The Smiling Death

Their eyes met.

A cool morning breeze drifted across the pond, carrying countless pink cherry blossom petals through the air.

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.

It was as if time itself had come to a halt.

Amon’s deep black eyes gazed into Seraphina’s crystal-clear golden ones, warm and gentle like the morning sunlight reflecting over the horizon.

The world around them slowly faded into the background.

The rustling leaves. The singing birds.

Even the soft ripples across the pond seemed to disappear.

Seraphina found herself unable to look away.

There was something strangely captivating about Amon’s eyes.

They were dark, almost void-like, yet instead of feeling any discomfort, they seemed to draw her in little by little, making everything else around her feel distant. As if drowning her into them.

Amon wasn’t any different.

As he looked into her radiant golden eyes, he felt an unfamiliar warmth spreading through his chest.

Her eyes weren’t merely beautiful.

They were calm, kind and comforting.

Without either of them realizing it, the distance between them had grown slightly shorter.

Neither knew how long they remained like that.

A few seconds or perhaps several minutes.

Then, "Hey! What are they doing?"

The loud voice of a young boy shattered the silence.

Another child peeked toward them before quickly grabbing his friend’s arm.

"Come on! They’re doing grown-up things! We shouldn’t disturb them!"

The two children burst into laughter before running away as fast as they could.

Amon and Seraphina blinked almost simultaneously.

"...Huh?"

It was only then that they realized how close they had been sitting.

Amon immediately leaned back and looked away, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

"W-What just..."

His thoughts descended into complete chaos.

’Shit... what’s happening to me?’

He had faced monsters. He had fought life-and-death battles. He had remained calm in situations where anyone else would have panicked. He went crazy without fearing death at those moment.

Yet somehow making eye contact with one girl had completely destroyed his composure. He felt same thing while looking at Scarlett’s amethyst eyes, and her red eyes were more dangerous for his heart.

’Dammit... don’t tell me I’m actually heading down the harem route.’

His face twitched.

’I didn’t plan for this! Scarlett is going to kill me... No, she’ll freeze me alive before asking any questions.’

The image of Scarlett glaring at him with an icy smile flashed through his mind.

’I seriously need to explain everything to her... though I don’t even know what "everything" is!’

Amon sighed inwardly.

For the first time in a long while, he genuinely felt that fighting powerful enemies was far easier than trying to understand his own heart.

Meanwhile, Seraphina quietly lowered her gaze.

A faint blush had spread across her fair cheeks.

She gently pressed a hand against her chest.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Her heartbeat was unusually fast.

Lately whenever she was around Amon, this strange feeling would appear.

She had noticed it several times before, but today it was stronger than ever.

It wasn’t fear. She had experienced fear countless times on dangerous situations, and this feeling was completely different.

Instead it made her feel warm, comfortable and happy. It made her stomach tickling.

For some reason, she didn’t dislike it.

In fact a small part of her wanted that moment to last just a little longer.

’What... is this feeling?’

She had never experienced anything like it before.

The emotion was completely unfamiliar.

’I-I should ask Eliana...’

She immediately shook her head.

’No... she’ll definitely tease me.’

After another moment of thought, another person came to mind.

’Maybe Sister Selena would know...’

That seemed like the safer option.

As for Amon...

He was still trying to organize the mess inside his head.

’Scarlett should be arriving sometime this month... probably within a week.’

He rubbed his forehead.

’Yeah... I’ll talk to her then.’

Although he had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to explain feelings that he himself couldn’t understand.

he loved Scarlett. Then what was this?

An awkward silence settled between them.

Neither dared to look at the other.

Finally, Amon cleared his throat.

"I think... we should head back."

Seraphina gave a small nod without lifting her head.

"Yes... we should."

The two stood up from the stone bench and slowly began walking back toward the village.

Unlike before, neither of them spoke.

Only the sound of their footsteps echoed along the quiet dirt road as cherry blossom petals continued to drift around them.

Neither Amon nor Seraphina understood what had happened by the pond that morning.

But deep inside, both knew one thing.

Something between them had quietly begun to change without them knowing it.

---

After returning to the house, the awkward silence between Amon and Seraphina remained.

Neither of them mentioned what had happened by the pond.

Instead, they quietly focused on preparing for the mission ahead.

Everyone changed into more suitable clothes for traveling and combat. Leather armor was fastened securely over their outfits, weapons were checked one last time, and small pouches containing herbs, potions, and other essentials were attached to their belts.

Before long, all five of them gathered in the living room.

Seraphina looked around at the group.

"Is everyone ready?"

The others nodded.

"Then let’s begin."

The group left the house and headed toward the center of the village.

Once there, they split up to cover more ground.

Amon paired with Eliana, while Marcus accompanied Aisha. Seraphina chose to question the remaining villagers on her own, believing people would be more comfortable speaking freely in smaller groups.

For the next several hours, they went from house to house, speaking with every villager they could find.

Some were elderly farmers working in their fields.

Some were hunters repairing their bows.

Others were merchants, woodcutters, or women preparing food outside their homes.

Every conversation began with the same questions.

"Have you ever seen the bandits?"

"When was the last time they appeared?"

"How many of them were there?"

"Did they attack anyone recently?"

"Do you know where they usually come from?"

Most villagers shook their heads helplessly.

"I’ve only heard rumors."

"They always attack after sunset."

"No one dares to follow them."

"They disappear into the forest before anyone can react."

A few villagers had witnessed attacks from a distance, but none knew where the bandits’ hideout was located.

As the sun slowly climbed higher into the sky, the group finally reunited beneath a massive oak tree standing near the center of the village, exactly where they had agreed to meet.

Everyone sat beneath its wide shade while sharing the information they had gathered.