"Congratulations. You have awakened your Skill."
The message blinked on the floating system screen, blue and semi-transparent, hovering just above Yuzuki Ren's hand.
He stared at it blankly.
All around him, cheers and gasps echoed through the classroom as students screamed out their newly awakened abilities.
"Mine's a fireball!"
"I can turn invisible!"
"Oh my god! I got a Summon Beast!"
The Awakening Ceremony—a once-in-a-lifetime event at age 18—was a milestone that changed lives.
Not for Ren.
His heart pounded.
His screen didn't show any flashy visuals. No glowing symbols. No "Rank A" badges.
Just a single line of text.
[Velvet Touch – Lv.1]
"You can manipulate the pleasure of any human being you touch. Cooldown: 60s. Cannot be detected by skill scanners."
Ren's mouth went dry.
What… kind of sick joke was this?
He quickly tapped on the system, trying to close it or hide it. But the screen simply flickered, then vanished on its own. Not a trace left.
No one else had seen it.
"Yuzuki-kun," called their teacher, "you haven't announced your Skill yet."
Ren adjusted his glasses. "It's… just minor enhancement. Nothing special."
The teacher nodded, already distracted by a girl trying to summon a dragon in the corner.
Ren sat back in his seat, heart still thudding in his chest.
That Night
He stared at his palm in the glow of his phone.
Pleasure control? It sounded like something out of a porn parody.
But the system had been clear. Touch anyone—and they'd feel pleasure. He wasn't sure what kind. Physical? Emotional? Sexual?
And why couldn't scanners detect it?
Suddenly, the lights in his room flickered.
A rush of air. A scent like roses and incense. And then—a voice.
"The Velvet Eden has chosen its heir. Do you accept the fruit of sin?"
Ren jumped up, spinning. His room was empty.
The voice was gone.
But the words echoed inside him like a whisper left in his bones.
The Next Day
Ren walked the hallways of Seiren Academy like a ghost.
Not because he was unpopular—he was just quiet. The kind of guy no one noticed unless he spoke. Always top of the class. Always keeping to himself.
Today, though, he couldn't concentrate.
Because his hand—his cursed hand—felt…warm. Tingly. Hungry.
He was going insane, wasn't he?
Then, something happened.
A girl collapsed in front of him.
Blood streamed from her nose. Her eyes wide. Her breath ragged.
"Kanon?" he gasped.
Kanon Shirogane—quiet, soft-voiced nurse's aide and fellow honors student—was lying on the floor, her hands clawing at her chest.
"S-something… inside me," she whispered. "It's too much… it's—it's burning—!"
Other students backed away, murmuring.
"She's cursed!"
"Is it a Skill backlash?"
No one dared touch her.
Except Ren.
He knelt beside her and touched her forehead.
In that instant, his skill activated.
[Velvet Touch Activated]
Kanon's body jerked. Her eyes rolled back. Her mouth parted in a sharp, gasping moan.
And then—
Silence.
Her breathing slowed. The pain vanished from her face. She blinked, dazed, staring up at him as if seeing him for the first time.
"You... saved me," she whispered. Her voice was trembling, but not from fear.
From something else.
From need.
And Ren?
He felt it.
Not just her skin under his fingers.
He felt her desire.
Raw. Terrifying. Pure.
Aftermath
She was taken to the infirmary.
The faculty wrote it off as a stress episode.
But Kanon came to see him after school, standing awkwardly at the back gate.
"I need to talk to you," she said. "About… what you did."
Ren swallowed hard. "I didn't mean to—"
"No. You don't understand." She stepped closer, eyes shining. "You stopped it. No one else could. I've had this curse for years. It builds up and explodes inside me. It's killed people before. But your touch…"
She blushed furiously.
"I need it again."
Ren's breath caught.
"No. I—I'm not—Kanon, this power, it's dangerous. I shouldn't have used it."
Her hands trembled as she grabbed his arm.
"I don't care. I was dying, Ren. You made the pain go away. I don't care if it's shameful. I'd rather moan like a whore in front of everyone than die again."
The way she said it—like a desperate prayer—unraveled something inside him.
And then, a third presence made itself known.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
A slow, echoing applause.
He turned—and froze.
At the far end of the street, leaning casually against a black car, stood Akiho Tsukimura, the Student Council President.
Elegant. Tall. Her long dark hair swayed like silk in the wind. Her red eyes sparkled like embers.
She smiled like a cat who had found her favorite mouse.
"You're quite the actor, Yuzuki-kun," she said, voice smooth as velvet. "But you used your skill in public. That's breaking Article 7 of the Academy Regulation Code."
Ren narrowed his eyes. "You saw that?"
"Oh, darling." She walked toward him, heels clicking. "I felt it."
He took a step back.
"You have no idea what you've touched," she whispered. "You've awakened something older than sin."
Then she leaned in and kissed Kanon on the cheek.
The girl gasped—and orgasmed right there, in front of him. Silent, shuddering, clenching her thighs.
Ren recoiled.
Akiho smiled.
"My Skill is called Lust Mirror. I reflect what others desire most. But you… you don't reflect desire."
"You are desire."
Final Line of the Chapter:
A new system screen appeared in Ren's mind.
[Velvet Eden has awakened. New Mission: Seduce or Destroy the Nine Maidens of Sin.]
"Welcome, Apostle of Pleasure. The world is your climax."