The sky above the city of Frost, surrounded by snowfields, was clear and blue once again today.

The enormous windmill towering in the center of the city slowly spun, reflecting its colorful lights.

The elderly man, who had once been the chairman, stood by his window, gazing at this scene, and sighed deeply.

"I was so focused on surviving…"

His voice carried the weight of years and memories.

As he closed his eyes, the past vividly resurfaced.

The steam tower, glowing red like molten iron, spitting out black smoke.

The streets filled with a suffocating, acrid air.

And the steam tower square, a place only accessible to special individuals.

Frost had once been a city struggling merely to survive.

The Object incident had cut off all contact with the outside world, and many had perished while battling the harsh cold.

The elderly man remembered the nights he spent awake, worrying about the city's future as its chairman.

But now, when he opened his eyes, the scene before him was entirely different.

Where the steam tower had once stood, a giant windmill now stood tall, and the once desolate square was now filled with the sounds of laughter.

The steam tower, which had spewed black smoke, had transformed into a black windmill.

And that black windmill had changed into a colorful one.

These changes seemed to symbolize the city’s rapid transformation.

The elderly man slowly opened the window.

The cold wind brushed his face, but soon, a warm air surrounded him.

It was the warmth provided by the jelly pigs that emerged from the windmill.

The various-colored jelly pigs scattered around the square continually emitted warmth.

Thanks to them, people could comfortably enjoy going out despite the dozens of degrees below freezing.

The elderly man's gaze drifted to the clear blue sky beyond the window.

The sky, once full of soot, was now clear and clean.

The need for burning blue coal and oil had disappeared, thanks to the warmth provided by the jelly pigs.

Clack. Clack.

At the sound of wooden wheels grinding against the stone ground, his gaze lowered to see a large jelly pig hauling all sorts of supplies from outside.

Although the internal combustion engines still didn’t work properly due to the mysterious Object phenomena in this area, the jelly pigs made it manageable.

The isolated city, Frost, was now a thing of the past.

"I can't believe I can see such a sight before I die."

The elderly man's voice trembled with emotion.

His hometown, buried under snowdrifts due to the Object incident, had now risen as a city filled with hope atop that snowy landscape.

Clack. Clack.

Then, at the sound behind him, the elderly man turned his head.

There, the Golden Reaper was pouring lumps of sugar into the elderly man’s bitter coffee, looking startled when caught.

"Ah!"

The Golden Reaper, with a wide-open mouth, looked surprised.

The Golden Reaper made a face of "I’ve been caught!" before laughing awkwardly.

The elderly man smiled warmly at the Golden Reaper, as if seeing his grandson.

Then, slowly returning to his seat, he took a sip from the coffee cup the Golden Reaper had filled with sugar.

The sweetness of the coffee, mixed with the sugar, spread through his mouth.

The elderly man chuckled at the sugary taste, sitting back and looking out the window.

The sky above Frost remained clear and blue, and the giant windmill continued to slowly spin.

And in the air, there was a faint, sweet scent, like the Golden Reaper’s coffee.

A new day, a new beginning for Frost.

Crunch, crunch.

The abandoned steam engine room, once a sanctuary for the coral-haired girl, collapsed.

Brass pipes and broken bricks raised clouds of dust as they fell to the ground.

The coral-haired girl watched the enormous jelly pig devouring the old building, feeling a mixture of emotions.

"It's strange, I feel a little sad..."

Her voice carried a mix of regret and relief.

Sensing the complex emotions of the girl, the Red Sun Reaper gently patted her head as he sat on top of her.

The warmth from his comforting touch eased the girl’s heart somewhat.

When she turned her head, she saw the Mini Reapers walking around, carrying giant marshmallow bricks.

Thud, thud.

The Mini Reapers were stacking square marshmallows to build houses for the people.

It looked like a fragile candy house made from hastily stacked marshmallows, but in reality, the houses were incredibly sturdy and warm.

Watching the scene, like fairies building a village, a smile spread across the coral-haired girl’s lips.

'...'

The girl again etched the final image of the collapsing old house into her memory, then followed the familiar path down.

Her steps were light, but a strange feeling still lingered in her chest.

When she arrived at the clearing where the adults gathered every morning to share food, it was still bustling with people.

But the scene was entirely different from before.

Where once blue coal burned in barrels, there was now a large table, and a plump jelly pig lay atop it.

People were no longer eating watery gruel, but instead, a variety of delicious food that looked much more appetizing.

All of it had been made by the jelly pigs.

Next to the jelly pigs, there were handles, and when pulled, the body of the pig opened up to reveal the food inside.

The girl received a pudding that looked delicious and shared it with the Red Reaper.

The pudding, which melted in her mouth, strangely spread a warm energy throughout her body.

