Girls' Wishing Tree

Riki was silent – ​​she had never heard Maki say that before.

In front of her, Maki always shows her best and least troublesome side.

"Sister, is that so?" Li Xi hesitated and slowed down his pace unconsciously. "Sister, do I need to put in this kind of effort?"

"Because I like the trumpet," Maki said seriously. "When my father made our house numbers when we were little, I chose the trumpet design. After entering Hanedaoka, I chose the wind band club without hesitation. When I was in college, I also applied for a major in wind music. For all these years, I've been working hard for the trumpet."

Maki held Riki's hand and continued walking towards the shrine. "The more talented the musicians, the stricter the expectations. When our band performs with big-name performers, they pay close attention to detail, even repeatedly offering feedback on a single note. The miko at Sakura Shrine are so skilled, they must have their own insistence and demands on music."

Chapter 60 Shrines, Festivals and Monsters: 20. Choices in Life

Takagi Sakura looked at the Shiina sisters standing in the yard.

She had no idea what Maki had said to Riki, nor did she know why the two of them were together.

But perhaps it wouldn't be too much to praise Riki in front of Maki.

"Ritsuki Shiina, I like the sound of your drums." Sakura Takagi still talked to Ritsuki through the dialog box.

She had waited for Lixi for a long time, and now she had no choice but to go ahead.

When Li Xi heard Gao Muying's voice, he took a breath and quickly glanced at the shrine courtyard: "Sister, do you hear anyone talking?"

Shiina Maki shook her head.

This happened before at the gate of Haneda School. She asked Hachiman Kailing if she heard it, and Hachiman Kailing answered in the negative.

If Hailing might have misheard at the school gate because of the noisy environment, then in the quiet shrine, she undoubtedly heard a voice that was spoken only to her.

She doesn't believe in "God".

Even though her good friend Takamatsu Deng told her that there was a deity at Sakura Shrine, she had never really believed it before. But now, she was wavering.

What if, what if God really exists?

Under her sister's gaze, she ran to the shrine and said seriously, "Is it the God? If the God really exists, can you tell me what the future will be like?"

"My Lord God... I don't think I am worthy of this title. Your future is in your own hands. Can you tell me what kind of future you want?" This time, Takagi Sakura was very cautious when she saw the option box.

Because what popped up was Shiina Riki's main storyline options, and for the first time, it broke the limit of three options and reached a full 5. What surprised Sakura even more was that there were even two other girls in it. It seemed that these options would have a synergistic effect.

[Under your guidance, the girl walks towards the road to the "future". Please select the specific direction of guidance:]

[A. The girl would become a housewife and gradually regard learning music as a memory of her youth. However, under her influence, two of her three children became professional musicians.]

[B. The girl will become a songwriter and producer, no longer focusing on playing instruments. However, she will write many popular songs throughout her life and is also the composer of singer-songwriter Takamatsu Touma.]

[C. The girl will become a professional boxer. After re-examining herself, she decides to leverage her upper body strength. After several years of boxing training, she represented her region and won a national championship. She even traveled across the ocean to the United States, where professional boxing is well-established, to compete for several years, achieving an excellent record.]

[D. The girl will become the band's drummer. Together with Hachiman Kairei, she has become a well-known band rhythm section. Not only has she been active in the band for decades, but she has also done temporary work with Kairei on many occasions, such as performances and album recordings, and has a very good reputation in the Tokyo music circle.]

[E. The girl will become a network security engineer and start working for a large company after graduating from university. However, in her spare time, she is also active as a drummer in an amateur band, often performing at company annual meetings, small live houses, and other occasions.]

These options are actually not bad.

Many girls in Tokyo are willing to be housewives. As for the other career development options, from the perspective of others, there is nothing wrong with them.

The question now is, can she really make such an important choice for Li Xi?

In the past, she might have made her choice more hastily, just like Asahi Rikka's choice. She just took out three candies and let the other party choose one, and that was considered the choice.

But now she realized that the choice would really be related to the girls' happiness.

Especially this kind of option that is almost a "lifetime" option.

"What kind of future do I want..." Li Xi was a little confused for a moment.

She is just a 14-year-old child. If you ask her now what kind of future she wants, it will be difficult for her to make a decision. She doesn't even have much idea about the "future".

Maki didn't come closer. She stood a few meters away, staring at her sister.

Under the cherry tree in the shrine, Riki stood in front of the shrine, while Maki was beside the tree trunk. The moonlight cast the shadow of the tree on the two girls, and the only sound in the environment was the rustling of leaves blown by the evening breeze.

