Shopping!

Alfred certainly lived up to his reputation as a professional butler. He worked remarkably fast.

After learning the previous night that the little merfolk could transform her tail into legs, he had promptly prepared a new room for the Little Girl without waiting for Bruce to ask.

Wayne Manor was enormous, with plenty of vacant rooms. Since the Little Girl was closest to Bruce and Damian, and Damian had chosen to live in the room right beside his father's, Alfred selected a small suite near Damian's room for her.

Even with so little time, and despite being unsure whether the girl would prefer her little underwater nest, Alfred made certain that nothing she might need was missing.

The room was already furnished and cleaned regularly. Alfred fitted the solid wood bed with a light, dreamy canopy, laid out soft bedding in warm colors, and added cute decorations and fresh green plants. He even urgently contacted a shop to have some clothes suitable for a young girl delivered overnight to fill the wardrobe.

Most importantly, the room had a small balcony overlooking beautiful green hills and trees, with the outdoor swimming pool behind the castle directly below it. Whenever the Little Girl wanted, she could jump straight from the balcony into the pool and enter her "Water Park." Getting from the "Water Park" to this room only required passing through the semi-open "aquarium" built into the second-floor corridor and walking a dozen or so meters.

The whole arrangement was seamless.

Alfred had clearly thought everything through in considerable detail.

However, the Little Girl normally wore mermaid silk clothes she wove herself. They fit well and looked lovely, with no issues apart from being a little too thin and light. As a result, everyone had overlooked the fact that the little merfolk, who had grown up in the sea, had never even seen many styles of clothing worn by humans on land, let alone learned how to put them on by herself.

The long house dress Miaomiao was wearing had no zipper or buttons. It was a simple pull-on style, similar to what she usually wore, which was why she had managed to change into it.

So, after Damian had changed into his little suit for their outing and waited at her door until his patience ran out, he could not resist pounding on it-only to discover the little merfolk standing barefoot before the wardrobe, looking utterly helpless.

"Damian, help me... I don't know how to put these clothes on..."

The irritable boy had been seething with anger, but the little merfolk's astonishing declaration shocked every last bit of temper out of him.

Silently, he returned to his room. Silently, he took out his laptop. Silently, he searched for an instructional cartoon on "teaching toddlers to dress themselves." Silently, he set the video to loop and placed the laptop on the girl's desk. Silently, he left and closed the door behind him.

The Fourth Robin, who normally hated nothing more than wasting time waiting for someone, stood quietly outside her door with his arms folded, without a word.

Following the video's instructions, Miaomiao found a casual outfit in a similar style and put it on, then slipped into a pair of sneakers. When she opened the door, she found the black-haired, green-eyed boy leaning against the wall beside it, his face expressionless.

At the sound of Miaomiao opening the door, Damian looked her outfit up and down before his gaze finally settled on her feet.

"I knew it."

Muttering under his breath, Damian walked over. The proud young master deigned to crouch down and tie the shoelaces for the little merfolk, who did not know how to tie knots.

"Watch closely. Next time, tie them yourself. I'm not your servant."

Damian's nimble fingers tied her shoelaces, finishing them with two pretty bows that looked almost perfectly symmetrical.

"Wow, Damian, you're amazing!" Miaomiao praised him sincerely.

The corners of Damian's mouth rose by five degrees before he immediately restrained himself, keeping his handsome little face cold. "You talk too much. Let's go. Alfred has the car ready."

The two went downstairs. Bruce had also changed into a dark blue suit and was standing by the door waiting for his children. Damian, likewise dressed in formal clothes, walked over to him. His features bore such a close resemblance to his father's that he looked like a miniature Bruce, which Miaomiao found utterly fascinating.

"Let's go. The shopping district isn't far from Wayne Tower. Alfred will drop you off there first, then take me to the office."

As the car gradually entered the city, Miaomiao distinctly sensed a subtle change in the air of the person beside her.

Bruce had already slipped into his empty-headed playboy persona. From head to toe, he exuded languid wealth and carefree frivolity. Even the smile on his face had begun to turn casual and inattentive.

He was clearly still the same person, yet he felt completely different to Miaomiao.

"Sweetheart, be nice to your little brother Damian. Damian, take good care of your big sister Miaomiao. Once you're done shopping, there's no need to wait for me. Just contact the driver and head straight back to Wayne Manor."

Bruce saw the two children out of the car, his voice as he gave his instructions sounding as though it had been steeped in rose-flavored honey.

"Miaomiao, darling, keep that Black Card safe. If anything catches your eye, just use it. The Wayne Family may lack all sorts of things, but money isn't one of them."

With that, sweetheart Bruce even gave the Little Girl a charming wink before getting back into the car and continuing on to the office, leaving Damian and the little merfolk Miaomiao, who still had not quite processed what had happened.

It really feels like Bruce has flipped some incredible switch.

"Hey, little spacey fish. Let's go."

Damian slipped one hand into his suit trouser pocket. Though he was still young, he put on the air of a cool adult. Paired with the lovely little face he had inherited from his parents, it made him unbelievably adorable.

Compared to nighttime, Gotham City in daylight seemed like an entirely different place.

Gotham's weather was usually overcast and rainy, but today brought a rare glimpse of the sun. Bright sunlight dispersed the lingering mist and shone over this wicked yet captivating city, gilding it in warm gold, with none of the gloom or menace of nighttime in sight. Traffic streamed along the roads. Most pedestrians were smartly dressed and hurried along, exchanging a few pleasantries when they encountered someone they knew before parting again to head toward their destinations.

Miaomiao did not know the way, so she obediently followed Damian. She felt that Gotham, much like Bruce, seemed to have different faces and temperaments.

How amazing.

So far, Damian had only gone shopping with his mother, Talia, twice. Faced with his father's request that he accompany the little merfolk on a shopping trip, Damian took a simple, blunt approach-

He took the little merfolk straight into Gotham's largest shopping mall. It had everything anyone could need for food, clothing, daily life, travel, and entertainment, which he trusted would keep a little merfolk who had never been shopping occupied for quite a while. If that still was not enough, they could turn right outside and find a luxury shopping street nearby. Buying a few formal dresses or pieces of jewelry there would not be a bad idea either.

Then Miaomiao was dazzled by the mall's vast array of goods.

"Damian, Damian, what's that?"

"Just a wool tapestry. We have plenty at home."

"Damian, Damian, what are those? They're so pretty!"

"Roses, irises, carnations, moth orchids... They're all flowers that grow on land."

"Damian, Damian, that..."

Damian felt, with absolute conviction, that agreeing to take the little merfolk out today had been a colossal mistake!