"Let's not scare ourselves. How could something like that be possible?"
Seeing the uneasy looks on everyone's faces, Hirota Tulio forced himself to stay calm and reassured them.
Before he had even finished speaking, a large crowd of villagers rushed out from around a street corner, carrying an assortment of farming tools such as pickaxes and rakes, and charged menacingly toward them.
"Monsters have entered the village!"
"Kill that black devil and that white-skinned rakshasa!"
Seeing the villagers' murderous expressions, Hirota Tulio and his companions were scared out of their wits. Realizing things were going badly, they turned to scramble away.
Just as we thought!
A secluded island, an ancient village, hostile villagers, a mysterious, taciturn girl living alone, and the two children we met at the village entrance...
These were all classic elements of a B-movie horror opening.
Were these villagers about to stage a battle royale or perform a human sacrifice?
At the thought, the young people went pale and weak in the knees, almost unable to run.
But to their surprise, another group of villagers carrying farming tools emerged behind them, cutting off their escape.
"OMG!"
What kind of damned village was this, beating outsiders to death on sight without asking any questions?
Was there no justice? No law?!
Hirota Tulio had traveled all the way from Brazil to Japan to trace his roots, not to die in his ancestral homeland. Besides, he did not even know whether this island was part of Japan.
"Wait! We're..."
Hirota Tulio shouted futile explanations, but could only watch helplessly as the villagers closed in.
"All of you, stop!"
At that critical moment, a powerful shout rang out, and the villagers all stopped what they were doing.
"It's the village chief."
"The old chief!"
The crowd parted, and an elderly man