My class [Death Knight] is just barely legal…

The next day, Cerion and I agreed to meet up to tour the city. He wanted to visit a restaurant that was opening up and I still had to pick up my newly made set of armour later today.

I spent a few hours training in the morning to pass the time, and we met up around noon at the entrance of the guild.

"Good morning! Wait, it's already noon. Good afternoon? No, it's not afternoon yet..."

"Just say 'good day' before you have an aneurism, Cerion."

"Ah, right! Good day, Arthur!"

I smiled. His whimsical attitude cracked me up sometimes.

"Good day, Cerion. So, you wanted to visit a new restaurant? I have to warn you, I have never been to a restaurant before. Only the richer folk can afford a [Chef] to cook for them."

"That's no big deal! I haven't been to a restaurant before, either!"

I was dumbfounded.

"You, Cerion, son of Duke Rass and future Duke, have never been to a restaurant?"

"Well, when you put it like that... There just aren't any restaurants near the spire! I didn't have the chance to! But now we do. So, let's go!"

I facepalmed.

"Do you even know where this restaurant is and what it's called?"

"Of course! It's called the 'Golden Rose'... Poetic, huh? Supposedly, it's a newly created brand by the daughter of Count Dalia. We can find it in the noble's district. See? I've done my research!" he said proudly with his chin turned up.

"The noble's district? Cerion, do you have any idea how much a meal there is going to cost? We don't even have the proper clothing for a restaurant like that..."

"Not to worry, my dear friend! My identity as the Ducal heir of Reito will get us entry! As for coin, I shall be gracious and pay for both of our meals this time!"

I frowned. On one hand, I didn't want to take hand-outs from a friend, on the other, it was a sin to turn down free food, and I wasn't willing to waste several of my own gold on a slice of ham and some exotic bread.

"Fine... Just don't cause a ruckus. Are you sure your information is correct, by the way? I don't want to enter the noble's district, only to find out that there is no 'Golden Rose' restaurant."

"My food-stall friends assured me of this information, Arthur! If there's anyone I trust, it's the people that know how to make a proper pork skewer."

I sighed.

"Those principles are exactly the reason why I don't trust your information-gathering skills in the first place, Cerion."

Half an hour later, we had made our way into the noble's district and found the restaurant in question. It was a large, white building, its outside walls decorated with statues and windows. Above the entrance, there was a large sign that spelled 'Golden Rose' in, unsurprisingly, golden letters. Immediately, I noticed several major problems, however.

Problem number one, there was a long line outside, which didn't seem to be moving. That would mean a wait time of at least an hour, possibly several.

Problem number two: the people that were waiting in line were dressed to the stars. They looked like they were about to welcome the king to their home or something. Perfectly fitted suits, detailed dresses, and golden accessories could be seen everywhere. Meanwhile, Cerion and I had arrived in some simple commoners-garb, a white button-up shirt on some black pants, and boots.

Problem number three: The guards stationed nearby had noticed us as well, because we stood out so much. With the tears in our clothes and the roughness of our hands, we looked like we were here to pull off the pick-pocket heist of the century.

I grabbed Cerion by the shoulder.

"Listen, man, we stand out too much, and I don't think we're following the dress code. How about we visit another restaurant in the common district? I'm sure they make good food, too."

"Nonsense! I promised I would pay for our food at the 'Golden Rose', and so I shall! Follow me!"

Cerion walked towards the line at a brisk pace. It was all I could do to catch up to him without running and standing out even more as a consequence.

One of the guards approached us as we walked to the line.

"You two! What do you think you're doing here? Only people who have the coin to pay for their food are allowed to dine at the Golden Rose. Or were you thinking about something else..?"

Cerion turned towards the guard jovially.

"Hello there, chap! Do you work here? Is there any way you could bring out the manager of the restaurant? I don't mean to be rude, but I have quite a high status, and I wanted to treat my friend and party member to some food here. Waiting in line for several hours simply won't do."

Something about the way Cerion spoke and carried himself when he entered 'noble mode' distracted the guards for a moment. For just a second, he had convinced them that we were of a higher status. With how we looked right now, though, it wasn't destined to last.

One of the guards grabbed the other guard's shoulder and started a hurried, whispered conversation. They weren't quiet enough, though. Both Cerion and I heard them.

"I've heard of these people before! They're called [Charlatans]! They use nice words to fool people into giving them money!"

"Really? So what do we do? If we call the manager, he might be angry at us for wasting his time, but if we keep them away from the restaurant and they do turn out to be nobles, we're screwed!"

"Let's just notify the manager about a charlatan making trouble at the entrance. That way, no matter what happens, it isn't our fault."

One of the guards turned to us with a forced smile.

