Judge sat inside a dark room, the only source of light was a kerosene lamp that seemed to contain too many mechanical components for a simple lamp. Contrary to the house, the lamp had a proper steampunk aesthetic.
Seraphis sat opposite to him on the small round table, setting the scene as if he had taken up divination as a problem solver and was trying to get answers from her.
She put a wooden mug on the table, the rim was made of some golden metal, but it was not gold, probably brass. Why was it getting more steampunk all of a sudden? He was seriously starting to question the pacing and world building.
"Now! Judge, focus" Seraphis gave him a sharp gaze, one that spelled trouble. "You are a dragon, so naturally you are powerful"
"Yes ma'am," Judge did not know why but he just agreed to whatever she said. But a sudden thought got stuck in his mind, he never knew any language from his world. He could understand Seraphis and Selena because both spoke using translate.
But how could he understand Percival and especially Clara? He never sensed any ether from them. He understood them as though he was talking to them in his mother tongue— Wait... Mother tongue?
What was his mother tongue called? He tried to remember but all he could speak was the foreign language he had everyone use in his new home. He could not even remember the name of his old language.
Judge was starting to panic, he could still vividly remember his old life, and everything people had said to him, but he could not recall the language. He could not recall from when onwards this happened, maybe it happened just after he was reincarnated to this new world.
He still knew two languages used in the current world, one was the dragon language, and the other one, he did not know. But during their encounter, Percival and Clara both spoke that language. On that thought, even Lucifer spoke the same language.
He had no idea what was happening, but he suspected and blamed Clio for everything. It was a sweet feeling, something indescribable.
Blaming Clio was like a dream come true for him, since she always helped him, he needed a reason to blame her other than her dangerously carefree attitude which was too similar to him and his mother.
Turning off his EC, He decided to focus back on the lesson. The slowed Seraphis became normal and continued on with her lesson.
The first part consisted of her just telling him... No, nagging him about how he was a dragon and had access to a vast pool of ether. But when it came to psyche, she just told him that he needed improvements and refused to elaborate further.
Then she explained how her principle was highly complicated since it required extreme precision and a very quick cast time. Explaining in simple terms, her principle was based off the fact that muscles inside a person's body never work at full capacity.
So she not only found a way to overcome it and use 100 percent of her muscles, but she even managed to negate the side effects. Her principle did not stop there, she made the muscles more stronger than before.
Now she could exert the strength that could surpass about twenty five million newtons, but at a cost. "Just to put it into perspective," She was explaining as she watched Judge's jaw hit the floor. "An average person could only produce about thirty to forty newtons, it could go over a thousand if you use ether."
Judge was still dumbstruck, he looked lost. The numbers were astronomical, but Judge was more surprised about some other, more important, factor. And it was a serious question that he knew he was not going to get answers for.
'Who even named the force "Newtons"? At least try to be original' He could not think of anything else.
But Seraphis continued, taking up a stack of books & papers and putting them on the table. It was time to learn her principles, which snapped Judge back to reality.
As he was learning the principles, papers kept piling on the small table. The principle was growing in complexity, and, considering her brain, Judge wondered how a brute such as her could produce such an outstanding craft.
Of course, the principle of nothing was more complex, but it was better explained. The fact that his master's principle needed to be activated and deactivated quickly made the ethercraft more complex than just plainly using the principle.
Seeing Judge daydreaming, Seraphis decided to take it easy and become closer to him through a simple small talk.
"Judge," She said calmly, but the response was rather loud.
"What?!" He jumped from his seat, only to be seated again with an embarrassed face. "Sorry." He apologized, but there was no sincerity.
Seraphis sighed, this was going to be harder than she thought it would be. "Tell me about your siblings." She smiled, but this time, fortunately, it was not creepy.
"Huh! What about them? They just exist... I guess" He replied nonchalantly, he was getting uncomfortable.
"What about your father?"
"Well... I saw him all covered in blood and all but, he has been missing for a few days, so... I haven't seen him."
"He's... Great... Hehe" He let out a light, forced laugh.
"Judge!" Seraphis stood up "I know I am asking questions to a baby but do you not like people?"
Judge was surprised, but quickly got to a crescent moon sitting position. "Well, I like Mom and Dad."
"Well, I have not yet been acquainted with them since I am still a newborn." He lowered his head.
Seraphis went near him and sat down, she patted his pack lightly. When she realized that he was getting more comfortable and calmer, she hugged him tightly. "Judge," She said calmly, but this time, more comforting.
"Be honest with me... Do you not like people? Or do you hate the idea of getting to know new people?"
"No... I... uhh" He lifted his head, staring at the wooden window frame that let the faint evening light in, it was almost nighttime.
He sighed, he was getting an unfamiliar feeling, it was warm and comforting, but at the same time, it was uncomfortable. He felt a lump in his throat, a tight feeling he only felt when he was a kid in his previous life.
He let the comfortable feel wrap around him as he opened his mouth to answer. He needed to get this weight out of his chest, a weight he had been carrying since his previous life.