A comic book, but a librarian

Hiratsuka Shizuka opened the door and Hikigaya Hachiman looked inside. There was a beautiful girl with long black hair who was reading the book in her hand seriously.

In the art club classroom, a group of people were watching Uesugi Cheng sitting in front of a canvas.

"Is Yotsuya-san interested in art?"

The female student who looked like the club president pushed her thick glasses. She didn't look at Uesugi Sumire and turned to ask Yotsuya Miko if she had any ideas about the art club.

"Ah.....this...then...I..."

Yotsuya Miko was hesitant. She really didn't have much interest in art, but since she was already in someone else's club activity room, it would seem too blunt to just say she wasn't interested.

"It's okay, I understand, I understand, you are interested in that person, right?"

The club leader didn't seem surprised. She glanced at Uesugi Sumire who was surrounded by everyone.

"That guy is a genius. To be honest, just standing there with a paintbrush and painting something is enough to bring us enthusiasts back to reality... The gap between people is even greater than that between people and dogs..."

Although he said these words in a self-destructive manner, Yotsuya Miko could not tell how regretful or helpless the club leader felt.

"It's so beautiful. At least I can still see the paintings he made... Even if the lines and composition are a mess, the colors and pictures alone are enough to shock people."

Yotsuya Miko looked over again and saw that the canvas in front of Uesugi Sumire was already covered in colors. At that moment, she felt as if her brain had been hit by something.

When she came to her senses, she seemed to be walking in heavy snow. The snow on the ground had wrapped her calves. Pure white snowflakes like goose feathers were still floating in the sky. The sky and the earth were all white and no other colors could be found. The dead silence made people feel at ease. She slowly closed her eyes and wanted to lie down in this endless white. Sleeping in silence might be a good choice.

“Wake up…..Wake up!”

Yotsuya Miko's whole body tensed up like a frightened cat, and then she came to her senses and realized that she had just had a very scary thought.

"I, what happened to me just now?"

"You look like you're bored to death in class and about to fall asleep. Is that okay?"

Uesugi Sumiko did not put away the canvas this time. Even though it was only level one, the effect of the sight and perception as a great technique was beyond his imagination. At least he did not expect that this would be a bit too stimulating for a clairvoyant like Yotsuya Miko.

"It's okay... It's okay, I just feel a little scared." Yotsuya Miko patted her chest. If she had closed her eyes like that, would she really not be able to wake up... She didn't want to think about it.

"Let's talk about the spirit in a secluded corner. It won't disturb the members of the club here."

Uesugi Sumire greeted those classmates, and they quickly made room for him in a corner.

"Can I tell you now? I've really had enough. Why did I come here to get scolded?" After an unknown amount of time, Hikigaya calmly returned to the teacher's office.

"Take a look at this. This is Uesugi Cheng's information... It's not allowed to be shared with others. Once you've read it, forget about it."

Shizuka Hiratsuka placed two thin pieces of paper in front of Hikigaya.

Hikigaya ignored the meaningless information and what appeared before him was a comprehensive evaluation called "Serious Violent Tendencies".

Chapter 7: Sight

"Huh... Although I think I've said too much, but what about this comment?" Hikigaya took a deep breath. As far as he knew, at Integrated High School, even if they were dragged out for a fair fight, there wouldn't be any comments of 'serious violent tendencies'. However, when Uesugi Sumire communicated with him these past few days, it was obvious that he behaved very normally.

"You also know that he is a transfer student, right? Uesugi Cheng transferred from Shuchiin. The reason was not made clear, but it is probably not a reason that can be said openly, so I hope you can help me do this. Help me keep an eye on him a little."

Hiratsuka Shizuka scratched her hair in annoyance. After all, she had worked at Unified High School for so many years and had accumulated quite a bit of connections. But when it came to Uesugi Sumika, she knew nothing about him except that he came from the Uesugi family, a noble clan.

"I can only inform you, teacher, if he might do something irrational. As for the rest... I'm sorry, I can't do anything about it."

"That's enough. Go ahead, and don't forget to join Xiaoxue's service club."

As soon as the word "Service Club" was mentioned, Hikigaya Hachiman's serious face instantly collapsed.

