Seeing his surprised expression, the young man smiled slightly. "No need to be surprised and worried, old man. The black ball is simply a device to translate any language into something you can understand pretty easily and naturally as if it was your own mother language."
He nodded his head solemnly. "I see, I didn't expect that there is such a useful and practical item out there. It is truly unbelievable." He said with a sigh.
"Such an item is already available everywhere and you can get it pretty easily. How isolated can you and your people be if you have never seen a pocket?" The young man asked with curiosity.
"Ah, I don't know how isolated our village is or any other villager in here, young man. We have always been living in here for centuries. Naturally, some of us moved out of here at times but they were still around this region."
The young man nodded. "I see, then you are pretty much very isolated. This region seems pretty backward and undeveloped compared to the central areas, after all."
"Now, can you lead us to the head of your village? Although your community is pretty small, you should still have a leader, don't you?" Said the young man with a smile.
"Also…" He spoke then stopped halfway as he motioned him to look around, noticing all of his fellow villagers staring at the guests, which though was normal as they very rarely had any guests, especially with their status, was quite rude.
"It's better for us to talk somewhere more private and appropriate, right? Although her highness is kind and patient, her patience has its limits and you don't want to test them, do you, old man?" The young man smiled amicably, yet, he could feel his hairs rising from his voice.
"Ah, of course. My bad, I shouldn't have held your entourage at the gate for so long. I deeply apologize if my lack of hospitality and manners upset you, outsiders." He said softly as he bowed.
"No worries, old man. We aren't that petty. Anyway, shall we?" He nodded in relief and quickly led them into the village.
Although they seemed to be quite amicable, he felt that they could be forceful if they didn't get the treatment that they wanted from the hints how the imposing young man carried himself.
When they were walking on the street, he saw a lot of the elderly, adults, and a few children staring at them intently from the windows inside of their or from the front of their small wooden and stones structures they called houses.
It was normal, the children had a curious and excited gaze while the adults and elderly had a calculating and inquisitive look as they were seizing them and evaluating them with wariness like an easily scared animal.
This couldn't be helped, they were just so rare to receive any outsiders. He only hoped that the important person on top of the tiger wouldn't be offended.
As his eyes kept repeatedly glancing to the sides from time to time, suddenly, he noticed a very slight change, yet, still noticeable for him as he had lived in this community for every single second of his life.
It was the expression that the adults, or more profoundly, the change of expression that was plastered on the elderlies' faces. He could notice the astonishment and shock within their eyes that they tried to hide.
However, with his experience, astuteness, and intimate knowledge of their behavior as he had lived together along with them pretty closely, he could see something more that they tried to hide even deeper…
The look of fear and horror in their eyes.
He could see that some of them began to close their windows and returned to their houses slowly to not seem too obvious, while some of them of them even dragged their children to stop looking at them and go into the houses.
Noticing this, red flags and bad feelings started to pop out in his mind as his heart became wary.
What could make his people, especially the older ones, suddenly changed their expression? Why did they frown so seriously at just a few outsiders? Although they were certainly rare to pass by, having such an expression just by seeing them had never happened before.
As they continued to walk on the road, he noticed that only those whom the yellow-haired young man had passed, the one of the rearmost among the three outsiders, would slowly turn their expression into one of a horrified one.
Did he bring something that looked dangerous or threatening? But then, why they didn't say or do anything and were seemingly consumed by fear instead? Was it because they could tame a huge tiger?
No, although such Shinheuh was hard to be tamed, they weren't that dangerous or threatening to them. They had their fair share of defending against wild Shinheuh, after all.
Then, it must be because of something else…
What made them shocked to horror?
He could only ponder about it while continuing to walk ceaselessly, resisting the urge to look behind to find out what really made them respond so negatively and continue to lead the way.
However, unbeknownst to him, no matter how he and they tried to hide their anxiety, all of the changes in the surroundings and even the turmoil inside his mind didn't escape the terrifying senses of a certain person.
After some time, they finally stopped in front of a medium-sized house made of a mix of wooden and stone that was in much better condition compared to its peers.
He opened the house and motioned them to go into the house. "This is the abode of the village head, I hope you don't find this hut too bad for her highness." He said humbly.
"No worries, we come here already expecting this." The young man's answer gave him some relief, it seemed that they were very reasonable people despite their status.
The white-haired lady stepped down gracefully from the tiger as the young man quickly led her following him into the house. It seemed that the yellow-haired guy wouldn't join them as he stood by near the white tiger outside.
He quickly led them to a round table as they seated themselves.