Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 607: Chapter 607 - Taming the Awakening - 2

The specialists blinked, surprised by the direct dismissal, but upon meeting Luna’s inflexible gaze and the intimidating presence of six Gold-rank guards, they decided it was more prudent not to argue.

”Of course, Lady Luna,” the main specialist murmured as he headed toward the door. ”We’ll be attending to Lord Julius and other patients if you need us.”

”We won’t need you,” Liora responded with a smile.

The door closed with a soft click, leaving the full group of twelve girls alone with Ren for the first time in more than two years.

The silence was heavy, charged with Larissa’s anticipation and nerves, all the emotional weight of lost time pressing down on her. Liora moved naturally to one side of the bed and Mayo pushed Luna to the other, while Larissa remained at the foot. The maids and guards positioned themselves in a protective circle around the room’s perimeter.

Ren looked small in the big bed, younger than his current thirteen years. His hair had grown a bit, falling across his forehead in a way different from what Larissa remembered from when they were together at the academy. The soft red strands caught the light filtering through the room’s tall windows, creating subtle highlights she’d not noticed before.

His hands were relaxed on the white sheets, free from the constant tensions he had developed during recent years of overwhelming responsibilities. The calluses from training were still there, but seemed softer somehow, as if rest had begun to heal even the physical marks of his burdens.

Mako and Shizu had awakened recently, before him since they had received much less damage.

”He looks so...” Mako began softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

”Peaceful,” Shizu completed, her own voice carrying a note of wonder.

It was true. For the first time in years of guarding him, Ren looked completely at peace, free from the worries and pressures that had been shaping his features since he’d begun carrying that enormous weight. The furrow between his brows that had become almost permanent was smooth again. The tension around his eyes had relaxed into something approaching the innocence they remembered from earlier academy days.

The hours that followed were the most tense any of them had experienced in a long time. Each breath Ren took was monitored, every small movement analyzed for signs that he was beginning to emerge from his deep sleep.

Liora found herself nervously playing with her fingers, braiding and unbraiding strands of her hair in a repetitive pattern of anxiety. Luna maintained an external posture of calm, but her eyes never left Ren’s face for more than a few seconds at a time, and the others could see the slight tremor in her hands even if she thought no one was looking.

Larissa simply stood there, memorizing every detail of his appearance as if it were the first time she was seeing him. But there was something she had memorized first, the now familiar curve of his lips that she had thought about more often than she cared to admit.

They watched... the way his chest rose and fell in steady rhythm. The slight flutter of his eyelashes.

Mayo attempted to lighten the tension with occasional comments. ”At least he’s not snoring,” she whispered at one point, earning a few nervous chuckles that died quickly in the charged air... even her usual jokes sounded forced in the expectant atmosphere

The guards maintained their positions with discipline, but even they seemed affected by the emotional intensity filling the room.

It was Kira who named the first change.

”His eyelids,” she murmured, pointing discretely. ”They’re moving.”

All eyes immediately focused on Ren’s face. Indeed, there was a new subtle movement beneath his closed lids, as if he were actively dreaming or struggling to wake up. The movements had a pattern to them, quick darting motions followed by periods of stillness, like someone trying to focus on something just out of reach.

Larissa’s heart began beating so hard she was sure everyone in the room could hear it. The sound seemed to echo in her ears, drowning out everything else. After more than two years, she was finally going to speak with him again.

The movements became more pronounced. His fingers flexed slightly against the sheets, and a small sigh escaped his lips. Luna leaned forward unconsciously, while Liora had to resist the impulse to reach out and take his hand.

”Should I...” María began, but Larissa shook her head.

”Let him wake naturally,” she murmured, though her own voice trembled with anticipation.

Another minute passed in absolute silence. Then another. Ren’s eyelids continued moving, but they wouldn’t open completely. His breathing changed slightly, becoming less deep and regular, the shift from deep sleep to lighter rest that preceded full consciousness.

It was when he murmured something unintelligible that everyone tensed even more.

”What did he say?” Mayo whispered, leaning closer despite herself.

”I couldn’t hear it,” Hikari responded from her position near the door.

Ren moved more restlessly, his head turning slightly to one side as if trying to focus on something in his dreams. His lips moved again, this time with more clarity, and the word that emerged made everyone’s breath catch.

”Sorry...”

The word was barely audible, more breath than sound, but it carried big emotions.

His eyelids fluttered, then slowly opened, blinking against the afternoon light filtering through the windows. For a moment, his gaze was unfocused, still caught between sleep and wakefulness.

His eyes swept the room, pupils dilating as they adjusted to consciousness, then stopped abruptly as he realized he was completely surrounded. Twelve pairs of eyes watched him with varying intensities of concern, curiosity, and something far more complex.

He sat up abruptly, the sheets falling as he tried to process the situation. The medical procedure had left his shirt unbuttoned, and his face visibly flushed as he noticed the concentrated attention. He quickly pulled the fabric closed, his movements clumsy with embarrassment and lingering weakness.

”I... what...?” His voice came out hoarse, broken. He cleared his throat, but the words still wouldn’t form correctly. ”Where...?”

”You’re in the castle,” Matilda explained softly, stepping forward slightly. ”You were recovering from the...”

”Is everyone alright?” Ren interrupted, his gaze jumping nervously between Mako, Shizu, and Larissa, those he somewhat remembered had participated in the battles, with Larissa’s appearance at the end still feeling dreamlike and uncertain. ”After the battle, I... I didn’t know if...”

His thoughts scattered as memories tried to reassemble themselves.

’Wait, was it a dream or was it real?’ The question formed clearly in his mind, bringing with it fragments of corrupted energy, desperate battles, and a soft kiss that felt too perfect to have actually happened.

Had he really done those things at the end? Had he really attacked Julius and Selphira?

”Everyone is fine,” Larissa responded, but there was something tense in her voice that made him look at her more carefully.

Ren immediately noticed the change in her voice, slightly more mature than he remembered, carrying new depths that spoke of experiences and growth that had happened in his absence.

His eyes focused on her for a moment, taking in the subtle changes in her face, the way she held herself with new confidence tempered by vulnerability.

Then his gaze moved to Luna, who immediately looked away, a flush coloring her cheeks. Then to Liora, who smiled at him with a mix of amusement and nervousness that didn’t quite hide the relief in her eyes.

Mako and Shizu simply nodded, their professional masks not quite concealing their own emotional investment in his wellbeing.

But when his gaze finally returned and settled on Larissa, his entire body tensed as if struck by lightning.

”Larissa,” he murmured, and there was so much weight packed into that single word, guilt, longing, fear, hope... that the other girls felt the atmosphere shift instantly.

Larissa had been mentally preparing for this moment for hours, running through possible conversations and responses, but now that it was finally happening, she felt as if all her carefully planned words had evaporated like morning mist.

”I...” she began, then stopped, biting her lower lip.

Ren looked down at his hands, which were trembling slightly. The tremor wasn’t from weakness.

”Larissa, I...” his voice cracked slightly, and he had to swallow hard before continuing. ”I need to ask for your forgiveness. I know I can’t undo what happened, but...”

”No.” Larissa interrupted.