Seoul Object Story

Chapter 104: Cruise Ship (5)

Still Reaper (MC) POV:

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Sitting on the bright moonlit deck railing, I looked down at the people who had fallen asleep.

How should I deal with the Sehee Research Institute people who had fallen asleep?

Since they fell asleep due to Object's tricks, it doesn't seem like they'll wake up if left alone.

Should I just move them all to the Golden Reaper garden?

Or should I leave them to the Golden Reapers and go find the Blue Witch?

But whichever choice I make, it means Sehee's fun travel plans will be canceled, which made me a little hesitant.

As I was agonizing over this dilemma where I couldn't choose either option, I suddenly remembered the Blue Reaper I summoned today.

It used a strange power similar to magic, so maybe it can wake up the employees the old woman put to sleep?

I called the Blue Reaper onto my palm, and it flinched in surprise before pulling its hat down low and weaving letters into the air.

<I'm invisible. I'm transparent.>

At the same time, the Blue Reaper gradually became blurred and then completely transparent.

Of course, I could see where the mini versions of myself were, so it was useless.

Seeming relieved after turning transparent, it properly adjusted its hat and stood up on my palm.

Come to think of it, this little blue one was the only one wearing clothes.

Small shoes, a one-piece dress, and even a large hat.

It looked extremely uncomfortable, so I should advise it to go without clothes like me later.

Well, but first I need to deal with the sleeping people.

Feeling the Blue Reaper touching my palm, I conveyed my will to it.

'Wake up the people unnaturally asleep on this ship right now.'

The Blue Reaper looked around the deck after hearing my thoughts, and conveyed that it understood.

Hopping off my palm, the Blue Reaper created a broom made of water, then started flying around the cruise ship riding on it.

<Please wake up from your sleep. Break free from the curse.>

Letters made of water burst out and gently rained down on the people like dew.

The Golden Reapers looked at the sparkling dewdrops with wonder, jumping up and down in delight.

'....'

But no one woke up from their sleep.

I had thought the situation would be easily resolved, but there was no effect.

Hmm, I guess as a derivative, it can't undo the original curse after all?

The Blue Reaper stood on my palm and looked around, before pulling its hat down low and conveying its thoughts to me.

'I'm sorry I couldn't wake them up.'

Sensing it was quite disheartened, I gently patted its hat to comfort it.

The Golden Reapers also climbed onto my palm and hugged it tightly, as if to say it was okay.

Seeming overwhelmed by the Golden Reapers' attention, the Blue Reaper didn't know what to do before fleeing to the Golden Reaper garden.

Unfortunately, Sehee's fun party has come to an end today.

Thinking of the giant skeleton that appeared in the desert of the Red Moon, the lake under the Blue Moon seems too dangerous.

I should evacuate the Sehee Research Institute people to the Golden Reaper garden.

I transfered the entire cruise ship to the Golden Reaper garden.

The birth of a massive passenger ship floating leisurely on the sea of hot chocolate.

After moving the sleeping people onto the sea of hot chocolate, I descended back to the lake.

Alright, now I should quickly find this 'Blue Witch's Mirror'.

***

3rd Person POV:

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The desolate Sehee Research Institute, with most people having gone out to play.

There were some unfortunate security staff remaining at the institute to manage the Objects.

Normally they would kill time watching movies or dramas on their phones, but the staff had gloomy expressions without doing anything else.

One employee blankly watching the CCTV suddenly spoke up.

"Ah, I wanted to go to the lake, what a pity."

"Me too, I wanted to go. Should I just quit and go to the lake instead?"

Stretching, a senior employee responded.

Their sullen expressions made them look almost like zombies.

"Is it because we couldn't go to the lake? I feel strangely tired and unmotivated. Even movies haven't been fun lately."

"Huh? Me too. I feel like I'll be like this until I can see the wide open lake."

The employee who answered looked at the empty pudding bowls with an even more gloomy expression and said,

"Actually, if it weren't for the night shift, it wouldn't be this hard. It would really make me happy if Golden Reaper fed me pudding during times like this.... Why does Golden Reaper sleep at night?"

"Who knows. It did wander around at night sometimes, but I'm not sure. Don't the researchers know?"

The Sehee security room just continued to pass time without any particular incident.

And then at 6am.

When the sky was faintly tinted blue, the shift workers arrived.

After a simple handover, they returned to the dorms, and their messy, cluttered rooms welcomed them back.

Piles of garbage stacked like mountains.

Dirty dishes piled in the sink.

Clothes scattered carelessly on the floor.

They knew they had to clean it up eventually, but they lacked the motivation.

Ah, forget cleaning.

They should just eat some convenience store lunchboxes and collapse to sleep.

Thinking that, they went into the bathroom to start showering.

"Huh? What?"

After finishing the shower with their tired bodies, a strange sight unfolded before the employee's eyes.

The piles of garbage stacked like mountains had disappeared.

