A comic book, but a librarian

"It looks good, of course it looks good, Yuigahama-san suits this outfit very well."

With his unique eloquence, Uesugi Sumiya successfully praised Yuigahama Yui so much that she wanted to crawl into the ground. Although the angle from which he praised Yuigahama Yui was as if he had perfectly analyzed the slightly slow-witted pink-ball girl high school student in front of him from a 360-degree angle, Hikigaya always felt that Uesugi Sumiya's attention was not actually focused there at all.

"Um... Hachiman, do you have any classmates you've been with since elementary school?"

"You actually called me by my name?" Hikigaya suddenly felt that his dignity as the eldest brother seemed to be burned out, but he still tried his best to reply to Tsurumi Rumi. But it was at this moment that he realized what was going on with his strange intuition just now.

"Uesugi...you are looking at her, right?" Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly realized that Uesugi Sumika's attention has always been on him, or rather, on the ostracized and somewhat lonely little girl beside him, Tsurumi Rumi.

"You're making me... a little scared." Hikigaya looked at Uesugi Sumire and found that he seemed to have already integrated into the small group. At least now he seemed to be having a happy conversation with them, and he was completely different from the taciturn Uesugi Sumire not long ago.

"You... you can't speak anything to me, but you are quite eloquent, aren't you? I really..."

Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly felt a pain in his heart. It turned out that his good classmate and financial sponsor was treating him like a mule. He was not bad at speaking, but he let him take on the job of comforting Tsurumi Rumi.

"All in all, you don't need to worry too much... After you enter junior high school, you will only have a few opportunities to meet your elementary school classmates."

Hikigaya could only try to comfort Tsurumi Rumi. At the same time, a plan that might not be liked by his classmates was quietly born in his heart.

In fact, they didn't play in the water for a long time. In order for the courage test to go smoothly in the evening, they, the volunteers, had to start preparing in the afternoon, especially the people who played the ghosts.

"No? What is this cheap cosplay costume? Didn't we say we were going to dress up as ghosts?"

Vampires, aliens, monsters, and even catwoman and snow woman costumes... Hikigaya slapped his face helplessly. He didn't even know whether the staff here took kickbacks or they thought that these novelties would definitely work.

"That...this dress..." The succubus costume on Yuigahama Yui matches her figure perfectly, and the kimono on Yukinoshita also suits her temperament very well, but when it comes to the boys.

"Oh, are you all trying on these clothes?" Uesugi Cheng walked in for no apparent reason and startled many people as soon as he opened his mouth. His face was as pale as a dead person, and his pupils were even a little dilated. The faint chill emanating from them made him feel uncomfortable just standing next to them.

"Wow! So... so awesome, this will scare a lot of kids, right?" Yuigahama Yui murmured. She even felt that Uesugi Sumiko's eyes exuded deathly intent, but when she saw a small section of her collarbone and neck exposed by the slightly loose clothes, she swallowed her saliva reluctantly. The refreshing and mysterious boy suddenly became like this, and she felt her heartbeat seemed to speed up.

"Oh my, Uesugi-san!!! What an amazing makeup!!!" Ebina, the famous 2D fujoshi in the class, was wearing her own shrine maiden costume and looked so excited that she wanted to take a few photos of Uesugi Sumire right away.

"It's okay, I'll go put on some makeup later. See you tonight. Since Jing wants us to look our best..."

"Wait, I have an idea, Uesugi...can you stay and listen with us?" Hikigaya suddenly called out to Uesugi Sumire, which made him curious.

"Okay, let me see what solution you have found to the problem. I am a blockhead and can't think of a good solution." Uesugi Sumiko nodded seriously and leaned against the wall, waiting for Hikigaya to speak.

That night, as expected, the cheap costumes did not scare the children at all. Instead, they started smiling at the volunteer brothers and sisters in front of them.

"Miura Yumiko is surprisingly talented at playing villains. Hayama is really good at judging people."

Looking at Miura Yumiko who had already started to make things difficult for the group of girls that Tsurumi Rumi was in, Uesugi Sumi, who was not far away, spoke to Hayama Hayato who seemed to be looking straight ahead next to him.

"It's okay..." Hayato Hayama felt his hair stand on end for the first time in a long time. He didn't look back. Uesugi Sumire looked a little strange tonight. Hayato Hayama felt that his intuition was always accurate.

"But I don't think you'll need me. I'm going to give those kids a little surprise. I'll leave the rest to you."

Hayato Hayama wanted to speak again, but he found that Uesugi Sumire behind him had disappeared.

Chapter 75: Of course it takes some skill to scare people

Uesugi Sumire stood in the dark forest, his eyes fixed on the open space not far away. His praise for Miura Yumiko's performance as the villain was genuine. Those little girls had never encountered an adult with such a vicious tone and seemed to be retreating.

