A comic book, but a librarian

Chapter 71: Forest Summer Camp

"You're just going to sell me out like this?"

"How can you be hawking? It's obvious that I'm worried about you being alone, so I found you a temporary guardian. If it doesn't work out, just come back." Uesugi Nobuyuki's words always sound as if he is at ease, but it is obvious that this time he is just waiting here to do something bad and trick Uesugi Cheng.

At least that's what Uesugi Cheng thought.

"Enjoy your vacation. If you don't study, you won't have such a vacation to enjoy."

"That's right, Uesugi...it's time to enjoy your vacation." Shizuka Hiratsuka leaned against her car with a smile on her face, looking like a villain whose plan had succeeded.

"What kind of vacation is this? The way I enjoy a vacation is to sleep in bed until I wake up naturally and then go out to find food. Why do I have to go to Chiba to enjoy my vacation?" Uesugi Sumiko took a look at Hiratsuka Shizuka's destination. He didn't really hate going to the countryside or anywhere else. After all, Brancog Island itself was on a remote island with almost no foreign population. If the Suppression Bureau hadn't installed electrical wires for Silent Bookstore, he would probably have to experience the ancient life of reading by candlelight at night.

"You'll know when you get there, so get in the car quickly." Shizuka Hiratsuka pointed to the car behind her, with a hint of gloating in her hearty smile.

"I say, how many people did you drag to Qianye? And why do we have to go to the village to go to Qianye?"

Even the van was packed with people brought by Shizuka Hiratsuka. Not only the people from the Service Club, but also Totsuka Ayaka and Hikigaya Hachiman's sister Komachi were pulled into the car by Shizuka Hiratsuka to go to Chiba together.

"Hahahaha, I told you I'd tell you when we get there. Also, we're going to Chiba Village now!"

"I'm beginning to think that vacation isn't such a good thing... Hikigaya, how about you... Okay."

Uesugi Sumire helplessly listened to Hiratsuka Shizuka's already wild and unrestrained laughter, and turned around to see Hikigaya Hachiman's reaction, but he only saw a person wearing an eye mask and earplugs and already snoring.

Hikigaya seemed to be prepared for this, even his eye mask was labeled with the words "Do Not Disturb" in large letters.

"Go to the village. I should have gone back to sleep..." Uesugi Sumiya muttered to himself. He should have chosen to live with his family when Uesugi Shin asked him to choose between going back and staying. Then it would be Uesugi Shin instead of him who would be in trouble. However, now Uesugi Sumiya could only sigh that his moral level was still a little too high, and decided that when he went back to ask Uesugi Shin for money, he could ask for more with a clear conscience.

"About this matter, didn't you run quite fast when you sold me? How vindictive must this woman be now?" When getting off the car, Hikigaya Hachiman deliberately looked around and then complained to Uesugi Sumire in a low voice. Hiratsuka Shizuka finally got a chance to drag Uesugi Sumire, who always insulted her, to experience youth. Presumably, the next activities will not be too ordinary.

"Okay, okay, everyone is here, right? You will temporarily serve as volunteers here as support staff for the forest summer camp. By the way, Yukinoshita, this is a training activity for the Service Club." Hiratsuka Shizuka was holding a cigarette in her hand, looking like she had everything under control.

The people in their car and the four people in Hayato Hayama's car opposite were left staring at each other.

"Uesugi-san, long time no see...I'm sorry about what happened last time."

Hayato Hayama extended his hand to Uesugi Sumire. When their hands were clasped together, Hayama whispered the second half of the sentence. After he finished speaking, he looked back, as if he was feeling guilty.

"It's nothing. I don't care. As long as this incident can be resolved safely and I can go home to sleep, it's fine." Uesugi Cheng found that although his soul was still full of energy, he was already feeling mentally exhausted.

"Well, the first activity, orienteering, is about to begin! Everyone, get ready to go!" As the person in charge of the forest summer camp, the uncle who seemed to be very good at motivating the children was shouting with a loudspeaker. Yukinoshita seemed to be saying something to Hiratsuka Shizuka, while Hayama Hayato was very quick to show his enthusiasm and social skills, and had already gained a certain popularity among the children.

