LIGHTNOVELONLINE A meeting was being held in the conference room located inside the Sehee Research Institute.
Present in the conference room were Lee Sehee, Park Seo-ah, and Kim Jungroo.
These three were seated.
Written on the whiteboard in the conference room was,
<Sehee Research Institute Gray Reapers Emergency Action Meeting>
"Then let's start the meeting."
Kim Jungroo announced the start of the meeting in a heavy voice.
"This meeting is aimed at addressing the difference in opinions between the Deputy Director and the Director regarding the excessive contact between the Gray Reapers and humans."
As the start of the meeting was announced, Sehee quickly began speaking.
"The changes are obvious from the photos. It's hard to overlook as trivial since it's about the Gray Reaper."
Sehee spoke with a confident expression.
On the table Sehee tapped were several photos.
On the photos were small writings like 'Yerin on' or 'Yerin off'.
They were all photos taken of the isolation room where the Gray Reaper resides, with subtle differences.
The 'Yerin off' side looked a bit darker.
The Gray Reaper's light looked a bit weaker, and its expression looked a bit gloomy.
On the other hand, the 'Yerin on' side looked a bit brighter.
The Gray Reaper's light appeared brighter, and its expression seemed slightly more radiant.
After seeing the photos, Seo-ah snapped her fingers slightly and began speaking.
"I understand that's the result of isolating Researcher Yerin from the Gray Reaper. But I'm still uneasy. Isn't frequent contact between a high-risk Object and a specific individual too dangerous?"
Seo-ah stated her opinion in a calm voice.
"Moreover, there's a high possibility it's just a temporary phenomenon. It may regain its brightness by taking interest in something else on its own."
Sehee refuted that.
"But that 'taking interest in something else' may not be good from the Research Institute's standpoint?"
She spread out more photos.
A photo of a Reaper standing amidst a sea of flames in the isolation room.
A photo of Reaper looking down at an Object with its limbs smashed off.
A photo of the wall of the isolation room with holes shaped like Reapers, resembling Egyptian murals.
They were records of various incidents caused by the Reaper.
"The Reaper without Yerin is vicious. Not consciously, but it seems to unconsciously cause major accidents and crave people's attention? Surprisingly, it becomes very docile when given a lot of human contact, even though it seems bothered. Of course, if Yerin is around, it resolves things on its own! Cost-effective."
After speaking, Sehee spread out more photos.
A photo of the Reaper grabbing one leg of a blue lizard playing piano, preventing it from playing.
A photo of the Reaper pressing its face against the isolation room glass holding the Skull Spider, watching intently.
A photo of the Reaper happily riding a three-wheeled bicycle.
"These are recent photos. It's already wandering around other isolation rooms. Well, since the Reaper doesn't attack humans, it's okay to observe the situation a bit longer."
Knock knock knock.
"I'm sorry I interrupted your meeting."
The meeting where Seo-ah's concerns deepened ended with a sudden knocking sound.
"Director. You need to come out. The Gray Reaper has gone missing due to the 'Theme Park Invitation Doll'."
***
The isolation room where researchers record the 'Theme Park Invitation Doll's' reactions.
In that isolation room, the doll was about to hand me an invitation.
The 'Theme Park Invitation Doll' politely tried to hand me the invitation, but upon seeing my face, it naturally withdrew the invitation like flowing water.
Then it turned around and tried to give the invitation to other researchers as if nothing had happened.
As if it had never tried to give it to me.
When I stood in front of the doll, it turned its body away as if not seeing me.
Swung~
When I spun, the doll spun too.
Swung~
When I spun again, the doll spun again.
It didn't seem like it was going to hand over the invitation properly, so instead of a direct approach, I decided to ambush and seize the invitation by surprise.
I hid using ghostification and quietly waited for an opportunity.
The moment the 'Theme Park Invitation Doll' tried to hand the invitation to another researcher in the isolation room, I materialized and grabbed the invitation.
Got it!
'Huh?'
But the doll refused to hand over the invitation, clutching it tightly.
The doll and I were in a tug-of-war situation over the invitation.
No matter how hard I pulled, the invitation didn't budge at all.
On the contrary, while the doll tried to shake me off, with its small body it would be difficult.
The intense situation that seemed like it would continue suddenly ended.
The grotesque thread sealing the doll's sewn mouth came undone, completely changing the situation.
"Uaaaaaah!"
The doll began letting out an unpleasant scream.
At the same time, its muscles started rapidly increasing in size, ripping through its upper clothing as they bulged out.