"Good sirs, my colleague is getting the manager for you now, please wait here while he is being made aware of the situation."

Cerion started to move to protest our label of a charlatan, but I pulled him back and answered for the both of us.

"That would be lovely, thank you. Please let us know when the manager arrives."

With a hurried nod, the guard returned to his station at the entrance of the restaurant.

About thirty minutes later, a well-dressed old man finally came out to meet us.

"Good sirs, if you could please introduce yourselves? I am rather busy as of late, and don't have much time."

Cerion replies in good spirit.

"Ah, you must be this restaurant's manager, right?"

He took out an identity token representing the Ducal house of Rass from his pocket and presented it to the manager.

"My friend and I would like a quiet meal inside one of your upstairs rooms, if that's at all possible. Please leave our names out of it."

As per usual, nepotism seemed to do the trick. The manager reddened in embarrassment and changed his tone almost immediately, now that he better understood who he was dealing with. He assumed a more formal position, acting like he had become our butler or something. What a coward.

"Of course, sir! We have a room ready for you! Please excuse my rude behaviour from earlier. As an apology, your meal will be on the house. Please follow me."

Damn. One of these days I should get myself one of these noble titles... Turning down free food was a sin after all.

Half an hour later, Cerion and I were eating our fill inside one of the VIP dining rooms. Apparently, VIP meant 'very important person', if Cerion's sources were accurate.

I had to admit, the food seemed worth the money after all. This was far and away the best meal I had ever had and we hadn't even needed to wait very long at all! VIP treatment made everything easier, I supposed.

Just as I was starting to get used to the noble lifestyle, the door of our private room opened, revealing the manager with a young lady in tow. She was dressed to the nines, with her frilly silver dress dragging on the floor behind her.

"Good sirs, if I may introduce the young lady Tipha Dalia, daughter of Count Dalia and owner of the Golden Rose."

The girl looked to be no older than twenty. She gave a courteous bow to our table before approaching. She walked up to our table, pausing her step when she saw Cerion.

I had to admit, I was a little jealous. Cerion's blue hair stood out amongst a crowd to be sure, and his pretty-boy look would certainly be attractive to the ladies. With my hair slowly turning black, most people would assume I had no affinity at all and not give me a second look, despite my height and decent looks.

"Well met. I am Tipha Dalia, but you may call me Tipha. Am I correct in assuming that you are Cerion Rass, the son, and heir of Duke Rass?"

"You would be correct, though you can probably see from our clothing that my friend and myself would prefer if this fact remained unknown to most others."

The girl blushed a little when Cerion gave her his business smile.

"Of course. Your identities will not be leaked by myself or my staff, you can rest assured. What is the identity of your companion, if I may ask?"

I didn't think she ould be quite as impressed with my background as she had been with Cerion's, but since I didn't really care, I told her anyway.

"I'm just a commoner. Cerion and I form a witch hunter party together."

"He is a great friend of mine and a person I respect." Cerion added in a hurry.

Despite Cerion's best intentions, our host wasn't very impressed. Her face turned sour before a split second when she heard I was a commoner, though she recovered her false façade rather quickly.

It seemed I was now one for two on the stereotypical noble scale.

"Good to meet... both of you. Please enjoy your meal, I'm sure you can appreciate this restaurant's refined tastes."

She left a moment later, carrying herself proudly.

Refined tastes, huh? She was clearly trying to get a rib in. If Cerion noticed her hidden insult, he didn't show it, because he just smiled and got back to eating.

Another half an hour later, both of us had finished our meal and were just about to leave the premises when the manager approached us again.

"I hope you both enjoyed your meal here at the Golden Rose. If I may take up a moment more of your time... The young Lady Dalia has requested to meet the young Duke in her office. She asked me to assure you that the meeting would take no longer than five minutes and that it would most definitely be useful to you, sir Cerion."

My friend looked at me in hesitation, so I gave him a nod. So what if she didn't include me in this meeting. It probably wasn't any of my business anyway.

"Just go. I'll wait out here in the foyer."

He nodded back and followed the manager up a flight of stairs. I leaned against the wall and waited.

Not even five minutes later, Cerion came back down with an angry look on his face. I had never seen him so enraged before, his face was completely red.

"You okay man? What did she say that pissed you off so much? Did she insult your house or something?"

Cerion just shook his head and gestured for me to follow.

"Something like that. It doesn't matter. Let's go pick up your armour at the smithy."

I didn't want to pry, so I didn't ask further, but whatever that lady had said must have been really disrespectful. Despite his naivety, Cerion was one of the most passive people I knew. He didn't get angry for no reason.

Well, it didn't matter in the end. With my new armour set to look forward to, we headed into the crafters' district.