Finding a ship

"Sorry, Bruce."

Miaomiao handed over the clothes she had made, looking a little embarrassed.

"I haven't studied the kind of clothes you're wearing, so I don't know how to make them yet. Could you wear these for now? Once I've looked at how your clothes are cut, I'll make you some new ones."

"No, these are already wonderful. Thank you very much."

With mixed feelings, Bruce accepted the clothes Miaomiao offered him. They felt cool and smooth to the touch, like fine pearls, yet their texture was soft and silky.

It was impossible to imagine that this "fabric" had actually been "woven" strand by strand, using seawater as the raw material for its threads.

It was just like a fairy tale, where a fairy godmother conjured a magnificent ball gown for Cinderella out of moonlight and stars.

Bruce nearly choked on his own comparison.

Under Miaomiao's expectant gaze, Bruce "Cinderella" Wayne ducked into the shelter he had built and changed into the robe and trousers the girl had made by hand.

Bruce had once traveled to that wondrous country in the East to train. The way this robe was worn resembled the training clothes he was familiar with. He put on the robe, tied the sash around his waist, straightened the edges, and stepped outside.

It felt remarkable.

These clothes woven from water repelled every drop of moisture and speck of dust. Though the white fabric looked as thin as a cicada's wing, it was wonderfully comfortable and breathable against his skin.

"They fit perfectly. Miaomiao, your craftsmanship is excellent."

Bruce's praise was entirely sincere.

"Hehe." Delighted by the compliment, Miaomiao proudly flicked the tip of her tail. "Of course! When it comes to weaving merfolk silk, if we claimed second place, no one would dare claim first!"

Looking at the lively, adorable girl, Bruce couldn't help smiling too.

Life on the island was peaceful and lovely. Even time seemed to slow down.

Miaomiao made rapid progress with her English and could already hold simple everyday conversations with Bruce.

As for Bruce's cooking skills...

They hadn't improved in the slightest... ㄟ( ▔ ▔ )ㄏ

It wasn't that Bruce hadn't considered relying on Miaomiao's familiarity with the ocean to return to Gotham. Unfortunately, she knew only the sea, not the land.

She instinctively knew where to find fish and coral, which places were safe and which were dangerous, but she didn't understand the directional terms humans used on land. Nor had she ever been to Gotham, so she couldn't simply locate it by instinct.

Although Bruce could make calculations based on ocean currents and wind direction, he had been unconscious when Miaomiao brought him to this nameless island. He had no idea which direction she had traveled, how long it had taken, or how fast she had gone. That left him unable to pinpoint the island's current location and made his calculations more difficult.

On the boundless ocean, moving blindly without reliable directions was a dangerous thing to do.

As the days passed, Bruce grew visibly anxious. The Little Merfolk, simple in nature but keenly perceptive, soon noticed the change.

The Little Merfolk didn't overcomplicate things. If she didn't understand something, she asked.

"Bruce? Are you unhappy?"

Bruce didn't want his mood to affect the innocent Little Mermaid, so he merely reassured her. "No, Miaomiao."

"You're lying."

The Little Merfolk planted her hands on her hips and pursed her lips in displeasure.

"All right." Seeing that he couldn't hide it from her, Bruce gave up. "I'm not unhappy. It's just that I've been away from home for too long. I'm worried about my family. They must be terribly anxious."

And then there were the mentally ill criminals in Arkham Asylum.

Alfred and the others would surely believe I was still alive, but Gotham's criminals wouldn't wait for me.

In the short term, Nightwing and Robin could keep them fooled, but given enough time, those clever criminals would inevitably realize that Batman was no longer in Gotham. When that happened, it would be a terrible disaster for both Gotham's Vigilantes and its ordinary citizens.

Bruce looked at the marks he had scratched into a reef rock with a stone.

I'd spent five days on the cruise ship and seven on the island. Nearly two weeks-enough for those people to start sensing something was wrong.

The longer this dragged on, the greater the chance that something would happen.

At the thought, Bruce couldn't stop the worry rising within him.

When he had fallen into the water and begun to suffocate, Bruce had thought that his children could take care of Gotham, that he could finally "rest" without concern. Yet now that he had escaped certain death and found himself living on an island like a paradise at sea, he still couldn't suppress his worries.

Bruce smiled wryly at himself-

Perhaps, for Batman, only death could ever bring true "rest"...

Miaomiao couldn't read minds, so she had no way of knowing all the thoughts running through Bruce's head. But she understood that he missed home. Of course-Bruce had said before that he would take her home with him.

But I didn't know where Bruce's home was!

Miaomiao lowered her head dejectedly.

Bruce patted Miaomiao's little head and made a joke.

"We've just had bad luck. No ships pass near this island. Otherwise, I imagine being Gotham's richest man would still hold a certain appeal for most people."

Whether the joke was funny or not, Miaomiao keenly picked up on the information it revealed. "So all we have to do is get a ship to come here?"

"Unfortunately, this island doesn't seem to be on any shipping route... no, Miaomiao, what are you doing?"

Bruce reacted quickly, catching Miaomiao as she turned to leap into the sea.

Miaomiao's eyes were clear and guileless. "If there aren't any ships nearby, I'll look farther away and get someone to sail one here."

"No."

Bruce had already thought of that, but he had promptly rejected the seemingly promising idea, preferring to work out their location himself.

"Once other people see you, it'll bring endless trouble. Miaomiao, you don't understand what your appearance would mean to certain bad people."

Whether driven by malice or simple curiosity, they could bring utter disaster upon this innocent, naive Little Mermaid who still knew so little about human society.

With her wondrous abilities, she might have few natural enemies in the ocean, but humans possessed far more frightening weapons.

Bruce couldn't let Miaomiao risk being discovered just so he could go home.

After Bruce explained, Miaomiao only half understood. She grasped just one important point:

Just as the Elders had often warned the Little Merfolk, there were many bad people on land. She must never let them discover her, or disaster would follow.

"So," Miaomiao said, blinking her deep purple, almost black eyes, "as long as those people don't discover me, it'll be fine, right?"