"Katie, what do you want to eat?"

Wearing a red and black dress, Luo Lan walked with Katie through the restaurant, glancing at the various counters, observing the freshly baked dishes, some still steaming. Unlike the Central Campus, the restaurant at the Walled City Academy offered a wide menu, favoring more aristocratic cuisine with smaller portions, emphasizing a refined aesthetic.

"Is that okay?" Keti raised her finger and pointed at a light yellow dish that looked like a small boat.

Is this a pineapple boat fruit salad? Roland looked at the large pineapple, cut in half and placed horizontally in the center of the dish like a small boat. Inside, it was filled with small pieces of strawberry, lychee, banana, and mangosteen flesh, a dazzling array of fruits. He wondered where they found so many seasonal fruits. Perhaps they had some kind of extraordinary preservation method.

"Okay, but I still have to eat staple foods and add some meat to make it balanced." Eating only fruit won't do, the girl thought.

After a quick walk around the restaurant, Loran Hill ordered a beef sausage pizza as the main course for two people, and also ordered a pineapple boat fruit salad for Katie and a pan-fried rosemary lamb chops for herself.

Loran Hill and Katie first brought pizza and pineapple boats to the table at the edge of the restaurant. The tables and chairs against the wall of the restaurant were where the students ate. They were separated by a low wooden platform, and each single room had a table with 4-6 chairs.

The two of them ate some fruit first. Luo Lan asked Keti to sit here for a while while he went to get the remaining lamb chops. Because the lamb chops were freshly cooked, they would take a while and should be almost done by now.

The lamb sizzled on the iron plate, and the olive oil, with rosemary granules and a pinch of salt and pepper, gave off a tantalizing aroma as it cooked. Seeing Luo Lan return, the waiter brought out a clean white porcelain plate, set it aside, and then picked up the lamb chops and placed them on the plate, adding some prepared vegetables to the mix. The pan-fried rosemary lamb chops were ready.

When Loran Hill picked up the plate and was about to go back, he found a stranger sitting at his table. He simply greeted Katie and sat down.

Seeing this scene, Loran Hill couldn't help but quicken his pace. Fortunately, his perception was sharp and he could hear everything the other party said, so he was not too worried.

"My beautiful lady, I am Dina Austin, a third-year student at the Walled City Academy. It's a pleasure to meet you." When he said the syllable Austin, his voice rose particularly high, giving it a unique accent and flavor.

Seeing that Keti was a little nervous and restrained, the young man in black and red clothes did not stop his chattering.

"You may be a little surprised by my appearance, but in fact it is not a surprise."

"I come to this restaurant every Wednesday afternoon because they sell crystal shrimp from the Northern Mirror Lake. I'm quite picky about food, and dishes made with this ingredient are one of the few recipes I approve of..."

The young man then recounted his autumn trip to the southern empire, describing the enormous cruise ships, the largest steel vessels anyone had ever seen, ablaze with lights and filled with the empire's nobles and noblewomen. As he spoke, he casually revealed his cane and pocket watch, occasionally remarking on the meticulous craftsmanship, the craftsmen all descended from renowned masters with a long and rich history.

Katie nodded as she listened, which made Dana more and more excited, as if the lady with peerless beauty in front of him was his number one fan, and he was going to lead him into a new and beautiful world.

"Hello." Loran came over with lamb chops. Seeing that Katie was listening very attentively, she didn't want to interrupt him suddenly. Instead, she waited for him to finish speaking before coming over and placing the plates in front of herself and Katie, then speaking to the young man who was talking incessantly.

"Excuse me, since we're not familiar with each other, could you please leave for a moment? My companion and I are going to have dinner now, and there are many empty tables in the restaurant. You can sit at a table by yourself."

Generally speaking, Loran Hill would not speak so directly, but this young man was obviously not the kind of person who was thin-skinned. If he didn't speak more directly, he might really stay and not leave.

"Hello, oh~ How beautiful, like a rose under the bright moon."

"I'm Dana Auston. Nice to meet you. Coincidentally, I'm also a student at the Walled City Academy, studying the same Demon Sequence. While I'm not top-tier, I do have my own understanding. If you have time, we could talk more."

Looking at Loran Hill, whose face was beautiful but indifferent to him, the young man first marveled at her beauty, and then tried to get closer to her and start a conversation.

Loran Hill did not respond immediately, but picked up a piece of lamb chop and put it on Katie's plate, and then told her to eat only the meat and not the bones.

Then he raised his head and looked at the young man carefully.

Dana Oston was not handsome, he was only above average, but his clothes and accessories were obviously carefully taken care of, looking neat and fitting. Although he spoke very logically, in Loran Hill's view, it was just an imitation and worship.

Those luxurious experiences might have been extremely appealing to a young, less worldly-wise girl, but they had little impact on her. Having spent six months as a chamber of commerce's daughter, she had seen many good things, but how much of them were fake was probably best understood by the merchants themselves.

Just like the Cointreau that the Nisos family once sold to the Verdant Empire, it was portrayed as an amber-colored, crystal-clear liquid, with each bottle claimed to be worth more than an equal volume of gold. However, as partners with the Nisos family, the Carites family naturally knew that these were simply brewed from the oranges harvested that year. While the workers and craftsmen were advertised as being pure young girls, in reality, they were just ordinary women hired to do the work.

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