Dean's eyes flicked toward the front row once more.
The seat at the very center was still empty.
Dick Grayson had already moved.
From the timing alone, Dean could roughly guess where Robin had gone and what he was trying to do.
Without hesitation, Dean stood up.
"Where are you going?"
Lack, seated beside him, looked over in surprise as Grayle Tartard Ethan suddenly rose from his chair.
Dean let out an awkward chuckle and patted his stomach.
"Oh, I just need to… use the restroom. Ate a bit too much earlier."
Lack snorted.
"That's exactly why you're always so fat. Even walking looks like a struggle."
Despite her sarcasm, she shifted her leg slightly to the side. The aisle was narrow, and this was the only way Dean could pass.
Their seats were located at the outermost corner of the auction hall. Once past Lack, Dean quickly reached the side staircase.
Moments later, he slipped quietly out through the side door.
Almost at the same time, another figure also left the auction hall.
---
The First Floor Kitchen
The first-floor kitchen of Gotham International Hotel was buzzing with activity.
Pots clanged. Knives struck cutting boards. Orders were shouted back and forth.
Then—
Bang!
The kitchen door burst open.
The sudden noise startled everyone. Heads turned instantly.
A young man stepped inside.
He wore a red tight-fitting top, green pants, and a black blindfold covering his eyes.
Robin.
Slung over his shoulder was a young man dressed only in a thin shirt and shorts, completely unconscious.
The kitchen staff froze.
"Isn't that Tom?"
"Wait… Robin is carrying him?"
"I thought Tom was assigned to the eighteenth floor to serve dishes!"
Confusion spread rapidly.
Then one of the staff members slicing salmon suddenly froze.
"Hold on—didn't the GCPD warn us that Kaito Kid could disguise himself as other people?"
His eyes widened.
"What if that wasn't Tom working with us earlier? What if Robin caught Kaito Kid disguised as Tom?"
"That makes sense," someone murmured.
But another employee chopping meat immediately shook his head.
"Or maybe Robin is Kaito Kid in disguise. How do we know?"
The kitchen fell into uneasy silence.
Robin didn't argue.
He gently lowered the unconscious Tom onto the floor and spoke calmly.
"I found him on the hotel rooftop. He was already unconscious. Kaito Kid knocked him out."
With that, Robin turned and left the kitchen without another word.
---
The Surveillance Room
Not long after, on the twentieth floor, the hotel's monitoring room was filled with tension.
Commissioner James Gordon stood with several elite intelligence officers, all staring at the massive wall of surveillance screens.
Dozens of camera feeds covered every corridor, elevator, and service area in the building.
"It's been over an hour since the auction started," one officer said, rubbing his tired eyes. "And we still haven't seen anything unusual. Are we sure Kaito Kid will even show up?"
He reached for his coffee and took a sip.
"Don't lower your guard," Gordon said sternly. "It's not midnight yet. Until then, anything can happen."
"That's true," another voice suddenly said from behind him.
"And actually—Kaito Kid has already infiltrated the hotel."
The room exploded into motion.
"Who's there?!"
Several officers spun around instantly, guns raised.
"Robin?"
Gordon looked shocked for a split second—then his expression hardened again.
Kaito Kid could disguise himself.
"Prove you're not him," Gordon said firmly.
Robin fell silent for a moment.
Then he reached into his suit and produced a small golden badge, engraved with the word "LAW."
"Do you recognize this?" Robin asked.
Gordon's eyes widened slightly.
"A few years ago, when Batman first brought me to meet you under the Bat-Signal, you personally gave me this badge. You said it symbolized our partnership."
Gordon's posture relaxed—but only slightly.
"This could still be stolen," he replied. "A few people in Gotham know about that badge. You need to tell me something only the two of us know."
Robin sighed.
"Alright. Let's see…"
He tilted his head and smiled faintly.
"How about your pipe? You used to smoke regular cigarettes. But after Batman started appearing behind you so often—and scaring you into dropping them—you switched to a pipe so you'd always have it in your hand."
The room went silent.
Then—
"Oh! So that's why the Commissioner suddenly started using an old-fashioned pipe!"
One officer whispered to another.
"I thought he was just into vintage stuff!"
Gordon shot the officer a cold glance.
Then he turned back to Robin.
"Alright," he said. "You've proven who you are."
He straightened.
"So—what do you mean by saying Kaito Kid has already infiltrated?"
"I found an unconscious kitchen worker on the rooftop," Robin explained. "His name is Tom. He works in the first-floor kitchen."
He paused.
"But before I found him, the kitchen staff had been working with someone they believed was Tom."
Robin deliberately omitted the challenge card and focused only on the facts.
"Kaito Kid disguised himself as Tom to enter the hotel. I need to trace 'Tom's' movements using the surveillance footage."
Gordon's expression darkened.
"Rewind the footage. Now."
The officers moved immediately.
The recordings rolled back.
Two hours earlier.
A man who looked exactly like Tom exited the first-floor kitchen, pushing a cart filled with ingredients into the service elevator.
Robin leaned forward, eyes locked onto the screen.
At first, everything looked normal.
Then—
Something subtle.
'Tom' glanced left.
Then right.
The movement was extremely slight—almost unnoticeable.
But it was deliberate.
With dozens of screens running at once, Gordon's team had missed it earlier.
They continued reviewing the footage.
After arriving at the eighteenth-floor restaurant, 'Tom' began working as a waiter.
And that was when his behavior became even more abnormal.
Robin's expression grew sharper.
The investigation had finally found its trail.
-----------------------------------------
Visit our Patreon for more:
Get membership in patreon to read more chapters
Extra chapters available in patreon
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31
----------------------------------------------------- .