[Book of Eros] Chapter 15 & Chapter 16. (Patreon)

Chapter 15: She reveals something.

“I think it’s admirable that you still try to get along with everyone, despite what your parents say.”

“But I have to push people away at some point. They always try to invite me to hang out after school, but I have to turn them down. It’s why I haven’t joined any clubs, either.”

As she told him that, Leonardo realized something. If her parents didn’t want her associating with people from this school, then…

He sighed heavily, swallowing his frustration and preventing it from showing. “Then… I suppose that means me as well?”

Maeda-san flinched, and she turned her back to him. She started shifting uncomfortably, and that only made him more nervous.

“Actually… no,” she said.

“Ah?”

He heard her swallow. “Like you can imagine, my parents are hardcore traditionalists. I did tell them that a foreign student got assigned to my class and… they told me they knew who you were.”

“…I’m sorry, what?” he asked, blinking.

“I told you,” she said, turning to face him again. “They’re hardcore traditionalists. They know Wisler-san and deeply respect her since she’s a descendant from the founding members of this town.”

“Oh.”

“She told them you had moved into town, I told them you were in my class…” she gave Leonardo a shy smile. “So… Since they know you’re also one of the descendants of the founding clan… I kind of have permission to be friends with you.”

Then that was why she’d been friendlier with him than the other students. Things started to make more sense. Didn’t make them any less stupid, though.

“Is… is that okay with you?” Maeda-san asked, trying to look into his eyes but being too embarrassed to do so. “C-Can… Can we be friends?”

He chuckled softly to alleviate some of her nervousness. “I thought we already were.”

Her eyes lit up, and she smiled from ear to ear. She started blushing, but she didn’t care.

“Sorry,” she laughed heartily. “That was a really childish question, wasn’t it?”

“Better than the two of us wondering what’s going on,” he laughed with her. And doing so made him realize something. He laughed a lot more when he was with Maeda-san for some reason. It felt good.

Though the label of ‘friends’ did sting a bit, he knew he couldn’t rush things, much as he wanted to. It wasn’t like the book gave him magic powers to bend people to his will. At most, women would find him slightly more attractive or charming. It hurt a bit to think that may be the reason Angela and Maeda-san seemed to like him, but there was nothing he could do now.

“Wait,” he said. “So… you know about the Tensai Clan?”

“Ah! Well, kind of,” Maeda-san nodded. “Only the things my parents have said and the rumors around the island.”

“Would you mind telling me?” he asked, leaning back against the fence. “The thing is, Mrs. Wisler appeared before me one day and told me I was part of some Japanese clan when both my parents were Chilean.” He chuckled. “I don’t know much about it.”

“I know Wisler-san is the only remaining member of the clan in the island, and that everyone else left. My parents said it was surprising the clan even survived more than one generation, but I don’t know why.”

He smiled wryly.

“Also…” she coughed to clear her throat and looked at Leonardo with shy, careful eyes. “This is just a rumor, but… They say members of the clan are blessed with great talents and powers. Is… that true?”

Not knowing if that was something that should be kept a secret, Leonardo decided to be vague enough so as not to lie, but also don’t spill the whole truth, either.

“Can’t quite say,” he shrugged. “I don’t think I’m particularly talented in anything. I don’t sleep much and have good stamina, but that might be because I’ve been working physically tough jobs since I was a kid.”

“Really? What kinds of jobs?” she asked, curious.

“Worked with my dad at a market back in my home country,” he told her. “Had to help lift boxes full of apples, sacks of potatoes, watermelons and the like. When I got older I helped around construction sites. Again, just carrying stuff. Things anyone could do.”

“You’re a hard worker,” she giggled.

“Am I?”

“I’ve never had a part-time job, so I think it’s amazing,” she admitted.

“You’re pretty smart,” he told her. “You’re good in all subjects. I don’t think you can do that by being lazy.”

“I guess,” she giggled again, and seeing that made Leonardo smile. She looked in a particularly good mood.

The bell rang, and that cut their conversation short. They were both visibly disappointed. They started making their way back to the classroom, and while they were walking down the stairs, Maeda-san asked, “By the way, what are you going to do about the history assignment?”

“Oh. Right.” Leonardo groaned.

“The teacher said you could write it in hiragana for now, but will you be okay?”

“I hope so.”

“Would you… like me to help you?” she offered shyly.

“That’d be a life saver,” he told her with a relieved smile. “The assignment is due for the end of the week, so… would you be comfortable going to my house?”

He watched her eyes widen, and immediately felt like he was rushing things. But just as she looked like she was about to answer, Leonardo’s eyes meet Angela’s at the bottom of the stairs. She seemed to be on her away back to her classroom, but stopped when she spotted him.

He managed to catch her eyes glancing to Maeda-san for a moment before she turned back to him. “Leo,” she called, waving casually. “Thanks for lunch today. Let’s walk home together after school, okay?” After saying that, she kept walking towards her classroom.

“W-who is she?” Maeda-san suddenly asked. Her voice was quiet and uncertain, timid.

Leonardo had to suppress his desire to curse. Why did Angela have to say those exact words? Maeda-san’s eyes kept following Angela until she disappeared behind a corner. He decided that lying would be worse, and told her the truth.

“She’s another member of the clan that Mrs. Wisler brought to the island. We live together.” It felt like a mistake to admit it, but he knew that hiding the fact would be even worse.

“Y-You… live together… with her?” With an astonished face, she pointed a finger to the corner where Angela had disappeared.

“Y-Yeah,” he sighed.

“Is she y-your… g-girlfriend?”

“N-No,” he answered a little too quickly for his own taste, shaking his head.

