Scumbag Fate System-Chapter 38: Yor Future

The campus buzzed with activity.

But Reinhard was busy staring at Yor and noticing her change.

Not only was she lost in thought, but she looked relaxed enough to swing her hands freely at her side.

It was a nice look, one that made his expression soften.

Reinhard smiled at her. "You’re getting along with everyone better now."

Yor snapped back to reality, clasping her hands in front of her. "That’s because of you."

"I can’t take all the credit," Reinhard said with a warm laugh. "You must have wanted friends all along."

She slowed her pace, voice dropping. "How did you guess?"

"Nobody wants to be alone forever," he said gently.

A small giggle escaped her, it was almost childlike. "True. Sometimes I think I’m dreaming. I never thought I’d enjoy being around people again."

"Wasn’t that your goal?" Reinhard asked, raising an eyebrow. "To control your power so you could safely be with others?"

Yor gazed at the sunset, her face growing distant. "I gave up somewhere along the way. Being alone hurt less than having my hopes crushed again and again."

"That won’t happen anymore," Reinhard said, his voice turning serious. "We’ll find a way to stop that effect, or at least control it enough that you won’t have to worry."

"I don’t know where you get all that confidence," Yor said with a small smile. "But I’m glad for it. It makes me believe things might actually work out."

"They will work out." Reinhard said with absolute certainty in his voice. "We’ll just take things one step at a time, and before you know it, you’ll be able to hold someone’s hand."

"That would be nice," Yor admitted while looking down at her gloved hands.

They walked in comfortable silence for a few moments while passing under trees. It rustled softly in the evening breeze, and Reinhard noticed how Yor’s shoulders were relaxed and how she walked closer to him than she used to.

"You smiled a lot today." He said while bumping her shoulder gently with his.

"I did?" She touched her face to check if it was still happening.

"At least five times during lunch. And you laughed twice."

"I didn’t realize I was keeping track," Yor said while a small smile appeared again.

"I always keep track of your smiles," Reinhard replied while his voice took on a slightly teasing tone. "They’re rare and precious, so naturally I count them like a miser hoards gold."

Yor’s face flushed slightly above her mask. "That’s embarrassing."

"Why? I’m just being honest." He leaned closer before lowering his voice. "You’re beautiful when you smile.

There was a pause, and then his smile grew.

"Even more when you laugh."

"Reinhard." She said while her blush deepened and spread down her neck.

"Yes?" He grinned.

"Stop saying things like that."

"Why should I stop telling the truth?"

"Because it makes me..." She trailed off without finishing the sentence.

"Makes you what?" He prompted gently.

"...Feel things." She didn’t look at him when she said it.

"Good things, I hope."

"Confusing things." Yor corrected, but there was no real complaint in her voice.

Reinhard laughed and fixed her mask that had slipped down. "Being confused is good. It means you’re thinking about what you want instead of just going along with things."

"What if I don’t know what I want?"

"Then take all the time you need. I’ll be right here with you until you figure it out."

Yor stared at him. Something soft showed in her eyes. "You mean that."

"I do."

As they walked, they talked easily. Reinhard asked about her family, and Yor shared memories she hadn’t thought about in years. The summer days at her family’s big house before the bad times came.

Little happy moments she’d almost forgotten.

"My grandma used to put flowers in my hair," Yor said, touching her short dark hair. "I wanted it after I saw the other kids with flowers in theirs."

"I can’t imagine you with flower braids."

"I looked ridiculous." But she was smiling when she said it.

"I bet you looked adorable."

The blush returned. "You don’t know that."

"I can guess. And my guesses are usually right."

"Your confidence is exhausting sometimes."

"But you like it anyway."

Yor didn’t deny it.

They reached the Medical Department building. Yor stopped at the entrance and turned to face him while her hands fidgeted slightly.

"Thank you for walking with me," She said quietly.

"Anytime." Reinhard gestured toward the door. "Want me to wait out here? I don’t mind."

Yor shook her head. "The appointment is private. They have rules about blocking anyone from following inside for certain treatments."

"Are you sure? I can wait."

"I’m sure you have done more than enough. You should get ready for club activities tomorrow." She paused. "But thank you for offering."

Reinhard studied her face for a moment before nodding. "Alright. But if you need anything after, just send a word."

"I will." She hesitated, then stepped closer and quickly squeezed his hand before pulling back. "See you tomorrow."

She disappeared through the doors and turned to head toward his dorm. The evening air was cooling rapidly, and students were fewer now as curfew approached.

System. He thought while walking.

A blue screen appeared in his vision with text scrolling across it.

[Yes, Host? Do you need something?]

Give me an update on Yor future. Will it still lead to that scene I saw before?

[Let me see... Oh? Congratulations host! The future where Yor’s power goes out of control has decreased in probability.]

100% → 40%.

Reinhard froze at this. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

[Because of your intervention! Keep this up, and that future really won’t come true!]

That’s good, but I still need to focus on pushing it down to at least ten percent... I only have three days, right?

Why did that feel like not enough time?

[Yes, but if you keep up what you have been doing, then I’m sure you can do it!]

Reinhard sighed as he stretched his arms, and then the blue screen faded. He continued toward the arena to work on his physical abilities. Right now, most of his stats were still average, and he wanted to push them to their peak before he thought about pushing for the next rank.

He opened up the status screen.

[Reinhard Malvin]

[Gender: Male]

[Rank: Initiate]

[Sigil: Precognition]

[Stats:

Strength: High

Defense: Average

Stamina: Very High

Agility: Average

Magic Reserve: Average

Magic Potency: Average]

Reinhard held his chin; he knew strength, stamina, and magic had increased from fighting the fiends in Noctyne Ruins.

And the other times, he had visited the arena to continue training.

He also recently learned that magic can increase by constantly using their Sigil. It didn’t even need to stay on; all he had to do was use Precognition for a second before then releasing it and turning it on again.

Three days.

Reinhard clenched his fist.

He didn’t have the luxury of going slow anymore.