"You noticed?" Kaguya was taken aback.
"Of course... Did you think I was only focused on eating?" Yusei shot Kaguya a look.
"In that case, then why did you..."
"Kaguya, listen. Your swordsmanship still has a long way to go before you graduate. Do you know why?" Yusei looked at Kaguya with a faint smile.
"No, I don't." Kaguya felt a bit discouraged. She felt the gap between her and Yusei was vast, and she had been trying hard to catch up.
"It's because you lack real combat experience."
"And you? Do you have a lot of combat experience?" Kaguya retorted.
"I'm different. I'm a genius."
"..."
Kaguya felt frustrated but couldn't argue because it was the truth. It's so annoying.
Early the next morning, the rested trio, along with the old village chief, headed up the mountain to the so-called [Haruko-sama's] shrine.
The shrine wasn't far from the village, only about a ten-minute walk.
The snowstorm in Hokkaido had stopped over the last two days, making the mountain path somewhat easier to traverse, though there was still a lot of accumulated snow on the ground, requiring careful steps to avoid slipping.
Standing at the shrine entrance, the village chief looked at Yusei's group with a smile.
"Honored guests, please go in. Haruko-sama is waiting for you." Kaguya was cautious, thinking of testing the waters first, but seeing Yusei act so 'recklessly', she could only follow him inside.
Entering the shrine, it wasn't a gloomy, terrifying place like in horror stories. Instead, it gave off a warm feeling.
"It's so warm in here." Kaguya stared blankly at the bright, spacious main hall.
"Duh, they have the heater on. Of course it's warm," Yusei muttered and walked further in. He had already spotted the old woman sitting and drinking tea inside.
There was no one else in the shrine. Combined with the old woman's age, Yusei was sure this was the 'life-saving benefactor' Koken mentioned.
He didn't stand on ceremony, directly sitting down seiza-style, placing [Nameless] beside him, and got straight to the point.
"I was sent by Shinomiya Koken to accept the request. What assistance do you require?"
Before the Miko, Haruko could speak, Yusei added, "We can handle anything, but on the condition it's just one task."
The old woman faced Yusei's 'directness' calmly. She picked up a teacup and offered it to Yusei.
"This is a disposable cup. Please, have some."
Yusei smiled, didn't decline, took it directly, and drank.
"Thanks for the hospitality."
He said that, but his actions didn't exactly scream 'thanks for the hospitality'.
He immediately activated his left eye, preparing to copy the old woman's abilities. Three abilities appeared above her head.
[Sunshine Girl (Incomplete)], [Curse of the Weather].
[Sunshine Girl]: Can change the weather to a certain degree. Currently enhanced to significantly alter the weather.
[Curse of the Weather]: The physical cost of transparency exhibited when using Sunshine Girl. It has now been enhanced to directly vanishing into thin air.
Yusei stared dumbfounded at these two skills. Leaving aside the power of the former for now, while it was undoubtedly a super-strong ability, the enhancement of the latter, 'directly vanishing into thin air', was just too terrifying.
Yusei silently copied the [Sunshine Girl (Incomplete)] skill. As for the [Curse of the Weather]... no thanks.
The abilities stored in his left eye were all very useful now: the essential modern skill [Driving], [ALS]...
This made Yusei hesitate a bit, as they were all quite good abilities.
After careful consideration, Yusei decided to replace [Genius] because this ability overlapped to some extent with [All-Rounder (Pseudo)].
As for why he didn't replace [Driving]? Naturally, it was because the [All-Rounder] skill from Kaguya did not include the driving skill.
Simply put, she wasn't an experienced driver.
Yusei looked silently at the old woman. Before, he hadn't noticed that the Miko's body was almost transparent.
But now, with the Sharingan active, when he looked again, he saw she was almost transparent, only her outline remaining.
'So, when Old Man Koken came here traveling before, the Miko he met who summoned lightning... was that the power of this [Sunshine Girl] ability? It's really practical.'
Yusei was now very interested in this ability. Even though it seemed to have significant costs, it was incredibly powerful.
Weather encompasses so many things: wind, rainstorms (snow), cold waves, sandstorms, low temperatures, high temperatures, drought, thunder and lightning, hail, frost, and heavy fog.
This was just too comprehensive. Attack, defense, concealment, it had everything. Was there really such a powerful and all-encompassing ability in the world?
Yusei was momentarily stunned.
At this time, Haruko smiled and asked.
"Is the tea here not to your taste either?"
"No, it's not that. I'm just... a little surprised, that's all."
"Surprised by what?"
"Many things."
Seeing Yusei wasn't willing to elaborate, Haruko didn't press further. She shifted to the request.
"I know Shinomiya Koken's influence in Japan is substantial, so I would like to ask you, and by extension Shinomiya Koken, to help me find someone."
"Looking for someone? Is it your relative?" Yusei asked curiously.
The old woman smiled, "I have lived for a long time. I am about to return to god's embrace. I must find a successor for this shrine, mustn't I?"
"Does a Miko need to find a specific person? Shouldn't they be trained from childhood?" Yusei was puzzled, 'Weren't they trained from a young age? Was this old woman asking the Shinomiya Family to go to Tokyo and kidnap some children for her?'
The old woman didn't answer directly. It was clear she didn't want to say too much. As long as it didn't violate the other party's will, Yusei would of course help.
After all, he needed to repay Old Man Koken's debt.
"Alright. Let me be clear upfront. I'll bring the person back, on the condition that the person agrees. I'm a law-abiding citizen, so I won't do things like kidnapping."
"That is of course understood." The old woman nodded gently, "When you find her, you can tell her I have a method to resolve the drawbacks of her ability."
"What ability?" Yusei asked, already knowing the answer.
"That involves the secret inheritance of the Miko of this shrine. It is not suitable to share with outsiders."