A comic book, but a librarian

"Okay, since you went to investigate, did you find anything? I don't want to tell you that you didn't know anything and got caught by the police."

The two men walked out of the Metropolitan Police Department. Uesugi Sumiko could occasionally say hello to the policemen next to him. Not to mention his sister who worked in the Procuratorate, the number of people he knew in the Metropolitan Police Department was already quite a few.

"It's like this. Last time, when you said you were going to handle the cultist, I was talking to Yukinoshita and the others about the structure of that room not being right. But Yukinoshita thought I was overthinking it."

Hikigaya Hachiman was speechless, but he could understand Yukinoshita's thoughts. After all, if he hadn't actually walked around the house and then got the floor plan, he would have felt that he was probably worrying too much.

"I'll send it to you. You can take a look at the floor plan later. This matter is not a big deal, but I just can't help but want to know what happened, so I went to that place... and I just happened to encounter a dead person."

Hikigaya Hachiman took out his mobile phone and a file was sent to Uesugi Sumika. It was a very ordinary house floor plan. No matter how you looked at it, it was a regular house type, at least that was what was shown on the design drawing.

"Look here and here, and this corridor...do you feel like there's something strange?"

The two of them were sitting in a family restaurant, and Hikigaya Hachiman pointed to several connections on the floor plan, which seemed to be normal.

"Wait, why is there such a large redundancy? Why is there such a meaningless redundancy at the end of the corridor? Obviously the rooms are not that big."

Uesugi Cheng frowned. There was a meaningless road at the end of the corridor, and it seemed as if it was protruding out suddenly, and even the room was widened to that place.

"That's it... And what's even stranger is that when we broke in, that place had already been filled in... It looks like there was no redundancy."

Hikigaya Hachiman had already bitten his fingernails. If it was just the strange design of the house, he would not be so distressed. After all, it was possible that the designer had gone crazy. But it happened that it was a cult, it happened that they filled in the blanks to cover it up, and it happened that someone had died in that apartment.

"What did the police say?"

"No, they don't plan to open it, and there's no need to... I guess there's nothing hidden inside, but that's not the question. The question is, what was it supposed to be used for? In order to know the answer to this question, I went to the company that built the apartment."

"Wait, I remember the Yukinoshita family also runs a construction company, right? Could it be related to them?"

Uesugi Cheng paused. If this was the case, Tokyo would be too small.

"No, it doesn't matter. This construction company is a well-established one in Tokyo. Although it has been involved in several scandals, they were not related to the building itself. They were all personal issues of the management. I originally wanted to find the designer of the apartment."

Hikigaya Hachiman clenched his fists. He felt like he was being tricked.

"He's dead. He hanged himself. He'd been dead for a while when I went there, so I called the police. What the hell, how could he hang himself all of a sudden and I bumped into him?"

When he found the designer's address, the man had already hanged himself in his house for quite some time. Ironically, based on the time of death, when Hikigaya Hachiman set out, the designer had just kicked off the stool he used for hanging and hung himself on the chandelier.

"If you or Miko were there, maybe we could do some spiritual communication or something... but I don't know anything about it, so... it's all over."

At this point, Hikigaya Hachiman finished the first part of his narration and began to eat. The Metropolitan Police Department did not provide him with food.

"Did you find anything in his house?"

"Basically nothing. To be honest, that person's life was too... How should I put it? It was probably too simple. I basically didn't find anything related to the answer I wanted."

"Then do you want to continue?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should take a break first... But I have a feeling that this matter is not over yet. I will go to ask Yukinoshita later. Her family is in this business. Maybe she will know something. By the way, how are things going over there?"

"Oh, I just solved something. I have to say that Tokyo does have a lot of historical and new problems. Thirty or forty people died in a tunnel alone... and they were all killed by the same evil spirit, and no one even reported it. Maybe this is what Tokyo is like."

Uesugi Sumire's words made Hikigaya Hachiman look at the chicken wings on his plate in silence, and finally he vented his helplessness on the chicken wings.

"Tomorrow is Monday again... I'd better put those things aside for now. Wait, what is this?"

