Phantom Thief Becomes Cute and Lovely (3)

“Ow… my head… my head…”

I don’t even remember how I got back… Still, aside from my head feeling like it’s splitting from a hangover, I didn’t get a single scratch.

I even spread out my blanket nicely and passed out… I must have drunk a lot…

That woman named Halo, who introduced herself as Seven Stars, said she’d grant my wish to get closer to Miwol… Was she just a strange, drunk woman? Nothing has really changed.

I’ll figure out later if she was really Seven Stars, but anyway… what time is it now?

“…Nine o’clock?!”

I’m screwed..! I haven’t even washed my face yet..!

Cafe Lapin’s day usually involves opening early in the morning and closing around quitting time, as it’s a cafe in front of the station and early morning sales account for a large portion of its revenue. But I woke up much later than when office workers go to work.

I’m screwed… I left the spare key under the flowerpot by the main entrance, so Miwol is probably working alone… I said we’d meet with a smile, but I unintentionally dumped work on her…

If it weren’t for Miwol and me, she might have sued me. Let’s hurry out!

On the phone where I checked the time, there was only one KakaoTalk message from Miwol. A short text saying [Give me extra pay!] and a cute emoticon, that was it.

Idiot… you idiot… As a Phantom Thief, before you steal anything, take good care of the employees you should cherish..!

“Why didn’t Miwol wake me up..! Haa…”

If I open the back door of the cafe and just the right door, it’s my house. What if she thinks I didn’t come out because I was sulking about yesterday’s events?

No time to think… Just quickly wash my face and go out.

“Ugh… Is the alcohol still affecting me…”

I walked to the bathroom without stumbling, but it felt like I’d walked much further than usual. Even though it was only a few steps difference… it felt subtly strange. I felt a sense of disconnect, as if the entire room had grown larger.

“…Huh?

The moment I dismissed it as a trivial feeling and stepped into the bathroom, I faced reality: it wasn’t just a feeling.

In the mirror, a woman I’d never seen before, exactly like me, touched her face with trembling hands and gasped so loudly that her violet eyes were fully visible.

“W-what is thisssssss!!!”

Slightly wavy black and gray two-tone hair, amethyst-like sparkling purple eyes, flawless, dewy skin that made it hard to believe she’d just woken up, and a height that had shrunk by at least a head from the previous 180-ish cm…

It was an appearance anyone would consider ‘lovely,’ but for me, who had just woken up, it only caused confusion.

‘Me…? Is it really me?’

The hangover quickly faded, and the body I realized I possessed was incredibly small.

Shoulders, hands and feet, a slender waist, and plump buttocks. Just in case, I unbuttoned my pajamas and opened my top… and two peaches, unlike my previously firm chest, caught my eye.

A woman with a perfect face and even a perfect body, that was me.

…I, who was a man until yesterday, had become a woman overnight.

“What the fuck is this..!”

I didn’t even take the medicine made by the men in black suits, yet I turned into a woman… Halo, that Demon of Lust, must have done something.

Putting aside my unbelievable body, I searched my memories and recalled my entire body being consumed by something like black water before I fell asleep. What did she say to me…?

Other-person modification? She said she’d add something… Ah, damn it… I can’t remember. Halo… she said she wouldn’t do anything to people with human rights, didn’t she?! If she’s really Seven Stars, is this allowed?! I wanted to argue, but… she’s already gone. I don’t know where she went…

Surely I don’t have to live like this forever, do I? I’d rather die…

Knock, knock─

“Sunbae? Is something wrong??”

A voice came from beyond the door. A woman’s voice in a man’s room… anyone would find it suspicious.

…Wait. How do I explain this to Miwol? You left, I drank with a Demon of Lust, and I became a woman! Surprised? Haha, ha…

After saying such cool things, to go to a bar with another woman… Even though it was forced, if I had really wanted to escape, I might have been able to.

My head started to ache. The ‘me’ who was a man was gone, and I didn’t know how to explain the ‘me’ who was a woman. My heart pounded even more than when I fell into a trap in a noble’s mansion.

If I don’t answer, Miwol will come in. How many seconds are left? Five seconds? If she sees the room with the blanket strewn about and no one there, she might leave, but if she comes straight in, she’ll surely head for the bathroom.

Creak─

“Sunbae? You’re in there, right?”

“Gasp…”

As expected, she came in. I usually keep my room clean because I have to hide my wires, Phantom Thief outfit, and even the door to the basement… but this was the first time I’d let anyone into my room, and I couldn’t exactly go out and tell her to leave.

In the end, I sat behind the bathroom door, holding my breath, waiting for Miwol to leave. Please… don’t turn the doorknob.

It was as if the world had decided to screw me over today; the firmly closed door began to slowly creak open.

‘N-no..!’

“Sunbae? You overslept, and what are you doing in there?”

I desperately tried to block the slowly opening door with my body… but it was strange. I’m a man, yet my strength was being pushed back by Miwol, who is much smaller than me.

