Scumbag Fate System-Chapter 9: Sneaking

[Minor Fate Captured!]

The notification was still hovering in Reinhard peripheral vision when he pressed the cloth gently against Rika’s back.

He hasn’t read it yet.

He wouldn’t let himself.

His focus was on her. A girl that was unaware of the careful architecture of reasons he’d built to justify being here.

He set the cloth aside after wiping and then smoothed her hair back from her face with two fingers. He smiles softly as her crimson eyes follow his hands and tremble when he gently pushes her down.

He moved the way you moved when you were trying not to wake someone. Carefully, quietly, and without examining too closely why you were being so careful about it.

"You don’t have to—" Rika’s voice came out muffled against the pillow, an automatic protest from someone already more than halfway to sleep.

"Rest." He pressed her shoulder gently back down. "I’ll find everything."

Rika’s cheeks flushed pink, but she was too tired to argue. "You’re too nice..."

"But of course." Reinhard tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Now sleep."

He gathered the scattered books first and then the papers. Then her clothing, folded and set aside neatly. He dressed himself quietly after, moving without hurry.

Reinhard then moved to pull the blanket up over her shoulders.

Smoothed it carefully before leaning down and pressing a kiss against the top of her

"See you tomorrow, Rika."

She made a small sound, unconsciously smiling in her sleep.

Reinhard moved towards the windows, unlocked it and opened it up. He peered through it to look if there was anyone outside or nearing the corner. After spotting no one, he glanced down to see the drop to the ground far below was about fifteen feet, possibly more.

He’d survived worse but that wasn’t the problem.

The patrol rotation Rika told him about was the issue. There were three guards with irregular intervals, which meant either random or meant to be unpredictable. In his experience, irregular patrols at an academy meant frequents sneaking in and out that got caught.

That’s fine. He rolled his shoulders once, loosening the familiar cold focus sliding into place. Unknown protocols are just patterns you haven’t found yet.

He glanced once more at Rika’s sleeping form.

Don’t wake up.

Then he climbed out before dropping down towards the ground.

He landed perfectly, his memories from his previous life were more than enough to push this body to execute the right maneuvers. His knees absorbed the impact before his body curled up and he began rolling forward into a ball, moving over the grass.

Then he pushed up and his head swiveled quickly, scanning the area to see if anyone had showed up or was coming.

No lights or voices.

He exhaled through his teeth and pressed himself against the dormitory wall.

All right.

Normally sneaking out like this would have been extremely hard but he had one critical advantage.

He had absolutely zero magic.

The patrolling guards can most likely sense magical signatures. Based on Rika words, they should be able to feel the spike in one magic and their resonance. It takes a lot of training to fully mask this signature, not something a first year would be able to do.

All he needed to do was stay quiet and watch his steps.

As a spy he learned to muffle his steps, constantly be alert of his surroundings and remember every shadow around. Any mistake would have been a bullet through his head without any questions asked.

Every available shadow cast by things like buildings and trees was being abused.

He slipped behind multiple bushes as he heard voices suddenly approaching from his left side. After a couple seconds, he saw two academy guards chatting casually. He held still while controlling his breathing as the two guards reached where he was.

"Did you hear about the-"

"Don’t remind me. I can already see trouble-"

They were close enough now that he could see the glow of one of their crystal communication devices. Close enough that if either of them turned their head at the wrong angle-

Don’t turn.

They walked past but then one of the guards stopped. Reinhard held his breath while looking down.

The cover should still be enough.

The guard stretched his arms before glancing around. His partner said something quiet and amused before waving him forward, leading to the first guard to chuckle.

Then they kept walking.

Reinhard waited until the voices were far enough until he couldn’t hear them. And then he moved around the corner they came from. Soon he saw a drainage pipe running along the building and he began using it as a cover for the next twenty feet.

Don’t rush.He moved along it before pausing as he heard footsteps and then quickly moving under it.

He saw three patrol professors walking together, all of them were silent. He didn’t recognize any of them, making him think they were assistant teachers or ones from a higher year.

He gave them forty-five seconds. Then he was out from under the pipe, around the corner, between a row of ornamental trees so dense they formed their own private corridor.

His pulse was completely even.

The notification was still there. The blue box was still patiently waiting in his peripheral vision.

Later, he told it and meant it.

Reinhard pressed himself into the gap between two outbuildings, used the angle of shadow it created, and moved through it without breaking stride. He kept using his surroundings more and more to bypass the patrol squad without any of them noticing.

It didn’t matter what it was, he could still use it because he had done it before.

Reinhard used the wooden bench as a cover, hiding under it. And then he walked around the fountain to escape the sight of the next guard group.

The blue screen followed him persistently through it all. Fortunately, it stayed quiet and wasn’t bothering him. But after clearing most of the patrol sections and reaching relative safety in the outer grounds.

He decided to finally address the elephant in the room.

"Alright, I’m curious. System, what exactly does that specific notification mean?" And then he saw the text change into some new instantly.

[Host!]

Reinhard’s lips twitched at its excitement before he then saw more words appearing on the screen. When he read those words, he paused before blinking and then rubbing his eyes as if he read wrong.

What the hell?