The Smiling Death-Chapter 341: He got closer to her

The path back to the village was quiet.

Dry leaves crunched faintly beneath their boots as Amon and Scarlett walked side by side.

Neither of them spoke. There was silence between them.

Amon’s face, however, was unusually bright. The exhaustion from training had not erased the grin that kept tugging at his lips. His steps were light, almost careless.

Every few seconds, he replayed the image in his mind. Scarlett forming that perfect crimson sword... and the faint blush that followed his compliment. Then how close they were.

He couldn’t stop smiling.

Scarlett walked beside him in silence. From time to time, her amethyst eyes shifted toward him. The blush was gone now. Her expression was calm as always. But there was something else beneath it.

Suspicion.

Confusion.

Why is he smiling like that?

She looked forward again. She should have beaten him for being a pervert. But somehow she ended up blushing.

And now he wasn’t even trying to hide it. His happiness was obvious. Almost irritatingly obvious.

"...Shameless bastard," she muttered under her breath.

"Hm? Did you say something?" Amon turned his head slightly.

"Nothing."

They continued walking.

As the outline of the village came into view, Amon finally noticed two familiar figures approaching from the opposite direction.

One was tall and broad-shouldered, carrying himself with the relaxed confidence of a seasoned warrior. A sword rested at his waist.

The other was younger, with beast-like ears protruding from his hair and a tail swaying lightly behind him.

"Uncle Roland! Ethan!" Amon called out cheerfully, raising a hand.

The middle-aged man Roland, who was talking to Ethan, looked up and smiled. "Oh? Amon."

Scarlett stopped a few steps behind Amon. She gave Roland a respectful nod. "Roland."

Roland nodded back politely. "Scarlett."

Ethan offered a small wave toward Amon, his tail flicking once in greeting.

Scarlett did not linger. "I’ll go ahead," she said calmly.

Amon turned slightly toward her. "Ah—yeah. See you later."

She gave a short nod before walking off toward her house without another word, her red hair swaying behind her.

Amon watched her leave for a second longer than necessary.

Then he turned back. His eyes immediately fell on the weapon at Roland’s waist.

"Uncle Roland," Amon asked curiously, "where are you going?"

Roland chuckled, adjusting the strap across his shoulder. "As usual."

"As usual?" Amon tilted his head.

"We’re heading out to hunt a few animals. Gather some edible plants," Roland explained. "And explore some areas nearby. We do it from time to time. Keeps the village supplied. And it’s good practice."

Amon nodded slowly. That made sense.

His gaze shifted toward Ethan. "You’re going too?"

Ethan straightened slightly and nodded. "Yeah. I’m going with him. There are a few others, but they already went ahead."

There was a hint of pride in his voice. Amon paused, thinking. Hunting and exploring that sounded interesting.

’Should I go with them?’

"...Can I come?" Amon suddenly asked.

Roland raised an eyebrow.

"You just came back from training, didn’t you?" Roland said with a light laugh. "You look like you’ve been through enough for today."

Amon scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Get some rest," Roland continued. "There’ll be other chances. Maybe next time, you can join us."

Amon hesitated for a second, then nodded. "Alright."

Roland gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Good. Don’t push yourself too hard."

With that, he began walking down the path leading out of the village.

Ethan took a few steps after him, but then paused.

He glanced back at Amon. "...Hey."

Amon looked at him. "Hm?"

Ethan studied his face closely. "Why do you look so happy?"

Amon blinked once. Then slowly, a smug smile spread across his face. It seemed like Amon was really itching to share this with someone.

"Oh?" he said casually.

Ethan leaned closer, curiosity shining in his eyes.

Amon crossed his arms, lifting his chin slightly. "Yeah... something good happened between me and Scarlett."

Ethan’s eyes widened.

Amon lowered his voice slightly and added, "Hehe... we got closer."

For a moment, Ethan just stared at him.

"Seriously?!" Ethan exclaimed in disbelief.

Amon’s grin widened. "Do I ever lie?"

Ethan looked at him with pure admiration. "You’re amazing..."

His tail swayed excitedly behind him.

Scarlett wasn’t exactly the easiest person to approach. Everyone in the village knew that. She was strong, calm, and distant.

And yet he got closer to her.

"You actually got closer to her?" Ethan asked again, as if confirming.

Amon shrugged casually, though the pride on his face was impossible to hide. "Well... yeah."

Ethan let out a small whistle. "That’s impressive."

Amon felt even more satisfied hearing that.

Ethan suddenly glanced toward the direction Roland had gone. "Ah—I need to go."

He stepped backward, already preparing to run.

"I’ll talk to you later!" Ethan called out quickly. "Tell me everything!"

Amon chuckled. "Sure."

And with that, Ethan turned and ran down the path toward Roland, his tail swaying behind him as he caught up.

Amon remained standing there for a moment.

The village was calm. The air was cool. The day felt strangely peaceful.

He looked toward the direction Scarlett had gone.

A small, confident smile returned to his lips.

"Closer, huh..." he muttered to himself.

Then he started walking toward his own house, hands behind his head, feeling unusually light.

---

After a while,

Roland and Ethan were deep in the forest.

Ethan was busy collecting edible plants, while Roland was exploring some place farther away.

Even after staying here for so many years, he never gave up on finding a way outside.

He walked deeper while observing things keenly.

"There’s nothing here. Just like always," he muttered tiredly.

He came toward a familiar place.

There, something vast lay half-buried in the earth. At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than a huge, strange ridge of stone.

Long, uneven, and mottled with moss. Vines coiled over it. Roots had grown across it. Small shrubs sprouted along its surface as if it had always been part of the land.

It was taller than Roland.

Rain had worn shallow grooves into its length. Fallen leaves collected in the cracks. In some places, the stone curved gently before disappearing beneath the soil, only to rise again several yards away.

It was like a huge, long root made of stone and soil.

Roland always felt something weird about it. Like something was off about that thing.

He climbed over it. It was huge and big enough that he could see far into the distance.

"Today again, I found nothing."

He sighed.

Just then, in the distance, he saw something. It was a huge black spiral tower rising high into the sky. But it was only for a second. The moment he blinked, it was gone.

His face turned serious.

"Was that my... hallucination?"