A comic book, but a librarian

"Actually, if I really want to say it, my brother also graduated from the University of Tokyo... No, why are you telling me this? How can your teacher still look down on a little painter like me who can't do anything except color?"

As soon as Uesugi Sumire opened his mouth, Ono Yoichi helplessly held his forehead.

"I think you have absolutely no self-awareness of how terrible your strengths are. Let me put it this way. Your paintings now have a situation where one white hides a hundred flaws. The strengths have almost covered up all the shortcomings. You can go out and say to those critics now, 'Yes, my paintings are like this. Isn't it beautiful?' Believe me, no idiot critic would dare to pat his chest and say it's ugly. If not, do you think I would be so serious?"

Uesugi Cheng simply gave an awkward but polite smile. He really didn't feel much about his own painting skills. After all, most of the paintings in the Silent Bookstore were not too bad. In addition, some of the paintings were painted by the painters using their great skills. Uesugi Cheng looked at these things every day, so naturally he felt that his paintings were nothing special.

"Thank you very much. By the way, I want to paint a big picture soon. Are you interested?"

Uesugi Cheng asked casually. Anyway, it would only be once that he would concentrate so fully. If it wasn't for completing the inspiration that was still jumping around in his heart, he should have immersed himself in comics and started drawing two-dimensional beautiful girls for himself.

"How big... no, when?"

Yoichi Ono was a little surprised. After all, Uesugi Sumiya usually painted casually. He would just paint whenever he wanted. As a result, most of the works left in the classroom were semi-finished products or even waste paper. The few finished products were taken away by himself and no one knew where they were sent.

"It will probably take some time. I am almost ready. After a short rest, I will be in the best condition to complete the painting I have always wanted to paint."

Yoichi Ono swallowed his saliva. It was hard for him to imagine what kind of stunning painting he would see if Uesugi Sumire gave it his all, but it was obvious that it would not be bad.

"Oh, by the way, can you help me take a look at this? I always feel like something is not right when I draw comics."

Uesugi Cheng took out his stack of manuscripts. He had already asked for the opinions of ordinary readers, so now it was naturally time to consult the opinions of professionals.

"Comics...you went to draw comics?"

