As part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, Nagazora City was naturally a very prosperous place.
And within its bustling districts, there were, of course, many high-class restaurants.
A young girl with long white hair and a boy with black hair and red eyes were seated in one such kaiseki restaurant.
The decor of the establishment was simple yet elegant, never straying from a sense of beauty.
The tables and chairs, crafted from natural wood, carried an ancient charm. Beside them, an incense burner released袅袅 trails of white smoke, filling the air with a pleasant fragrance.
Every corner of the restaurant was meticulously arranged, enough to draw sighs of admiration from any guest who entered.
Unfortunately, the two diners here today seemed to pay little mind to these details.
The white-haired girl, dressed in a simple tracksuit, swallowed a piece of food, exquisitely prepared by the master chef, in a single gulp.
She chewed vigorously, downing the delicate dish that was meant to be savored slowly.
Then—
"Ah Li, how much longer until the next course?"
The white-haired dango, who was nowhere near full, stared at her empty plate, her expression falling.
After she had refused to continue peeping, she had started to feel a bit hungry.
Expecting the annoyed Mei to cook for her was unrealistic, so she had Li Zihan make good on his promise to treat her to a grand meal.
In response, Li Zihan had simply tossed her a menu.
Kiana knew that Li Zihan's act of sealing her memories was just a joke that had gone too far, not something born of malice.
He had always been sincere with her.
If nothing else, had he not released the Fenghuang Down's seal partway through, she would never have known the guy had secretly messed with her in the first place.
By undoing the memory seal, he had risked turning her against him just to tell her the truth.
His reaction was proof enough of his intentions.
But understanding was one thing; Kiana, having had her memories sealed, was still furious.
Out of a desire for revenge, she had chosen the most expensive restaurant in Nagazora City.
And that restaurant was a kaiseki restaurant.
Kaiseki originates from the path of Zen. To combat hunger during long meditation sessions, monks would place a warm stone against their stomachs, a practice known as "怀石" (huáishí), or "embracing a stone."
Later, this evolved into serving tea and snacks to the meditating monks, which eventually developed into the world-renowned kaiseki cuisine.
Even after centuries of development, kaiseki, which was originally invented merely to stave off hunger, was not known for its large portions.
This was easy enough to understand.
After eating and drinking one's fill, one either feels sleepy or lustful—how could anyone possibly comprehend the path of Zen in that state?
Kaiseki cuisine, with its emphasis on exquisite plating, freshness, and Zen principles, could probably ensure that a customer wouldn't go hungry.
However, that applied to normal customers.
For a glutton like Kiana, kaiseki was decidedly unfriendly.
"Five to ten minutes, probably."
Unsure of what the chef was preparing, the boy sipped his tea and pushed his own serving of food in front of Kiana.
Japanese cuisine prioritizes freshness, with kaiseki being the pinnacle. Each dish is prepared only after the customer has ordered it.
Therefore, the wait between courses could be quite long.
"Ah Li, let's go back and get all-you-can-eat."
Clearly not satisfied, Kiana picked up the dish Li Zihan passed her, polished it off in a few bites, and then spoke to him earnestly.
"All-you-can-eat barbecue sounds good."
"Going for all-you-can-eat barbecue right after having kaiseki? Don't you think that's a bit of a leap, young lady?"
Li Zihan raised an eyebrow, questioning her.
"Who cares about that?"
The white-haired dango, who was genuinely starving, pouted and retorted.
"Aren't you still hungry too, Ah Li?"
"Are you planning to just tough it out like some ancient Far East monk?"
…
Li Zihan fell silent.
Kiana had eaten nearly half of his food, so he indeed wasn't full.
"Alright, let's go then."
The magus, who was also quite hungry, stood up.
"Mhm."
The girl, who felt no sense of satisfaction from the grand meal, also stood up, positioning herself behind Li Zihan.
After explaining the situation to the restaurant staff, the two famished diners left the upscale establishment with a light spring in their step.
Following Kiana's lead, they arrived at a barbecue restaurant that looked quite decent.
Large platters of meat and unlimited drinks were brought over by Kiana in one go and placed on an empty table near the street.
The food at an ordinary barbecue joint couldn't compare to the flavors of kaiseki, but it had the advantage of being plentiful. As a result, both Li Zihan and Kiana ate with great relish.
"Oh yeah, Ah Li, what's been going on with you these last few days?"
Kiana, who had found it strange how many times Li Zihan had used Fenghuang Down recently and had even taken to habitually fiddling with it, grabbed a napkin, wiped her mouth, and asked the guy across from her.
"Why did you switch your usual equipment to Fenghuang Down?"
"It's probably because of the Artificial Herrscher Experiment," Li Zihan replied. He had been practicing with Fenghuang Down and Jizo Mitama continuously before conducting the experiment.
"The Artificial Herrscher Experiment… what on earth is that?" K423, a genuine, 24-karat Herrscher herself, asked.
"You take a Herrscher Gem or a candidate with Herrscher adaptability that has been pre-eroded by Jizo Mitama. Then, you artificially induce a Honkai eruption on an uninhabited island, forcing the Herrscher to be born."
"At the moment of the Herrscher's birth, you activate the prepared power of Jizo Mitama and then push the Key of Consciousness, Fenghuang Down, into Overload Mode to erase the Herrscher personality."
"The final result is a Herrscher with only a human consciousness," Li Zihan explained with a shrug.
"For this experiment, I practiced with Fenghuang Down and Jizo Mitama for a duration of two and a half weeks."
"So that's what it was."
Hearing the boy's explanation, Kiana nodded.
She finally understood why Li Zihan had been subconsciously pulling out Fenghuang Down.
He had probably been dealing with it constantly for the past couple of days, so the chances of it becoming a habit were high.
"Speaking of which, that kind of experiment… it must be really dangerous, right?"
Looking at the boy who was orchestrating an experiment to usurp a Herrscher's power, Kiana's heart filled with worry.
An experiment like that… wasn't it far too dangerous?
"Ah Li, is it really okay to be doing something like this?"
"It's not a big problem."
The boy, who had a Previous Era super-soldier standing by his side during the experiment and was also carrying the Oath of Judah, replied.
"The experiment was quite successful. Schicksal's Oceania Valkyrie, Wendy, has already obtained the power of the Herrscher of Wind."
"Then… are there any side effects from this kind of experiment?" Kiana asked, looking at the guy who seemed to be quite formidable in the field of scientific research.
Does it count as a side effect if the participant's favorability towards me gets too high and I end up on the wrong end of a kitchen knife?
Li Zihan thought idly before answering.
"There are a few."
"But I'm the one who bears those dangers. They won't endanger anyone else."