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In the classroom, Tim sat at his desk with his elbows propped up and his chin resting in his palms. His eyes stared blankly ahead, completely unfocused.
"Yo, Master Drake, which girl are you thinking about to be so lost in thought?"
A teasing voice drifted into Tim's ears, pulling his wandering mind back to reality.
"I'm thinking about where I should hit you when I punch you later, Darren."
The owner of that voice was far too familiar. Tim did not even need to turn around to know who it was.
"I'm worried about your mental health, and you want to hit me for it. Truly, no good deed goes unpunished."
Darren shook his head and sighed. "Gotham's moral standards have really gone downhill lately."
"Heh, you'd better be worried."
Tim let out two flat chuckles.
Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he turned to Darren with a look of surprise.
"Huh? You got here much earlier than usual today. Does a sleepyhead like you actually have days when you wake up early?"
Unexpectedly, the moment Tim finished speaking, Darren looked at him as if he were staring at an idiot.
"You're the one who hasn't woken up yet, my boy. Take a good look at the time."
Hearing this, Tim immediately sensed something was off. He quickly pulled out his phone and checked the screen.
Good grief, there were less than three minutes left before the bell for first period.
"What? It's already this late? How is that possible? When I got to the classroom just now, the sun wasn't even up…"
Tim stared at the time in disbelief.
In such a short span, nearly two hours had vanished.
He thought he had only been at school for ten minutes at most, yet in the blink of an eye, class was about to begin.
Only then did Tim notice that the classroom had long since filled up, and outside the windows it was already bright daylight.
"What on earth were you thinking about just now to forget the time like that? It couldn't be… your dad's company going bankrupt, could it?"
Darren asked cautiously.
"Of course not. Can you stop making these kinds of wild assumptions?"
Tim pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation.
"Then what was it?"
"I was just thinking about some personal stuff… What's with that look? It's not the kind of 'personal stuff' you're imagining. I mean—wait!"
All of a sudden, Tim paused and stared at Darren with intense seriousness, his gaze growing sharper by the second.
"Hey! What are you trying to do? Don't look at me like that!"
Darren quickly raised his guard and backed off a little.
"Darren, your magic skills are really good, right?"
Tim asked, ignoring Darren's reaction.
"Yeah, they're pretty amazing."
Darren replied with mock modesty.
"How amazing, exactly? I remember when you won that award at the last magic competition, the judges said your technique was already on par with a world-class master magician. Is that true?"
Tim pressed further.
"I can't really say. I haven't met many world-class master magicians."
"Then… what about Kaitou Kid?"
"What do you mean?"
Darren narrowed his eyes, looking at Tim in confusion.
"Doesn't Kaitou Kid love using magic tricks during his heists? I want to know, in the eyes of an upright magician like you, what level would his magic be? Or rather, can you expose the truth behind the tricks Kaitou Kid uses?"
Tim looked at Darren expectantly.
Darren did not answer right away. Instead, he stared at Tim with a blank expression.
"Tim, you seem unusually interested in Kaitou Kid lately."
The moment those words left his mouth, Tim's pupils constricted and the hairs on his arms stood on end.
Oh no. Had he sounded too eager just now and made Darren suspicious?
No, his identity as Robin absolutely could not be exposed.
Sensing danger, Tim hurried to cover himself.
"I'm just curious. Kaitou Kid is the hottest topic in Gotham right now. Look around the classroom. Who isn't interested in him?"
"Being interested is fine. I'm just worried you might get the wrong ideas."
Darren reached out and placed a hand on Tim's shoulder, speaking earnestly. "Tim, magic is meant to bring people joy, not to be used as a tool for crime. Even if your father's company really does go bankrupt one day, you must never try to follow Kaitou Kid's example."
Tim finally relaxed and let out a quiet breath of relief.
"Get lost!"
…
The first class ended, and it was now the break between periods.
"What? So you were shocked by the methods Kaitou Kid used at the banquet and just wanted to figure out how he did it? You should've said so earlier. You had me worried you were heading down the wrong path."
After Tim explained everything, Darren finally understood.
"To be honest, in my opinion, what Kaitou Kid uses can't even be called magic anymore. Maybe he really is a wizard or something."
Even now, when Tim thought back to everything Kaitou Kid had done that night, he still felt deeply shaken.
"Hmm…"
Darren closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then said seriously, "I haven't seen Kaitou Kid with my own eyes, so I can't say whether he's really using magic. But there's one thing I'm sure of."
"The things you mentioned, whether it's turning into someone else after falling or disappearing into a flock of pigeons, can all be achieved with magic."
Hearing this, Tim's face lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Quick, tell me, what's the principle behind it?"
"Actually, the principle is surprisingly simple. You just have to first…"
...
Gotham, Municipal District, GCPD Headquarters.
"Still haven't found it?"
Inside the commissioner's office, Gordon was questioning a subordinate.
"Reporting to the commissioner, the whereabouts of the Vanafor necklace still haven't been discovered."
Gordon nodded and dismissed the officer to return to his duties.
Left alone at his desk, Gordon frowned and fell into deep thought.
"The Tear of the Goddess that was stolen last time was voluntarily returned by Kaitou Kid in less than a week. But now, ten days have passed since he took the necklace, and there hasn't been a single word about it…"
Could my previous judgment of Kaitou Kid have been wrong?
Is he actually committing these thefts for profit?
"Was returning the Tear of the Goddess last time just part of a long con, using that act to make us misjudge his motives as not being about money, while secretly aiming for his real target, the Vanafor Family's emerald necklace?"
After all, because of the previous incident, people had already formed the assumption that Kaitou Kid would return the stolen gems. As a result, the vigilance and search for the necklace would inevitably slacken, making it easier for him to get away with it.
"If this was Kaitou Kid's plan from the start, then we're in serious trouble."
Gordon felt a heavy sense of unease.
"Commissioner, something terrible has happened!"
Just then, another officer rushed in with a panicked expression.
"Is it Kaitou Kid? Did he get away with the necklace?"
Gordon stood up reflexively.
"It's not Kaitou Kid, it's the Riddler!"
The officer shook his head frantically.
"The guards at Arkham Asylum just called. They say the Riddler isn't in his cell. He's escaped again!"
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