I decided to walk as I had only one horse at the moment. Arthur accompanied me. We walked across the block and asked several people about the location of a nearby restaurant. We soon found one located 900 metres away.

The gate of the restaurant was grandiose, large and covered with red fabrics used as banners all across the wooden decoration. A man was standing ahead of the gate as the receptionist. He had a well groomed white suit similar to that of a chef. As we approached him he asked, "Good evening customer. What can I do for you?"

I replied, "Prepare a table for two."

The receptionist judged Arthur's torn clothes and moved inside the restaurant to show us our table. After doing so, he walked back to the front of the gate. I ordered three chickre* legs and a whole sharen* cooked in basil leaves.

In world of dungeons and monsters, monster meat was a common delicacy. The price often depended upon which monster it was. Similar to weapons, these monsters also had ranks to make it easier to distinguish between them. They had three ranks, namely, from the lowest to the highest, bronze, silver and gold. However, once every decade, a monster comes about far superior in ranking. We called these abominable devastators as the jade rank. 

The aforementioned chickre and sharen however, were mere bronze monsters and thus their price wasn't too high. 

As we were served, Arthur began to eat. Just as he was about to eat more, one of the waiters stopped him. He started calling the receptionist to the table. 

As the receptionist arrived he said, "Sir! I'm sorry, but we do not serve slaves!"

He continued, "Since you have brought this slave in our restaurant, you must pay for the damages that you have caused to our reputation."

I could tell with one look that the receptionist was trying to rip us off. I furiously looked towards the receptionist and roared, "YOU DARE!"

The receptionist was startled on hearing this. He did not expect a man such as me to argue with him.

I continued, "Referring to my friend here as a slave! He is not marked as one nor do I believe he looks like one. However, you, you dared to oppose your own customers from eating! What sort of service is this! You yourself have damaged the image of your restaurant! You dare blame me for your imprudence!"

The receptionist argued, "I will accept your wordings sir, but I must see whether or not the man sitting beside you is branded."

I allowed the receptionist to examine Arthur. After finding no marks on Arthur's body, the receptionist was in complete disbelief. He didn't expect such a situation to arise.

I stood up and looked down on the short receptionist. "You have mocked my friend and treated him as a slave. Be prepared for the consequences. For now, I will have you skimmed down to the bone." 

As I reprimanded the receptionist, the manager walked through his chambers to observe the situation. After learning in detail about the incident that had occurred, he scolded the receptionist. 

The manager then said, "I am truly sorry for my careless receptionist. As a token of my apology, you may eat the food here for free."

I laid back and brought my knuckles under my chin to show an overpowering aura. "I see meaning to your apology.  However I do not find that adequate. In return, I wish for you to bring three bottled of white wine and parcel a days worth of food supply."

The manager complied with my demands. As we once again began eating, Arthur smiled as he looked down. I offered a bottle of wine to Arthur and he gladly accepted. We drank till late in the night yet spoke nothing. 

I refused to speak to show my power as a master, and Arthur stayed quiet due to the sorrow he was long since engulfed in.

 I ordered Arthur to carry the parcel* and reached home carrying half a bottle of wine. As we entered through the door, we found the mansion to be exquisitely cleaned. Not a speck of dust was to be seen. I kept the wine bottle on the living room table.

As I walked into my room, I saw Alexandria cleaning the floor with a large piece of cloth from her already torn dress. I lightly hit my head with my hand and sighed, "Alexandria, I had allowed you to rest for the day, why are you working now at this hour?!"

Alexandria got up from the floor, and shyly replied, "I.... I simply thought that serving master would be the right thing to do."

I could tell that she was trying hard to create a good impression of herself. 

But was she doing this because she thought of me as a lecherous bastard? 

I was angry yet understanding enough to see her protect her integrity.

Author's Notes:

1. chickre: A 7 foot tall chicken with razor sharp legs.

2. sharen: A simple shark. Similar to the great white.

3. parcel; here the parcel is carried in the form of a leather bag.

4. This novel is entirely based on a world where the people progressed from the medieval ages to a new era due to the intervention of dungeons and monsters.