After they shook hands, Dick paused slightly, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, then asked,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkN5w99vev7
“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.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSKLNM7RWu
Her tone was natural, as if it had been planned all along. No hesitation, and no special emphasis on this being a date.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzzBSGJWGI
Just dinner. Simply dinner.
As they chatted, they walked outside. Claire turned to lock the door.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dwGFT0Izg
While doing so, she couldn’t help but glance down at the bottom edge of the doorknob—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4TrHHdsVM2
a place where she had once scratched a tally with her nail to keep track of time.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9DBqJZ7qY
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,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxEQIfko6T
“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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBzFxPOHKE
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN42KWEbsQY
‘The long way’ = more time together?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJJIFiIXMB
Was she trying to get to know him better?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41wvprZ331
But—there was absolutely no sign in her eyes that she had any particular thoughts about him.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnP5wFg3Hzy
That clean, clear indifference felt oddly… intimidating.
What exactly is this girl’s goal?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58sbznU64b
Dick had to find out.
They walked together. The shopfronts along the street glowed softly, the sidewalks neither crowded nor deserted.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNac0vI8We0
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:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8Wr2prmeg
“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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAPVFUFw1q
She just nodded silently.
Dick countered, “Is running a café tiring?”
Claire thought for a second, her tone relaxing a bit.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpR23jwrCkY
“Not too bad, really. I have to prep ingredients early every morning.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADt7Ns7c2l
Some customers are regulars, others just passing through.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JXRD4ctFr
Afternoons are quieter, so I bake more then.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEFGANDDuT
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,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOjkxprLyE
but always claims he only drinks black coffee—too afraid his team will mock him for being soft.”
Dick blinked, then laughed.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4o1acktZ1
That was more real than anything they’d said so far—plus, some gossip he hadn’t heard.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrPkVvcOX0
The tension quietly melted under that small, mischievous joke.
They came to a corner.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDStBBKDdYp
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCRDJmAYkj
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:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9Fzy2AGNX
“You don’t mind if there’s one more person, right?”
Dick’s brain short-circuited for a second.
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCkrYieWP9
…One more person?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DvwQvHvb2
Now?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cnHM5kmzH
At this time of night?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILyKm8mPc2
What did she mean by “one more person”?
His mental alarms fired up—scanning the area for any tails, ambushes, anything off.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZ4jPsahWh
But everything looked normal.
Then it hit him—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHKZ4Ju9EF
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVwWdelt3iK
Wasn’t she the one who issued the invite without his consent?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IEeQ2NEtw
Now she even arranged a third party?
He was starting to find her a little scary.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rCjYrI8RG
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:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSUYk2g0EY
“Can I ask… um… who’s joining us?”
Claire only tilted her head slightly, giving him a look that said,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9J35TMdwb7
Why are you asking so much?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyPT9hfRZn
Then kept walking without breaking stride.
“A cute kid.”
Dick: “????????”
You couldn’t blame him for being confused.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwfQrRqPQH
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?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PLEaoJA0F
Why would a child be joining them at night for dinner?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDL2dZpYsk
What kind of parent would be okay with that?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpUiBU3fkO8
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,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8AD36Uwej
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.”
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwUQdgBotr
Just as Dick felt he needed to ask more questions to make sense of all this,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRld06cRsk
Claire suddenly began looking up at the sky.
She walked while glancing upward, her gaze gliding along the edges of rooftops,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrcg7uMVSv
sometimes pausing slightly, as if she were searching for something.
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZiHljRHVfQ
Dick followed her lead and looked up too—though honestly, he had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlPoYB48Rx
His brows furrowed, and he couldn’t help but ask in a low voice,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMLzQvefDy
“Excuse me… what exactly are you looking for?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPB3tAScZgR
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqULUPFvuY
He was trying to form a logical picture,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4A2uvK9J9G
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMd7A9XFEQV
This woman—her actions made no sense. Her words offered no context.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Pw4HCjFNj
Her plans always seemed half a step ahead,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulMBzQxuJn
but with zero warning.
Claire’s eyes continued sweeping across the sky as she replied, her tone calm and detached:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSeR7qlafs
“Robin. I’m looking for Robin.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtywa7uYRDO
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?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwksoNmhrS
She said she was looking for Robin?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmxGV9KdYl
The Robin he was thinking of?
A barrage of question marks flooded his mind:
—How the hell would Robin be here?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqKnK1LG9rm
—Why is she looking for him in Blüdhaven of all places?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvp2p4iCJ8v
—She invited Robin to dinner?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNzTqQCOZ8
—Does Robin even know her?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RC36MYHkU
—Would Robin even show up so casually…?
Too many questions surged in all at once.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqlOLZjkMF
It was like a flood crashing into his thoughts.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgfVDOcWuY
He forgot how to breathe.
Just as his mind was about to be overturned by confusion,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsomzdLiof2
Claire suddenly stopped walking.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOln37uLQ6K
She didn’t say a word—just lifted her gaze toward a specific direction,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZoqcDjEvQ
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,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxfYwajXXM
a figure swung across the skyline.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpioCOEe5Ix
The taut grappling line sliced through the darkness like a stroke of ink across paper.
Robin.
His cape billowed behind him.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVKsELzHH6
He hovered for a moment in mid-air,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9XPZS1amY
his form sharp and fluid, like a perfectly trained hawk in flight.
Claire smiled,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvHq4FdGUR2
a quiet smile filled with the satisfaction of keeping a promise.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBLcEV8Hj4
She said simply:
“Found him.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fBFIllMAf