“I see…”

The two reached the bottom of the stairs and stood there for a couple of silent seconds that felt way too long to Leonardo. Then, Maeda-san turned to him with such a resolute expression that made him back away a step.

“About what you said before,” she said, maybe a little louder than she intended. “I can go to your house tomorrow if you’d like!”

Ah? Seriously?

“T-That’d be great…!” he answered, not really understanding what had just happened.

Leonardo followed Maeda-san a couple of steps behind her as she walked back to their classroom with firm steps and a straight back.

***

Chapter 16: Walking back home with Angela.

Leonardo said goodbye to Maeda-san at the school gates and watched her walk away. It was awkward, because she knew he was waiting for Angela. But looking at it from another perspective, wasn’t it good that she was being a little awkward? It meant she was interested in him, right?

Dammit. He’d never had to worry about stuff like this before. Whether a woman flirted with him or not wasn't something he needed to notice or follow up on because he knew it wouldn’t lead anywhere. He supposed it was true what they said. You only worry about something when it’s important to you.

It didn’t take long for Angela to come out of the school building. They shared a silent nod and started walking home. Yet they felt the eyes of their schoolmates on them as they left.

“People are gonna think we’re dating now,” he told her, sighing.

“Ah? Why would they think that?” she asked with an incredulous tone.

“I guess because we’re walking home together? Maeda-san seemed to think so until she asked.”

“…” Angela’s expression twisted for a moment. She then let out a rough sigh as she shook her head. “Sorry about what I said after lunch.”

“So you do know what you did,” he said, more surprised than upset.

“I told you, seeing you with her and knowing what you’re trying to do makes me jealous,” she admitted, pouting and looking away from him as they kept walking.

She looked cute.

But that didn’t distract him from the fact that her words stung in a weird way. They both knew and accepted that, if they wanted a solution to their problem, Leonardo needed to get a girlfriend. To recover his sensations, he needed to make a woman orgasm, and to let Angela feel something, he needed to maintain that relationship for a month. Only when that was done, the two of them would be able to have something. But how was that fair? Leonardo had a luxury that Angela didn’t. He had options. In theory, he could choose to go for Maeda-san or any other girl, while Angela’s only option to feel something was to wait for him and hope he’d be interested.

As he thought that, his face involuntarily twisted into a grimace, and Angela noticed.

“What are you thinking?” she asked quietly.

“That it’s not fair I get to choose and you don’t. You’re stuck with me, whether you like it or not.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely unfair” she nodded, then grinned. “Good thing I like you.”

Leonardo blinked, and his jaw dropped slightly. “Are you serious?”

“I told you, you’re better looking than you think. You’re lean, have nice arms and a cute face.”

Leonardo couldn’t help but laugh. “And here I thought you were gonna say I had such a charming personality.”

“We don’t know each other much, yeah, but I already know that if I talk to you honestly, you’ll be honest with me. It’s the only reason I’m saying all this stuff. It’s become easier to talk to you after I realized that. Also…” she gave him a small, self-conscious smile. “You didn’t judge when you saw me beat up a guy this morning.”

“Oh? And why is that special?” he asked. “I think you were pretty justified, especially after he took a swing at you.”

“Most guys that have an interest in me lose it after they find out I’m stronger than them, or that I could beat them up if I got mad, or they think I’m not feminine enough,” she said, shrugging. Leonardo believed there was a hint of pain in those words, but he might be overthinking it.

“Thinking about it now, I actually think it makes me a little jealous of you,” he admitted with a chuckle.

“Jealous?” she asked.

He nodded. “Supposedly, the upside of having the Curse is that we have a Gift that lets us do things normal people couldn’t, right? Well, all mine does is make it so I don’t feel tired or don’t feel much pain. I guess it’s useful, but… it’s not like I enjoy using it.” His voice took on a more melancholic tone despite of himself. “My dad used to say that there’s no one in the world who isn’t talented at something, and that truly smart people are those that know how to use that talent to achieve their goals and find happiness in life. He went out early, but despite all, I know he was happy.”

Angela stared at him in silence. He started feeling a little self-conscious, but it didn’t feel good to leave an idea unfinished, so he continued.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, despite me having a talent most people would kill for, I haven’t found anything I want to do with it. I’m not smart enough to use it to find happiness. All I’ve done is use it to work hard, like my dad taught me. Hard work for hard work’s sake and all that. But you?” He looked at Angela with a clearly envious smile. “You know what you want to do, and I think that’s amazing. So yeah, it makes me a little jealous to see you excited about something you enjoy.”

She quickly turned her face away from him, mutter quietly. “I like fighting. How is that a good thing?”

“I bet plenty of people are like you. It’s why there are so many full contact martial arts sports, like boxing and MMA,” she replied. “I don’t think any talent by itself is good or bad. All that matters is how you use it. If you like fighting, find a way to channel that into something that makes you happy. At least, that’s what I think. I haven’t found what I want to do, so it’s not like I’m speaking from experience.”

He caught Angela looking down at her feet as she walked, with a small smile and red cheeks. She then suddenly punched him on the shoulder without looking, pushing him away and nearly making him lose his balance.

She put some strength into it, but he barely felt it, so he just laughed. “What was that for?”

“For peeking,” she said.

“Well, if that’s the price for seeing you blush, then I’ll take it.”

She hit him on the shoulder again, and this one hurt a slight more.

“Ow!” he just kept on laughing.

They continued walking home, now in a comfortable silence. After they arrived at the Tensai Residence and changed clothes, Leonardo started working on dinner, with Angela patiently waiting by the table as she watched TV.