Peace And Quiet

Clemence put the octagonal stethoscope to, first, Anthony's chest, then his head, and lastly, his back.

"Hmm."

Clemence's thoughtful hum had Thomas and Vira biting their nails as they looked on nervously, doing their best to remain quiet. Clemence had told them to be quiet, and from that, both of them had realized that Anthony's suffering was related to his hearing.

Naturally, if they couldn't even breathe too loudly, they couldn't talk aloud, which meant they couldn't ask Clemence any questions. However, Vira considered asking anyway when she noticed Anthony didn't react to Clemence inadvertently humming. But she refrained.

It wasn't like knowing how it was going would do anything to improve Anthony's state. It would be better to remain silent and let Clemence do his job.

'Ooh, that's nice.'

Anthony could still hear practically everything going on in the cubical room, including the heartbeats of himself and the other three. But compared to the deafening cacophony outside, it was like taking a nap after a hectic day. The relief felt bone-deep even if it wasn't, and he didn't get rest comparable to proper sleep. But it was a soothing break from the intensity of the outside sounds.

Clemence, on the other hand, wasn't as relaxed as Anthony. While it was a good thing Anthony's expression had eased up and that he had identified part of what caused the poor baby's suffering, he had no idea what actually caused Anthony's hearing to grow so sensitive.

Clemence didn't discover anything wrong with Anthony's ears or any other part of his body. As far as he could tell, Anthony was a perfectly healthy baby, one that shouldn't be suffering from anything except maybe a little hunger.

It was just the same as the first time Thomas and Vira brought Anthony to him. It was just that the symptoms were different.

"Ahem."

Clemence carefully cleared his throat while keeping a close eye on Anthony so he could see the baby's reaction to noise.

Although it wasn't painful, the unexpected burst of soundwaves caused Anthony to flinch. That was all Clemence needed to see, so he led Thomas and Vira outside, closing the door behind them.

Anthony stayed in the soundproof room, free from suffering, while Thomas, Vira, and Clemence could talk without worrying about causing pain to Anthony.

Of course, Anthony's hearing was so sensitive he could still hear the three adult humans talk outside. But all the sounds he picked up were a jumbled mess, so he couldn't make out what they were saying.

However, it was even more of a relief when another three sources of noise left him.

The wooden table, bound with some kind of monster leather, also didn't make as much noise when Anthony's body brushed against it as the mattress in his crib did.

Although it wasn't perfect, the soundproof operating room was a great help for Anthony since he could focus on and embrace the sounds he heard, which were mostly from himself, without them becoming too much.

He was a little worried that Thomas and Vira would cause a ruckus once they saw him become vacant again, so he decided to pretend to sleep, which wasn't difficult. He just had to close his eyes.

If any of the adult humans peeked in on him to check how he was doing, they would assume he was getting some well-needed rest and refrain from disturbing him.

Like so, Anthony could snag some time for himself to try and get his mind used to his hypersensitive hearing. It was a lucky opportunity he wouldn't have gotten if things hadn't lined up correctly.

'Coincidences are nice sometimes.'

Anthony chalked it up to a coincidence before he started concentrating.

As he focused on his ears, the volume of the three adult humans' conversation rose. But Anthony still couldn't make out any words, so he didn't even try. Instead, he tried to focus on simpler sounds once what he heard stopped changing.

It wasn't as deafening as his first attempt, but the sounds were still pushing the limit of what he could endure. Thankfully, Anthony's mind had somewhat recovered and was ready for another round of auditory abuse.

After tuning into all the sounds he could hear and cranking them to the max as much as possible, Anthony started trying to pick them apart.

There weren't that many individual sounds.

Anthony lay as still as he could, but there was still a faint rustling and brushing from his skin grinding against the leather. His hair also grazed the table beneath him and sent soundwaves echoing into his ears. Then, there was his heartbeat, the blood his heart pumped around his body, and his breathing, in addition to the trickle of sounds that escaped inside the room from outside.

All in all, there weren't that many.

But when he tried to filter through them, Anthony felt like he was dealing with an infinite number of sounds.

Anthony couldn't help but grow frustrated. He couldn't understand why it didn't work.

'I guess it isn't a curse for nothing.'

Naturally, a cursed physique wouldn't be known as a cursed physique if merely listening and concentrating a bit would be enough to conquer the curse.

However, Anthony didn't know what else he could do. So, stubborn, as if refusing to accept the fact that there was nothing he couldn't do, he kept trying and focusing on the most distinct sound he heard. His heartbeat.

It was one of the first sounds his hypersensitive hearing had picked up, it was simple, and it was loud. Anthony also used his Natural Breathing to control his breathing, suppressing it while also controlling his heart rate to remain steady.

Anthony went from trying to listen and separating his heartbeat from the rest of the jumbled mess of sounds to feeling and anticipating when it would echo and beat like a drum.

Anthony couldn't be sure whether he really succeeded or if he just imagined being able to hear his heartbeat and nothing but his heartbeat. But he felt like that's what had happened. He had managed to isolate his heartbeat while getting rid of everything else.

'Yes! I am the best! This curse and that robed mage can eat shit and die!'