And so, in addition to giving Anthony books about herbs to read, Clemence also gave him lessons in human emotions. Anthony knew what emotions were, of course. He could even feel them, which Clemence had noticed on several occasions.
It would be more accurate to say that Anthony didn't feel close to other beings, so he didn't feel things like sympathy, empathy, or loss. He didn't share in someone else's joy or sorrow. He didn't get angry on someone else's behalf unless it affected himself.
'Is it something like a superiority complex?'
Since Anthony relatively frequently expressed his displeasure and disregard for the others in the village, and because he was very arrogant in his behavior, Clemence could make a guess about what Anthony was suffering from.
The only problems were that he couldn't blame Anthony for being arrogant, and Clemence didn't know how to bring him back to the ground and make him humble enough to realize that he was a human, just like everybody else.
Compared to other babies, even kids and young adults, Anthony was smart and talented. He absorbed the knowledge Clemence handed him like a sponge. He was only limited by his body, but even that would fade in time as his body grew. Even now, his body was superior to other babies around or above his age.
Clemence knew that part of Anthony's physical growth was related to the Pulse-Raising Potions he drank a couple of times each month, so it wasn't entirely innate talent. But he had come up with the formula for the potion, so he had yet another reason to feel superior to the rest of the populace.
Clemence sighed deeply, just thinking about what a troublesome pupil he had picked up.
Upon seeing Clemence's distraction, Anthony decided to take a break from learning about how 'ordinary' humans did good things for others purely out of goodwill sometimes and bad things purely out of envy other times.
Anthony wasn't an ordinary human, but he still tried to learn and understand what Clemence was preaching since it was knowledge and because it would help him blend in with the rest of the humans when he entered human society.
"How come you don't use magic?"
But it turned out that human emotions weren't a subject he excelled in, so it was boring. Thus, Anthony asked about something he was curious about. Clemence was a skilled medicinal and mundane physician, and he was singlehandedly keeping the village of Riertia healthy.
However, if he could involve magic, either in his treatments or his medicine-making, Clemence's healing skills would soar by leaps and bounds.
Anthony's question came out of nowhere and stunned Clemence, who gave Anthony a wide-eyed look before sighing and turning toward the locked door at the other side of the basement. The middle-aged or older physician seemed to age even further and shrink in his armchair as his eyes glazed over with memories of the past.
Eventually, he picked himself back up.
"Magic… I am not fated to be involved with magic."
It was a vague and empty answer. Anthony would have pressed for further information if Clemence hadn't taught him what to do in situations where humans displayed clear signs of emotional distress. Well, Clemence had taught him what not to do. The part about what to do was still a little cloudy.
"My condolences."
Thankfully, Clemence had provided Anthony with a phrase that would work in most cases where loss was involved. And to Anthony, it seemed like Clemence was in grief. Anthony was curious about what it had to do with what was behind the locked door, but after holding his curiosity back once, he could do it again.
"Thank you."
Clemence was both surprised and not at the same time at Anthony's condolences. He could tell that they weren't sincere, but it was an improvement. Usually, when Anthony wanted to know something, he wouldn't stop asking or reading until he knew it.
When he had first asked about the locked wooden door, it had taken several days of Clemence saying there was nothing of interest behind it to get Anthony to back off. And even now, Clemence could still sense Anthony's desire to know what was on the other side.
A slight smile crept up the corner of Clemence's lips. To think having a pupil so eager to learn and put to practice what he had learned would be enough to brush away the shadows of his past, at least temporarily.
"Are you interested in magic, Anthony?"
Clemence decided to spin away on the topic Anthony had brought up since he wanted to learn more about Anthony and not his physique or whatever.
"Hmph."
Anthony snorted since he wasn't sure what to answer. Magic was no different from breathing to a dragon. Even Anastrus, who went to certain lengths to learn and acquire new magic, used it like it was second nature.
Was the word 'interest' right to describe a way of life?
"You could say that."
But Clemence didn't know about Anthony's past life, so telling him about how foolish it was to ask a dragon whether they were interested in magic wasn't something Anthony would do.
Clemence was a little curious about what Anthony meant by that but not curious enough to ask.
"I see. Um, correct me If I am wrong, but I was under the assumption that the potions we have made and that you have drank were for your body?"
"That's right."
"So, I thought you were aiming to train your physical strength and become like your mother."
"I'm not sure about becoming like Vira. But I am training my body. I need…–"
Anthony wasn't sure what to say since he had decided not to expose too much of his knowledge. Clemence already knew a lot, but maybe telling him everything would be too much.
"Hmm. I'll say that I need to train my body in order to prepare it for mana. If you want the details, you'll have to be ready to give up on trying to guess why I am like I am."
Anthony could tell Clemence that he was training to prepare his body for the mana training method he had in mind. But then, Clemence would probably want to know about where his mana training method came from and all that. Anthony didn't mind answering since he was learning a lot about this era's medicine and human emotions.
But he also knew Clemence wanted to guess why Anthony could walk and talk at six months like a full-grown human.
'Is he being considerate of me?'
Clemence read Anthony's intentions and raised his eyebrows in disbelief.