"I've already written the lyrics. Let me see them? Why me?"

Uesugi Sumire was a little confused. Although it was Ijichi Kouka who sent him the lyrics file, according to her, it seemed that the entire Bond Band wanted him to take a look at the lyrics this time. He didn't know why they trusted him, a non-member who was not a member, so much.

"If Uesugi-san could express his opinion, we would feel more at ease. After all, as an audience member, Uesugi-san must have a completely different perspective from those of us who are performing on stage."

Looking at the sincere words in the chat box, Uesugi Cheng did not refuse, but downloaded the file first, planning to study it carefully in the evening. As for now, he still had to watch these kids doing orienteering in the forest, which even children could do. It was more like a spring outing than an orienteering trip.

As for Hikigaya, he had calmed down. When he found out that his sister was dragged over by Hiratsuka Shizuka just to drag him out of the house, his heart was completely at peace. Isn't it just being a free volunteer? Hasn't Hikigaya done enough unjust work? There are only a few good bosses like Uesugi Cheng who can find people and pay them.

As for Hiratsuka Shizuka, I hope she will never find a good man in her life. Hikigaya thought about this mysterious curse with resentment in his heart. If Hiratsuka Shizuka knew about it, she would definitely be beaten up.

"Yayama's communication skills are really... enviable?" Hikigaya complained to himself. He turned around and wanted to find Uesugi Sumire to chat with him to pass the time, but found that he seemed to have disappeared suddenly.

"Snakes, come to think of it, a little creature like this would actually appear in the forest. Even if it's a non-venomous snake, it's still a little too dangerous, right?"

The snake that was driven away by Ye Shan crawled into the grass, and after crawling for a while, it stopped in front of Uesugi Sumika. It naturally wrapped around his wrist along his outstretched arm, hissing at him, but without any aggressiveness.

Uesugi Sumire stood in the woods, listening to the noisy voices of the children over there, and decided to walk deeper into the forest. If Hiratsuka Shizuka asked, he would say that he was afraid that the children would get lost if they went too deep into the forest, so he specially went to patrol in that direction.

Chapter 72: Bears Appear

"So, that girl Shizuka Hiratsuka didn't tell me...that there would be bears around here."

Uesugi Cheng sighed, and the brown bear in front of him let out a low roar, staring at him intently with its eyes. The snake that had crawled onto his arm was wrapping around him tightly and was unwilling to let go, as if it was also frightened by the bear.

"What kind of genius would set up a summer camp in a forest where there might be bears..."

The next moment, the brown bear pounced on him, but Uesugi Cheng easily dodged it, and then hit it directly on the forehead with a small iron shovel.

"Luckily I brought a shovel with me when I went out, otherwise it would be quite troublesome to deal with you..."

Uesugi Cheng certainly had no intention of killing the bear. Not to mention that the bear had thick skin and tough flesh, he didn't understand the brown bear's weaknesses. Even if he killed it, there would still be a lot of trouble to deal with, so it would be better to let him give up.

"So..."

The brown bear took a few steps back, and its hungry eyes seemed to gradually clear up. It began to lower its body in a bluffing manner, looking as if it was about to pounce.

"Go away. This kind of place is not suitable for killing..." The sound of the shovel hitting the tree became the last straw. The brown bear ran backwards like an arrow, completely different from the look of wanting to pounce on you just now.

Uesugi Cheng thought about it and didn't follow. The brown bear problem was not his responsibility to deal with, and he was too lazy to help the manager here solve the problem. He also found that he seemed to have strayed a little far from the orienteering route designed for the summer camp while walking around. If he continued to chase, he might have to go into the mountains.

So he put away his shovel and began to search locally for some ingredients that might be of use.

"Is that why you suddenly showed up at the terminal after disappearing for so long and said you were there to make sure the road ahead was clear? That bear shouldn't come any closer, right?"

