"That dream again."

The silver-haired girl had been having the same nightmare over and over for the past few days.

It was a dream that showed her a future that hadn’t yet arrived, where her closest friend graduated from the facility and left before she did.

At first, it was a nightmare so horrifying that it shocked her, but after experiencing it repeatedly, she had grown somewhat accustomed to it.

Even if repeated, a nightmare remains a nightmare. Yet, this dream was strange.

The dream always began in third-person, watching her as she stepped out of her private room, like watching a movie.

As soon as she opened the door, she would see a dim hallway with a flickering fluorescent light and a nasty burnt smell, as if food was scorching.

In reality, opening her door would reveal a clean, fragrant, spacious hallway welcoming her, but in this nightmare, it was always this way.

An odd part was that the silver-haired girl in the dream would be genuinely startled by it.

A broken fluorescent light was possible, as was burning food occasionally, yet, for some reason, she reacted as if it was truly terrifying.

When she reached the dining hall, she would see a long line of children dressed identically to herself.

In the dream, she would nervously walk forward and join the line.

And without fail, her one and only friend would appear to talk to her.

"What’s wrong? Is something bothering you?"

From there, the day would proceed as usual.

Meals would be eaten.

Training to develop abilities would be conducted.

Object response drills would be held.

Education on object information would take place.

And as the day’s tasks came to an end, so would the nightmare.

The final scene of the nightmare showed the children who had completed all the processes and passed their tests leaving the facility.

But here, the girl in the dream behaved strangely.

She did something that the real her would never do.

Without permission, she left the facility and followed her friend, as if worried about them, a significant act of betrayal questioning the facility’s trustworthiness.

Stop. Why are you doing this?

The facility was supposed to be a noble, perfect place dedicated to saving humanity from objects.

This part of the nightmare never felt any less unsettling, no matter how many times she watched it.

It made her feel nauseous, as though she herself was betraying humanity.

And in the nightmare, she followed her friend slowly down a seemingly endless corridor.

As she went further, an anxious feeling rose within her, and the faint smell of blood lingered in the air.

Then, upon reaching the corridor’s end—

She would see her friend, hanging from the ceiling, their insides spilling out.

"…."

With that, the nightmare ended, and the silver-haired girl woke up.

The time was 5:40 a.m.

"It’s just a meaningless nightmare."

The girl looked into the mirror and adjusted her clothes, trying to shake off the nightmare.

"Even if I try to assign meaning to it, it’s merely a dream reminding me not to break the rules."

She shook her head slowly, then moved towards the door.

Yet, even though it was only a nightmare, she felt her body tense as she stood before the door.

"It’s fine."

She swallowed, slowly opening the door.

The bright light of the unbroken fluorescent lights streamed through the gap, and she exhaled softly.

No broken lights, and the clean, fragrant, wide hallway greeted her.

Everything was as usual.

Mini Reaper Garden, Jelly Jungle

I poked at the soft, squishy cheeks of the newly appeared bleached Mini Reaper with my finger.

"So, what can you do?"

"Maaa."

But the bleached Mini Reaper barely spoke, and it seemed as if it could hardly understand me.

It likely didn’t possess any special abilities, unlike other Mini Reapers.

It was, in essence, the first completely powerless Mini Reaper.

Now, the title of the weakest Mini Reaper no longer belonged to the Blue Reaper but to the bleached one.

It lacked not only abilities but also physical prowess, so much so that it wobbled with just the slightest push from me.

Watching it, I felt a bit disappointed.

"If only the bleached reaper were my size…"

For one reason only: I wanted to try boxing with it.

I had been crushed when boxing against the Blue Reaper’s golem and the Black Reaper conglomerate.

With this reaper, who had even lower physical abilities than me, I could twist its wrist like an ogre and easily win.

Heh.

Lost in my thoughts, I continued to push the bleached reaper’s head until—

Chomp.

The Golden Reapers ran up and bit my fingers.

"Don’t hurt the sibling!"

"Weak sibling!"

It seemed they were being even more overprotective of this one than they were of the Blue Reaper.

