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Seeing all the servants and bodyguards tilting their heads forty-five degrees down, Loter and Ramiron copied their actions. Yet, Hiroku stole a glance and whispered, "Don't. You aren't a part of the tribe. Don't face down."

Ramiron reacted immediately, looking back up. Loter was still processing what he had just heard, so Ramiron pulled his head up for him.

They looked straight at the man on the stoop. He had a fake grin on his face, and his hands were placed behind his back, almost in a didactic way.

"No need for such grand formality," the man casually said. He walked down the steps and stood before Kirane. He was tall enough that Kirane had to look up to meet his eyes. "Young master, we will have time to meet for a pleasant exchange of words, information later today. Now, please, with all your generosity, allow me to give you free, unrestricted access to my manor. There are minor affairs I'd mostly prefer to speak with our guests alone."

While the man was giving his speech, Loter murmured into Hiroku's ear, "What is he saying?"

"Shut up," Hiroku mumbled back.

"What?"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

When the man was finally done with his speech, Kirane just silently strode past him, walking up the stoop with all the bodyguards in suits following. The man twitched in the corner of his lips. Nobody addressed it, including Loter, who at least knew not to talk to anyone but his teammates.

"Hiroku Kayama, the young master of the MU branch, I am glad we finally get to meet." The man reached out both hands.

Hiroku accepted the handshake with both his two hands holding the man's. "I've heard your name and your stories back in MU, Great Uncle Yotan."

"Please, please, with all your generosity, please introduce your exceptional friends to me. It will always be my honor to meet mighty people who can defeat the young master of our tribe."

"Of course." Hiroku stepped aside and let Yotan step toward his friends. Ramiron changed a glance with Hiroku and reached out her hand.

Firmly shaking hands, Yotan said in Habanese, "You must be Ms. Ramiron, the potent heroine who defeated our young master in a fair duel. My name is Mr. Yotan. I am a great uncle of Hiroku Kayama. I deeply apologize for what our young master had done to you and your friends. I heard one of them is still undergoing medical treatment. I full-heartedly pray for his well-being."

Hiroku translated, "His name is Yotan, and he is sorry for Kirane's action. He also prayed for Key."

Ramiron replied, "Thank you for your attitude, Yotan. I hope we can soon talk about Tribe Kayama's special treatment for my loss of ability. I can understand Kirane is just a kid. However, I do hope your tribe can provide some adequate etiquette education for him now that he's expelled from HueCam Academy."

Hiroku translated, "Ms. Ramiron wants to talk about her special treatment."

Yotan smiled wider. "Of course, Ms. Ramiron. I will talk about your treatment in no time. However, I think you should first get some rest before discussing such a critical affair. After all, it is three in the morning, and you just arrived after a long trip."

Hiroku translated, "He said he wanted to discuss this with you later, and no, I did not translate your passive-aggressive passage."

Ramiron said, "Fuck you, Hiro. Just tell him I think this island is chill. I don't know what to say now. Also, don't ask him directly, but try to make him give me permission to walk around the island. I might want to have a walk or something."

Hiroku sighed and said, "Ms. Ramiron is happy with this arrangement. She thinks the island is a beautiful place, and she is looking forward to the time of staying here."

Yotan gladly announced, "Then, it is decided! Now, please allow my servants to guide you to your rooms here. I unfortunately have some minor affairs to deal with. I hope I will be seeing you soon."

Hiroku translated, "He is leaving, and his servants will take us to our rooms."

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Ramiron said, "Aye, alright."

Before Hiroku could translate anything, Yotan turned into a plume of white fog and faded away. The two female servants on the stoop nodded and walked into the pavilion.

Following in, Hiroku complained, "I hate talking to these Kayamas. I didn't translate those long pleasantries when I was translating, but they just can't stop spitting those phony greetings and praises."

Loter tapped Hiroku on the shoulder. "It's okay. You made it."

"Through the first conversation we had on Cho-san Island. I'm sure you will be doing this at least a few times more before leaving," Ramiron added.

"Damn," Hiroku mumbled.

They went out from the other side of the pavilion. Before them, a courtyard was in the center of the estate. A stone-paved path connected between buildings and surrounded the courtyard, separating it and the grassless dry ground. Every blade of grass in the courtyard had the exact same height, aligning perfectly like a sheet of green quilt. A fake river went through the courtyard motionlessly. Beside it grew slender trees, thin branches, and perfectly round shrubs.

"Wow," Loter scurried past the servants toward the courtyard.

