At an outdoor café on the corner of Owlman Street in Gotham, Ririko sat on a carved wooden chair, stirring the latte before her with a spoon.
The cold wind had already chilled her coffee, but drinking it was the last thing on her mind.
She watched the pedestrians coming and going along the street. Everyone was preparing for the approaching Christmas holiday, hoping to enjoy a proper celebration after a string of chaotic events.
Krypto crouched at her feet, wearing a bright red miniature cape trimmed with white fur, with a golden star pin at the collar.
Ririko had picked it up at a pet shop on her way back to Gotham. When Krypto put it on, he had held his head high and spun around three times, his tail wagging like a helicopter rotor.
Wearing a pair of brown-tinted sunglasses, she quietly took the dark blue brocade box out of her bag.
She opened the lid and stared at the ring for a long time.
In the days since returning from Metropolis, she had carried it everywhere, opening and closing the box over and over.
She knew perfectly well that everyone's infatuation with her ultimately came from the Mental Corruption System she carried.
The vicious villains, men and women alike, and the heroes who spoke of nothing but justice kept pestering her, all because of that power.
She had never been a fool.
Especially when it came to those wealthy heirs and powerful figures who controlled half the city, she would never believe they could sincerely fall in love with a woman of unknown origins.
Once that power faded, their attitudes would surely change.
Then she would have no choice but to use the Court of Owls to begin another long round of maneuvering against them.
That would