Well, given how weak it was, it couldn’t be helped.

The Golden Reapers tended to be more protective the weaker someone was.

Hmm.

Seeing the bleached Mini Reaper surrounded by Golden Reapers and pampered so much, I figured there was no need to worry about it anymore.

The Golden Reapers who had touched the "Desire" were also fine, so it was time to return to the isolation room and rest.

Touching Desire had left me feeling a bit drained, as if the ground was constantly pulling me down.

I teleported to my isolation room and let myself collapse onto the soft bed.

Wrapped in the cozy, plush blankets, I quickly drifted off.

Zzz.

Deep within Sehee Lab, the Gray Reaper’s Isolation Room

Oh Yerin carefully entered the isolation room, unlocking the heavily secured door.

Inside, at this hour, the TV was usually on, but now it was off.

"Reaper, are you asleep?"

She whispered softly, examining the room attentively.

Without the usual TV sounds filling the background, it meant one of two things.

Either the Reaper was out, or it was asleep.

The bed, specially made to be extra plush, was swarmed with Mini Reapers, obscuring any sight of the Gray Reaper.

But the cocoon of Mini Reapers itself confirmed the Gray Reaper’s presence here.

First, the Mini Reapers wouldn’t gather this way if the Gray Reaper were absent.

Second, the Golden Reapers wouldn’t sleep during the day if the Gray Reaper were awake.

Third, if the Gray Reaper were awake, most of the Mini Reapers snuggled up against it would be strewn across the floor, looking dejected.

Yerin gently removed the Golden Reapers clinging to the Gray Reaper’s face.

Though they didn’t wake, they scrunched their faces and squirmed like babies deprived of their beloved blanket.

Smiling at their cute reactions, she gently placed them on top of the other Mini Reapers.

"Mom…"

"It’s smaller now."

Thankfully, even though their “Mom” had been replaced by other Mini Reapers, the sleeping Golden Reapers still cuddled close and smiled.

Now, with the Gray Reaper’s round cheeks exposed, Yerin poked at them softly.

"Reaper, I suggested we go hang out in the break room today, but what am I supposed to do if you’re asleep?"

Honestly, she was relieved just to find the Gray Reaper here.

For some reason, the Gray Reaper often forgot plans and wandered off elsewhere.

After some thought, Yerin came to a decision.

If we head to the break room, it’ll wake up naturally!

Yerin began to quietly wake the sleeping Mini Reapers.

"All right, let’s wake up. Time to go play with the Gray Reaper."

The sleepy Mini Reapers rubbed their eyes, barely able to wake, then suddenly snapped awake, eyes wide open.

"Going to play with Mom?"

"Really?"

Yerin chuckled at their eager faces.

With the Mini Reapers now looking up at her with bright eyes, she lifted the Gray Reaper up.

"Let’s go!"

The Mini Reapers cheered, responding to her call with hops and raised hands.

"Let’s go!"

"Let’s go!"

And holding the Gray Reaper as if carrying a cat, Yerin started walking toward the break room.

The Mini Reapers waddled after her like little ducklings.

The Mini Sprout Reaper, on a journey to find its cherished human, had found itself in an unfamiliar space.

The air shimmered with a faint blue glow, creating an atmosphere like an underwater world.

Instead of a sky, a cavern ceiling loomed above, dotted with small luminous stones that gave the illusion of a starlit night.

Beneath that artificial sky, hostile objects roamed, building a strange city.

It was an unknown place, unlike anything the Mini Sprout Reaper had seen in Sehee Lab or the earthly scenes described by the Yellow Reaper before its adventure.

"Mom…"

The Mini Sprout Reaper glanced down sadly at a navy-blue berry on the ground, releasing a gloomy expression.

No matter how it called for its “Mom,” the intent did not reach her.

Ugh…

Would it be stuck here forever?

Just as that dismal thought crept in, the Mini Sprout Reaper spotted a human.

A girl with silver hair, radiant even underground.

The Mini Sprout Reaper couldn’t take its eyes off her.

This was its first encounter with its cherished human.