After they shook hands, Dick paused slightly, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, then asked,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuaCl4pshN
“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.”15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoRbpofufk
Her tone was natural, as if it had been planned all along. No hesitation, and no special emphasis on this being a date.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtHv7HYssT
Just dinner. Simply dinner.
As they chatted, they walked outside. Claire turned to lock the door.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXFeHRThpUw
While doing so, she couldn’t help but glance down at the bottom edge of the doorknob—15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSBVmsFMn2
a place where she had once scratched a tally with her nail to keep track of time.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqAToZpFT3
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,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohok1Lr2w5
“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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRICGsN5XqX
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv17cnitrmo
‘The long way’ = more time together?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxXz7ZBgRN
Was she trying to get to know him better?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9YqdHfgvB
But—there was absolutely no sign in her eyes that she had any particular thoughts about him.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjT9rKTXxOh
That clean, clear indifference felt oddly… intimidating.
What exactly is this girl’s goal?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0rLC6RLI4
Dick had to find out.
They walked together. The shopfronts along the street glowed softly, the sidewalks neither crowded nor deserted.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkOldJ3urq
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:15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVj4YlKtfN
“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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTBpJfMAcJ
She just nodded silently.
Dick countered, “Is running a café tiring?”
Claire thought for a second, her tone relaxing a bit.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XbwcM4cTV
“Not too bad, really. I have to prep ingredients early every morning.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhGKgwZ9H1
Some customers are regulars, others just passing through.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wMReuPJtD
Afternoons are quieter, so I bake more then.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡea6fd8HZMQ
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,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqhE8wnfOf
but always claims he only drinks black coffee—too afraid his team will mock him for being soft.”
Dick blinked, then laughed.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ76VinsZskm
That was more real than anything they’d said so far—plus, some gossip he hadn’t heard.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEze8DJNNg
The tension quietly melted under that small, mischievous joke.
They came to a corner.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCqfbXR7kb
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lP30Id3hr
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:15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJ0OpqgCHi
“You don’t mind if there’s one more person, right?”
Dick’s brain short-circuited for a second.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhsCzo6kck
…One more person?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIt9dY4bR2V
Now?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiBoQwATbC
At this time of night?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwWCLOKcvC
What did she mean by “one more person”?
His mental alarms fired up—scanning the area for any tails, ambushes, anything off.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXU6HM9W0S
But everything looked normal.
Then it hit him—15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4p5sVtlfv
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdbu77F0hI
Wasn’t she the one who issued the invite without his consent?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj43eNdPqx7
Now she even arranged a third party?
He was starting to find her a little scary.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMojqJjwiEG
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:15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSv3y6vaYWG
“Can I ask… um… who’s joining us?”
Claire only tilted her head slightly, giving him a look that said,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWzYy4OO0u
Why are you asking so much?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHL8m8dxs7Q
Then kept walking without breaking stride.
“A cute kid.”
Dick: “????????”
You couldn’t blame him for being confused.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHOdlg0nfJ
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?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hPMqsD96m
Why would a child be joining them at night for dinner?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58bQZsk379
What kind of parent would be okay with that?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8GPeC39G2
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,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEebDmgD4I
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.”
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWP1xqJhu8Q
Just as Dick felt he needed to ask more questions to make sense of all this,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IZluDrLBF
Claire suddenly began looking up at the sky.
She walked while glancing upward, her gaze gliding along the edges of rooftops,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡat9MLqmr3C
sometimes pausing slightly, as if she were searching for something.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95M9m6r1gN
Dick followed her lead and looked up too—though honestly, he had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbWISCDI2W
His brows furrowed, and he couldn’t help but ask in a low voice,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeAl0OjDNz
“Excuse me… what exactly are you looking for?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50i0ubG5An
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAa95fVpYuq
He was trying to form a logical picture,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqvb47diI0
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujskkGAUo5
This woman—her actions made no sense. Her words offered no context.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0EnsChUU9r
Her plans always seemed half a step ahead,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2LJT4BGjE
but with zero warning.
Claire’s eyes continued sweeping across the sky as she replied, her tone calm and detached:15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhNxrnBE2l
“Robin. I’m looking for Robin.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlFEtaliGv
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?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuTOVIxRIC
She said she was looking for Robin?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6pDAoIami
The Robin he was thinking of?
A barrage of question marks flooded his mind:
—How the hell would Robin be here?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6CSFutyfhg
—Why is she looking for him in Blüdhaven of all places?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9PPrvVafg
—She invited Robin to dinner?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4c9bAiQwH
—Does Robin even know her?15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTW0nwiXcaY
—Would Robin even show up so casually…?
Too many questions surged in all at once.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDsgYsXxdw
It was like a flood crashing into his thoughts.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKjt4gvYSD
He forgot how to breathe.
Just as his mind was about to be overturned by confusion,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjlt99Ckeh
Claire suddenly stopped walking.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5rKsFq84t
She didn’t say a word—just lifted her gaze toward a specific direction,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtdExHFFXM
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,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWaxsDbVc8
a figure swung across the skyline.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmXrl7jgHH
The taut grappling line sliced through the darkness like a stroke of ink across paper.
Robin.
His cape billowed behind him.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡweVgRskZb4
He hovered for a moment in mid-air,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzktn4xsl4O
his form sharp and fluid, like a perfectly trained hawk in flight.
Claire smiled,15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs87NgWHoKe
a quiet smile filled with the satisfaction of keeping a promise.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsklcd6IIwv
She said simply:
“Found him.”15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLwyiYVFF7
