Xerneas and Miyazaki Sakura chatted casually before sending Xia Hunao and the other two out of its dimension. Seeing that they were back in the shrine with a shift in space, Kana was stunned. "Is this Xerneas's power? It's so amazing."
Xia Hunao patted Mew, who was beside him. "Little Mew, why did you come out with me?"
Mew looked around and quickly disappeared into its dimension. "Ah, why did they send me out too!"
After Mew vanished, the three were silent for a moment. Then, Kana spoke first. "Um, I know you're not a Pokémon thief, but why did you come here in the middle of the night, and what's your relationship with that pervert!"
Under Sakura's gaze, which was a mix of confusion, suspicion, and disgust, Xia Hunao took a few steps back and explained, "Well, I came here late at night because..."
"You don't need to explain, I understand."
Saying this, Miyazaki Sakura knelt down and picked up Cherubi and Cherrim. "Cherrim, please don't be angry with me anymore. I'll stop punishing Ran, okay?"
Sakura's apology was well-received by Cherrim. Cherrim glanced at Miyazaki Sakura, then nuzzled close to Cherubi, leaning against it like a shy bird.
Seeing this scene, both Xia Hunao and Miyazaki Sakura smiled knowingly. Only Officer Kana remained insistent, staring at Xia Hunao. "Since Miss Miyazaki doesn't mind, I won't pursue your trespass of the shrine tonight. But you must explain clearly why you and that pervert night-attacked me!"
"It's not my fault. I saw him on the road, and he insisted on pulling me along. Is that my fault? Besides, I didn't make a move. He originally asked me to sneak up from behind..."
Although Xia Hunao explained, Kana didn't seem to believe him much, which made Xia Hunao very displeased. "Hmph, don't think too highly of yourself. A woman like you, with no chest and no hips, wouldn't appeal to me. Even if I were to hit Sakura with a stick from behind, I wouldn't have any designs on you. If you want to attract my attention, tie a few Ditto to yourself and then come out!"
Xia Hunao's words were quite sharp, criticizing two people at once. While Sakura, as a shrine maiden, rarely lost her temper, Kana was different. She kicked Xia Hunao's shin. "What did you say?"
Xia Hunao stared fiercely at Kana's chest. "Honestly, do you have a problem with that?"
Seeing that the two were about to fight, Miyazaki Sakura unleashed her authority. "Both of you, shut up! This is a shrine, and it's already late at night!"
They both lowered their heads. "Sorry."
Miyazaki Sakura looked at Kana. "Thank you, Officer Kana. You can go back now. I have something to discuss with this gentleman."
Kana shot Xia Hunao a fierce glance and then left the shrine with her Watchog. Meanwhile, in the shrine's reception room, under the dim candlelight, Xia Hunao looked at the teacup in front of him. "Miss Miyazaki, what did you want to see me about?"
Miyazaki knelt opposite Xia Hunao. "Please continue to call me Sakura. Although it's late, I have something to ask of you."
Xia Hunao was confused. "Can't it wait until morning?"
"It can, but I still hope to discuss it with you as soon as possible."
"Alright, what is it then?"
Xia Hunao picked up his teacup and took a sip. "If I'm not mistaken, Xerneas asked you to do something, right?"
"Yes, please listen..."
...
The next morning, Xia Hunao was sleeping soundly in his bed when the door was suddenly opened by Mutoizumi. "Little Xia, are you up yet?"
Xia Hunao opened his eyes. "Even if I wasn't awake just now, you would have woken me up with that. Do you need something?"
Mutoizumi lifted Xia Hunao's blanket. "Get up quickly. Last night, did you..."
Xia Hunao slowly put on his clothes. "If you went to the shrine, you'll know."
The two arrived outside the shrine and saw a shrine maiden in a green skirt sweeping the entrance. Mutoizumi looked at Xia Hunao. "So, you failed last night?"
Xia Hunao ascended the steps and approached the shrine maiden. "Good morning, Sakura."
The sweeping shrine maiden stopped. "Good morning. You're here."
Mutoizumi quickly walked up and looked at the green-skirted shrine maiden. "Sakura? Is this Miss Sakura? Isn't it Ran?"
A shrine maiden, also wearing a green skirt, emerged gracefully from the shrine. "Hello, I am Ran. We met yesterday."
Looking at the two shrine maidens wearing identical green skirts, with only their hairstyles differing, Mutoizumi asked, "How can this be? Why is Miss Sakura also wearing a green skirt? This isn't the attire of a punished shrine maiden."
Sakura bowed slightly. "Please follow me."
