Sudden Change

Mori Ogai was puzzled by these words, but he immediately followed Li Nai's gaze toward the group gathered in front of the counter.

His eyes swept past the unfamiliar orange-haired boy, the red-haired youth, and further away, the young Dazai Osamu, and...

Mori Ogai froze.

Next, everyone saw his gaze quickly bypass the target "Dazai Osamu" whom he had just said he was looking for, and land straight on Miss Dazai who was in the center.

As soon as Miss Dazai snapped out of her daze, she felt a burning, focused gaze locking onto the side of her face.

Miss Dazai: "..."

Mori Ogai coughed, smoothed his cuffs, adjusted his collar, and somehow wore his white doctor's coat with the posture of a high-end formal suit.

Then he walked forward with composed, quick steps. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he politely knelt on one knee, level with Miss Dazai who was sitting on the floor, seemingly wanting to reassure this young lady who appeared lost and helpless.

"My poor lady, did something happen?" Mori Ogai smiled elegantly. "The floor is cold. Let me help you up first."

Miss Dazai: "..."

Both versions of Dazai Osamu knew Mori Ogai well enough. At this moment, they both immediately understood the deeper meaning behind his actions, and almost simultaneously revealed identical, subtle expressions.

The other two had never met Mori Ogai. The young Nakahara Chuuya, just recovering from his shock, was about to say something when he heard Mori Ogai's words. He clicked his tongue, sensing a strange, inexplicable vibe, and looked at the suspicious doctor before him with half-belief and half-doubt.

Under everyone's strange looks, Mori Ogai naturally extended his hand, seemingly waiting for Miss Dazai to place her hand in his.

Miss Dazai, however, looked as if she had a toothache.

But this expression was mostly hidden by her long, draping black hair. Mori Ogai's gaze swept over her loose, obviously ill-fitting coat, and he became even more convinced of his speculation.

"You must be Dazai-kun's sister. Did you also leave home to look for him?" Mori Ogai's voice was extremely gentle. "It's not safe without an adult to look after you... My lady, would you like to stay with me along with Dazai-kun?"

Miss Dazai: *...What a scheming, lolicon pervert.*

Nakahara Chuuya's eyes widened, his eyebrows raised so high they were about to fly off his face.

Oda Sakunosuke frowned in disapproval, seemingly wanting to take a step forward to separate Miss Dazai from this increasingly suspicious man.

But before Oda could act, Miss Dazai was a step faster. She placed her hand in Mori Ogai's palm, flashed a fake smile, and agreed in a sweet, girlish voice: "Sure."

Nakahara Chuuya: ?!

*Are you out of your mind, you bastard! Even if you still feel like a man... your current body is that of an underage girl! Be on your guard!*

Being a good person at heart with healthy values, the young Nakahara Chuuya screamed in his mind while glaring even harder at Mori Ogai, his fists clenching tight.

Mori Ogai, of course, wouldn't care about the glare of an unfamiliar youth. After all, even Li Nai was only looking over with a half-smile, showing no intention of stopping him.

He held Miss Dazai's hand, his other hand lightly hovering around her waist, intending to pull her up from the floor.

As they drew closer, Mori Ogai saw more clearly the beautiful, hazel eyes of the girl before him, and her delicate face, which was similar to Dazai Osamu's but much softer, carrying a hint of fragile pity for some reason.

"Dazai-kun, I never realized before..." Mori Ogai said, half-joking and half-instinctively sighing, "...you are actually quite cute."

The distance was close enough.

Miss Dazai's gentle, innocent face instantly twisted into a cold, fierce grin. Utilizing the pulling force, her other hand swung high.

Perhaps because she had just woken up and lacked physical strength, Miss Dazai didn't choose to use a fist. Instead, she raised her palm and slapped Mori Ogai hard across the face!

*Slap!*

A crisp sound echoed. Mori Ogai was momentarily stunned, opening his mouth to speak, but was immediately hit by a kick as swift and powerful as a whip. Before the shock in his eyes could fade, he was struck squarely by this heavy blow and sent flying.

"Stay away from her, you perverted doctor!!!"

Along with the young Nakahara Chuuya's righteous roar, Mori Ogai's body crashed heavily into the wall with a loud bang. Due to the sheer momentum, he even stuck to the wall for a brief second before slowly sliding down.

"Ugh... Cough..." Mori Ogai struggled to support himself, a bright red handprint clearly stamped on his face. "Ow, ow, ow..."

"Serves you right!" Nakahara Chuuya said fiercely.

Oda Sakunosuke, who always tried his best to maintain order in the shop, calmly turned his head away from the wall, not saying a word, as if he hadn't seen the customer being beaten at all.