"Can I not go? I think I have completely understood what you think of youth and life, so I should use my time on further studies..."

Faced with the death stare from Hiratsuka Shizuka, Hikigaya finally couldn't withstand the pressure and walked out of the office dejectedly with dead eyes.

"Well... I have a question. If... I mean, if I am haunted by those spirits, what should I do?"

Yotsuya Miko asked. She looked around and it was obvious that the activity room of the art club was arranged in the same way as an art classroom. She could even guarantee that this layout would give people a weird feeling at dusk and night. But in fact, it was much safer than most parts of Unified High School. At least the chaotic scene that appeared in Unified High School at dusk that day did not appear in the art room.

"I don't know." Uesugi Cheng answered directly.

"Eh?" The girl subconsciously made a puzzled sound.

"In fact, just like what you saw, I have never met or even seen those guys who would pester you. I am afraid that if you ask me about this matter, I will only disappoint you."

Uesugi Cheng's eyes were shining with a strange light. He was flipping through one of the few books in the Silent Bookstore that could be read directly without editing. It was "Night Travel Notes Volume 1" placed in the guard's hut.

The author of this book, Christopher Iliopoli, describes how to enter a world called 'Mansuku' through dreams, but to Uesugi Cheng's regret, as the administrator of Silent Books, he was forbidden to enter Mansuku. This ban was also effective in the waking world and Mansuku, and he could not try to enter Mansuku in Japan in this world.

"Miss Jianzi, although I don't know how to help you avoid evil spirits, but perhaps... this thing can help you a little."

[Liminal Edict]: A commandment of restriction and separation; enacted by a mysterious council of the Hours, sometimes called the Altar. (2 Moth 1 Revelation)

Almost at the moment of learning this great art, Uesugi Cheng mobilized his soul, accompanied by the memories gained from reading Night Journey. With the impulse stirring in his heart, he picked up the paintbrush and began to paint on the white paper in front of him.

The restrictions and rules set by Si Chen are all ineffective in this world, but Uesugi Cheng can still perform rituals by using them as some kind of symbols, just like the brand new talisman in front of him.

"Take this and stick it on your door. I think ordinary evil spirits won't be able to find your room. Remember, it has to be at the door. And I can't guarantee its effectiveness, so you'd better try it somewhere first."

Uesugi Sumiko handed the already painted paper to Yotsuya Miko, who accepted the light paper as if it were a treasure.

"Speaking of which, I have a commission that may require you to help me with something."

"Eh, could it be... an exorcism?" Yotsuya Miko's mind couldn't help but pop up the scene of Uesugi Sumiya's eyes shining and killing ghosts with great power. The bright light that she caught a glimpse of in Uesugi Sumiya's eyes yesterday is still deeply engraved in her heart.

"No, what are you thinking about? Go buy me some spray paint cans. I'll write you the colors and quantities on a note later, and just tell me the money. I'm going to do some work for someone... should it be considered a decoration commission?"

Uesugi Cheng looked at the message from Uesugi Nobuyuki on his mobile phone, and a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"It's like seeing you in person. I have a friend who I met when I was playing in a band. Later, he opened a live house in Shimokitazawa. I think it was called Fanxing. She needs to renovate the showroom and put some decorations there, so I'm giving you the commission for the wall painting. After all, your sister and I have seen your talent in art. Don't worry about the price. I've negotiated it for you."

"Shimokitazawa, the subway from Tonghe seems a bit far..."

When Uesugi Sumiko was calculating the distance, he heard a very sudden sound coming from Yotsuya Miko, as if the upper and lower teeth were fighting.

"That... that is not..."

Yotsuya Miko raised her hand timidly and pointed out the window.

The sky was clear, with white clouds floating in the blue sky and the sun shining brightly. However, in such beautiful weather, on the roof of a building in the distance, an extremely abrupt shadow seemed to be standing on the guardrail, making a "big" shape towards the sky.

The startled members also looked towards that place, and suddenly the whole classroom was in commotion.

"......"

Uesugi Sumiko covered Yotsuya Miko's eyes, and the next second, the word "big" jumped down from a tall building in the distance, as if it was submerged in the ocean of buildings.