Sakura and Ran led Xia Hunao and Mutoizumi into the shrine. Along the way, they saw Suzuko chatting with other shrine maidens. Upon seeing Xia Hunao and the others, Suzuko stood up and greeted them. Xia Hunao and the others returned the greeting. They arrived outside the room where the divine beast was enshrined. Sakura reached out and opened the door.
"Sister, this room is..."
"It's alright. I saw Xerneas last night, and it allowed me to enter this room."
Ran walked into the room with a hint of disbelief and saw the spotless statue. "Sister, did you really see Xerneas?"
"Of course, otherwise, would I be like this?"
Mutoizumi interrupted their conversation. "I apologize to both of you, but could you explain what happened?"
"Of course. I've modified some rules. The previous rules were too harsh, and the shrine maidens were under a lot of pressure. After changing to the current rules, we now focus more on spiritual reflection during the punishment."
"Then why are you also wearing a green skirt?"
"This is my self-punishment. I believe I made a mistake before, so I will wear this until the Life Cherry Festival ends."
"Life Cherry Festival? What is that?" Mutoizumi looked at Sakura, and Miyazaki Ran also looked at her sister. "Yes, what is this festival? Why haven't I heard of it?"
Hearing that Miyazaki Ran didn't know about the so-called Life Cherry Festival, Mutoizumi's expression became even stranger. Xia Hunao smiled. "The so-called Life Cherry Festival, to put it bluntly, is actually Xerneas's birthday party."
"I see. But you seem to know a lot, Xia-zi."
"Um, I did come to the shrine for a stroll last night."
Mutoizumi looked at the somewhat embarrassed Xia Hunao. "So, which shrine maiden did you push over? Was it Suzuko or Sakura? Or did you, you scoundrel, enjoy the blessings of both, with both shrine maidens serving you?"
Xia Hunao gave Mutoizumi a displeased look. "Zhishui, this is a shrine!"
Mutoizumi quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, Miss Sakura, please forgive me."
Miyazaki Sakura smiled. "It's alright. Our shrine has hosted worse guests and heard more outrageous jokes."
Although Miyazaki Sakura wanted to ease Mutoizumi's pressure, Mutoizumi felt rather awkward after hearing Rotom's translation.
Xia Hunao and Ran quickly smoothed things over. "Alright, let's continue discussing the Life Cherry Festival."
"Yes, Sister. The Life Cherry Festival is Xerneas's festival, right? Can we handle such a large festival without Father present?"
Mutoizumi and Xia Hunao understood that if their father were present at the shrine, he would be the chief priest. However, they were surprised that the shrine could still operate normally without the chief priest.
Seeing Xia Hunao and Mutoizumi's confusion, the Miyazaki sisters carefully explained their shrine to them.
Countless large and small shrines dotted the vast land of Many Sakura. Even Arceus, who was presumed dead, had dozens of shrines in Many Sakura. Unlike the shrines on Earth, Many Sakura shrines were larger and had more levels. The shrine where the Miyazakis resided had five to six courtyards from outside to inside, and even so, it was considered a small shrine in Many Sakura.
Of course, due to their large scale, the rules were also more complex, mainly because each shrine had its own unique regulations, making them seem cumbersome.
The father of the Miyazaki sisters, Miyazaki Ryukai, was a person who single-handedly held almost all positions, from chief priest downwards. However, he was also a trainer and was often away, which led to the Miyazaki sisters managing the shrine from a young age, handling both daily affairs and festivals with ease.
The shrine lessons from the Miyazaki sisters lasted nearly an hour. Through this experience, Xia Hunao realized that he still needed to minimize his reliance on empirical errors and not constantly apply Earth's experiences to the Lingyao Star.
Even though Xia Hunao thought this, the system was still reluctant to believe it. "Stop kidding. Go back about three hundred chapters, and you said the same thing as soon as you learned to speak. How many years has it been, and you're still making such mistakes."
Xia Hunao didn't argue with the system, merely saying after the shrine lesson concluded, "Alright, let's continue introducing the so-called Life Cherry Festival. This festival is quite important."
Miyazaki Sakura looked at everyone. "Yes, this Life Cherry Festival was told to me by Xerneas last night. It's set for January 8th every year. We need to perform new Kagura and conduct special rituals for blessings at the Life Cherry Festival."
Mutoizumi asked softly, "January 8th, this date?"
"January 8th, 2013, announced along with the Generation VI starter Pokémon."
"I see."
As they were speaking, Miyazaki Sakura stood up. "Therefore, I hope you can all assist me in preparing for the Life Cherry Festival."