The time soon came to afternoon.

After perfunctoryly asking Haranaka's meaningless questions, Higashinoji followed what Aiko Kijo said and walked to the far right side of the third floor of the club activity building.

Ryoko Okano has already informed him that he does not need to go to the studio to report, he can just go directly to complete the wood sculpture exhibit.

But one day is definitely not enough.

In fact, half a month is still quite tight - at least there is no need to expect painting or coloring.

Higashikata shook his head.

Fortunately, the new monthly magazine from Urashima Publishing House is scheduled to be published in the middle of next month. Otherwise, if all these miscellaneous things are crowded together, there will definitely be no time to draw "The Lonely Gourmet".

Tonoji took out the key, opened the door of the empty classroom, and took a look inside.

Oops - Kijo Aiko has prepared quite a lot of things.

On the floor are brand-new arc knives of various models, hammers and other tools are also available, and there is a whole piece of polishing wax next to it.

Of course, the most important thing is the piece of wood in front of you, which is about 20cm long, 15cm wide and 30cm high.

Higashinoji didn't give Aiko the detailed dimensions yesterday because he hadn't thought of what to carve yet, but it's different now. He probably has an idea, and the piece of wood in front of him has been processed and the bark has been removed...

.

"It's barely enough."

Tonoji nodded, and then began to stuff the wood into the storage box and fix it. Then he made a mental calculation, took out a larger needle pen and started to draw an irregular circle with a notch on the wood... If you look carefully

In the past, the overall shape looked like a cracked eggshell.

But since it directly accounts for two-thirds of the wood, the overall shape is more like a broken ostrich egg shell.

That's right, broken and with the lower half of the eggshell still intact, this is what Higashino wanted to carve.

Since the theme of maturity and independence has been decided, the sculptural image of a young bird shedding its shell just fits this theme.

No matter which country students are from, sooner or later they will step out of the "shell" that protects themselves and extend their hands to the outside world in ignorance...

Maybe they will suffer unimaginable painful experiences, or they may be forced into desperation by reality...

But this is a process from childishness to maturity, and no one can escape it.

Yes, it is painful to get out of the "shell", but you don't have to stay in the "shell" just because you are afraid of pain.

The image of Higashinoji's "shell" can be a school, a family, or something that has always protected high school students.

Of course, if you are someone who can easily inherit a fortune worth hundreds of millions without any effort - just pretend that Tonoji didn't say this.

The same is naturally true after the bluebird takes off.

After flying out of the "shell", all we have to face is the helplessness and pain in reality.

College entrance examination, college, and work issues after college...a series of things that I had never considered before came like a sudden rain.

This is the theme that Higashino wants to express - maturity and independence.

But that alone is definitely not enough - maybe others will be satisfied, but at least Higashinoji is not.

This is because this is an art festival held by Hoku Yoijuku. Without the key carrier of 'Kita Yoijuku', it would be somewhat unsightly.

To this end, Higashinoji also made a special trip to bring a map of Kitajuku.

That's right.

He wanted to carve a shortened version of Hokugyijuku into this eggshell.

Playground, club activity building, gymnasium, student canteen, canteen

...This is where the students of Kitajuku have been living.

And this is also the starting place for the bluebird to enter the society.

This is Higashinoji's idea.

The 'shell' is the protective object of the blue bird, and the 'Kita Yoijuku' is the starting point for students and the carrier to cultivate their 'spirit'.

Then the title of this wood sculpture should be——

"The Blue Bird."

Higashinoji murmured to himself and started cutting out the rough shape with a scroll saw.

Although there is no directly expressed image of "bird", the broken eggshell and the feathers scattered around the eggshell... none of this means that the bluebird has broken out of the shell and flown into the distant sky.

It's just that although pine wood is not too hard, the middle of the sawed eggshell needs to be hollowed out with tools, the edges are also very rough, and there are wooden thorns that are quite prickly to the touch.

But Higashinoji didn't care.

Smooth the center edge with sandpaper, and finally apply a layer of polishing wax to make the whole surface smooth.

As long as the post-processing is done well, "Blue Bird" is definitely a good work.

"But...it's a bit wasteful."

Higashinoji looked at the large part of the wood that needed to be hollowed out and couldn't help but ponder.

The final eggshell with the simple Hokugi school in the middle is about 20 centimeters high and the maximum diameter is 18 to 19 centimeters.

Make it again and match it with an exhibit base...this is Higashino's idea.

However, since a large piece needs to be dug out from the middle, the wood in the middle will inevitably be wasted.

In the past, when Higashinoji was a student, he would not have been so prodigal. After all, wood was so expensive that no one would be so prodigal just to dig out a piece for carving.

"Even if you use this hollowed-out wood to make eggshell fragments, feathers and other embellishments, there is still a lot of waste..."

Higashinoji thought for a moment, and then thought of today's trio of Konoe Ryoka.

Anyway, these scraps don’t come out much, so let’s use these scraps to make something for them...

After all, "The Lonely Gourmet" will probably have to ask for their help every time he goes out to collect stories from now on.

Higashinoji had an idea in his mind, but his men did not stop.

Knock slowly with the hammer and arc knife, trying to create a smoother eggshell surface.

The feet of Higashi Yesi were gradually filled with fine sawdust.

In the later stage, I will use a wooden sander from Aiko's company to smooth it, and the sandpaper will be used at most to repair the details. This kind of large round surface still needs the help of a machine to polish it smooth.

After about fifty minutes of this work, Tonoji put down the sweaty hammer and wiped the sweat from his face.

It has to be said that doing this work on a hot day is really torturous. Although there is an electric fan spinning above his head, the hot air can only slightly quench his thirst - Higashinoji is still sweating profusely.

He usually puts down the hammer and takes a rest after ten minutes of hammering, otherwise his wrist will be so sore that it will affect his cartoon drawing at night.

"That's pretty much it for today."

Looking at the eggshell that had turned into an irregular semicircle, Tonoji put it down, then simply washed his palms covered with sawdust, and then put on the stand-up collar uniform that he had taken off because it was too hot.

"Let's go."

The work here has come to an end for the time being, and it’s almost time to go and collect stories for “The Lonely Gourmet”.

I hope Konoe Ryoka and the others can really bring some surprises to me.
Chapter completed!