A Costly Transaction

— Chuuya, can you demonstrate that again?

Dazai Osamu cleared his throat, pretending to pinch his voice to imitate Chuuya's earlier manner: — "You bought his stuff, and twice at that? Is there something wrong with your head?"

Nakahara Chuuya: — ...

— Oh, and this one too. — Dazai jumped up, looking towards the door, imitating a cold voice: — "Boss, the next time we meet will be in the Port Mafia's torture chamber."

Li Nai was suddenly called by name: — What does this have to do with me?

Nakahara Chuuya clenched his fist.

— Oh dear, Chuuya, where is this place? — Dazai feigned surprise, — It doesn't seem to be a torture chamber, how strange —

Chuuya couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Dazai by the collar and landed a punch in his stomach! Dazai cried out, stumbled back a few steps, and collapsed against the wall. He tremblingly raised a finger: — Hey... Li Nai... are you just going to let this happen...

Chuuya stood with his arms crossed, snorting coldly. Li Nai blinked, thought for a moment, then put down his teacup and nodded: — You're right.

Dazai stared in astonishment as Li Nai stood up, walked over to Chuuya, and... enthusiastically took his hand.

— Thank you for your patronage, esteemed customer. — Li Nai offered a warm smile, — Such strenuous activity must be tiring; please sit down and have some water.

Chuuya was bewildered, finding himself pressed into the only chair, holding a glass of tea: — ?

Dazai leaned against the wall, weakly exclaiming: — Hey... that's my water I brought... I'm the one who's injured here!

— Mr. Nakahara is currently my esteemed customer. — Li Nai looked at Chuuya with a smile as warm as a spring breeze, then immediately turned to Dazai with a face as cold as winter: — And you, you are the culprit who took half of my hard-earned commission.

Dazai froze, only then remembering that the "information" item was sold on consignment in Li Nai's shop. Theoretically, he was the owner of the item, the money earned belonged to him, and Li Nai only collected an intermediary fee. And Li Nai's intermediary fee was... 50%. How utterly dark!

— In some respects, you are strangely rule-abiding. — Dazai said slowly, — But I am the supplier of the goods, and Chuuya is the buyer... aren't you the one who profited without effort?

— Would the two of you have been able to make this deal without me? — Li Nai retorted, — Just be happy with this 10 million and don't gloat about your gains.

Dazai: — How much?

Chuuya almost spat out his tea, startled: — How much??!

— Total value 20 million, 50% discount, I calculated correctly. — Li Nai blinked, — Why are you two so surprised?

— Yesterday it was only 1 million... — Chuuya suddenly realized something, gritting his teeth: — Although I told you to name your price, you really dared to inflate it.

— I already reminded you. People always have to pay a price for their choices, otherwise, the choice itself would lose all meaning, wouldn't it? — Li Nai said meaningfully, then smiled: — Come now, customer, don't forget to receive your item.

— Item? Isn't it information? — Chuuya raised an eyebrow, — How do you intend to give it to me?

Hearing this, Dazai's eyes flashed. He dropped his playful demeanor and silently observed Li Nai. Chuuya didn't know, but he knew well: that seemingly playful "item" was absolutely not just simple information.

— Relax. — Li Nai smiled, — Customer, look at me.

Li Nai turned slightly, his pale fingers gliding over the empty shelf. But from thin air, something seemed to swirl from the shadows around his terrifyingly white fingertips. Chuuya was stunned. He felt a dizzy spell, an overwhelming sweet scent that unsettled his mind.

The flowing shadows converged into Li Nai's palm, forming an amorphous mist, within which exquisite bubbles sparkled. Li Nai raised his hand, a smile on his face, and gently blew a breath towards Chuuya.

Like floating dandelion seeds, Chuuya's blue eyes reflected brilliant colors, immediately followed by a dizzy spell that almost made him lose consciousness, as countless memories surged from deep within his brain.

— This is... — Chuuya murmured, — Memories?

It was the complete memories of the person involved, from buying the "roll of bandages" to the events that had occurred and its effectiveness. It even included the rules that person had deduced. These intangible things simply appeared in his mind.

Nakahara Chuuya, who never dreamed, found the recent experience indistinguishable from reality or illusion.

— Hey Dazai, what was that... what did he do?

— I don't know. I can only say that, in my eyes, Li Nai merely... blew a breath towards you. — Dazai replied in a low voice.

Chuuya was still in shock, while Li Nai had already calmly sat down, smiling as he said his familiar phrase: — So, money exchanged for goods, thank you for your patronage. Welcome back next time.

***

— So that's how it is. It seems we need to re-evaluate this shop owner named Li Nai. — Mori Ogai mused. — The "items" he sells, from a roll of bandages that can cause a massive explosion, to a hat that can devour abilities... are all things that harbor extreme danger.

— Indeed. — Chuuya said in a low voice, — Moreover, he said there will be many new items coming soon.

— What a headache. That roll of bandages alone is troublesome enough. Fortunately, the shop is in a secluded location; if those things were to spread throughout Yokohama, then...

Chuuya remained silent. If that were the case, Yokohama would have long since fallen into chaos.

— According to your description, besides selling strange items, the shop owner also possesses methods of mental manipulation. — Mori Ogai paused, — Have you investigated anything further about Li Nai?

— Nothing at all. His origin and age are both unknowns. His first appearance was a few days ago, and he left no other social traces. Furthermore, his ability to affect memories is definitely not an ability... because it works on Dazai too.

— What about his bank account? Where did the money Chuuya transferred go?

— It has been investigated. — Chuuya's expression became strange, — As soon as the money was transferred, it was immediately dispersed into millions of small accounts overseas. Technical experts say that even the world's best hackers couldn't do that.

Mori Ogai frowned in contemplation. Why would such a person appear in Yokohama? What was his purpose? After thinking for a while without finding an answer, he concluded: — This is not an ordinary character that can be easily dealt with. But we also cannot simply ignore him.