A muscular torso emerging from a round-faced doll.
This kind of existence should not be allowed.
T/N: Yeah! Not cute!
As the muscular doll pulled the invitation, I could no longer stand on two feet.
I just swayed back and forth like a reed, shaken around.
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Eventually, I lost my grip on the invitation and was flung away, tumbling around inside the isolation room.
'!'
Enraged, I checked the doll's death condition.
[Collect 10 theme park stamps.]
Great! Fortunately, it has an annoying condition.
Since not receiving an invitation is not reason enough to kill it, I'll have to find a way to resolve this without resorting to violence.
If the condition is that indirect and troublesome, it won't die easily.
I approached the doll with firm steps and chopped off both its shoulders.
"Guaaah!"
The doll writhed on the floor in pain from losing its arms.
Hmph, it should've just given it to me earlier.
I picked up the envelope that had fallen on the floor with "You're invited to Smile Theme Park!" written on it.
Tearing open the envelope, the contents inside were just a simple postcard.
On the back of the postcard were directions and a map for getting to the theme park.
What was drawn as a map could barely be considered one.
It looked more like a roughly sketched worm drawing.
The directions were even more absurd.
<Transportation: None.>
<Address: None.>
<Walking: Impossible.>
On the front was an introduction to the theme park.
<Congratulations!>
<We invite all recipients of this invitation to Smile Theme Park!>
<This invitation is non-transferable and must be read in its entirety.>
<A total of 9 rides are prepared.>
<Are you worried that there aren't enough rides?>
<Don't worry, there are plenty.>
<So much so that no one has ever experienced all 9 rides!>
<Enjoy the greatest entertainment of your life at Smile Theme Park!>
After reading the entire introduction, some force burst out from the postcard.
I didn't resist this force and accepted it as is.
Then the sounds gradually grew distant.
Even the doll's sorrowful crying faded away.
The surroundings also started to darken.
The moment everything turned pitch black,
I was suddenly in a completely unfamiliar place.
***
In a detective's office with the morning sun shining, I was sitting in a rocking chair basking in the sunlight.
What I thought was a simple missing person case turned out to be a big one involving a 'Maker' the deeper I dug.
Since it was unrelated to the request, I just left, but the human trafficking and cruel experiments happening at the Bucheon Research Institute didn't seem normal.
On top of that, with the connection to this exhibition terror incident exposed, the police were about to raid the Bucheon Research Institute en masse.
Now, only the black subordinate remained at the institute for investigation, which would undoubtedly become an incredibly cumbersome situation.
Sharing investigation results with the police, explaining the circumstances of investigating the Research Institute, just thinking about it is dreadful.
Or maybe with the lady there, it could get wrapped up surprisingly easily?
As I was thinking about the Bucheon Research Institute, there was a knock at the door.
Knock knock.
"Senior! I'm here."
The one entering through the open door was Junior 1.
Since there's a high possibility of a Junior 2 appearing, I decided to call the old junior, Junior 1.
"So, how's Hyejin doing?"
"Not too good. But she'll regain her energy soon, being a Golden Horn and all."
"Who knows. Mental fortitude varies from person to person."
After the request was completed, Hyejin said she didn't have money to pay the fee, so she would sell her horn to pay it.
Of course, I refused.
It's illegal.
Moreover, after being shocked by her sister's death, if she also cut off her horn, she would definitely die 100%.
So I strictly told her that even if she brought money, I would never accept it if her horn was gone.
However, I didn't intend to demand money from the girl who had no way to earn it either.
It hasn't been long since she left the isolation area, so it would be difficult for her to find a job.
Plus, with many people targeting Golden Horns, the world is three times as dangerous for those with Golden Horns, so I decided to help her a little.
I told her, 'Contact me once you've regained your composure! If you can't find a place to work, I'll hire you as Junior 2.' So if she has any thoughts, she'll contact me.
That's how the prospective Junior 2, Hyejin, came about. The requests I've taken based on my intuition have always been incredibly rewarding, so this one will be the same.
This request wasn't about earning a large sum, so perhaps Junior 2 will be of great help later on.
"Heh, huh."
Junior 1 was even humming a tune while polishing two hammers until they shone.
"...? What are you doing now?"
"Ah, since there's a Junior 2, I need to use two hammers!"
"Ah..."
I felt a severe headache coming on and rubbed my forehead with a sigh.
In fact, I had also hired Junior 1 based on intuition, but this was the moment when I started to doubt my intuition.