After a few minutes in which you focus mostly on filling your stomach, you steer what dinner conversation there's been so far to the topic of your reagent hunt. Lu-sensei being Lu-sensei, he asks about what exactly the ritual you have in mind entails, and so you get into an explanation about your imperfect, Hellmouth-forged link to Briar and your mutual decision to straighten it out into a proper familiar bond - one hopefully purified of the Hellmouth's taint. You further segue into what, exactly, a familiar bond is, then go back to the matter of gathering the reagents - why you've decided to hunt them down rather than simply buy what you needed, and why you're looking at obtaining the materials from spiritual sites.
Cordelia doesn't seem particularly troubled by the whole deal, even the part where you didn't tell her what you were planning to do with the odds and ends she was, and will be, helping you to pick out.
"If I'd wanted to know that badly, I would have asked."
Considering what you know of his opinion on sorcerers in general, Lu-sensei surprises you by being supportive of your plan to take a familiar. When you ask him about it, he mentions that most of the particularly objectionable magic-users he's encountered over the years either had no familiars to act as the proverbial little angels of conscience sitting on their shoulders, or had all-too literal little devils perched there instead. Those practitioners who have animals, bound elemental spirits, or other familiars not of an inherently malignant nature tend to be much more responsible and respectful in the use of their power - which is not to say that they're always the good guys, or even always on the lighter shades of grey, only that they're much less likely to be out to end the world than the other sort. Your teacher also approves of the "do it yourself" approach you've taken to the matter of locating the materials you need, figuring that it will teach you something about organization, diplomacy, and possibly tracking.
For all that he's supportive of your efforts, Lu-sensei doesn't have a great deal to offer in the way of advice about your hunt for reagents. He hasn't lived in Japan since he was a young man - he's evasive on dates, so you can only guess how long ago THAT must have been - and when he was a resident, it wasn't Tokyo that he called home, let alone this part of it. At this point, you know more about most of the local shrines and temples than he does... with one exception.
"I suggest that you look here," he says, tapping one of the locations on your map.
"The Higurashi Shrine?"
The old man nods. "I have reason to believe you might find one or two potential offerings there. I won't say anything more, as that might take the challenge out of things."
"And also the amusement value of watching me stumble around blindly," you note.
"Ah, such a disrespectful student I have," Lu-sensei sighs.
"And yet you don't deny wanting to see him screw up," Cordelia says.
To this, the old man merely shrugs.
Gained Annotated Map 2.0
The rest of the evening passes swiftly and without incident. Cordelia calls it a night around eight-thirty, and you're feeling the siren song of sleep yourself. All things being equal, you decide to call it a night: you've had a long day; another, hopefully somewhat less tiring one is ahead of you; and there's nothing that needs your attention so urgently that it can't wait until you've rested and recovered your strength. Waving goodnight to Lu-sensei, who has settled down in the living room with a book, you amble off to bed.
As has long since become the norm, when you sleep, you dream. Tonight, however, something about the hazy realm of the subconscious feels different from what you're used to. You can't quite put your finger on the source of your discomfort; you only know that it's there.