After they shook hands, Dick paused slightly, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, then asked,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgapyP6u7X
“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.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnj1fLnETXB
Her tone was natural, as if it had been planned all along. No hesitation, and no special emphasis on this being a date.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0udvDmlim1
Just dinner. Simply dinner.
As they chatted, they walked outside. Claire turned to lock the door.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkOGyNeKUh
While doing so, she couldn’t help but glance down at the bottom edge of the doorknob—24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmezlmY1Gm0
a place where she had once scratched a tally with her nail to keep track of time.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uhNCvTuKZ
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,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRfR7yx44rX
“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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aGVlcwHHG
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8TvPtH33u
‘The long way’ = more time together?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbI8OCqK2r
Was she trying to get to know him better?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMqULwEIVU
But—there was absolutely no sign in her eyes that she had any particular thoughts about him.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YlUl3tNfx
That clean, clear indifference felt oddly… intimidating.
What exactly is this girl’s goal?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGswvgTNct
Dick had to find out.
They walked together. The shopfronts along the street glowed softly, the sidewalks neither crowded nor deserted.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFyEBbKC9N
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:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfL3j83sF0
“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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtaGJdaj80
She just nodded silently.
Dick countered, “Is running a café tiring?”
Claire thought for a second, her tone relaxing a bit.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtX85oFeaCb
“Not too bad, really. I have to prep ingredients early every morning.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdmei72NrF
Some customers are regulars, others just passing through.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrvErZOHm7
Afternoons are quieter, so I bake more then.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBaoW8XOYap
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,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjN6R0GyKXJ
but always claims he only drinks black coffee—too afraid his team will mock him for being soft.”
Dick blinked, then laughed.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqJFoBH282
That was more real than anything they’d said so far—plus, some gossip he hadn’t heard.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMP8r8MZSaT
The tension quietly melted under that small, mischievous joke.
They came to a corner.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zbGfiZSbo
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9gJz0je5T
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:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiMq2vOony
“You don’t mind if there’s one more person, right?”
Dick’s brain short-circuited for a second.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcArOnMd5oi
…One more person?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmahTKHxO3J
Now?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhSAD91YqT
At this time of night?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4kTSkztNb
What did she mean by “one more person”?
His mental alarms fired up—scanning the area for any tails, ambushes, anything off.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBc2K2UzKl2
But everything looked normal.
Then it hit him—24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQkliNXgf8
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Zzt6BTRnP
Wasn’t she the one who issued the invite without his consent?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1QTYqHneU
Now she even arranged a third party?
He was starting to find her a little scary.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV3gMKX0yA6
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:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKQ2PZHEpW
“Can I ask… um… who’s joining us?”
Claire only tilted her head slightly, giving him a look that said,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡseMpJTnJmK
Why are you asking so much?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuRw6ARrKC
Then kept walking without breaking stride.
“A cute kid.”
Dick: “????????”
You couldn’t blame him for being confused.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5UfaOWzE4Y
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?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5b7RoqOGC
Why would a child be joining them at night for dinner?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWzWKUVRy8K
What kind of parent would be okay with that?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyWQch3CSN
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,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjGIKNClaS
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.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0nQG2KrMP
Just as Dick felt he needed to ask more questions to make sense of all this,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbT2Yju7dpl
Claire suddenly began looking up at the sky.
She walked while glancing upward, her gaze gliding along the edges of rooftops,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXHXTJy0wi
sometimes pausing slightly, as if she were searching for something.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFD2EfF5xM
Dick followed her lead and looked up too—though honestly, he had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QkV77T41y
His brows furrowed, and he couldn’t help but ask in a low voice,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1I06ujCg7
“Excuse me… what exactly are you looking for?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqC2QqadqR
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHb8bP1zocj
He was trying to form a logical picture,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYU1ColKWw
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmG8mW50Rq8
This woman—her actions made no sense. Her words offered no context.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZP5MspRjz
Her plans always seemed half a step ahead,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzdDdZwx2u
but with zero warning.
Claire’s eyes continued sweeping across the sky as she replied, her tone calm and detached:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0CGXVrKp7
“Robin. I’m looking for Robin.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwWniGDheu
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?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKY5RuqOYH9
She said she was looking for Robin?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7Dc15aPEM
The Robin he was thinking of?
A barrage of question marks flooded his mind:
—How the hell would Robin be here?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VzcFdCVV5
—Why is she looking for him in Blüdhaven of all places?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeX18AwjGaX
—She invited Robin to dinner?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1lUeLtMML
—Does Robin even know her?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIs4tzfCfoY
—Would Robin even show up so casually…?
Too many questions surged in all at once.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKw4l25JHJ
It was like a flood crashing into his thoughts.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpbLxZZvu5
He forgot how to breathe.
Just as his mind was about to be overturned by confusion,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡorVmclMMuS
Claire suddenly stopped walking.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ83HpqIrNmf
She didn’t say a word—just lifted her gaze toward a specific direction,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLnQKKGbbM
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,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDFD807OHc
a figure swung across the skyline.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWtoaMou0v
The taut grappling line sliced through the darkness like a stroke of ink across paper.
Robin.
His cape billowed behind him.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIaqG06xRbS
He hovered for a moment in mid-air,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pAhJ8WnsJ
his form sharp and fluid, like a perfectly trained hawk in flight.
Claire smiled,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNnOzmHAEa
a quiet smile filled with the satisfaction of keeping a promise.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBpvIPRKOT
She said simply:
“Found him.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCj8MCalwOT
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