"The weather’s nice."

The short-haired girl murmured to herself, her hair gleaming in the warm sunlight as she sat by the window.

Her gaze held the scene outside—newly constructed buildings and people who still seemed unfamiliar with the city surroundings.

This was the “Special Management Zone for Object Invasion Victims,” located on the outskirts of Songpa District in Seoul.

Commonly referred to as the “Roll Cake Zone.”

The area, once filled with buildings owned by the James Institute, had now become a place where people like her “sister” could live.

Originally, the zone was planned for a more dangerous location, but thanks to the James Institute offering this area to the victims, they were able to live here.

As she sat by the window, observing the “Roll Cake Zone,” she found herself slowly stroking the hair of the Golden Armored Reaper, who was now fully dressed in armor.

Blue skies, warm sunlight, and an air of vibrancy filling the streets.

One would expect those forced into such a quarantine zone to feel anxious about beginning a new life, but the atmosphere on the streets was entirely free from such tension.

Why wasn’t there a trace of anxiety, only positive vibes?

The answer was evident from a quick glance around the city.

In the center of the zone stood a massive windmill.

A sign that the Golden Reapers roamed freely.

The windmill, made of candy, biscuits, and chocolate, rotated slowly, wafting a sweet aroma throughout the zone.

“Phew.”

The girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes, allowing the warm sunlight through the window to gently caress her face.

‘The scent of the Golden Reapers.’

The sun-like fragrance brought a sense of calm to her heart.

When she opened her eyes and looked down, she spotted someone directing a cleanup crew in the city.

It was James, the owner of the James Institute.

He looked every bit as competent and serious as his reputation suggested, yet there was one peculiar sight that completely overturned his otherwise composed image.

Atop James’s head, a Golden Reaper sat, moving its hands as though controlling his hair.

It was an oddly heartwarming sight.

“Heh.”

The girl chuckled quietly, unable to hold back her smile at the scene.

As she watched the lively view outside, the quietness of the house suddenly struck her.

“Where did Sister go?”

She looked around the house, pulling her gaze from the window, only to find the place empty.

“Sister?”

Standing up, she walked around slowly, and soon found a note scrawled in her sister’s handwriting.

I’m stepping out for a bit. I put some food in the fridge, so help yourself if you’re hungry.

Food?

What did she bring?

The short-haired girl pocketed the note and absentmindedly made her way to the fridge, opening the door.

At that instant, a strange creature leaped at her, shouting, “Evii!”

“Ahh!”

Startled, the girl’s face went pale as she let out a scream.

After a few seconds, she recognized the creature’s true form, and with an annoyed expression, began squishing it mercilessly.

“Sister! I told you to stop doing this! How many times has it been already?”

Her sister, mischievous even before becoming a Roll Cake, now indulged in Dullahan pranks with alarming frequency, making the girl’s heart skip a beat several times a day.

“Ouch, you’re squishing me!”

Despite her head getting thoroughly squashed, her sister laughed, clearly amused.

Sehee Lab Office, Bustling as Usual

In the usual lively atmosphere of Sehee Lab, the Helmet Researcher ignored the surrounding commotion, seated at his desk, focused on drafting a report.

The title of the report on his screen was The Connection Between the Stolen Cute Puppy and the Golden Reapers Riding White Maws.

In the middle of composing a report on the stolen puppy incident, he had uncovered interesting data and was compiling it into a formal report.

The intriguing discovery was that the activity range of the “Golden Reapers Riding White Maws” almost perfectly matched the alert range of the cute puppy.

Based on this evidence, it can be deduced that the group of “Golden Reapers Riding White Maws” strategically employs the stolen puppy to carry out object elimination operations within Seoul.

Therefore, at this stage, there appears to be no urgent need to recover the puppy by force.

As he finished the report and pushed his chair back slightly, the Golden Reaper, who had been sitting in the corner looking bored, suddenly sprang to life and rushed over.

“All done?”

“It’s finished, right?”

The Golden Reaper looked up at him, bouncing with a hopeful expression.

Most likely, it wanted to head home and play together.

After a quick glance at the clock, the Helmet Researcher picked up the Golden Reaper and whispered softly,

“Yes, let’s go home.”

The Golden Reaper, grinning happily, slipped into the pocket of his shirt.

As he finished preparing to leave and headed out, he noticed a crowd of Sehee Lab employees gathered together.

“Is something happening?”

Curious, he moved closer and soon spotted an assortment of colorful desserts.

Ice cream, pudding, and fruit-adorned treats.

It wasn’t unusual to see such sweets at Sehee Lab.

The lab always prepared a variety of sweets for the Mini Reapers.

Moving in closer to figure out why the employees were so gathered, he soon understood.

The Mini Reapers were preparing snacks for the lab employees.

The Blue Reapers used magic to clean the dishes, while the Black Reapers transported empty plates.

The Golden Reapers elegantly arranged the fruit in the dishes, and the Maw Reaper scooped in the ice cream.

Finally, the Pudding Reaper plopped itself in the center of a dish.

Of course, before serving, the Maw Reaper gently tugged the Pudding Reaper out of the dish, leaving only the pudding to be served.

Desserts prepared by Mini Reapers…

Suddenly feeling a desire to try one, the Helmet Researcher took a dessert and shared it with the Golden Reaper.

Nom-nom.

It was a small happiness in the daily life at Sehee Lab.

Following the Golden Reapers on their expedition, I arrived at the Jelly Jungle.

At first, I thought they’d discovered an entirely new location, but it turned out to be the Jelly Jungle.

“Now that I think of it, I’ve never seen the Golden Reapers exploring the Jelly Jungle.”

After some thought, I realized I’d only ever spotted the Green and Orange Reapers flitting around the jungle.

“Jelly!”

“Jelly!”

Once the Golden Reapers discovered it, the news seemed to spread to every Mini Reaper, and the Jelly Jungle was soon filled with them, each enjoying the area in their own way.

They used the large jelly mushrooms as trampolines.

They climbed jelly vines, moving without touching the ground.

Some even launched themselves with jelly tree catapults to soar through the air.

They found endless ways to play.

To me, though, the Jelly Jungle wasn’t exactly a new discovery.

Just as I was starting to feel bored and about to turn back, a group of Golden Reapers caught my eye.

The line of Golden Reapers continued onward, crossing the jungle without stopping.

As if the jungle wasn’t their true destination.

Intrigued, I followed them and soon stumbled upon a structure I’d never seen before.

It was a pastry-like construction awkwardly situated in the middle of the jelly-filled jungle.

The structure spiraled downward into the ground, vaguely reminiscent of an “antlion pit.”

It also bore a slight resemblance to the spatial area created by the haloed man.

And it was massive.

The spiral extended deep into the earth, as far down as I could see, and covered an area as large as a stadium.

Blending in among the Golden Reapers, I trod down the spiral path leading underground.

Deeper and deeper.

As I walked down the increasingly dark spiral, I began to feel a sense of adventure, making the journey rather enjoyable.

How long had I been walking?

The spiral tunnel leading underground became pitch-black, extending into an unbroken stretch of darkness.

Now and then, the Golden Reapers would glance back at me, as if checking to make sure I was still there.

Were they scared?

I found their nervous glances rather endearing and chuckled softly.

The darkness was indeed curious.

Looking up, I could still see the bright sky, yet it was pitch black around us.

“What an unusual phenomenon.”

When I looked ahead again, the dark passage felt like a night sky scattered with golden stars.

The dimly glowing Golden Reapers resembled starlight, guiding me through the dark path like sailors following the stars.

As we continued down the path, a wave of distressed intent spread from the Golden Reapers.

“Mom!”

“Mom!”

Startled, I teleported to the lead Golden Reaper.

I arrived at the deepest part of the underground.

Looking up, there was no trace of the sky in the pitch-black surroundings.

At the far end of the pit, the Golden Reapers lay curled up on the ground, clutching their heads.

I hurriedly gathered them into my arms.

I could feel a strange liquid coating their bodies.

Quickly wiping it off, I noticed that the areas touched by the liquid were bleached white, as if stained.

“What is this?”

It was a grayish liquid, one I remembered from the giant black figure’s body.

It was Desire.

The very substance that had pinned the black giant to the ground.

And here, in the depths, that Desire was slowly seeping out.

“Maa…”

And from within the Desire pooled on the floor, a tiny silhouette slowly emerged, stepping forward.