Under Bernard’s guidance, everyone arrived at a stone house in the small town.

This stone house didn’t look particularly different from the others around it.

Seeing this house, Baggett, who had been following them, shook his head disdainfully: "I’m leaving now."

Saying that, he turned and left.

All that could be heard was the sound of his metal prosthetic leg clinking against the stones, gradually fading away.

"This is the mayor’s house, and he is considered our leader," Bernard said.

He knocked on the door.

A slightly rough and bright voice came from inside.

"Bernard? Come in."

As the words fell, the door opened, and everyone saw the scene inside.

It was no different from an ordinary room.

Everyone squeezed in, Pororo hunched over, barely managing to get inside.

The so-called mayor was also a skeleton, but the size of the bones suggested that he was probably robust in life.

He wore simple soft armor.

In the room, there was a statue likely used for prayer.

The figure was hooded, the clothes tattered, one hand holding a coiled chain, the other a scythe of the Death God.

It clearly didn’t resemble any normal faith.

Looking at the emblem on it, Alka felt a sense of familiarity; wasn’t this the insignia of the Tombkeepers they had seen before?

"Ah, strangers, it’s been so long since I’ve seen some. Hello, I am the mayor here, you can call me Kode.

I hope my kind haven’t scared you, hahaha."

The skeleton said with a laugh, looking at Alka and the others.

Even though their facial expressions couldn’t be seen, their emotions could be roughly judged through their tone.

"Alka, I’m not very concerned about race or appearance. I just didn’t expect there to be such an island," Alka said with a smiles.

"If you don’t mind, could you tell us about it?" Lucilia, sitting on Alka’s shoulder, asked.

She was genuinely curious about the island.

Hearing this, Kode nodded, "Of course, have a seat. It’s not something to be kept secret."

As everyone sat down, Kode scratched his skull, seemingly a bit embarrassed, and said, "Sorry, there’s no tea here at the moment, please forgive us."

"Of course, that’s understandable," Alka said, waving a hand.

Kode nodded and began to tell the story: "We awoke around five or six thousand years ago; it was chaotic back then. After hearing stories and understanding from outsiders, it took a long time for us to adapt and accept our identity, understand the current state of the world.

Of course, back then it was still very chaotic.

Some among us naturally wanted to leave, but as you’ve seen, our state is clearly unusual.

Although we can leave the island, out at sea, we can’t get through the boundless mist."

"Can’t get out, huh? No wonder," Alka said, now understanding why information about this race hadn’t surfaced outside.

It means that those like them, in a state between life and death, can’t leave the area shrouded by white mist.

Of course, it could also be false.

However, Alka couldn’t make that judgment and chose to believe it for the time being.

"Does leaving mean death? Or will they be pulled back?" Lucilia asked, curious.

Beside them, Bernard said, "They turn into a heap of bones as if dead, then are dragged back."

Hearing this simple explanation, everyone nodded knowingly; it was easy to understand.

That means living like the undead for thousands of years, without sleep, food, or drink, and not being able to leave this place. Surprisingly, they haven’t gone completely mad, though thinking back, many of the undead encountered along the way seemed to have some various mental issues despite appearing fine.

Yet these various mental issues seem understandable.

"I believe you can see as you came here, my people have begun to slowly slip into madness under such torment."

Kode said suddenly.

Upon hearing this, the group didn’t know how to respond.

They couldn’t understand or empathize.

They couldn’t even say they understood. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Thousands of years of torment—earlier, it seemed Baggett was outside as well? You must have been hindered by him, please forgive him."

At this point, there was a touch of lament in Kode’s tone.

"His ship is filled with those who are already completely mad, or nearly so.

Not all outsiders are as kind as you; over the millennia, we’ve hosted many strangers.

Some, like you, were friendly, others saw us as monsters, others as test subjects, some verbally abused us, and some attempted to cleanse us, but none of this has brought anything but more suffering.

Because of this, his Pirate Gang attacks all ships attempting to reach the island, a practice we deceased have tacitly approved.

Ships they chase away can’t bear our appearance nor change our lives."

As he said this, the mayor stood up and said, "If you wish to purchase goods or obtain supplies, forgive us, but there’s nothing suitable here.

If you’re curious about the island and want to take a look around, please don’t disturb the suffering inhabitants.

This island has no secrets, feel free to wander as you please, as long as you don’t disturb the residents."