The furious Rikki had no idea... at this moment, Shouko's attention wasn't on her at all.
Instead, she was looking at the semi-transparent pop-up windows appearing before her eyes, sighing inwardly.
As expected of feelings between friends; the anger value is already over two thousand.
The system store, which requires one thousand anger value points to open, now meets the requirements.
[anger value, +277 points.]
[anger value, +55 points.]
[anger value, +31 points.]
However, seeing the anger value gains decreasing, Shouko didn't continue to provoke everyone.
After all, if she provoked them too harshly, it would be difficult to win them back later.
This is enough for now... otherwise, her conscience would feel quite uneasy.
So... once they go out, she'll start with Sakiko.
She would break them down one by one and conduct a fine-grained collection of anger value.
As long as it was one-on-one, she was fairly confident in her control over the situation.
Raising her hand to push past Sakiko, who was standing there like a wooden post, Shouko walked straight out of the Band Room.
And as they watched Shouko stride away without the slightest hesitation,
Soyo and Mutsumi didn't care; what they cared about was Sakiko.
Rikki was still fuming from being rebuked, and Tomori was also feeling a bit sad from what was said.
As for Sakiko, she was simply dazed.
When she came here... she had already decided that since she had to cut ties decisively, she had to be as heartless as possible.
But why did Shouko say everything she had prepared beforehand??
These... these were her lines! How was she supposed to say them now???
Under these circumstances... Shouko left resolutely, and no one stood up to even try and make her stay.
At this moment... time seemed to have been paused, and the entire CRYCHIC Band room was filled with a suffocatingly heavy atmosphere.
A moment later, Sakiko looked at everyone who was watching her: "I, indeed, am quitting."
Although she felt incredibly miserable inside—this was, after all, the team she had personally put together—
Thinking of her current situation, she forced herself to continue stating her purpose for coming today.
Hearing this, Mutsumi's mouth opened slightly: "Actually, I also think performing is quite a boring thing."
Glancing at Mutsumi, Rikki, who was already bristling because of Shouko,
Directly questioned Sakiko: "Do you also think Tomori's singing sounds terrible??"
"Yes, Tomori, you really should work harder."
After Sakiko finished speaking, she was afraid she would soften her heart and change her mind.
She directly imitated the resolute Shouko, turned around, and strode away without any hesitation.
If Shouko had directly torn a cruel hole in everyone's friendship,
Then Sakiko, the founder of the team, had violently ripped open everyone's wounds and rubbed salt in them.
Soyo collapsed directly onto the floor.
Rikki and Tomori, who was holding her, fell into mutual silence.
Mutsumi's expression remained flat, because she knew that after Sakiko said she was quitting, the outcome was already decided.
Outside the door... sensing that no one had tried to stop her... Sakiko, who had walked out, was both happy and sad.
This was the CRYCHIC Band that she had worked so hard to pull together and had successfully performed with once.
Giving it up like this was truly sad, but she had no choice.
She really, really didn't want everyone to see her in such a pathetic state.
This could be considered the final pride of the former young lady.
"Sakiko..."
"Shouko??"
Rounding the corner of the corridor, she saw Shouko standing to the side, waiting for her.
The look on Sakiko's face, which was about to break into tears, instantly became serious.
"Shouko, I have real reasons for quitting, but there was absolutely no need for you to do so."
"Draw one..."
"Eh!??"
Looking at the stack of tarot cards Shouko pulled from her pocket, Sakiko was a bit confused.
"I never told you..."
"But I'm actually quite good at Divination."
"Before we part, as a former friend, I'm prepared to see you off. Do you dare to draw?"
Shouko smiled and shook the stack of tarot cards in front of Sakiko.
"Heh, fine, I..."
Just as Sakiko was indifferently preparing to reach out and draw a card, she noticed something wasn't quite right.
"tarot cards... if I remember correctly, there are 22 cards in the Major Arcana and 56 in the Minor Arcana. Isn't this... a bit few?"
"Yes, I only have the 22 Major Arcana cards. Draw one. Or are you afraid of something?"
"Aren't you being a bit too confident? Do you really think you can know what's happening to me just with these?"
Sakiko was a bit afraid of her friend finding out, but seeing Shouko's mocking gaze,
Her strong pride as a young lady made her reach out and draw a card defiantly.
In reality, her lack of confidence was already unconsciously revealing her inner panic.
"Is one card enough?"
"Yes, drawing one is enough."
Shouko nodded, quietly gazing at the Major Arcana card in Sakiko's hand.
But in reality, she was currently using her Mind Perception ability to quietly read Sakiko's heart.
Seeing Shouko remain silent, Sakiko couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and hummed softly.
"Number Zero of the Major Arcana, The Fool."
"This card represents a pure original intention, infinite potential, and a new beginning."
"The Fool fearlessly sets out on an unknown journey."
"His steps are light; though he seems reckless, he is full of curiosity and a desire to explore the world."
"The Fool is not bound by past experiences, symbolizing a spirit that casts aside all restraints and bravely strides toward the future."
"How about it? Am I right, Nishinomiya... Shouko?"
Looking at Sakiko's slightly smug gaze, which seemed to say 'this is just fortune-telling, I can do it too,'
Shouko slowly nodded and put away the stack of twenty-one tarot cards in her hand.
"The Fool is depicted as a man, but you are the young lady of the Toyokawa Family..."
"Yes, and?"
"The fearless Fool embarks on an unknown beginning. So, your mother must have passed away, and your father is unable to support a new beginning?"
"You—who did you hear that from!?"
Sakiko's eyes widened as she looked at Shouko in disbelief.
She hadn't told anyone about what was happening to her.
Or was it that Mutsumi found out and told Shouko?
But according to logic and etiquette, such a thing was absolutely impossible.
Otherwise, Soyo and the others wouldn't have been so unable to understand her.
"It seems my reading was quite accurate..."
Shouko said seriously, "Then this also means you have nothing left anymore."
The already shocked Sakiko was immediately bristled by this sentence: "I have nothing left, fine..."
[anger value, +666 points.]