The dirty dishes in the sink were neatly cleaned and organized.

The clothes on the floor were also neatly folded and arranged on the desk.

Normally it would be a shockingly surprising situation, but the employee's mind, entranced by the Blue Moon, was strangely calm.

What is this?

Did a cleaning fairy come and go?

With the room clean, the air in the room also felt unusually moist.

***

Reaper (MC) POV:

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The full moon had risen large, but the deep night had passed, and the morning sky was brightening.

The sun cast its golden rays over the tranquil lake, illuminating the sky.

The rippling lake water distorted the light in wave patterns, creating a unique atmosphere.

For some reason, it evoked memories of wandering aimlessly through the red desert.

Perhaps it was because the dunes and waves resembled each other?

Well, it was just sand turned into water, after all.

Plop plop.

I walked out onto the lake's surface, ghostified.

Without setting a direction, I wandered whichever way my steps took me.

Since the 'Blue Witch' seemed to be an Object type that targeted humans, I mainly wandered around areas where humans were likely to be.

But the result was disappointing.

There were numerous boats floating on the lake, but they were all abandoned, drifting alone without owners.

Isn't that too much?

Who even made this place a tourist attraction?

The search that began in the morning continued until late at night when the full moon rose.

Neither the Blue Witch nor any living humans were found.

The Blue Witch...

Where on earth is it?

Then suddenly, an overwhelming stench began rising again from the lake's surface.

Ah!

I stopped my aimless wandering and set a direction, walking tirelessly in one direction.

My target was the direction where the 'stench' grew thicker.

For some reason, foul-smelling places often seemed to be the source of problems lately.

And fortunately, that guess seemed to be right this time too.

The closer I got toward the stench, the thicker the fog became.

The closer I got toward the stench, the louder the clamorous sounds became.

[You shall all be burned to the last shred of flesh!]

And the curse used by the old woman flowed out.

Piercing through the fog, I arrived at the lakeshore.

There, unpleasant things were tangled together, biting and cursing each other.

Monster old women who treated humans like toys to play with and kill.

Twisted monsters created by desecrating the humans I saw in the desert.

Two kinds of monsters harmful to humans were killing each other.

Plop plop.

I slowly walked into the midst of the two groups.

As I gradually approached, a distinct change began among the two groups engaged in combat.

"Gray Reaper?"

"Why is Gray Reaper here?"

Their eyes were filled with confusion and unease.

When I confirmed the monsters' destruction conditions with my 'eyes', the phenomenon accelerated further.

The monsters in my 'eyes' startled and looked at me.

The clamorous lakeshore grew quieter and quieter.

The old women spewing curses and the monsters oozing black slime stopped their actions and focused on me.

The destruction conditions were all trite and feeble - heart destruction, depletion of regenerative abilities, brain destruction, and so on. The old women's side was more troublesome since she had to be buried in the ground.

There didn't seem to be any particularly powerful or special Objects here.

Is the 'Blue Witch' not here?

Clack clack~

The small footsteps on the pebbles made such stillness that they could be heard from afar. The previously clamorous lakeshore was filled only with the sound of my footsteps.

***

3rd Person POV:

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In the late evening, the night shift employees entered the security room.

The usually tired-looking night shift employees had much brighter expressions today.

They had been unable to sleep well, plagued by thoughts like 'Ah, I should have gone to the Yangcheon District lake.'

But today they had slept soundly.

"Hey, it seems like I have a poltergeist at home. The house was all tidied up when I came out of the shower."

"Huh? The same for me, senior."

"The house felt so refreshing and clean, I could really sleep well for once."

The senior employee, feeling refreshed enough to stretch their limbs, noticed the junior staring intently at something.

It was a camera feed showing a studio apartment in complete disarray, as if ransacked by a burglar.

A pet cam? Why is he watching it so intently?

"What are you looking at?"

"I'm trying to figure out what this poltergeist is. That's why I deliberately messed up the room before leaving."

"You think it'll show up on that?"

But as soon as a small blue figure appeared on the pet cam, both senior and junior focused intensely on watching it.

With each blue flicker, the messy room reverted to its original state.

"The quality is too poor to see clearly."

"Yeah, the poltergeist is much smaller than I expected."

In an instant, the small blue Object had tidied the room and now stood before the pet cam, proudly surveying its work.

"A Reaper? There are blue ones too?"

"No? This is my first time seeing one. A golden subspecies perhaps?"

After looking around, the blue Reaper noticed the pet cam and leaned in curiously to examine the lens. But seemingly unable to make sense of it, the Reaper tilted its head in confusion before dissipating like mist and vanishing from the room.

"Huh, so the poltergeist was a blue Reaper."

"Wow, Reapers are all so cute."

As the senior and junior chatted about Reapers, the blue Reaper entered the security room and was startled to see the feed of the studio apartment.

Humans could see it!

Pulling its hat down, the blue Reaper scurried back to the Golden Reaper garden.

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T/N: awww...