Seoul Object Story

Silence fell over the courtyard of Sehee Research Institute.

It happened when the Lead Doll suddenly emitted light and opened its mouth.

“To my ears, it sounds similar to the language used by alchemists,” James said with a rather intrigued expression. “Have Objects learned language? Or is this ‘alchemist language’ something special?”

“The Lead Doll spoke!” Yerini exclaimed with an impressed look, then began to stare at me expectantly.

I slowly turned my head, avoiding Yerini’s gaze. Even for Yerini, I wouldn’t speak. Besides, I don’t even know how to talk without lungs. Come to think of it, how did that Lead Doll speak?

“Senior Researcher Kim Jung-roe, let’s secure the CCTV footage first. The security room might not preserve it properly,” Seo-ah ordered Kim Jung-roe to immediately secure the CCTV footage of the courtyard. After all, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Sehee Institute security room deleted all the footage while eating cup noodles.

Scribbling something in a notebook, leaving to secure CCTV footage, hugging me tightly and trying to move my lips - the people gathered in the courtyard reacted to the Lead Doll’s anomaly in their own ways.

At that moment, the Lead Doll opened its mouth again.

[Has that wish been fulfilled?]

The Lead Doll, looking 10 times more expressionless and sleepy than me, tilted its head and expressed doubt.

Did nothing happen? Well, I didn’t feel any flow of power indicating something extraordinary had occurred.

While the other Mini Reapers looked excited, when I glanced down, the Black Reapers wore expressions as if they had expected this.

I grabbed one Black Reaper in my hand and tapped its head repeatedly while asking, ‘Do you know what’s going on?’

The Black Reaper nodded its head vigorously up and down.

‘Not Mom!’

‘?’

Seeing that I still didn’t understand, the Black Reaper exuded its will with a slightly frustrated expression.

‘Because it’s not Mom!’

‘….’

Hmm. I understood for sure. It seems this is a complex kind of problem I could never hear from a Mini Reaper.

I put the cheerful Black Reaper down on the floor and looked towards the Lead Doll. I saw Yerini conducting various experiments, though it looked more like playing with a pet than experimenting.

“Now, right hand!”

When Yerini held out her hand saying ‘Right hand!’, the Lead Doll placed its tiny right hand on Yerini’s palm with a plop.

The Lead Doll also followed orders well to place its left hand, left cheek, or right cheek.

“Well done!”

Yerini smiled contentedly at this and patted the Lead Doll’s head.

‘….’

I didn’t like that sight very much.

Feeling a bit annoyed, I turned my gaze to the side where Seo-ah and James were having a serious conversation.

“That ‘Lead Doll’ Object seems to have a primary behavioral principle of doing what humans tell it to do,” Seo-ah nodded and pointed towards Yerini and the Lead Doll.

“Right now, it could be seen as only listening to Researcher Oh Yerin’s instructions.”

James said let’s do a simple experiment, then approached the Lead Doll and spoke.

“Could you hand over your right hand?”

The Lead Doll placed its right hand on James’s hand with an expressionless face.

“Ah!”

Yerini looked a bit shocked seeing this.

Hehe.