The Smiling Death

Amon remained completely unaware of the danger that was steadily drawing closer.

He had no idea that someone was searching for him with murderous intent.

Completely oblivious to the approaching threat, he and his friends soon arrived at a modest wooden house located near the edge of the village.

Unlike the surrounding homes, this one was unoccupied and had been prepared for visiting guests.

Sarah stopped beside the group and smiled warmly.

"You may stay here until your mission is completed."

She gestured toward the house.

"I’ll send someone every day to prepare your meals while you’re staying here."

Amon shook his head with a polite smile.

"There’s no need to trouble anyone. If you could simply provide us with the ingredients, we’ll cook for ourselves."

Everyone immediately turned to look at him.

Marcus raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"...You can cook? Of course I can."

Amon smiled confidently before pointing toward Aisha.

"And our Aisha knows how to cook as well."

Everyone’s attention shifted toward Aisha.

The tall, athletic beastwoman lightly blushed before quickly looking away, folding her arms beneath her chest.

"...I do know how to cook."

Eliana blinked in surprise.

"Wow... I honestly wasn’t expecting that."

Sarah smiled kindly.

"Are you certain you don’t need someone to prepare your meals?"

Seraphina politely shook her head.

"No, thank you. We’ll manage on our own."

Sarah nodded understandingly.

"Very well. Everything has already been prepared inside. There are fresh vegetables, meat, seasonings, and other ingredients in the kitchen. You can settle in, prepare dinner whenever you’d like, and get some proper rest tonight."

"Thank you," Seraphina replied.

After exchanging a few more words, Sarah bid them farewell and returned to the village.

The five students entered the house.

The interior was simple but surprisingly clean.

Although it lacked the luxury of noble estates, everything was neatly arranged and well maintained.

Marcus looked around the room with mild curiosity.

"...This will be my first time staying in a place like this."

Amon wasn’t surprised by that statement.

After all, everyone except him had grown up in noble households.

Living in an ordinary countryside home was a completely new experience for them.

"Alright," Seraphina said.

"Let’s settle in first."

She looked around the house.

"There are two bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs."

She quickly did the math.

"There are five of us."

"So two people will have to share each of the upstairs rooms, while one person gets the room downstairs."

Marcus let out a helpless sigh.

"Great... I’ll end up sharing a room with Amon."

Amon immediately frowned.

"Hey. I don’t want to share a room with Marcus either."

Aisha narrowed her eyes.

"And why not?"

Seraphina tilted her head curiously.

Eliana already wore an amused smile, silently wondering what ridiculous excuse Amon was about to come up with this time.

"What do you mean, why?"

Amon spoke with complete seriousness.

"Two men sharing a room? What if he tries something while I’m asleep?"

He dramatically placed a hand on his chest.

"I’m far too charming, after all."

Then he pointed at Marcus.

"This guy has never shown any interest in women. What if he secretly likes men? What if he’s actually gay?"

"You bastard!"

Marcus exploded with rage. His eyes widened as he glared furiously at Amon.

Eliana couldn’t hold it in any longer.

She burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!"

Even Aisha rubbed her temples with an exhausted sigh.

Seraphina simply smiled softly, finding Amon’s ridiculous reasoning oddly amusing.

"I’m not like that, you idiot!" Marcus shouted.

Amon completely ignored his protest.

Aisha crossed her arms.

"Tch. If you’re that worried don’t share room with him, but don’t even think about sharing a room with me."

She looked at him with disdain. Though Amon definitely knew that the thought of sharing room with him had pass through her brain.

"You are a pervert." Aisha said.

Eliana proudly lifted her chin. "You can forget about sharing with this princess too."

At that moment... Everyone’s gaze naturally shifted toward Seraphina.

She blinked.

Then her golden eyes met Amon’s.

A sudden warmth spread throughout her body. A faint blush slowly appeared on her cheeks.

For some reason... The thought of sharing a room with Amon felt far more intimate than she had expected.

She quickly looked away.

"A-Amon... Enough with the jokes."

"Hehe... Sorry."

Amon scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed grin.

"Anyway, let’s freshen up first. After that, Aisha and I will prepare dinner."

He glanced at the still-fuming Marcus before flashing him a mischievous smile.

"Come on. Let’s go."

He patted Marcus’s shoulder as he walked past him.

"Just don’t try anything funny in room."

Marcus’s face twitched.

