Ren should've known something was wrong the moment Yumi Arai handed him a book titled "Velvet Chains and Gentleman Scars".
"What… genre is this?" he asked, squinting at the cover art: a shirtless man with abs like carved stone holding a woman by the waist with one hand… and a leash in the other.
Megumi appeared behind him, lips curved into a lazy grin. "Romantic suspense. With a bit of BDSM. I wrote it."
Ren turned the book over.
Author: Megumi Sakamoto
Of course.
"Tonight's book club," Yumi said cheerfully, "is at our house. I made snacks."
"You invited Megumi," he muttered.
"I had to," Yumi said, arms crossed. "She's the author."
"And Sayaka?" he asked.
"Guest reviewer," came the icy reply—from behind him.
Ren jumped. Sayaka Tanaka, in a black cardigan, tight skirt, and with her hair pinned back in a flawless bun, stepped into the living room with a manuscript folder in her hand.
"My notes are… extensive."
Ren gulped.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Event Triggered – "MILF Book Club: Sensual Stories & Suggestive Readings"]
Temptation Level: 78%
Risk of Flirt Overload: HIGH
Bonus Objective: Don't blush. Or do.
What the hell was this system doing????
The living room had been transformed: wine glasses, cushions, soft candlelight, and a stack of erotic novels—half of them with dog-eared pages.
Ren was plopped onto the couch like a sacrificial reader.
Sayaka sat on his right. Yumi on his left. Megumi sprawled out across the recliner, wine in hand.
"Tonight's theme," Yumi announced, "is power play and emotional vulnerability in erotic fiction."
Megumi winked. "Also known as: Let's see how long Ren can survive before combusting."
The reading began.
Ren tried. He really tried.
But hearing Yumi read a passage where a housewife dominates her young lover with a wooden spoon?
Hearing Sayaka correct the grammar of a moaning scene?
Watching Megumi narrate a steamy punishment paragraph while licking wine off her fingers?
He didn't stand a chance.
His brain fried somewhere around the phrase "he whimpered under her gaze, bare and obedient."
"Where was this during actual literature class?" he muttered.
Sayaka cleared her throat. "Don't tempt me to assign it as homework."
[LUST THREAD INTENSIFYING: Sayaka, Yumi, Megumi → Ren]
Megumi: Affection 58 | Lust 75 | Voyeurism 94%
Sayaka: Affection 76 | Lust 77 | Dominance 90%
❤️ Yumi: Affection 96 | Lust 88 | Possessiveness 62%
"Let's take a break," Yumi said, pouring more wine. "Ren looks like he's going to overheat."
"I'm fine," he lied. His voice cracked.
Megumi sauntered over, dropping a notebook in his lap. "Feedback time. Which scene got to you the most?"
"...All of them."
Sayaka smirked. "Be more specific."
"I don't know, the part where the younger guy is tied to the kitchen table and fed whipped cream while begging for release?"
Yumi blinked. "That's not from Megumi's book."
Ren froze.
Everyone turned slowly to Yumi.
She blushed. "That's… my draft."
Megumi whooped with laughter. Sayaka took a long, slow sip of her wine.
"I… I wrote it as a joke!" Yumi insisted.
Megumi grinned. "Baby girl's got a fantasy kink."
"I do not!"
"Oh, you so do."
Ren sat very, very still.
[System Notification: New Kink Unlocked – Yumi Arai: Kitchen Control / Sensory Domme]
Yumi's Sub-Trait Revealed: Secret Author
Hidden Side Quest: "Spice & Surrender – The Domesticated Fantasy Files"
"Ren," Sayaka said calmly, "do you think Yumi's scene was more emotionally resonant than Megumi's?"
Megumi raised a brow. "Be honest."
He looked between the two… and lied like his life depended on it.
"I think they both had… strong emotional nuance."
Sayaka raised an eyebrow. Megumi cackled.
Cowardice: activated.
Later that night, after the books were packed away and the MILFs had retreated to the kitchen, Ren collapsed on the couch.
"I survived."
Megumi appeared behind the couch like a wine-sipping ghost.
"You're lucky," she whispered. "They're just flirting."
"They're going to kill me," Ren muttered.
"No," Megumi said, brushing his cheek. "They're....No, we're going to own you. In chapters."
"Thanks?"
She kissed his temple.
"Next book club, you read my next draft aloud. Out loud. In front of them."
Ren blinked. "What's it called?"
Megumi grinned.
"Lessons in Restraint."
[SYSTEM UPDATE: New Event Thread – "Book Club Chronicles"]
Branching Route Opened: Author MILFs Unlocked
Current Titles: "Velvet Chains," "Spiced Whispers," "Detention Doms," and "After Class Confessions"
Future Side Quest: "Erotica Editing with Megumi (and Yumi?)"
As Ren climbed into bed, his phone pinged.
Sayaka: "Your annotations on Chapter 6 were… very thorough. We should review them. In person."
Yumi: "I bought whipped cream."
Megumi: "Next time, we read fanfiction written about you."
He turned off the phone.
Laid back.
Covered his face with a pillow.
Groaned.
And whispered to himself:
"I really need to stop being so literate."
To Be Continued…