Chapter 128: Lack of Knowledge

"Are we really okay with criticizing Zaimokuza like this?"

The four members of the Service Club had given the most **constructive** feedback on Zaimokuza's manuscript. Constructive, in this case, meant brutally honest, which slowly turned into emotional damage.

Reality is often unreasonable like that.

But among the four, only Yuigahama Yui felt a bit guilty. She was the one who voiced this concern.

The other three didn't seem particularly moved by Zaimokuza's pained expression. As the saying goes, "You reap what you sow." They believed he had brought this upon himself.

Li Mo held this view firmly.

Hikigaya said, "It's fine. Zaimokuza won't die from this."

"Are we already jumping to the topic of death?!" Yuigahama retorted.

Yukinoshita said, "I'm not familiar with light novels. Li-san, do you have anything else to add?"

"Something to add? Well, I just pointed out the flaws earlier. But I do have one suggestion: Zaimokuza, you need to think about your **selling point**, okay? Even if it's just a novel with pretty illustrations, you should give the female characters more screen time and fanservice."

Haven't you heard the saying, "If you haven't eaten pork, you've at least seen a pig run"? As a former reader, Li Mo had read both web novels and light novels. That's what he considered a well-rounded experience.

...

...

"Zaimokuza, are you really okay acting like this?" This time, it was Yukinoshita Yukino who asked.

After lingering for a while, everyone left the clubroom. It was time to head home.

Zaimokuza walked ahead of the four. While the group was still on the stairs, Zaimokuza stood on the open field, performing some movements that Yukinoshita couldn't understand. This made her wonder if he had suffered too much emotional damage and gone insane.

Li Mo responded, "Earlier, Zaimokuza said our feedback was very helpful, didn't he? It's fine. This is just normal behavior for someone with **chuunibyou** (middle school syndrome). When I was a kid, I used to swing around a stick, imagining I was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, fighting demons. It's one of the romantic fantasies boys have.

Right, Hikigaya-san?"

He casually revealed his own embarrassing past. It's normal for boys to fantasize like that.

Yuigahama Yui leaned closer to Hikigaya and asked, "Hikki, is that true?"

"Of course... it is," Hikigaya said.

He didn't understand how Li Mo could so nonchalantly talk about his own cringy past. Just thinking about the messy things he had written in the past made him too embarrassed to bring them up. If someone found out, his first instinct would be to silence them.

Of course, if it were Komachi who found out, he'd just have to pretend nothing happened.

"I see. So this is a common trait among boys? This is knowledge not found in books," Yukinoshita Yukino said, pinching her chin as if storing this information in her mind.

"Every rule has exceptions, Yukinoshita-san. You can't take this as a universal truth," Li Mo reminded her with a smile.

"Thanks for the reminder. I understand."

"No need to thank me. It's what we should do."

Yuigahama Yui, listening to their conversation, turned to Hikigaya and said, "Hikki, Yukinon and Li-san's way of interacting is still the same."

"They've always been like this..."

Hikigaya sighed.

Yukinoshita rarely directed her sharp tongue at Li Mo. Compared to the emotional fluctuations caused by her sarcasm toward others, Li Mo simply didn't care. To him, her sarcasm was just a joke, and that attitude was honestly quite annoying.

—Imagine saying something, and the other person just doesn't care at all. Isn't that infuriating?

That's the kind of person Li Mo was.

He wasn't aware of how others perceived him, and even if he were, so what? Li Mo didn't care about such things.

"Well then, see you tomorrow, Yukinoshita-san, Hikigaya-san, Yuigahama-san."

At the school gate, the four went their separate ways. Except for Yuigahama and Hikigaya, who were heading in the same direction, everyone else had different routes home.

Li Mo rode his bicycle home and spent the rest of the day as usual.

He studied his schoolwork, continued his research on **Onmyodo**, and occasionally checked on the consciousness of Hanachirusato within the mask.

By now, Li Mo understood how Yae Miko had preserved Hanachirusato's consciousness. Just as Raiden Ei had preserved her own consciousness in the weapon "Musou Isshin," left behind by her sister, Yae Miko had used a similar method to preserve Hanachirusato's consciousness. However, whether it was because Hanachirusato had only left behind her consciousness, or because the caster wasn't Hanachirusato herself, or because her body formed from impurity had been destroyed... there were too many unclear factors that kept Hanachirusato's consciousness in a deep slumber.

The **Onmyodo** of the Kamisato clan also had similar techniques. Kamisato Akira, the founder of the system, had done extensive research on consciousness. The Narukami Shrine also had records of Yae Miko's spells.

"I still lack a lot of knowledge. How to awaken Hanachirusato's consciousness, how to create a body for her... Even though Yae Miko gave me the 'Hakutaku' bloodline, how do I use it?"

The **Onmyodo** of the Kamisato clan didn't cover biology.

He needed more knowledge.

"Guess I need to boost my intelligence... I'll check with Yurine later. She probably has a lot of books on black magic."

The last time he ran into Hanazawa Yurine at the gym, they had exchanged LINE contacts. They shared similar interests.

But that would have to wait until the weekend. House-hunting was also scheduled for the weekend. Fortunately, there was no homework at the moment—only during summer and spring breaks would there be assignments.

All his time was his to manage. That was the life of a Japanese student. If you weren't aiming for a prestigious university, life could be quite relaxed. But if you were, the competition was fierce. Cram schools were a must.

Li Mo set aside these complicated matters to deal with over the weekend.

For the next couple of days, Li Mo's life continued as usual. Hiratsuka-sensei didn't introduce any new clients to the Service Club, so the club remained idle. It had essentially turned into a place where everyone drank tea and ate snacks together.

—Just like the Light Music Club.

Even the number of members was the same: four.

Once the first-year student, Isshiki, joined, it would be five. Similar to Azusa joining the Light Music Club. The only difference was that Hiratsuka-sensei rarely visited the Service Club.

"Let's call it a day," Yukinoshita Yukino said, closing her book. "See you next week."

It was Friday, and after the club activities ended, the weekend would begin. Since no clients had come to the club, everyone could leave early.

Li Mo asked, "Yukinoshita-san, are you living alone now?"

"Yes," Yukinoshita replied briefly. She knew Li Mo was in a similar situation. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

Li Mo said.