"Am I truly destined to be unable to find a suitable partner, just like when I was outside of Gensokyo?" Kars slumped in a chair, resting his chin on his hands, pondering this major life issue with a gloomy expression.
"Are my requirements too high in this area? Is that why it feels so difficult? But overall, I don't think they are." Are 'mature' and 'gentle' really that hard to find? Or is the problem something else entirely, something I haven't considered?
As Kars was wrestling with these questions, Koakuma peered over the back of his chair, saw his gloomy face, and immediately picked him up.
"Huh? Koakuma, what are you doing?" Kars, whose thoughts were interrupted by the sudden lift, turned his head to look at her.
"Why are you sitting here looking so glum? I came over to see what was wrong. So you failed and were rejected. That's not a big deal. Besides, you're simplifying things too much. Marriage isn't something you just agree to lightly." Koakuma's main reason for approaching him was concern. Both she and Lady Patchouli were worried seeing him sit alone looking unhappy.
"Is that so? I thought the problem was with me. But I don't understand what you mean. Is it complicated?" Kars was curious about what Koakuma said. If he understood the complexities, could he successfully find a wife?
"Well… I don't really know either." Since she had no experience teaching someone who was equally clueless, Koakuma didn't want to mislead Kars. She worried about giving him bad advice that would result in trouble for herself.
"What? You don't know either? And you read so many books!"
"I read books about magic, not about relationships! It's normal that I don't know! And here I was being nice and worrying about you! You dare to look down on me!" The aggrieved Koakuma immediately grabbed Kars's cheeks to vent her frustration. He was so cute, yet he always said or did things that made her angry. It was a waste of his adorable appearance.
"But if you lowered your standards a bit, maybe things would be different."
"Lower my standards? Are my standards not simple enough already?" Kars genuinely wondered if his demands weren't already basic.
"For example, you don't need to stick to the requirements you mentioned before. Just focus on who you feel an immediate connection with—someone you like at first sight. That would immediately open up your options."
"While that's true, the only person I felt a good first impression for was Ran." Kars took another look around. No one else came close to the level of impression Ran had made, the one that made him spontaneously propose.
"In that case, would you like some insider information?" Aya Shameimaru, who always had a nose for a scoop, approached them after hearing Kars and Koakuma's discussion.
She regretted not arriving earlier, having heard from other yokai that Kars had proposed to Ran Yakumo. Missing such interesting news was a huge loss for her paper. Now, Kars's dilemma certainly had the potential for a big story, so she wanted to offer a little help to gather material for her next article.
"I have a lot of exclusive intelligence in my hands, you know. How about it, little Master Kars? Would you like to hear what I know?"
"You? I still haven't settled accounts with you! What is this supposed to be!" Kars glared at Aya, pulling out a copy of her newspaper that Sakuya had casually brought in earlier. He pointed at a photo of himself sunbathing at dawn with the headline: Pervert? Or Masochist? The Sun-Loving Vampire.
"You're the one behind this, aren't you?" Especially the nonsense written below the photo confirmed Kars's suspicion: Aya loved to sensationalize ordinary events. If he let someone like her help, who knew what distorted story she would write about him next? If Sakuya hadn't just put the newspaper in her pocket without reading it, his Little Auntie would have undoubtedly gone to settle the score with Aya herself.
Koakuma also glanced at the paper, her gaze turning hostile toward Aya. The idea of this unscrupulous reporter writing inflammatory news about Kars instantly made her dislike for Aya plummet.
"Ahahaha… Well, I don't think I exaggerated too much. A sun-hating vampire sunbathing is bound to lead people to speculate, isn't it?" Facing the dual glares of Kars and Koakuma, Aya scratched her head and laughed awkwardly.
"There had better not be a next time. Otherwise, Lady Patchouli and Lady Remilia will definitely not let you off the hook." Koakuma warned Aya, preventing her from writing anything that might mislead people and damage Kars's reputation. How would he ever show his face outside if his reputation was ruined?
"Well, no one is going to connect little Master Kars's current appearance with the person in the photo. The difference is too huge. Anyway, are you sure you don't want the exclusive information? I have a very special piece about Miss Ran Yakumo. For example, there are rumors that she sometimes, on Youkai Mountain, would strip down and…"
Halfway through her sentence, Aya felt an instinctive danger warning, causing her to stop abruptly. She couldn't utter the rest of the sentence.
"What do you mean by stopping in the middle of your sentence? Are you trying to deliberately tease me?" Kars was annoyed by Aya's sudden silence.
"Ah… I… I suddenly remembered I have something urgent, so I have to leave! Ahahaha!" Aya chuckled nervously, desperate to leave the area. However, Ran Yakumo, with a dark expression, placed a hand on her shoulder, causing the sweat on Aya's forehead to intensify.
"You must be careful with people like her. She tends to spread troublesome, fabricated rumors about others, so you must not communicate with her too much, understood?"
"Understood." Kars swallowed hard, nodding obediently at Ran's smiling but intensely dark face. A little scary…
"Good. Such obedient children are the only ones worth loving. Now, you will come with me." Ran was satisfied with Kars's reply. She then led Aya out of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Kars had no idea what fate awaited Aya.