Hikigaya took a deep breath, and after calming himself down, he patted his head in distress as he looked at Uesugi Sumiya, who was holding a shovel in his left hand and a bag in his right hand. It was indeed written here that there would be bears, but he didn't expect that Uesugi Sumiya would actually encounter a bear. Even if he relied on his aura and force, and maybe had some special abilities to scare the bear away, bears that would appear near the forest were a scourge. What worried him even more was that neither of them had left any relevant evidence, and the person in charge here would not end the summer camp because of this.

"It's scared away for now. I left an opened can there. The bear is starving. I hope its attack capability will be a little weaker after eating it." Unknowingly, a can appeared in Uesugi Sumira's hand. It wasn't big, but the smell of meat wafting from it made Hikigaya sniff.

[Canned Ham]: Its taste will remain unchanged for many years to come; this, in some ways, is an advantage. (2 hearts, 1 scale)

"In that case, why not add it to the curry to make it more fragrant."

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, we take it out to eat. It would be a waste if we don't eat it."

After much difficulty repairing the warehouse used by Silent Bookstore to store food, it turned out that there were only some scattered fruit wines, canned goods, pickled fish and the like, and even a pile of vegetables in bags. When Uesugi Cheng saw these things, he could only thank Van Lauren for some preservation spells he had set up, otherwise he would probably have to frown at the warehouse full of rotten and smelly debris.

"As for you, you all look so gloomy. Is there any problem with the orienteering for these little brats?" Uesugi Cheng picked up the firewood very naturally and started to add more firewood. He didn't look like he had just returned.

"Ah, probably... there's a little girl who is isolated." Hikigaya's tone was a little low when he mentioned the girl. Uesugi Sumiko followed his gaze and saw a girl with long black hair holding a digital camera in her hand. She looked a little lonely and seemed to want to blend into the crowd, but she did not move.

"Being isolated is really troublesome... These ignorant little brats just like to play those kinds of tricks. I find it troublesome when I think of this. However, the innocent malice of the little brats is actually a very good material."

Uesugi Cheng was still thinking about his painting, and then he saw Hikigaya's eyes which had begun to turn into dead fish eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm not a pervert. Are you planning to do something to help that little guy?" Uesugi Cheng waved his hands to show that he would not do anything that he shouldn't do.

"If Rumi asks us for help... Yukinoshita said she would help her to the end. She seemed to have been..."

Hikigaya Hachiman looked at Uesugi Sumire's gesture and stopped talking. There was really no need to elaborate on this matter, and nothing good would happen if he told it.

"What's up with the male and female groups? Are they so clean?"

"Ah, maybe some poor unmarried guy was once caught in a couple's display of affection while camping and is still feeling resentful about it."

As soon as Hiratsuka Shizuka's embarrassing incident was mentioned, the atmosphere around them couldn't help but become cheerful.

Shizuka Hiratsuka, who was far away, looked at the suddenly cheerful atmosphere over there, then looked at Uesugi Sumiya standing in the middle, and suddenly she felt like someone had stabbed her in the spine, but the children around her were preparing lunch, so she didn't want to just walk over to see what they were talking about and laughing so happily.

"Let's go over and make contact with him. It seems like that guy Hayama just failed to make contact." Uesugi Sumiko pointed at Tsurumi Rumi who walked out of the cooking area alone, and Hayama who nodded at them.

"It looks like that guy has handed this matter over to you. He has a really big heart." Uesugi Sumika first put the mushrooms and fruits he picked in his bag into a corner. Although these mushrooms would not cause little people to dance in front of his eyes after being selected, if some naughty kids put them in when they are halfway through cooking and cause diarrhea after eating them, he would be guilty.

"Hikigaya, I'll leave this kind of talk therapy to you. You know I'm not good at speaking." Uesugi Sumire planned to go find other people and ask what happened.

"Wait... In that case, why don't you go ask that guy Ye Shan? He might have figured out the situation. I'll ask him what happened from my side."

Hikigaya looked very mature and took the initiative to take over the responsibility, although he probably didn't want to do such a thing.

However, Uesugi Sumire did not go to find Hayama Hayato as Hikigaya suggested, but first found Hiratsuka Shizuka.

"Teacher, I have a question for you."