When Ono Yoshi looked at the beautiful scenery, blurry characters and messy storyboards on the manuscript paper in his hand, he felt as if his life would be shortened by a few years.

~~~~~

184

Chapter 184: Take a step ahead.

"I can't give you an answer right now. Anyway, just remember what I said. Just prepare to draw what you want to draw. Don't always think about your crappy comics. You can still draw these things later..."

After reading it, Ono Hiroshi's brows were furrowed so much that they almost shrank into a ball. He didn't expect that Uesugi Sumire would be interested in comics. No, he should have thought of it earlier. How could someone like Uesugi Sumire, who treats art as a hobby, not be interested in comics?

"Okay, okay, I get it."

Uesugi Cheng was very insincere in answering his art teacher. He didn't think there was any need to continue preparing. To be honest, he was just waiting for a day that he thought was a good day to come, and then he could start painting. As for when that day would be...

The bell for class rang at the right time. After saying hello to Uesugi Sumiya and Ono Yoichi, they returned to their class. The atmosphere in the class seemed as calm as usual. If there was anything to be said, it was that Hiratsuka Shizuka seemed a little too irritable and was saying something to the innocent-looking Hikigaya Hachiman.

Of course, after seeing the last person in the class, Uesugi Sumiya, return to his seat, Hiratsuka Shizuka waved her hand helplessly and drove Hikigaya Hachiman back to his seat, and then began her lecture.

"What happened?"

Uesugi Cheng asked casually. He probably listened to Chinese class whenever he wanted. After all, now that he had a spirit, he would occasionally have the idea of ​​using his spirit to appear during exams to see other people's answers, although he had never done it once.

"It was probably just the daily inquiries after I disappeared for a few days. Jing is a good teacher and very caring, but her way of caring is a little wrong... Anyway, I always feel like she is a gangster boss."

Hikigaya Hachiman didn't seem to have anything to say. After all, he knew that it would be difficult to conceal the fact that he had disappeared for a few days, so he just stood in front of Hiratsuka Shizuka and got scolded. However, since this was more than the first time he had encountered such a thing, he didn't take it to heart.

"The underworld isn't like that, but Jing's family is rich. The last time I saw her, she was driving a luxury car."

Uesugi Sumiko spoke with a hint of sarcasm, and the small classroom chat between the two people did not attract the attention of others. After all, Hiratsuka Shizuka's class was about the test paper, and the students who had done the test paper must listen carefully to the answers.

"Speaking of which, I still have a question. If there are so many monsters in this world, why is there no news at all? I have encountered so many things in such a short period of time."

"Why didn't it get out? We saw the local history and the investigation report during the Hendai incident, and we also saw the manuscript of Kunihiko Aso during the S District incident. Why do you think there was no news?"

“Sorry, I forgot about that… As expected, it’s the same situation as Yotsuya-san, right? Only those who can see can see it, but we are all people who can’t see those things, so we don’t care about what those who can see say.”

"That's true in most cases, but in some areas, even people without any spiritual power can see evil spirits. Those places are usually places with heavy spiritual power or near dragon veins. Oh, the dragon veins here refer to the convergence of earth energy. It's not really the same as the dragon veins in the stories."

"No wonder, it seems that folk tales and myths can be used as references."

"No, truth and falsehood are mixed together. After all, some of them are just stories... It's like there is a layer of false stories mixed in with real history. Only by seeing through the fog that covers up history can we know what really happened."

Uesugi Cheng narrowed his eyes. The Night Watchman Tree extended nine branches, representing the nine types of great arts, but in fact there was another kind of knowledge, that was the secret history, the unknown secret history of the waking world and Mansu. However, the administrator of Silent Bookstore was forbidden to study related content, so Uesugi Cheng only knew a little about it broadly.

"But it's fine to just listen to this kind of stuff. After all, those secrets don't really mean anything. You still have to fight when the time comes, and you can't skip a battle just by knowing some little secrets... It's a good idea to guess the enemy's weaknesses from those stories."

The class time was spent in casual chat between the two of them. Of course, their grades were pretty good so they were confident. Yotsuya Miko, who had obviously not attended class for several days, was now looking at her paper with circles in her eyes.

"I'll have to hold a study session for the students who missed class. Otherwise, let alone dealing with the evil spirits, they'll all be overwhelmed by their studies. Remember to come for tutoring, and bring Yukinoshita with you. Her grades are pretty good."

Uesugi Cheng thought about it and thought that if they were always disturbed by evil spirits, the academic performance of many of them would probably decline, so they might as well make up for it together.

"That's fine, I'll tell you later..."

Hiratsuka Shizuka finally turned her gaze towards the place where the two boys were chatting. The hidden murderous intention in her chat made Hikigaya Hachiman feel a chill in his heart.

Of course, after class, the two of them were called away by Shizuka Hiratsuka again. They left very naturally, and even their classmates didn't say anything, as if they were used to it. Similarly, Shizuka Hiratsuka didn't say much either. She just spoke to them very calmly, but the fatigue on her face could not be concealed.

"Forget it, as long as you guys are back, I was afraid that you guys would suddenly disappear on a street and never be heard from again..."

Shizuka Hiratsuka ended the short conversation with this sentence. She also thought it through. The situation had obviously developed to the stage where she was powerless. It would be better for her to not hinder their actions so as not to become a problem for them.

"Teacher Gao Yi, Teacher Gao Yi... Don't worry, things have definitely calmed down during this period of time. We don't encounter such horrible things every day."

Uesugi Cheng said this and smiled in the face of Hiratsuka Shizuka's suspicious eyes.

"Look, everyone is fine, right? If there's nothing else, I'll leave first."

