Is Hikari Teruko?

"Ah, right, right, Ii-tan."
However, with an easygoing voice that had nothing to say, Aikawa-san spoke to me.
"You probably didn't notice, so Onee-san will teach you one thing."
"What?"
"I will t e l l y o u ★"
"No, even if you say it in an erotic way....."
"It's about Hikari."
"What about Hikari-san?"
"It's probably not Hikari."
"What?"
I was surprised.
"I haven't seen her directly, so I can't say for certain, but I think it was probably either Akari or Teruko. I think it was Teruko."
"Eh........?"
Because they are triplets.
That kind of switching is entirely possible.
The difference between those three is the glasses and their personality.
You can remove glasses and you can play another person's character.
But.
"How can you say that? As you said, Jun-san, you didn't even see her, right?"
"Yeah. But I wouldn’t be able to tell in person anyway. Because they’re triplets. And as for their character, those three sisters are liars in the truest sense of the word."
"I know that too, but."
"Ii-tan can’t even see it. I can’t even see it. Of course, even those three's master, Iria, can't tell the difference between each one of them. So far, there’s only one person who can tell the three apart just by looking at them ."
"........ Ah ."
Kunagisa Tomo.
Kunagisa Tomo... on that island, with one look, with just one glance, she could clearly distinguish between the three of them. With Kunagisa’s terrific memory and recognition ability, she could tell the differences even if they were identical.
And.
That day when I met the fox-masked man in the underground parking lot, Hikari-san didn’t try to meet Kunagisa even though she was so close to her.
That's because.
Hikari-san wasn't Hikari-san?
"But if that’s true, then why? There's no reason to lie like that, is there?"
"Yeah. Thinking normally, that kind of lie is unnecessary. But that's why . If she wasn't Hikari but Akari or Teruko, then it's probably Teruko. That's what I think. You said that Hikari-san was following you around, right? In other words, wasn't she guarding you ?"
I.
Without thinking, I looked back at Houko-chan.
Certainly, that was also the case for Houko-chan.
To protect me.
And in the first place, even though she’s a maid, she has a seperate role from her two sisters. A bodyguard. A remarkable bodyguard that guards Akagami Iria’s surroundings.
"Kasugai went to that island and told her about you, didn’t she? Hearing that, even though it’s unfitting for her, Iria became worried, right? If that fortune teller who didn’t look like she could die was killed and that made her think that something fishy was going on around Ii-tan, it wouldn’t be surprising if she wanted to do something for you."
"......................."
"You’re making a face like that was unnecessary."
"No, but if that was the case, they could have said so from the beginning---"
"---If they had told you from the start, you would have refused. That’s why you’re making that face like it was unnecessary. Right, Houko-chan?"
".......Right. Certainly," Houko-chan nodded in response to Aikawa-san’s question. "That's why I didn’t say anything about it either."
"............."
I had no choice but to go silent.
"Actually, I think Houko-chan’s and Teruko’s guard was rather useful. After meeting Kino Raichi and being discharged, the only time that shitty dad was able to contact you was in Kunagisa's apartment, right? When Teruko couldn't possibly come along and Houko-chan was sleeping. Aside from that brief window, it was a solid guard, right? Like the strongest shield."
"...................."
"Well, that bastard is impressive for not letting that tiny gap slip away."
In the end, I’ve never, not even once lived alone.......? Even though I said that it was unnecessary, that they shouldn’t get involved, I might not have been able to live without that extra care.
Though it's different from gratitude.
There were some points to think about.
"Though it's a half baked theory close to slander and, in reality, Hikari may have really just been Hikari. But it’s interesting to think of it that way."
"Well, I guess that’s true."

Zaregoto Volume 7: Uprooted Radical (Part One) – The Thirteen Stairs, Act 7, Chapter 1