Chaldeas was, in fact, a massive organization, so it naturally had its own dedicated dining areas.
As the Director of Chaldea, Li Zihan was of course very familiar with its layout and wouldn't make a fool of himself by getting lost.
Therefore, he easily found the best-looking restaurant inside Chaldea and placed an order directly.
The head chef, seeing the living, breathing Director for the first time, was also stunned for a moment before quickly seating the two guests at the counter by the performance kitchen.
Like many Western chefs, this one chose to perform his culinary arts in front of his distinguished guests, turning the meal into a visual feast.
Li Zihan also followed protocol, conversing with the chef, listening to his culinary career history, and his concepts and ideas regarding his cuisine.
Amidst the sound of laughter and conversation, the fresh aroma of food began to permeate the air.
Smelling the rich fragrance, Ana, who hadn't eaten for a long time due to the wait, instinctively swallowed.
The time spent enjoying a delicious meal is a happy time, but the time spent waiting for the food to be ready is the happiest time of all.
A certain anonymous Kamen Rider once said so.
However, that only applied when one wasn't starving.
Now, after finishing the pre-meal appetizer, Miss Ana, who shared a certain bloodline with a certain anonymous Paramecium, felt no sense of fullness whatsoever.
She wished a Stand Arrow would appear before her, pierce her body and awaken King Crimson, just so she could erase this period of agonizing hunger.
But from her outward appearance, one couldn't tell this at all.
The girl's slender waist was held perfectly straight. She was silent, wearing a smile that was the very picture of proper etiquette.
Aside from her eyes occasionally darting towards her male companion and sometimes glancing at the marble tabletop, everything about her was impeccable.
Her demeanor could easily bring the term "young lady of high society" to mind.
Unfortunately, it was all an act.
Miss Ana stared at the gleaming marble tabletop, using her reflection to check her image.
Recalling Mr. Director's stunned expression when he heard her stomach growl, Miss Ana wished she could find a crack in the floor and crawl into it.
Her reaction just now had basically brought utter shame upon both the Schariac family and the Snow Lotus Squad.
Now, if she were to put on the appearance of a starving ghost being reincarnated…
Schariac family reputation: Damaged.jpg.
Snow Lotus Squad reputation: Damaged.jpg.
Ana Schariac's reputation: Annihilated.jpg.
A choice similar to "style or warmth" was laid out before Miss Ana.
That is, a choice between poise and a full stomach.
Desperately wanting to save face in front of her idol, she painfully chose poise over sustenance.
To master a peerless martial art, one must endure pain that ordinary people cannot.
Maintaining one's poise was the same principle.
Good, just have to keep this up.
Miss Ana, feeling that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her appearance, thought to herself as she looked at her reflection on the marble tabletop.
And then—
"If you can't stand the hunger, just go ahead and order some snacks."
"You can just be your true self around me. There's no need to pretend to be a lady."
These words floated lightly into the ears of the highly poised girl, causing the smile on her delicate face to stiffen for a fraction of a second.
"I-I'm actually not that hungry."
Feeling that all her efforts to maintain her poise had been a complete waste, the girl's cheeks flushed crimson. She quickly raised her hands, waving them in a flustered manner.
The elegant demeanor of a young lady from moments before vanished without a trace.
This reaction was no different from a confession without being prompted.
Even if one didn't know about Miss Ana's stomach growling just now, seeing her flustered state was enough to guess the truth.
This girl is surprisingly dense and cute.
The boy, finding the girl before him unexpectedly adorable, smiled and pushed his own untouched pre-meal dessert over to her side.
"Being overly concerned with poise is a very boring thing."
So I've been doing something very boring this whole time?
The girl, who had been so concerned about her image in the boy's eyes, stared with her bright, clear eyes wide open. Then, her expression turned ashen.
Her reputation seemed to be completely ruined.
"However, this side of you is still quite cute."
The boy with vibrant red pupils looked at the girl whose emotions seemed to be a bit all over the place and spoke a truth that sounded suspiciously like comfort.
C-Cute?
The girl, who had thought she must seem like a complete idiot in the Director's eyes, now had a glint of pleasant surprise in them.
For a moment, she even forgot to eat the dessert that had been pushed in front of her.
"Of course."
As if reading her mind, the boy's answer came before the girl could even ask the question.
Even more red, matching the color of her pupils, crept up the girl's delicate face.
"Thank you for your compliment."
This child is surprisingly pure.
Li Zihan idly compared Ana to the other girls he knew.
In his memory, she was the first girl to blush this furiously over a single compliment.
He was unaware of the fact that he was actually Ana's idol.
Being complimented by an idol versus being complimented by a stranger were two completely different things.
At that moment, the chef also finished preparing the dishes and, with a smile, delivered the ordered food to the two of them.
The girl, the blush on her face not yet faded, kept her head down and ate in small, delicate bites.
She looked adorable, like a newly weaned kitten nibbling on hard food.
"I was supposed to talk with you tomorrow, but since we've already met, let's have a little chat now."
The boy, who had indeed planned to speak with Ana after finishing his business with Chen Tianwu, looked at the girl who bore a slight resemblance to Kiana but seemed much softer, and asked casually.
"A chat?"
The girl, still eating, snapped her head up, looking like a little hamster whose meal had been interrupted.
"To be precise, it's more like psychological counseling."
"The Artificial Herrscher Experiment is a human experiment, after all. It will inevitably bring a great deal of psychological pressure to the test subjects."
The boy, who was a rather competent doctor, spoke up.
"Therefore, some necessary psychological guidance before the experiment is a must."
"What's the scope of the questions?"
Hearing these words, Miss Ana suddenly seemed to grow interested, and she began asking questions as eagerly as an elementary school student.
"You can ask anything related to the experiment."
The boy, who was usually lackadaisical but became quite serious when it came to proper business, stated the scope concisely.
The girl named Ana seemed to remember something, and her face turned red again.
This reaction seemed a little baffling to Li Zihan.
However, it didn't prevent him from seeing that the girl before him had something she wanted to ask.
"Go ahead and ask whatever you want to know."
As if after a long internal struggle, the girl named Ana raised her head. She stared at the boy's red pupils with her own magnificent ones, her voice somewhat hesitant and awkward, with what seemed like a hint of shyness.
"Please, I must ask… during the experiment, is it true that the test subject will be influenced by Jizo Mitama… and come to fall in love with you?"