Official.

Leonardo had a taste of a slice of peach, and after confirming how sweet they were, he threw the rest of the slices into the juicer and turned the thing on. He wouldn’t need to add any extra sugar. Two liters of peach juice divided among seven, maybe eight people, would be barely enough for a glass each. Natural juice may be good, but it wasn’t very efficient. He’d need to arrange things to buy fruit in bulk if they wanted to have a good stock of juice for the summer.

He poured the juice into a fitting plastic bottle and put it away in the fridge. It would be cold enough for when Kaede and Valerie came back from Reiko’s house. He was getting ready to wash the machine when he heard the door behind him slide open. One look was enough to make his heart heavy with worry.

Seina entered the dining room wearing a tired expression, even though she tried to hide it behind a smile. Leo saw through it, and while they exchanged the usual greetings, he got the bottle of juice from the fridge and poured a glass for Seina while throwing in a couple of ice cubes.

“You were at the radio station today, weren’t you?” he asked, handing her the glass which she accepted gladly. She nodded wordlessly before downing half the glass in one go. The two sat down at the table.

“…My manager came over for a visit. We’ve been having talks through email, but now he made the trip in person.” She nearly grumbled the words out. “Said he was surprised a random radio show that didn’t show my face would be doing so well. Now he wants me to have a photoshoot at the beach for a magazine article talking about the radio show.” Given by the frustration seeping from her voice, it wasn’t a good thing. “If he’d come back telling me he got me an audition for a new role it would be one thing. But… Another damn photoshoot!?”

Oh. Leo thought he understood. Seina’s dream was to be a voice actress, not a model. She had unmatched beauty that captured people’s hearts at a glance, and it was that which her manager was trying to take advantage of to raise her to fame.

“Will you do it?” he asked calmly.

“I don’t have any other choice,” she sighed. “My popularity was already dropping since I took this break. The radio show was a meager attempt at keeping me relevant, but now that it turned out better than expected, they want to capitalize on it. It’s… It’s to promote the radio show, so I have to do it.”

“Is that what this guy told you?”

“Mm? What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if this is what you really believe. You’re obviously uncomfortable with it.”

“…” Seina bit her lip. She then **** a smile and stood up. “Sorry. I just came in and started complaining about work out of nowhere. Thanks for the juice, Leo. I’ll got take a short nap in my room now.”

“You know where I live if you ever want to talk more,” he said, not planning to stop her.

This time Seina’s smile was genuine. She retired to her bedroom and Leo took her empty glass, walking back to the sink to wash it. He would not press her. If she ever wanted to talk, he’d be there. If she ever wanted help, he would offer it. But he would not press her.

“She won’t open up to you either, huh?” Mrs. Wisler said, coming into the room. “Well, she said more to you than she did to me.”

“How’s she looking?”

“Stress is piling up again. She thinks it’s her career and therefore her own problem to solve. Turns out that girl is surprisingly stubborn.”

“She’d have to be to get into that industry. I’ve read competition is brutal.”

“It is, and as you’ve probably noticed, a lot of them get picked based on looks instead of voice acting talents. They sell them as models and celebrities more than anything else. Seina chose to accept that path in order to become a successful voice actress, but now it’s coming back to bite her.” Mrs. Wisler sighed heavily. “I feel like having a talk with her manager, but it’ll probably get Seina truly mad at me.”

“She has a point, though,” Leo shrugged. “It’s her job and she should be the one to decide how to do things. I do think she shouldn’t overdo it, but it’s not our place to judge. I want to help her in some way, but I also want to respect her decisions. She’s not a child.”

Mrs. Wisler sighed again. “I suppose you are right, dear, but it pains this old lady’s heart to see you all struggle. I fear the many hardships you’ve faced will break you rather than make you stronger… Like they have so many others before you.”

“…” Leo frowned. Mrs. Wisler worked on the Book of Eros alone, didn’t she? She continued the work her father and his friends did, but she went at it on her own. It would’ve been difficult to believe that supernaturally gifted people could ever face hardships that could break them, but after only a few years of piled on stress, Leo could believe it.

No wonder Mrs. Wisler watched over them so closely.

“We’ll be fine, Mrs. Wisler,” he assured her. “We’re already making good progress. Just today I checked the book and the cover turned into a light red color. We were told we would have enough energy when the book got to a deep crimson color.”

“Then perhaps the curse will be lifted eve before the year is out.”

That made Leo flinch. He hadn’t considered that, but after a moment of letting it sink in, he relaxed. Quick progress meant less time to try and convince the girls of accepting a harem relationship, but… it was fine. He wouldn’t risk screwing everything up for a selfish wish.

From a divinely-imposed hard time limit to a self-imposed vague time limit. At least things are looking up in some ways, though Seina seems a little preoccupied to be thinking about relationships right now. Although…

“The summer festival starts the day after tomorrow, doesn’t it?” he asked.

