I was curious about the Awakening Pill’s effects.
There were quite a few types of Awakening Pills.
Each one had a different effect.
If Dad had prepared one for me, it had to be a special Awakening Pill.
I wanted the night to come faster.
But before any of that, I had something else to take care of.
Seris.
She usually came by at her usual time in the evening.
I hadn’t told her anything about us leaving.
If we were moving out tomorrow, then I needed to speak to her today.
At the very least, I owed her that.
With that thought, I slipped out of the shadows and returned to my room.
A few minutes later, Selene burst into the room like she always did, full of energy.
She had gotten more talkative and expressive over the last couple of years.
Maybe it was the people around her, or maybe she had just grown out of her shell naturally. Either way, it was a welcome change.
She hopped onto my bed without asking and started talking about her day—something about a girl in her class giving out candy, and a drawing competition where she’d drawn a rainbow fox with six tails.
I listened, nodding, letting her chatter run in the background while my mind worked.
Mom and Elira—Seris’ mom—walked in a few minutes later.
Elira handed Selene a small toy Casio keyboard, and Selene squealed with joy.
"Look! I’ve been learning this song," she said, sitting cross-legged and placing the keyboard on her lap. "Mom said I’m getting better."
She began pressing the tiny keys, playing a slow, broken melody.
Her small fingers fumbled through the notes, missing some, playing others too fast, but there was effort in every sound.
She was playing the lullaby Seris’ mother sang to us whenever they stayed overnight.
And then it hit me.
’That song...’
I finally recalled who I had heard from it during my past life.
[Golden Conductor.]
I stared at Seris, my thoughts freezing for a moment.
My ears were ringing, not from the off-beat tune but from the memories clawing their way back.
Golden Conductor was summoned to Wageah around the same time as me.
But unlike the others, she didn’t care about returning to Earth.
She claimed her parents had been summoned to Wageah years ago.
She was searching for them.
Everyone laughed at her.
They said she was delusional. That maybe her parents had been killed by an Anomaly or were just missing.
But she refused to believe that.
She held onto her belief stubbornly, no matter how much people mocked her.
Despite that, or maybe because of it, she rose.
She became one of the strongest supernaturals Earth had ever produced.
And I...
I followed the Saintess’ orders and did the unthinkable.
The Saintess had already located her parents long ago.
They had been summoned to Wageah.
But instead of reuniting them, she kept them hidden just so she could use the Golden Conductor as a pawn.
And when the time came... she ordered me to kill them.
I followed through her plan, and put the blame on the Empire.
The Golden Conductor was told that her parents died fighting a war they didn’t belong in. That all of it was the Empire’s fault.
A heavy, hollow feeling grew in my chest.
Seris.
The girl in front of me had bright eyes and a gentle smile.
But the Seris from my past life was different.
She had cried herself hoarse back then, clutching a burned photo of her parents while people whispered behind her back.
I remembered the image of her walking through war-torn cities, offering rewards and promises to anyone who could help find her parents.
Her disheveled state and broken self were completely different from the Seris in front of me.
Everything made sense now.
’This is why I never saw Seris’ father in this life.’
I had only ever heard about him in passing. But never met the man.
He had been summoned to Wageah through a random summoning already.
And if things followed the same course as my previous life...
Seris’ mother—Elira—would be summoned to Wageah.
I didn’t know when it would happen, and that made things worse.
It could happen tomorrow. Next week.
Or even tonight.
It explained why Seris’ family hadn’t been there at my parents’ funeral in the last life. Why the CEO position at Vonn Gold Dealers had passed on to someone else entirely.
’Dammit.’
The whole summoning system was twisted.
It tore people from their lives, their homes, their families. Sometimes for power. Sometimes for war.
And most of the time, it left nothing behind but grief.
It would’ve been easier to accept if they only summoned people who wanted to go. There was no shortage of people like that.
But the Allied Kingdoms didn’t care about our thoughts.
My hands clenched into fists.
’Bastards. If you want to fight your wars and conquer the Uncharted Lands, use your own damn people.’
’Stop dragging innocents into this mess.’
And at the very least, treat them like people when they arrive.
I was still lost in those thoughts when Seris poked my nose.
"What’s wrong?"
"Nothing," I said with a small smile, hiding my thoughts easily. "That was a good song."
Seris beamed.
Her eyes lit up, and she looked pleased with herself.
"It’s the song mom sings when she puts me to sleep," she said. "You should’ve heard it when she sings it you us at night!"
I nodded, but my eyes drifted toward the amber pendant hanging from her neck.
I had given it to her years ago. I had done it without much thoughts, since I wanted to scam her out of her gold toy.
But she’d worn it ever since, and never took it off.
It showed how much she valued our friendship.
My gaze then shifted to Elira.
She was talking with my mother, laughing softly about something.
They looked relaxed, like any two friends would.
’I have to stop her from being summoned,’ I thought.
Seris, and Elira’s life would be destroyed if everything went as it did in my past life.
’Their situation affects me too.’
’Mom would be sad if something happened to Elira.’