After a long while, Yusei hung up the phone. He looked out the window at the pouring rain, his deep black eyes unfathomable.
A moment later, he finally stood up, glanced towards the direction of the apartment, and started walking.
During the call with Haruko, he had asked about methods to resolve Hina's body transparency issue.
The answer he received was simply to bring Hina to her, claiming that only face-to-face could she solve the problem with Hina's body.
That sounded like an obvious lie. Her true intentions were completely exposed.
The question now for Yusei was why Haruko was so desperate to get Hina.
This question had been puzzling from the start. She mentioned something about a successor, but that was clearly not the whole story. There were probably other, true motives.
As for what they were... that remained unclear.
However, whatever they were, Yusei was confident he could ensure Hina's safety.
So, his plan now was to first discuss it with Hina, to hear her opinion, and then proceed to the mountain village where Haruko resided.
"Things seem to be getting troublesome," Yusei sighed. Originally, it was just about dealing with the gang pursuing Hina.
Now it had shifted to confronting that old Miko.
'As expected, it seems I really am a bit too soft-hearted.'
Entering the apartment, he explained these matters to Hina, who was lying in bed. Hina showed no fear upon hearing that Haruko might harbor ill intentions.
According to Hina, she very much hoped to resolve the issue with her body and wasn't concerned about potential dangers. She also mentioned that Yusei had done so much for her, and she really wanted to repay him.
Her intended method of repayment was to use her own abilities.
She didn't know if this would be a permanent solution to the 'curse' where 'using her weather abilities causes her body to become transparent and disappear'.
If it was a permanent fix, she planned from now on to fulfill any request Yusei had regarding changing the weather.
Well, even if it couldn't be resolved, she would still do it. It's just that, in her current state, she couldn't use her abilities many more times.
Yusei didn't really have any demands regarding this, as his left eye had already recorded the [Weathering With You] ability, and it came without the curse.
But since this was Hina's wish, he accepted it without reservation.
He set the time for tomorrow.
As for why not go now, on one hand, they needed to buy train tickets, and on the other hand, he needed to retrieve something from the Shinomiya main house.
That evening, in the Shinomiya main house's living room, Yusei, Kaguya, and Koken sat around a table.
Kaguya and Koken were among the few people in this world who could be considered 'superhuman', and they commanded the Shinomiya Family, a colossal entity in the modern world.
Therefore, Yusei had another plan regarding this matter: to request the Shinomiya Family's influence to cordon off the mountainous area where Haruko resided.
He had considered that if the opponent was very powerful, he might need to use the Complete Body Susanoo during the confrontation. If a fight broke out, it wouldn't be good to involve ordinary people.
Koken fell into deep thought upon hearing Yusei's request, remaining silent for a long time. He found it somewhat unbelievable.
What Yusei asked was for the Shinomiya Family to block vehicles heading to the mountainous area under the pretext of road obstructions.
Furthermore, to evacuate the residents of the mountain village using reasons like archaeological research, studies, or tourism.
These weren't difficult. The former just required issuing a document from the municipal government, and the latter wasn't very hard either.
Because in that area, apart from the village where Haruko lived, the combined population of the other peripheral villages didn't even reach five hundred people.
The only thing that made Koken hesitate was the plausibility of Yusei's statement.
Perhaps when his sword aura resonated with Kaguya's, it could produce destructive power of huge scale. But Yusei specified he was going alone, not taking Kaguya.
Other than that, Koken found it hard to imagine why a battle between humans would require clearing such a large area.
Kaguya, however, seemed to have an inkling. She leaned closer to Yusei and whispered, "Are you planning to take Kanna with you?"
Kanna's true identity was known to only a few, and Kaguya was one of them.
In her view, Yusei probably wanted to conceal Kanna's existence, hence the request for these measures.
Yusei glanced at her, his expression seeming both amused and teasing, which made Kaguya slightly annoyed. She gave him a light pinch.
"Just say it if you have something to say."
"Alright." Yusei shrugged, "It's not Kanna, but..."
He stopped mid-sentence.
"Better not say for now. If you're interested, you can watch from the periphery. Revealing the secret in advance ruins the surprise."
Yusei had just thought of this. He felt Kaguya would be very surprised when she saw the Susanoo.
Why?
Because Kaguya had seen it before. In SAO, she had witnessed Yusei piloting Kanna in battle against another giant dragon.
However, the Susanoo back then wasn't the Tengu Warrior Form, but rather armor equipped onto Kanna, the Susanoo-cladded Dragon.
But whether it was the Tengu Warrior or the Susanoo-cladded Dragon, the armor and the color of the energy were the same.
Right now, Yusei was very curious about what expression Kaguya would make when she saw him using an 'ability from the game' in reality.
She would surely be very shocked.
Well, even if he told her now, she would still be shocked, but it would lack a certain... subtle sense of coolness.
Ultimately, Yusei knew himself, he just wanted to show off properly.
He had possessed this power for so long. He knew how to use it and had found a sufficient energy source to fuel it, but never had the chance, which left him feeling a bit pent up.
Seeing Yusei being so mysterious, Kaguya became extremely curious and didn't doubt his words.
Because Yusei rarely lied, she believed the scale of the battle he described.
With this in mind, Kaguya looked at her grandfather and said seriously, "Grandfather, please do as Yusei-kun says. I believe he isn't lying."
Koken looked deeply at Yusei, then glanced meaningfully at his granddaughter.
"Since that's the case... then Kaguya, you will be in charge of this."
"However, Kaguya, you should be aware of the matter regarding the Imperial Family's inquiry some time ago, correct? I'd like to hear your thoughts on it."