Remilia made her way down to the basement, where Fndre's room was located. As she reached for the door handle, she suddenly paused.

  From inside, she heard Fndre's excited voice.

  "Big Brother, you're so big and warm!"

  A male voice—Carl's—responded, "Of course. Now you can hug me all you want."

  Remilia's eye twitched. Her face darkened as a surge of anger fred within her. That bastard! What was he doing to her sister?!

  With a swift kick, she shattered the iron door, sending it flying off its hinges as she stormed inside.

  "What are you doing to my sister, you dirty—" She stopped mid-sentence, her voice trailing off in confusion.

  Instead of the disturbing scene she had expected, she found something utterly bizarre.

  Fndre was hugging a massive, oversized teddy bear.

  Fndre turned toward her with a beaming smile. "Big Sister, look! Big Brother made a big teddy bear for me!"

  Remilia blinked, looking around the room. Carl was nowhere to be seen—only Fndre and the ridiculous bear. Her expression darkened again as she narrowed her eyes.

  "Where is he?" she demanded.

  The teddy bear suddenly moved.

  "I'm right here," came Carl's voice.

  To Remilia's absolute bewilderment, the bear reached up and removed its head—revealing Carl's face beneath the costume.

  "You're awake," he said casually. "I thought you'd be out for a few days."

  Remilia clenched her fists. "Whose fault do you think that is, you liar?"

  Carl let out a nervous chuckle.

  She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Since nothing weird is going on here, let's talk about our deal."

  Carl tilted his head. "Deal?"

  "Ah! You forgot already?" Remilia snapped.

  "Uh..." Carl scratched his cheek. "Oh yeah, that thing."

  Remilia gred at him. "You forgot about it?! Then why the hell were you so desperate to defeat me? You even smashed that shrine maiden's spell card against my head!"

  Carl shrugged. "I thought I was gonna die, so I did everything I could to win. And as for Reimu's spell card... I ran out of my own, so I had no choice."

  Remilia's mouth twitched in irritation, but she quickly composed herself. "Forget it. Let's get back to what I said before. In this game, I lost—so, what do you want? Money? Power? Is there someone you want to kill?"

  Carl shook his head. "No."

  Remilia's eyes narrowed. "Then... women? I suppose you are a man, after all. But I can't give you my sister. And you can forget about me, too."

  Carl's face twitched as he opened his mouth to protest, but Remilia wasn't finished.

  "How about Patchouli?" she muttered thoughtfully. "No... she'd get angry if I tried to sell her like that. Sakuya... Hmm, she's incredibly useful, so I'd rather not part with her."

  Carl watched in stunned silence as Remilia continued mumbling to herself, seemingly weighing her options.

  Fndre tilted her head and looked at Carl. "Big Brother, what's wrong with Big Sister? Why won't she just let you take me?"

  Carl quickly shut his mouth, afraid that saying anything would only make Remilia angrier.

  Suddenly, Remilia cpped her hands together as if she had an epiphany. "Ah! There's always the gatekeeper! She's a beauty, so you can take her instead!"

  Carl finally spoke up. "Can I talk now?"

  Remilia gnced at him. "What? You don't want her?"

  "I don't want any of them," Carl sighed. "I just want to know—why did you want me to use my power on you?"

  Remilia fell silent.

  Fndre looked at her sister, her expression puzzled. "Big Sister?"

  Remilia lowered her gaze slightly, her expression unreadable. "I can't tell you," she finally said. "If I do, the fate you've changed for us might shift again."

  Carl frowned slightly, sensing the weight behind her words.

  "But," Remilia continued, "I will say this much—you've changed our worst possible fate. The future that awaited us... You altered it. And for that, I truly thank you."

  Carl remained quiet, lost in thought.

  Remilia took a deep breath, regaining her composure. "Since I can't grant that request, pick something else."

  Carl gnced at Fndre, who still seemed to be struggling to understand, then back at Remilia, who now wore a calm yet expectant expression.

  He thought for a moment, then spoke.

  "I want—"