'Ooh, this is nice.'
Anthony had been a little skeptical when Clemence first applied the yellow paste to demonstrate to Thomas and Vira how to do it. He wasn't sure it would work, and even if it worked, he was a little worried that he would lose his hearing, that the paste would take away not just the curse but the superhearing as well.
Of course, if he couldn't learn to control his hearing, it would be nice to lose it since that was better than constant, overwhelming, ear-splitting noise. But Anthony's progress in the soundproof room had made him confident that he would at least learn how to suppress or filter the sounds his ears picked up.
Well, after successfully isolating his heartbeat that one time, Anthony hadn't had much success afterward. But it was still proof he could control and conquer his curse. It would just take time and effort, both of which Anthony felt like he had an abundance of at the moment.
It would be a shame if the medicinal paste took that chance away from him. It was unlikely. But considering Anthony didn't know what the medicinal paste was, what effects it would have, or how his physique would react to it, he would have preferred not to take any chances. Unfortunately, since he was just a baby, he didn't have that leisure. He suffered at the whims of his birthgivers.
Fortunately, Anthony could sense that it just dulled his hearing temporarily. It was a local sedative that affected his ear canals so that the sounds he picked up didn't surge into his brain. Getting a little relief from the avalanches of noise was pleasant.
But Anthony had no plans of relying on the paste any more than necessary. The sooner he got his hearing under control, the better. But in the meantime, the paste would let him sleep and train.
And so, time passed as Anthony ate, slept, and trained. Since he was a dragon in his past life, he didn't think much of time passing, and his worries that he would be stuck as a baby and reliant on Thomas and Vira slowly faded once he realized babies didn't have to do anything.
Unlike the rest of humans, babies could just do what they wanted. Within reason, of course. It was just that most babies didn't have that much to do, especially newborns.
Anthony was the exception.
He noticed his parents brought him around now and then to meet neighbors and other villagers other than Clemence. But the visits were short and rare since Thomas and Vira didn't accidentally want to cause their poor little baby stress. Anthony's behavior and the suffering from his physique had given his parents the perfect excuse to keep him to themselves under the guise of protecting him.
The only worry they had was the fact that Clemence still hadn't found an explanation for what had caused Anthony's troubles.
The things that would display the same symptoms as what Anthony had shown, weren't it. If they were, Anthony wouldn't have been alive and well. He also missed other symptoms that could give a partial explanation, at least.
Clemence had lost even more of his hair in the process of searching. While it wasn't impossible, he had trouble understanding how not even the Imperial Academy's library had any information about what was going on. He had even gotten a few questions and requests from other doctors to come and take a look. He had put them off on behalf of Thomas and Vira.
While they wanted to know what was going on with him, they didn't want Anthony to become a study object or a lab rat.
Besides, Anthony was looking better. He was growing steadily, had a healthy tone, and was generally lively. Things might have been different if he was in constant pain or actually ill. But since he wasn't or didn't appear to be, Thomas and Vira trusted Clemence's judgment and took a passive approach while Clemence searched for explanations.
It was mostly fruitless, but one beautiful late summer morning, Clemence stumbled upon something in a book about abnormalities in newborns.
The book didn't mention Anthony's symptoms or anything concrete, which was why it had taken the library so long to deliver it and for him to read it. But it was something. After reading through what little information it contained, Clemence headed over to the Liyer house.
Upon seeing Clemence with a slightly excited, albeit haggard, expression from having stayed up one too many nights, Thomas invited him into the kitchen.
"I don't want to get your hopes up, especially since I haven't found anything specific. But I might have an explanation."
"Well…?"
Vira looked at Clemence impatiently while Thomas prepared some simple snacks.
At the sight of food and water, Clemence realized he might have missed out on more than just enough sleep lately. But after taking a sip, he explained.
"As far as I can tell, little Anthony might have a special physique."
'"A special physique?"'
Both Thomas and Vira looked at Clemence with raised eyebrows as they questioned his conclusion.
"Yeah. A special physique is like a mostly unique variation in the body—"
"We know what a physique is. So, you're saying our baby has one, and that's why he's suffered like that? Do you know what it is or if there's anything we can do?"
Clemence regretfully shook his head.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what his physique could be. But I would say it's too early to tell. Some physiques don't finish developing until the possessor is an adult. If we are lucky, what Anthony has been through so far is merely growth pains. Severe? Yes. Temporary? Also yes."
While Clemence sounded hopeful, Thomas and Vira had grave expressions.
"And if we're not lucky? What then?"
Clemence looked at Thomas and then at Vira before turning his gaze toward the room with a heavy, soundproofing door behind which Anthony was.
"..."
"Clemence."
Since Clemence stayed quiet for a little too long, Vira urged him to speak.
"If we are not lucky, little Anthony's vacancy and sensitive hearing is just the beginning."