Using this to control his volume.
And to keep his voice from sounding quite so hoarse.
"Hey..."
The Young Scholar lowered his head. "If you didn't plan to come out..."
"Then why did you show yourself?"
"Why let me discover you..."
"It would've been easy for you not to let me find you, wouldn't it?"
"Or..."
"Did I guess right just now?"
"You wanted to watch me make a fool of myself..."
"...Really?"
The Young Scholar could hardly believe it.
Could someone—
No.
Could a monster really be bored enough to go that far...
Could it really be that malicious...
Although the Young Scholar had no qualms about assuming the worst of the Black Monster,
he hoped the Black Monster wasn't actually twisted enough to take things that far.
Because...
When it came to the Black Monster, he truly had no control at all.
All he could do was wait.
Or...
Give up.
Those were the only two things he could do.
The Young Scholar rubbed his forehead hard.
Suddenly, he loathed everything before him.
He was tired.
Truly exhausted.
He hadn't been eating or sleeping well lately.
He couldn't focus on his books.
The torment in his heart kept his nerves taut as a bowstring.
He felt as if he were standing on the edge of a sheer cliff.
A bottomless abyss yawned to his left, right, and ahead.
Only the ground behind him was safe.
He could retreat.
But his unwillingness to give up kept him frozen in place.
He had to endure the biting gale rushing up from the abyss.
A moment ago, while chasing after the Black Monster...
he'd nearly thought he was going to pass out.
The Young Scholar staggered.
He sank to the ground.
His back slammed against the rough