[Book of Eros] Chapter 88 - Light tension and attempted bribes. (Patreon)

As Leonardo was fixing dinner in the kitchen, he heard Kaede’s voice from the entrance announcing her arrival. Her steps sounded hurried, and she was soon inside the dining room. She looked tired, like she’d ran all the way from Reiko’s house to here.

“C-Contreras-san,” she said. She had an uncharacteristically excited smile on her face. “Do we have a DVD player in the house?”

“Yeah, there in the TV stand,” he answer, pointing to it. “It’s ready to use.”

“Thanks!” Kaede moved to it immediately, and taking a plastic case from her bag turned on the DVD player and was about to put something in it when she suddenly turned back to him. “D-Do you mind if I put something on? It’s… a show Reiko-san lent to me.

Reiko-san? Leo couldn’t help but smile. If they were already on first-name basis, then their time together had gone well. Knowing how forward Reiko could be when she wanted something, it wasn’t surprising, really.

“Sure, go ahead. And if you don’t mind, could you call me by my first name, too?” he said with a sheepish grin. “I’m not from Japan, so being called by my last name feels awkward.”

“O-Oh. Okay… I’ll try to do that.” She nodded nervously and went back to the DVD. Leo was surprised to see that he was at least familiar with the show on TV.

“Is that the one about a trading card game?” he asked.

“Do you know it?” Kaede asked with a hint of excitement and hopefulness.

“I know OF it. They used to air it on TV even in my country, and I knew a couple of people who played the actual card game.”

“So… you really don’t mind if I watch this here?”

“Nope. In fact, it helps. Angela and I watched another show to help us learn Japanese. This’ll be more of that.”

Kaede was visibly relieved, then turned all her focus on the show on TV while Leo kept cooking. It went to show how much he’d improved his Japanese that he could understand what people were saying without having watched the show before. Kaede, though, looked in a trance. She was watching with a big smile on her face and actually getting excited at what was happening.

“Do you like anime?” he asked.

“This is my first,” she told him, not looking away from the screen. “My mother would go crazy if she knew I was watching this,” she giggled.

Oh. Well, that said a lot, and Leo had a feeling Kaede and Reiko didn’t do much studying at her house. He’d make time to call her after dinner.

The door to the dining room opened again, and this time Seina came in. Her eyes fell on Leo immediately, and she smoothly made her way towards him with a subtle but alluring movements that Leo wondered if they were on purpose or not.

“Hello, Leonardo-kun,” she greeted, leaning on the side of the kitchen counter opposite to him. She was trying to call attention to the low neckline of her blouse, and Leo spared a quick glance her way before he returned to the pan where he was sautéing some vegetables. Reading her intentions was difficult, more so than with the others. It was like her beauty put up a barrier that distracted him. Perhaps because of what had happened earlier and the things he read in the book, her pink lips looked particularly… kissable. Seriously, her Gift was scary. “Did everything go well with Angela-san?” she asked with a hint of condescension aimed not towards him, but Angela.

“I’m sorry about her attitude,” he said, smiling innocently. “But yes, everything went well. So I’d appreciate if you didn’t use that tone to speak of the people who live under our same roof, please.” His smile never faded, but it had the intended effect. Seina blushed and was taken aback from having been caught.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, laughing it off. She glanced around the room, looking for an escape, and she found it in the TV. “Oh, that show…” she said, sounding genuinely interested as she went and took a seat at the table with Kaede. “I met one of the voice actresses that worked on it. She gave me really good advice.”

“Really?” Kaede asked, turning to her with interest. “How does voice acting work?”

The question brought a smile to Seina’s face, and she lightly puffed her chest with pride as she explained. “You’re in this booth alone with a microphone, and they show you the scene that you’re to voice. You read your lines as you picture in your mind who the character is, what drives them and how they’d react to certain situations. It’s very though work.”

Kaede listened intently as Seina explained, and before long, the two were watching the show together. Perhaps Leo should’ve seen in coming? Seina was a voice actress, and one passionate about her job. It made sense that she enjoyed anime, and she was looking at it with a critical eye. Kaede and Seina hadn’t spoken much at all since moving into the Tensai Residence, but at least this looked like they were starting with the right foot.

And then… Lucia came into the room. Her eyes met Seina’s, and for a fraction of a second sparks seemed to fly. They both turned away from each other and Lucia walked towards him, carrying a small bag.

“Good evening, Leonardo,” she said with her usual confident smile. “I have a little present for you.”

“…A present?” he asked, examining her face. This was clearly not a gift given out of goodwill alone.

“I think it’s great that you enjoy making food,” she said and took a small wooden box from the bag and placed it on the kitchen counter. “So here. A little something for you to take your little hobby to the next level.”

Leo suppressed a groan, but when he opened the box, what he had to suppress was a gasp. Inside was a knife, a type he recognized due to having looked it up out of curiosity. A professional chef’s knife made of stainless steel with a Damascus pattern over the blade and a beautiful dark wooden handle. He’d heard of the quality of Japanese knives before, and he’d wanted to get one, but when he saw them going for a minimum of $200 USD for the ‘cheap’ ones and up to $5000 for the better ones, that dream had to be put on an indefinite hold.

“I see you like it,” Lucia grinned. “I’m glad.”

This was nothing more than a bribe. It was a blatant gift to gain Leo’s favor. And for fuck’s sake, it was tempting to accept. But he’d just made up his mind to not let himself go with the flow and be caught up in the girls’ pace. So, swallowing his regret for what he was about to say, he answered.

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t accept it,” he said with a smile. “I know these are very expensive. I wouldn’t feel comfortable using it. I appreciate the gesture, but I just wouldn’t feel right using it.”

The frugal side of him was screaming at him how stupid he was. It was a free Japanese knife for heaven’s sake! He’d never be able to afford one! And Lucia had the money, so this probably wasn’t even a big deal for her! Just accept the damn thing and pay her back with sex like she wanted! He’d have to do it with her again, anyway!

…

But no. Like he’d told Angela, accepting this kind of behavior would send the message that bribes were okay. That he could be bought. And dammit, he wasn’t a male prostitute. Perhaps Lucia noticed his internal struggle, but she also seemed to notice he was serious about it. She looked offended, but remained dignified as she put the box with the knife back on her bag.

“Very well… If that’s how you feel. I’ll keep it, however, and if you ever want it, you just need to tell me.”

And Leo had the feeling that the day he did that, he’d become her personal boy-toy.