A special soup

In the bright sunlight, Bruce suddenly realized that the girl's hair and eyes were not the pure black he had thought they were, but a very, very deep blue-violet.

It was like the ocean, which looked clear and blue in the sunlight, but turned as black as night when you dove down beyond the reach of the sun.

Only when brilliant sunlight fell across Miaomiao's face and body could you see, from certain angles, the blue-violet glow in her hair and eyes, exactly the same shade as her tail.

It was as though her whole body was glowing.

You could only say yes to her.

All she wanted was a taste of soup.

"All right, leave it to me."

Delighted, Miaomiao pushed everything over to Bruce in one go, splashing her tail in the shallows as she watched him eagerly, waiting for him to get everything ready to grill the fish and make the soup.

If anyone else from the Wayne Family had been there, they might still have had time to prevent the tragedy.

Unfortunately, the other members of the Wayne Family were all frantically searching for their missing patriarch, utterly oblivious to what was about to happen here.

And so, certain things happened inevitably...

Using a drinking bowl she had found in the shipwreck as a soup bowl, Miaomiao eagerly asked Bruce to ladle her a little of the fragrant soup, patiently blew on it to cool it down, and took her first sip with an anticipation that bordered on reverence.

As though someone had pressed pause, Miaomiao's movements, expression, and even her gaze froze in that instant.

"Miaomiao?"

Sensing something was wrong, Bruce waved a hand in front of her eyes.

"Miaomiao, are you okay?"

At Bruce's calls, Miaomiao finally snapped out of her frozen state and looked doubtfully at the soup in her hands.

Noticing her look, Bruce finally remembered something, and a hint of guilt crept into his voice. "What's wrong? Does the soup taste bad? Sorry, this is my first time making it..."

"No, it must be me."

Miaomiao's expression was solemn, her eyes utterly serious. She lifted the bowl and tried another sip.

The freeze-frame returned.

"Miaomiao," Bruce tried to reassure her, "if it tastes bad, just leave it. Don't force yourself."

"Impossible! I don't believe it!"

With that shout, Miaomiao lifted the entire bowl with the resolve of someone marching to her death and drained it in one go!

"Miaomiao!"

Bruce tried to stop her, but was too late. Watching the girl drain every last drop from the bowl and remain "frozen," he began to worry too.

"Miaomiao, are you okay?"

Only after a long while did Bruce see Miaomiao's fingers twitch slightly. The drinking bowl slipped from her hands and came to rest on the sand.

"Bruce..."

The poor Little Merfolk was like a doll with a broken winding mechanism, turning her head in stiff, jerky increments. Her large eyes, usually so liquid and sparkling, were now vacant, as though her soul had left her body-

"I think I can hear our elder calling me..."

Bruce: Σ( ° △ °|||)︴!!!

No! How could it possibly taste bad?!

Miaomiao simply could not understand it.

She had caught the tastiest fish and shrimp, the most delicious sea crabs, and found the freshest oysters and mussels, the most refreshing kelp and wakame.

There were also the mushrooms Bruce had found in the woods, freshly dug bamboo shoots, and nuts taken from a hollow tree.

Before they made the soup, she had been unable to resist sneaking a little of everything. Although it was her first time eating many of those land ingredients, and their textures and flavors were a little strange, they had all tasted good-or at least not bad.

They were all delicious things, so why? Why?!

Why had they turned into something so... terrifying after Bruce cooked them?!

I really don't understand! Aaaaaah!!!

For the entire afternoon, the lively, restless Miaomiao did not dive back into the sea. Like a salted fish dried out in the sun, she lay listlessly on a rock by the shore. Even her beautiful, large blue-violet tail had lost its luster, dangling limply in the seawater and swaying with the waves.

Looking at the little mermaid, who had lost all her vitality and begun questioning her entire existence because of one bowl of his soup, Bruce felt deeply guilty.

Of course, Bruce had never thought himself so naturally gifted that his first attempt would rival a five-star chef. Born into a fabulously wealthy family like the Waynes, he had always had a butler and servants to take care of his food, clothes, and everyday needs.

Cooking?

Please. Even brushing sauce onto food himself at an outdoor barbecue counted as family fun.

Apart from the time he had left everything behind without a word and gone away from Gotham to train, he had never had to worry about his next meal. Still, Bruce had never imagined that his cooking could be so dreadful that it shattered the innocent worldview of a little mermaid who longed wholeheartedly for the food of human society.

No wonder Alfred had tactfully suggested that the kitchen was not a suitable battlefield for Batman. Even on the occasional occasion when Bruce wanted to go into the kitchen to pour himself a coffee, the kindly old butler would call him away under one pretext or another.

Bruce had always thought the old butler was simply concerned for him and did not want him doing any extra work.

"Miaomiao, are you okay? How are you feeling now?"

"Thank you. Much better."

Miaomiao was still a little droopy and unable to muster much energy, but at least she had come out of that state where her soul seemed to have wandered off.

"Bruce, I just don't understand. Your grilled fish tastes so good, so why is your soup so... special?"

Bruce gave an embarrassed smile and spread his hands helplessly. "Probably because cooking over a fire is one of the very few kinds of 'cooking' that doesn't require touching any kitchen utensils."

"Huh?" Miaomiao, who had never actually seen a kitchen, looked utterly bewildered. "What's the difference?"

"I'm actually not good at cooking, including grilling."

Bruce added a dry branch to the campfire as he explained.

"My family has, well, some money. Ever since I was little, there have been people specifically responsible for taking care of my daily needs. I never had to do any of these things myself. So I've very rarely actually made any food. All I had to do was tell the butler and servants what I wanted to eat, then sit at the table and wait."

"Wow." Having lived in the sea since birth, where everyone caught fish together and ate together, Miaomiao could not imagine such a life. She listened with keen interest. "But your grilled fish tastes really good."

Bruce smiled faintly and went straight to the heart of it. "That's probably because mine is the only grilled fish you've ever eaten."

"ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ..."

There was absolutely no arguing with that~

"I once spent some time traveling alone. There was no one to look after me, so I had to find ways to fill my own stomach. Even though I worked odd jobs to earn money, not every place had shops. Often, out in the wilderness where there was no one around, I had to catch animals and roast them myself."

Bruce handed Miaomiao the grilled fish and mushroom skewers, took a grilled fish for himself, and talked as he ate.

"How good could grilled fish without any seasoning possibly taste? Miaomiao, once we get in touch with the outside world, I'll take you to try Alfred's cooking. He's the one whose cooking is truly outstanding."

"Okay."

Miaomiao chewed the tender grilled mushrooms, her cheeks puffed out, making her look even cuter.

"But, Bruce..."

"What?"

"What are odd jobs?"

"..."

"And what does earning money mean? And shops? Also, who's Alfred? Is his cooking really good? Even better than yours?"

"..."

Bruce looked at the sun beginning to sink in the west and felt that he might have a great deal to explain that evening.