After they shook hands, Dick paused slightly, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, then asked,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0eOtyQiHa
“So… do you have any plans on where to go?”
Claire nodded. “Let’s head to Queen Street. There’s a nice American-style diner there.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkK3cwmhQW
Her tone was natural, as if it had been planned all along. No hesitation, and no special emphasis on this being a date.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69SHuxq5QX
Just dinner. Simply dinner.
As they chatted, they walked outside. Claire turned to lock the door.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVackpp6tG5
While doing so, she couldn’t help but glance down at the bottom edge of the doorknob—22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQnx12vGVv
a place where she had once scratched a tally with her nail to keep track of time.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuLPVKLg2F
That mark was long gone, as if it had never existed at all.
Claire finished locking up and turned right.
Dick frowned slightly, watching her back as he said,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGv4uj9VtR
“Isn’t Queen Street to the left?”
Claire nodded. “I know. But I want to take the long way.”
She said it so matter-of-factly, without any explanation.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsTzfs6AgE
Her tone was as casual as saying, “I feel like drinking something hot today.”
Dick tried to make sense of it, to interpret the logic.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqjGniXn0z
‘The long way’ = more time together?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNjzXIbuNJ
Was she trying to get to know him better?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosZsy1PwwG
But—there was absolutely no sign in her eyes that she had any particular thoughts about him.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡguCAzPeiqd
That clean, clear indifference felt oddly… intimidating.
What exactly is this girl’s goal?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7BPIw4leB
Dick had to find out.
They walked together. The shopfronts along the street glowed softly, the sidewalks neither crowded nor deserted.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNq7e1HBDq
Warm orange streetlights stretched their shadows out behind them.
Naturally, the conversation began.
Claire asked, “Is being a police officer really busy?”
Dick nodded and gave a textbook answer:22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP01HxQPCO7
“Workload’s heavy, pace is fast. But we work in shifts, so we get rest. Our precinct’s got decent security—less hectic than other districts.”
Claire didn’t call him out on the vague, PR-style response.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXQb1HZwFz
She just nodded silently.
Dick countered, “Is running a café tiring?”
Claire thought for a second, her tone relaxing a bit.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr04lmEqGzX
“Not too bad, really. I have to prep ingredients early every morning.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVjhkYt7G6
Some customers are regulars, others just passing through.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZb0wmJTA4l
Afternoons are quieter, so I bake more then.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3iL7LF7Aa
It’s tiring, sure, but you get used to it.”
Her voice was steady, but when she mentioned “regular customers,” the corner of her lips twitched slightly—like she’d remembered something funny.
“Your precinct chief drops by almost every day. He loves hazelnut lattes,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKIgs2Jl4s
but always claims he only drinks black coffee—too afraid his team will mock him for being soft.”
Dick blinked, then laughed.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNqTIIExWQ
That was more real than anything they’d said so far—plus, some gossip he hadn’t heard.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15FpYYHrEE
The tension quietly melted under that small, mischievous joke.
They came to a corner.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MLSb143H0
There stood an old motel with a flickering porch light and faded signage. Claire suddenly lifted her head and looked up at the upper floors.
Dick followed her gaze.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYkBvXsMzI
There was nothing. No lights, no movement, not even a stray cat.
Then Claire turned left toward Queen Street without a word, her pace steady, as if she had already seen whatever she needed to see.
Dick looked puzzled and caught up with her. “What were you looking at just now?”
Claire turned and looked at him, her expression calm, voice equally so:22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXCfSMwUrD
“You don’t mind if there’s one more person, right?”
Dick’s brain short-circuited for a second.
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZiqls7OKfU
…One more person?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhLMKVxYZe
Now?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTvHHyQJG76
At this time of night?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSsdwShFAQ
What did she mean by “one more person”?
His mental alarms fired up—scanning the area for any tails, ambushes, anything off.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvSjkYHdUt
But everything looked normal.
Then it hit him—22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUtoe83yda
she meant someone was joining them.
This woman had planned a three-person date.
Is this a trend now? Or have I officially lost track of how modern dating works?
Dick glanced at Claire, who kept walking like nothing was wrong, and he couldn’t tell anymore who was leading this whole situation.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURK0hZf1qZ
Wasn’t she the one who issued the invite without his consent?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuXxWa3mGG
Now she even arranged a third party?
