[Book of Eros] Chapter 148: A gift. (Patreon)

Reiko watched her boyfriend, and it was the funniest and most adorable thing ever. Perhaps they had chosen the wrong time to tell him because now he had to make dinner with the promise of a foursome in his mind. As always, he was good at keeping himself calm and collected but Reiko could just tell he was holding back his excitement as he glanced back at them very so often.

“By the way, isn’t the summer festival the day after tomorrow?” Valerie asked.

“That it is, dear.”

“Gah!”

The three girls where startled when Mrs. Wisler answered out of nowhere, suddenly coming into dining room.

“P-Please don’t do that again!” Kaede said with a hand on chest. “Didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”

“Sorry. I only went to pick something up.” the old lady chuckled. “But it’s good that you brought up the topic of the festival. I have a surprise for you all.”

“A surprise?” Valerie asked.

Mrs. Wisler nodded with a kind and excited smile. She glanced towards Leo and then looked at them again with a mischievous grin. “This isn’t for the young man’s eyes, however. Would you please come to my room?”

“Um… Me too?” Reiko asked uncertainly.

“Yes, dear. You too.”

As they exited the dining room, Reiko caught Leo looking at them with a raised eyebrow. She, too, was curious about what secret Mrs. Wisler could have that he couldn’t see. A part of her briefly entertained the thought of it being some sexy underwear, but that couldn’t be it. However, that did give her the idea to take Kaede and Valerie shopping one of these days.

They entered Mrs. Wisler’s bedroom and the old lady took three of the seven bags on her desk and handed one to each of them. “Just a little something for you to make good memories this summer,” she said.

Unable to hold back their curiosity, all the girls reached for the contents inside the bag. There was a box, which they set on the floor, and inside said box was…

…A yukata.

“W-W-Wait!” Reiko exclaimed. “Y-You’re giving me a yukata!?” A yukata was a traditional summer outfit, kind of like a kimono but far lighter and easier to wear. They are cheaper than kimonos, too, but still far too expensive to be a casual gift! “I can’t just accept this.”

“I insist, dear,” Mrs. Wisler said, sitting seiza style in front of her. Her expression was serious and solemn. “Despite having no obligations to us, your support towards Leonardo and the Tensai Clan has been invaluable. Things wouldn’t be looking as bright for us as they do now if not for you. This is but a small show of gratitude, and I hope to be able to do more for you in the future.”

Mrs. Wisler bowed deeply, which made Reiko very uncomfortable. She didn’t feel like she had done anything to deserve such gratitude.

“If you had never been there for Leonardo from the start, the powers of the Book of Eros would have been worthless. My work and that of my predecessors would have been wasted. I asked something outrageous of Leonardo, and to call him lucky for having found you would be an understatement. It is thanks to you that the possibility of lifting the curse is possible at all. So yes, you have done much and more do be deserving of our gratitude.”

Reiko’s cheeks were burning. She looked towards her friend, but only found Valerie giving her a grin and a thumbs up and Kaede hiding her laughter at her embarrassment behind her hand.

“I… I’m just doing it because I want to,” she said.

Mrs. Wisler smiled. “And I’m doing this because I want to, as well.”

Yeah, but Reiko wasn’t spending close to 25.000 yen on this!

Mrs. Wisler chuckled. “Please, dear. Thankfully money isn’t an issue. I already worked my whole life. Let me spend my savings however I want.”

“Actually… What did you work on before you retired?” Kaede asked, blinking curiously.

“Did I never mention it? I was a psychologist.”

“Ooooooooooh,” the three girls echoed in realization. It made entirely too much sense, and if the amount she charged was commensurate to the accuracy of her diagnostics, then it was no wonder she had money to burn.

“…Alright. I’ll accept it. Thank you very much.” Reiko bowed deeply, holding the yukata close to her chest.

She took a better look at it, feeling the softness of the cotton fabric. The yukata was pink with a pattern of flowing red and yellow flowers with a few green leaves while the obi was a darker shade of pink. Valerie’s was crimson with small black dots all over it. It perfectly matched her striking hair. Meanwhile, Kaede’s was blue with prints of white stems and leaves. Reiko imagined it would serve to highlight her perfect skin.

“It’s lovely,” Kaede said with a big smile. “Thank you very much!”

“You think I’ll look good in this?” Valerie asked, examining her gift with a nervous smile. “It looks cool, but I’m not sure I can pull it off.”

“You’ll look great, dear. You’ll make Leonardo’s jaw drop, I promise.”

It was Valerie’s turn to blush. She groaned and shook her head. “Figured it out already, huh?”

“You all seem in a very good mood, too. Mind if I ask what happened?”

Well, it was better to tell her than to let her figure things out eventually. Besides, after the gift, Reiko could hardly deny her this much. “We reached an agreement and… we three are Leo’s girlfriends now.”

“Oh. You’ve gotten serious about him.”

Kaede nodded. “I’m worried about the future, but for now… Yes, we’re sure this is what we want.”

Mrs. Wisler smiled. “I’m happy you’re willing to take the risk. And for whatever it’s worth to you, know that I wouldn’t have picked Leonardo for this task if I didn’t think him to be an upstanding young man.”

“We figured out that much,” Reiko giggled.

“Mmm… Would I be right in assuming you are expecting this to change the stances of the other girls?”

