"..."
After a little under half an hour, Annie had polished off nearly half the dishes on the table. She was now holding a small bowl of exquisite spirit rice studded with eight treasures, eating it with a small plate of dragon liver stir-fried in sauce, or something like that. She was thoroughly enjoying herself.
"Little guest!"
"Your dishes are here!"
Only then did the waiter return to the private room, still looking excited and flushed, with several plates of food in his hands.
He swiftly cleared away the empty plates in front of Annie and replaced them with the steaming desserts and new dishes. All the while, he couldn't help making appreciative clicking sounds and muttering to himself.
"..."
(.)
Only then did Annie set down her chopsticks. She casually used a certain bear to wipe the corner of her mouth, took a sip of warm spirit tea, then looked at the waiter and asked offhandedly:
"It's so noisy outside. Hasn't it died down yet?"
(˙o˙)
"What's going on? Is someone causing trouble?"
-
(゜-゜)
She didn't mean anything by it. She had simply eaten her fill and had some free time during her break, so she'd asked on a whim.
After all, she'd just seen the waiter rush over to the street across from them to join the crowd. He must have found out what was going on.
"!!"
Sure enough, when the waiter saw that his esteemed guest had asked, he perked up at once.
He'd been bursting to tell someone all the things he'd seen and heard. Now that he had the chance, he quickly stopped in front of her, his face arranged in an even more obsequious smile. Lowering his voice as if sharing a secret, he recounted everything he'd just heard and seen downstairs: