[Book of Eros] Chapter 153: Enough. (Patreon)

Leonardo was beginning to worry. It was already 11:30 am and neither Seina nor Angela were up. However, unlike Angela, who was enjoying her summer holidays, Seina had work at the radio station in 30 minutes. And so, Leo decided to forgo awkwardness and went to wake her up.

“Seina,” he called, knocking on her door. “It’s eleven thirty. You’ll be late to work.”

There was no response for a few seconds before a panicked scream was heard from inside along with heavy steps and some light cursing.

With his job done, Leo returned to the backyard to hang the bed sheets to dry, all the while hearing Seina running and getting ready.

“…I thought she had already left,” Kaede said, sitting on the engawa as she ate an ice cream.

“How much did they drink last night?” Valerie asked from her seat beside Kaede. “Not that I blame them…” she added in a low voice.

“Leo, can you come over for a second?” Lucia called to him from inside the house, and since his basket was empty of damp clothes, he followed the voice into the kitchen.

Lucia was standing behind the counter and leaning on it as he approached.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Nothing too important. Just figured that now you wouldn’t put too much resistance if the gift came from your loving girlfriend. One of.” She chuckled and slid forward a wooden box on the counter.

Leo recognized it. It was the same box that Lucia once presented to him as… what was practically a bribe. Leo chuckled and shook his head in resignation. Inside of the box was the Japanese knife Lucia had attempted to gift him. An undoubtedly and exuberantly expensive kitchen knife.

“You didn’t return it?” he asked.

“I knew I’d have my chance to try again. Patience pays off, doesn’t it?”

“Fine. I’ll accept it this time. But not without doing something in return. What would you like?”

“Take me on a festival date tomorrow,” she said, grinning. “I know you’re going with Valerie, but you can take me too, can’t you? Before or after, I don’t mind. Oh, and I’ll be joining the group date on the second day.”

“You’re all caught up, aren’t you?” Leo said, only mildly surprised. Lucia had spent a good chunk of the morning catching up with the other girls, who of course revealed their plans for the summer festival. Not that Leo minded, really. “But sure. I’d be more than happy to. In fact, it doesn’t feel like I’m paying you back at all like this.”

“That’s how you know the relationship works.” Lucia leaned forward and pecked his lips, unable to contain her smile. “Knowing I can do that whenever now is wonderful.”

Before Leo could reply, they heard more heavy steps as Seina rushed through the hallways. “I’m late for work! I’m leaving!” she shouted.

“Wait! Your…!” Leo heard the front door close. “…lunch.” He sighed. Seina’s boxed lunch was on the counter, neatly wrapped and ready to take with her.

“Take it to her,” Lucia said. “She won’t admit it, but she’ll appreciate the gesture. Just because she’s disappointed you didn’t pick her doesn’t mean her feelings for you are gone.”

“Are you okay with it?”

“Are you kidding? The three of us have done it together plenty of times by now. I like Seina. If we’re doing this, might as well go all the way. What are two or three more girls to my insatiable monster?”

“You’re really leaning into that monster thing, huh?”

“Try as you may, you can’t deny it, dear. Now go. We’ll talk more when you’re back.”

Leo cupped Lucia’s cheek and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. “You were right. Knowing I can do than whenever does feel wonderful.”

Lucia answered with a playful shove and Leo was on his way.

***

The radio station was, as one would expect, high up the mountain and following a less traveled road. Even from their house one could spot the antenna, so the station itself wasn’t difficult to find. Leo half expected to run into Seina on the way there, considering he was a faster walker, but she had probably taken a cab. She WAS running late, so it made sense.

The building was small, which he thought was to be expected from a small local radio station. The reason Seina’s show was becoming popular outside of the island was because it was uploaded to the internet the day after it went live. It was all going well for Seina… until yesterday.

Leo groaned. He didn’t pick a great day to break the news to her, did he? He could only hope her workday went better today.

He arrived at the station and walked inside. A young man behind the counter was just hanging up the phone. He smiled and asked, “Hello, what can I help you with?”

“I’m looking for Seina. She forgot her lunch,” Leo said, lifting the box by the knot of the blue fabric wrapper to show it.

“Ah, you mean Miryoku-san, don’t you? I’ll go get her.” The young man left his post and went further into the building to look for Seina.

While Leo waited, another person came into the station. It was a man in a blue suit, white shirt and yellow tie despite the stupid heat. Slightly taller than Leo, but skinnier. He had a bag with the print of a known clothes brand on it. The man looked around, noticing how there was no one behind the counter. He didn’t look like he worked here.

“The receptionist should be coming back soon,” Leo told him politely.

“Ah. Thank you,” the man smiled and nodded.

The two waited until they saw the young man approaching with someone familiar following behind.

“Sei-”

“Seina-kun,” the man spoke and walked up to her, offering her the bag. “I brought you the swimsuit you’ll need for the shoot later today. Please try it on and tell me if it fits. Not that I think you’ve gotten fat, but we need to make sure we don’t run into sudden issues, don’t we?”

“Tanaka-san…” Seina winced and bit her lip. “I have to start recording in five minutes. Also, I thought I told you I don’t want to do that shoot.”

