[Book of Eros] Chapter 93 - Serious talk. (Patreon)

Author's Note: I wasn't happy with how the original chapter turned out, and feedback from Complexity only reinforced what I already thought. As such, I decided to rewrite the whole damn chapter, staying up until 5:00 am to fix this and the following chapter since that one was dependant on what had happened originally in this one. This author's note might be a little unnecesary, but I want you to know a bit of the lengths I go to try to make a decent story! Anyway, the old chapter is at the bottom, just in case you're curious of what the original was.

Also, changed the tittle of it because it didn't make much sense anymore.

***

Leonardo stepped out of the dining room, and along with closing the door behind him, he had to put his thoughts in order. What should he do about all this? What could he even do? He was pissed, but while it was good to remain firm, he needed to be careful not to overdo it. He took several deep breaths, and after calming down a bit, the answer came clearly. He needed to talk to them.

First, he found Seina in her room. He knocked on her door and she answered quickly.

“Leonardo-kun, listen…” she started, but Leo raised his hand to cut her off.

“We’re gonna talk, but not here. Please go to my room while I go get Lucia-san.”

Seina bit her lip, but nodded and did as told. At the very least she was being cooperative, and Leo supposed she did stand up for Kaede.

He then went to Lucia’s room. The older woman opened the door, eyeing him with a cold stare as she crossed her arms below her chest. “What?”

Leo wasn’t fazed. He could see it in her eyes, even if she was doing a splendid job hiding it. She was scared. Scared of what he’d say, or rather, what he could do. If it hadn’t been for the Gift of Wisdom he got from her, he’d never be able to see it, and perhaps because hers was stronger than his, she could see just how little bullshit Leo was willing to take right now. Still, seeing that… mellowed him out.

“Come to my room, please. Miryoku-san is waiting there. We need to talk.”

“I don’t see the need,” she answered.

“But I do. Come on.” With that, Leo turned around and walked to the east side of the house, back to his room. Seina was already waiting outside, and only a few seconds later Lucia was there as well. The tension was palpable, but Leo did his best to brush it aside.

The three of them went inside, but it wasn’t like there was any specific reason he brought them there. He just wouldn’t have this conversation in the open, and his room was the first place he thought of. Leo stood in front of them in the relatively empty room.

“You know why I brought you both here, right? We can’t let things go on like this,” He told them. “It’s getting out of hand. Lucia-san, I know what you did was on purpose. You knew exactly what buttons to push to hurt Kaede. She’s an emotionally scarred girl, for god’s sake!”

Seina turned to Lucia as well and nodded her agreement with him. “I get that you want more chances for sex, but that was going way too far!”

“You two do understand what we’re doing here, right?” Lucia asked, arms still crossed below her chest. “We’re not here to play games or make friends. If we don’t get rid of the curse within a year, we’ll lose our Gifts on top of being stuck with the curse for eternity. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to lose my power when I had nothing to do with this mess in the first place.”

Her eyes fell on Leo, and he knew that she was implicitly blaming him. She was basically saying ‘if you hadn’t used the book, we wouldn’t be in this mess’. It was a low blow, because deep down Leo did think he was responsible for it.

“That’s rich,” Seina scoffed. “Blaming Leonardo AND your own mother for this? No one saw that change coming, and at the very least they were trying to do something about the curse. Didn’t you know exactly what Wisler-san was trying to accomplish but still walked out on her? And now that the book works, you’re here to get what you can’t have. Am I wrong?”

Lucia clicked her tongue and frowned, but instead of backing down, she pushed forward. “Are they really doing anything? We have a time limit, and yet this boy is leisurely taking his time. He goes to school and has a part-time job when he should be spending his time working to break the curse. Not like we have anyone else to do it, after all.”

Another low blow. Leo had to give her credit. She was paying more attention to him than he thought if she could hit so well where it hurt. He kept questioning Mrs. Wisler’s decision to give the book to him. He knew he wasn’t the right person. But even if she had a point, Leo couldn’t let her steer this conversation away from her own responsibilities.

