Just as I had been waiting for it to wake up, the Angler Reaper slowly began to open its eyes.

As soon as I saw its hazy, distant gaze, I clenched my fist and threw a punch.

One spoonful for revenge on behalf of the Mini Reapers it hurt.

And 99 spoonfuls because I just really wanted to hit it.

Hehe.

With a grin I couldn’t hide, I smacked the small-eyed Angler Reaper’s head.

Its head, springy and soft, gently bounced my fist back with the texture of... coconut jelly!

And honestly, the feeling of hitting jelly wasn’t bad at all.

Boing. Boing.

The Angler Reaper, for some reason, smiled happily despite being hit over and over.

When we fought, it seemed like it carried the weight of the world, but now, it had the most contented expression I’d ever seen.

No matter how much I hit it, it seemed so happy that it stopped being fun.

I wanted it to cry out "Bweeheehee" like a sad white anglerfish and wear a defeated expression! That would’ve been amusing.

But eventually, I stopped punching, pulled it into a hug, and gave its cheek a playful nibble.

Even while being nibbled, the Angler Reaper simply smiled as if nothing could bother it.

What on earth is making it so happy?

As I nibbled on the springy jelly, I kept thinking, but I couldn’t figure it out.

And annoyingly, the coconut jelly was delicious.

With the Angler Reaper trailing me like a shadow, I returned to the room where the blue girl lay.

I hadn’t planned to bring the Angler Reaper along, but it kept following me, bouncing happily.

As it followed me, the Angler Reaper embraced a bunch of Mini Reapers.

It would carefully slice small bits of its own fingers and feed them to the Mini Reapers, which, paired with its gentle smile, made it incredibly popular among them.

The Blue Reaper even started calling it the "Kind Snack Mom Golem," and soon, everyone else followed suit.

Sometimes it would glance at me as if asking for the same kind of attention, but I purposefully turned my gaze away, pretending not to notice.

The room was now filled with Mini Reapers, more than ever before.

It seemed that all the Mini Reapers had gathered here, looking down at the blue girl in wonder.

"Mom?"

For some reason, the Mini Reapers seemed to view the blue girl and me as similar or even identical.

To be honest, I didn’t fully understand why, but I often felt a strange sense of connection when looking at her too.

Despite knowing she was someone else, it was as if we were somehow the same.

Not all the Mini Reapers felt the same way, though.

The Black Reaper, for example, seemed completely uninterested, even while the others showed great curiosity.

After glancing over the blue girl’s body, I decided to move her bed into the garden.

Logically, there wasn’t much reason to move her, but for some reason, the thought of her being discovered by others, taken to a lab, and used for research really annoyed me.

Maybe it was because she resembled me too much.

After moving the blue girl to the garden, I continued to explore the workshop.

It wasn’t long before I discovered a bunch of lead dolls that looked exactly like me.

They were incredibly detailed, much more so than the figurines sold at Se-hee’s lab, and they were life-sized, built on a 1:1 scale.

However, since they weren’t Objects, the Mini Reapers showed little interest, with only a few of them sitting nearby to observe.

While the dolls didn’t seem particularly valuable, I thought that they would make great gifts for Ye-rin or Se-hee, so I stashed them in the garden.

As I continued my slow exploration, planning to move interesting items into the garden, one of the Golden Reapers excitedly approached me with a gift in hand.

"Gift!"

The Golden Reaper, hopping excitedly, handed me a bottle filled with a rainbow-colored liquid that shimmered beautifully.

"Looks tasty!"

The Golden Reaper, claiming it looked delicious, offered it to me as a gift.

The liquid inside sparkled with shifting colors, crystals forming and dissipating within it.

Sometimes, the crystals appeared round, like orbs; at other times, they took on the shape of star candy.

The more I looked at it, the more appetizing it seemed, just like the Golden Reaper had said.

Rationally, I knew such a flashy liquid couldn’t possibly taste good, but for some reason, it looked incredibly tempting.

"Want to try some?"

When I asked the Golden Reaper, it seemed intrigued. Soon, a crowd of Golden Reapers gathered around, opening their mouths expectantly.

They looked like baby birds waiting to be fed, so I patted each of them on the head.

Then, I broke the complex seal on the bottle cap and took the first sip.

I savored the liquid in my mouth, letting it trickle down my throat slowly.

It was soft and fragrant, a sweet liquid.

Delicious.

Looking at the Golden Reapers, whose eyes were shining with anticipation, I conveyed my thoughts.

"This is really tasty."

Though no sound came from them, the Golden Reapers’ faces lit up as if they were shouting "Wow!" They raised their hands in happiness, eagerly waiting for their turn.

With their excitement reaching its peak, I left them with just one instruction: "If you want to taste it, catch me first!" And I dashed off toward the Mini Reaper Garden.

Hehe.

A luxurious sedan slowly approached the vicinity of Se-hee’s lab.

"It hasn’t been that long, but it feels like ages."

James, seated comfortably in the back, muttered quietly as he gazed at Se-hee’s lab in the distance.

In his hand was a large document with the title boldly written on the cover.

"James Tower, South Korea Construction Plan."

After briefly setting down the report, James turned to his assistant.

"How are the preparations for the tower?"

"Everything is perfect. We’ve purchased land near Songpa-gu and have begun construction preparations."

"Good."

James took a sip of the drink provided in the car, muttering quietly, "Someone from the U.S. needs to be close to the Gray Reaper."