Harvey Dent

No matter what, the new principal's campus prohibition policy was still being implemented in an orderly fashion.

No vehicles or shops selling alcoholic beverages were allowed near Gotham University. Every gathering and party would be inspected, and dormitories would be searched as well. They would not confiscate high-powered electrical appliances, but they would dig out every bottle of alcohol and harshly penalize the students.

Of course, these students had little ability to resist. Although Gotham University had produced a major villain like Scarecrow, most of its students were fairly obedient.

But obviously, this had also cut into someone else's profits.

Everyone knew what kind of city Gotham was. The drunks here did not wait until they started working to begin drinking.

The tens of thousands of alcoholics in Gotham City supported countless bars and shops selling liquor. Every year, tobacco and alcohol sales made up a major portion of tax revenue.

Sure, you could stop students from drinking, but if they did not develop an addiction, who would the liquor merchants sell to?

Students were far too easy to fool. Any hobby they picked up during this period could follow them for the rest of their lives, and drinking was no exception.

If they started drinking at twenty, they would spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on alcohol throughout their lives. Every drunk would spend more than half his salary on all kinds of liquor.

The profits from selling alcohol were skimmed away by monopolists. They used those profits to keep expanding production, opening larger factories and hiring those drunks at even lower wages, all at the cost of providing them with two bottles of cheap liquor after work.

What a perfect industrial chain. All they needed to do was dump tasty beer near Gotham University at low prices regardless of profit. Naturally, they would start with beer, then move on to distilled spirits and hard liquor.

For hundreds of years, Gotham City had operated like this. If those people were not allowed to corrupt students, would Gotham not have become a civilized city with wholesome values long ago?

Schiller understood this very well, so he had never intended to be a conscientious, responsible teacher here. This city did not allow any clean seedlings to grow, because only villains and criminals could survive here.

Turn Gotham University into a utopia? Don't be ridiculous. Innocent graduates like that would not survive a year in Gotham City.

This was merely one great whirlpool wrapped around countless smaller whirlpools. Almost no one could escape.

Ever since Schiller had sent Bruce a notice of expulsion, the principal rarely mentioned involving him in this matter. But the principal had touched the interests of too many people and was under tremendous pressure, so he had no choice but to find himself another helper.

"Hello, my name is Harvey. Harvey Dent, a lawyer. My main fields are criminal litigation and adjudication."

Schiller shook Harvey's hand. Before Schiller could speak, Harvey said, "I've heard of you. You did quite well in Keystone City. That damned serial killer was brought to justice and is still rotting in prison."

He spoke quickly, very much like a lawyer. His tone was steady and resolute as he continued, "But I have to say, you have not handled Gotham University's prohibition policy as well as you handled those major cases. I think saving this city's future is just as important as catching criminals, isn't it?"

Schiller had just released his hand. He pursed his lips and said, "Perhaps."

Harvey heard the reluctance in his tone and frowned. "I heard some stories about you in the South, but it seems you are not as passionate about hating evil as the rumors claimed."

"More than that, I'd like to know who has been spreading those stories about me."

Harvey froze for a moment. "Wasn't it you yourself?"

He looked Schiller up and down. Schiller did not look like a shrewd, brave detective, nor did he look like an impartial judge. He looked refined, perfectly suited to his profession.

Harvey was very intelligent. "You mean someone has deliberately been spreading stories about you? But why would they do that? To make you famous? What would they gain from it?"

Schiller invited Harvey to sit down and took the seat opposite him. "Perhaps you only know the first half of the story. Later, I was set up by someone during a case in Metropolis. Otherwise, why would I have come to Gotham? It was not a good thing. Clearly, those people still do not intend to let me go."

Harvey paused. "I'm sorry. Then you really should not attract too much attention. But it's all right. I'm now Gotham University's legal adviser, and I strongly support this prohibition policy. A little drinking is nothing. Of course I drink too. But heavy drinking while they are students? That cannot be allowed."

Whenever Harvey spoke, his thoughts were organized, his logic clear, and his tone firm. He gave people an instinctive sense of security. If Schiller had not already known he would later become Two-Face, he would never have connected him with that coin-flipping madman.

Two-Face was a very complicated villain. He was also the only villain Batman had ever tried to save. Batman had tried many times, but never succeeded. Perhaps that failure had hit him even harder than being defeated by the Joker.

Because Harvey Dent truly was a good man, Gotham City's Knight of Light.

Batman had been deeply influenced by him. When Maroney hurt Harvey in court and drove him insane, Batman finally realized that without violent enforcement and authority, law and judgment were nothing.

