The Smiling Death-Chapter 343: Date Continued

They continued walking deeper into the forest, their hands still intertwined.

The breeze moved gently through the trees, brushing against Scarlett’s hair. Amon noticed it immediately.

"You know," he said casually, glancing at her from the corner of his eye, "the forest looks different today."

She did not look at him. Her expression remained indifferent. "It looks the same as always."

"No," Amon replied softly. "It’s brighter."

She frowned slightly. "The sky is covered in clouds."

"I’m not talking about the sky," Amon replied.

She finally turned her head and met his eyes.

He was smiling at her.

Her fingers tightened slightly around his hand, but not painfully this time.

"...Don’t start," she muttered, already sensing where this was going and what he was about to do.

"Start what?" he asked innocently.

With an irritated look, she said, "Whatever you are trying to do."

Amon chuckled. "I’m just telling the truth. When a beautiful woman walks beside you, even a dull forest feels special."

Well, he was not wrong. Any man might feel like it was a dream to walk beside her.

Scarlett’s steps slowed for a moment.

Her expression remained calm, but a faint pink color touched her ears again.

If it had been a few weeks ago, she might not have felt the same. But after spending time with him every day, even she was changing.

"You talk too much," she said with a small sigh.

"And you always pretend not to like it. But I can see how much you love it," he replied immediately.

She shot him a warning look.

He raised his free hand in surrender. "Alright, alright. I’ll behave." He decided to step back for now.

They walked a few more steps in silence.

Then Amon spoke again, looking at her with a softer expression. "You know... when you held my hand earlier, my heart almost stopped."

With a flat expression, she replied, "That was because I was crushing it with force."

"That too," he admitted with a small smile. "But mostly because it felt nice."

She let out a long sigh. "I don’t understand you," she said quietly.

"That’s good."

"That is not good."

"If you understood me completely," Amon continued lightly, "where would the fun be?"

’I can’t understand myself what kind of man I am. How can she understand?’ Amon thought pleasantly.

She shook her head slightly. "You are irritating."

"But you’re still holding my hand."

She immediately looked down at their intertwined fingers. For a brief second, it seemed like she might pull away.

"Tch!" She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

But she didn’t. Instead, she kept walking.

Amon smiled quietly to himself.

Vetaal floated invisibly above them, watching the entire exchange with silent amusement. He was enjoying their enjoyment.

After some time, the trees around them grew thicker. The forest became darker. The air felt cooler and heavier.

Amon’s playful expression slowly faded.

’Did we reach there so early?’

He had brought her here for a reason. Soon, they reached a rocky area.

There, partially hidden behind thick vines and twisted roots, was a cave.

Scarlett immediately narrowed her eyes. With suspicion in her gaze, she said, "That’s...?"

It looked similar to the one Amon had encountered before.

Dark, going deep underground. Filled with silence.

Amon acted normal. "Oh?" he said casually. "There’s a cave here. Didn’t I say... we can explore such suspicious things? It might make our date more enjoyable. Let’s go inside and check it."

With a faint frown, Scarlett replied, "Do you know... your reasoning is too bad... but I guess it might not be a bad idea to check."

She then stared at the entrance for a moment, sensing something off.

After a brief pause, she nodded. "Let’s go and stay close to me," she said quietly.

Amon smiled. "Of course."

’She’s really worried about me.’

They stepped inside.

The light from outside quickly faded as they moved deeper. The air became damp. The sound of dripping water echoed faintly through the tunnel.

Their footsteps were careful and slow.

Scarlett held his hand more tightly, keeping him close to her, her focus sharpening completely.

Amon noticed but did not complain. He rather enjoyed it.

The tunnel sloped downward. They walked for several minutes underground.

Then suddenly, the narrow path opened into a massive chamber.

A huge open space. Scarlett’s breath slowed.

Amon’s eyes widened slightly.

There....hundreds of large spider monsters filled the cavern floor and walls.

Their bodies were massive, dark, and covered in coarse hair. Long legs were folded beneath them. Thick webs stretched across the ceiling like a twisted net.

They were sleeping.

Everywhere.

The chamber was silent except for the faint, unsettling sound of their slow breathing and the occasional twitch of a leg.

It felt as if one wrong step, one loud sound, and the entire cave would awaken.

Amon already knew about this. He gazed behind him.

He couldn’t see anything, but he knew that Vetaal was already behind them.

Now all he could hope was that Vetaal could understand the reason for these monsters’ deep slumber.

Amon did not speak. Scarlett did not speak.

Both of them stood completely still. Not a single word escaped their lips. Amon gently shook her hand. She turned and looked at him.

With a serious expression and a low voice, he said, "Let’s go outside." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

She nodded silently. Soon, both of them left the cave. They stepped outside.

With a curious look, Amon asked, "So what do you think about that?"

Scarlett thought for a while before speaking. "I... I know that those monsters are in deep slumber. Roland had told me when I first came to the village. Also... I have seen the same kind of cave on the west side, where another large number of monsters slept."

Amon’s eyes widened slightly. "Wait!? So you know... then why did you act like you didn’t know anything?"

With a calm expression, she replied, "Hah... I only saw one cave like this. I didn’t think there would be more than that... also, it was three years ago. I stopped exploring these surroundings a long time ago, since there was no hope of getting outside."

She gaze at the cave again. Thinking about something very deeply.

Amon nodded in understanding. He looked above and beside him.

Then a very low voice came through his ear. It was barely audible.

"I will talk to you at home." It was Vetaal’s voice.

Amon slightly nodded.

Scarlett frowned and gazed at Amon suspiciously.

"Did you say something?" she asked.

She had been thinking about something else while looking at the cave, yet she heard a small murmur.

With a normal expression, Amon replied, "Yeah... I said let’s go further. I don’t want to be here anymore."

She watched him for a while, then nodded.