Amon simply whistled cheerfully as he headed upstairs, leaving an utterly speechless—and thoroughly enraged—Marcus standing behind him.

---

After freshening up and changing into more comfortable clothes, Amon made his way downstairs toward the kitchen.

The kitchen was exactly what one would expect from a countryside village.

It wasn’t large, nor was it luxurious.

The walls were built from sturdy wood, while shelves lined with clay jars, wooden bowls, and iron cooking utensils occupied one side of the room. Fresh vegetables, herbs, and sacks of grain had been neatly arranged on a long wooden counter.

At the far end of the kitchen stood a large stone stove with a fire pit beneath it.

Aisha was already there.

She stood in front of the wooden counter, skillfully chopping vegetables with surprising precision. The rhythmic sound of her knife echoed throughout the quiet kitchen.

Amon smiled as he walked inside.

"You’ve already started?"

Without looking away from the vegetables, Aisha answered,

"Someone has to."

Just then, Marcus entered behind Amon.

"There you are."

Amon pointed toward the stone stove.

"Marcus, do your job."

Marcus rolled his eyes.

"I knew you only brought me here because of this."

Still, he stepped toward the stove. Stretching out his hand, he gathered mana into his palm. A small crimson flame appeared before quickly growing larger.

With careful control over his Fire Element, he lit the firewood beneath the stove.

Within moments, the flames burned steadily.

"There."

Marcus dusted off his hands.

"My work is done."

Amon nodded with satisfaction.

"Good. You may leave now."

Marcus’s eye twitched.

"...You’re really treating me like a servant."

Without waiting for a reply, he turned around and left the kitchen while grumbling under his breath.

The moment he disappeared, Amon walked over to the counter.

"I’ll help."

Aisha didn’t refuse. She simply slid another cutting board toward him.

The two quietly worked side by side. Amon peeled vegetables while Aisha chopped meat and prepared the remaining ingredients.

Watching her work, Amon couldn’t help but smile.

"You know... You told me before that you knew how to cook."

He glanced sideways at her.

"But honestly... I didn’t take you seriously."

His eyes wandered over her figure for a brief moment.

She stood slightly taller than him, possessing a strong yet feminine physique. Her toned arms and athletic build reflected years of training, while her natural beauty only made her even more striking.

She wore a loose oversize t shirt and tight trouser, having a hole behind from where he fluffy wolf tail came out.

"But...You really do know how to cook." He said further.

Aisha briefly glanced at him before returning her attention to the vegetables.

"...Of course I do."

Although her expression remained calm... The black wolf tail behind her began gently swaying from side to side.

Amon noticed it immediately. A mischievous smile spread across his face.

"So... You’d make an amazing wife someday."

The knife suddenly stopped.

Her black wolf ears, tipped with crimson fur, instantly stood upright.

Slowly... She turned to glare at him.

A faint blush had already spread across her cheeks.

"Shut up. I don’t want to hear that."

Unfortunately for her...

Amon had no intention of stopping.

"I’m serious. You’re beautiful. You’re kind. You are strong You know how to cook. That means you can handle household chores."

He smiled warmly.

"You’re honestly an amazing woman."

He chuckled before adding,

"If we ever got married...we could cook together like this every day."

Thunk!

The kitchen echoed with a loud sound as Aisha’s knife struck the wooden cutting board with far more force than necessary.

Her entire face had turned bright red.

"You idiot!"

She glared at him with embarrassment written all over her face.

"Will you stop saying such stupid things?!"

Amon couldn’t help laughing.

Her reactions were simply too entertaining and cute.

Seeing her becoming even more flustered, he finally raised both hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright. I’m sorry. I’ll stop teasing you."

He knew that his teasing might be cheesy and cringe. But as long as they work, he was happy.

Aisha let out a dissatisfied huff.

"Hmph."

She turned away and resumed chopping the vegetables, refusing to look at him again.

However no matter how hard she tried to focus. Her thoughts refused to cooperate.

A memory from the Demon Kingdom suddenly resurfaced in her mind. She clearly remembered Amon boldly declaring that she would become his woman someday.

At the time, she had dismissed it as another one of his ridiculous jokes.

Yet now after hearing him casually speak about marriage. That memory returned with unexpected force.

Heat quickly spread across her cheeks once again.

She gritted her teeth in embarrassment.

’This idiot... Why does he keep saying things like that...?’

Those two continued to cook together, like a true married couple.

One was overly expressive, while the other was too tsundere.