"That's uncalled for... It's not like I actually wanted to do anything to Dazai-kun's sister... Wanting to protect a poor, homeless girl is only human nature, isn't it?"

Mori Ogai massaged his waist and slowly stood up. Touching the wound on his face, he hissed in pain and muttered, "Besides... look, the Shop Owner didn't stop me either, did he?"

Li Nai, who had been playing with the dice that had automatically returned to the table at some point, paused his hand movements at Mori Ogai's words. He blinked as the gaze of everyone in the room shifted to him.

"Ah... that kind of thing doesn't matter," Li Nai said slowly. "After all, isn't it just a difference in physical appearance?"

Mori Ogai smiled. "I knew it, the Shop Owner indeed..."

"I can transform into that appearance too, you know," Li Nai said.

Mori Ogai: ???

Under the gradually horrified gazes of everyone, Li Nai casually tossed the dice. Then, an emotionless female voice echoed in everyone's minds—

"【Li Nai】 is conducting a ??? check: D20=18/?, Success."

With a *poof*, a magical seven-colored smoke billowed out. A dainty, delicate hand reached out and caught the falling dice. As the obscuring mist slowly dissipated, a loli version of Li Nai stood in the center of everyone's vision.

The petite, black-haired girl elegantly lifted her skirt. Her fair skin was as soft and smooth as the finest white porcelain, her pink lips resembled fresh rose petals, and on her angelic face, her pitch-black pupils sparkled with the beautiful luster of obsidian.

She wore an intricate, puffy Lolita dress, the layers of the skirt completely covering her legs, colored a blood-like crimson.

Everyone: Huh?

The one who collapsed the most was, of course, Mori Ogai. Watching the most terrifying and revered person in his life suddenly turn into a loli with a *poof*—and a highly adorable one at that—made him feel like he would need a lifetime to forget this horrific nightmare.

But Mori Ogai had absolutely no idea that an even greater collapse was yet to come.

Li Nai spoke, her voice perfectly matching her appearance, as clear and sweet as a chirping young bird.

"Oh right, I almost forgot, I can play this now." She tapped her lower lip thoughtfully.

A terrible premonition suddenly arose. Everyone quickly turned around, attempting to flee the scene. Mori Ogai, in his haste, tripped and fell, but he didn't even care about his reopened wounds; with a distorted face, he scrambled up and tried to keep running.

But no one could escape successfully, because Li Nai had already thrown the dice again. Placing her fingertip by her lips to form a dimple, she smiled sweetly at everyone.

The cold female voice rang out again, and everyone's footsteps instantly froze in place.

"【Li Nai】 is conducting a Charm check: D20=7/20, Success."

"All members, Willpower check."

The phantom of dice appeared before the five people's eyes. Five dice were tossed high simultaneously, and everyone's hearts leaped into their throats.

Falling along with the dice was Nakahara Chuuya's panicked yet resolute shout.

"Whichever god it is—ah right, Dice Goddess, please!" Nakahara Chuuya yelled frantically, "—I don't want to become a pervert, ahhhh!"

Li Nai raised an eyebrow slightly.

【A Single Die】 Description 1: ...Rumor has it that praying to the gods when using it can increase the probability of success...

The dice hit the ground, and the results of the check echoed in the minds of the five people.

"Miss Dazai is conducting a Willpower check: D20=14/18, Success." Miss Dazai's expression remained calm, as if she had long foreseen this.

"Young Dazai is conducting a Willpower check: D20=9/17, Success." The young Dazai Osamu slowly retracted his stepped-out foot, calmly returning to his spot.

"Oda Sakunosuke is conducting a Willpower check: D20=7/19, Success." Oda blinked.

"Nakahara Chuuya is conducting a Willpower check: D20=12/12, Success." Nakahara Chuuya's racing heart finally settled, though he was broke into a cold sweat by this extremely close call.

"Mori Ogai is conducting a Willpower check: D20=19/15, Failure."

Mori Ogai's face changed drastically.

"What a pity," Li Nai said regretfully. "It wasn't a critical failure."

Against the backdrop of this voice, Mori Ogai desperately tried to escape the little shop. But it was clearly too late. A bizarre transformation welled up from within his body. Mori Ogai suddenly stopped, turned around in a daze, his eyes uncontrollably locking onto Li Nai.

The petite, black-haired girl smiled and slowly raised her right hand.

Mori Ogai knew very well in his heart that the young girl before him was actually the terrifying and bizarre Shop Owner, Li Nai. Yet, he still couldn't resist being deeply attracted. In a brief moment of daze, he unconsciously walked over, raising his hands to cradle that delicate, porcelain-white hand.

Seeing this, Nakahara Chuuya took several steps back in horror, imagining how he had almost fallen into a similar state.