Shopping?

"Shopping?"

Miaomiao looked up from cuddling Titus and breathing in his scent, momentarily bewildered.

Shopping? What was that?

Damian was reluctant.

Compared with the treatment his other unlucky brothers received-"elegant" words whenever he opened his mouth, punches and kicks whenever he raised his hands-he already got along quite well with Miaomiao. How could he not, when she had such a beautiful big tail? But accompanying a girl on a shopping trip was something most males, from little boys to grown men, seemed to have little enthusiasm for.

Besides, he was Damian Wayne!

"Why not have the stores deliver everything here for Little Fish to choose from?" Damian pointed at Miaomiao's feet, half-hidden beneath her skirt. "You want me to take her downtown? What if she changes back in front of everyone?"

Had Damian only just left the League of Assassins, he would not have minded killing everyone present who might leak the secret. Now, though, even if he wanted to break a limb or two, he first had to consider the disapproving look on his bat-dad's face.

"Miaomiao has only just come into contact with human society. She needs to see it with her own eyes, touch it with her own hands, and truly experience this world, rather than only learning about it through movies and comics."

There was something else Bruce left unsaid-

He had chosen Damian not just because the young master had free time, but also because he wanted him to spend more time with the livelier Miaomiao and catch some of her innocent childishness. Perhaps that would help Damian develop more of the feelings an ordinary child his age should have.

This was not just for Miaomiao, the little merfolk girl. It was for Damian, too.

"Look, Tim is injured, I have a lot of work to do, and Alfred has all of Wayne Manor to look after. Could you really bear to let Miaomiao go shopping all alone on her very first outing?"

"With her strength, who could possibly bully her? Besides, she could just..."

Damian had been about to say that she could just stay put in Wayne Manor, but when he turned his head, he met the little merfolk girl's big, sparkling eyes, brimming with anticipation. (๑╹ヮ╹๑)

Damian: ...▼_▼...

Resigned to his fate, Damian raked a hand through his hair. "I'll go change."

"Miaomiao, you should change into something suitable for going out, too. Gotham is famous for its cold, gloomy weather."

Bruce walked over, resting one hand on the little merfolk girl's head and the other on Titus's, giving both a few strokes.

"Alfred should have your new room ready by now. Go take a look. If anything's missing, this is a good chance to pick out a few things you like."

Bruce was like a father encouraging his little child to go out and buy something on her own for the first time.

"Okay!"

Following Titus, Miaomiao pattered up the stairs, nearly tripping over the carpet because she was still unsteady on her feet. After Titus gallantly rescued the little merfolk girl and Butler Batman Alfred cautioned, "Careful, Miss Miaomiao. Please remember your poise," she blushed, lifted her skirt a little, and slowly climbed one step at a time-

Then, around the bend in the staircase, where Bruce and the others could no longer see her, she hitched up her skirt again and went pattering off...

"Such energy."

Alfred sighed appreciatively, taking the opportunity to push forward the milk Bruce had "inadvertently" forgotten to drink.

Bruce's breath caught in his throat. He stared at the milk for several seconds, confirmed that even Batman could not get away with any tricks in front of the all-capable Butler Batman, then picked up the glass and drained it without expression.

Satisfied, Butler Batman collected the empty milk glass and thoughtfully offered Master Bruce a glass of water to rinse his mouth.

"Alfred, prepare a supplementary card for Miaomiao. Set the limit at..."

Bruce recalled the crowns and antiques the little merfolk girl had casually fished out of the sea earlier, and for a moment, he genuinely had no idea how much pocket money would be appropriate.

If he gave her too much, with Miaomiao's worldly innocence and Gotham's wealth of "outstanding people and blessed surroundings," the sweet girl would probably be swindled out of every penny within days. But if he gave her too little, her tastes, shaped by years of seeing pearls and treasures on the seabed, might mean it would not even cover anything that caught her eye.

"Let's do this. No limit, but send the details of every transaction to my phone in real time."

In the end, Bruce decided to give the little merfolk girl more room to grow. Even if Miaomiao really was swindled, the Wayne Family could afford the loss. He could consider it tuition for her education.

Speaking of which, should I enroll Miaomiao in school, too?

Better not.

The little merfolk girl had not yet reached adulthood and still could not properly control when she changed back into her fish tail. For now, it would be best not to let Miaomiao spend too long outside on her own.

Alfred teased him with a smile. "Master Bruce, it seems you're becoming increasingly practiced at being a father."

Funny as it was, Bruce was already a father to several children in name, yet he was not only unmarried, but had never truly raised any child from infancy. He had stumbled along, feeling his way forward, and even as Batman, he often found himself helpless before the complexities of parent-child relationships.

Or perhaps it was precisely because he was Batman that he considered too many things, often making those relationships strained instead.

Fortunately, stubborn and suspicious though Batman was, he would always love every one of his children deeply, and his children all loved him just as deeply in return.

Ever since learning that Miaomiao came from another world, he had worked through countless possibilities with everyone else. Their conclusion was that Miaomiao's journey through space and time had most likely been one-way. That meant she might well spend the rest of her life in this world, never able to return to her own.

She would become the only merfolk in this world.

No parents, no family, not even another of her kind.

Just like that alien in red and blue in the next city over.

No, perhaps it was even worse.

After all, that alien rescue dog had been young when he arrived on Earth. Before he truly learned where he came from, he had already formed strong enough bonds in this world-with his ordinary yet gentle and generous adoptive parents.

But Miaomiao was different. She was old enough to recognize her own loneliness, yet unable to accept it all with the equanimity of an elder who had seen everything life had to offer.

The loneliness and pain in the heart of someone without a single bond were beyond what most people could imagine. Perhaps a single wrong turn in her thoughts would send her plunging into the abyss.

Miaomiao was a good child. If possible, Bruce hoped the Wayne Family could become her family in this world, the people she felt connected to.

And what about Miaomiao?

At that moment, the little merfolk girl was standing before the wardrobe in her new room, fretting over the clothes filling it.

There are so many. Which one should I wear?

More importantly, how am I supposed to put these clothes on?