Call Me Godfather

In an old apartment building in Gotham.

Li Ang and Harley Quinn stared each other down.

Harley was blunt, openly admitting that she wasn't a good person.

And what she said... Li Ang thought it made a lot of sense.

Still, Li Ang had some moral standards.

"Darling, don't hesitate."

Harley knew he was already wavering.

"Think of the money for the kids' formula. They're both girls, so you'll have to buy them dolls and pretty dresses. How can you do that without money?"

America might not have any saying about raising boys frugally and spoiling girls.

But everyone around the world understood the idea.

And with daughters this pretty, could he really bear to let them live in hardship?

Li Ang thought she had a point.

"You don't have to go out there. Just let me handle it."

Harley continued to tempt him. "Besides, if we don't take over the Upper East Side, someone else will. That's how Gotham always is. If you don't do it, someone else will. Gangs will never disappear!"

Her words made Li Ang realize something.

A smile tugged at his lips. "You planned this from the start, didn't you?"

"When did you start plotting it?"

"The moment you met me? Or even earlier?"

At Li Ang's words, Harley Quinn blushed a little.

So he'd seen through her!

But so what?

"Darling~"

Harley Quinn began to coo at him.

"Enough."

Li Ang said, "You can go, but don't take Kara and Ciri with you or corrupt them."

His cold eyes settled on Harley Quinn.

Kara was his one weakness.

If Kara hadn't pleaded on her behalf, Li Ang would have kicked Harley Quinn out long ago.

"Got it."

Harley Quinn was startled by his cold stare.

Then she asked sheepishly, "What if someone picks on me and I can't beat them?"

Harley Quinn was used to having someone back her up.

She wanted Kara to step in.

But how could Li Ang possibly agree?

He said righteously, "Can't you call the police?"

"Commissioner Gordon is a great guy. He won't tolerate even the slightest wrongdoing. He hates evil as much as I do!"

"That wouldn't be any fun..." Harley Quinn muttered, but when she saw Li Ang's expression, she didn't dare say anything more.

And so it was settled.

Harley had never been the sort to sit still.

There was no way she could stay home and play the devoted wife and mother.

Besides, Li Ang really was short on money.

The little Penguin paid him was only enough to support Kara.

Now the household had suddenly doubled in size.

A family of two had become a family of four!

Under normal circumstances, if Li Ang wanted to support all four of them, he'd have to work two jobs every day like everyone else in America.

Even then, they might not live well. They'd just barely have enough to eat.

And having Harley get a regular job was out of the question.

She was Harley Quinn, infamous throughout Gotham.

So he might as well let her do what she knew how to do.

It was a necessary measure to keep the family fed.

"Ciri, are you done washing up?"

Kara heard that the bathroom had gone quiet, so she brought out some clothes.

Li Ang and Harley Quinn fell silent, too.

They knew Kara had heard them, but she was a good girl.

These were grown-up matters.

"I'm done."

Ciri's voice came from the bathroom.

The bathroom was old and run-down, but to Ciri, who had never seen anything like it, everything in it was high-tech.

She'd gotten so fascinated that she'd taken a long time.

Kara carefully opened the door and handed the clothes inside.

Luckily, their clothes were about the same size. Ciri looked them over and finally figured out how to put them on.

After a while, the bathroom door opened, and Ciri emerged, clean at last.

She no longer looked as disheveled as before.

She was wearing one of Kara's dresses, and it was brand-new. Kara had bought it last time but had never worn it.

The grime had washed away, revealing skin as white as snow, soft and delicate. Along with her royal bearing, she reminded Li Ang of a certain fairy tale.

Snow White.

Her skin really was as white as snow—not like Disney's remake, where it was her heart that was like snow.

Of course, Ciri's most distinctive features were her silvery-white hair and her emerald-green eyes, bright as gemstones.

At that moment, Harley Quinn could no longer bring herself to call Ciri an ugly little girl.

Though Ciri's world was like the Middle Ages, she was still a princess, after all.

"Wow, you're so pretty."

Kara looked at Ciri, who was like a Barbie doll, and felt as if she'd gotten a real-life collectible.

No doll could compare to Ciri.

"You're pretty, too."

Ciri lowered her head shyly.

She was all alone in another world, with no idea where she was. It made her feel shy.

"Come over here."

Li Ang called the two girls over, then brought them some water and bread.

They always kept those at home.

Kara was sick of them.

But Ciri swallowed hard.

Li Ang handed her some.

"For me?"

Ciri looked uncertain.

Li Ang reached out to pat her head, but Ciri flinched away.

Seeing that, Li Ang drew his hand back and said, "You called me Godfather, after all. Of course it's for you."

"Take it slowly. Don't choke."

Ciri couldn't hold back any longer.

Those damn people had never given her much to eat. They'd only fed her enough to keep her from starving, and even the water had been scarce. She was famished.

"Delicious!"

She took a bite of the bread. It was just ordinary toast, but it still came as a delightful surprise.

After all, most people in Cintra ate black bread...

Then she choked because her throat was too dry.

"Cough, cough!"

"Quick, drink some water."

Kara felt a pang of sympathy and hurried to pat her on the back.

Harley Quinn curled her lip. She looked like a refugee.

After Ciri had eaten a little, Li Ang finally asked, "Ciri, how old are you?"

Ciri thought for a moment, then answered firmly, "I'm almost twelve."

Almost twelve meant she was actually a little over eleven.

Li Ang knew she didn't want anyone to think she was a burden.

So he smiled and said, "Kara's a few years older than you. How would you like her to be your big sister?"

Ciri glanced at Kara. Kara looked back at her, and they both nodded.

"Okay."

Kara was happy to have a little sister.

She felt very sorry for Ciri now.

To find out what was going on, Li Ang continued asking Ciri questions.

"Ciri, can you tell us about what happened to you?"

Ciri was clearly reluctant. Just thinking about the past frightened her.

It clung to her like a nightmare.

But under everyone's encouraging gazes, she slowly began to speak.

"Okay... Godfather."

Ciri wasn't sure what to call him, so she addressed Li Ang the same way Kara did.

Li Ang immediately smiled. "Since you've called me Godfather, you're my goddaughter from now on."

Ciri didn't understand what that meant, but Li Ang was willing to accept her, and she liked it here, so she nodded.

She wanted a safe haven, too.

And from what she could tell, Li Ang was a kind Godfather, and Kara was a friendly big sister.

Only Harley Quinn seemed a little strange, like a clown in a circus...