Of course, they didn't encounter any wish-granting tavern.
Shane weighed his money pouch, pulled Noel and Erza along, and ducked into a tavern on the street that looked lively.
Steam rose inside the tavern, and guests raising glasses to drink filled the seats under the bright chandelier. The aroma of ale mixed with noisy chatter rushed toward them.
"Table for three, this way please..." A waiter approached. He paused noticeably when he saw them, and the words on the tip of his tongue took a turn. "Uh, sorry, everyone... we don't serve alcoholic beverages to minors."
Shane's gaze had long been attracted by the amber liquor with white foam piling over the rim at the next table. He licked his lips unconsciously; he hadn't tasted what the wine in this world was like yet.
"Really not allowed?" Shane put on a child's innocent look, pleading eagerly.
The waiter looked helpless, obviously accustomed to such scenes.
This malicious act of cuteness didn't work at all; instead, it made Erza shrink back, feeling a bit embarrassed to be with him.
Shane, this guy... sometimes really leaves people speechless...
"Tsk, so many rules." Shane was deadlocked with the waiter for a moment. Seeing the other party had no intention of bending the rules, he had to give up resentfully. "Fine, give us three glasses of your specialty juice."
The three found a corner to sit. Drinking the sweet juice and listening to the lively noise around them, Noel's tense shoulders finally relaxed a bit.
Shane casually talked about interesting things he had seen on the road, and Erza occasionally inserted one or two precise but often off-topic comments. The atmosphere gradually livened up.
Just as Noel temporarily put aside his worries, the sound of crashing cups and plates and a woman's scolding suddenly came from the next table.
"Take your dirty hands off! Get lost!"
A drunk red-haired middle-aged man was harassing a female customer at the next table, mumbling slurred drunk talk.
The surrounding noise lowered, and many gazes were cast over.
Curiosity arose in Shane, and he stretched his neck to see what was going on. Just as he stood up, a sturdy bartender walked over quickly, wearing a professional apologetic look on his face:
"Kids, don't join the fun, go home quickly. It's just a drunk causing trouble."
Being this age is inconvenient at times like this, Shane shrugged. Since a drunk was causing trouble in the tavern, he had no interest in staying longer, so he called Erza and Noel to get up.
Just as they were "asked" out of the tavern, they heard a huge explosion from behind, followed by a burst of chaotic angry shouts.
Shane rubbed his hands. He had been looking forward to the hot spring since yesterday. Blown by the night breeze on the street, his mind was no longer on some drunkard.
He was too lazy to even watch the excitement and pulled the two who were still looking curiously: "Ignore the drunk, let's go. Go soak in the hot spring and relax."
But Noel shook his head, his eyes returning to their previous calm: "Big Brother Shane, you go. I want to go back first and look at those returned goods... I can't really just bring them back like this; I have to think of a way."
Shane looked at his expression carefully. Seeing that he had returned to normal, he didn't force it: "Alright, we'll meet back at the inn later."
"Mhm!" Noel nodded vigorously.
According to the recommendation heard in the tavern just now, Shane and Erza found a private hot spring nearby with good reviews.
The rising steam dispelled the slight chill of the night, and a faint smell of sulfur filled the air.
Shane slowly immersed his body in the warm pool water, exhaling a long sigh of comfort. He felt all the pores in his body open up, and the fatigue of traveling during the day seemed to dissipate with the steaming white mist.
"Hah... this is life."
As soon as he finished lamenting, he heard Erza's dissatisfied complaint from the women's bath next door: "There's clearly a mixed bath; why separate? I wanted you to help scrub my back."
Shane really didn't want to pay attention to this guy who had zero physiological common sense. Letting her chatter endlessly, he covered his ears and quietly enjoyed the rare relaxation time.
By the time both of them came out of the hot spring, feeling comfortable all over and their skin flushed red, it was already late at night. There were few pedestrians on the street, and only street lamps cast dim halos on the ground.
"Shane, why didn't you answer just now?" Erza was still hung up on the mixed bath issue.
"Maybe the soundproofing was too good; I didn't hear." Shane squinted, lying with a straight face, thinking that if he had the chance in the future, he must give her a good lesson on physiological common sense.
Suddenly, Erza stopped, gently tugged his sleeve, and pointed to a dim street corner diagonally ahead.
A figure dressed decently, completely out of place with the surrounding environment, was walking past quickly.
Shane's eyes narrowed, and he immediately recognized the person.
"Is that the manager?" Shane frowned. "So late, where is he going looking like that?"
Erza pulled his sleeve again, signaling with her eyes: Follow him?
"Of course... not!" Shane refused decisively. The atmosphere in this city was obviously wrong. He estimated a pile of troublesome things were about to happen or had already happened.
They were leaving tomorrow; there was no need to create side issues out of curiosity.
Erza was a bit disappointed. Having only used the magic she just mastered once, she wanted to try her hand again.
But she knew Shane was right, so she followed him back obediently.
However, as they followed the route in memory back to the inn and passed the third fork, both of them stopped at the same time.
A familiar figure appeared before their eyes.
Shane looked away expressionlessly, pulling Erza to continue walking forward, as if just passing by a stone.
"That person just now..." Erza whispered.
"Didn't see." Shane interrupted her, walking faster.
But not far away, his steps halted abruptly.
At the street corner ahead, a tavern he had never seen before appeared at some point. The wooden door was low, warm yellow light shone from the window, and a blurred wine glass pattern was drawn on the sign.
Shane was very sure that when he passed by here escorting the bandits at dusk, there was no tavern here at all.
What was even stranger was that the decently dressed manager was quietly queuing at the end of the gradually lengthening line at the tavern entrance. People kept silently joining around them, and the line grew longer and longer in the silence.
"We go around."
Shane pursed his lips tightly and pulled Erza into the side road nearby.
They passed through narrow alleys, their footsteps echoing clearly on the stone road. But when they turned the third corner, that tavern lit with warm light appeared before their eyes again.
Same location, same line, only the manager in line had moved forward a bit.
Shane felt a wave of anger crawling up his spine.
"I didn't provoke you, yet you insist on messing with me, huh!"
Unbelieving, he tried twice more. Once speeding up to try and rush past, once simply turning around and walking in the opposite direction. But no matter which path he chose, he would eventually return to the front of this tavern.
The line grew shorter and shorter, and the manager had already pushed the door and entered.
Erza tugged him gently: "It's waiting for us."
Shane took a deep breath, hesitating whether to release his True Name directly, refuse to play the game, and brute-force crack it.
But he stared at that broken door for a long while and finally exhaled the breath in his chest: "Fine, then let's see what the hell this place wants to do, and if it can really grant wishes."
By now, how could he not know that this tavern that suddenly popped up was the wish-granting tavern from the rumors?