Hikigaya Hachiman looked at the book handed to him by Uesugi Sumire, flipped it open, and then breathed a sigh of relief. At least it was not some Vaishali material.

"Oh, "Night Travels Volume 3" is related to the great technique you are learning now. Take a look at it yourself first, and I will explain it to you later."

"I understand. I'm leaving now. See you later."

Hikigaya Hachiman's steps when he left were much heavier than when he left the Metropolitan Police Department, and even heavier than when he entered the Metropolitan Police Department. He looked like a student who was about to be crushed by knowledge.

259

Chapter 259: Yukinoshita Yukino and [Flame Seal Style]

Tonghe High School, 3: a.m., Grade floor, Grade () class.

The teacher was lecturing very fluently. He felt that today must be his lucky day. His brain was working at high speed, he knew the lesson plan by heart, and he spoke eloquently. The students in the audience must have been deeply attracted by the knowledge.

In fact, it is true. After all, the final exams will be in a month or two, and then it will be the first day of the new year. No one wants to fail at this time and have a bad year.

Yotsuya Miko was even flipping through the books with a bit of nostalgia. Although the knowledge was still in her mind, to be honest, everything she read recently was either spirits or books about spirits. She felt that she might really have to graduate from high school and change her career to become a psychic.

However, Uesugi Cheng did not let her fall behind in her studies. The silence technique allowed her to concentrate more easily. In addition, she had a lot of make-up classes from time to time. Although it was tiring, at least she did not fall behind in either endeavour.

"Come to think of it, this time last year I was wondering what I was going to eat for lunch, but so many things have happened this year? Is this really something a high school student should experience?"

Cultists, alien dimensions, various corpses and evil spirits, this sounds like a plot that should appear in some hot-blooded or suspense comics, but she has read them all in one year.

"What are you talking about, Jianzi? Let's go to the cafeteria together at noon! Let me tell you, that new dish is really delicious and very popular. If you don't go early enough, you won't be able to get it!"

Yurikawa Hana's voice made Yotsuya Miko stretch with peace of mind as always. Of course, the teacher didn't care about this little action, as long as it didn't affect his class.

"Oh, okay, okay, let's go together. It just so happens that I didn't bring any lunch today."

Naturally, Yotsuya Miko got up late and jogged all the way to school, so she naturally did not bring the lunch box she made at home. However, she was sure that her mother or brother would help her solve this problem after they found out, so she planned to go to the cafeteria with Yurikawaka to have her lunch with peace of mind.

……

Yuigahama Yui has been feeling something is wrong lately. She always feels like she can't concentrate no matter what. This is not a big deal. After all, this does happen to her when she studies, and she just needs to take a short break and it will be fine. But recently, it's not just that she can't concentrate. She finds that when she is distracted, she always says some strange words that are not what she should say at all, but it seems like she really thinks so.

"Xiaoxue? Xiaoxue, are you there? I'm coming!"

Yuigahama Yui put aside her doubts. Perhaps she had this illusion just because the weather had turned cooler and she was too tired. Then she happily pushed open the door of the Service Club. Yukinoshita Yukino put down her book. She was already accustomed to Yuigahama Yui barging into the classroom where the Service Club was so cheerful.

"Hey, what novel is Xiaoxue reading today?"

Yuigahama Yui noticed that the book in Yukinoshita Yukino's hand was a little different from the usual paperback books, so she asked.

"Some foreign books, would you like to read them?"

Yukinoshita Yukino waved the book out, and Yuigahama Yui lost interest after just taking a glance. She was not as interested in literature as Yukinoshita Yukino, so compared to this.

"Come to think of it, Uesugi-san hasn't been here very often lately. Do you want to go see him?"

Yukinoshita Yukino was stunned for a moment, then recalled that Yuigahama Yui was actually a classmate of Uesugi Sumire, and spoke after thinking for two seconds.

"Is that so? It would be better to ask Hikigaya about this matter, but he has been absent from activities here occasionally recently. It's time to remind him that he is a member of the Service Club after all."

Yukinoshita Yukino said this, but she had no intention of holding Hikigaya Hachiman responsible. The recent student union change was a huge trouble for them, especially when she received the commission from a freshman girl named Isshiki Iroha, the trouble reached its peak.