Chapter 73: Too much associative ability is not good

"Teacher, why am I here?"

"Hmm? Don't you know it yourself? Your brother asked me to do it." Hiratsuka Shizuka bit the cigarette, looking a little surprised that Uesugi Cheng suddenly ran over to ask this question.

"Okay, let's assume that the guy really wants to ask you for help. Why would he do this? Hikigaya Hachiman is the Service Club, and Hayama Hayato is a small group of real people. What about me? Why would someone like me who is completely meaningless to be here appear here?"

"You little brat... this is why I brought you here." Hiratsuka Shizuka's tone sounded a little irritated, but she still tried to speak calmly. "Interpersonal communication is an indispensable part, just think of me as giving you extra lessons."

"You took the initiative to talk to him, right? I guess... after you called the old man, the phone was passed to my brother, right?"

Shizuka Hiratsuka frowned helplessly. She didn't understand why Uesugi Sumiya suddenly became so sensitive, but she also knew that at this point in time, it would be impossible for her to hide her facial expression from Uesugi Sumiya, so she admitted it openly.

"That's it. I took the initiative to contact your family."

Hiratsuka Shizuka originally thought that Uesugi Sumire would have some opinions about this, or even be angry, but to her surprise, Uesugi Sumire just sighed.

"Teacher, if you meddle in other people's affairs, you will never get married."

"You kid!!!" Hiratsuka Shizuka's defense was instantly broken, her fists clenched instantly, without any teacher's reserve, she punched Uesugi Sumika.

Then it was easily dodged.

"By the way, what do teachers think of this behavior of isolation?"

"Uesugi-san, why do you always give me difficult questions? Shouldn't you think about these kinds of questions yourself?" Hiratsuka Shizuka put out her cigarette. Since she couldn't get rid of her anger by beating Uesugi Sumika, she didn't plan to waste any more energy. She just hoped that dinner time would pass quickly, so she could go back to her room, drink some beer, and get married in her dreams. The Uesugi Sumika in front of her had already caused her to have a bit of PTSD reaction to some extent.

"People always have to learn to take shortcuts, but judging from the teacher's look, he probably won't interfere in matters like this. Just pretend I didn't ask." Uesugi Sumira didn't give Hiratsuka Shizuka a chance to speak. He left quickly, as if he had never been there, leaving Hiratsuka Shizuka alone to take deep breaths frantically to maintain her last bit of fragile sanity.

That night, Hikigaya Hachiman, who couldn't sleep, glanced at Totsuka Ayaka who was sleeping soundly next to him, and suddenly felt that it was not wise to sleep in the same room with this classmate who looked a bit like a girl. At least now he didn't feel sleepy at all for the first time in a long time.

However, when he went out, he saw Yukinoshita Yukino who was looking at the stars. Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly thought that it would be better for him to go back to the room and close his eyes to think, but the sound of a dead branch breaking under his feet still reached Yukinoshita Yukino's ears.

"Who?"

Hikigaya had no choice but to come out and reveal his identity. Of course, he didn't react much to Yukinoshita Yukino's insulting words to him. Instead, Yukinoshita Yukino was a little curious about the attitude of the little girl named Tsurumi Rumi, who was determined to do something to help her.

"Speaking of which, Hikigaya, I haven't asked you yet, do you know what happened to the missing case?"

Hikigaya was stunned for a moment. He thought that Yukinoshita Yukino had forgotten about this matter after the two children returned to their family. He didn't expect to hear her bring up the old matter again today.

"I don't know. I won't take the initiative to ask about this kind of thing, Yukinoshita... do you understand what I mean?"

Yukinoshita Yukino lowered her head as if she was thinking, but Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly felt that something was wrong.

"I understand. If even you say so, I will pretend that I don't know. But Hikigaya, as a member of the Service Club, I still hope you can say a little more."

It was just a persuasion without any binding force, so Hikigaya Hachiman just ignored it. However, he still kept it in mind. After all, he didn't want the scenes of self-destruction in those horror comics to happen to Yukinoshita.

