mtl008 Chapter 3789 The School Doctor's "Daily Life" (4)
Chapter 3789 The School Doctor's "Daily Life" (4)
Chapter 3789 The School Doctor's "Daily Life" (Part 4)
Ilfamoni's library is a standalone cylindrical tower. To get from the school hospital to the library, one must first leave through the main castle, either through the back door of the main castle into the central courtyard, or through the side door into the covered bridge. Neither route is short, but since the principal's office is on the other side of the central courtyard, Bruce and Night Owl chose the covered bridge.
"Why are you acting so suspiciously?" Bruce, who was walking in front, said to Night Owl behind him.
“I also want to ask you, why are you walking around so brazenly?” Night Owl couldn’t help but look at him. He glanced around and said, “This school is full of magicians, aren’t you afraid of being discovered by them?”
"If I were afraid of being discovered, would I still go out at night?"
The owl was speechless.
“You seem to know a lot about magic,” he started another topic.
"You come here without understanding anything, just to trigger a paranoid delusions like you?"
The owl fell silent again.
In fact, in the early days of the Fighting World, he and Bruce had a good relationship because Bruce was very much the image of a younger brother in his mind.
Most Batmen are too mature. The classic Batmen, represented by the main universe's Batman, may only be around 40 years old, but they look like they're 400.
Night Owl felt an inexplicable aversion to this overly mature Bruce Wayne. As the saying goes, a doctor can't heal himself, especially since Night Owl wasn't exactly a professional psychologist. He didn't know why he felt this way, and could only keep his distance from this type of Batman. But seeing him still made him uncomfortable, and over time, he grew to clash with these Batmen.
Batman with a youthful image like Bruce Wayne is extremely rare. Some Batmen, even those who appear young, are lifeless and dull. Bruce Wayne is probably the most lively and cheerful Batman in the entire multiverse.
No, actually, Owl always felt that Bruce wasn't Batman. While some Batmen acknowledged being Bruce Wayne, they never truly abandoned the Batman identity; Bruce, however, completely shed that identity. He was simply Bruce Wayne, neither a superhero nor a vigilante. This perfectly aligned with Owl's expectations for his brother.
So after discovering Bruce, Nite Owl intentionally approached him. The two initially got along quite well.
This is what they mean by "knowing a person's face but not their heart." Like a pig with a scallion stuck in its nose trying to look like an elephant, the deception will eventually be exposed. This Bruce can no longer be said to be Batman; he's become suspiciously inhuman.
What Night Owl wanted was a younger brother who, in his stereotyped way, was ordinary, lively, easy to control, lived under his wing, and was full of respect and gratitude towards him.
The real Bruce is the complete opposite of his stereotypes; he's eccentric, crazy, rebellious, and an unidentified creature whose blood pressure can rise five times over in just three sentences.
They can cooperate. Bruce is indeed very capable, but there's a serious problem with their relationship: for them to cooperate properly, or even to have a peaceful discussion, everything must revolve around Bruce. He has to do whatever he wants.
If Night Owl raises an objection, Bruce will argue with him. And he's an exceptionally skilled arguer, adept at everything from reasoned arguments and logical persuasion to tantrums and vulgar outbursts. Night Owl can't win an argument with him.
In terms of fighting ability, Night Owl had never seen a Batman so uncompromising. Everyone says Batman gets into trouble when he has superpowers, but Bruce Wayne is overflowing with superpowers and still incredibly energetic. Night Owl couldn't possibly beat him.
What's even more frustrating for Owl is that while he might not play with Bruce, plenty of others do. Bruce has no shortage of friends, even within Batman's organization, or extending to the Justice League across the multiverse, he has many like-minded acquaintances. Not to mention, he can get along well with the Joker and a host of other villains. He's the only Batman in the entire universe to have ever been to the Joker's base and emerged unscathed.
Everyone has to admit that Bruce Wayne is a wicked yet charismatic character. To be precise, his charm stems from his uniquely wicked nature. Batman has righteous and evil sides, but he's uniquely shameless.
The saying goes, "The ruthless fear the stubborn, and the stubborn fear the reckless." In the Batman universe, the normal fear the crazy, the classic crazy fear the uniquely crazy, and the uniquely crazy fear the uniquely and interestingly crazy. Bruce is clearly the last type.
Whether it's Batman, the Joker, or most of the Justice League and villain groups across the multiverse, there are very few mediocre individuals. They are mostly geniuses capable of seeing and appreciating the most unique and interesting aspects of a person's soul, like seeing the luster of a pearl through an ugly shell. Bruce is the brightest pearl in the multiverse.
This made Night Owl feel inexplicably angry, as well as inexplicably depressed and sad. Every time he was with Bruce, he would get so angry that he wanted to kick him to the edge of the universe; but when he wasn't with Bruce, he felt a strange sense of resentment.
