Time passed slowly as Jash traced the same path in his room, awaiting the call for his awakening.
'Ugh. Damn these overprotective plots,' Jash cursed for the umpteenth time as he raced around his room.
Every few seconds he would glance at the wall clock to check the time.
"What's taking them so long?" Jash grumbled in dissatisfaction.
If not for his parents' fiery protectiveness, they wouldn't have spent an hour or so talking with Andrew before setting him free.
Jash didn't know the content of their conversation, even though it was about him.
After teasing Caera, he'd arrived in his room and slept with peace of mind, thinking, 'By the time I wake up, the awakening apparatus would be ready.'
Unfortunately, it'd been three hours since he woke up and had lunch yet there were no signs of such a call.
'The past me lost everything but gained the freedom to do anything, anytime,' Jash thought, comparing that life to his current one.
Although there was freedom in that sort of life, he didn't wish to experience it.
Jash shivered as he realized his train of thought, and couldn't help but mutter, "Comparison is indeed the enemy of fun..."
Not wanting to linger on such negative thoughts, he exited his room to find his parents and directly ask them the reason for the delay.
"Ah. Jash, there you are!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Jash turned around with a smile to face his mother.
'She probably came to take me for the awakening herself, right?' Jash hoped for it to be true.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…"
Before Jash could respond or ask her anything, the pain from his ear being pulled overwhelmed his senses.
"Shtop! Ow! Mom! Ow! It…ow…hurts!" Jash barely begged his mother.
"Hmph! Someone's being cheeky recently~" Sera smiled before turning to face the empty corridor.
"Don't you agree, my dear daughter?" Sera questioned rhetorically.
Hiding in the next corridor, Caera flinched before appearing, knowing it was futile to hide anymore.
"M-mom I-I… I was j-just…" Caera stammered as she couldn't reply.
Sera naturally knew her daughter well enough and didn't pressure her, for today.
"Yeah, yeah, save your excuses. I am taking this brat for his awakening. You wanna come?"
Hearing her mother's question, Caera nodded immediately before freezing as she heard her mother's laughter, making her embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Jash was still in pain, but he gritted his teeth and just endured it.
'Saying anything won't help me at all in my current situation,' thought Jash as he realized his mother's motive.
'So, she really came here to bring me for the awakening process? Couldn't she just send Emma?'
Jash lamented inwardly yet a smile graced his lips, only to be turned into a frown as the pain increased.
In all honesty, he had no idea what Sera was trying to do by hurting him before the awakening.
That just didn't go well with her personality.
'Wait! Could it be that she is trying to delay my awakening until tomorrow?' Jash felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
Maybe he had really caught the crux of the matter, or maybe he hadn't.
'It'll all be clear in a few moments,' Jash believed as he was finally allowed to walk freely behind the mother-daughter duo.
Caressing his ear, Jash accidentally blurted out, "Damn, that hurt."
"Did you say something, my dear?" Sera questioned him less than a second after his blunder.
Noticing the warm smile on her face, Jash wasn't fooled and immediately denied. "No, no. I said nothing. Maybe it was the wind."
"Ho? Maybe." Sera's smile widened in response as she turned to Caera, who secretly snickered at Jash.
Of course, Sera could sense each and every moment of theirs, but she chose to forgive Jash today. Just for today, though.
In a few moments, Jash, Sera, and Caera arrived outside a room where several guards were securing a perimeter.
The guards immediately saluted Sera and stood at attention as Edward stopped his conversation with a guard and approached them.
Bowing slightly, he said, "The teleportation gate is active, my Lady, Young Master, Young Miss."
Sera nodded and took the lead with Caera while Jash started walking behind them to enter the room.
When the doors opened, he could see a teleportation circle etched on the ground.
It was made with runic carvings along with some light blue symbols and hieroglyphs lighting up the round corners.
As its name suggested, it was used to teleport people.
In this case, from the Ramille Estate to the location of the awakening chambers, as they were in a hidden place, away from the mansion to prevent unforeseen accidents.
Jash reached the center of the circle and tried to understand the carvings, but all he saw were weird lines which made him dizzy and forgo any attempts at understanding them.
Sera and Caera supported him as they noticed his lightheaded state while the guards activated the circle.
In the blink of an eye, they were already on the other side.
As Jash was busy wondering how quickly that circle worked and gawking at the new surroundings, he felt Sera suddenly hug him, she whispered, "Everything will go well, so don't worry about anything, okay?"
Jash nodded and hugged her back to ease her worries. 'She really can't stop worrying, even though she was playful just earlier.'
Unlike Caera, he never felt embarrassed with such matters as it always felt loving.
Remembering Caera, she too came and patted his arm before teasing him, "Be strong, Lazy Panda! Or you'll be left in the dust."
Jash smiled and flicked her forehead as he chortled, "You're getting even more stupid, Caera, if you think I care about all that."
Looking at Caera pouting at her brother but not responding brought a smile to Sera's face before her lips parted.
"Alright, alright. That's enough, you two."
The twins immediately straightened up, hearing Sera's stern voice as she led them forward.
Naturally, the two had already arrived here last year for Caera's awakening.
Arriving at the room where the ceremony would take place, Jash saw Carcel waiting outside.
The two exchanged a look and just nodded seriously, without exchanging a word, causing Sera to shake her head.
"It's his awakening, can't you say something positive to him," she mock complained, predicting the results already.
Hearing his wife, Carcel smiled, "He's our son, I believe in his talent. Plus, he is in the know."
"Hmph" Sera just decided to ignore the obvious as she had lost count of how many times she explained everything to Jash this week.
Since everything else was prepared and they were just waiting for Jash, they decided to move in and start.
'My awakening took quite a long time to prepare,' Jash thought as he realized it had been a week since he asked for it.
'Also, didn't they prepare everything last year already?'
While his request was sudden, it shouldn't have been that difficult for his parents to fulfill it, given their resources and power.
If he were to guess, he'd hold the events of last week accountable for the delay along with the check ups by the priest.
Yet it didn't matter now.
'Finally, I can awaken!' Jash couldn't mask the excitement in his eyes as the mere thought of wielding mana thrilled him to no end.