Reinhard turned his head back around, gazing at the dark sea with a deadpan expression.
Had Cassie not possessed excellent hearing and sonar sight, he would have huffed too.
Annoying. I don't want to deal with allat right now.
The nighttime was as peaceful as always; if it weren't for his attribute, he would have most likely fallen asleep right there.
And now she was here to disturb his relaxed self.
Absolutely blasphemous!
Cassie could easily tell that Reinhard had noticed her, even if he gave no indication other than turning his head towards her and then looking back at the sea.
She walked forward with silent steps and sat down eerily close to him.
Reinhard decided to throw a random question into the air.
"Did you see a vision?"
"N—uhh, yes, I kind of did."
So she doesn't want to talk about it.
Reinhard glanced at her again, but Cassie had already turned her face towards the dark sea. For a while, neither of them said anything. The sound of the waves filled the silence between them, leaving Reinhard to wonder what had made her come here in the first place.
She seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking.
"Do you think we'll be able to return to the real world?"
"Highly likely."
His answer came a few seconds later with no hesitation.
Cassie turned towards him.
"Really?"
"Yes. Even if it isn't possible, I'll find a way."
He paused for a moment before adding,
"And if there isn't a way, I'll keep looking until I find one."
Cassie stayed silent after that, seemingly processing his answer. There was something reassuring about the certainty in his voice, even if Reinhard hadn't actually given her any proof that returning was possible.
After a few moments, she lowered her head slightly.
"I hope so."
Reinhard looked at her for a moment before turning his attention back towards the sea.
So that was what this was about.
The silence returned, but this time it didn't last as long.
"What do you think about Sunny and Neph?"
There was a slight melancholy in her voice.
Reinhard's eyes shifted towards her.
What is she getting at?
He considered the question for a moment. He had never really bothered to form any particularly strong opinion about either of them. They were useful and competent and had so far proven themselves reliable enough in situations where cooperation was necessary.
"They're both competent, and neither of them is necessarily a bad person. Considering our current situation, they're good allies to have."
Cassie didn't respond immediately.
She seemed to be waiting for something else.
"And... do you trust them?"
"No."
The answer came so plainly that Cassie seemed to pause at it.
Reinhard noticed the slight change in her expression and continued before she could misunderstand his answer.
"I trust them to be smart enough to act properly, though."
Cassie tilted her head slightly.
"What do you mean?"
She was expecting something along the lines of him saying that he trusted their abilities or that he believed they would stand together when it was needed.
Instead, his answer came considerably more cynically than that, and what surprised her more was how naturally he said it in front of her.
"Both of them are smart enough to understand that they'll suffer losses if they try to harm me in any way."
He paused.
"Or you."
"Oh."
Cassie was disappointed by that answer; Reinhard knew she would be. It had also confirmed a dreadful idea of hers.
She took a slow breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out.
"I... saw some other visions."
Her voice had become noticeably quieter, almost as if she were afraid of what she was about to say.
"There are some things I didn't tell you about."
Reinhard was silent.
For a moment, several possibilities crossed his mind. Considering the way Cassie had approached him in the middle of the night and the expression she had been wearing, however, one possibility seemed considerably more likely than the others.
They're about me.
"Did you see something bad happening to me?"
Cassie didn't answer, but he understood.
"Death?"
Cassie's hands tightened faintly at her sides.
She still didn't answer, but Reinhard already had his confirmation.
For a brief moment, the temptation to ask what she had seen was almost overwhelming.
Then, after a moment, he spoke.
"I don't want to know."
Cassie froze.
Before she could properly process his words, Reinhard stood up.
"Rein—"
She hurriedly sat up onto her knees, reaching out and grabbing his hand with hers.
"Why?"
Reinhard looked down at her.
For a moment, he didn't answer.
The sensible thing would have been to ask her.
Fuck, I am definitely going to regret this decision.
But his thoughts about knowing the bad parts of his future had already been clear from the moment he had refused to find out how Cassie knew about his flaw days ago.
No.
He already knew where that line of thought would lead him. If he continued down it, he would eventually convince himself that knowing was worth the risk.
Reinhard knew his own flaws well enough to recognize that, normally, learning something dangerous would only make him want to understand it more. He would study it, prepare for it, and find some way to turn that knowledge into an advantage.
So why was he refusing now?
His gaze fell on Cassie.
It's terrifying.
Not the future itself, nor whatever might happen to him.
He was terrified of losing control.
Helplessness was a feeling he refused to experience ever again. Even if it meant remaining ignorant of what was coming, at least that would leave some semblance of control in his own hands.
A look of contempt slowly formed on Reinhard's face.
Not towards Cassie.
Towards himself.
Pathetic.
The word was directed entirely inward.
For a moment, the self-loathing he had buried after his first nightmare, beneath all the confidence that came with gaining a powerful aspect and becoming stronger, surfaced again with all the force that had been building underneath it.
"Hah."
A short, humorless chuckle escaped him.
Cassie's hands tightened around his. Her expression became confused and slightly frightened, and Reinhard noticed the way she remained completely still, seemingly unsure of what had just happened. He rarely allowed his emotions to show so openly, which made the sudden change difficult for her to understand.
How foolish of me to think I would never feel this way again.
He had thought that part of himself was gone.
Apparently, it had simply been hiding.
The tougher the mask, the more fragile the reality.
Though considering my situation as such really removes the validity from the statement.
***
Some people might flame me for Reinhard's decision here lowkey.
But if you read carefully, there are multiple passages that suggest Reinhard himself considers his own thinking irrational. There are several points where he is actively conflicted over whether he should know the future or leave it alone. The fact that Cassie isn't going anywhere and can always tell him about those visions later also gives him some leeway to decide that he doesn't need to know everything right now.
In a way, I also think it is a rational decision from him. Reinhard is rational enough to recognize that some knowledge can become psychologically destructive. At the same time, the irrational part of him is trying to disguise itself as rationality, which is exactly what makes him hate himself for making the decision in the first place.
Of course, that's just one way of looking at it. I'd actually like to hear your thoughts on this, especially if you disagree with what he—or rather, what I made him do here.
Though this doesn't mean he will refuse to hear stuff unrelated to the unfortunate future related to himself. In the next chapter you will see him asking her about visions, which are similar to what she had told them about related to the castle, ones that purely gave them more information to work with.
That is all Reinhard wants from her visions, just information that could help him make his own decisions, not possibly an uncontrollable future.
See you next time.