Hargeon, a famous port city and a prosperous fishing town, has only one magic shop, with less than ten percent of its residents capable of using magic.
Raizel and Ultear's first stop was this port city, but they didn't plan to stay long.
Instead, they intended to take a boat from the harbor to Galuna Island.
Many boatmen refused when they heard they were going to Galuna Island.
After being turned down multiple times, Raizel was about to fly there himself when a middle-aged man wearing a headscarf approached and asked.
"Are you heading to Galuna Island?"
"Yes," Raizel nodded.
"I'll take you. I'm a resident of the island and came out today to buy some things," the man said with a friendly smile.
He had been watching them for a while and finally decided to approach after some thought.
Galuna Island is crescent-shaped, with a village in the south and the Moon Temple in the north.
The entire island is covered in forests.
Raizel and Ultear sat at the bow of the boat.
"Speaking of Galuna Island, it's not only called the Moon Island but also the Demon Island. The villagers are demons, you know."
"Tch," Ultear scoffed dismissively, thinking Raizel was trying to scare her.
She wasn't afraid of that.
"Why are we going to Galuna Island?" Ultear felt the island didn't seem particularly interesting.
"To see the Moon Temple. There's a temple in the northern part of Galuna Island, and it's said to be a great spot for moon viewing. Also, I want to check if the Zodiac Keys are there."
"The Zodiac? Celestial Spirit keys? But you don't know Celestial Spirit Magic," Ultear said.
Mavis had taught her about Celestial Spirit Magic and mentioned the powerful Zodiac Keys.
"They're not for me. They're for when we visit the Heartfilia Conglomerate, and I'm not even sure if the keys are there."
Just because the keys were on Galuna Island in X784 doesn't mean they're there now—it's ten years earlier.
Besides, in July 777, Layla Heartfilia gathered those with Zodiac Keys to borrow them for the Eclipse Project.
Sagittarius wasn't in Layla's possession at the time, so someone else must have brought it.
It could have been someone from Galuna Island.
Ultear nodded without asking why.
She knew she would be going to the Heartfilia family with Raizel later, as he had told her before they set out.
She would find out then.
"Don't worry, after visiting this island, we'll really be on vacation. And moon viewing from the Moon Temple is genuinely beautiful."
"It's fine. Anywhere is the same to me—it's all new scenery anyway," Ultear didn't mind that their first stop had an ulterior motive.
The residents of Galuna Island appear human during the day, only reverting to their true demon forms at night in the village.
This is normal.
Demons are terrifying to many people, and such perceptions are hard to change.
Prejudice in people's hearts is like a mountain.
Thus, Galuna Island is also known as the Cursed Island, and its inhabitants rarely interact with outsiders.
As they reached the shore, Raizel jumped off the boat first, then extended his hand.
Ultear took his arm and hopped down, followed by the boatman uncle.
"Uncle, are you from the southern village of Galuna Island?"
"Yes, my name is Boka. Are you heading to our village?"
"That's right. Thank you for guiding us, Uncle Boka." Raizel took out 10,000 J as payment for the boat ride and guidance.
"I can't accept that much. I'll just take the boat fare." Boka kept waving his hands, insisting on only accepting 2,000 J for the boat ride.
Although they were demons, they were still quite hospitable, though they felt their appearance was ugly and dared not interact with outsiders.
"Earlier, I overheard that you wanted to go to the Moon Temple, right? If that's the case, we can't guide you there."
The boat was small, and they hadn't deliberately lowered their voices, so it was easy to overhear.
The Moon Temple is a ruin that accumulates sacred light, which greatly restrains demons.
"No problem, we'll go on our own. We just plan to stay on Galuna Island for the night and hope to find a room in your village."
"That's simple. Follow me." Boka walked ahead, waving his hand enthusiastically.
The spot where Boka had docked wasn't far from the village, and they quickly arrived via a small path.
The village gate and walls were made of wooden stakes.
Boka stepped forward. "It's Boka. Open up quickly, we have guests."
"Oh! It's Boka. Open the gate." Someone quickly responded from the wall, and the wooden gate was lifted.
"It's the first time we've seen tourists." The villagers discussed as they looked at Raizel and Ultear.
"Why do I have a strange feeling?" Ultear moved closer to Raizel, grabbing the sleeve of his right hand.
"I told you, they're demons." Raizel bent down and whispered into Ultear's ear, then straightened up and gave a thumbs-up with his other hand.
"But they're good ones. Don't worry, I'm here."
Boka led them to the village chief's house and knocked on the door first.
"Chief Moka, there are two tourists who want to stay in our village for the night."
"What a rare guests." An elderly bald man leaning on a cane emerged from the small house, followed by a tall middle-aged man.
"Hello, I'm Chief Moka, and this is my son, Bobo." The two greeted them first.
"I'm Raizel, and this is Ultear. We're here to visit Galuna Island and want to see the Moon Temple in the north."
"I see. When it comes to Galuna Island, it's all about the Moon Temple. Since ancient times, this island has continuously accumulated the light of the moon, making the entire island as radiant and beautiful as the embodiment of the moon." Moka also took great pride in Galuna Island.
"We'd like to stay here tonight. Are there any vacant rooms? We'll pay."
"Of course. Would you like to join us for dinner? We're having a bonfire party tonight."
"Ultear, what do you think? Interested?"
If it were just Raizel, he would have agreed, but he had to consider Ultear's opinion.
"We have many local specialties from the island. How about giving them a try?" Moka noticed Ultear's hesitation.
"Alright." Ultear nodded.
"Alright everyone, let's give our best to welcome our guests!"
"Boka, please take them to their room first to drop off their luggage."
"Please follow me, you two." Boka led them to the most spacious remaining room in the village, which appeared to be over 40 square meters.
Opening the window revealed a view of the moon, though the room was sparsely furnished with only a wooden table and chairs.
After Raizel and Ultear set down their luggage, Boka brought two sets of sheets, blankets, and pillows from next door.
Ultear took them and began making the beds.
"These are the only bedding sets we have. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all, they're perfectly fine. The room is quite nice too."
"Haha, everyone is preparing dinner. I'll go help too. Feel free to come out and watch if you're interested."
With that, Boka withdrew from the room, closing the door behind him.
"After dinner, we'll go to the Moon Temple in the north for moon viewing, then stay here tonight."
Though it wasn't the ideal season for moon viewing, it was still quite suitable.
Ultear nodded in agreement.