"I'm sorry, but my men have a bad taste. ”

Although Lukka said this, he made up his mind not to touch the pot of black tea again.

"Captain Lester, may I ask you for something to come to our Tajima?" Finch finally asked something that would be appropriate for him as mayor of the town.

"We're here to deliver some goods for the Black Market, or the Undercurrent Chamber of Commerce, as you call it. Luca said.

"Ah, this season's preserves have arrived?" Mayor Finch's eyes were filled with hope, "How's it going?

Lukka sighed softly, "I'm probably going to disappoint you, the captain of the guard you received the goods said, those boxes are already empty." ”

"Well, it's still stolen. Mayor Finch shook his head, but he didn't look disappointed.

Lukka picked up a bit of information from his expression and asked tentatively, "Mayor Mare, do you know how those preserves were stolen?"

Mayor Finch shook his head: "How do I know? You saw that mailbox, even the ground under the box, I sent someone to add three layers of granite and a layer of cast iron plates, which can still be stolen, I really can't think of a reason." ”

"Who the thief is, do you have a clue?" asked Luca.

"Who else?" Mayor Finch wrinkled, "those shameless little thieves!"

What he said was almost the same as not saying it, theft was originally a shady thing, and the blatant robbery of pirates was two different technical routes.

However, judging by Mayor Finch's reaction, he should know the identity of the thief, but if there is a reason that is difficult to say, or he doesn't want to reveal it to the alien who met for the first time, Lukka doesn't plan to ask again.

"I don't understand," Thea asked, "If you want those goods, can't you just send someone to pick them up at the dock?"

"I can't help this!" Mayor Finch spread out his two small short hands, "When my former mayor signed a contract with the Undercurrent Chamber of Commerce, the contract stipulated that they would put the goods in the mailbox in the square, even if the transaction was completed. If this step is skipped, then the contract cannot be considered complete. You should also know how strict the Undercurrent Chamber of Commerce is about the steps in the contract, and if you make a mistake, they may be called a breach of contract. ”

"And how many times have you gotten preserves?" Lukka suddenly wondered.

"Not once. Mayor Finch lowered his head and said in frustration, "My ex didn't either, only my ex got it once, and it was said that it was extremely delicious, I wonder if you have eaten it?"

"You haven't eaten it before, have you? Although it's not the same as the candied fruit from the Sunset Islands, some of the islands in the Boiling Sea have similar things! Why don't you find another merchant ship to bring some over?" Nora, as a native of the Boiling Sea, was surprised.

"Of course I want to, too!, but my former mayor signed an exclusive agency contract with the Undercurrent Chamber of Commerce, if I buy it from somewhere else, but it is a serious breach of contract, where is it so easy for the Undercurrent Chamber of Commerce to fool?"

"But they didn't deliver anything, did they?" asked Ollie.

"Strictly speaking, if you put something in that box, they're done. Mayor Finch rubbed his fingers, "I'm not happy with what I received, so I can only complain and make them lose money." The compensation they gave was quite a lot, and it was worth more than the candied fruit itself. ”

"Then what are you dissatisfied with?" Thea immediately figured out who earned and who lost, "You don't have to care about anything, sit and collect compensation every quarter, is there anything better than this?"

Mayor Finch was about to cry: "No amount of money can buy out my sincere desire to eat candied fruit!"

Lukka was not an employee of the black market, and this trip was only part of the cross-sea transaction, and he would ask a question about their deal with the gnomes purely out of curiosity, and now the atmosphere in the hall had become a little awkward, and he quickly changed the subject: "Mayor Town, on the way here, several gnomes recommended us to visit you." ”

As he spoke, he pulled out the large stack of business cards from his pocket and placed them on the table in front of the mayor.

"Oh, I've told all the residents that if you see an uncommon race, you must invite them to come and talk to me, but," Mayor Finch looked at the pile of business cards, and was a little confused, "Why are there so many?"

"Did you promise them any benefits?" Lukka guessed, "and these are mostly your guards and the people on the docks." ”

"I did say that whoever successfully invites a rare race to meet me will be rewarded with a jar of sugar. But that's too much!" Mayor Finch thought for a moment and called the servants next to him, "Count these names, go to the treasury and get three cans of sugar, how to divide them, let them toss by themselves!"

"Aren't you afraid they'll fight?" Thea asked gloatingly.

"Then let them fight!I will not encourage this kind of good habit to follow!" Mayor Finch is the embodiment of justice at this moment.

"Anyway, what the hell are you looking for us for?" Lukka asked.

"That's right, let's get down to business!" Mayor Finch said, "Actually, you've heard that I've been writing a book called "Rare Races Revealed" recently, you humans are too rare in this boiling sea, can you stay here for a few days and let me collect some information and data?"

"What about that?" Lukka always felt as if he was trying to dismantle himself.

"It's height, weight, skin color, language, habits, and so on!" Finch replied.

"And 'living habits', are you studying wild animals?" Thea is a little sensitive to this word, and it is no wonder that there are dozens of books on the living habits of dragons in her mouth and stomach, and I have never seen anyone study the living habits of humans.

"Why are you studying this, just to write a book?" Luca asked.

Finch lowered his head and took a sip of black tea that could sweeten the dead, thought for a moment and said:

"Well, since you asked, I'll tell you the truth, it's not a secret anyway.

"On an uninhabited island some distance from here, there is a ruin that no one can open, and I went to the field once, and it must have existed long before we had written records.

"The above-ground part of the ruins is almost destroyed, and from what I've explored, its main buildings are underground. But the underground entrance there was sealed by a force I didn't understand, and no one could open it. ”