"Edward Nygma!"
At Arkham Asylum, Gordon stormed up to the Riddler's cell.
"I know what you're planning. Talk. Tell me everything about your scheme to steal the tear of the goddess!"
The sudden interrogation made the Riddler, standing behind the iron bars, pause in surprise.
"What tear of the goddess? I have no idea what you're talking about… Oh~~ Jim, my dear old friend, have you finally cracked under the pressure of working in this godforsaken city? Started having delusions, have you?"
The Riddler sized Gordon up and down, sneering. "Looks like we'll be neighbors soon."
"Look at this. Aside from you, who else in Gotham has the habit of using riddles to announce their crimes?"
Gordon placed Kaitou Kid's notice in front of the Riddler.
"Wait, what did you just say? Using riddles to announce a crime?"
The Riddler's expression changed instantly.
He took the notice, examined it closely, and then flew into a rage.
"This is no different from a child's puzzle! You dare call this a riddle? Don't insult the word 'riddle,' Jim Gordon! You actually thought I would write something this third-rate?"
"Who is Kaitou Kid? I'm going to kill him!"
Seeing his reaction, Gordon immediately pressed on. "So you already know what it means?"
"Nonsense! Even a three-year-old could understand this. How could I not know? It says… Wait, don't tell me you still haven't solved this pathetic riddle?"
The Riddler once again put on a mocking smile.
"Want to know the meaning of the notice? Let me out, and I'll tell you."
"I don't trust you."
Gordon bluntly rejected the Riddler's insincere attempt at a trade.
"Behave yourself, Nygma. I'll be watching you."
He stood up, shot the Riddler a warning glare, and then left Arkham Asylum.
Although the visit hadn't uncovered the secret behind the notice, it at least confirmed for Gordon that Kaitou Kid was not the Riddler.
He wasn't sure whether that was good news or bad.
Late that night, Gordon returned home after work, still turning the contents of the notice over in his mind.
"The third day since Europa learned her true name… Does that mean the third day after Europe was born? Heaven knows what day that would be. And even if I did know, what would be the point?"
So far, the only part he fully understood was the final line, "Kiss the tear of the goddess."
That line undoubtedly referred to the tear of the goddess the Gotham Museum of Art had recently acquired, a priceless and renowned gemstone.
Starting from that clue, he could roughly infer the meaning of the second-to-last line, "I shall pass through that invisible prison."
"Invisible" meant unseen, likely referring to something transparent. "Prison" and "goddess" were easy to associate with the image of a goddess confined and stripped of her freedom, shedding a tear as a result.
Putting it all together, the prison confining the goddess most likely referred to the glass display case holding the gem.
In other words, Kaitou Kid would pass through the protection of the glass case to steal the tear of the goddess.
It sounded like a perfectly reasonable explanation.
Yet Gordon always felt that something was off.
To steal the tear of the goddess, Kaitou Kid would naturally have to break the glass case anyway. There was no need to emphasize it so deliberately. The final line alone would have conveyed the entire meaning. Wasn't the line about passing through the prison redundant?
Could it be that he simply wanted to make the notice sound more poetic?
Gordon was reluctant to believe that.
"Hey, Dad, what are you looking at?"
A quiet voice suddenly pulled Gordon out of his thoughts.
At some point, a red-haired woman in a wheelchair had appeared in front of him.
"Barbara, when did you come in?"
Barbara, Jim Gordon's daughter, had once been an able-bodied young woman with athletic ability far above average.
She was also a top graduate from a prestigious university, holding a low-stress, high-paying position at the municipal library. Her future had once been incredibly bright.
And that was only the side Gordon knew. He was unaware that his daughter also had a secret identity. She was one of Batman's partners, Batgirl.
In either identity, Barbara could be described as an exceptional young woman.
However, two years ago, a brutal incident occurred.
Gordon himself was kidnapped and tortured, and during the same event, Barbara's legs were left paralyzed. Since then, she could only move about in a wheelchair, and Batgirl had disappeared from Gotham.
"I've been watching you for a while, but you were so focused you didn't even notice me come in."
Barbara's gaze flicked to the notice in Gordon's hand.
"What's that? Mind if I take a look?"
"No. This is important evidence related to a case."
Gordon rejected his daughter's request without hesitation.
Barbara wasn't surprised by his response.
In the past, Gordon might occasionally have allowed her to get involved in certain cases, but after she lost the use of her legs, that was no longer possible.
"All right. I just came to remind you that it's getting late. Make sure you get some rest soon."
Barbara turned her wheelchair, preparing to leave the room.
"Barbara—"
Gordon suddenly called out to her.
"Yes?"
"The third day since Europa learned her true name,
The burning chariot falls from the sky,
Under the watch of Clytie,
I shall pass through that invisible prison,
And kiss the tear of the goddess.
Do you have any thoughts on this?"
He didn't show Barbara the notice, nor did he mention Kaitou Kid. He simply recited the contents aloud.
"Is this… some kind of modern poetry?"
Barbara asked, sounding uncertain.
"Let's just say it is. Do you have any idea what this poem is trying to convey?"
At that, a faint glint flashed in Barbara's eyes.
Rather than poetry, it felt more like a code to her.
Was it the Riddler?
But the style didn't quite match.
"Hm… In Greek mythology, the name Europe comes from the Phoenician princess Europa. Zeus once transformed into a bull and abducted her. Later, the two were united and had three children, and the continent beneath her feet was named Europa."
Barbara explained after a moment of thought.
"Taken literally, it refers to the third day after Europe was named, but that specific date can't be verified and has no practical meaning. So we should look at the moment when Europa learned her true name."
"That would be Zeus. The bull he transformed into is the symbol of Taurus. The day Europe received her name can be seen as the first day of Taurus, so the first line should mean the third day of Taurus, April 22nd."
"In Greek mythology, the burning chariot is the chariot of the Sun God, symbolizing the cycle of sunrise and sunset. When the sun chariot falls from the sky, the earth loses its light, meaning it becomes dark before sunset…"
"It's a total solar eclipse!"
Gordon suddenly remembered that the meteorological station had issued an announcement months earlier stating that a total solar eclipse would appear over Gotham, and the date was exactly April 22nd.
Barbara nodded and continued her analysis. "Clytie symbolizes the sunflower. The direction she watches is the direction of the sunrise."
At that point, the meaning of the entire notice became clear.
Kaitou Kid would arrive at the Gotham Museum of Art from the direction of the sunrise during the total solar eclipse on April 22nd, then pass through multiple layers of protection to steal the tear of the goddess.
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