Scumbag Fate System-Chapter 21: Sleepy Head

Reinhard walked out of the Disciplinary building into the cool evening air, letting it settle against his face. He saw small groups of students drifting past him toward the cafeteria.

The smell of dinner carried faintly on the breeze, and he realized he was hungry.

A blue screen flashed into existence right in front of him.

[Host! What a marvelous plan! I didn’t expect you to be so devious!]

He stopped walking and raised one eyebrow. "Then how did you expect me to deal with fifteen people at once? My ability to see a few seconds ahead isn’t enough for that many opponents."

[That’s true, but don’t you think you went overboard for this one? Won’t their revenge be even worse next time?]

"They wouldn’t dare. Not after that experience."

[Wait... could it be you went so far just to scare them completely?]

"Of course," he said simply. "Do you think I have time to play around with bullies?"

[Host, I am sorry for underestimating you... I see you truly are the devil... amazing!]

Reinhard’s lips twitched at that, but he let the feeling pass. "Alright, tell me how Yor is doing?"

[She collapsed in—]

"Where is she now."

The blue screen shifted, and a map of the campus filled it, a red dot blinking steadily inside one of the academy gardens. He recalls it was the place where Yor would stay for peace and quiet. Reinhard was already moving before the map had created a route for him to go.

His boots rushed forward, leading other students to leap out of his way as he cut through courtyards and around corners without slowing down. The map led him between buildings and through narrow passages until the garden finally appeared ahead.

It was one of the smaller ones tucked behind the library, quiet and easy to miss. He’d found Yor here once before, during one of his early attempts to talk to her.

He pushed through the gate and stopped.

Blue flowers covered nearly every inch of the ground. Thousands of them spread like a soft carpet across the grass and glowed faintly in the last light of the sun.

In the very center of it all, Yor lay still, her dark hair fanned out around her head and her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling in slow, steady breaths.

He rushed over and dropped to his knees beside her. "How long has she been sleeping"

[Only recently. I think she planned to stay here for a while before leaving.]

"Hmm." He reached out, moving his hand toward her shoulder until his fingers touched her arm.

The world stopped.

Color drained from everything all at once.

The blue flowers are going gray, the sky turning pale, even the wind falling completely still. Something cold swept over Reinhard, starting at his fingertips, and black and white light began flowing up his arm like ink spreading through water. It felt like something he was observing from a slight distance with his own hands feeling unfamiliar.

It was covering his hand and creeping past his elbow, then bleeding into his other arm and down both legs until his limbs looked like they belonged to a photograph.

The light moved steadily toward his chest.

Then a blue screen burst into the space between them, bold words flashing across it.

[Scram! No one can dominate the host when I’m here!]

The sound of breaking glass tore through the frozen silence.

The black and white light shattered apart, falling away from his body in pieces like fragments of a broken mirror. Color rushed back into the world, the flowers bloomed blue again, the wind picked up, and time began moving as it should.

Reinhard blinked and looked at his hands, which looked perfectly normal. "Did something just happen? I felt-"

[Yor’s powers tried to influence you. But don’t worry, host! I took care of it!]

"Good work." He carefully slid one arm beneath her shoulders and the other under her knees, then lifted her from the ground and stood.

She was lighter than he’d expected.

"When did she get here?" he asked.

[Two hours ago.]

He went still, staring at the screen. "Two hours? But why? She never stays anywhere longer than thirty minutes." He looked down at her sleeping face, and something quiet moved through his thoughts. "Wait. Could it be that she was waiting for me?"

[Correct!]

His eyes narrowed slightly as the idea settled in. "Tell me what she was doing while she waited. Was she looking around? Did she seem frustrated or surprised?"

The system described it for him. How Yor had sat on the bench, how she’d checked her watch over and over, how her eyes had kept drifting to the garden entrance and then back to the empty path.

Reinhard’s expression shifted, just barely. He looked down at the girl in his arms and said quietly, "Huh. I didn’t expect you to get used to my presence so fast. I thought it would take another week or two."

A small smile crossed his face before he could think to stop it.

"Does she need medical help, or is this just exhaustion?"

[No injuries. Just exhaustion and rest.]

"So it really did work, good."

He nodded and carried her to one of the garden benches, sitting down carefully and adjusting his position before lowering her head gently onto his lap. Her dark hair spilled across his legs, and her face looked peaceful.

It was completely different from the usual blank and closed-off expression she had.

He sat with her weight across his lap and the garden settling around them. Then he let the strangeness of the last thirty seconds finish passing through him before he thought about anything practical.

Then he thought about what he should do next.

He thought about taking her back to his room but quickly threw it away. She obviously didn’t want people knowing about the collapses, waking up there would raise too many questions, and she would never trust anything he says once she saw where she was.

The Medical Department was just as bad, as there were too many witnesses, such as professors wanting answers and students who would spin it into something ugly.

It seemed the garden might be the best place for now.

[Host, you really didn’t expect her to wait for you?] 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Of course, not. I was only expecting her to pass out from me, always interrupting her rest time."

[I’m surprised she didn’t stay in her room to avoid you.]

"It’s because I didn’t stalk, hound, or overstay my welcome." A faint smile appeared. "It was enough to the point she became subconsciously curious about if I would continue and what else I would do."

[So, you’re saying she didn’t realize it herself?]

"Most don’t unless they really pay attention."

[Amazing! But will this method really get you close?]

"Of course, since this opened up the chance for conversation and goodwill for taking care of her."

[I see, well, Host, I will leave it up to you!]

Reinhard nodded as he continued to stare at the sleeping Yor.

"Well," he said softly, almost to himself. "Let’s hope you wake up fast."

He reached down and touched her hair, just tentatively at first, then let his fingers move through it in a slow, careful rhythm. The strands were soft and smooth against his hand, and he combed through them again and again.

The sun sank below the horizon while he sat there. The shadows grew long and cool as the blue flowers seemed to glow a little brighter in the gathering dark. The moon rose, and the stars appeared one by one until the whole sky was filled with them, and the night settled quietly around them.

An hour slipped by without him quite noticing.

Yor stirred, her head shifting slightly. Her brows drew together as her breathing changed from deep and slow to something lighter and quicker.

Then her eyes opened, it was dark and unfocused at first, staring straight up at the night sky. And she blinked several times as her gaze sharpened and the world came back to her.

Then she noticed something was wrong.

Her body went completely rigid, and she sat up too fast and had to steady herself against the spinning in her head. She turned and found Reinhard sitting there, his hand still raised from where it had been resting in her hair, watching her with an easy expression.

He smiled. "Nice to see you awake, sleepyhead."

Yor’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. She trembled slightly, her hands gripping her skirt as she stared at him.

"You..." She whispered.

"It’s me," Reinhard said, his smile growing.