After a simple meal, the girl exchanged warm greetings with the adults and stepped back into the streets.

As she walked down the sunlit street, memories of the old streets suddenly came to her mind.

The loud cries of the propaganda department people.

The sharp icicles.

The cold, bleak streets at dawn before the sun rose.

The tired faces of the adults.

The narrow, dark mines they had to enter every morning.

The bone-chilling cold.

But all of that now felt strangely distant.

Like a story from a distant past.

The coral-haired girl, with the Red Sun Reaper perched on her shoulder, looked up at the clear, blue sky.

The warm sunlight shone on their faces, and a gentle breeze rustled the girl’s hair.

In the wind, there seemed to be a faint, sweet fragrance.

The warm sunlight filled the courtyard of Sehee Institute.

It was now as noisy as the lakeside on a rainy day.

Ribbit, ribbit. Ribbit, ribbit. Ribbit, ribbit.

"So noisy..."

Even if the courtyard were filled with frogs, it wouldn't be as loud as this...

I frowned as I lay with Yerin on top of the white ogre.

If I had my way, I would spray pesticide to quiet them down, but the frogs croaking now were immune to pesticides.

The Mini Reapers, who were enjoying the frog-shaped shaved ice, were essentially immortal.

A Mini Reaper had brought the frog-shaped shaved ice from the snowfields into the courtyard.

Ribbit, ribbit.

It made a croaking sound in the mouth when eating the shaved ice, just like the ice cream from my childhood that made noise in your mouth.

Quite loudly, too.

It was the kind of treat that seemed perfect for the Mini Reapers.

That’s why it was all the rage among them right now.

The courtyard was piled high with frog-shaped shaved ice covered in colorful sauces, and the Mini Reapers had gathered to eat the new frog-shaped shaved ice.

The problem was how noisy it was.

An even bigger issue was that Yerin was also happily enjoying the frog-shaped shaved ice, so I couldn’t even scold the children eating it.

Despite narrowing my brows as if I was upset, Yerin simply smiled and rubbed my frown away.

"Mom!"

At that moment, a Black Reaper approached me and handed me a snack shaped like a cone ice cream.

It was a two-tiered ice cream snack.

With a cute white ogre face and a rebellious frog face.

An interesting treat with frog-shaped shaved ice stacked atop the white ogre.

"Well done."

I liked the treat so much that I praised it before accepting it.

Then, the Mini Reapers in the courtyard suddenly looked up and their eyes began to sparkle.

Soon, all sorts of ogre + frog treats began flooding towards me.

Treats with frog-shaped shaved ice filling the ogre bodies.

Treats with frog bodies attached to ogre faces, and so on.

The snacks kept coming without end.

"A new snack!"

"Mom!"

"Mom, where are you going?"

"Ah, the Reaper is running away!"

I, annoyed by the Mini Reapers sticking to me, used teleportation to escape.

A newspaper office in the western United States, which had narrowly avoided the Pacific Crisis, was as busy as usual.

Amidst the noise of typing keyboards and ringing telephones, journalists’ conversations flowed.

"I heard James Institute has started an Arctic expedition. Is it related to the recent Object crisis?"

"Did you hear? Alexander Group released a new Object blocking technology."

Someone walked by holding coffee and chimed in.

"I also heard James is moving its headquarters to Korea. Isn't Alexander taking over the American market?"

Amid this commotion, a red-haired journalist quietly sat at his desk, sorting through documents.

The documents in front of him were all related to Alexander Group.

What caught his attention, in particular, was a tip-off that the giant corporation was secretly conducting human experiments.

But the investigation results so far had been disappointing.

Most of the tips turned out to be either pranks or false.

Still, the journalist didn’t give up.

He instinctively felt that something was being hidden behind this seemingly perfect corporation.

When the Object era arrived, and James Corporation rose to the top as America’s leading company, Alexander Group had quietly followed close behind, securing the number two spot.

Their growth was remarkable, and their demonstration of social responsibility and ethical management had earned widespread praise.

James Corporation was, of course, a respected company, but there had occasionally been small controversies.

Especially regarding their direct operation of Object research labs, which always raised concerns.

On the other hand, Alexander Group had maintained a perfect image without any such noise.

At first, people were skeptical.

How could such a large company operate without any issues?

But as time passed, doubts gradually turned into admiration.

Alexander Group had become the epitome of a "good corporation."

"Sigh."

The journalist sighed deeply and began preparing to leave as he packed his bag.

A tip-off about Alexander Group secretly running Object research labs had come in, and it seemed quite credible.

Standing up and grabbing his bag, he looked out the window.

The headquarters of Alexander Group loomed tall under the blue sky of San Francisco.