"Mr Luo, you've met my mother?"
Erina's heart immediately leapt when Luo Shu mentioned Mana Nakiri.
Truth be told, Erina had considered asking Luo Shu about her mother, but given the importance of this meeting for the Nakiri family, she'd forcibly suppressed the thought.
But now that Luo Shu had brought it up himself, she was wide awake.
"Mana-san has collaborated with our SDS on numerous occasions. Though since I'm responsible for the Japan region, I've only heard bits and pieces."
Luo Shu smiled warmly at Erina, conveying his goodwill.
Towards these former heroines he'd once been attracted to – now potential Familia members – Luo Shu always maintained a cordial attitude.
Indeed, the moment he'd seen Erina Nakiri, Luo Shu had determined she could become his Familia.
The same went for Alice Nakiri beside them. However, as the invited party, Luo Shu had to prioritise thanking his introducer, Daichi Fujiwara, first, leaving Alice for later.
"...Is my mother... doing well?" Erina opened her mouth, only managing to squeeze out this question.
She knew she was being clumsy with words, but couldn't help it at this moment.
Though she resented her mother for abandoning her, understanding the circumstances of the God's Tongue meant her hatred was minimal. Instead, she mostly felt a sense of shared suffering.
After all, as another bearer of God's Tongue, she might one day develop the same anorexia as Mana Nakiri.
Being a possessor herself, Erina understood the side effects of God's Tongue better than anyone. This empathy allowed her to forgive Mana somewhat.
"Mana-san is extremely dedicated to her work."
Knowing what Erina wanted to hear, Luo Shu carefully selected his words:
"In just five years of collaborating with us, she's participated in 11 new ingredient development projects, even using her own body for testing – always leading by example. I hear America wants to invite her to become Director of their new Ingredients Development Department..."
"She still cares so much about work." Erina's tone was complicated.
Of course, Erina knew Mana's enthusiastic participation in new ingredients development – even using herself as a test subject – was to satisfy her increasingly demanding God's Tongue.
Yet this obsession, to the point of cutting contact with her daughter, still left Erina with some resentment.
"Indeed, within the department, Mana-san is considered a rather... intense developer."
Luo Shu casually upgraded Erina's "caring" to "intense".
In truth, Mana's actions were far worse than Luo Shu described.
Those 11 new ingredient developments? They were actually heavy involvement in 11 projects researching yokai flesh and plant spirits – with herself as the primary test subject.
It's important to know that the flesh and tissue of many yokai and spirits are highly toxic to humans. Consuming certain things can pose dangers that even some equipment can't detect.
Mana Nakiri participated in 11 research projects within a five-year period, truly treating her own life as expendable.
For such people, Luo Shu could only call them admirable while keeping a respectful distance.
Compared to Erina Nakiri, who was merely a bit arrogant, Mana Nakiri was downright insane.
"Intense? That's rather apt."
Erina Nakiri didn't feel Luo Shu was speaking ill of her, since she also thought her mother was somewhat crazy.
Thinking this, Erina felt somewhat worried and considered asking Luo Shu if he had Mana Nakiri's contact details, but ultimately didn't dare inquire further.
A biological daughter not having her own mother's contact information was rather absurd, yet this was precisely what had happened to Erina Nakiri.
"Speaking of which, Ms Mana seems to have recently changed her contact number. Miss Erina should know about this, right?"
Luo Shu's sudden remark made Erina freeze momentarily before her face flushed crimson.
Had she been that obvious?
Of course not. Before coming, Luo Shu had investigated Mana Nakiri. The report mentioned her phone contained only ten contacts.
And Erina Nakiri wasn't among those ten in the report.
"...I-I wasn't aware of this matter," Erina said, her face burning.
She felt like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, with Luo Shu digging the hole and her voluntarily sticking her head in.
Seeing Erina's petulant expression, Luo Shu chuckled, opened his phone's contacts and handed it to her.
"This is your mother's number. Rest assured, I've asked her personally and have permission to share it. Though strictly speaking, this doesn't really count as sharing."
"Mr Luo, have you been in contact with my mother?"
While quickly memorising the number and adding it to her phone, Erina asked curiously.
"No, I usually liaise with her superiors. They confirmed it's been approved, so there shouldn't be issues."
"..."
Erina didn't know how to respond.
'So you're actually on the same level as my mother's boss?'
Now, Erina finally understood why her grandfather attached such importance to this small gathering.
The man before her truly was a major figure capable of standing behind the Nakiri family.
But more importantly, he could help her obtain her mother's contact details!
Thinking this, Erina glanced at her phone and smiled.
Just then, the private room door was gently knocked before Senzaemon Nakiri entered, followed by the tall, short-haired Gin Dōjima pushing a food trolley.
"Hohoho, it's been years since I last cooked - took a bit longer than expected. My apologies for keeping everyone waiting."
Senzaemon stroked his beard and laughed heartily, his entire body steaming as if he'd just come from a sauna.
Seeing the steam rising from Senzaemon, Luo Shu knew the old man had likely used qi in his cooking.
For this kind of culinary technique previously only seen in films like The God of Cookery, Luo Shu felt considerable anticipation.
At this moment, Senzaemon Nakiri glanced around at everyone in the private room. Alice Nakiri was fine - after all, Toyomi Fujiwara was naturally skilled at socialising, something even he had heard about.
But when he saw Erina Nakiri happily holding her phone, Senzaemon froze completely.
What in the world? He'd only been gone for what, less than ten minutes? And now his youngest granddaughter, whom he considered the least adept at interacting with boys, looked completely smitten?
What kind of nonsense was this?
Though utterly shocked inside, Senzaemon maintained his composure and clapped his hands:
"Gin, serve the dishes. Let's not keep our guests waiting."