"You did that on purpose to get Flandre to cling to that witch, didn't you?"
"So what? You've never thought of hiring a tutor for Flandre?"
"I did. During the Eternal Night incident, I thought about getting that Hakutaku from the Human Village. But Sakuya said our house didn't need another intellectual, so I shelved the idea."
"Fair. The Sage of the Seven Days is a decent teacher."
Without bringing Natsuki along, Ren strolled the streets with Remilia and Flandre.
Initially, Flandre wanted to go to school with Natsuki—thanks to Ren's subtle nudging—causing Remilia a major headache.
Until Flandre's powers fully stabilized, Remilia wouldn't let her out of her sight.
Back at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, there was Sakuya and Patchy. Plus, Remilia didn't have the time to be with her sister 24/7. The only choice back then was to lock her in the basement.
But now, in this world, she could stay with Flandre all day long.
By the way, Remilia knew one thing: Flandre could've blown the basement door open anytime with her ability. But she never did—that spoke volumes.
No matter how much Flandre resented it, she still listened to her sister.
Fortunately, though Ren tempted Flandre into wanting school, he eventually convinced her to wait for a future opportunity.
Curious, Remilia asked why Ren had led Flandre into that line of thought.
His answer was simple:
"You can't possibly spend all 24 hours every day with her, right? Once she can control her powers, just let her go to school. At least Natsuki is reliable."
"But why not just have Natsuki tutor her at home? Why make her go all the way to school?"
"You're such a sis-con you only want your sister to know six people her whole life?"
"...Fine."
Remilia fell silent. She really didn't want Flandre to grow up isolated.
Say what you want, having social connections helps.
She and Patchy were proof. Gensokyo thrived on mutual support.
Every group was intertwined. When one person fell, everyone else felt the tremor.
All the factions were essentially locked in place now. But one thing was bugging her...
"Why the hell do I have to go to school too?!"
Yep. Ren had used the excuse of having her accompany Flandre to convince Flandre to go.
The moment Flandre heard her sister would join, her eyes lit up.
"Can't you just consider it fulfilling your sister's wish?"
"Ugh... I'm over 500 years old. What school would take me?"
"Your sister is 495 and she's going."
"You—!"
Remilia was speechless.
Fine. She had to admit, Ren had a point.
Rather than argue, she changed the subject.
"Hey. I forgot to ask last night—what exactly is your time-limited nurturing task? Or more specifically, what level do Flandre and I need to reach for the task to be complete?"
Clearly, that interested her more than the school talk.
Her eyes sparkled with a calculating gleam.
Fingertips stroking her chin, she held a strange kind of allure, despite her petite form.
Ren didn't hide anything. These were things Remilia wanted to know.
[Time-Limited Nurturing Task]
1. Help Flandre fully control her powers
2. Evolve Remilia and Flandre's vampire bloodlines into Primogenitor bloodlines
3. Establish Remilia's own Night Empire
4. Raise both of their powers to the Transcendent(Sage) level
The first task was relatively easy—Ren already had a plan.
The second was doable too. He had a True Ancestor bloodline crystal to experiment with.
The third? Simple. Just let Remilia absorb Itogami Island. She could take over the Fourth Primogenitor's place.
But the fourth one…
Yeah, that one was dicey. Even Kuroka didn't reach Satan level after devouring a full vial of Nekomata Bloodline Crystal.
Strength could be enhanced with food, yes, but making a full leap in class with only pet meals was a bit of a stretch.
Especially since Remilia and Flandre weren't even at Satan level yet.
"The first three I get. But what's this fourth one? 'Transcendent'? How strong are we talking?"
"Uhhh... Strong enough to mop the floor with Yukari Yakumo?"
"...You're serious?"
"Probably. Never met her. But based on guesswork..."
In Ren's estimation, Yukari's abilities were bizarre, but her actual power might not be that insane—at most Satan level.
A Transcendent should be able to crush Satans.
Granted, he was influenced by a lot of fanfics and couldn't judge Yukari's real power properly.
Who in Gensokyo had ever seen her go all out, besides maybe the other sages and Yuuka?
Upon hearing that, Remilia got very excited.
Once she reached Transcendent level, she'd rush back to Gensokyo, stand before Yukari and yell—
"I, Lady Remilia, am calling you an old hag with a megaphone today!"
She imagined Yukari flipping out and trying to wrestle her, only for her to smack Yukari into the ground.
Then she'd have the tengu reporters spread embarrassing photos of Yukari everywhere.
Just the thought made Remilia euphoric.
Ren rolled his eyes but said nothing.
You're really not worried I miscalculated, and Yukari will slap you into the stratosphere?
Still—he noticed a few extra lines beneath the fourth mission.
"Huh. Didn't expect side objectives beyond the main task. Bonus gifts?"