That’s impossible. Of course… of course, I should be stronger, shouldn’t I?

“Oh, come on… You don’t want to work? Yesterday you were saying how nice my smile was and how everything was fine, but now come out. We got 50 orders since this morning, and it’s tough to do it alone.”

“W-wait..!”

The door opened. So futilely that it felt like I hadn’t blocked it at all. The gaze of my cute junior, who always looked up at me, was now looking straight ahead.

I had become so small that I was now at eye level with my junior, who always used to look up at me…

“…Um.”

“Oh, hello! I’m Lee Seri, oppa’s half-sister! Oppa asked me to look after the shop for a day yesterday, so I came! Please take good care of me!”

Right. I am Phantom Thief Lupin, a master of disguise and infiltration. This level of acting is nothing… though it’s my first time acting as a woman, so it might be awkward.

Lee Seri. Age 2■, a child born from an affair between my oppa and a foreign woman. Her occupation is… well, a fresh graduate who just became an adult… unemployed, a lively polite-speech character.

If I suddenly say I became a woman, she might treat me like a lunatic. For now… let’s just create this much of a setting. I’ll think about the detailed settings later; for now, let’s focus on clearing up Miwol’s misunderstanding.

“…..”

“I’ve heard a lot from oppa. He was so happy and relieved to have such a trustworthy person at the cafe… Miwol unnie.”

Oppa, unnie… I’ll just bear it for now… Halo… that cra

“…Pfft. What is it, Seri sunbae? You were really cute just now. I didn’t expect you to call me unnie…”

“…Huh? So I’m oppa’s…”

“Alright, no more fooling around! We don’t have time for this. Hurry up and wash, then come out. I’ve already baked the cookies, but coffee is the problem. Anyway, Miwol will get ready first~.”

Just now… didn’t she call me Seri sunbae?

It was so natural. My acting, and Miwol’s actions until she closed the door and left…

It’s like she’s treating me as if I’ve been a woman from the start…

That can’t be. I’ve been a man since birth, and I played with mostly boys throughout elementary, middle, and high school.

I lived a normal male student life, playing soccer and talking about games.

…Wait, my clothes.

Now that I think about it, I’ve never slept in pajamas before. So where did the clothes I’m wearing now come from?

As that thought crossed my mind, wondering if my other clothes had also changed, I just washed my face, went out, and opened the wardrobe door.

Not only had all the sizes shrunk, but there were dolphin shorts and tights that no man would even consider wearing. The underwear drawer also displayed bras and panties, forming a set, hanging on luxurious hangers.

Finally, at the end of the wardrobe, when I pressed a finger into a grooved wooden frame, it wasn’t long before my Phantom Thief outfit, which I hadn’t been able to mend, was also shrunk to fit ‘Seri’s’ physique.

The black pants, fitted with a large belt to hang a wire gun and spray, had transformed into hot pants that covered about half of my thighs, with a belt that seemed even larger.

The top, which had consisted of a white shirt, tie, and jacket, had become a mere scrap of fabric that exposed a pierced cleavage and abdomen… reminiscent of an infiltration spy or a ninja.

“It’s a dream… isn’t it? It must be a dream…”

I pinched my cheek to see if I was dreaming, and the stinging sensation was fully felt as it was pulled. It’s not a dream. It’s reality.

Miwol calling me Seri sunbae, my shrunken body, my Phantom Thief outfit that bears no resemblance to its original form… it’s all real.

My heart didn’t just pound; it felt like it dropped, and my legs gave out, causing me to collapse onto the blanket on the floor.

“Calm down… calm down… There has to be a way to go back to normal…”

Nothing will change if I break down here, so I gritted my teeth and barely stood up. First, I need to find Halo, that woman. I’ll have no choice but to close the shop for today and go out to find her right away.

Just as I managed to compose myself and was changing into my staff uniform, Miwol came back and knocked on the door again.

“Sunbae, a letter arrived? I’ll leave it here.”

“Oh, oh… Thanks, Miwol. Just leave it there. I’ll be out soon…”

I really can’t get used to this voice… It’s cute, but I don’t want to be cute…

“Okayy~”

…It’s from the government office, isn’t it? It can’t be about the Human Rights Fee since I paid that last time… What could it be? Is it about the cafe? Let’s see…

***

[Human Rights Fee Unpaid Tax Notice]

[An error has been found in the Human Rights Fee settlement for Lee Seri-nim. We apologize for not being able to identify the error quickly and for the delay in notification.]

[It has been confirmed that for a total of 2■ years, the Human Rights Fee was paid as male-use, and the total Human Rights Fee you must additionally pay is ■■■,■■■,…]

[Please pay within 4 days from today, the date this notice was sent, which is the recognized payment period.]

[If payment is not made within the payment period, you will be incarcerated in the Magic Power Extraction Facility according to Klaus Law, Article 1, Paragraph 8.]

Klaus Prison Warden Gould Dream [Signed by proxy]

***