Gao Muying tried to communicate with the system: "System, is there a function like simulation? How can I make a decision for Li Xi now?"

"The system does not provide simulation functions. The possibilities listed by the system are already deduced possibilities and do not require additional simulation." The system quickly gave a reply.

"Then can we... choose later?"

The system's cold prompt sounded: "The delay time for personal mainline options is 2 hours. The delay time for ordinary options varies depending on the event, generally no more than 10 minutes."

"I want to unbind! I don't want to be bound to a system like yours!" Takagi Sakura's heart was filled with alarm - the system's options gave so little time, which would not only affect the fate of the girls, but also herself.

She initially thought the system was helping her unconditionally, but now it seemed that such help might not make her happy.

The system lists the possibilities for Lixi's future development. If she makes a choice, it is equivalent to helping Lixi arrange her future life. If she does not make a choice, not only will her shining points be deducted, but Lixi's future will also become more uncertain.

"If you unbind now, you will never be able to become a senior tree demon. You don't have the method of demon training, only shining points can help you improve your strength." The system's voice continued to reach Takagi Sakura's mind.

Takagi Sakura hesitated.

She really didn't want to be trapped in Tokyo forever.

"You can't keep manipulating girls' lives like this! They should have their own lives!"

"It's you who's controlling these girls' lives. I've simply laid out all the possibilities. Are you blaming this system for not being able to make a choice?"

"But you have no right to hurt anyone on my behalf!"

"The option itself will not cause harm. If the option causes harm to the girl, it means that being hurt is one of the possibilities." The system's words were without any emotion.

Takagi Sakura was silent.

Two hours to make life choices for Lixi.

Takagi Sakura felt like her whole tree was shaking.

"Lixi, what kind of person do you want to be? What do you want to do in the future?" She could only ask Lixi again, clarifying the question. The system didn't allow the girl to choose, but if she didn't explicitly ask, it wouldn't trigger the system's alarm.

"I...want to be a great drummer. If I can't go professional, I can enroll in computer-related courses at university and make drumming a long-term hobby. I'd also like to learn some composition. If that doesn't work out, I can be a housewife..."

Under the guidance of Takagi Sakura, Li Xi whispered it in front of the shrine.

Takagi Sakura was extremely surprised.

The system only lists all the possibilities, and it is still she who makes the final choice.

But how should she make a choice?

Chapter 61 Shrines, Festivals, and Monsters: 21. Riki's Determination

The expectations that Lixi expressed herself are the future she will face.

Takagi Sakura still didn't make a choice immediately.

"The shrine maiden writes songs in the closed grocery store at the foot of the hill." Takagi Sakura wants to talk to Riki in human form. Communicating with Riki as a tree might make it easier to get the truest thoughts out of Riki.

"Oh?" Li Xi didn't expect that the voice in his heart would indicate the location of the witch.

What the shrine maiden said did hurt her, but when she thought about the song the shrine maiden sang to her and what her sister said when she came here, she felt that she was not completely unable to face Takagi Sakura now.

But now when she went to see Sakura Takagi, she felt something was wrong.

Maki noticed something was wrong with Riki and walked over to her side: "Little Riki, what's wrong?"

"Uh... I kind of want to find a witch." Li Xi turned around and looked at his sister.

"If you want to find her, just contact her. You should have her contact information, right?"

"I... blocked her." Li Xi's face was a little red, but it was not very obvious in the night: "But... I know where she is, I'll go find her!"

"Little Lixi, be careful!" Maki shouted at Lixi's back.

Lixi finally made up her mind - she wanted to find Takagi Sakura and find out what was going on.

Takagi Sakura regained consciousness as quickly as possible and took out a finished manuscript paper.

"Big Event", a famous song by Toshiyuki Tachikawa.

It is more appropriate to take it out at this time.

Then she deliberately turned on the light, took off the cap of her pen, sat at the counter, and left the locked door ajar.

As soon as he finished these things, Li Xi ran over and pushed open the half-closed door. When their eyes met, Gao Muying's eyes were a little evasive.

"Ah, Lixi, you're here! I've been worried about you--" After a brief adjustment, Ying took the initiative to talk to Lixi.

Li Xi walked over to Ying and placed his hands on the ring. "Tell me, what is that voice I can hear?"

