[Book of Eros] Chapter 65 - A change of patron deity. (Patreon)

Leonardo called to Mrs. Wisler from behind the door to her bedroom and he was promptly allowed inside. The old lady was sitting seiza style in front of her old vanity mirror as she turned to him.

“You brought the Book, I presume?”

“Yes,” he answered, showing it to her.

“Sit down, Leonardo.” She patted the pillow next to her, and Leo did as told while Mrs. Wisler procured some items from her drawer. There was a small pot of black ink and a quill, but more importantly there was also an empty syringe and needle.

“Uh…”

“I’ll need to draw some of your blood. I trust you’re not afraid of needles,” she chuckled lightheartedly.

“I’m not, but I question the need for it…” he swallowed.

“The Book of Eros is now attuned to you. I can’t do anything to it directly. Which means you’ll have to be the one to do it instead. Don’t worry, I’ll show you how.” The old lady procured another item, a notepad, and opened it to a specific page and showed it to Leo. There were writings in English he understood, but also circles and symbols he couldn’t comprehend. “We’re taking a big but calculated gamble, Leonardo. As you may remember, the ritual that cursed and blessed our clan was performed in the name of Ragajaga. But that is not the only deity with a domain over sex. Old texts speak of its sibling, Aizen-Myo. My father considered offering the ritual of the Book of Eros to it, but the idea was rejected on the grounds that the one that cursed us could also free us. If Ragaraja wants to see us struggle, struggle we will. But we will not be its pawns, Leonardo.”

“But…” Leo started. “What guarantee do we have that this new deity won’t be worse than the last?”

“Simple,” Mrs. Wisler smiled. “Stories tell us that the siblings actually hate each other. Ragaraja’s teachings tell of reaching enlightenment through abandoning human desires such as lust and greed. I believe its desire to see you struggle is a challenge to make us accept this as truth. Aizen-Myo, however, believes the true nature of humanity lies in both its flaws and virtues. If we offer this ritual to it, it might be more willing to cooperate with is.”

“So the gamble lies in whether or not Aizen-Myo has the power to undo the curse, correct?” Leo inferred.

“You catch on quick.” Mrs. Wisler nodded her approval. She prepared the syringe and turned her body to face him. “Now, give me your arm.”

“You’ll need to put some strength into it,” Leo said with a sigh. “Don’t worry about me.”

Mrs. Wisler raised an eyebrow at that. She tied a rubber band around his arm and found resistance when trying to insert the needle. She needed to push it with more strength than usually needed to pierce Leo’s skin, but she got some blood out of him nontheless. She cleaned the spot with alcohol and cotton and put an adhesive bandage on it. She poured his blood into the ink pot and started to slowly mix it with a wooden chopstick.

“While I’m doing this, I’d like to ask you,” she said, not turning her eyes way from the pot. “What do you think of our new guests?”

Leo flinched, and after giving it some thought, he answered. “I don’t know. I suppose it’s too soon to tell.”

“They must’ve made an impression,” Mrs. Wisler chuckled. “Be honest with me.”

“…They’re all gorgeous,” Leo admitted with a groan. “Unnaturally so, actually. I always thought Angela looked like a supermodel, but these women are just as beautiful. That’s not counting Miryoku-san’s Gift.”

“You’re not wrong.” Mrs. Wisler nodded. “We’ve come to think this is a side effect of the curse?”

“Ah? What do you mean?”

“It’s about human evolution and survival,” she explained. “Our bodies can’t feel pleasure, but we can still reproduce. Some of my contemporaries, like Kaede-chan’s grandfather, believe that the curse is making our descendants… evolve, let’s say, to appear more attractive to the opposite sex in an attempt to continue reproducing.”

“Doesn’t that process take like… way more generations?” Leo asked, blinking.

“Yes, which is why we have no solid proof of it. It’s just conjecture.” Mrs. Wisler said. “But other than that, what do you think of them? You were offended by my daughter’s comments, weren’t you? I apologize.”

“N-No, it’s fine,” Leo said, forcing a chuckle. “It’s true that I’m no professional chef or anything.”

“Leonardo,” Mrs. Wisler started, her face hardening. “The Gifts we’ve been given are so strong that they, is various ways, shape our personalities as we grow. You’re no exception to this, but you had the luck of being brought up by your father. He was an honest, hardworking man, wasn’t he?”

Leo smiled and nodded. “He always held effort and perseverance in the highest regard. He used to say he’d been blessed with the ability to tirelessly help others, so… I really looked up to him.”

“The people here, Leonardo, haven’t quite been so lucky as to have someone guide them as your father did you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Gifts like ours may make you believe we stand above the common folk. My very own daughter is a clear example of this.” She pursed her lips, and her hands stopped mixing the ink for a moment. “I was so absorbed in completing the Book that I failed to properly teach her how to use her Gift during her most important years. Like every talent and skill, our Gifts must be honed to get the most out of them. Lucia can’t see what I see. She believes people to be very simple, unaware of the complexities that lie within every singular person.” She sighed. “Sadly, she’s not the only one with… issues. Valerie, Seina, Kaede and yes, even Angela, carry a heavy weight due to growing up with their Gifts. The lack of sexual pleasure is but the start, Leonardo.”

“…”

“I apologize. I did not mean to burden you with such details. In the end, your role is simple. Have sex with them, gather sexual energy, and remove the curse. You need not do anything else.”

“…” Heh. Crafty old lady. “Yeah, sure.”

Mrs. Wisler only answered with a soft, knowing chuckle. She finished mixing the ink with his blood and ceded him her seat to give him space in front of the desk. “Now, all you need to do is copy what’s in this notepad and write it in the back pages of the Book of Eros. This should change the deity we’re offering the sexual energy to.”

Leo took a deep breath, took the quill, dipped the tip in ink and got to work. He copied the writings and symbols as best as he could, though his handwriting wasn’t as pristine as Mrs. Wisler’s. The old lady assured him it was good enough.

It took him about an hour and a half, and when he was done, they saw the book begin to glow with a dim red light, reminiscent of the time the first entity contacted Leo. His heart nearly jumped to his throat, and the pages flipped to a random blank spot before text started appearing on them… written with the kind of messy handwriting a child would have.

‘Wooooo!! Yeeeeaaaaah!! I’m in control, baby! You’re pretty smart, old lady! First you make this book and then alter it? That’s sooo cooool!! Way to give my brother the middle finger! I APPROVE!! LEONARDO! Go with my blessing! Meet people, have fun, fuck up, laugh, cry and have as much sex as you want! I won’t let my brother lay a hand on this book, but I won’t touch it either! Ooooh, this is gonna be so fun!! OH! But no crying if you don’t meet your deadline, okay? I can’t really undo what Raga already did to the book. I have no power over what he does, just as he has no power over what I do. But if you finish the ritual of this little book, you’ll give me the power to do it and get that stupid, stupid curse off you!! Cool, ain’t it? Mmm… but I guess he was a real dick messing up the old lady’s hard work, so I’ll tell you something you probably didn’t know. There’s more to the book than you realize. The old lady’s daddy hid some extra Gifts in the instructions she left her. The conditions are a secret, and if I told you I’d be no different than my asshole brother, right? No, no, no! Find out on your own! It’ll be fun! Okay, Aizen-Myo over and out! That’s how it goes, right? Anyway! See ya!’

Both Leonardo and Mrs. Wisler read the message with blank stares before blinking and looking at each other.

“Are… Are we going to be okay?” Leo asked.

“I pray we will, Leonardo. I pray we will.”