Chapter 3: The Seventh Wish

Kagehara Tetsuya’s gaze lingered on Yomikawa, his voice cutting through the quiet hum of the clubroom. “The first six wishes are worth examining, aren’t they? How did Hanako’s wishes come true? Did she change on her own, or did the two of them swap voices, hair, and bodies one by one, just like their faces?”

If Yomikawa was Hanako, then Kagehara Tetsuya himself was undoubtedly Natsuhime. If the transformation was one-sided, and Yomikawa’s appearance fully became “Kagehara Tetsuya,” while he remained unchanged, survival in modern society would be impossible.

The sudden shift in tone caused the atmosphere to cool. A male classmate to the left broke the silence, his voice thoughtful. “Now that you mention it, if Hanako changed on her own, it does seem… unusual.”

Ōgami Yōsuke, the transfer student who had joined the school halfway through the term, leaned forward. Kagehara Tetsuya knew him well—Ōgami was the most curious and daring among their peers. He was also the only one in the club, aside from Yomikawa-senpai, who had ever engaged Kagehara in conversation.

“It’s already a strange story to begin with, isn’t it?” someone murmured from the corner.

Ōgami shook his head, “Think about Hanako’s sixth wish. She wanted to bear children with Natsuhime’s noble bloodline. From a modern perspective, if that wish came true, it would mean changes to Hanako’s genetic information and organs. But in ancient times, there was no way to test DNA. Why would Hanako make such a wish?”

He paused, letting the question sink in. “If we’re being precise, there was a way to verify lineage back then. The position of shrine priest was hereditary. The Natsuhime family had served as shrine priests for generations, tasked with communicating with the gods. For people of that era, if you weren’t of that bloodline, it was impossible to fulfill that role.”

The room grew still as Ōgami continued, his voice low. “If Hanako’s sixth wish came true, and the changes were one-sided, wouldn’t that mean there were suddenly two people with the same fingerprints, blood type, and DNA?”

"Ōgami-kun, you're overthinking it. This story is riddled with holes from the start."

Ōgami Yōsuke didn’t respond immediately, his mind clearly churning through the details. The others in the group shifted uncomfortably, their silence a testament to their reluctance to engage with Kagehara. The conversation hung in the air, a back-and-forth between the two.

Yomikawa let out a soft chuckle. Her voice was light, almost teasing, but there was a knowing edge to it. "I think Kagehara and Ōgami are onto something. The way Hanako’s wishes came true... it was an exchange. When Hanako’s voice and hair became like Natsuhime’s, Natsuhime’s traits must have shifted to match Hanako’s original state. A mutual trade, if you will."

Ōgami’s gaze flicked up, his expression still clouded with thought. Kagehara, on the other hand, smiled and said, "Senpai, you seem to know an awful lot about this."

Yomikawa waved a hand dismissively, her laugh awkward. "Just guessing, really. Don’t read too much into it." 

Kagehara let the comment slide, but his mind was already racing. If Yomikawa’s theory held water, then the sequence of Hanako’s wishes—first the voice, then the hair, then the body—suggested a systematic exchange of traits. And if that exchange was happening in that precise order, it pointed to something far more deliberate than mere coincidence. Something orchestrated.

His eyes lingered on Yomikawa for a moment longer before he turned his attention back to the group. This was a rather significant discovery.

At the far end of the circle, Takada Shōji, a second-year with a reputation for his brashness, slammed his fist on the table. The sound echoed sharply in the quiet room. "If you ask me, Hanako was planning to steal Lady Natsuhime’s identity from the very beginning. Natsuhime was the real victim here—poor thing!"

Kagehara recognized Takada’s voice immediately. The guy was impulsive, quick to jump to conclusions, and even quicker to defend them, no matter how flimsy. Ōgami raised a quiet objection. "But the servants were plotting against Hanako too. They even acted on it. Doesn’t that complicate things?"

Takada scratched at his chin, his fingers brushing against the edge of the mask he wore. "Hmm... then it must’ve been a joint scheme! Hanako and the servants were in on it together."

Ōgami’s tone remained measured, “But in the end, it was the servants who came forward and exposed everything. Doesn’t that suggest they had a change of heart?"

Takada frowned, his brow furrowing as he scrambled to patch the holes in his theory. "Well... maybe they couldn’t live with the guilt anymore. Or maybe the Chief Priest’s investigation forced their hand. Either way, Hanako was no saint. She got what she deserved." 

Whether Hanako’s intentions had been good or evil, she’d had her reasons—everyone did. But what about Yomikawa? What reason could she possibly have for doing something so similar?

