"Give me your hand," Reinhard said.
Now that Cassia had calmed down from her crying, he decided to give her the other memory he had, Ranger's cloak.
Even though it was just a dormant memory, and Reinhard already had Pain Eater as his armor, it still hurt his soul to give away something so valuable.
'My selfish being isn't made to do this kind of thing, dammit!'
Still, he didn't really have another option.
Cassia hesitantly raised her hand in his direction. Reinhard took it and transferred the memory.
Her eyes widened in surprise. A moment later, her cheeks flushed red, and she instinctively curled in on herself even more.
Reinhard didn't have night vision anymore, but at this distance he could still clearly see her expression.
'What a quick realization; I didn't even get a chance to peek. ' He thought sarcastically.
The memory activated, and a black cloak formed around Cassia's body. It was long, long enough that if she stood up, it would reach below her knees.
As that happened, Reinhard watched her while thinking about what to do next.
He wanted to properly scout the islet. Even if it was too small to have anything useful, staying out in the open felt safer than hiding in this cramped hole.
But Cassia was the problem. He looked at her and let out a quiet sigh.
"You must be tired, right? Go to sleep; I will keep watch."
Cassia hesitated for a second.
"What about you?" she asked. "Aren't you tired?"
Now that she mentioned it…
Reinhard was indeed a bit tired. In fact, he even contemplated both of them sleeping—
[New attribute acquired.]
[Attribute Name: Vigilant Will.]
"Well," he muttered. "I guess that's been taken care of."
He didn't even need to read the description. The name and timing alone made its purpose obvious.
Cassia, who was able to see his attributes, nodded.
She stayed sitting for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then she slowly lay down beside the wall, turning so she was facing Reinhard.
"You'll be here, right?" she asked quietly.
Reinhard knew what she was getting at, but his flaw didn't allow deception, so he had to say the truth.
"We are on an islet right now; it's night, and there's nothing around. I heard your voice while scouting and came here. I'll just finish checking the area."
For a few seconds, there was no response.
Cassia lay still, the cloak pulled close around her.
"No."
The word came out small, as if she wasn't sure she was allowed to say it.
She pushed herself up just enough to directly face him.
"I mean, just... don't go right now."
'I was going to wait for you to fall asleep anyways.'
'If only she hadn't asked.' He groaned internally.
Cassia's hand moved slightly towards Reinhard. He noticed that.
He sighed and shifted, sitting down closer, his back resting against the cave wall.
Then he placed his hand over hers.
He didn't grip it.
He just made sure she knew his presence was there.
Reinhard had always been good at observing people and seeing things from their perspective.
Blindness was her flaw. That meant she wasn't just trapped in a dangerous place—she was trapped without sight. And right now, the only thing grounding her was a person she barely knew. Someone she had met only once before.
For now, letting her know he was beside her through touch was enough.
------
[New attribute acquired.]
[New attribute acquired.]
[New attribute acquired.]
[New attribute acquired.]
[New attribute acquired.]
[New attribute acquired.]
[New attribute acquired.]
'Not bad, this is a good way to pass time.' Reinhard was still sitting inside the cave. Cassia had fallen asleep barely a minute after their interaction ended. Around ten minutes had passed since then.
'Wait, damn, I can get an attribute that heals injuries, fatigue, hunger, and thirst just by drinking the blood of any living creature? Thats going to be extremely useful... Kind off disgusting though.'
After a short pause, his thoughts continued.
'This aspect ability really is broken. I just need to figure out more ways to use it.'
Then an idea suddenly emerged in his mind. His gaze drifted to the girl lying to his side.
'I can ask her to tell me the attributes of any sleeper we meet, through which i can have more ideas for my aspect ability.'
As ideas began to pour into his mind, Reinhard spent the next half hour trying everything he could think of.
--------------
Cold wind swept across the islet, rustling Reinhard's red hair.
'It's cold,' he thought, then glanced back at the small cave where Cassia was still sleeping.
Without his attribute, he would be tired but not to the point where he'd be forced to sleep. So he swapped it out for one that helped keep his body warm.
After finishing a quick sweep of the entire islet, Reinhard returned to the cave entrance and sat down just outside.
He looked up at the dark sky in silence. The steady sound of waves crashing against the shore was, surprisingly, calming.
-------
Thanks for reading the chapter.
I recently noticed that I actually enjoy writing scenes with deep dives into the emotions of Reinhard or any MC I have on the screen, as well as giving hints about how their mind works. I hope you enjoy them too.
If things go as planned, the next chapter might take a few days to come out; it is for good reason, though. You will find out in the next chapter why.
See you next time :)