Shiller put down the wine glass, leaned forward, and looked into Batman's eyes, "In this world, the only person I trust not to be the kind of man who gets a thrill out of exercising paternalistic control and manipulation is Batman. Almost everyone else does, to a greater or lesser extent."
"I believe you've also suffered during this process because throughout your life you've controlled far too many things you shouldn't have. You've gained more power than you should bear, yet you can't refuse to accept responsibilities like ordinary people do."
"So gaining even more power wouldn't make you feel exhilarated like an ordinary person reveling in great authority. You're more numb, passively agreeing to use it, quietly bearing all consequences. You'd never feel happy about it. All of your actions are motivated solely by inertia."
"Do you think I should opt out?"
"You've already opted out, and that's the root of your discomfort. It's your parents who now control your 'children' and exert power over them. Losing power always leaves one feeling empty."
"But you've said that I don't enjoy such privileges."
"Yet if you pull a nail out of your flesh, the wound will hurt for a good while. You can only adapt as well as you can."
Shiller picked up the wine glass again and said, "You think the bustle within Wayne Manor should be a beneficial diversion for you, but you don't know how to join them without using certain powers. This is too novel for you, without any prior experience."
"Because your wisdom and strength naturally endow you with authority and corresponding responsibilities when you join certain groups. You haven't yet learned how to be an irresponsible person. Put simply, you haven't learned how to enjoy."
"It seems you're quite adept at that."
"Because I have no morals," Shiller said with a laugh, shaking his head. "I can cleave to power and discard responsibilities far more thoroughly than the average person."
"The same goes for your students?"
Shiller fell silent.
"You have your own set of morals," Batman spoke. "Although they differ from societal norms, they clearly align closely in certain aspects. I don't need you to have any more weaknesses."
Shiller took a sip of wine.
"You think I should try to teach them more," Batman said. "To guide them by approaching them on a more equal footing, but the problem is, Thomas and Martha despise Batman."
"Do you want to make them into Batmans?"
"One of them might be, but not all. I think teaching them some basic skills is necessary."
"What's basic for you might be a lifetime of learning for regular people... Forget it, maybe you should try to anesthetize them."
Shiller, thinking, said, "In terms of knowledge reserves, academic standards, and language proficiency, which teacher can outperform you?"
"But I'm not good at teaching."
"There's no such thing as a free lunch. To enjoy something, you have to pay a price. That's what I mean when I say enjoyment and efficiency are always in conflict."
"If you want to enjoy the liveliness of Wayne Manor, you'll have to invest the time and effort to learn how to become a good teacher who they can accept."
Batman was silent, contemplating.
"Still, do they need this?"
"The more, the better," said Shiller. "That's how affection works. A person's life requires endless security, no matter how much they're given, there's never an end."
"You might not be as important as you think, but no towering tree growing to the sky ever needed one less root."
Batman let out a breath, stood up, and said, "Thank you, PhD. I came in a rush this time and didn't bring any real gifts, but there's one thing I must tell you."
"What?"
"Several plant murder cases have occurred in the Gotham I'm in, and after investigation with Gordon, we found that it's very likely a supernatural event. The victims all share one thing in common—they are all fanatical enthusiasts of some kind of nocturnal bird."
Shiller gave a knowing smile and said, "Since it's a supernatural event, naturally it should be left to the Mysterious World to resolve. Have you consulted Constantine?"
"Of course, he gave me a name."
"No need to say it out loud, I'm afraid this is probably some kind of internal strife within the Divine Realm. You know how fierce the struggle for believers among the gods can be. Perhaps a deity of plants wants to claim Gotham as his own turf."
Shiller walked Batman to the door, and as Batman was walking out, he turned and said, "Then I can only wish him luck, and hope he can bring some non-violent greenery to the city."
"He will. Gods always reward their most faithful and loyal believers. Just pray devoutly, and miracles will surely come."
Watching Batman leave, Shiller revealed a smile. He glanced at his watch—only five minutes left until the banquet officially started.
"Wait a minute, why can't I quite understand what they're talking about?" Pamela, who was peeking around the stairwell in the corridor, looked down at her own head below and said, "What owls, what plants, what devout prayers?"
"That's just their way of talking," Bruce said from the topmost head. "Don't mind the communication method of lunatics."
Pamela rolled her eyes at him and said, "You have the nerve to say that, when you're the one who dragged us over to eavesdrop on a conversation between two lunatics?"
"I was just bored. If I stayed by Selina's side, she would ask me to check her outfit for issues over and over, and then discuss with me the styles of jewelry other guests were wearing."
"You don't even want to discuss that with her?"
"I'm afraid our points of focus might differ. She always manages to figure out how to get her hands on them more quickly."
"The two of you, stop talking," Natasha interrupted them, looking down at Clark on the bottom. "Are you sure they didn't say anything else? What did that last part mean?"
"I don't know either," Clark shook his head, then frowned and looked up at the three heads above. "We shouldn't be eavesdropping here, it's unethical."
"We didn't really hear anything anyway," Bruce said.
"What else do you want to hear? You just love to watch the fun... Wait a second, I've got a call."
Everyone looked at Pamela as she made a sound, and Pamela listened intently. After a while, her expression became more and more odd.
"What did you say? You want me to go green Gotham for Batman?! Have you lost your..."
"What?! He prayed to you?!! But where did he get your revered name from... Okay, because he's Batman, but I'm really busy right now!!!!!"
"What do you mean busy eavesdropping?! How many times have I told you not to spy on me!... Alright, alright, why on earth did I ever decide to become your follower? I'll make some time to talk to him later."
After hanging up the call, Pamela said with displeasure, "Batman made a wish to All Things Green to rebuild the ecosystem of plants in Gotham. He managed to get the revered name of All Things Green from who knows where, and even got through on his prayer line. Now I have no choice but to go."
Natasha waved her hand at her, saying, "You go ahead."
What she thought was that Batman, being so strong, should be able to more easily handle this overly excited superpower teenager than she could.
However, when Pamela appeared on the balcony of the bedroom in Batman's guest room, she caught Batman in the middle of changing—right as he was changing his pants.
"Ahhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!"