Chapter 133: Golden Wheel

Julius tucked away the Sylvan Petal for later use. However, he had to promise to let everyone know when he would be using it so that they could participate or at least observe what happens.

After the group left the auction house, the six of them headed toward their dinner reservation at the Golden Wheel. A place that Julius was very excited to see for himself. The others had talked it up so much, that he was expected many great things.

He’d even prevented himself from stuffing his face at the buffet as Edgar had done. He didn’t have an endless gaping pit of a stomach that Edgar seemed to have. In some ways, Julius was envious of the big muscular man’s appetite.

To Julius’s surprise, they didn’t walk to the restaurant. Derek had the bright foresight to hire a carriage to take them there. Carriages were very expensive in Heston, especially considering the city didn’t allow any carriages that were drawn by horses or other creatures.

Apparently, there was an issue with too much fecal matter from them being left behind on the roads.

All of the carriages seen on the street were fueled by mana. Perhaps if Julius didn’t have memories from his old world he would have been more taken away by the innovative carriages. Unfortunately, even the carriage, as nice as it was, didn’t have the same allure as some of the nicer cars from his old world. It was one of the few parts of this new world that fell short of his old.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Julius looked upon the entrance in awe. The restaurant was practically half the size of the auction house they were just at. It was that massive, and in some ways, much nicer than it. It certainly lived up to its name.

The entire restaurant revolved around the golden wheel theme. The entrance had a fifty-foot wheel hanging from above, softly spinning in motion. The entire place was covered in gold decorations and art. And surprisingly, was still very tasteful and not over the top. Julius didn’t know how the designers managed that.

There were colorful mana constructs dancing around the air, dazzling the guests and even bringing them warm enchanted towels for them to wash their hands on until a staff member took them to their seats.

There were multiple floors of the Golden Wheel. The lower levels were for most of the customers, the upper floors were designated for special occasions and VIPs.

He leaned over to Lily as they were following the staff member. “I’m surprised you didn’t get us a floor on the upper floors,” he whispered in her ear.

She looked over her shoulder and shook her head amusingly. “Funnily enough, the bottom level is the most enjoyable to eat at. At least for us. Upstairs can feel a little lonely and stuffy. It’s full of people with an inflated opinion of themselves who don’t actually enjoy the food, but enjoy the status of eating here. We think that being surrounded by people who are enjoying the food aspect of the restaurant is more pleasant to be around.”

Ah, I can see how that might happen.

The menu for dinner was a thirteen-course menu, and diners were allowed to choose between a couple of options for each course. It must have been absolute chaos to keep track of everything. Julius had no doubts that most of the staff were Tier 2 or 3 just to keep up.

“Thirteen courses sound like a lot. Are the servings small or something?” he asked Derek who was sitting across from him.

Julius could see no other way someone could eat so much food without falling into a food-induced coma.

“That’s the magic of the restaurant,” Derek replied with a smile. “The chefs in this place have a special set of skills that imbue the food with effects that will always keep you hungry.”

“But surely there would still be a point where it is physically impossible to put any more food in one’s body right?” Julius pointed out.

Aubrey jumped in excitedly. “That’s the best part! I don’t know how they do it, but they managed to perfectly balance alchemy practices with their food. The food dissipates much like a potion or other mana-based consumable would.”

“So you never get full?” Julius asked confused. Wasn’t that the whole point of going to a restaurant? To get one’s tummy full?

Aubrey chuckled at him. “Nope, by the end of the night, you are in the perfect state of hungry but not comatose.”

Julius still didn’t quite know what she was talking about. He would have to wait and see what she was talking about for himself.

While they were waiting for their food and making idle small talk, Julius took the time to look around. Unsurprisingly, he noticed that a lot of the people dining here were nobles if their attire was any indicator. But he was also pleasantly surprised to see many commoners as well.

He could tell that they were commoners based on their clothing. It wasn’t a dig on them, but it was just an observation. Their outfits were nice, with buttons and everything. But it was also made of more practical and rugged materials. Their attitudes were different too, they were more down to earth than the nobles.

Julius almost laughed when he spotted some a family who were holding the silverware like one would hold two swords. He also noticed that the fare was much more rustic than what he had been expecting from such a fancy place.

“What’s with all the commoners? I heard that this place was really hard to get into, even for nobles.” Julius noted.

Lily smiled brightly. “It’s actually a touching reason. The owner and chef of the restaurant are husband and wife. They were both born as commoners and they wanted to create a place where commoners are welcome as well. So at any time half of the restaurant is dedicated to commoners only. It is also the reason why the prices are really reasonable considering how high quality the meal is. They still offer higher tiered food items for nobles and such, but most commoners are only Tier 2 or 3, so normal fare is fine with them.”

“Don’t some of the nobles cause problems because of that?” Julius asked.

“Most know better than to start something here. After all, Headmaster Keiron himself helped the couple open the restaurant,” Lily said.

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The Headmaster? Julius wouldn’t have expected the restaurant to have such influential backers. Just as Julius was about to respond, their waiter brought over their first course.

He could smell the nutty scent of toasted wheat before it even reached them. Each of them was presented with a small dish of their very own freshly baked bread, along with a healthy serving of butter on the side.

It wasn’t quite the first course he expected for a restaurant of its reputation, but he wasn’t complaining. The bread looked absolutely divine. It was more akin to a croissant with how flaky it was. Also who didn’t love fresh bread with their dinner?

The first bite was all he needed to forget about anything else. The taste was even better than the smell and looks. Julius caught himself actually moaning in appreciation at how delicious the bread was. It was by far the best bite of bread that he had ever had in either life. The perfect balance between flaky and soft was impeccable. It was also deeply nutty and had a touch of sweetness.

Then just when Julius didn’t think it could get better, he put a good smear of butter all over his next bit and he thought he died and went to heaven. He had a whole Ratatouille moment in the middle of his meal, remembering the first time he and his mother had made homemade bread when he was younger.

It tasted just as good, if not better.

He looked over at the others to see how they were reacting and he laughed loudly at what he saw. Every one of them was shoving their entire loaves down their throat with eagerness. Even the normally refined Derek, Kyle, and Lily were eating as fast as decorum would allow them.

Not a single one of them looked up from their plates. Aubrey and Edgar were shockingly already done with their loaves, polishing them up in record time. However, what shocked Julius more, was that the waiter was already there placing brand-new loaves of bread in front of the two of them.

Julius met eyes with the male waiter and the man smiled at him. “It’s not my first time serving them. They go through multiple loaves every time throughout the night, so I make sure to keep many on hand.”