He turned to their companions, said something in Japanese, and they all roared with laughter.

“Oh, Damaso-san, you are so funny,” Ms. Inokawa chortled.

“Yeah. Hilarious,” Cleo muttered beneath her breath. A slanted glance from him confirmed that he’d heard her. She directed another distressed look down at her plate, and a pair of chopsticks swooped into her line of vision and grabbed one of the poor creatures.

“Don’t worry, Miss Knight, I’ll save you from ...