“You can question me all you want another day, but don’t think I don’t see you trying to escape the main topic. You harassed a younger girl for no other reason than to get rid of her,” he said before glancing from Lucia to Seina. “And the strange rivalry you two have can only be described as toxic, and it’s making things worse for everyone. I want to rid of us the curse as much as you do, Lucia-san, but it’s you who’s making it more difficult. Your attitude is creating rancor between us all, Miryoku-san responds in kind to your advances on me, Angela gets jealous, Kaede and Valerie feel uncomfortable. I don’t know about you, but those sure don’t sound like turn ons to me.”

“…” Lucia bit her lip while Seina rubbed her arm self-consciously.

“And I don’t get the why of all this. It’s almost like you reject us all on principle. When I asked to talk before our first time, you brushed me aside. I haven’t seen you have a conversation with anyone but your mother, either.”

“Now that you mention it… yeah,” Seina nodded as she realized it as well.

“…”

“Before Mrs. Wisler brought you all here, I was hoping we’d all just get along, that things would just work out. I suppose that was naïve of me. Things don’t just ‘work out’ without doing anything. But every time you talk to us, it reinforces the feeling that YOU don’t want things to work out. Are you really here only for the sex?”

“And what if I am?” Lucia answered, eyes narrowed. “Will you judge me for it?”

“I guess I can’t,” Leo shrugged. “But in the same way, you can’t judge the others’ reasons for being here, either. Angela and Valerie are here to rekindle their passion for what they love. Kaede wanted a new start. I was poor and a school dropout, so when Mrs. Wisler offered me a roof and a chance to finish my education, I took it. What makes our reasons to be here any less valid than yours, then? Lucia-san, again, I want to get rid of this curse, I really do. I understand how painful the inability to feel pleasure is. But is it wrong that I don’t want it to become something mechanical done out of obligation? Is it wrong that I want to at least get along with the people I have to sleep with, if not form a meaningful friendship? It goes for you, too, Lucia-san.”

He didn’t know why, but that got a reaction from her. Her eyes widened slightly and her lips parted as she seemed to stop herself from gasping. She pursed her lips and closed her eyes for but a moment.

“…I’ll admit I stepped out of line when speaking to Kaede. I’ll be sure to apologize properly,” she said, then turned to Seina. “And I suppose having constant quarrels with you is not such an amusing pastime so as to keep doing it.”

“You just can’t put it nicely, can you?” Seina groaned. “But yes. Let’s just accept that we’re all working towards the same goal and not get in each other’s way, at the very least.”

“But you, Leonardo,” Lucia said, turning back to him. “Words are cheap. You better start showing you’re as committed to the cause as you claim to be.”

“I can do that,” he smiled. “Scratch that. I will do that.”

Lucia hummed before she turned around and left his room. If he was honest with himself, Leo didn’t exactly know if he’d accomplished much, but it at least felt like the air around Lucia was different.

***

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Old chapter 93.

Leonardo stepped out of the dining room, and along with closing the door behind him, he had to put on a metaphorical mask. He really didn’t want to do this, but he had to. He remembered in his third year of middle school when they got a new teacher. A good person, but really bad at setting rules and enforcing the few that were there. As a result, his classes were always chaos. An odd comparison, but this was the same in essence. If these women were allowed to say and do whatever they wanted without repercussions, then the atmosphere around the house would become toxic. This was exactly what he feared would happen, but he hadn’t been drastic enough to prevent it. Well, time to make up for it.

First, he found Seina in her room. He knocked on her door and she answered quickly.

“Leonardo-kun, listen…” she started, but Leo raised his hand to cut her off.

“We’re gonna talk, but not here. Go to my room while I go get Lucia-san.”

Seina bit her lip, but nodded and did as told. At the very least she was being cooperative, and Leo supposed she did stand up for Kaede. But no matter. She was as much to blame for the tension between her and Lucia.

He then went to Lucia’s room. The older woman opened the door, eyeing him with a cold stare as she crossed her arms below her chest. “What?”

Leo wasn’t fazed. He could see it in her eyes, even if she was doing a splendid job hiding it. She was scared. Scared of what he’d say, or rather, what he could do. If it hadn’t been for the Gift of Wisdom he got from her, he’d never be able to see it, and perhaps because hers was stronger than his, she could see just how little bullshit Leo was willing to take right now. It didn’t feel good, but right now he knew for sure he had power over her, and that gave him confidence that he could go through with what he intended.