Of course, she also guessed where Hikigaya Hachiman would probably be hiding at noon today. After all, she would go over to take a look during her lunch break.

"Yui, if you don't mind, please sit here for a while. If anyone has a difficult commission, just call me. I'm going out to have lunch and take a rest."

"Oh! Then Xiaoxue, you go ahead. I'll just rest here for a while."

Although Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't say anything, the three members of the Service Club seemed to have picked up some of Uesugi Sumiya's habits and transformed this empty classroom, which originally had nothing in it, into a more comfortable one with the small items and practical items they brought with them. The most obvious one was Hikigaya Hachiman, who was so bold as to bring a few small pillows with him, and even slept on the table with his face resting on the pillows at noon.

Yukinoshita Yukino did not lie, she did go to have lunch, but the location was in an empty room deep in the library. Although there was no sign and no instructor, perhaps no more than ten students in the whole school knew about this special club, the Paranormal Research Club.

The main seat, which should have been vacant, was now occupied by an ordinary high school boy. He was flipping through his book and seemed to be in distress. Next to him, Hachiman Hikigaya looked tired, while Miko Yotsuya was studying a problem with Saki Kawasaki. Everything seemed to be no different from usual.

"Good afternoon, Yukinoshita-san. How's it going? About those things."

"I have to say that this knowledge is a huge bombshell to my worldview that has been formed over the past 20 years. I still don't know why a few words in a book would catch fire."

Yukinoshita Yukino sat down and drew patterns on the white paper with her fingers. According to their deal, Uesugi Sumiko did start to call her for knowledge beyond common sense, although this knowledge did not seem to be able to dispel evil spirits.

【Flame Seal】: "A font that must be read by the whole world, even the blind, written in flames."

An art of fireworks and their relatives: light, colour, infernal explosions.

"It has the properties of stealing fire, and can also be the foundation of illumination. However, you probably don't understand what these paths represent, so I will only teach you some simple but practical things. When we can spare full time, perhaps you can choose your own path again."

Uesugi Sumire said so, but Yukinoshita Yukino didn't think these things were simple, she just sighed.

"That's it for now. From now on, please take care of me, everyone in the Super Self-Research Department. Also, Hikigaya-kun, don't hide here like a hibernating animal. No matter how troublesome the problem is, it must be solved."

260

Chapter 260 Further Instructions for Helpers.

However, Hikigaya Hachiman just looked up at Yukinoshita silently. He didn't want to talk. Instead of dealing with the troubles and interpersonal relationships in school, Hikigaya Hachiman felt that he might as well read more books, work hard to get into a good university as soon as possible, and then evolve into a corporate animal with special skills.

"Hikigaya-kun, every time I try to show you a little more respect, you do something like this... You really have become like Junko."

Yukinoshita Yukino sighed. Of course she knew why Hikigaya Hachiman was like this. It was obviously a huge mess, but the Service Club had to take over this mess because of her rules. Hikigaya Hachiman even seemed to be avoiding Isshi Iroha.

"I understand...I will go back to the service department this afternoon, don't worry."

Hikigaya Hachiman's tone sounded as if he was dead. He lay down with his face on the papers with information printed on them, sighing. If he had reacted faster than Uesugi Sumire that day, would Uesugi Sumire be the one facing this kind of thing now instead of him?

However, it is not in Hikigaya Hachiman's character to pass the buck. Since he has made up his mind to do a good job in the student union election, he must do it well. Even if he gets nothing in the end, he must at least be true to his conscience.

"Kawasaki, are you free this afternoon?"

"What's the matter? Is there any work to do? Is there any extra money?"

Saki Kawasaki twisted her neck, then stretched, and said half-jokingly that the number and duration of her part-time jobs had decreased because of the rich big shot Uesugi Sumire, and she had more time to study, and her income had even increased. So Saki Kawasaki would occasionally joke that she seemed to be kept by someone. As for what Kawasaki Saki said, except for Yotsuya Miko who looked a little speechless, everyone else just treated it as a joke and let it go.

"That's about right. There's no more for extra money. This is just a small training for you. Come with me."