He was starting to find her a little scary.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDwufFcMlH
Not dangerous—but the kind of scary where you could never guess her next move.
Dick tried to keep his cool and picked up his pace to match hers.
He lowered his voice and tried to sound casual:22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHH27yDjb92
“Can I ask… um… who’s joining us?”
Claire only tilted her head slightly, giving him a look that said,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7lNXuDiNHj
Why are you asking so much?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQhIpiKSbT
Then kept walking without breaking stride.
“A cute kid.”
Dick: “????????”
You couldn’t blame him for being confused.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHmvs7MjYt
She said it so naturally, but his brain was entering meltdown.
He quickly calculated her age, build, manner—she didn’t seem like someone who had a kid.
So… whose kid was it?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oeAJv8Btm
Why would a child be joining them at night for dinner?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoiOeOBOSM4
What kind of parent would be okay with that?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHoz6bDB8zk
Or… maybe the kid wasn’t hers at all?
The whole thing was getting weirder by the second.
As they walked on, Dick started to seriously wonder if he’d accidentally stumbled into some underground recruitment process,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhqivYnQIR
or if this was all a carefully disguised evaluation.
This woman’s actions were completely outside the bounds of any logic he’d ever associated with “ordinary people.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pSoVafZaR
Just as Dick felt he needed to ask more questions to make sense of all this,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb391sgPSOI
Claire suddenly began looking up at the sky.
She walked while glancing upward, her gaze gliding along the edges of rooftops,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTBckGlbr0
sometimes pausing slightly, as if she were searching for something.
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsl2PRM8X5
Dick followed her lead and looked up too—though honestly, he had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wSbeE09CA
His brows furrowed, and he couldn’t help but ask in a low voice,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWA5p8eDJ3z
“Excuse me… what exactly are you looking for?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8uyU4lWxI
Didn’t you just say a cute kid was joining us?”
He tried to keep his tone steady, but his brain was already running at full speed.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkpLCO6ike
He was trying to form a logical picture,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxi5K2SjT8
but every clue felt like a kite with a broken string—pulled once, then gone with the wind.
He began mentally evaluating her mental state.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmEa6Cl6m5
This woman—her actions made no sense. Her words offered no context.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtee4lKqdn
Her plans always seemed half a step ahead,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZU3kQLP3Sy
but with zero warning.
Claire’s eyes continued sweeping across the sky as she replied, her tone calm and detached:22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuoBHTGDVFc
“Robin. I’m looking for Robin.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6643FXiNuL
He’s joining us for dinner.”
Dick felt like his brain exploded on the spot.
He jolted where he stood, stopping in his tracks almost instinctively.
Robin?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JDdgRdfK7
She said she was looking for Robin?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgSTXUMjEl
The Robin he was thinking of?
A barrage of question marks flooded his mind:
—How the hell would Robin be here?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcbK8R4qig
—Why is she looking for him in Blüdhaven of all places?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezeb4MeWVN
—She invited Robin to dinner?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUtZ5LoPkg
—Does Robin even know her?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xGnx0Jq0b
—Would Robin even show up so casually…?
Too many questions surged in all at once.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48aHQ5qVCt
It was like a flood crashing into his thoughts.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjn9EhwhEGm
He forgot how to breathe.
Just as his mind was about to be overturned by confusion,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQWCJ3nNMF
Claire suddenly stopped walking.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwvLnsNgYz
She didn’t say a word—just lifted her gaze toward a specific direction,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kVBl4jlTe
and her eyes lit up.
Dick followed her line of sight.
Up on the rooftop of a tall building at the corner, shrouded by the faint veil of night,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35M9jY0dxc
a figure swung across the skyline.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlR1Q0QenR
The taut grappling line sliced through the darkness like a stroke of ink across paper.
Robin.
His cape billowed behind him.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aClN7lKC9
He hovered for a moment in mid-air,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvCdhkmvXJ
his form sharp and fluid, like a perfectly trained hawk in flight.
Claire smiled,22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZU3ELbPn6R
a quiet smile filled with the satisfaction of keeping a promise.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuTZGBinrw
She said simply:
“Found him.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXzQ3KdFu3