"Hikigaya is really a guy who only harms others and does not benefit himself. If you don't know him, you would think he is a suicide soldier." Uesugi Sumiko glanced at the lights that were on not far away. The requirement of the test of courage competition is to start from the starting point, go to the shrine in the forest to get the amulet and then return to the starting point. Although those cheap costumes have no deterrent effect and these volunteers have no experience, the whole process is filled with laughter.

However, in the dim forest not far away, a group of little girls were suffering from the evil deeds they had committed intentionally or unintentionally. Uesugi Cheng closed his eyes, the show had just begun.

The voice that was forced to be suppressed because of fear, Ye Shan's calm but slightly cruel words, the sound of the wind blowing the leaves, and the laughter in the distance mixed together.

"If you want to destroy a relationship that can only be maintained by stepping on others, then just expose the ugliest side of all of them and let them fall apart. Hikigaya even said that something is wrong with me. His thoughts are even darker than mine."

Uesugi Cheng shook his head in dissatisfaction. After all, he was just a person who might think about some bad things occasionally, but Hikigaya's method was really dark.

"Sakura, get ready to take action. Although I don't think what I did is much better than what Hikigaya did."

"I understand. Please rest assured. I will know how to move forward." Himegami Sakura suddenly appeared beside Uesugi Cheng and nodded. Inexplicably, Hikigaya Hachiman, who was hiding aside and observing the development of the situation, felt a little uneasy. His plan had not exceeded expectations so far. To be honest, the ending might be a little ugly, but at least the problem could be eliminated.

"Where's that guy Uesugi Sumire? Have you seen him?" Out of instinct, Hikigaya Hachiman asked Yukinoshita Yukino if she had seen Uesugi Sumire. The result was naturally no. Although Hiratsuka Shizuka brought him here to let him integrate into the group, he seemed to be more withdrawn than anyone else.

"The time is almost right. If we go out and say that [the prank game was a great success], it will be..."

Hikigaya was held back by Yukinoshita. Yuigahama Yui, who was busy guiding other groups to the shrine not far away, sneezed for no apparent reason. She was wondering if this belly-baring outfit really didn't suit her, or if it was a little too... to wear it in front of Uesugi.

"Yawn!" She sneezed again, raised her head in confusion, and looked at the leaves blown by the wind. "Am I catching a cold? It wasn't that cold just now."

Hayato Hayama sighed as he looked at the chaotic group of girls. He bet that the girls would unite and win. But maybe Hachiman Hikigaya didn't really want to win this bet.

"I counted the last few dozen, and you should understand what I mean."

He was waiting for Hikigaya Hachiman to come out and end this farce and at the same time end the twisted friendship between these girls that had been filled with malice from the very beginning.

But accidents always come faster.

"That!" Tsurumi Rumi suddenly raised her hand, attracting the attention of everyone present. Then after a few beeping sounds, a strong light suddenly occupied everyone's vision. Almost everyone present closed their eyes because of the light, and then they all heard the words that Tsurumi Rumi shouted loudly.

"Run! Over here! Hurry up!" She grabbed the hands of those classmates who had once excluded her and started running for her life.

"This is..." Hikigaya Hachiman was silent. He had thought of many endings, but he never expected that the victim would do this.

Rumi Tsurumi desperately grabbed the hand of her former good classmate and started running. She originally thought that she should be very close to the starting point, and as long as she could find the teacher there, all problems would be solved. But she suddenly felt fear beginning to spread in her heart, and she gradually stopped, causing her classmates who were running behind her to bump into her.

"Rumi, are you okay?!" Tsurumi Rumi was stunned by this voice of concern. How long had it been since she heard such concern from her classmates?

“Click, click, click”

It was like the sound of wooden joints rubbing against the floor. In the dark forest, the lights in the distance looked like the lights on the head of an anglerfish, like a sweet trap. Tsurumi Rumi finally realized the reason for her fear. She should have reached the starting point after running for so long, but the distance between the lights in the distance and her seemed to have not changed at all.

She turned around and saw several of her classmates wanting to say something. Then they looked at the thing behind her and raised their hands tremblingly, and could only make sounds that were so fragmented that they sounded like noise.

She wanted to say something, but the scene before her made her speechless. She didn't know when the branches were filled with broken dolls, pairs of lifeless and empty eyes were staring at them, the sound of friction between wooden joints became clearer and clearer, and a girl who was almost as tall as them and wearing a gorgeous and loose kimono was looking at them with a smile.

Just like those puppets, he stared at them emotionlessly with a malicious gaze that made the hair on your neck stand on end.

"Is anyone there... Don't come over here, don't come over here, don't come over here!!" Several girls were so scared that they squatted on the spot, holding their heads like ostriches. Tsurumi Rumi just wanted to say something, but was protected by her classmates behind her.

