"What are you looking at?" Seeing Hope lower his head with a thoughtful expression, Cana looked down at the ground too. There was only an ordinary flagstone-paved road, nothing special about it.
"Nothing much, just saw a small loach." Hope withdrew his gaze.
Cana looked unconvinced. "Saying it's a sea snake would be more convincing than a loach. And even though this place is near the sea, it's still a town. How could a sea snake or a loach run into a populated area?"
Hope gave an ambiguous smile, looking at the large group walking ahead. "Let's not talk about this. Once we find a suitable inn, I'll treat you to a drink. We can see how the wine on the Northern Continent tastes different."
Hearing someone offer to pay, the drunken girl immediately perked up, her eyes shining. "You said it! Then this Miss is going to drink to her heart's content. Don't complain if you can't afford the bill later."
"Don't worry, if I run out of money, I'll just sell you."
"Eh—?!"
Guided by helpful local residents, the group arrived at Ermina's largest hotel. It offered both lodging and dining, which saved them trouble.
However, upon entering the hotel, everyone realized something was off. There wasn't a single person inside; the only living thing was a lively, jumping fish on the reception counter.
The little gluttonous cat, Happy, lit up, waving his arms excitedly. "It's a fish! It's a fish!"
Although they were all used to this, Carla still couldn't help but complain to him, "It's just a fish, please calm down."
"But it's fish! Don't cats love fish the most?" Happy drooled.
"Not necessarily." Lilly said seriously. "Not every cat likes fish. For example, I like kiwifruit, and Carla likes Darjeeling tea."
"Is anyone here?" Natsu called out twice, but there was no response.
Mirajane looked around and found that there really wasn't a single person in the hotel. She found it strange. "They're open for business, yet they didn't even leave a waiter. This makes things a bit difficult."
"Difficult?" Hope grabbed the fish on the counter. "Then forget about dealing with it. Eat what we should eat, drink what we should drink, and just leave the money when we go."
Shaking the fish in his hand, Hope grinned mischievously. "Today, I'll show off my skills and perform the 'One Fish, Many Ways' technique. Half of this fish will be sashimi, half will be grilled, the scales will be served cold, and the bones will be used for soup..."
"No Ya!"
Before he finished speaking, the fish, frightened, actually spoke human words and transformed in front of everyone into a man wearing a bartender's uniform, dangling upside down by his leg, held by Hope.
The sudden transformation shocked everyone, but Hope remained unfazed. As soon as he entered, he had realized the fish was actually a person using a 'Transformation' Magic similar spell.
He wondered what kind of strange habit this was.
Hope put the man down. The embarrassment on the standing bartender's face quickly disappeared, replaced by a professional smile. "Welcome! I am the owner here. Are you guests here for lodging or dining?"
"Both."
Watching the hotel owner take out the register to check them in, Wendy, leaning on the counter, asked curiously, "Uncle, why did you turn into a fish?"
Cute children always make people drop their guard, and besides, the owner had nothing to hide. "I thought we wouldn't have any guests this afternoon, so I accidentally fell asleep, and subconsciously transformed."
"That can happen subconsciously?" Erza sensed that something was amiss.
The hotel owner finished the registration and handed a set of keys to Hope. "Guests, please go check your rooms first. I will go rush the kitchen to prepare food. You will know why I turned into a fish tonight."
Since the owner put it that way, the group didn't press further. They took the keys and followed the waiter the owner called over to their rooms.
The hotel had three floors: the first floor was for reception and dining, and the second and third floors were guest rooms. Because Hope's group was large and the hotel business had been slow recently, they essentially booked the entire second floor.
Except for the Sword Saint Dragon, Kurnugi, who was in human form and had a single room, everyone else basically stayed in groups of two or three. If asked, the reason was that the young couples wanted to get closer.
Even Natsu and Lucy had Happy playing matchmaker.
"Guests, what do you think of this large double room?"
After leading the others to their rooms, the last waiter took Hope, Erza, Mirajane, and Cana to a large room, as requested by Hope.
It was clean, tidy, and had good sound insulation. Especially the large bed, which was more than enough for four people. Hope was very satisfied with this. They had finally reached this point—the bliss of having multiple wives was today.
The three women, Erza and the others, blushed slightly but didn't object.
The waiter, still a single dog, said with an envious look, "As long as you guests are satisfied. The drinks in the room are local specialty beverages of Ermina. They are free, so please make sure to try them."
Before leaving, the waiter thoughtfully closed the door, earning a silent thumbs-up from Hope.
With no outsiders present, Cana, who had been slightly shy moments before, immediately reverted to her true nature, tumbling around on the soft large bed.
Erza and Mirajane looked at the drinks on the table. They wouldn't have cared normally, but since the waiter specifically mentioned them, they felt obligated to try them.
"The taste is decent, but it doesn't seem particularly special."
Mirajane gave her critique. Erza smacked her lips, tasting nothing unusual, and turned to find Hope next to her using the 'Archive Magic' to look up some information.
She leaned over and looked at the content on the magic screen, her expression instantly turning puzzled. "This drink can actually let people breathe underwater?"
Erza's surprised voice drew Cana and Mirajane over, curious. Hope magnified the magic screen, and the content displayed was precisely about Ermina's local "Specialty Drink."
A drink that allows people to temporarily gain the ability to breathe underwater.
"There's such a good thing?" Cana jumped off the bed, opened a cup of the drink, and poured it down her throat. After drinking it, she didn't forget to give a sharp comment: "It tastes like nothing. I rate it as sweet water inferior to wine."
Hope rubbed her hair. "Your mouth is only fit for drinking wine. If this continues, I think alcohol will be flowing through your veins soon."
"Hehe, thanks for the compliment."
"Where was the compliment..."
Hope was speechless. Looking back at the drink on the table that allowed underwater breathing, and recalling the hotel owner who turned into a fish, he seemed to understand something.
If nothing unexpected happened, Ermina's night might involve a situation where underwater breathing would be necessary.
But this is dry land. It couldn't possibly be a massive flood at night, with the sea swallowing the town, could it? That level of water would require a tsunami, right?
The layout of this town doesn't look like it could withstand a tsunami at all.
However, since the locals weren't showing any concern, what was there for him, an outsider, to worry about? As the saying goes, the boat will straighten itself out when it reaches the bridge. They just had to wait and see.
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