The night turned cold, and it didn't help that they were outside on the ship's deck with only a thin jacket to shield them from the wind.
"Whoo…" Julian let out a cold breath and said, "I suppose we are done here."
"Huff…" Kiernan patted his hands, trying to warm them up, and replied with a shiver, "Yes, let's head inside before we freeze."
They sparred for close to an hour, and while that kept them warm, it was becoming quite unbearable.
While it was very warm during the day, the winter's freezing temperatures arrived during the night, turning the air icy and biting.
After arriving back in the cabin, Julian snuggled inside his blanket and took out his phone to start listening to music again.
It was quite late in the night, surprising Kiernan that Julian still wasn't going to sleep.
'He goes to sleep later than me but wakes up earlier than me. I think he only sleeps four hours.'
Kiernan climbed to his bunk bed, laid down, and asked. "What is your martial arts?"
"My martial arts?" Julian shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think I have any. My father just taught me some moves but never said what martial art that is."
'I was wondering that since the strength of a martial soul depends on one's trust in their martial arts, what about Natural Fighters who don't use martial arts?'
"What about yours?" Julian asked. "I saw the bruises around your fingers. You're hurting yourself by using your style."
"Iron Style, and yes, my body is not strong enough to use it yet." Kiernan said. "But it will be."
"Hmm~" Julian hummed. "I see."
"I'll go to sleep." Kiernan turned off the lights and then turned on his side, slowly drifting asleep.
'Iron Style…' Julian's eyes stayed open, staring into the darkness around him.
A couple of days passed.
The ship slashed through the waves, the sails billowing in the air, and then the horn blasted loudly, signaling the arrival of land.
Several passengers leaned over the railing and saw a small island appearing in the distance with plenty of buildings, trees, and a small docking area.
It was the Kiwi Island.
The last stop before arriving at the Nightingale.
Since the island was quite small, it was made up of only the town that had a couple of bars, shops, and a quaint little bed and breakfast for weary travelers.
"Is that a castle?" Julian asked out loud while staring over the railing.
"…" Kiernan, standing next to him, also saw the strange castle.
Standing on top of a small hill, a castle overlooked the island like a silent guardian. It was made out of rocks and looked quite beautiful, but it also seemed quite old.
Within the castle, there was a bridge going between watchtowers, and on one of the bridges, there was a small courtyard that seemed otherworldly with trees and flowers blooming in abundance.
The ship silently docked beside the island.
There were a couple of other ships docked, mostly fishing vessels, and they were currently the only passenger vessels around Kiwi Island.
After the ramp was lowered, the passengers went to check out the small island before continuing the journey to Nightingale.
A couple of passengers left the ship with their luggage because their ultimate destination was this Kiwi Island.
The captain of the ship walked down the ramp with a hat in one hand and waved goodbye to the departing passengers.
"Are you the captain of the ship?"
At that moment, a not-so-pleasant-sounding man approached him, speaking with a thick accent.
Kornel, as everyone called him, wore a cheap-looking suit with a scar running over his left eye and had a limp on his right leg.
He had some kind of hidden mark on his neck, but he then quickly covered it up with a thin scarf.
"Yes, that's me," the captain said with a frown. "Is something wrong?"
"My name is Kornel. You must pay the tax for docking your ship here," Kornel said with a gruff voice. "If you refuse to pay, you're not allowed to depart, and we'll let the navy officers handle this."
"What?!" The captain angrily shouted. "I have not heard anything about this before!"
"Now you have." Kornel replied sternly. "Are you refusing to pay?"
"Tch, you blood-sucking vampires…" The captain fumed and rubbed his forehead. "Give me one day, fuck!"
"Hmph, fine. But if you fail to deliver, there will be consequences." Kornel said, and then departed with limping steps.
"Is everything alright, captain?" Julian walked over with his hands inside his pockets.
"It looks like we must stay in Kiwi Island longer than anticipated." The captain said with an ugly look. "We're departing tomorrow."
"Oh…" Julian followed Kornel with his gaze, then shrugged his shoulders and walked past the captain.
Kiernan nodded to the captain, then turned and followed Julian.
"…" Julian looked over to the tall castle, narrowed his gaze, and said. "Kiernan, do you think there is something odd with this island?"
"Yeah…" Kiernan eyed the surroundings and saw that there were quite a few navy soldiers walking about.
The navy soldiers wore dark blue uniforms and were carrying rifles. They had blue scarfs with a cap, and some of them were talking in hushed tones.
"The navy presence is quite large," Kiernan said nonchalantly. "Is it because we're closer to the pirate territory?"
"That sleazy guy that talked with the captain…" Julian turned to Kiernan with a smirk. "Is pirate, isn't he?"
"A wild guess…" Kiernan said as he walked beside him. "Could be a retired navy soldier based on the injuries."
"Yes, but you saw it, didn't you?" Julian grinned.
"That pirate mark on his neck?" Kiernan nodded. "I saw it. It was burned, so it could be a branded mark."
"In the Pirate Kingdom, the pirates are branded with their symbol as a sign of loyalty and commitment," Julian explained. "It's skull mark. The skull mark signifies that they are willing to die for the pirate cause."
"Yet, he is here, right under the navy's eye…" Kiernan scratched his neck. "Are navy and pirates working together or…"
"Who knows, but this island is very fishy!" Julian smirked. "We have one day to figure it out."