His gaze shifted to her, sitting across the table. From his angle, sure they may have the about the same height and build. But Yomikawa was undeniably beautiful, the kind of girl who turned heads without even trying. And then there was him—plain, unremarkable Kagehara Tetsuya, the kind of person who blended into the background like a nobody.

The differences between them didn’t end there. Yomikawa’s parents were celebrated scholars, their names synonymous with success and prestige, while he could only rely on his family’s inheritance to get by. At school, he wasn’t entirely sure about Yomikawa’s social connections, but he had never heard her reputation tarnished by even a whisper of scandal. Meanwhile, rumors about him swirled like a storm—some true, most not—leaving his name muddied and his standing in tatters.

So why? Why would someone like Yomikawa want to give up her identity, her life, and hand it over to someone like him? It didn’t make sense. Unless… the problem wasn’t with him at all. It was with her.

Could it be that Yomikawa wanted to escape her own life? To abandon the weight of her name and the expectations that came with it? If so, she’d need someone to take her place, someone to shoulder the responsibilities she no longer wanted.

But why him? Was it random, or was there something more? Maybe Yomikawa was sick—terminally ill, even. Or perhaps her family life wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. A perverted father, a hidden stigma… the possibilities were endless, each more troubling than the last.

Kagehara’s frown deepened. A perverted father would be straightforward to deal with. But a terminal illness? A disease? That would complicate things.

At that moment, Yomikawa Tsuko leaned forward as she pressed Takada Shōji further. “Then what about Hanako’s seventh wish? What exactly was it?”

Takada scratched the back of his head, his expression faltering. “Eh… no one knows, right? It’s such an old story.” He glanced around the room, but the others were equally stumped, their heads bowed in thought.

The legend of Lord Mask-Taker was a local tale, passed down through generations in their town. While the locals knew it by heart, outsiders had never heard of it. The shrines dedicated to the deity had long since crumbled into neglect, and few people bothered to study the details anymore.

“I might have an idea,” Ōgami Yōsuke spoke up, his voice calm but carrying a weight that made everyone turn to him.

“Ōgami-kun?” Yomikawa’s eyes narrowed, her curiosity piqued. “What are you thinking?”

Ōgami pondered for a moment and said, “If you think about the illogical parts of the story, it starts to make sense. Why did Natsuhime only realize she couldn’t remove the mask when she was about to be killed? It doesn’t add up.”

Takada blinked, confused. “What do you mean?”

Ōgami continued, “Hanako started making wishes the very night they swapped identities. If her voice changed, wouldn’t Natsuhime have noticed immediately?”

Takada frowned, scratching his chin. “Well… maybe their voices were already similar, so Lady Natsuhime didn’t notice. I mean, if their voices weren’t alike, they wouldn’t have been able to swap identities in the first place, right?”

Ōgami shook his head slowly, “If their voices were already similar, why would Hanako wish for a change in her voice? That doesn’t make sense. And even if their voices weren’t alike, swapping identities wouldn’t have been impossible. Natsuhime just had to avoid speaking to the other servants. With a bit of planning, it wouldn’t have been hard to pull off.”

Takada Shōji furrowed his brow, his fingers tapping lightly against the edge of the wooden desk. He finally nodded, conceding. "You’re right. But then how do we explain why Lady Natsuhime didn’t notice the change in her voice? It doesn’t make sense."

"Good question," Ōgami said, his voice low and deliberate. He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. "Shōji-kun, let me ask you this: on which day after the identity swap do you think Lady Natsuhime was killed by the servants?"

Shōji blinked, caught off guard. He scratched the back of his neck, "Well... it could’ve been any time, right? If Lady Natsuhime didn’t notice the change in her voice, she might not have noticed the changes to her hair or skin either. But her body... she would’ve noticed that. So... she was probably killed before Hanako’s fourth wish came true. That would mean within ten days."

Ōgami shook his head slowly, his expression unreadable behind the mask. "No. I think it happened much earlier. Lady Natsuhime was likely killed before Hanako’s second wish came true."

A murmur rippled through the group. Shōji’s eyes widened. "Huh? That early? Why do you say that?"

"Before the second wish came true, so within four days, right?"

"But... what’s the reason? Why so soon?"

"It’s simple," Ōgami said, his tone calm but firm. "Because Hanako hadn’t made the wish yet." He paused, letting the words sink in, then made a pushing motion with his hands, as if shifting pieces on a board. "The hidden wish wasn’t the seventh one. It was the first. We just need to shift the six wishes back by one."

“So the voice swap wasn’t the first wish? It was the second?"

"Exactly, the voice swap was Hanako’s second wish, and it came true on the fourth day. But her first wish..." His gaze sweeping over the group. "Her first wish was that the masks she and Natsuhime wore could never be removed."