Published: August 1, 2025
We set off in the morning and climbed the rocky mountain for half an hour, then descended for another hour. Finally, we arrived at our destination.
“We’re here! This is the representative sightseeing spot of Luhab, called Popcorn Beach!”
“Popcorn...?”
I echoed the name in surprise, joined by Mr. Angelo. Behind us, Ms. Kaede also tilted her head in puzzlement.
The location was on the exact opposite side of the beach where our boat had docked — the backside of the island. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary white sandy beach. I wondered why it was called that, but as I approached, I finally understood the reason: the sand grains were huge.
They were large, big white grains about half the size of my thumb, spread all over the beach!
“What is this? It looks exactly like popcorn!”
I dashed to the beach, almost jumping with excitement.
Wow, it’s hard to walk on! Even a normal sandy beach sinks underfoot, but these gravel pieces are larger and harder, making it even more difficult. It even hurt a little through the soles of my shoes.
“Are these stones?”
I picked one up with my fingers and held it in my palm. It looked exactly like popcorn, maybe a little heavier? The texture felt like stone, but it was lightweight and porous. Still, it was solid enough that pressing it with my fingertips didn’t crack it.
“That’s a fossil of calcareous algae,” Lord Cyrus muttered, also picking one up.
...Calcareous algae, huh? I thought I had heard that term somewhere before.
“It’s the remains of coral!” Isaac said cheerfully.
“We don’t know the details either. The people of Luhab rarely come over here. It’s an interesting shape, but hard to walk on, and it can damage boats, so...”
I see. What seemed fascinating and rare to us was just an everyday thing to the islanders. They simply avoided it because it was inconvenient as a beach.
“That’s why when tourists ask if there’s anywhere interesting, we never showed them this spot. Swimming and fishing are much easier on the other side of the island. But when Lord Cyrus came here before, he said, ‘Next time, bring me here for sure...’”
“I suspected it was calcareous algae based on the sea area, but the amount of sediment here is unexpected. This will become a new tourist spot,” Lord Cyrus added.
Indeed, this place was worth crossing the sea to see.
When I asked if I could pick up a few as souvenirs, both Isaac and Lord Cyrus replied, “There’s plenty, so it should be fine.” I happily crouched down and started searching for the most interesting grains to collect.
This kind of treasure hunt was a lot of fun. I looked forward to seeing everyone’s reactions back at Granado Castle. If I put some in the lunch basket on the table, would someone pick them up and be surprised?
When I said that, Lord Cyrus laughed heartily.
“Then let’s wrap them and give them to Ruifeng. It’s payback for what he usually does to us.”
“Hehe. Make sure to include a note telling Anastasia not to eat them. Elder sister might not suspect and accidentally bite down on them.”
“In that case, I’ll send Anastasia some real popcorn separately.”
While chatting like that, I noticed Mr. Angelo and Ms. Kaede also crouched down, collecting the grains.
Isaac stood apart, tilting his head in curiosity.
“What are you going to do with these when you take them home?”
Haha, I guess the locals really think like that.
Now that I think about it, his older brother also said there was “nothing” in their hometown.
Maybe people find it hard to appreciate the value of things closest to them — the specialties of their hometown, the traits of their family, or even themselves.
Lost in thought, I heard Mr. Angelo muttering behind me.
“Oh, this is wonderful. It looks like konpeito.”
Then Ms. Kaede picked up a grain and bit it with her front teeth. Of course, she was joking and didn’t really intend to eat it. Mr. Angelo laughed but wore a scolding expression as he took it from her mouth.
“Hey. Young ladies shouldn’t even imitate eating something they picked up. That’s filthy.”