The Hearing Returns

Unknowingly, Anthony's words had sparked a fire in Clemence. Clemence wanted to earn Anthony's trust. If a patient couldn't trust their doctor, then who could they trust? Of course, their relationship had grown far more complex than a simple patient-doctor relationship. They were teacher and student, as well as confidantes.

Well, they didn't tell each other everything, such as what was behind the door. But whenever either of the two had something on their minds, Anthony and Clemence could talk to the other about it.

But talking wasn't all they did.

Anthony kept drinking the Pulse-Raising Potions that Clemence made with his help. He exercised his body and practiced his Natural Breathing like he was addicted. 

Anthony also spent time with Thomas and Vira since Clemence urged him to make an effort to understand what it was like to grow up as a human. His years as a baby were apparently an incredible opportunity to experience the life of a human from the beginning personally. His experience was already a little skewed to him being a Dragon King and all that, but it was still an invaluable first-hand perspective.

Clemence started looking for trustworthy magic teachers of satisfactory quality to teach and reteach what Anthony needed to know to enter the Vidundra Imperial Academy as soon as he came of age.

At the rate Anthony was regaining the information stored in his soul, he could already be a decent mage at twelve years old. But there would be more to entering the continent's most prestigious academy than just being decent, at least if he wanted to enter the advanced course or gain access to the Library, which was his main goal in going to the Academy.

If he couldn't enter the advanced course, Anthony could always enter the general course, as Clemence had done. But, while still excellent, the layout of the general course was stricter and more focused on classroom teaching. The general course students also didn't have the same access to the library.

The magic at the general course was also barely more than lifestyle magic. Anthony craved more than that.

Besides, Anthony wouldn't let himself be beaten by a bunch of lesser beings like other humans, especially not young ones.

Clemence understood that Anthony's superiority complex wasn't necessarily a good thing, but here, it became a great motivator for Anthony to work hard consistently, even for short-term goals.

Clemence wasn't sure what to think about a goal eleven years away as short-term, but to Anthony, it was, at least in theory.

So, Anthony worked hard in strengthening his body and preparing it for mana while also trying to soften his soul and free his knowledge.

However, everything didn't go smoothly.

His soul was as sturdy as one could expect of a Dragon King's soul. Trying to unfold it was proving a serious challenge when Anthony didn't have any strength to leverage.

Clemence didn't know a lot of teachers or people with teaching capabilities, and he was close enough to ask a favor from even fewer. And those he did ask were reluctant to accept the terms when they were secrecy, details about the student would be revealed upon accepting, and the standard should be enough to get into the advanced course of the Imperial Academy at a minimum. It was too suspicious.

But Anthony's primary concern wasn't the lack of a teacher. It was the fact that the hearing he thought he had gotten under control and learned to suppress wasn't done with him. His ears hadn't finished developing just yet. And with what Anthony hoped was their final growth spurt came another bout of hyper-sensitive hearing.

Anthony could barely even be in the same house as other humans due to the overwhelming noise they made just by existing. 

Thomas and Vira had trouble dealing with being separated from their young son, but since they could see his suffering, they let Clemence watch over him inside his basement. 

Anthony could still hear Clemence and his clients, which was why he spent the days inside his nursery while Vira and Thomas were outside. And then, at night, Anthony got to sleep in Clemence's basement, surrounded by sound-proofing panels.

Clemence also had a bunch of medicines, such as the Auditory Numbing Paste, that could help Anthony. But there was a limit to what mundane and ordinary medicine could do against a cursed physique that left even Anastrus, the Dragon King of Knowledge, stumped.

Fortunately, the uncontrollable hypersensitive hearing wasn't completely unstoppable. It also wasn't as stubborn as Anthony feared. And while he didn't gain complete control over it, he managed to wrestle it into submission. It still struggled to free itself and let Anthony know about every single sound in his vicinity, and it would probably succeed once he grew some more. But Anthony had no fear. He wasn't worried that the curse would break him.

After all, he had learned to control his hearing quicker the second time, even if it was more unruly.

Anthony's bottomless confidence in himself wasn't for nothing. His talent, whether it be the body's innate talent at handling his senses or what seeped out of his Dragon King's soul, was enough for Anthony to endure the bouts of deafening sounds until his ears obeyed him.

Clemence got temporarily distracted from his search for a suitable teacher, but he quickly resumed it once Anthony's condition stabilized. It was mostly fruitless, but after trying to find an answer to Anthony's ailments, Clemence was used to fruitless searching.

In their free time, Anthony and Clemence also started working on potions and medicine other than the Pulse-Raising Potion to help promote Anthony's growth. But with the limited resources of and around Riertia, there were few things as good as the Pulse-Raising Potion that they could make.

And then, as they and the rest of the village sank into or continued their routine, everyday lives, a year had passed since Anthony's rebirth. It was dull since not a lot had happened, not really, at least as long as one didn't count the circumstances around Anthony's rebirth and the ruckus he had caused with his mysterious behavior.

Anthony found that a year was both long and short while living as a human. Every day had crawled forward like a snail admiring the view. But when it was behind him, Anthony didn't even feel like an entire year had passed. It was strange, a human's perception of time.