Kars recovered from his tension and was quite resistant to Reimu Hakurei's freeloading for warmth.
"Hey, you! That's enough! You should focus on what's important right now!" Kars shoved Reimu Hakurei's face, trying to keep a distance from her. However, after pushing with all his might, not only did he fail, but he also felt exhausted.
"Is this Shrine Maiden… a monster in human skin?" She was just a human, yet he was utterly exhausted, and she showed no reaction, maintaining that lazy, unmoving demeanor. This felt incredibly absurd to Kars.
No… perhaps it's precisely because of people like her that problems in Gensokyo can be completely handled when they arise.
"But why is your personality so strange!" Kars said as he struggled to break free from Reimu Hakurei's grasp. His hands tightly gripped the tatami mat, like climbing a difficult rock face, inching forward. But the next second, a strong force pulled his body back, causing his fingers to scratch the tatami before he returned to his original position.
"Hey! Reimu! The Incident! It's an Incident! Let's go resolve it quickly!" Outside the shrine, Marisa Kirisame rode her broom through the wind and snow to the shrine. She eagerly rushed into the room, intending to drag Reimu Hakurei with her to resolve this Incident.
As she ran into the room, she saw Reimu Hakurei lying under the kotatsu hugging Kars, and question marks popped up in her eyes.
"Isn't that the relative of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's mistress? Why is he lying with Reimu?"
Kars looked at Marisa as if she were a savior, reaching out his hand to her for help.
"Help! Help me! Hurry and save me! This Shrine Maiden is completely unreasonable! I came here to ask her to resolve the Incident, but not only does she have no intention of doing so, but she's using me as a free heater! This is too much!"
"So you came here to ask Reimu to resolve the Incident too? But what is a 'free heater'?" Hearing that Kars had the same objective as her, Marisa didn't hesitate. Although she was curious about the heater Kars mentioned, she decided to help him out of Reimu Hakurei's arms. Maybe with this favor, she could borrow a few more magic books from the Scarlet Devil Mansion later.
As she grabbed Kars's outstretched hand and prepared to pull hard, she felt a warm current transfer from her hands to her body. Her body, chilled by the wind and snow from the flight, suddenly warmed up.
"Oh, oh! So that's what it is! It really is comfortable." Experiencing this sensation, Marisa understood why Reimu Hakurei was holding Kars. This was definitely more comfortable than the kotatsu. The kotatsu could feel stifling after sitting in it for too long, but Kars's warmth was a gentle, soothing warmth, making one think of the feeling of sunbathing.
"Hey… did you forget what you came here for?" Kars looked at Marisa, whom he had considered his savior, suddenly lying down and freeloading off his body heat. His mouth twitched continuously.
"Reimu, lend him to me for a bit. I'll return him soon."
"No."
"Don't borrow and lend me like an object! And when did I become this Shrine Maiden's property! Both of you, get up and go resolve the Incident!!" Kars struggled again, but with Marisa joining in, it became even harder to break free.
"Oh my~ this situation is truly unfortunate." In Kars's despairing gaze, a slit filled with cracks suddenly appeared in his line of sight. Yukari Yakumo's upper body emerged from it, looking at the scene before her with a very amused expression.
"You're the beautiful older sister from last time!"
"That's right~ I am that beautiful Onee-chan~ Eheh ⋆" Faced with Kars's surprised gaze, Yukari happily admitted it and even acted cute.
"Well, I hadn't expected such an unexpected situation. It seems you are a little bit special, little brother." Yukari glanced at Reimu Hakurei and Marisa. Both of them were now in a state of complete laziness, which was why they didn't want to move. The source, undoubtedly, was this little fellow providing the free heat. However, she still didn't fully understand the specific reason for it, as she hadn't investigated or understood this ability of his.
"You should control your heat a little. If you keep letting them absorb it, they will just keep clinging to you."
Hearing Yukari's suggestion, Kars immediately began to control his body temperature. Soon, as the temperature gradually dropped, both Marisa and Reimu Hakurei slightly frowned.
Then, both opened their eyes, looking at Kars, confused as to why the heater had stopped supplying heat.
"What's wrong? Is it out of energy? Or does it need something to drink to recharge?"
"Yeah, why did it stop?"
"How long are you two going to keep clinging to a small child? The Incident outside hasn't been resolved yet." Yukari's reminder suddenly made Marisa realize.
"You're right! I was supposed to resolve the Incident! Why did I suddenly start slacking off?" Realizing this, Marisa quickly got out from under the kotatsu. Then she looked at Kars, still being hugged by Reimu Hakurei. She seemed to recall that after feeling the warmth from Kars's body, she had wanted to lie down and enjoy it. Kars looked at the recovered Marisa, and he was also confused. Was it really his fault? When did the heat he provided have such an effect? He truly couldn't figure it out…
"Hey, can you provide heat again?" Reimu Hakurei's words brought Kars back to reality. At the same time, he was frustrated by this Shrine Maiden's persistent behavior. Even now, couldn't she be a bit more motivated? Couldn't she think about resolving the Incident? If she did that, she wouldn't need any heat anymore!