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Late at night,
Vanafor Family Estate.
After two hours of repairs, the power supply damaged by Kaitou Kid was finally restored, and the entire estate lit up once more.
Because of Kaitou Kid's disruption, the commemorative banquet that had been scheduled to last three days was forced to end on the second day. One by one, the guests left the estate and returned home.
After apologizing to Ms. Samantha for failing to protect the necklace, Gordon led the GCPD back to headquarters.
...
At this moment, inside a dimly lit room in the estate.
Ms. Samantha sat on the sofa, while her personal bodyguard, William, stood respectfully before her.
Logically speaking, as a bodyguard, William's failure in his encounter with Kaitou Kid should have resulted in severe punishment in a family like this.
Yet Ms. Samantha's expression toward him did not suggest that at all.
And William's face showed not the slightest hint of guilt.
"What do you think of Kaitou Kid?"
She asked calmly.
"He has great potential. His physical condition is excellent. He just lacks proper training."
William replied indifferently.
"Moreover, his disguise skills are very strong. At the time, I truly did not notice that Kaitou Kid had disguised himself as you."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Ms. Samantha's interest was piqued. "That surprises me. I thought you let Kaitou Kid knock you out on purpose."
"The difference in build between Kaitou Kid and me isn't small. With your eyesight, you still didn't recognize him?"
"That's exactly what makes Kaitou Kid impressive. He uses his surroundings, expressions, and posture to make people overlook the discrepancies in his physique."
Hearing this, Ms. Samantha nodded in understanding. "In that case, do you think Kaitou Kid is a suitable candidate?"
"Yes. That's exactly what I think."
William answered without hesitation.
"Ever since the incident at Harley Circus years ago, we lost a perfect candidate. We've been searching for a replacement ever since, but all of them have failed, including those whose physical metrics surpassed Kaitou Kid's."
Ms. Samantha asked in a low voice, "Do you think Kaitou Kid has a chance of passing the trial?"
"That depends on Kaitou Kid himself. I can't say for certain."
William replied honestly.
"Hmph. Fair enough. As long as he's caught our attention, regardless of the outcome, Kaitou Kid has already become one of the candidates."
Ms. Samantha let out a soft snort.
"Have someone investigate Kaitou Kid's true identity. I want him to appear at the ritual within this month."
"I'll take care of it immediately."
William accepted the order, turned around, and left the room.
...
The next day.
Media outlets and newspapers all across Gotham were reporting the same news.
Kaitou Kid dominated every front page.
Among the coverage were both serious reports and sensational entertainment pieces.
"Miraculous Skill! Kaitou Kid Breaks the Line Between Stage Tricks and Real Magic!"
"Shocking! Large Quantities of Pigeon Feathers Found at the Crime Scene. Is Kaitou Kid Not Even Human?"
"Did You Know? Kaitou Kid Released the Smoke Just to Do This to Ms. Samantha…"
"Look Closely! The First Major Clash Between Robin and Kaitou Kid. Guess Who Will Have the Last Laugh? No Prizes for Guessing!"
More than twenty reporters from different media outlets had been among the guests at the Vanafor Family Estate. By sheer coincidence, they had been right on the front lines, capturing close-up shots of Kaitou Kid from every angle and witnessing his dazzling tricks firsthand. Their vivid descriptions made readers feel as though they had been there themselves.
After this operation, the name Kaitou Kid echoed throughout Gotham. On every street and in every alley, people spoke with excitement about the mysterious figure who had appeared out of nowhere.
People argued endlessly over whether Kaitou Kid used stage tricks or real magic.
...
Greer Residence.
Darren woke up, washed, got dressed as usual, and headed to school with his backpack.
The sun was shining brightly, and girls smiled at him as he passed.
With his handsome looks and well-built physique, he turned heads wherever he went.
Especially on the way to school, he often ran into female classmates heading in the same direction.
Every time they saw Darren, they greeted him with surprise and struck up a conversation.
After more than ten years since getting his past life memories, Darren had long grown used to this. He chatted easily with the girls, occasionally performing a small magic trick, drawing delighted exclamations and earning more than a few admiring looks.
Although he had made an enemy of the Court of Owls the day before, Darren did not feel much psychological pressure.
He believed that even with all their influence, the Court of Owls could not uncover his true identity with the information they currently had.
And despite the Court of Owls acting as if they were untouchable with Barbatos behind them, in truth, it was questionable whether Barbatos even knew they existed.
Among Barbatos's subordinates, the Court of Owls was little more than a fringe organization on the outermost edge. Their only real trump cards were amber gold and the Talons. Very few of them even understood black magic.
Although the power held by the various families within the Court and their immortal Talon army was indeed troublesome, unless someone with precognitive abilities got involved, no matter how thoroughly the Court investigated Kaitou Kid, they would never be able to trace him back to Darren.
That said, Darren also knew this situation was only temporary. As Kaitou Kid's activities became more frequent, the amount of information and clues in the outside world would inevitably grow.
By then, it would be hard to guarantee that his identity would remain hidden.
And this was not just true of the Court of Owls. The Bat Family and even the GCPD were the same.
Of course, it was also possible that along the way, Darren would obtain new rewards from the system that could conceal his identity perfectly once and for all.
On this matter, Darren chose not to be overly pessimistic, nor blindly optimistic.
Arriving at school, he smiled and said goodbye to the girls before heading toward his classroom.
The boys nearby who witnessed the scene could not help but cast envious looks at him.
"Who is that? Why does it seem like every time I see him, he's surrounded by a bunch of girls?"
Someone muttered sourly.
"He's Darren Greer, one of the big names at school. You seriously don't know him?"
The person beside him replied.
"Greer? Oh, right. The genius young magician everyone's been talking about has that name. So it's him!"
After learning the truth, his mood turned even more bitter.
"Is he even human? It's one thing to be insanely talented at magic, but he's also that handsome. I heard his father is a famous master magician too, and his family must be loaded. Why did I have to run into someone like this the moment I started school?"
"Don't be so down. If Darren makes you feel like this, then if you'd enrolled twenty years earlier and met that guy, wouldn't your inferiority complex have been even worse?"
"Twenty years ago? Who?"
"Bruce Wayne."
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