Not long after walking, Shirakawa and the others spotted people. The locals spotted them too, and both sides wore expressions of surprise.
Shirakawa's group was surprised by the way these people dressed, exactly like ancient folk. They had only a few pieces of cloth covering their essential parts, and their skin tone was the darker shade common among yellow-skinned races, the kind that came from sun exposure.
The locals were surprised because they had never seen outsiders before. Seeing Shirakawa and his crew for the first time was like encountering some kind of rare animal. Immediately several of them stepped forward and surrounded the newcomers, looking them up and down.
Although their clothing looked very primitive, their eyes were sharp and lively. Their intelligence seemed no different from ordinary people's.
And every one of them was powerfully built, with well-defined, prominent muscles. Men and women, young and old alike, all looked like they trained regularly.
"Who are you people? How did you get here?" At that moment, an older-looking man stepped forward and addressed them. His gaze held caution, along with a trace of interest and puzzlement.
"We're explorers sailing the seas. We ended up here by chance," Shirakawa explained.
"Oh, so that's how it is. You actually made it to our island. That's really something."
After he said this, the situation lapsed back into silence. The two groups stared at each other awkwardly. Not only that, more and more local villagers were gathering to gawk at them. Word must have spread that a bunch of strangers had shown up at the village entrance.
Shirakawa and his crew were starting to feel a bit self-conscious. They'd never experienced such a warm welcome before.
"Could you all stop crowding around us like that? It's making us pretty uncomfortable," Riddle finally said, unable to hold it in any longer. Since the captain hadn't spoken up, he didn't feel right scolding them outright.
"Haha, sorry about that. Seeing people from outside the island for the first time just feels so novel."
In the end, it was the old man who spoke up, laughing it off.
"This is the first time you've seen people from outside the island?" Hearing the old man's words, Shirakawa and the others were somewhat surprised. This island wasn't exactly some hidden place. How could it be that no one had ever come here before?
Shirakawa might have forgotten that he had only made it here thanks to the Eternal Pose they found inside the Sea King's stomach.
"That's right. The world outside is completely unknown to us. Some of us once wanted to explore beyond this island, but not a single one who left ever came back."
"So that's how it is."
Shirakawa thought to himself. No wonder the people on this island looked so poor and so backward. They had no contact with the outside world at all. They could only live on this island and be entirely self-sufficient.
After that, they gave Shirakawa's group a warm welcome. With great enthusiasm, they led Shirakawa and his crew into their village. The houses in the village were built from mud.
And in front of every door, or in every yard, there were several swords lying about, all placed casually with no particular care.
"Sir, what's with all these swords?" Shirakawa noticed that the quality of these blades was actually quite good. Some were even comparable to a Grade Blade. It genuinely surprised him.
"Oh, we forge all these swords ourselves. It's a craft passed down from our ancestors. So everyone here in this village knows how to make them."
The old man introduced this to Shirakawa with considerable pride.
"So that's how it is. The people here really are impressive. If you could trade with the outside world, your island would definitely lift itself out of poverty and prosper."
"We wish we could." At this, the old man gave a rueful smile.
"But our island seems to be under some kind of curse. Outsiders can't get in, and insiders who leave can never come back."
He said this in a tone of utter helplessness.
From a house not far away, the clanging sound of metal striking metal continued to ring out.
"Who's in that house?" Shirakawa sensed a very powerful presence from inside, one that didn't seem much weaker than his own.
"Oh, that's my son in there. He's the finest swordsmith we have."
When mentioning his son, the old man's expression became one of pure happiness.
"Ah, right. I haven't asked your name yet. You must be the leader of this group."
"Yes. My name is Adolph K. Shirakawa. I'm their captain."
"My name is Kuromus. I'm the chief of this village."
The two parties introduced themselves to each other. After getting acquainted, night soon arrived.
That night, the villagers held a grand welcoming ceremony for Shirakawa and his crew. Bonfires, roasted meat, beer, everything you could ask for. They seemed to pour out their utmost enthusiasm and hospitality in treating Shirakawa's group.
But the clanging sound of hammering iron from that house continued, showing no sign of stopping.
"What's going on? Doesn't that guy in the house need to come out and eat?"
Riddle, already slightly drunk, slung his arm around a villager beside him and asked.
After spending time with these people, it was clear they were exceptionally simple and honest folk. Dealing with them didn't require any scheming at all.
"Oh, you mean Kurokam. Don't mind him. He's been like that forever. We're all used to it."
The man whose shoulders Riddle was leaning on was also thoroughly drunk.
Just as the banquet was nearing its end, the door of that house finally swung open from the inside. A brawny figure stepped out. He looked like a very serious man, his expression exuding a strong sense of stern authority.
"Kurokam, you finally came out! How'd it go?"
Seeing Kurokam emerge, a middle-aged man from the village, around his age, called out to him.
"It's done."
Kurokam grinned. That smile was completely at odds with his brawny physique, giving him a rather simple and honest look.
He raised the sword in his hand.
Seeing that blade, Shirakawa's gaze sharpened. He could tell the quality of the sword Kurokam was holding was exceptionally fine. It surpassed his own Grade Blade, possibly reaching the level of a Great Grade Blade.
"Captain, that sword..." Jora, being a swordsman, naturally sensed that blade was different too.
"Yeah. It should be a weapon on par with one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Blades. To think there's still someone in this world capable of forging such a weapon, and we just happened to run into him."
For a swordsman, apart from one's own level of mastery being the most crucial, the second most important thing was the weapon. If the weapon was inferior, then from the very start of a battle, you were already at a disadvantage. That held true assuming both sides were on equal footing, of course.
"Who are they?" By then, Kurokam had also noticed Shirakawa and his companions.
"Oh, they're outsiders who just arrived on our island today. Impressive, right?"
"What? Outsiders?" Kurokam exclaimed, as if he had just heard a joke.
"Yes, yes. When we first saw them, we looked exactly the same as you do now, completely incredulous. We couldn't believe it at all."
"But it's true. These people were never on our island before, you know that. And their ship is anchored right beside the island now."
Seeing that Shirakawa and his crew indeed did not dress like anyone from their village, Kurokam accepted it. His expression then filled with keen interest toward these strangers.
/-\
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