"Don't...don't come over here."

Tsurumi Rumi was stunned. She had seen the boy walking towards them before. He seemed very familiar with the big brother Hikigaya. She felt that she almost understood what was going on, and a wave of anger surged in her heart.

With a snap, Uesugi Cheng's head quietly fell from his neck, rolled on the ground, and disappeared into the grass.

Tsurumi Rumi didn't know what expression she showed at the end. Fear? Despair? Anger? The sight of the headless corpse walking towards them was too horrifying. Her fragile heart could no longer accept it, so her eyes went dark and she fainted.

She only remembered that when she woke up, she heard the crackling sound of the bonfire again, and a concerned voice.

"Are you... okay?"

She turned her head and saw the face that had almost become her nightmare, rolling from her neck to the ground, now looking at her with concern, almost frightening her to faint again.

Chapter 76 Portraiture

The time was slightly turned back to the time when those elementary school students were being bullied by Hayato Hayama and his friends.

"Sakura, what do you think of their friendship?" Uesugi Cheng asked casually. Hikigaya's plan was very good. If it really developed as he thought, Uesugi Cheng felt that he would probably get nothing. But he didn't intend to interfere, because he knew that Hikigaya had missed one thing.

Rumi Tsurumi is a kind and independent-minded girl. Even if her classmates isolate her or make her a scapegoat, she will never surrender and will never just ignore her classmates.

Himegami Sakura did not answer Uesugi Cheng's question. The spiritual power in the puppet's body slowly spread out. Although this place was a bit close to the starting point and the large flow of people made her spiritual power not very effective, the night and the dark forest could make up for the shortcomings of the little illusion she had created.

Looking at Tsurumi Rumi and her friends who rushed into the illusion of a ghost wall in anxiety, a smile appeared on the corner of Uesugi Sumiko's mouth.

"Let's see how these little guys view each other." Uesugi Cheng touched his neck. The clothes on his body looked as old and tattered as if they were covering a dead person, making him look like a wronged soul who died in the forest and could never be reborn.

As the headless evil spirit in their hallucinations advanced, the little girls were frightened stiff, and as Himegami Sakura gently clapped her wooden hands, they fainted one after another.

"Hikigaya still didn't realize that although the malice of these little guys may appear without reason, the transmission of goodwill will never be discounted. The story of giving a favor in return is not outdated."

Even before she fainted, the girls who had isolated Tsurumi Rumi protected her firmly behind them. Perhaps it was because they couldn't let go of the fact that she had saved them from Hayato Hayama, or perhaps it was to repay Tsurumi Rumi's kindness, so they finally chose to protect Tsurumi Rumi, and he had already obtained

"Hey!!! What happened!" Hayato Hayama and Hachiman Hikigaya who came running almost fainted when they saw several elementary school students falling down. But when they saw Uesugi Sumire standing not far away with an innocent look on his face, many questions suddenly popped up in their minds.

"Is it so effective over there? I just pretended to be a ghost over here and scared them all and they fainted." Uesugi Sumiya asked first, catching them off guard. Hikigaya was stunned for a moment. He seemed to have disappeared into the dark forest behind Uesugi Sumiya in the distance as if he had just seen something. But he thought about it and didn't ask here. He just breathed a sigh of relief, at least the children were fine.

"Let's send everyone back first. This matter is over here, and Rumi-chan shouldn't have to worry about it anymore." Hayato Hayama was just glad that the situation did not get worse. Although he felt something was a little wrong, he just thought he was too nervous.

The classmates who arrived later also followed them to send the person back. Then, when Tsurumi Rumi woke up, she saw Uesugi Sumi for the first time and was almost frightened to faint again.

"Really...why are you so scared? Do I really look scary?"

When Tsurumi Rumi heard Uesugi Sumiya's complaint, her face turned red. She was really embarrassed to say that she saw Uesugi Sumiya's head fall off his neck, as it would be considered an insult.

Naturally, he did not notice that although Uesugi Sumiya sounded like he was complaining, there was no expression on his face at all, a look that was completely inconsistent with his tone, making him feel uneasy.

"Well, thank you for your concern, I just..." Tsurumi Rumi really couldn't think of any excuse to use. Did she see a ghost? Maybe the other party would not believe such a thing at all.

"How about taking a good rest and then going out to have some fun? The purpose of coming to summer camp is to make good memories, right?"

Tsurumi Rumi suddenly felt that the older brother in front of her was at least considerate. When she really couldn't find a reason, he actually changed the subject directly. So she nodded heavily, and then saw him stand up.

"In that case, I won't stand here anymore. I have to go back to maintain order. After all, something like this has happened."

Tsurumi Rumi, whose mind was still filled with joy at having survived the disaster, did not feel anything was wrong at all. She just whispered a final thank you to Uesugi Sumika's back.

