[Book of Eros] Chapter 63 - Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. (Patreon)

If Lucia and/or Miryoku-san had absolutely refused to go to Noroi Island, it would’ve been a big problem but Delilah would’ve had to accept it and look for another solution. They were adult women, after all. It wasn’t like she could actually drag them over. But when it came to Kaede Chiteki, she wouldn’t budge an inch. Delilah would take that girl back with her no matter what. She’d been turned away once before. She’d failed once. She wouldn’t fail again.

Allowing herself no detours, she quickly headed to the residential area in the city of Tohoku, the place where the Chiteki family lived. She rang the doorbell to the two-story, modern looking house. And when the door opened to welcome her in, her heart sank.

The young woman that stood in front of her looked up with eyes that could belong to a terminally ill person. Her straight, dark brown hair reached past her shoulders and looked disheveled and even a little greasy. She wore an old-looking baggy sweater and sweat pants. What was more, she smelled like she hadn’t bathed in a few days, and the girl herself didn’t care. Delilah saw something as dangerous as a complete lack of purpose in those bluish grey eyes. It was even worse than last year.

“Wisler-san?” the girl’s voice carried a small hint of curiosity that was sadly overwhelmed by a vacant, empty tone. “I’ll call mother.”

As the girl was turning around, Delilah put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her. “Wait a minute, Kaede-chan. Before that, I’d like to ask you something important.”

“…Me?” her voice and eyes were as deadpanned as before as she asked. “What is it?”

“If I could offer you a fresh new start, would you take it?”

“…Mm?”

“Go back to high school. A new home. Start over with people who don’t know you. People who, I promise, will see you for who you are, not who they think you are.”

“…” Kaede glanced down at the floor, and the faintest hint of a smile adorned her face for a fraction of a second. “That would be nice.” That it was never going to happen was left unsaid. But it was answer enough for Delilah.

She was allowed inside the house and met the girl’s mother in the ample living room, sitting on a sofa across from her. She was served tea, and after a sip, glanced casually at the source of Kaede’s unhappiness. Her mother was not a part of the Tensai Clan. She married someone who was, and together they had a daughter who inherited her father’s Gift. And what Delilah saw when trying to read the woman made her both furious and deeply sad.

“What can we help you with, Wisler-san?” Kaede’s mother asked. She was a woman in her 40s, with dark brown hair tied into a bun and dressed in a sleeveless sweater and a tight skirt. She looked at Delilah through her glasses while trying to hide her contempt.

“I know very well you don’t like me, Aiko, so I’ll make this quick. I want to take Kaede-chan with me back to Noroi Island.”

“I told you already. That won’t happen. Kaede is in the middle of her studies. She’ll finish her undergraduate degree this year, and going on vacation to some god forsaken island will only hinder her.”

“For heaven’s sake, Aiko, she’s only just turned 18,” Delilah said. “That poor girl doesn’t want to do what she’s doing. She’s lost all purpose.”

“And who are you to tell me what my daughter wants!?” Aiko asked, raising her voice. “Your petty little Gift pales in comparison to my daughter’s. She will be able to do anything and reach the peak effortlessly. I’m guiding her so she won’t get overwhelmed by the possibilities.”

“You are hurting your daughter, Aiko.”

“You know nothing of our family!”

“I know enough,” Delilah said and took a deep breath. “I have enough information on you to issue an investigation on child abuse. Even a normal psychologist will be able to see the state Kaede-chan is in, and her school record will give them all explanations they need.”

“W-What!? Child abuse!?” Aiko stood up. “You’re crazy!”

“She’s not crazy,” said a deep voice. A man in a dark blue suit entered the room, and Delilah quickly identified him as Kaede’s father, the man with the same Gift as her.

“D-Dear! You’re back early from work?” Aiko asked.

“I wanted to see Wisler-san. I owe her a lot, after all. I trust her judgment,” the man said. “But in the end, the final decision lies with Kaede herself.” He turned to the kitchen, which was a separate room, and spoke again. “What do you want to do, Kaede?”

Hesitantly and with cheeks red from the embarrassment of being caught eavesdropping, Kaede showed herself, stepping out of the kitchen.

“Kaede, you’re finishing your undergraduate studies! If you stop now…!”

“Silence, Aiko,” her father spoke, stopping his wife mid-sentence. “Your answer, Kaede?”

“…” The girl was trembling. Her eyes looked to her mother and turned away from her in an instant. Looking at her father seemed to calm her down. She held tightly onto the hem of her shirt and pursed her lips. The internal struggle she was going through hurt Delilah as if she was going through it herself. With a low, nervous voice, she answered. “I… I want to go…”

Her father nodded. “It’s decided, then. When does she need to be there?” he asked Delilah.

“As soon as possible.”

“Kaede, go make your bags.”

“B-But dear! What about…!?”

“With her talents, a few months or even a year won’t hurt her. She’ll be fine. She needs this.”

Delilah caught a faint light in Kaede’s eyes when hearing her father’s words, and for what probably was the first time in a while, ran back to her room with purpose.