The cold wind, pregnant with the scent of winter, rattled the apartment windows. Kaede Tanaka, a university sophomore, confronted an ancient book within the narrow amber glow of his desk lamp. He had discovered it in the back of a nameless bookstore tucked away in an alley of Jimbocho. Covered in dust, its leather binding cracked by the decades, the volume emitted a strange, oily odor.
*On the Displacement of Souls and Equivalent Exchange*—the grandiose yet dubious title felt to Kaede like an irresistible stroke of fate.
“…This might actually work.”
Kaede turned the pages with trembling fingers. They contained diagrams of a physiological precision that bordered on the revolting, alongside squirming scripts that defied modern science. He harbored a secret he could never tell—one he intended to take to his grave: an obsession with the “Maid Uniform.”
But it was not a mere hobby of cosplay or cross-dressing. Kaede stood nearly 180 centimeters tall, possessing the broad-shouldered, rugged skeleton of a swimmer. Every time he looked in the mirror, he felt an inexpressible alienation from his thick bone structure, his knotty fingers, and the faint shadow of a beard. What he craved was not the act of wearing the dress itself. He desired to dissolve, soul and all, into a world of symbolic purity and service as a “small, delicate being meant to be protected.”
When Kaede Tanaka, the male university student, wore a maid uniform, there was only the grotesque reality of a “man in drag.” For twenty years, he had been interned in the cage of his own anatomy.
Suddenly, a light patter of footsteps echoed from downstairs.
“Onii-san! I’m taking the bath first!”
It was his sister, Yui. A high school senior, she was his antithesis: petite, with rounded features and large eyes—the embodiment of an “invincible cuteness” loved by everyone. Furthermore, she worked at *Ange*, the popular maid cafe near the station that Kaede yearned for. To Kaede, Yui was a beloved sister, but also his most cruel “mirror.” She enjoyed the privilege he desired—the right to become a part of the maid uniform—as a natural birthright.
Just imagining her wrapped in the *Ange* uniform after school, bathed in a shower of “kawaii” from the customers, stained Kaede’s heart with a pitch-black mixture of envy and self-loathing.
“Yui… I need to talk to you.”
Kaede made up his mind and descended to the living room, grimoire in hand. Yui was on the sofa, kicking her legs casually while scrolling through her phone. That defenseless, soft-looking frame unique to a young girl… If only he could transfer his consciousness into it.
“What is it, Onii-san? So serious. Are you still reading that dusty old book? You’ll never make friends like that.”
Yui laughed mockingly, but her expression stiffened slightly at the inescapable, almost manic sincerity in Kaede’s eyes.
“Yui, please. One week… no, just a few days. Swap bodies with me.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Has your brain finally boiled over?”
“I’m not joking. We can do it with this book. I want to work at *Ange* in your place. I want to experience that uniform, that air, that world through your flesh.”
Yui let out a heavy sigh of exasperation. “I had a feeling you liked maid outfits, but… isn’t this like a crime? Besides, swapping is impossible.”
Without a word, Kaede opened his bank app and thrust his phone before her eyes. It displayed the savings he had painstakingly accumulated since middle school—several hundred thousand yen.
“I’ll give it all to you. Do whatever you want. Buy clothes, go on trips. With my body, you’ll be an invincible university student. Won’t you sell me your freedom for just one week?”
Yui’s eyes were pinned to the digits. She was currently in the throes of entrance exam stress. Free time, free money, and a “male” body—a powerful frame that wouldn’t feel fear walking alone at night.
“…If we can really swap, I guess I don’t mind. Playing around in the city with your body sounds kind of fun. As long as you transfer all that money to my account.”
The devil’s contract was signed. Kaede was certain—the book was real. The stagnant magical aura seeping from the pages proved it. He staked his life, his body, and every ounce of the pride he had protected to reach for the “sanctuary” beyond the ruffles.
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