"Look, she has to thank us." Uesugi Cheng said something to someone as he walked, which was rewarded with a laugh as clear as a silver bell. "But we are just trying to scare them, understand? You must not do anything beyond this limit."

There was no response, and it looked like Uesugi Sakura was talking to himself, but Uesugi Sakura knew that Himegami Sakura already understood the boundaries he had drawn for her.

The atmosphere of the last night of the summer camp did not change because of this little accident. Even Hikigaya Hachiman picked up the fireworks and started playing with them with relish. However, several questions still lingered in his mind, making him a little uneasy.

Late at night, the insomniac Hikigaya looked at Totsuka Ayaka who was sleeping soundly next to him, and finally decided to get up and go out for a walk. Even if he couldn't get up tomorrow, he could catch up on some sleep in Hiratsuka Shizuka's car.

He went straight to the cabin where Uesugi Cheng lived, and found that the cabin was empty and there seemed to be no signs of it having been lived in. If Uesugi Cheng's backpack had not been there, he would have begun to suspect what kind of disguise the Uesugi Cheng who had been traveling with him these days was.

Then he saw it. In the quiet little square late at night, in the open space of this summer camp built against the forest, Uesugi Sumiko, who was so pale that he almost looked like a dead person, was holding his paintbrush and seemed to be painting something on the canvas.

Hikigaya knew very well that drawing boards and drawing paper were mostly props provided to elementary school students participating in summer camps, but why did Uesugi Sumire come here to draw at this time?

The sultry atmosphere brought by the summer seemed to gradually fade away at this moment, and Hikigaya felt that the cold seemed to have penetrated into his bones.

Uesugi Sumire didn't seem to notice his approach, but Hikigaya had no intention of sneaking up on him, he just had a few questions to ask.

"Uesugi, are you okay?"

"It's pretty good. At least I gained a lot from this summer camp. What's wrong? Why did you run out so late at night?"

"I'll return this question to you as it is. I just had insomnia. Why did you come out to paint?"

“Because I want to record it...”

"Write it down?"

"Yeah, haven't you ever thought about it? Record a moment you saw, a scene that accidentally appeared in your mind. Just like this."

Uesugi Sumiko picked up the drawing paper and threw it into the sky. Hikigaya could only vaguely see that it seemed to be a portrait, and then the falling paper was shattered into pieces by Uesugi Sumiko.

"It's over. That's it."

Chapter 77 Prelude to the Incident

“It sucks.”

"Yeah, it's awful. It should have been a wonderful summer vacation, but the two of us are here in the cold wind and encountering such a crappy thing." Uesugi Sumire said as he looked at Hikigaya Hachiman beside him. There was only a pitch-black road ahead in the endless empty tunnel, and even the sound of the wind blowing through the tunnel sounded like a miserable wail.

"Hikigaya."

"what?"

"I'll give you some extra lessons after we get out this time, so that you can at least be a little more alert to this kind of thing. Yotsuya Miko is now better at avoiding danger than you."

"Could you please stop saying these kind of things that sound like you're setting a flag at this time? I beg you!?" Hikigaya Hachiman complained in despair. He knew that he had been unlucky since the beginning of the school year, but he didn't expect that he would encounter such an event that was beyond human common sense in the few days before the end of the holiday.

"Be careful, we are almost at the real 'Nameless Station'." Feeling the change in the atmosphere ahead, Uesugi Cheng's eyes suddenly became sharp.

-------------Metropolitan Police Department Unofficial Incident Record A-13 No. Missing Case at the Unknown Station--------------

Call back the time

"Do you have any questions for me?" Uesugi Sumire looked at Hikigaya. They were now standing in the square where the summer camp was located. The atmosphere around them had unconsciously become colder, and it didn't even feel like a summer night.

"Ah, probably. Although I don't think you will answer honestly, I still want to ask, did you use any tricks to...scare those girls?" Hikigaya Hachiman unconsciously wrapped his hands around his chest and began to rub them. The temperature in summer was not very low, but he felt it was a little too cold.

"What do you think? If you already have the answer in your heart, then there is no need to ask me, right?" Uesugi Sumiya smiled and began to pack up. Hikigaya Hachiman closed his eyes and recalled the drawing paper that had just been thrown into the air. Although he could not see the specific content, based on this series of events, he expressed his guess.

"The painting is of...Rumi-chan, right?"

"That's right." Uesugi Cheng did not deny it. He put the scraps of paper into a paper bag and began to pack up the drawing board and paints.

Hikigaya was silent. He didn't know what to say. Uesugi Sumire didn't do anything at all. The test of courage competition was meant to scare people. He couldn't blame Uesugi Sumire for scaring people into fainting.

"Go back to bed early. Tomorrow you can enjoy the rest of your vacation without being forced to work by Jing. I have never been to a fireworks display, so I must go this year."