“How many times do I have to say it, Seina-kun? You career depends on this. We need to make use of this unexpected rise in popularity to make you rise to the top in the charts.”

Leo frowned. So this guy was Seina’s manager. He was thinking of standing back and watch for the moment, not wanting to make things worse for her. But Seina noticed he was there, and the look she gave him asked him to give her a way out of the conversation.

“Excuse me,” he intervened with a polite nod. “Seina, you forgot your lunch.”

“Ah. Sorry to make you come all this way,” she said. “I was in such a hurry that I forgot.”

“Hm? Who is this man?” the manager asked in an irritated tone. “And he’s calling you by name, too. Mind explaining?” he demanded.

“I’m a friend,” Leo explained casually. “We’re both members of the Tensai clan. You no doubt know Wisler Delilah-san, don’t you? She brought me here, just like Seina.”

“Ah, that lady…” The man’s tone was neutral, but Leo caught him trying to hide the disdain in his face. “Well, so long as you’re just friends. For a moment I thought you were some sort of boyfriend.”

Seina’s eyebrow twitched. “And what if he was?” she asked.

“Please don’t joke, Seina-kun. If you had a boyfriend there would be an outrage. Small as your fanbase is right now, they’re nevertheless sure to riot if they knew you were seeing someone.”

Leo could practically see something snap inside Seina’ head. She narrowed her eyes, straightened her back and lightly lifted her chin. “Is that so? Well, that’s a shame because Leonardo IS my boyfriend.”

…What?

“…Excuse me?” the manager asked, dumbfounded.

“Yes, he is. He’s my boyfriend. He makes me lunch and we even live in the same house. We’ve been going out for a couple months, actually.”

The manager covered his face with his hands and groaned loudly into them. “No, no, no! Seina-kun, what are you doing!? It’s like you’re trying to throw away your career!”

“What career?” Seina scoffed.

“The one I’ve built for you!” the manager said, raising his tone. “Do you think it’s been easy to turn a mediocre voice actress into a beloved idol? If it wasn’t for your looks you wouldn’t be anyone! If you want to succeed you need to listen to me! You’re where you are because of me!”

“You’re right,” Seina nodded. “I’m where I am because of you. The furthest away from where I want to be!”

“What did you say?”

“Tanaka-san, I don’t give a crap about being an idol or a model. These photo shoots, the interviews, the ads… They have NOTHING to do with what I want to do! I want to be a voice actress! All my training and auditions I’ve had to look for myself. You’ve never once helped me with any of that, and it’s what I’m paying you for! Even this job at the radio I got thanks to Wisler-san, not you! You’re trying to turn me into something I don’t want to be, and if it’s going to continue that way, then we’re through.”

“What? Are you firing me?” the manager asked in disbelief.

“If you won’t change your attitude and understand what my goals are, then yes.”

“Now look here you,” the man seethed and stepped forward, trying to intimidate Seina with the height difference. “You don’t understand anything. The market for voice actresses is over saturated, and there are women out there with outstanding talent who outshine you in every regard but one. When it comes to looks, you tower over every other woman. That’s where you should focus!”

“But I don’t want to! I don’t care about my looks! Thanks for confirming that you don’t care about what I want at all. This is it. You’re fired, Tanaka-san.”

“You fucking bitch…!”

The ex-manager raised his fist, making Seina recoil. And Leo had seen more than enough. He caught the man’s wrist and held onto it tightly. The man couldn’t move it a single inch.

“This is Seina’s job, so I have no business meddling in it, but if you’re going to get this aggressive I’m going to step in.”

“You! I bet you’ve been the one filling her head with these idiotic thoughts!”

Leo raised an eyebrow. “What? Don’t blame me for the shitty job you did.”

In his rage, the man turned and threw a punch directly at Leo’s face. He let it land and didn’t move a muscle. He let the man punch him several more times, and none of the hits felt like more than some light pushing.

“You done?” Leo asked, unfazed, once the man was out of breath. He then turned to Seina. “Should I?”

She nodded mercilessly. “Please.”

Leo was happy to knee the man in the stomach and throw him out of the radio station. He only hit him hard enough to leave him out of breath for a moment, not enough to hurt anything too badly. The asshole left as he cursed them both.

“Hope that doesn’t come to bite us in the ass,” Leo said.

“D-Don’t worry!” said the receptionist, who Leo had completely forgotten about. He was off to the side with his phone in hand, a relieved smile on his face. “I recorded it all. If he presses charges we have evidence and witnesses!”

“Thank you, Miyata-kun,” Seina told him with a soft smile. She was shaking in place, trying to hold it.

“Should I tell the chief to postpone the recording?” the young man asked.

“…No. I’ll do it like always. It’ll help me relax.”

“If you say so…” The receptionist went inside to talk to the chief, leaving Leo and Seina alone in the lobby.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

“Yes. But… Could I bother you to wait for me for an hour? I’ll understand if you’re busy.”

Leo shook his head. “I’ll be here when you’re done.”

“Thank you, Leo. For… everything.”

“I didn’t do much. Now forget this happened and go do what you enjoy.”

Seina smiled. Truly smiled, and went into the building to record her show. Leo waited for her the full hour, texting Lucia and the others to tell them he’d be a little late.