"I must admit, Your Excellency, I have never quite understood this matter."
The middle-aged, chubby merchant looked puzzled and then continued, "The citizens of Crystal Kingdom seem to have a strong dislike for General Burt, who hails from their own land, the Coldflame Kingdom."
"So that's why Merchant Ayla Howard kept silent earlier?"
Hearing this, Leo Ray nodded slightly, pondering in his heart, "That being said,
it is understandable for those Coldflame traditional nobles, who pride themselves on their lineage, to look down upon Burt, who comes from a foreign land.
But even the local residents of Crystal Kingdom share this sentiment, which is rather intriguing.
As such, just as I suspected earlier,
there must be a hidden and untold past behind Giant Axe General Burt that he does not want to be revealed.
This can also be corroborated by the fact that Joshua, who has a close relationship with Burt, knows nothing about his past."
With this thought, Leo Ray pondered for a moment and then asked the chubby merchant, "Can you be more specific about this matter?"
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, but I don't know the details."
On the other side, the chubby merchant stroked his sparse hair, which was almost bald, and shook his head helplessly, "All I know is that,
in this kingdom, nobody wants to mention Burt's name. It seems to be an unspoken taboo.
As for why this situation has occurred, I have no idea."
"I see." Nodding slightly, Leo Ray contemplated for a moment,
and then asked the merchant about the abrupt shaking of the room at night, as described by Linda, as well as the sound of hard objects cutting through the walls.
However, he received a baffled and negative response from the merchant.
According to the middle-aged chubby merchant, he stayed in Crystal Kingdom for a few days at the end of every month, and for years, there had never been any incidents like the one Linda had described.
"I see."
Leo Ray nodded slightly and after confirming that there was no other significant information from the chubby merchant, he casually gave the latter a few more Gold Dragons.
With the merchant's voice of gratitude, Leo Ray, Linda, and the hidden Taylor went upstairs to the rooms of the inn.
With the ancient bronze key, they smoothly entered the spacious and elegant suite at the end of the corridor on the second floor. As the chubby merchant had mentioned, the suite was indeed spacious and elegantly decorated.
Although it could not compare to Lord's Mansion or City Lord Mansion, it was still quite impressive.
Moreover, on the exquisitely carved wooden tea table, there were several plates of fresh pastries, and a faint scent of milk and caramel could be detected.
"My Lord, I must say that this country located in the mountains is quite peculiar."
After Leo Ray signaled to Taylor to isolate the room from the outside world with energy,
Scarlett's crisp voice could not wait to chime in.
It seemed that being covered in the Invisibility Cloak and unable to speak for a while had been suffocating for her.
"Indeed."
With the subordinates removing their cloaks and resting in the room's soft sofas, Leo Ray couldn't help but reveal a thoughtful expression as he sat down.
"My Lord, even the plates for the pastries here are so unusual."
On the other side, Scarlett picked up a plate of chocolate cookies from the tea table, involuntarily swallowing her saliva, and looked at Leo Ray with anticipation.
Her flushed cheeks looked like a little kitten waiting to be fed.
Bianca White, who had fluffy ears, also made the same move. Her large, white tail swayed gently on the sofa seat.
With a slight twitch of his lips, after signaling the two foodies to help themselves,
Leo Ray's gaze then fell on the plate in Scarlett's hand.
Upon closer inspection, the smooth, white porcelain plates were indeed unique. All were angular, square shapes, very different from common round plates.
"My Lord, it seems that the residents here are particularly fond of angular objects."
Gideon Black adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and mused, "According to my observations, in addition to the architecture mentioned by the chubby merchant earlier,
whether it's the plates here or the patterns on the clothing of the local residents, they all feature angular designs, giving a rigid impression."
"I noticed that as well."
Receiving the fragrant tea that Amelia had just prepared, Leo Ray sipped the steaming hot tea and thoughtfully said, "Well then, let's recap the clues we have so far."
With this, Leo Ray pondered for a moment and summarized, "Firstly, as Gideon Black just mentioned,
residents here clearly have a preference for angular shapes.
As a result, architecture structures, local costume patterns, or even everyday utensils like plates all feature sharp angles without a hint of roundness."
"That's certainly true."
With a crisp voice, Scarlett swallowed the crunchy chocolate cookie and continued, "As for the second oddity,