Side Effects.

Leonardo gently laid the sleeping Seina on the his futon, hoping this wasn’t like what had happened to him, Angela and Lucia, and she’d be up and well in the morning. He cleaned her up and went to the bathroom to wash himself. But right as he was coming out, his vision blurred for a moment and he felt like he was about to lose his balance. He felt like his heart violently skipped a single beat that almost left him out of breath. He managed to support himself on the wall, and the sensation slowly faded away, but nevertheless, it left Leo worried.

“What was that?” he asked himself, shaking his head. He went back into his room and, for the third time that night, saw the glow of the Book of Eros coming from his backpack. He went to get it, and the first thing that triggered an alarm was that the white cover of the book was now an extremely light shade of pink. Leo had to rub his eyes again, thinking that he was still dizzy and was seeing things, but no, the book cover really was of a slight pink color now. A single page inside the Book glowed, and Leo had an idea what it was about.

‘Heyo, Leo-kun! Feeling alright? I bet you aren’t, right? That’s why I’m writing, to give you a bit of a warning. It seems you’re accumulating too many Gifts in too little time, and that’s affecting your body. You just got two a moment ago, plus other ones just this week, right? See, this is how it works. You have sex, and that energy flows from you to the Book to empower it. The grimore then sends back to you some of the sexual energy as fuel to activate the Gifts. Problem is, all the Gifts you’ve collected are making it so that too much sexual energy is flowing into you, and your body is not used to it yet. The side effects are light now, and you should be fine if you give it some time, so don’t worry about it too much. But yeah, try not to get any more Gifts just yet, or you’ll be puking blood! Probably! Just figured I’d warn you before you pass out while crossing the street! I don’t want you dying on me or anything! Watching you has been fun! Take care, Leo-kun! Bye bye!’

Again, Aizen-Myo just said her piece and erased any trace that she’d ever left a message. At least she explained this weird condition before it turned into something more dangerous. Did it really not count as meddling? He supposed she hadn’t given him any solution, just told him what was happening. But she hadn’t addressed the change of color on the Book’s cover. He wished he could ask, and as he did, he had an idea and he grabbed a pencil to write something on the book.

‘Hello. Thank you for the information. I’m very grateful for your support. Do you happen to know why the book is changing colors?’

He waited, and only a few seconds later, he received his answer.

‘Oh, that just means that the Book is properly gathering energy. Enough to be visible now. I’d say the ritual will be ready when the Book reaches a deep crimson colored cover. Maybe. I didn’t make the thing.’

Leo blinked. He didn’t actually think trying to reach the goddess this way would actually work. He had to admit, it was creepy as all hell, but… useful to know.

‘Thank you for the clarification. Is it okay if I try to contact you through this book some other time?’

His hand shook as he wrote that, leading to a somewhat messy handwriting. Aizen-Myo’s still wasn’t any better.

‘You know what? Sure. Just don’t **** it. Like I said before, I won’t intervene. But if there’s something supernatural you don’t understand and the old lady can’t answer, you can try asking me then. But if you ask too many things I’ll ignore you! No one likes a clingy boy, you know!’

‘Thank you. Should I pray to you or something?’

‘On New Year’s, yeah! And during festivals! Barely anyone prays to me these days! I knew you were a cool kid! I’m rooting for you even more now! Okay, for real this time! Bye bye!’

Well, that made her happy, it seemed. And yes, he shouldn’t **** her help, or they could risk the other god, Ragaraja, trying something more drastic. Still, knowing this was an option was exceptionally helpful.

He checked the Book again, looking for the two new Gifts he’d gotten. The first one he already knew, but it didn’t hurt to confirm it. It was the Kissing variant of the Gift of Touch. That would be fun to play around with. He already enjoyed making out with Angela and Reiko, and yeah, kissing Seina had been amazing as well. If it felt even better for them, then he’d like it more, too.

The second Gift was yet another of the hidden ones: The Gift of Charm. It was, predictably, a far weaker version of Seina’s Gift, received from making her orgasm twice within ten minutes. It said it would make his presence more appealing to people. They’d find him more attractive, despite his physical appearance barely changing. Add to that, they’d be more open to his ideas and suggestions due to it. If that was the case, it explained why he and so many other people were so damn attracted to Seina, and truthfully, he was a little scared of the Gift. People would see him differently, and he didn’t know if that was a good thing.

He had work at the fishery early tomorrow. He hoped the side effects of the Gifts were less prominent by then, and that the Gift of Charm didn’t make things awkward for him and those around him. Though he supposed the girls would like it…

Author's Note: More chapters available at my Patreon. Consider supporting me if you enjoy the stories.