Seeing this, Yusei was immediately taken aback, "Hina, what's this...?"
Hina looked somewhat timid, afraid to meet Yusei's gaze. The biggest secret she had kept for the past six months had been discovered.
Initially, she was overjoyed to hear that Yusei had returned, but then she started finding ways to avoid him.
The reason was precisely these changes happening to her body.
These changes had started appearing about three months ago. First her arms, then her entire body, and finally, even her face.
This transformation was gradually expanding. Because of this, Hina had already sent her younger brother to live with relatives, not wanting him to see her in this state.
And compared to her brother, there was actually one person she most didn't want to know about this: Yusei.
So, even though she missed Yusei terribly after not seeing him for half a year, she suppressed these feelings.
But today, Yusei's sudden 'surprise visit' caught Hina completely off guard, and the secret she had been hiding was now exposed.
Faced with Yusei's concerned questioning, Hina felt a warmth in her heart but also a sense of trepidation.
"I... I don't know either. It started about three months ago. It... it should get better after a while, right?" Hina said quickly, not wanting Yusei to worry about her again or fight against [Heaven] for her.
Yusei frowned, 'According to what that old woman had said before, retrieving the body from [Heaven] should have avoided this curse. So what was happening now?'
Yusei didn't understand the intricacies of being a Sunshine Girl. He stepped forward, utilizing the power of the Rinnegan's Preta Path, attempting to absorb the Sunshine Girl's curse, but it was useless.
'The Rinnegan's power isn't applicable here... No, that curse probably isn't an energy form clinging to Hina's body,' Yusei thought to himself, then looked at Hina with some frustration.
"If I hadn't come, were you planning to wait until you vanished completely without telling me?"
Hina remained silent, accepting Yusei's scolding.
The feeling was strange. Although Hina knew Yusei was genuinely angry, she felt no fear inside.
Instead, she felt warm.
This feeling of being cared for was nice.
Her parents were gone, and her relatives were extremely cold. When she sent her brother over this time, she had to pay 'living expenses', otherwise those relatives wouldn't have taken care of her brother at all.
This kind of warmth was something she had only felt from her mother before. Now there was another person.
Yusei was in the middle of scolding his little employee when he noticed a smile appearing on her face.
"..."
Taking a deep breath, Yusei felt he needed to calm down a bit.
"Fine. Let me take you to see a 'doctor' first," Yusei sighed.
The Sunshine Girl's curse came from the [Heaven]. Yusei wasn't clear what that entity was either, but he guessed it was probably something divine in nature.
In this situation, asking the knowledgeable Athena was best.
"There's a doctor for this condition?" Hina felt a glimmer of hope.
"Mhmm." Giving Hina's cheek a firm pinch, Yusei prepared to take her to his home.
At the Kazami House.
Hina somewhat shyly removed her clothes. Beneath them, her body was entirely crystalline and transparent.
However, in this transparent state, nothing was visible, which made Hina feel a bit better.
Only Athena, Yusei, and Hina were in the room.
Athena was using her Divine Power to examine Hina. When she stopped, Yusei asked, "Nana, how is her physical condition?"
Athena knew Yusei preferred holding her in her petite form, so under normal circumstances, she usually appeared as a loli.
"Her body is cursed by the Authority of the Sky. Unfortunately, I cannot resolve it. I do not possess the ability to devour the Sky. If it were Metis, however..." Athena's meaning was clear. She was powerless against this. And in a sense, she was countered by [Heaven], after all, it was Zeus who drove her from the throne of the chief god.
Hina, hearing this girl pronounce her 'death sentence', couldn't help but let her eyes dim.
"Boss, just forget it. I-"
"It's fine. There are still other methods. You're my employee, so how could I just let you be like this?" If even Athena, a chief goddess, was useless against [Heaven's] curse, then the only possible solution likely lay with ancient beings from the Age of Gods.
For this curse, the other method Yusei thought of was seeking help from Gensokyo.
Within Gensokyo, there were many youkai who had lived since the Age of Gods. Perhaps they had a method?
Especially Yukari Yakumo, with her high level of mystery, Yusei felt everything about her was unknown, but there was no doubt she possessed vast knowledge.
She might know a way to deal with this curse.
Athena looked apologetically at Yusei. Seeing his worried expression made her feel guilty.
Noticing Athena's expression, Yusei gently kissed her forehead.
"Don't worry, I have other ideas. And Nana, you're already very impressive."
Hina on the bed had put her clothes back on and looked somewhat apologetically at Yusei.
"Boss, really, it's okay. Let's just forget it. I... I'll be fine."
Yusei flicked her forehead, "You'll stay here for the next few days. I'll figure something out." After saying this, Yusei left the room with Athena.
The house was quite spacious with many rooms, so accommodating one more Hina wasn't a problem at all.
Once outside with Athena, she also looked curiously at Yusei.
"Husband, what do you plan to do about that curse?"
"Do you remember that secret realm you visited before? Inside are youkai who have existed in this world for a very long time. Perhaps we can obtain information on how to lift the curse from them."
Athena nodded silently, a look of apology appearing on her face again.
"Sorry, I was useless."
"I told you, no need to apologize. Besides, Nana is a Greek Goddess, so it's normal not to understand some Eastern concepts," Yusei said with a smile, squeezing Athena's small hand reassuringly.
"Alright, let's prepare to go to the Hokkaido soon. We'll enter that secret realm from there."
"Understood. I will prepare over the next couple of days to guard against any hostility from the beings within the secret realm."
Yusei nodded. This was definitely something to be cautious about. Although Gensokyo was a peaceful place in his impression, the reality of what it was truly like still needed to be assessed.