"It's so unlucky that we actually see something like this." Some members walked away cursing, as if they were afraid that some ominous misfortune would befall them.

However, Yotsuya Miko was grabbing Uesugi Sumiko's sleeve tightly at this moment. She looked like she was about to cry, and spoke in a tone as if she was about to burst into tears in the next second.

"I...I saw it. Why...why me?"

Yotsuya Miko looked like she was about to collapse, so Uesugi Sumiya had no choice but to send her to the infirmary to rest for a while.

"Uesugi-san, I saw... that person didn't do it voluntarily. He was... entangled by someone and jumped."

"okay, I get it."

"It also said...it saw me, and the next one...is me."

Chapter 8 Explanation

It was difficult for Yotsuya Miko to describe what she saw. It was probably a man standing on the rooftop, crying bitterly, drooling from the corners of his mouth, and his eyes looked as if they had been dug out. If it were just that, she would at most feel disgusted, but she saw it clearly, or rather, she saw it too clearly.

A monster emerged from behind the man, lying on his neck in a sticky and soft manner. It seemed that countless silk threads stretched into his ears and entangled the suicidal man's limbs, making him smile uglier than crying.

"You saw me, right... I saw you too..."

Before the man jumped, Yotsuya Miko read his lip language. What made her even more disgusted was that it was not the man's eyes that met hers, but the monster's unique, extremely resentful and bloodthirsty eyes that were looking at her, as if it had found its next toy.

"See you!!!"

When Uesugi Cheng heard the voice, he silently took two steps back. The door of the infirmary was pushed open, and a girl who looked very anxious rushed in.

"Are you OK!!"

That was Kenko's good friend Yurikawaka. She was anxiously holding Kenko's hand at the moment. Uesugi Sumiko always felt that Yurikawaka's reaction did not seem like Kenko was injured, but rather like Kenko was sick and was ready to see her for the last time.

"It's okay... I was just a little scared..."

Yotsuya Miko looked at Yurikawa Hana helplessly. Although she was very happy that her best friend cared about her so much, the words she had finally prepared on how to explain everything to Uesugi Sumire were destroyed by Yurikawa Hana's intrusion, and she even lost the chance to explain the situation.

"Since you don't have any serious problems, then I should go back to class." Uesugi Cheng subconsciously touched his trouser pocket and found that he didn't take his cell phone with him, apparently because the incident happened suddenly.

"Oh, then... okay." Yotsuya Miko paused for a moment. She didn't want to involve her best friend. After all, her best friend couldn't see anything at all. Telling her would only cause more trouble.

"Hey, Miko...your expression..." As if she finally realized that Yotsuya Miko was not seriously injured, Yurikawa Hana's eyes suddenly became sharp. She looked at Miko with a subtle expression as she watched Uesugi Sumiko leave. She first looked at Uesugi Sumiko's back, then at Miko's eyes. She felt as if she had seen through some secret.

"What...what, what are you thinking about!!! Idiot Ahua!" Yotsuya Miko looked at Yurikawaka's expression and knew what she was thinking. She felt a little embarrassed but relieved at the same time. If Yurikawaka really had a sudden love-crazy brain attack and mistakenly thought that the relationship between her and Uesugi Sumika was that kind of situation, then at least she would not pursue the relationship between Uesugi Sumika and her too much, and it also reduced the possibility of her encountering an accident.

The two girls whispered to each other in the infirmary for a while, and then after the school doctor returned to the infirmary and gave a brief diagnosis, Yotsuya Miko was sent out of the infirmary.

"Are you ok?"

Uesugi Cheng opened an art teaching material book for reference and began to learn from the basics again. Although the great technique allowed him to reach a level beyond most people, it was always a good idea to polish the basics more solidly.

"You big-headed ghost, you've made it easy by running away, leaving me there to be tortured by Jing."

Hikigaya Hachiman clearly had an expression of "I might as well die". For him, the Service Club not only meant attacks from sharp-tongued pretty girls, but also meant that his extracurricular free time was drastically cut.

"That can't be helped. It's your fault for not preparing in advance. I warned you yesterday that Jing would definitely not let you go."

