Kars watched the cheerful Remilia and Sakuya leave, then continued counting silently. After reaching three hundred, he stood up. However, he didn't immediately start searching everywhere. Since the Scarlet Devil Mansion was so huge, even with more people playing, finding them wouldn't be easy, so he needed to narrow down the search area first.
Kars first flew above the garden and circled once. Although there were many hiding spots in the garden, he quickly decided that Remilia and Sakuya wouldn't hide there. Remilia was too concerned with her image to hide among the flowers and grass, and it would be inconvenient for Sakuya to hide there, especially since she would likely follow Remilia wherever she went. So, Kars only briefly checked a few easy spots where Flandre might hide and then moved on. His main focus was on the internal rooms of the mansion.
The easiest targets to find would be Remilia and Sakuya, who would likely be together. There weren't many places large enough for two people to hide, and after excluding unused rooms, they were likely hiding in one of the currently occupied rooms. However, Kars felt it was better to find Flandre first. She would be harder to find than the other two, even with her four copies. Kars wasn't sure how she would hide. Also, finding Remilia too easily would ruin her fun. Therefore, Kars deliberately avoided places where Remilia and Sakuya might be.
"Sakuya, do you think Kars will find us here?" Just as Kars suspected, Remilia and Sakuya were hiding together. Remilia chose to hide in the closet in the master bedroom, with Sakuya embracing her inside. Sakuya felt incredibly satisfied hugging her Mistress like this. If Kars joined them later, she felt she could stay like this forever.
"With Young Master Kars's ability, finding us is probably only a matter of time. But if he discovers someone is here, I can go out alone, and the Mistress can continue to hide inside."
"Mhm." Remilia nodded. She didn't want Kars to find her too easily. She wanted to wait until he was frustrated from searching, then appear and explain herself, earning his look of admiration. That sounds wonderful.
With different thoughts in mind, the two silently waited inside the closet.
Meanwhile, Kars searched the Great Library. If someone chose to hide here, it would be extremely difficult to find them, making it the most likely place for Flandre to hide. But searching for a person among all the shelves was still a tough task, especially since they could secretly change locations without being easily noticed.
After searching around for a while, Kars found absolutely nothing. This was slightly frustrating. It seemed he had underestimated his Little Auntie Flandre. Just as Kars was feeling discouraged, he heard some subtle sounds coming from behind him. This instantly invigorated Kars. He carefully moved, guessing that Flandre might have been secretly following him, which was why he hadn't found her earlier.
After casually approaching the bookshelf where the sound came from, Kars suddenly accelerated and lunged behind the shelf, tackling the person there to the ground. A few books tumbled down.
"Ouch… Kars, why did you suddenly do that?" The person he tackled wasn't Flandre, but Koakuma. She looked at Kars, who was sprawled on top of her, and asked, "Oh? Did you want to practice something with me again? Is that why you suddenly tackled me?" Koakuma gave Kars a playful smile.
"I can't believe it." Koakuma got the upper hand while Kars was stunned by his mistake and prepared to do something.
"No, I wasn't! Little Auntie and I are playing hide-and-seek, and I'm looking for everyone. I heard a noise here and thought it might be her hiding, but it was Koakuma instead." Kars quickly explained, regretting that he had forgotten that Flandre wasn't the only person who could be here. He was annoyed. Now that he had made so much noise, he was sure to be found out, and Flandre would find a new hiding spot.
"Eh? Is that so? What a disappointment. But you can't get away without compensating me for tackling me, Kars." Koakuma's expression first showed regret, but then, before Kars could react, she kissed his mouth. After another long kiss, Koakuma finally separated, satisfied.
"You made me eat your saliva again…" Kars's expression was conflicted, though his reaction was much better than before.
"This is to help you get used to it quickly, Kars. Besides, aren't you handling it better than before? Keep up the good work." Koakuma giggled, picked up the scattered books, gave Kars an encouraging pat, and walked away completely satisfied.
Kars got up, feeling annoyed. He looked around, temporarily losing his focus on where to search next, his train of thought completely interrupted by what had just happened. Seriously, Koakuma is starting to act more and more like the weird older sister I was warned about. I really can't figure her out.
"Hmm… I'll go look for Little Auntie Remilia. Finding Little Auntie Flandre here is impossible now. I'll just have to hope I can find one of her copies elsewhere." Kars decided to leave the Great Library. In the shadows, a pair of eyes quietly watched Kars leave the Great Library.
"What were Kars and Koakuma doing just now?" Flandre hadn't fully understood the scene. She had seen people kiss before. Her sister sometimes kissed Kars's forehead when he was asleep, and she had done it, too. But kissing on the mouth, like Koakuma did, was new to her. It made Flandre somewhat curious.
Kars left the Great Library and soon found Sakuya in the bedroom closet. Although she tried to hide the fact that Remilia was still inside by letting herself be caught, Kars soon found Remilia as well.