He kept oscillating between these two states. And now he had clearly jumped to the former. Bruce could drive people crazy with just one word, and he really couldn't help but wonder how classic old-fashioned Batmen like the main universe Batman or Arkham Batman could tolerate him.
Whether they were faking it or not, they seemed relatively calm when they were with Bruce. This made Night Owl wonder if he was the only one in the entire multiverse with such a narrow-minded attitude?
They crossed the covered bridge, turned a corner, and entered the tower. The tower's floor was made of the same magical stone tiles as the Asgardian palace, carved with mysterious magical runes and shimmering with a faint light. The walls were covered with purple magical wood panels, adorned with intricate and elaborate Marie-style candlesticks. Climbing the spiral staircase of the tower, the library had a huge crystal door through which a faint, shimmering light emanated.
The two pushed open the door and went inside. There was no one behind the counter that was originally used for registration, but the entire library was brightly lit, making Night Owl feel as if he had entered another world.
It wasn't until now that he realized the candlesticks in the corridor had been lit all along, and the entire campus seemed to never turn off its lights, completely robbing him of the mystery and tension of his nighttime stroll. But he couldn't help but marvel: these were all magical light sources, kept lit every day, consuming an unimaginable amount of energy. The magicians of this universe were truly incredibly wealthy.
The main universe Batman and Arkham Batman are also discussing this. Neptune Academy's dormitories are built on the top floor of the main castle, occupying the entire western side of the rooftop. To get to the school hospital, you must first walk east and then downstairs. The entire route essentially completes a tour of the main castle.
It was nothing like the night tour they had imagined, a cautious and treacherous journey through darkness. There was no darkness in the castle; everywhere was magnificent and brightly lit.
Not only the chandeliers and candles, but all sorts of magical ornaments were glowing, such as the stars on the constellation patterns of the Gothic pointed windows, the cosmos flowers on the carpets, the luminous pearls on the stair railings, and the swords and harps held by European mythological figures on the ceiling. Different magical lights intertwined and reflected each other. If it weren't for the faint glimpse of pure moonlight through the cracks in the windows, the castle would truly be a place where day and night were indistinguishable.
Faced with such outrageously extravagant behavior, the Batmen could only choose to respect it without understanding. However, the thought of the stingy style of the sorcerers in their own universe brought a strange sense of melancholy.
Indeed, magic comes at a price. But the magicians in their universe paid a heavy price, turning themselves into something neither human nor ghost, and the magical power they gained might not even be enough to light a candle for one night here.
Regardless of how much the mages of this universe paid, or who paid that price, at least the rewards they received were sufficient.
This made Batman feel indignant: both are magic, both are transactions, so why can the devils in their universe trample on humans, vent their malice at will, and cause magicians lifelong suffering, while they only give a little favor, not even a scrap of energy from this universe?
Without comparison, there is no difference. If we only compare within their own world, everyone is about the same, and there's nothing to complain about; but after coming here and seeing this situation, how can we tolerate the injustice?
When the two Batmen, like two black holes, strode into the school hospital with an oppressive atmosphere and intimidating presence that was hard for ordinary people to bear, Schiller almost thought they were going to take Night Owl's life that night.
Schiller couldn't help but complain in his office: "There's a cause for every grievance, and a debtor for every debt. Why do you two have to cause trouble on my turf?"
Luckily, Night Owl ran fast—or rather, Bruce ran fast with him. If they had been any slower, his peaceful life would have been shattered from the very first day of school.
"How did you two get in?" Schiller asked. "Only professors are allowed in the university hospital. You... well, the seal of the Hippo Goddess. This lady is still so soft-hearted. Come in."
Knowing they weren't sick, he didn't take them to the ward, but directly led them to his office. As they entered, he specifically warned them, "You'd better not be trying to show off your impressive fighting skills tonight. Let me tell you, everything in this office is expensive; you can't afford to pay for even a small scratch."
“That’s a novel idea.” The main universe’s Batman sat down in the meeting area. “I don’t often hear people say that.”
“You can ask your friend,” Schiller said, taking the tea set off the cabinet and glancing at Arkham Batman. “He received my bill not long ago and seems to be satisfied.”
The main universe Batman looks at Arkham Batman.
“You wouldn’t want to know the amount,” Arkham Batman said, sitting down as well.
"More than the military budget you approved this year?"
Arkham Batman remained silent.
Schiller looked at him in shock and asked, "How much military funding did you approve?"
“You should ask him who he wants to fight.” The main universe Batman took the teacup.
Schiller sat down on the sofa opposite them, poured himself a cup of tea, and said, "You're a little late. Night Owl has already left. But it's only the beginning of the semester, so there will be plenty of opportunities to cause him trouble later."
Schiller was implying to the Batmen that there was no need to rush into dealing with Night Owl, and certainly no need to take action at his school hospital. It was best for Batmen to keep their feuds away from there.
To everyone's surprise, the main universe's Batman showed no sign of leaving. He sat calmly on the sofa and said, "I can't leave empty-handed tonight. I happen to have some questions for you."