A question of age

"No, it's not that I don't want to..."

Hearing Damian's disgruntled muttering, Little Merfolk hurried to explain her confusion. "It's just, why a daughter? I think I remember the news saying Bruce was only thirty-five this year?"

"He's already had his thirty-fifth birthday. He'll be thirty-six soon. What's wrong with that?" As the first child Bruce had adopted, Dick couldn't help chiming in. "Bruce was only in his twenties when he adopted me, just nine years older than I was. Having a fifteen-year-old daughter at thirty-five is a lot more normal than adopting a teenager in your twenties."

After all, back then, quite a few people had thought that playboy Bruce Wayne's sudden whim to adopt a handsome circus boy only nine years younger than himself meant he'd developed a new "taste." Later, when Dick went to school, he had been subjected to plenty of malicious rumors over it.

Of course, good-tempered as he was, he wasn't a pushover. He had secretly gotten back at every one of them.

Now that Bruce had adopted several children in succession, the talk of a "change in taste" had vanished. Instead, it had become "consistent taste"-

After all, among the Wayne Family boys known to the people of Gotham, aside from his biological son Damian with his green eyes, every last one had black hair and blue eyes.

Even Dick and the others sometimes found themselves momentarily questioning things when they read those absurdly worded tabloids. After all, even that "alien rescue dog" from the next city over, whom Batman acknowledged as his partner, had the same black hair and blue eyes!

What kind of unwavering aesthetic preference was this?!

Ah, off topic... back on track, back on track... (′д｀σ)σ~~~

"So what exactly is the problem with Bruce's age? Do you think he's too old?"

They often called him "old man" and "Old Bat" in private, sure, but being in his thirties wasn't that bad...

"It's not that he's too old..." Miaomiao had no idea how to explain, so she simply said it outright. "But I'm already in my fifties. Bruce is only in his thirties. How can he be my dad?"

I'm already in my fifties...

Already in my fifties...

In my fifties...

The echo of those words kept replaying automatically in everyone's heads like a spell.

In her fifties... in her fifties... in her fifties...

"That's impossible!" Damian was the first to jump to his feet, looking positively flustered. "Didn't you say you were still an underage child?"

"That's right."

Miaomiao nodded earnestly. "But we Merfolk generally don't become adults until we're eighty."

Damian nearly forgot how to breathe.

"Adults at eighty... adults at eighty..."

So by the time he reached his father's current age, Little Fish would only just be an adult?!

Dick was having trouble accepting it too. He had only just rejoiced at gaining a sweet, soft, well-behaved little sister, as adorable as a cupcake, and now his "little sister" turned out to be a "grandma"?

Tim drank a cup of tea to steady his nerves without changing his expression. "According to the information we found, Merfolk lifespans are about the same as humans'?"

Miaomiao thought for a moment. "By 'information,' do you mean those Eastern myths and legends? They're legends, after all. Their accuracy still needs to be verified. Besides, I haven't found any living Merfolk in this world. Maybe the Merfolk in the two worlds are different?"

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, his head aching. They had considered everything, yet somehow all of them had overlooked the possibility that Merfolk might have different lifespans. Was this another effect of Miaomiao's vocal ability leaking out?

Dick looked at Little Merfolk's fair, soft little face, still rounded with a touch of baby fat, then at the elderly butler's graying hair and skin etched with the passage of time beside her... He closed his eyes in anguish...

So...

"After all that, the little sister I've been dreaming of is actually Alfred's little sister..."

The all-capable Butler Batman: I feel called out! ＜(￣ ﹌ ￣)＞

To everyone's surprise, Miaomiao was the one who cried out this time. "What?! Alfred is only in his fifties?! I thought he was at least a hundred and fifty!"

Alfred: I'm finding it rather difficult to smile now. Õ_Õ

"Miss Miaomiao, I am merely an ordinary human, with neither a special bloodline nor superpowers." Alfred still chose to face the children with a smile. "This is simply a normal, natural phenomenon. There is no need to be surprised."

But Miaomiao didn't see it that way. Ordinary Merfolk lived for at least three hundred years. Those whose cultivation reached the level of the Elders could live for five hundred. If they managed to become a Merfolk Emperor, they might even have a lifespan of over a thousand years.

Perhaps because the pursuit of beauty was rooted in Merfolk nature, after their decades-long childhood, they entered a lengthy prime. During that time, their strength continued to accumulate, but their appearance changed very little, remaining at the height of beauty in their twenties or thirties, each more beautiful and powerful than the next.

And when a Merfolk's appearance began to age, it meant their strength was starting to wane and their life was nearing its end.

This period of aging was very short, only a little over a decade. During that time, Merfolk finished all their remaining affairs, feasted with friends and family to say their farewells, and left behind their final beautiful memories. Then they traveled alone to the Merfolk Deep-Sea Cemetery, where they spent their last days, until their power returned to the sea and their souls dispersed into the world.

To Merfolk, a natural death from old age was merely the end of life's journey. Miaomiao had never imagined that the elderly butler, who looked as though he had already entered his declining years, was actually only a few years older than she was!

Recalling that an Elder seemed to have vaguely mentioned an enormous difference between human and Merfolk lifespans, Miaomiao finally caught on.

"Alfred, Alfred!" Miaomiao suddenly grew anxious. "Do you still have those pearls from before?"

"Do you mean the pearls your tears turned into, Miss Miaomiao?" Alfred still found those pearls extraordinary whenever he thought of them. "Of course. They were a gift from you, after all. I've kept them safe."

"Great! Hurry and bring them here!"

No one knew why Miaomiao had suddenly become so agitated. Being the suspicious Bat-family they were, they had put Miaomiao through a full set of examinations when she officially moved into Wayne Manor. Naturally, the pearls formed from her tears had also undergone repeated testing of every kind in the Batcave.

The conclusion was that, aside from their rare coloration, exceptionally high quality, and lack of a nucleus, the pearls were no different from naturally formed ones.

Of course, the legendary Merfolk Tear Pearls might truly have some property their tests couldn't detect.

For instance, magic.

Or perhaps it should be called spellcraft?

At Miaomiao's urging, Alfred brought out the pearls and handed them to her.

Without another word, Miaomiao picked out two large, perfectly rounded pearls and placed them in her palm. She rubbed her hands together, and when she opened them again, the pearls had turned into fine powder. She picked up a teacup, tipped the freshly made pearl powder into it, then lifted the teapot and filled the cup more than halfway with tea.

Then Miaomiao held the cup of pearl powder mixed with black tea out to Alfred and urged, "Alfred, hurry, drink it!"

Alfred: ʕ⊝⍛⊝ʔ???...