"I need to be more careful from now on." Koakuma cautioned Kars after recovering from Ran Yakumo's frightening aura.
"I know, of course. I'm not sure what that Crow Tengu was going to say, but from the reaction, it probably wasn't anything good. It's a good thing I didn't hear the rest; the consequences would have been terrible." Kars mused. Someone who looked so gentle normally could be so terrifying when angry.
"But it looks like this time was a failure." Speaking of which, Kars's face filled with disappointment. His primary goal for the banquet had been a complete failure.
"It's okay. You'll meet someone better in the future." Koakuma comforted Kars, hoping to lift his spirits. She stayed with him until the end of the banquet.
"Ah… I ate so much! I'm completely satisfied!" Yuyuko wiped her mouth, looking utterly content as she walked toward the gap Yukari had opened. She was already looking forward to the next banquet of the same scale—that would be another happy mealtime.
"Thank you for the wonderful hospitality." Yukari said to Remilia before leaving, her gaze falling on Kars, who was standing beside Remilia.
"Until next time, my cute little brother." After waving goodbye to Kars, Yukari, Ran, and Chen stepped into the gap. As the remaining guests departed one by one, Sakuya quickly cleaned up the banquet hall, restoring it to its original state.
Once everything was done, Remilia's gaze settled on Kars.
"Kars, your conduct at the banquet was quite poor. I told you that you needed to achieve some results, but I didn't mean for you to run straight up to someone and propose marriage." In Remilia's view, he should have taken things slowly. She never expected Kars to lay all his cards on the table immediately, especially with someone from Yukari's group, who she sensed was not to be trifled with.
Acting so rashly without knowing anything about the other party was truly terrible behavior.
"I'm sorry, Little Auntie. I was too eager to prove myself to you all. I know what I did was wrong, and if you want to spank me, I will accept the punishment." Kars walked up to Remilia, admitted his mistake, and quietly awaited her response.
"…Hmm, it's good that you know you were wrong. But do you truly believe that, aside from that fox yokai, no one else at the banquet was suitable?"
"Little Auntie, do you think they were suitable?" Kars didn't answer directly but counter-questioned Remilia. Remilia thought about it for a moment and realized that, no, there really wasn't anyone suitable. She realized that the yokai in Gensokyo seemed to be largely unreliable.
"Perhaps we chose the wrong people to invite? Still, the weaker yokai are mostly out of the running, and for many of the stronger ones, it's questionable whether we could even invite them, let alone if they would agree to come." Remilia sighed. The banquet hadn't been very successful.
"I was thinking of going to the Human Village later. That's where the humans live, and many yokai also go there. I think I might have better luck looking there." Kars had gained some knowledge of Gensokyo during Sakuya's outside trips, including the location of the Human Village.
"Are you sure you can handle it yourself?" Remilia seriously doubted her nephew's competence. If he were capable, he wouldn't need her help in the first place.
"Probably… maybe." Kars scratched his head, answering vaguely. After talking to Koakuma, he realized he knew nothing about dating and marriage, making the outcome uncertain.
"Sigh…" Remilia sighed deeply. She held little hope that Kars would successfully find a suitable partner who would agree to marry him on his own. Perhaps…
Remilia's gaze drifted toward Sakuya standing nearby, then she shook her head. Sending Sakuya to manage this brat felt like a disservice to her. Sakuya served her so faithfully; imposing this responsibility on her felt wrong. If Kars were more reliable and mature, she might have considered it.
But unfortunately, Kars showed no signs of that.
I'll wait a bit longer. Maybe in a century or two, this boy will mature. A couple of centuries was a short time for them. She would assess Kars's progress then.
Sakuya saw her Mistress look at her, then shake her head and sigh before reaching a decision. She didn't understand what Remilia was thinking, but it felt as if she had missed out on something important.
Kars saw Remilia shaking her head and sighing, interpreting it as his performance being completely unsatisfactory.
"Little Auntie! Please believe in me! I will work hard! I will make the Scarlett family prosper!" Seeing Kars suddenly pledge his determination, Remilia was startled, but quickly recovered and nodded. Having fighting spirit was a good thing; she couldn't oppose his determination.
"Good. Just do your best. Now that the events are over, Sakuya, you should go rest. This banquet was hard work for you." Sakuya was the one who did the lion's share of the work. Now that it was over, Remilia insisted Sakuya take a well-deserved rest.
"Yes." As Remilia stood and left, Kars followed Koakuma into the Great Library.
"Aren't you going to bed?" At this hour, Kars usually returned to his room to sleep, so his presence in the Great Library was unusual.
"I can't sleep right now. I need to figure out how to meet Little Auntie's expectations." Kars casually picked up a book and answered Koakuma's question.
"By the way, are there any books in the Great Library related to the things you were talking about earlier?"
"Those kinds of things wouldn't be here. Besides, firsthand experience is the best way to learn, much better than reading a book." Koakuma knew Kars was referring to their earlier conversation. But love wasn't something you could learn simply by reading a book; personal experience was essential.
"Firsthand experience, huh…" Even if he wanted that, he didn't have anyone he could share such an experience with…
At that moment, Kars's gaze instinctively drifted toward Koakuma.
"Hmm?" Sensing Kars's stare, Koakuma paused, then slowly realized his implication.
Is this guy actually thinking of asking me to help him with this?