"Honestly, Lady Patchouli just won't rest properly."
When Koakuma woke up and didn't see Patchouli in her room, she knew her mistress must have stayed up all night again. The thought of Patchouli neglecting her own health made Koakuma deeply frustrated.
She went to Patchouli's usual writing spot in the Great Library. Amidst the piles of books, Koakuma was surprised to find a different person occupying the familiar seat.
"Kars? Why is he here? Where is Lady Patchouli?"
Full of questions, Koakuma walked over. Just as she was about to speak, she spotted Patchouli soundly asleep in Kars's embrace and immediately sealed her lips.
"Koakuma, you're up too."
"Yes. I was worried that Lady Patchouli hadn't rested well again, but I didn't expect to find her sleeping in your arms."
And she looks quite comfortable, too.
Koakuma could see a slight smile on Patchouli's face, a detail that made Koakuma feel a slight urge to try it herself.
"Leave the rest to me. Give Lady Patchouli to me, and I'll take her back to her room. Then you'll be free." Koakuma reached out, ready to take Patchouli from Kars's arms and return her to her own bed.
"It's fine. I don't have anything to do right now anyway. Besides, I need to wait for Patchouli to wake up so she can teach me magic. I can just wait like this." Kars shook his head and refused, keeping his arms securely wrapped around Patchouli. Koakuma was slightly surprised by this, but since Kars volunteered to stay, she didn't press the issue.
"Suit yourself. If that's what you want, go ahead."
Koakuma didn't dwell on it and went about her own business. As time passed, Sakuya suddenly appeared before Kars.
"Master Kars, it is time for breakfast. Koakuma can handle this. The Mistress and Mistress Flandre are waiting for you at the dining table." Sakuya didn't ask about the situation, merely reminding Kars that it was time to eat.
Kars hesitated for a moment. After weighing his options, he decided to prioritize his two aunts waiting for him and asked Koakuma to take Patchouli back.
"Koakuma, you should take Patchouli back to her room. I'll come back after I've eaten."
After the handover, Kars followed Sakuya out of the library and went to the dining table. He saw Remilia and Flandre, still not used to the new schedule, sitting in their chairs, yawning and rubbing their sleepy eyes. The sight gave Sakuya a subtly strange expression.
"Sakuya, are you not feeling well?" Kars asked, concerned. Sakuya shook her head, assuring him she was fine.
"Little Auntie, if you can't keep this up, maybe you should stop." After sitting down, Kars looked at Remilia's poor energy levels. Although she chose to adopt his schedule, her quality of sleep seemed much worse than his.
"That's only because you started telling us a story, and then you fell asleep before we did! That forced me to take over and tell Flandre the rest of the story." Remilia looked at Kars with annoyance, chastising him for his irresponsible behavior. Kars felt awkward, completely unaware that had happened.
"And I have no intention of giving up this early!" For the sake of growing up, she wouldn't abandon this goal because of such a small setback!
Remilia quickly rallied, gathering her energy. She picked up the glass of milk in front of her and drank the entire thing in one gulp.
"Since Little Auntie has made up her mind, I won't say anything more. I believe you will succeed!"
After breakfast, Remilia and Flandre, still tired, decided to go back and sleep more to recover their energy. Kars, meanwhile, returned to the Great Library to wait for Patchouli to wake up and teach him magic.
"I'm telling you, you don't need to wait here all the time. Lady Patchouli isn't going to disappear. Go do something else." Koakuma was baffled by Kars's behavior, which suggested that Patchouli would vanish the moment she woke up if he wasn't there.
"What should I do then?"
"Go walk around the mansion grounds. Since you'll be living here, you should familiarize yourself with the area. You can't just stay inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion all the time, can you?"
"Hmm… you have a point." Kars realized that his excitement over learning his preferred type of magic had led him to act strangely. Koakuma's suggestion that he get familiar with his surroundings was sensible.
"Remember to take an umbrella when you go out. Even if you love sunbathing, don't stay in the direct sun all the time." Koakuma reminded him before he left. Knowing Kars's obsession, she thought he might walk out without one. Even with his habit, staying out in the direct sun for too long could make him collapse somewhere, and if no one found him, something terrible could happen.
"It's fine! I know exactly what I'm doing!" Kars reassured her, and Koakuma didn't press the issue further.
When Kars arrived at the Scarlet Devil Mansion gate, Meiling Hong wasn't sleeping but was practicing her martial arts.
"Huh? Kars, why are you going out without an umbrella? Get back inside!" Meiling saw Kars walking out without an umbrella and tried to push him back in.
"Meiling, I'm fine. I'm used to it." Kars stopped her, explaining that walking in the sun didn't affect him much anymore.
"Your body doesn't look fine…" Meiling saw Kars's skin beginning to redden. If he stayed out longer, he would surely get cooked.
"I won't be foolish enough to let anything bad happen to myself. This level of exposure won't affect me much. Besides, I'm only going to stroll around the mansion grounds to get familiar with the area. I won't go too far."
"I see." If he was only staying nearby, Meiling didn't have to worry about him going too far and her being unable to reach him in time if something went wrong. Even if he did run into trouble, Kars could make enough noise for her to notice.
"Then don't play outside for too long, or I'll have trouble answering to the Mistress. You don't want to see Sakuya punish me by withholding my meals, do you?" Being punished by Sakuya with docked pay wasn't too bad—she'd been doing it for years—but losing lunch or dinner was a serious threat.