“Come to my room. Miryoku-san is waiting there. We need to talk.”

“I don’t see the need,” she answered.

“Come to my room. You have one minute.” With that, Leo turned around and walked to the east side of the house, back to his room. Seina was already waiting outside, and only a few seconds later Lucia was there as well. The tension was palpable, but Leo did his best to brush it aside.

The three of them went inside, but it wasn’t like there was any specific reason he brought them there. He just wouldn’t have this conversation in the open, and his room was the first place he thought of. Leo stood in front of them in the relatively empty room, and without beating around the bush, dropped the bomb.

“Sorry it had to be this way, but I’m not having sex with either of you anymore.”

His words had the exact effect he’d expected. Lucia was glaring daggers at him while Seina looked aghast. The tension between them was caused by their desire for the pleasure only Leo could provide. Denying them that was forcing them to go back to the agonizing frustrations of the curse. He hated it, because if someone did the same to him, he’d be just as horrified. But as the saying goes, you reap what you sow.

“You can’t do that,” Lucia argued strongly. “No matter what you think of me, it’s your obligation to rid us all of the curse. How do you plan to do that without sex?”

“Do you think I give a single shit?” Leo seethed, glaring ice back at her. “Do you seriously think I’d share a bed with a woman who would bully an emotionally scarred girl just so she could have more chances for sex? Not only that, but I know you are fully aware of what you did. You can see it, don’t you? You know exactly what buttons to push for Kaede to give in, and you took advantage of it.”

Lucia clicked her tongue and scowled.

“But what about me!?” Seina asked. “I haven’t done anything!”

“Not as blatantly, no. But do you really think I haven’t noticed you trying to use your charms to win me over? Or how you’ve been trying to talk the others down? Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded all that so much if it hadn’t led to this. It’s like you two developed a stupid and toxic sort of rivalry, and it’s making things worse for everyone in this house. And let me make one thing very clear, something that I didn’t think I’d need to point out, but here we are,” Leo groaned. “I am NOT a human fucking dildo. I don’t give a damn if the situation we’re in is dire. I choose who I sleep with. Just like I told Valerie and Kaede I wouldn’t force them into anything they didn’t want, you won’t force me to sleep with you just to fulfill a dumb ritual.”

Leo’s head felt heavy and it throbbed with a dull pain. He was angry, but more than anything sad and confused. He couldn't understand what led people to act like this. Were the wounds left by the curse that much deeper in them? Had Leo forgotten the pain he used to feel for the lack of sexual relief? Had he grown conceited? Was he the one who didn’t understand what they were going through? But even if that was the case, were their action justified? Leo didn’t believe so. It was true that Seina hadn’t done as much as Lucia, but he couldn’t appear to be playing favorites, lest he sowed even more rancor between the three of them.

“I’ve said my piece, so if you have anything to say, now’s the time. But know that I won’t go back on my word. Not until you start acting like the grown up women you are.”

Once more, Lucia clicked her tongue and turned around, stomping as she left the room and loudly shutting the door behind her. Seina remained for a moment. She bit her lip, and with regretful eyes, asked Leo, “So you’re serious about this?”

“I told this to Angela, but I suppose I can tell you too,” Leo said. “At some point, before you all came here, I was hoping things would work just out. Clearly that wasn’t the case. Miryoku-san, everyone here has a different story, everyone is here for a different reason. Me? I…” Leo sighed. “I think I’ve finally found something I want. I don’t know if it’s okay to want it, but I know I’m not willing to step over anyone’s feelings to get it. What about you?”

“I see…” Seina said, and a small smile crossed her lips. She then startled him when she slapped both her cheeks, leaving red prints on them. “Okay, fine! If that’s how you want to play, I’ll play. But you have to promise me to do it with me properly when you think I’m finally ‘acting like the grown up woman I am’.”

“Believe me,” Leo smiled wryly, “I’d love to.”

He was able to see past her charms and focus on her genuine resolve. It was like his lecture had served as a reset point for her, and Leo was glad he could at least reach her.