Three months That was the doctor the woodcutter had gone out of his way to invite—a renowned physician with exceptional skills.
An even more remarkable Divine Doctor...
They didn't know where to find one, and they wouldn't have been able to afford one anyway.
The only thing they could count on...
was the Young Scholar coming to his senses on his own.
Or honoring their agreement...
and completely banishing the Black Monster from his life and memory three months later.
The woman went to bring the Young Scholar something to eat.
The woodcutter packed his own provisions and set out too.
The Young Scholar opened the door.
A food box sat outside.
He bent down and picked it up.
He didn't hurry back inside.
Instead, he raised his eyes to the sky.
Unlike the dark sky last night, it was now a clear, pristine blue.
Bright and limpid.
It made his heart feel brighter too.
The Young Scholar turned around.
He sat back against the windowsill.
Everything that had happened last night kept replaying in his mind.
He had seen the Black Monster.
He really had seen the Black Monster again.
When he was completely unprepared.
The Black Monster had simply appeared.
Only...
Their meeting had been nothing like the countless times he'd imagined it.
Nothing like it at all.
He'd thought...
The Young Scholar froze.
What had he thought?
He'd called the other one the Black Monster, after all...
They weren't friends.
There was no so-called bond between them.
The last time they'd met, he'd cursed the other one out, hysterical and out of control...
So why had he thought...
that the other one would even acknowledge him when they met again?
It was already good that the other one hadn't cursed him