When Patchouli left Remilia and returned to her Great Library, she saw Kars and Flandre sitting together, holding hands and looking at the same book.
"Patchouli!" Hearing footsteps, Kars turned his head, saw Patchouli returning, and jumped off the chair to run toward her. This made Flandre a little unhappy. Lately, Kars had mostly been with other people, and the time he spent playing with her had drastically decreased. This was especially true since he started going to class, which left Flandre feeling somewhat frustrated. And now, he was supposed to be playing with her, but after only listening to a story for a moment, he abandoned her the moment Patchouli arrived. This made her angry.
"Kars!" Flandre called out his name, the sound laced with resentment, causing Kars, who was running toward Patchouli, to stop and turn back toward Flandre.
Flandre: (｡•ˇ‸ˇ•｡)
Realizing that his behavior seemed to have angered Flandre, Kars reluctantly glanced at Patchouli and quietly walked back to Flandre's side. Flandre's expression softened when Kars returned.
That's right. Kars belongs to her now. Why would he run off to see someone else? Not even his sister is acceptable!
"Kars, you should stay with Flandre for now. She's been quite bored recently. After all, her favorite thing is to play with you." Patchouli didn't mind the interruption. She encouraged Kars to spend more time with Flandre, as Kars's interest in magic had grown considerably since learning the Solar element, and he had been spending most of his time with her. When Flandre came by and saw this, she quickly left, but over time, this led to her dissatisfaction.
"But I play with Little Auntie at night."
"Hmph! But Kars always goes to sleep in the end!" Flandre complained unhappily. She and Remilia weren't accustomed to sleeping at night, so they couldn't stick with it. Whenever they were having fun, Kars would announce he was going to bed, which utterly frustrated Flandre. Afterward, even playing with Remilia wasn't fun anymore.
Kars scratched his head, looking helpless. The difference in their routines was indeed frustrating for both parties.
"Why do you prefer spending time with Patchouli and Koakuma more than with Flandre?" Flandre wanted to understand. If she figured this out, maybe Kars would stay with her longer.
"Well, it's because I can learn so many things when I'm with them—things I didn't know before, and I can learn magic! So I want to spend more time with them and learn those things." Since he spent most of his time with Patchouli and Koakuma doing just that, this was Kars's answer. This conclusion made Flandre crestfallen, as she had nothing to teach Kars. She didn't understand many things herself, much less teaching others.
"While that is true, Kars, you also need to be mindful of other people's feelings. It's not a good thing to only focus on what's in front of you while ignoring the people around you. Learning to be more observant will benefit you, making it easier to understand a person's state of mind."
"Is this so I know who I should be with?"
"You could say that. It's also to keep you from associating too closely with people who are problematic, or who might be dangerous, without you ever realizing it." Also, according to Remilia, Kars definitely needed to be more careful when interacting with those people. If he ended up with someone unsuitable, it would be a regrettable situation. Therefore, observing and understanding a person was a necessary behavior.
"For example, how would you feel if, while you were with the person you liked, you suddenly saw her happily running off to interact with another man?"
"I understand." Kars nodded, indicating he grasped the point. As he realized, his behavior just now was thoughtless and inconsiderate. If Flandre had been someone else, wouldn't that have caused a huge problem?
"And Flandre, if you saw a situation like that, what would you do?"
"Me?" Hearing Patchouli's question, Flandre imagined the scenario. If it were the time when she was still confined to her room, she might…
"I would do this." Under everyone's watch, Flandre held out her hand and clenched it. The storybook on the table instantly exploded into fragments.
Kars: •﹏•
"So, Kars, do you understand now? If you do something similar outside, you might face a similar situation, or perhaps something even more terrifying."
It's that terrifying?! Patchouli glanced at Kars's expression. This action was certainly consistent with Flandre's personality, but the effect was excellent. At the very least, it should make Kars more careful and cautious in the future, preventing him from acting recklessly.
"But I wouldn't do that to you, Kars." Flandre smiled at Kars. While she would ruthlessly destroy other toys and anyone who dared to take them, Kars was different. She wouldn't forgive her property running off to interact with someone else, be it a toy or the person who tried to steal her toy.
"Little Auntie! I promise I will never do anything like that again!" Even with Flandre's assurance, Kars felt he absolutely couldn't do anything similar. He didn't want the situation Patchouli described to actually happen to him. Though he was a vampire and couldn't die, that didn't mean he wasn't afraid. In fact, not being able to die might lead to something even worse.
"Mhm!" Flandre didn't doubt Kars's promise. When she wanted to continue reading the storybook, she realized it had been destroyed and was unusable. However, Flandre quickly shifted her attention back to Kars. After all, a mere book would eventually become useless, and Kars was far more important.