Uesugi Sumire bit into a snack, thinking about the unlucky guy who jumped off the building. Although he couldn't see clearly due to the distance, he could clearly feel the man's sense of disharmony. Combined with Yotsuya Miko's reaction, he had roughly guessed what was going on.

"Is it possible that I was the cause of her bad luck in the end?"

Uesugi Cheng laughed at himself. It seemed that the evaluation was correct. Seeing too clearly was sometimes a torture.

"I have other things to do today, what do you say?"

"I'm fine...do you need help?" Hikigaya was stunned for a moment. He considered his words, remembered the document that Hiratsuka Shizuka showed him and her instructions, and finally decided to be a little roundabout.

"This matter is more complicated... I also have some ideas that I want to test. Do you want to come? By the way, these things may shatter your worldview." Uesugi Cheng sighed. If the evil spirits are really rampant to this extent, it would be better to help his assistants master the basic self-protection power. He doesn't want to say and do nothing and regret it one day after seeing the news of their death.

"...What are you going to do?" Hikigaya was stunned. He had never seen Uesugi Sumire ask such a serious question, although they had only known each other for a short time.

"Probably some...supernatural things. Remember our classmate Yotsuya Miko who ran to the art club room yesterday?"

"Ah."

"It's related to her. It's probably caused by my carelessness. I have to solve this problem."

When talking about trouble, Uesugi Sumire's face was obviously not very good, which further strengthened Hikigaya's determination. He didn't want to see his friend being taken away by the police.

"Then let's talk about it after school. This matter is more complicated than you think."

Uesugi Cheng sighed. He had never presided over an exorcism ceremony. Even when he unlocked Solomon's bedroom in Silent Bookstore, he asked 'Yotani Miko from that world' to perform the exorcism ceremony.

"I have opened the first gate, but our dear previous administrator was too cautious... The whole road is tightly sealed by magic. It's really troublesome."

Putting his consciousness back into the Silent Bookstore, Uesugi Cheng sighed helplessly as he looked at the tightly sealed spells in front of the spiral staircase room at the end of the long corridor filled with statues and paintings. It would be difficult for him to remove these sealed spells now, but he could take this opportunity to sort out the uncompiled books in the repaired room earlier, and see which ones he could understand now.

Soon, the soft light of dusk once again enveloped Unified High School. Under the teasing and subtle gaze of Yurikawa Hana, Yotsuya Miko packed up her things and did not leave the school with her. Also staying in their seats were Hikigaya and Uesugi Sumire.

"That guy...it's targeting me." Yotsuya Miko said straight to the point, leaving Hikigaya confused.

Chapter 9: Commission from the Stars

"To be honest, if someone told me these things before today, I think I probably wouldn't have believed it."

Hikigaya sat on the chair, closed his eyes and thought seriously. He could hardly imagine that the world he lived in had so many spirits, some of which were quite aggressive and could even induce others to commit suicide.

"Will you believe it after today?" Uesugi Sumire was writing and drawing on the map app with his mobile phone, while Yotsuya Miko next to him was filtering information according to his request to find the person who committed suicide today.

"Didn't you just let me in on this? To be honest, that weird piece of talisman you called a pardon is really..."

Hikigaya was at a loss for words. The piece of paper looked just like someone's casual doodle. Even the talisman paper sold in shrines or temples was of higher quality than that thing.

"It's OK, although I only learned a little bit. And it's best to use that thing with a door, otherwise it might become a signal flare that makes it easier for evil spirits to find you."

Uesugi Sumire found the building. It was said that the company that rented the building at the beginning of the year went bankrupt and did not renew the lease, so the entire building was idle and closed. But someone climbed to the top of the building and jumped down.

"We've also discovered something here... According to the discussion on the forum, this doesn't seem to be the first time this problem has occurred... It seems that there is a problem with that building."

Yotsuya Miko placed the phone screen between the three people and swallowed subconsciously. Only now did she realize how terrifying the evil spirit targeting her was.

"Ah, someone jumped there again. It was pretty scary actually."

"That is to say, there seems to be something dirty in that building. It is said that a poor guy jumped from that place last month."