Uesugi Cheng put down the "Peacock Gate Observation Record" in his hand. This was a book he found specifically to enhance his combat effectiveness. After all, even though his attainments in spell attacks were relatively profound, there would always be times when he had to fight the enemy with his body, so there would definitely be no problem in learning more of this combat skills that was once widely used in Mansu's executioner team.

[Observational Record of the Peacock Gate]: Ninnagal of Lagash discusses the Peacock Gate, the highest gate that mortals can reach in Mansu: "A crack, a flaw, a wear and tear."

(Reading required: Vahā language, October)

[Scythe and Eclipse Lv.2]: Salt and silver; balance, necessity and blame. (3 Blades 2 Moons)

"Ah, do you want me to do any training? Is it necessary?"

Kawasaki Saki said this, but her body stood up very obediently and walked out of the club activity room with Uesugi Sumika. After all, what Uesugi Sumika brought out had never disappointed her, and after all, she was taking other people's money, so as long as it didn't involve her bottom line or anything, she would do it even if it was a waste of time.

"Maybe just some..."

Saki Kawasaki raised her hand subconsciously. For the first time, she found that her reaction seemed to be a little faster than she expected, but it was meaningless.

Uesugi Cheng's finger touched a spot just in front of her throat, in a position where she couldn't defend herself at all.

"Want to learn? This technique is also effective against spirits, as long as you have the right weapon."

Uesugi Cheng pulled back his body which had been tilted slightly for demonstration in a strange but beautiful posture. The sickle and the eclipse itself can be used as a night wandering technique or a preservation technique and presented on the branches of the Night Watchman's Tree. However, for his assistants, the best technique is the one that suits their current situation.

"So, I might have to fight more often in the future? My job is getting dangerous."

Saki Kawasaki seemed to be thinking about something. The skill that Uesugi Sumire had just demonstrated was definitely not something that could be learned in an ordinary judo or kendo training class. It was a real skill that was used to attack the fatal weakness.

"I just want you to be prepared for self-defense. If you really encounter someone with bad intentions or an evil spirit, you should at least have some ability to resist. I will teach Hikigaya, Miko, Yukinoshita and the others a little bit about this. Otherwise, they will be completely defenseless if something happens."

The situation in Area S last time did serve as a wake-up call to Uesugi Cheng. God knows how many historical issues left over from decades or even hundreds of years ago are still unresolved in Tokyo. In addition, the inspiration of this group of people is constantly improving because they often encounter supernatural events. If one day they walk into some bad place again, let alone escape by themselves, at least being able to hold on until rescue arrives is better than doing nothing.

"I see. Have you found a place to teach me this kind of thing? It seems like it requires violence, right?"

Saki Kawasaki nodded very seriously. She had a basic understanding of the subject of [Preservation Techniques]. What she was going to learn could not only protect herself, but might even protect the health of her companions and family. This made her pay attention to it.

"Of course, since you've already agreed, just go directly to this address after school. I'll wait for you there."

Uesugi Sumire sent an address to Kawasaki Saki. After all, combat teaching should pay more attention to safety.

"Okay, I'll go back to the classroom first. See you after school."

Saki Kawasaki nodded, took a deep breath, and then spoke again.

"No matter what, I have to thank you, Uesugi... If it weren't for you, I would be so worried about money right now."

"Then study hard and work hard. I have high hopes for you."

Uesugi Cheng didn't look back and waved his hand.

[“Preservation Technique” Apprentice Kawasaki Saki]: She has begun to understand the necessity of survival (2 Hearts 2 Blades 1 Honey)

"What a guy... I don't know what to say to him."

Saki Kawasaki sighed. Her heart was indeed shaken because of Uesugi Sumire. So...what could she do?

Yotsuya Miko once again sat alone in the small room. She began to get used to being alone. Perhaps this was also a manifestation of the art of silence.

"Jianzi, how is your study going?"

Yotsuya Miko raised her head subconsciously, and her tone was very similar to Uesugi Sumire, but Uesugi Sumire should not be like this at all.

Then she saw a figure that she couldn't believe.

261

Chapter 261: The fraud was seen through.