"Ah? You heard that?" Takagi Sakura pretended to be surprised, first lowering her head, then rubbing her feet together, standing up and bowing to Li Xi: "That... is the favor of the Lord God. Those who are watched will hear some guidance. I feel that you are someone favored by the Lord God, so I accidentally asked a little too much of you. I'm very sorry."

"Huh?" Li Xi did not immediately accept the answer given by Takagi Sakura.

"I'm sorry, I apologize to you again and hope you can continue to participate in the program recording. I... like your drums very much, and I wrote a new song for you." Takagi Sakura picked up the manuscript paper that had been placed on the counter a long time ago.

"Things you can't admit defeat, things you can't give up, things you can't run away from, things you hold on to, things you believe in, when you're about to fail, those are the most important things..."

Li Xi picked up the manuscript, looked at it for a while, and then put it back on the counter.

She had seen that the songs Sakura had written had the power to inspire people. This shrine was indeed magical.

But thinking back to what Takagi Sakura had said before, she still felt a little bit uneasy. Why did Sakura, who had only been teaching her how to play better and had been speaking so gently before, suddenly wind up the metronome and put pressure on her?

Why would Ying apologize so sincerely now and even write a new song for her?

Besides, what does it mean that I am the chosen one?

It's simply... nine out of ten things are wrong.

The two of them stood facing each other in silence, each trying to guess what the other was thinking.

Ying was wondering how to find out Lixi's true thoughts and how to fulfill her responsibilities for Lixi's future life; while Lixi wanted to know the truth about Ying's series of seemingly confusing behaviors.

To be recognized by both Tomo and Maki, and to have PasPale's guitarist speak for her, Sakura Takagi must have a high level of musical attainments, and the two songs she wrote also prove this.

It took so little time to create, it's pure genius.

The genius Yilin doctor Wujiu: The matter is...

Although she was reluctant to recall, Li Xi still recalled the time when she participated in the performance of "The Flower of the World" at the shrine.

At that time, Takagi Sakura was not satisfied with her drums. She first gently asked herself whether she usually watched the band's live performances, and then collaborated with her on the rhythm section using bass.

Lixi only felt that Sakura's bass had a particularly strong emotional expression, and it seemed that she was not trying to support the band's performance, but to carve on the bass. Looking back now, she should be reminding herself that even the rhythm section needs emotional expression.

I didn't understand what Sakura meant, but she explained it to me very gently.

What happened next was not right - Ying was stunned for more than a minute, then her expression changed immediately, she wound up the metronome, and said directly that there was no difference between her drums and the metronome.

She realized that there might be something wrong with those few seconds. Now that it was confirmed that the "God" existed in the shrine, and Takagi Sakura could communicate with the God, then...

Did the "pressure" on Sakura cause her to "explode"?

The voice that "Lord God" let him hear had already given half the answer.

At the entrance of Yugaoka, she heard, "It was me who told that little miko to play the best music, so she said that to you. Now she feels very guilty and regretful, and hopes to complete the performance with you."

A musical genius, a clergyman who can communicate with the gods. Both of these identities are people with unstable mental states.

The combination of the two...

Li Xi suddenly thought of a possibility.

Sakura is too gentle, loves this world too much, and is too non-aggressive, but her talent in music and spiritualism is too high. In the case of frequent communication with "God", a gentle soul alone cannot bear it.

Sakura's solution is to split herself into two, trying to leave her gentleness to the world and let the other self bear the pressure that a genius should bear.

To put it more simply,...

Dual personality.

The cold Sakura will stick to her obsession with music, while the gentle Sakura will be responsible for socializing. But that cold Sakura is not completely absent. Thinking back to the Sakura Festival, the stage presence when Sakura picked up the Random Star and played was also different from the gentle Sakura - when Sakura pushed the limits of music, her inner personality would emerge.

"Ying, what kind of person do you want to be?" Li Xi asked in a crying voice.

Li Xi's performance today was almost beyond Ying's expectations.

I first went to the shrine with my sister. After rushing down, I asked about being able to hear conversations in the dialog box, looked at the manuscript, and after a long silence, asked myself what kind of person I wanted to be.

What was even weirder was that she had no way of reading Li Xi's eyes.

She thought Lixi would be angry, frustrated, and lost, but she never expected that Lixi would show a mixture of shock and sympathy in his eyes.

But she couldn't say she didn't know.

If she said she didn't know, she would be leading Li Xi to avoid the option.

"I want to... turn this place into a music shrine, form a band, perform at the martial arts hall, and... help everyone who has musical dreams." Takagi Sakura said something that she thought would never go wrong.