A despicable, filthy criminal had harmed a just prosecutor in full view of the public, yet he paid no price for it, and no one dared put him on trial again.

Schiller placed both hands on the desk and looked into Harvey's eyes. "Mr. Dent, I think you understand this place better than that new principal does. You should know how many people's interests this will offend."

"I know. But I don't care," Harvey said.

Schiller sighed, took off his glasses, and began wiping them with a cleaning cloth. As he wiped them, he said, "Perhaps you really are prepared to pay the price justice demands?"

"It sounds like you speak from experience."

"Of course. Because I was lucky enough to survive."

"Then I believe I will be as well," Harvey said. Yet he was still full of empathy. "I won't blame people who give up on this road because of its dangers, because they have already done their best. I don't know how far I can go down this road, but in this world, you do not have to reach the end to count as having won."

Schiller did not respond further. He shook Harvey's hand again, and Harvey left. For the first time, Schiller did not try to use words to interfere with the other person or insist on persuading him.

Schiller had once heard a saying that made a great deal of sense: do not try to remind someone who has always walked through darkness that darkness exists. They are not blind.

So Schiller would not try to correct Harvey's ideas or tell him that his actions were useless in Gotham. Everything Harvey did was right. Every choice he made was just and correct. But unfortunately, this was Gotham.

The Knight of Light could not save Gotham. The Dark Knight might not be able to, either.

Harvey truly was a remarkably charismatic person. Unlike Matt, Daredevil, who preferred to fight alone, Harvey was skilled at using every resource he could reach. He got along wonderfully with teachers and students alike, and even the staff could not praise him enough. Mrs. Maffei praised him more than a dozen times a day and even wanted to introduce her younger daughter to him.

Even most students, though they disliked having their hidden alcohol confiscated, still admired Harvey. They thought he was exactly the kind of successful, kindhearted elite professional they respected.

Harvey had only been at Gotham University for a few days, yet he had already won over the vast majority of people.

The new principal, Sheldon, grew even more depressed. He had hired someone to be his gun, not to turn himself into one. He had only wanted to find a scapegoat to charge into battle while he himself gained both fame and profit.

But just as Schiller had been too forceful, Harvey was far too popular. He stole nearly all of Sheldon's attention.

Hardly anyone knew the new principal's name, but almost everyone knew the new legal adviser, Harvey Dent: a highly educated, highly paid, enthusiastic elite lawyer.

And among the people who got along with him were even the most difficult ones, Schiller and Bruce. Schiller was willing to discuss life and ideals with him because their educational backgrounds were similar, and they had both attended Columbia University, so they could reminisce about their college days together.

As for Bruce, he felt especially compatible with Harvey. They could talk about anything. On matters concerning justice, Harvey offered him many perspectives he had never considered before, greatly inspiring Batman.

Schiller's conversations had always depended entirely on the listener's insight, and Batman had grown used to being provoked first before returning home to think things through silently on his own.

But Harvey was different. Harvey answered every one of Bruce's questions in as much detail as possible. When Bruce raised a different opinion, Harvey did not mockingly refute him or disrupt the rhythm of his speech. Instead, he listened quietly until Bruce was finished, stated his own view, and then carefully analyzed how their views differed. If they could not reach an agreement, they would each keep their own opinion and discuss it again next time.

No one could dislike a friend like that: wise, seasoned, enthusiastic, compassionate, and knowledgeable. It was far better than losing ten years off one's life from getting angry at Schiller.

Schiller was also very pleased, because with Harvey around, Bruce finally stopped coming to bother him every day, and the psychology clinic was finally peaceful again.

Aside from Gordon dropping by once over the next few days, almost no one appeared there anymore.

Gordon had come to deliver an invitation. After all, he had been promoted, and he had skipped several ranks in the process. That was certainly something worth celebrating.

Gordon did not have many friends. His colleagues at the Police Department were somewhat jealous of him, so it was not convenient to invite them. Therefore, he planned to invite Schiller and Bruce for a small gathering.

Bruce introduced Harvey to the police officer, and the two immediately hit it off. In a sense, Harvey and Gordon were the ideal partners. They were truly alike, except Harvey was more aggressive while Gordon was more conservative.

The two were having a lively conversation, leaving Bruce out in the cold. Holding a glass of wine, Schiller looked wordlessly at Bruce standing outside the psychology clinic and said, "Let me see. This homeless drowned dog has finally remembered the garbage heap he used to live in. Should I feel honored?"

"Hey, don't say that," Bruce said. "Harvey is great, but I think your professional skills are stronger, Professor."

"Thank you for the compliment, but all your credits this semester are definitely going to be deducted."

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