Oliver stepped into the Hazel Gold Restaurant.

It was the most prestigious restaurant within Hazelbrow City, a place mostly frequented by nobles and wealthy merchants. Even from the outside, the restaurant looked incredibly majestic.

Most of the building materials were made from Blackwood, a rare type of wood obtained only from the Rank 9 dungeon known as the Blackwood Sanctuary. The dark wood gave the restaurant an elegant yet luxurious atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the interior of the restaurant was divided into two floors. The floor itself was made from polished ceramic stone so smooth and beautiful that Oliver could clearly see his own reflection on it.

The moment Oliver stepped further inside, he noticed a large five-star emblem engraved at the center of the floor. Beneath it were the words "5 Fay Stars."

’This restaurant looks even grander than a three-star Michelin restaurant from my previous world.’ Oliver thought inwardly.

’So this world uses Fay Stars instead of Michelin Stars? Hmm... I wonder what the maximum star rating is here.’

Back in his previous life, Oliver had occasionally dined in luxurious restaurants whenever he dealt with important VVIP clients. However, even compared to those places, Hazel Gold Restaurant felt far more extravagant and beautiful.

"Please follow me."

A waitress politely guided them toward the second floor balcony area. The moment they arrived, Oliver became completely mesmerized by the scenery before him.

The entire city stretched endlessly into the distance, filled with countless buildings illuminated by lights from windows, streets, and lanterns. The night view looked breathtaking.

However, Oliver failed to notice the many gazes currently directed toward him from nearby diners.

"Who is that guy? He looks like someone from a village."

"But the woman accompanying him, isn’t that Lady Aria?"

"Yes, it’s definitely her."

"Then why is she dining here with another man? I thought she was already engaged to Lord Vincent of House Severin?"

Neither Oliver nor Aria noticed the whispers spreading among the nearby diners. Soon afterward, a waiter politely brought the menu toward them. The moment Oliver opened it, his eyes widened in shock.

’The cheapest thing here costs five gold coins?! And it’s only a cup of mushroom soup?! I don’t even have that much money on me right now.’ Oliver immediately felt a headache coming.

He nervously bit his nail while flipping through the menu. However, the more pages he turned, the faster his nail biting became. Because the prices only kept increasing more and more absurdly.

As a man, Oliver believed he should at least spend money when going out together with a woman. He genuinely did not mind paying.

The problem was, there was absolutely no way he could afford any of this.

Meanwhile, Aria quietly watched Oliver’s reaction before a faint smile appeared on her face.

’He’s actually kind of cute.’ she thought inwardly.

"Don’t worry, Oliver. Tonight’s meal is my treat. Just order whatever you want."

"Huh? That’s really alright?" Oliver asked in surprise.

"It’s fine. Consider it a reward for helping me today."

’Ahhh, she’s so kind!’ Oliver thought inwardly.

"Okay then. Hmm...can I get the Hazelnut Sirloin and an orange juice? Oh, and... can I also order another Hazelnut Sirloin for takeaway?"

The waiter immediately raised his eyebrows slightly. After working at Hazel Gold Restaurant for three years, this was the first time he had ever heard someone request takeaway from such an expensive restaurant.

Even Aria looked slightly surprised.

"E-Err...I want to eat it later tonight." Oliver smiled awkwardly. Of course, he did not reveal the real reason. He was actually planning to bring it back for Husk, who would definitely love it.

The waiter then turned toward Aria to take her order. She ordered exactly the same things as Oliver.

After the waiter left, Oliver secretly glanced toward Aria again. This time, he noticed faint dark circles beneath her eyes.

"Did you really need to invite me out tonight? You look tired. You should be resting instead." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"It’s fine. Later tonight I’ll finally get some proper sleep." Then her gaze shifted toward the distant city lights beyond the balcony.

"Besides, if I didn’t invite you tonight, there probably wouldn’t be another chance. I’ll be returning to my city tomorrow."

"So soon? Have the culprits already been captured?"

"Yes. Well... almost all of them. We already identified the mastermind behind everything. But when we arrived at his mansion, nobody was there. I’ve already ordered the soldiers to expand the search area. He shouldn’t be able to get far."

"I see..." Oliver replied quietly.

"You don’t want to visit Waine and the others? Luckily, all of them are fine." Aria looked at him.

"I don’t think so. They’re not really my friends. Besides, they probably aren’t expecting me to visit them anyway." Oliver answered honestly.

Aria simply smiled softly after hearing that.

"Honestly, I’m really surprised. I never expected you to become this strong. What kind of training did you go through during these past five years?" she said while resting her chin lightly on her hand.

"Hehehe. It’s a secret," Oliver replied playfully before laughing lightly.

"Just kidding. I simply did the same routine every single day. Clearing dungeons, taking quests, and things like that."

"Is that all?" Aria asked skeptically. She clearly did not believe his answer.

However, Oliver simply nodded. In truth, he was not lying. There really had been no special training. Only endless repetition of dungeon clearing and quest grinding day after day.

Of course, there was another important aspect he did not mention, training with his monsters. All three of his monsters were essentially boss-level creatures. Each one was overwhelmingly powerful in its own way.

Which meant that for the past five years, Oliver had basically been fighting boss battles every single day.

Soon, the waiter returned and carefully served their meals. The Hazelnut Sirloin looked incredibly appetizing. The meat glistened beautifully under the warm restaurant lights while fragrant steam slowly rose from the plate.

Oliver cut into the steak carefully. To his surprise, the meat was unbelievably soft and it had been cooked perfectly medium rare.

The moment he placed it into his mouth, the meat practically melted instantly. Its rich flavor spread throughout his mouth together with the slightly sweet hazelnut sauce.

"Hmmm... so good..." Oliver smiled happily.

Aria also cut into her steak. Unlike Oliver, however, she showed almost no reaction after tasting it. After all, food of this quality was something she ate regularly back at her mansion.

"So, what are you planning to do after this?"

"Hmm?" Oliver looked up from his meal. "I’ll return to my town, of course. What about you? You’re going back to the academy?"

"Yes. Right now we’re on semester break. In another two weeks, we’ll return to the academy again."

The two of them continued eating while chatting casually about various small topics.

However, unknown to both Oliver and Aria, a pair of eyes had been secretly observing them from several tables away.

"I should report this to Lord Vincent. I can’t even imagine how he’ll react after hearing about this." the man muttered quietly while narrowing his eyes toward Oliver.