Kimihiro Watanuki could not have been more thrilled than when he accidentally discovered the bizarre wish-granting shop owned by the beautiful yet unsettling Yūko Ichihara. She solemnly promises to banish the spirits tormenting Kimihiro, but only after he pays her fee—rendered in daily afternoon chores at her shop—in full.
Of course, the excitement fades once Kimihiro realizes his payment plan closely resembles indentured servitude… eternal indentured servitude. Still, he presses on, ready for whatever adventures come his way. But for Kimihiro, three may not be the charm.
His first job—to acquire a pair of fake eyeglasses—seems exceptionally pointless, even by Yūko’s standards. At least, it appears that way, until Kimihiro watches a woman throw herself into traffic. He soon learns that the doors of bespectacled perception can open both ways.
Next, when a classmate asks for help solving a mystery involving text messages from the dead, Kimihiro is happy to play detective. But he must turn to Yūko to determine whether the root of the riddle is supernatural mischief, deceit, or murder.
Finally, no matter how ready, willing, and able Kimihiro thinks he is to face the most unusual circumstances, he finds himself completely baffled by the stranger who chases away his darkest spirits, condemns Yūko as a craven charlatan, and offers Kimihiro a way out of his supernatural predicament—and a fortune besides.