“Hoping more than expecting,” Reiko admitted. “Leo likes us all, so…”

“If you have any worries, feel free to come talk to me. I may be lacking in experience in certain areas, but I’ve lived to see quite a bit.” Mrs. Wisler chuckled. “Why don’t you go try those on for now? They should fit, but I’d rather make sure. There’s still a day before the festival, so we can get them fixed if there are any issues.”

“Um… those other bags…” Valerie started.

“Yes, I got yukatas for Seina, Lucia and Angela as well. For Leonardo, too.”

Oh! Leo in a yukata during the summer festival? Walking around with him under the orange lights of the paper lanterns… Reiko was getting shivers.

The three went to Kaede’s room and tried their new robes on. They fit perfectly well, which raised the question… How did the old lady know their measurements? Maybe it was better not to think about it.

***

For once, it looked like Leo was the one eager to be done with dinner. He ate faster than usual and had his gaze on the TV, though he was hardly paying attention to it. His finger traced short lines back and forth on the table as he waited. Reiko could hardly blame him. She was also trying to eat faster, but not so fast that she looked too anxious. Valerie and Kaede seemed to be in the same boat.

“Is there something you want to share with the table, Leo?” Lucia asked, looking at him with narrowed eyes and reminding everyone that Mrs. Wisler wasn’t the only one who could read minds. “You’re looking a little anxious.”

Leo flinched and seemed to curse under his breath, but he took a deep breath and faced the older blonde. “I mentioned this to Seina a few minutes ago, but I’ll be spending tonight with Valerie.”

“Wait, what?” Angela exclaimed, looking back and forth between Leo and Valerie. “W-When did things become… you know, like that, between you two?”

“Last night,” Leo answered for the blushing Valerie. “It was sudden, but Valerie’s my girlfriend now.”

“Eh?” The sound was echoed by Angela, Lucia and Seina. Their expressions blank as they processed Leo’s words.

“Kaede is also okay with this, so she’s my girlfriend as well. Reiko is fully aware of this, of course. We talked things out among us all.”

Kaede’s face was beet red. She couldn’t face the rest of the table, deciding to look down at her own knees instead.

Reiko’s heart was racing so fast she was feeling dizzy. He had said it. He had outright said it with little to no hesitation. It was a statement. He was telling them ‘This is how things are now, and there’s nothing to be done about it.’ Very few times did she get to hear Leo taking that tone, and… Well, she liked it.

“This is mostly a formality,” he continued. “So, as long this doesn’t bother you, not much changes other than Valerie taking turns on certain nights.”

“As it should,” Mrs. Wisler nodded her approval. “We are very close to the lifting of the curse. It wouldn’t do to slow down now, would it? That said, congratulations. I sincerely hope things work wonderful for you all.”

“…And you girls are truly okay with this?” Seina asked, looking at the mentioned girlfriends. The three nodded firmly despite the embarrassment. Seina pursed her lips and set her chopsticks down. She then smiled, looking tired as she did. “Thank you for the food. I’ll be retiring for the night.” She stood up and slowly took her leave.

Leo closed his eyes for a moment, and Reiko believed she heard him gritting his teeth. He opened his eyes and looked towards the door. Seina had already left, and he looked like he was about to stand up.

“Don’t follow her,” Lucia said, firmly and with arms crossed below her chest. “You’ve made your choice. Don’t make excuses for it. If you follow her, I’ll lose all the respect I have for you.”

Leo was now visibly frustrated, but he sat back down.

They had hurt Seina, that much was obvious. Reiko’s chest hurt as well. This had all been her idea. She hoped it would turn out well, but…

“You don’t mind if I follow her, though. Right?” Angela said, standing up from her seat and rotating her neck.

“Not at all. In fact, I think I might go with you,” Lucia said, smiling calmly and rising with Angela. “Sorry to be turning in so early, but I imagine you can understand.”

The two blondes left the dining room, leaving only Reiko, Leo, Valerie, Kaede and Mrs. Wisler. The silence was heavy.

“I’ll be doing the dishes today, then,” the old lady said with an easy smile. “Why don’t you all also retire of the night? And try to relax, okay? Don’t think too hard on this.”

Easier said than done, Reiko thought. Way to put a damper on their special night. Leo felt guilty, Kaede and Valerie were worried about what would happen from here, and Reiko felt responsible for it all. The four went into Leo’s room, though it was unlikely that they’d be having their foursome. The awkward silence in the room was suffocating.

“Man, how could she just smile like that and tell us to relax after that?” Valerie asked, shaking her head.

Wait. Mrs. Wisler was… smiling.

‘Don’t think too hard on this,’ she had said.

She knew or had noticed something. Not all was lost, and Mrs. Wisler knew it!

Reiko smiled and began to strip naked without a care in the world.

“R-Reiko?” Kaede asked.

“It’ll be fine!” Reiko said, believing and needing to believe her own words. “Don’t worry about it for now. We can think about what to do tomorrow when everyone’s had time to think. For now, we should do as Mrs. Wisler said and simply relax!”

Maybe because he agreed, or maybe because he was simply frustrated, Leo wordlessly threw aside his t-shirt, walked up to Reiko, embraced her and shoved his tongue inside her mouth. The shock of pleasure hit her like a slap in the face and she had to hold onto his arms not to fall from her weakening legs.

“Lucia had a point. I made my choice and I’ll live with the consequences,” Leo said. “I’ll worry about the others tomorrow. I can’t let that make me put you three aside. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I prioritized other women over my girlfriends?”

Reiko’s heart skipped a beat, and she clearly wasn’t the only one because Kaede and Valerie threw their clothes aside as well, modesty be damned.