Uesugi Sumire took a step back, and before Hiratsuka Shizuka could say anything, she immediately left the office.

"Hikigaya, you're a step behind again..."

Facing Hikigaya Hachiman who smiled bitterly after realizing it belatedly, Hiratsuka Shizuka responded with a kind smile.

185

Chapter 185: Leap Time and False Memories.

Once again, Hikigaya Hachiman was a step slower in escaping from Hiratsuka Shizuka. Of course, he had no opinion on this matter, after all, Hiratsuka Shizuka had just given him a task not long ago.

"Well, Uesugi is in a very stable condition right now. I don't think he'll do anything irrational. Just put your mind at ease for now."

"It would be great if that were the case... Anyway, now I can only hope that you are safe and sound."

Hiratsuka Shizuka obviously realized that Uesugi Sumire still seemed very stable, but Hikigaya Hachiman obviously had something else to say.

"Anyway, we can't tell what tricks they use, so it's better to just pretend nothing happened and sleep peacefully without knowing anything."

You can't say this to Shizuka Hiratsuka, or something bad will happen.

"Ah, teacher, it's better not to go out recently..."

At the end, Hikigaya Hachiman reminded Hiratsuka Shizuka. Although Hiratsuka Shizuka looked a little confused, she still nodded.

"I don't plan on going out anytime soon anyway, but can you tell me what happened?"

"No, I just have a hunch."

Hikigaya Hachiman let out a sigh of relief. He also hoped that this was just a premonition, but after practicing the Night Wandering Technique, his intuition and premonitions became more and more acute, to a certain extent, it even made people feel as if he could see the future.

After walking out of the office, Hikigaya Hachiman looked up and saw Uesugi Sumire standing on the edge of the roof. He didn't care much. After all, even if this person really jumped off the building, nothing would happen. But he was very busy now. Although he had a good foundation in study, he would be crushed by academic pressure if he didn't review for a long time. So he didn't plan to stay for long. He would go back to study when it was time.

As for Uesugi Cheng...

"So what exactly happened? So far, no one has noticed my actions?"

Uesugi Cheng touched his face. He was getting familiar with how to release his soul essence as a medium to use power. So far, it has worked very well, but he still needs to rely on some special potions for assistance.

【景象与感知Lv.7】（7冬）＋【海东青】（1冬）＋【魂质:铭晓】（来自将渊深曼达安语放进盗火术Lv.1得到的魂质）（2冬）=【所罗门制剂】（4冬）（配方所需:10冬，花）

Currently, only by concentrating his attention through Solomon's preparation and eliminating all external interference can Uesugi Cheng barely regain the state of freely controlling the soul in the body. Otherwise, if he wants to release all his combat power at present, he has to use the soul out of his body and become an evil spirit.

All the sounds were like the breeze blowing past the ears, fleeting. The power of soul began to flow throughout the entire school, forming some relatively simple formations. After actually investigating the situation inside the school, Uesugi Cheng decided to use the school as his practice location. Anyway, there was no one in the school who could detect his operations.

However, today is a little special. The power of his soul extending out to perfect the formation has weakened a lot. Of course, he is still looking for the reason, but Uesugi Cheng has already come up with the idea of ​​shelving this project for the time being. After all, this kind of thing can be done at any time.

However, the next day, he had no intention of thinking about this matter, because something came to him at a speed beyond his imagination.

Just when Uesugi Cheng got up in the morning and was still thinking, countless mists covered his eyes, making him completely unable to see anything. In the real world, his body was gradually being swallowed up and faded, as if it was being wiped out.

【Leap Hour】: The shortest season, a labyrinthine season, when the years have lost their way, when time is like a river and memories are like flying birds. During the leap hour, treasures ripen in the island garden—unexpected visitors come—and memories fade away.

The entire Silent Bookstore was shrouded in thick fog. At this time, all the houses on Brancog Island, except for the tavern, had their doors closed tightly, and it did not look like anyone was living there. Only the blue-purple gas lamps in the tavern were still emitting light, illuminating the seldom-used pilgrims and the more mysterious people.

In this season when no hour has dominance, "likelihood" and "certainty" clash between "history" and "eternity", which results in those people or things that are forbidden by the hour being able to obtain a certain degree of freedom during the intercalary hour.

For example, the infamous Julian Corselli, the Winter Immortal who should have disappeared after 1920.

Warlock, Winter Immortal, controversial philosopher. As one of the immortals promoted by the Silent Hour, especially as a being who should have died, he has accumulated a lot of words to defend himself over the years.

"I really didn't expect that I would see you in this place."

Julian seemed to know Uesugi Sumika, or rather, he knew the immortal Uesugi Sumika before he lost his memory.

"I don't really want to meet you. After all, you're notorious. Is there anything you want to consult?"

Uesugi Cheng opened the book. He was very busy now, busy collecting various items for himself and busy reconstructing his own knowledge.

"I came for the false memory, the king, the bell, the city. Without history, they would not exist..."

"Speak human language. Or get out of here."

Uesugi Cheng flipped through the book helplessly. He didn't want to guess riddles with this guy who was simply called JC.

【False Memory】: During the intercalary hour, visitors will be interested in the tricks and strategies that the various astrologers have secretly used.

"In short, I want to know something that cannot be explained to you. I need a book that is profound and obscure enough. Only in this way can the knowledge be preserved."

"Yes, Erikapao, just teach it to me."

"It looks like you really have amnesia. You even forgot this."

Julian, who seemed to be very interested, suddenly lost interest and started to deal with business as usual.

Uesugi Sumira didn't even have time to care about him. He was trying to improve the skills he had mastered through leap time.

Disassemble the [Edict of Force] into its most primitive form, and then study it again to improve your understanding.

Uesugi Cheng touched his forehead and seemed to be a little worried about the challenge he was about to face.

It would undoubtedly be a hassle to use up all the disassembled [Multifaceted Teachings] before the next day.