That made Mrs. Wisler smile. “Yes, it does. Planning anything?”

“Yeah. I might not be able to help Seina with her work, but I can at least help her relax.”

Mrs. Wisler nodded. “A fine approach.”

They heard the front door opening and many footsteps coming their way. Were Kaede and Valerie back already? They came into the dining room followed by Reiko.

“Sorry for the intrusion!” she said.

“Oh, welcome, dear,” Mrs. Wisler greeted her with a kind smile.

“Reiko will be staying with us tonight,” Valerie said. “Is that okay?”

“Of course. Though at this point Leonardo is more in charge of this house than I am,” the old lady chuckled. “Now, I’ll be going out to visit some friends, but I’ll be back for dinner like always.”

“Be safe,” Leo told her. They all watched in silence as Mrs. Wisler left the dining room, closing the door behind her. Then he turned to them to ask. “It’s rare to see you three together like this.”

“Well, better start getting used to it,” Valerie told him, sitting down at the table with the others.

Leo went to the fridge and poured three glasses of fresh juice for the girls. They drank in silence, glancing at each other as if waiting for one to start talking. Reiko was the one to finally do it.

“Alright, this is getting awkward. Leo, we spoke about last night and about you-know-what.”

“Oh. Well… And?”

“Kaede has something to ask you.”

“W-What!? ME!?”

“Just do it, girl,” Valerie said, shrugging. “Get it out of the way now so you won’t be losing sleep over it. Taking from experience here.”

“But… Urgh, if I knew I’d be doing this today I would’ve done it in the morning.” Kaede groaned and took a deep breath. Then she locked eyes with Leo. Firm, resolute eyes yet shaking hands holding onto the hem for her skirt. “L-Leo, I… I want to be your girlfriend! Officially!”

It felt like his heart had stopped for a full second. Stunned and slightly confused, Leo looked at Valerie, who had asked the same just that morning, and Reiko who had made her support clear time and time again.

“Yes, I know what I’m asking,” Kaede clarified. “I’m not asking you to pick me over them. I’m okay with you dating them as well. I… I like you too much to keep our relationship as nothing but sex friends.”

Leo had a small, uncomfortable smile on his face. “I’m starting to feel inadequate. Are you girls sure about this? Like… Yeah, this is what I want, but not if I’m making you uneasy.”

“We know,” Kaede nodded. “Which is why I’m not asking this lightly. I’m…” She took another deep breath and said firmly. “Leo, there’s only one thing I’ll ask of you. If we’re going to be in a relationship, I want… I need it to be serious.”

Leo blinked, and her words seemed to take Reiko and Valerie aback as well.

“Mind elaborating?”

Kaede smiled with a hint of sadness. “…Being here, in this island with all of you, has been amazing. But I haven’t forgotten that I’ll eventually have to go back to Sendai.”

“Oh.” Valerie exclaimed.

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot in my time here, like I understand myself better. I’ve been thinking about lots of things, most of which have to do with the future. Leo, I don’t… I don’t want this to just be a summer fling or something.” Kaede bit her lip hard, and her eyes were watering with the threat of tears. “I don’t want to leave you guys.”

The future.

Leo didn’t have anywhere else to go, no place he needed or wanted to return to. In fact, he felt more at home here than anywhere else in the last few years. Reiko lived here, too. The others, though? This was but a break in their normal lives. Seina was taking a break from work (supposedly). Lucia was a wandered, going from place to place. Angela, Valerie and Kaede had their families to return to. They were all here simply to help in lifting the curse that plagued their bloodlines. When this was all over… Then what?

“…Okay,” Leo answered with a confident smile. “Then let’s find a way so that doesn’t happen.”

“You think we can?” Kaede asked, carefully.

“Why not? We have our Gifts, after all, don’t we? So yes, I’m serious, Kaede. About you, about Valerie, about Reiko… We can find a way to make this work, I’m sure.”

“Okay,” Kaede smiled. “That’s the last thing I needed.”

“Gah!” Valerie grunted and scratched her head furiously. “This girl has more guts than I do! I seriously need to step up my game.”

“Let’s leave the serious stuff for later, though.” Reiko laughed. “For today, we had something of a proposal, Leo.”

“Proposal?”

Kaede’s face turned beet red. She turned her head away from his while Valerie went ahead and said it. “We wanted to spend the night with you. The three of us.”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m excited,” Reiko giggled.

“Isn’t it… too sudden?” Leo asked despite himself. He feared his question would make them reconsider because dammit he wanted this!

“We’ve wasted enough time as it is,” Valerie said. “Besides, we need to pay Reiko back because I kind of cut in line for the live show.”

Leo let out a sigh with a resigned smile. He seriously felt like he didn’t deserve these girls, but he was more than willing to put 200% of his being into getting close to.

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