"Matte!"

"Matte!"

"Loter, don't!"

Hiroku and the two servants shouted together. Loter had one foot on the stone path and the other hanging above the soft grass. He slowly walked back to his teammates as he stuttered, "Okay. I'm, I'm, I'm sorry." He scratched his head from the back.

Following the servants around the courtyard, Hiroku told Loter that there are two kinds of courtyards in Tribe Kayama. This kind was only meant to be entered when a road was paved through it. Treading on them was strictly forbidden and seen as a sign of disobedience and rebellion. Unless Loter wanted to challenge the entire tribe's authority, he should never touch that grass.

Surrounding the courtyard stood different cottages, sheds, and walled pavilions. Walking past them, Loter saw another courtyard and similar buildings around it. Some of these buildings had a plate above their doors or on their eaves. Some did not. Loter could not understand them, anyway.

Finally, beside the third courtyard, the kids arrived at their temporary residence on Cho-san Island. The residence was three adjacent rooms on one stone foundation, sharing the same wooden veranda.

"Lot, you can take the one in the middle." Ramiron patted Loter's back. The servants farewelled Hiroku and left.

"Oh, why?" Loter headed up to look at Ramiron.

"So you can be adjacent to both of us." Ramiron chuckled as she spoke. Meanwhile, Hiroku just quietly shuffled into one of the rooms on the two sides.

"Oh yeah, thank you!" Loter jumped his way into the room like a rabbit.

The Habanese-styled cottage had a simplistic design. Only five items in total were presented on the tatami floor: A pile of Habanese books, a short round table, two little pillows beside it, and a thin mattress in the corner of the room. Loter rushed through the room, stepping his dirty sneakers on the tatami. He opened the sliding door beside the mattress and was disappointed when he saw nothing in the cabinet behind it.

Loter then heard his front door being slid open. He turned toward it.

Hiroku stuck his head into Loter's room, taking his time to comprehend the trail of mud on the tatami.

"What's wrong, Hiro?" Loter asked and lifted his foot.

Before he could step forward, Hiroku stopped him. "Wait, wait. Don't move."

"Oh, okay."

"Now, take your shoes off," Hiroku commended and summoned his lavender spheres to flit across the room and float beside Loter. His black sneakers were centimeters above the floor.

"Why?"

"You don't walk on tatami with your shoes on."

"What is." Loter tried to recall the word he had just heard but gave up immediately. "That?"

"This type of floor is called tatami, and you are not allowed to step on it with your shoes."

"I see! It is one of those rules in your tribe, right?" Loter handed his shoes to Hiroku.

"Hm? No." Hiroku threw another sphere beside the exit and flew there. "It is a general rule in Haban because it is very hard to clean the dirt when they get into those seams on the tatami where straws were woven together." He placed Loter's white sneakers beside the front door.

"That is smart," Loter commented.

"And you are dumb," Hiroku replied, "now, you have to clean this up by yourself. You don't want the servants to clean it up for you and leak this to any Kayamas." Hiroku canceled his sphere and landed outside Loter's cottage.

"Wait, why?" Loter asked, but Hiroku had already flown away. "How do I clean it?" Loter asked himself, scratching his head.

When Hiroku was back, Loter was crouching next to his mud trail and picking the tatami with his nails. Hiroku grunted and slapped his face. Loter looked up and saw his teammate holding a vacuum cleaner.

"Wait, what? You can just vacuum this?" Loter bounced up, pointing at Hiroku's advanced electric cleaning device.

Hiroku rolled his eyes. "Yes, and this one is on me. What I meant was that cleaning tatami used to be hard, so getting one dirty was treated as a sign of—"

"Disobedience and rebellion?"

"...Yes."

"Oh, I'm a fast learner!"

"Sure, you are." Hiroku placed the cleaner against the door frame. "Just put it in the room after you are done. I will be back soon."

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I need to meet some people. It's…" Hiroku paused, looking away as if he could not find the right word.

"Kayama business?" Loter chuckled.

Hiroku let out an instantaneous burst of smirk upon hearing it. "Yeah, Kayama business."

"Have fun doing it." Loter, completely buying Hiroku's words without a second doubt, waved his hands firmly in his usual straightened-arm style.

"I don't think I'll have much fun." Hiroku faced away and launched a lavender sphere into the sky, obviously not heading to do the "Kayama business."

"Well, then, I hope you tough it through!" Loter yelled as Hiroku flitted into the air.