After they shook hands, Dick paused slightly, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, then asked,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1p6GQevM5N
“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.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzemAvNjtpK
Her tone was natural, as if it had been planned all along. No hesitation, and no special emphasis on this being a date.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWdz2DUKXG
Just dinner. Simply dinner.
As they chatted, they walked outside. Claire turned to lock the door.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXnf2bil3Y
While doing so, she couldn’t help but glance down at the bottom edge of the doorknob—50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWWrqAHB1In
a place where she had once scratched a tally with her nail to keep track of time.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbGvQjnATm
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,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo5gOYaQzG3
“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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJX5EYb3IbF
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmJMQXMSVi
‘The long way’ = more time together?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6uN5ShPuWx
Was she trying to get to know him better?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfmOPptaKX
But—there was absolutely no sign in her eyes that she had any particular thoughts about him.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNpbRfxuaF
That clean, clear indifference felt oddly… intimidating.
What exactly is this girl’s goal?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLnh6Nkzxl
Dick had to find out.
They walked together. The shopfronts along the street glowed softly, the sidewalks neither crowded nor deserted.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCSBgJ76Pi
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:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNIEMZu6s1
“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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAy86opjBxm
She just nodded silently.
Dick countered, “Is running a café tiring?”
Claire thought for a second, her tone relaxing a bit.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1feJKIqXE0
“Not too bad, really. I have to prep ingredients early every morning.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENrsUIcq34
Some customers are regulars, others just passing through.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAdZnmDGIr
Afternoons are quieter, so I bake more then.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzV9iaUHhCt
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,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbwBwmqBiK
but always claims he only drinks black coffee—too afraid his team will mock him for being soft.”
Dick blinked, then laughed.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsodZNigSa
That was more real than anything they’d said so far—plus, some gossip he hadn’t heard.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9Rqjpo6Oq
The tension quietly melted under that small, mischievous joke.
They came to a corner.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OEjxOpEKu
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6QeC9Xcmh
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:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1lED5lzKN
“You don’t mind if there’s one more person, right?”
Dick’s brain short-circuited for a second.
50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBU4yQZ6Td
…One more person?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAKb11spQc
Now?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZXRrMyhLB
At this time of night?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6km17wlDd
What did she mean by “one more person”?
His mental alarms fired up—scanning the area for any tails, ambushes, anything off.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsHuqZ42rOQ
But everything looked normal.
Then it hit him—50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlZ3719apq
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jjy3L8YUL
Wasn’t she the one who issued the invite without his consent?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwxFL80Q96
Now she even arranged a third party?
He was starting to find her a little scary.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbvgeqCfQ6
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:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToQMMsANSQ
“Can I ask… um… who’s joining us?”
Claire only tilted her head slightly, giving him a look that said,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkbVIZcq9a
Why are you asking so much?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lrZX7OkBa
Then kept walking without breaking stride.
“A cute kid.”
Dick: “????????”
You couldn’t blame him for being confused.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yIEsMJ4cM
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?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0cMj1gMS2
Why would a child be joining them at night for dinner?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxQX5jYNsS
What kind of parent would be okay with that?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YEzCNPG6F
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,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOeY6JyVsE
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.”
50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL45ZLsM0yD
Just as Dick felt he needed to ask more questions to make sense of all this,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwQPXPgWka
Claire suddenly began looking up at the sky.
She walked while glancing upward, her gaze gliding along the edges of rooftops,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNq1uOUfuy
sometimes pausing slightly, as if she were searching for something.
50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoik8qBnbci
Dick followed her lead and looked up too—though honestly, he had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpGbandNVl
His brows furrowed, and he couldn’t help but ask in a low voice,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PhciVDjhy
“Excuse me… what exactly are you looking for?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4swj9MoPic
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWi3lzelf8x
He was trying to form a logical picture,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9OT24lBiLM
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCeRdc0ZEW3
This woman—her actions made no sense. Her words offered no context.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLFu99uEuR
Her plans always seemed half a step ahead,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6weCj4jnlG
but with zero warning.
Claire’s eyes continued sweeping across the sky as she replied, her tone calm and detached:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstWdKf4QN1
“Robin. I’m looking for Robin.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡesdVcOQ7Vj
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?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbS4JIWntu
She said she was looking for Robin?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMPWsaFdEi
The Robin he was thinking of?
A barrage of question marks flooded his mind:
—How the hell would Robin be here?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHC2LebgjKd
—Why is she looking for him in Blüdhaven of all places?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYpwuDL0pp
—She invited Robin to dinner?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XkgeSVcQr
—Does Robin even know her?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfiDZbceOf0
—Would Robin even show up so casually…?
Too many questions surged in all at once.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMI6IDzxGFf
It was like a flood crashing into his thoughts.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5jb2Umhn9
He forgot how to breathe.
Just as his mind was about to be overturned by confusion,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldnJuDz4LS
Claire suddenly stopped walking.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQA1CBjjDip
She didn’t say a word—just lifted her gaze toward a specific direction,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUGejt6zZk
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,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXNUNuA2wa
a figure swung across the skyline.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumFzwY511Y
The taut grappling line sliced through the darkness like a stroke of ink across paper.
Robin.
His cape billowed behind him.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacxGe6HRjd
He hovered for a moment in mid-air,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwzZVYhDbW5
his form sharp and fluid, like a perfectly trained hawk in flight.
Claire smiled,50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBtw2jaEnD
a quiet smile filled with the satisfaction of keeping a promise.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvcW2j1caEK
She said simply:
“Found him.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0PQxb1mQk