Later, Hikigaya forgot what time he returned to his room. Perhaps the night made his mind less clear. He talked more and chatted with Yukinoshita Yukino about many things that should or should not be talked about. He also found out why Yukinoshita cared so much about Tsurumi Rumi.

But none of this helped him with the work he had to do the next day.

"This kind of work, like playing Jenga, is more meaningful if done by one person. Why don't you help them? How can you be interested in an activity like a bonfire party?"

Hikigaya asked as he looked at Uesugi Sumiya who was picking up the wood and stacking it perfectly.

"Hikigaya, look at this bonfire. If it were built more densely, wouldn't it be like a burning enclosed space?"

"Wait wait, you don't want to say anything else..." Hikigaya was stunned for a moment, and suddenly he felt that the sun on a hot day was not so hot.

"No, don't you think that if we put a scarecrow in there as a fuel, it would be like..."

"It's okay, big brother, it's really okay. I think I might have a nightmare tonight. Can we stop talking about "Hell Transformation" here?" Hikigaya felt cold sweat on his forehead. The inhuman feeling that Uesugi Sumire showed at this time made him sweat profusely.

After all, Uesugi Sumiya might really have the means to make a person disappear without anyone noticing. He doesn't want to see the scene of Yoshihide burning his daughter to death happen again here, and he doesn't even want to think about it.

"It's just some inspiration, don't take it too seriously, but the composition is real. I understand why Akutagawa Ryunosuke must look at that kind of thing when he writes the core part of Yoshihide's painting."

Uesugi Sumiya didn't really care about Hikigaya's reaction. Although it sounded like something a normal person wouldn't say, Uesugi Sumiya knew very well where the line was. Although what he just said contained some sincere emotion, it was mostly a joke, although Hikigaya seemed to take it seriously.

"Speaking of which, do you want to go over to that little river over there? It seems like they all went over there to play in the water, leaving only the two of us here to build a campfire."

Uesugi Sumire stacked up another pile of firewood while chatting and laughing, and his work efficiency was so fast that Hikigaya was ashamed.

"I didn't bring my swimming trunks..." Hikigaya said the most helpless words for the most realistic reason.

"In that case, Hikigaya, why don't you go check on that little girl? I'll go get some preparations for the Test of Courage."

"What? Aren't they all prepared together?" Hikigaya looked at the mysterious Uesugi Sumiya and thought of his peculiarity. He could only pray silently that the child would not be frightened and suffer from any psychological trauma tonight.

Chapter 74: Uesugi Cheng's Goal and the Test of Courage

"Sir... Is this the outside world after many years? This is my first time in a place like this?" The not-so-petite doll gently lifted her hair behind her. Although she was wearing a gorgeous and wide kimono that mopped the floor, it was still not stained with any dust. Himegami Sakura has been staying in the room of Silent Bookstore recently, and most of the time she has been acting as a diligent cleaning maid.

"Really? Then take a good look at it. By the way, I need your help with something small... tonight." Uesugi Cheng stretched lazily. He had already found a model for one of the protagonists in the picture, but if he couldn't guide the emotions to a certain extent, he might not see the expression he wanted.

"Ah, I hate summer...They didn't even tell me to bring a swimsuit." Hikigaya sat down under the shade of a tree, looking at his classmates playing in the river in their swimsuits, and suddenly felt a little more resentful towards Hiratsuka Shizuka.

"Ah!! Uesugi-san, do you want to come together?" Totsuka Ayaka waved happily at Uesugi Sumiya. Although he was indeed a boy, he was wearing a lot of clothes which was unexpectedly too much.

"No, I didn't bring my swimming trunks. By the way, have you thought of a solution?" Uesugi Sumire was still in casual clothes. Although the beautiful girl in front of him looked very sexy in a swimsuit, Hikigaya always felt that Uesugi Sumire's focus was not there.

"Hey, that... Uesugi-kun, does he... look good?" Yuigahama Yui blushed and finally asked hesitantly. Her slightly plump figure showed how a well-nourished girl could show youthful vitality. However, in contrast, Yukinoshita Yukino next to her did not look very good, and she even seemed to want to take a few steps back.