Although Koakuma was surprised to witness the scene, she quickly realized a problem: what should she do now that she had walked in on it? Should she pretend nothing happened and walk out? Seeing Patchouli's gaze, Koakuma knew that pretending was definitely not an option.
"U-um, Lady Patchouli… I…" Koakuma's mind raced as she looked at Patchouli's expressionless face, and a sudden idea flashed through her mind.
"Can I try it too!" Since that's the case, I might as well join in! This would not only avoid awkwardness but also allow her to do the same thing. It was a perfect plan! Koakuma felt momentarily pleased with her own intelligence.
Unfortunately, her momentary joy vanished as Patchouli made a gesture for her to leave the room.
"Lady Patchouli is so unfair, only wanting to kiss Kars herself…" Koakuma reluctantly glanced at Kars in Patchouli's arms before walking out and closing the door. After she left, Patchouli felt utterly humiliated. She had been caught red-handed by Koakuma, and it was the kind of situation that couldn't even be explained. And that Koakuma had even suggested she wanted to try it, too! That only made things feel even weirder!
The series of issues that happened today left Patchouli feeling mentally exhausted. Any thoughts of continuing her work vanished. After lying back down and holding Kars in her arms, she closed her eyes and prepared for a proper rest.
Kars secretly opened his eyes. Seeing Patchouli resting with her eyes closed, he closed his eyes again and snuggled up in her embrace. As the night slowly gave way to dawn, and the sun broke through the darkness to brighten the sky, Kars opened his eyes. He gently and quietly slipped out of Patchouli's arms. After opening and then softly closing the room door, he rushed to the top of the clock tower and began to sunbathe.
"Young Master Kars, why do you seem a little preoccupied?" At breakfast, Sakuya noticed Kars looked different from his usual energetic morning self and asked with concern, wondering if something had happened. "If something is bothering you, Young Master Kars, you can tell me. Whatever it is, I will help you solve it."
Sakuya walked to Kars's side, knelt down to meet his gaze, and offered a reassuring and dependable smile.
"It's nothing, really. Just wrestling with some minor issues. I'm sorry for making you worry, Sakuya." Kars replied with an easy smile. The 'minor issues' were, of course, related to what happened with Patchouli last night.
"I see." Sakuya didn't press the matter further. After watching Kars finish his breakfast, she neatly cleared the dishes.
With no classes at the Terakoya today, Kars didn't have to go there. Instead, he went to the front entrance of the Scarlet Devil Mansion and found Hong Meiling, who was doing her morning exercises.
"Meiling! There's something I hope you can help me with!"
"You need my help?" Meiling was a little surprised that Kars would seek her out for help, as she wasn't sure how she could assist him.
"Yes! Meiling, can you teach me how to sleep at any time?" Kars's request puzzled Meiling. She didn't know why he would want to learn that, and besides, she couldn't teach it!
"Kars… my ability is a special case. It's not something I can teach others, so I really can't help you." Meiling replied with a complex expression. Why would he want to learn that of all things?
"Oh? You can't teach it? That's too bad." If he could learn this skill, he wouldn't have the problem of being unable to sleep at night after napping with Sister Yuuka during the day. It seemed he would just have to skip his naps then.
"I don't think it's a big loss. By the way, why do you want to learn that?" Meiling worried that if Sakuya found out she was teaching Kars something like this, she would be severely punished. Fortunately, it was something she couldn't teach anyway.
"It's nothing. I just found that I couldn't sleep at night after sunbathing and napping with Sister Yuuka, so I wanted to learn this to avoid it. But if you can't teach me, I'll just skip the nap next time." Kars explained. It wasn't a major issue, so there was no need to dwell on it.
Kars then returned to the Great Library. Patchouli was already awake, sitting in her usual spot and recording magic. When she saw Kars, her writing hand paused slightly, as yesterday's events clearly replayed in her mind. However, unlike Patchouli, Kars was as he always was, sitting in her lap. As his head rested against her chest, he instinctively nestled against it. Mmm, she's properly dressed this time.
"Don't move around." Kars's actions clearly prompted Patchouli to speak out and stop him. It only made her think more about yesterday's events, making her face feel warm and her concentration waver.
"Kars, don't disturb Lady Patchouli right now. If you're bored, I can play with you." Koakuma intervened, asking Kars not to interrupt Patchouli, and reached out to lead Kars away.
"Alright then." Noticing that Patchouli seemed genuinely distracted by his presence, Kars nodded and agreed. He took Koakuma's hand and slid out of Patchouli's lap, which noticeably helped Patchouli calm down. As he followed Koakuma, Kars couldn't help but look at her hand holding his. Her gaze felt very strange. And the situation felt a little familiar, quite similar to the time Patchouli asked him to practice.
Faced with this, Kars assumed Koakuma was planning to teach him some new knowledge.
"Koakuma, are you planning to teach me something?" Koakuma was slightly startled by the question, then smiled and replied:
"That's right! I'm planning to teach you a few things."