~~~~~

186

Chapter 186: A fruitful leap hour and the goal of reaching the pinnacle.

Leap year is a harvest season, at least for the Silent Bookstore which produces all kinds of rare treasures. As an assistant, Himegami Sakura is very busy at this moment. Not only is she responsible for fetching water, but there are also all kinds of rare plants waiting for her to pick, such as the pears with hard skin as hard as copper on the trees in the martial arts garden.

Part of Uesugi Sumiko's soul was placed in the tavern to perform special work, while he sat on a chair and began to distribute the soul to reconstruct the teachings he had split.

[Multifaceted Teachings]: Where does light seep in, where does light seep out, and how does light leak out. (Possessing all aspects, can upgrade all great skills)

Of course, the weather during leap year is indeed unpredictable. The thick fog during leap year is enough to plunge the entire Brancog Island into darkness.

【Leap Year Mist】: Cold and gloomy mist during leap years. (Quote 5, May 5, 5)

"What a place that is not worth missing... If Solomon were gone... If Solomon were still here..."

It was obvious that the book in front of him brought back memories for Julian. He touched the book and finally let out a long sigh.

"Ys, the city of exceptions. But no exception can last in the face of eternity. That's the point! Only when I accept..."

He seemed to want to say something more, but when he saw Uesugi Cheng still busying himself next to him, he closed his mouth and coughed twice.

"This is a gift for you, and the language you wanted to learn... Actually, it's not learning at all, but recalling it again. But it doesn't matter. Let's get started. Time here is limited, and we don't have time for idle chat."

"Then please, I can start anytime..."

Uesugi Cheng was busy arranging his soul essence, striving to learn more. In this special time, all the improvements in skills can be rebuilt. There is no doubt that he can complete his progress here as long as it is arranged properly.

"Pick two pots of pears from the tree... Then pick a bunch of flowers from the garden, and draw two jugs of water from the well..."

Himegami Sakura was busy shuttling around the Silent Bookstore, collecting precious plants and water sources according to Uesugi Cheng's instructions.

"It seems like you have finally found your own way of life... but I look a little pathetic. See you later... No, I hope we won't see each other again."

After completing the language teaching, Julian left Silent Bookstore without any reluctance. His figure was submerged in the fog, as if he had never been there. Uesugi Cheng did not have the energy to pay attention to him. After all, at this rare time, he just wanted to study wholeheartedly.

[Erikapal]: A language of great beauty and suggestion, revealed by the fanatical cognition of the Orphics, the Eleusins, and the Rhine Sibyl. These mystics claimed that the Erikapal language could describe colors, feelings, and mental states that were too exquisite for the cruder languages. (2 Winter 1 Light)

Uesugi Cheng presented it to the Silence branch of the Night Watchman Tree without hesitation in order to obtain more soul essence.

When presented to the Silence spell, you will gain knowledge [King in the Mirror] and obtain [Soul Essence: Sorrow]