"Guests, please follow me."
After understanding her young mistress's subtle hint, Song Anran moved into action.
Looking at this group of people whose "chuunibyou" traits were dialed to the max, Song Anran recalled some news recently released by official sources. With her intelligence, she could roughly guess the hidden identities of these people. Furthermore, the eldest daughter of the Liu family was among them; it seemed her own young mistress was quite blessed!
However, no matter how much Song Anran speculated, she could never have guessed their true identities. After all, no matter how wild one's imagination was, no one would think that something like a 'Chat Group' existed in reality, let alone characters from anime manifesting in the real world.
Song Anran simply assumed these people were part of an official special task force and didn't think toward anything more fantastical.
"Let's go, everyone. My private room is just inside."
The group followed Song Anran toward the private booth reserved for Seraphina's family. To get there, they first had to pass through the main hall, since most people still ate there.
It was almost lunch time, and because this restaurant had an extremely high approval rating, the hall was already packed. The aroma of various cooked dishes wafted through the air, making the other girls—who hadn't been hungry—start to crave a bite.
As the saying goes: 'The hustle and bustle of the mortal world is what soothes a person's heart most.'
For Shinobu Kocho and the others, who often stayed in desolate or uninhabited worlds, this lively environment felt much better. The only downside was that, smelling these scents, Mitsuri Kanroji's stomach began to rumble again.
"Grumble—!!"
The sound this time was even louder than before. Several tables of middle-aged diners nearby heard it.
"How long has this little girl been hungry? Her stomach is making such a noise!"
"Young lady, why don't you have a bite at our table first? You shouldn't go about on an empty stomach!"
"That's right! Your little boyfriend over there should have bought you something to eat first. How can he let such a young girl go hungry?"
"Oh my, these children look so exquisite. I wonder what kind of blessings their parents earned to have such adorable children."
The uncles and aunts who heard Mitsuri Kanroji's stomach rumbles warmly invited her to eat with them. In this era, the most unbearable thing was seeing someone go hungry. They had experienced hunger alongside their parents' generation, so they were extremely concerned about anyone with an empty stomach.
Although this group's clothing was a bit flashy, they all looked quite young. Aside from the young man who looked like a university student, the rest looked like middle or high schoolers, and there were even a few small children.
Hearing the words of these uncles and aunts, Mitsuri Kanroji felt a bit embarrassed. Though her stomach felt very empty, wouldn't it be rude to just trot over there? Besides, these people were so kind; they didn't even know her, yet they were willing to offer her food.
Ultimately, Mitsuri Kanroji shook her head and thanked them for the invitation. She could endure it a bit longer, and they were only a few steps away anyway; there was no need to go out of her way for a few bites.
Just as the group was about to cross the hall and reach the private room, Liu Yueyan suddenly noticed that Lin Tian, Shinobu Kocho, and the others hadn't kept up. She instinctively turned back to look.
She saw Lin Tian staring blankly at a certain spot, with Shinobu Kocho standing worriedly by his side. Following Lin Tian's gaze, Liu Yueyan saw a family having a meal together. The mother was placing food into her daughter's bowl while the father was leisurely grilling meat.