Aisha struggled free from the control of her three brothers and ran towards the fridge which, even though having been propped up, was still decidedly slanted.
The refrigerator had completely stopped working, not only were the wires cut, but the door to the freezer compartment had also fallen off. However, all the power that had previously leaked from the reindeer meat, along with the Seven Deadly Sins, had been absorbed by Shiller's umbrella. Therefore, there was no special power left in the room now.
But it wasn't until Dick helped Aisha open the chill compartment she was pointing at that everyone realized the beef and lamb stored inside seemed to have spoiled.
Shiller went over for a look and discovered that it was selected beef and lamb that Clark had delivered earlier, which was also supposed to be the main ingredient for tonight's banquet. By now it was emitting a strange odor.
Although the weather wasn't very cold, it was no longer hot. The refrigerator had only been nonfunctional for about a day, which shouldn't have spoiled the meat so quickly.
Upon closer inspection, Shiller noticed the color of the beef and lamb had darkened and the smell it was giving off wasn't that of rot but another kind that he found somewhat familiar.
"It does look a bit like reindeer meat," Jason said.
Shiller then remembered that the fridge drawer had been opened twice before when the Demon Power had erupted twice. With the meat being so close to the epicenter of the Demon Power's outbreak, it was likely contaminated.
Without the main dish, even if they could tidy up the place, today's banquet couldn't go on.
The Robins immediately felt a bit disappointed, but Dick quickly proposed, "We've already packed the dishes; we can't just not eat them. Besides, nobody ate that much earlier, so why don't we have dinner again?"
The dining area wasn't too affected, so they immediately brought in the takeout from outside, unpacked the boxes, and plated the dishes while loudly expressing their opinions about each one.
"Professor, have you had dinner?" Raven asked.
Shiller shook his head, and Raven immediately got him a plate, saying, "Then let's eat together. The restaurant actually tastes quite good. Since we weren't sure if you liked spicy food, we ordered everything mild."
Shiller looked at Raven, then at the Robins who were ready to start with their forks, and sighed, thinking daughters were indeed better.
Of course, it depended on the individual. Aisha was already stuffing plates into her mouth.
Shiller sat down and adjusted the plates in front of him. The Robins enthusiastically introduced him to the dishes, one moment it was their favorite dish, the next it was the one the waiter had highly recommended.
Shiller's head buzzed with their noise, and his estimation of Alfred's capabilities rose to a new level. Ever since the Robins had grown into adolescents, they seemed to carry around gigantic loudspeakers wherever they went, broadcasting noise nonstop 24 hours a day.
Shiller could now understand why Bruce would leave Gotham at such a critical time and stay in Washington for half a month.
With this in mind, Shiller asked, "What about Selina? What has she been up to recently?"
"She's been avoiding Pamela," Dick said with his cheeks stuffed full, speaking while chewing: "Pamela hasn't given up on pursuing any beauty. She's been chasing after Talia and Selina, and it seems she even wants to go after Diana."
"But things have gotten better recently," Tim, who was more reserved in his eating manners, said as he cut his food into small pieces with his fork: "Pamela and Selina have both been worried about money lately. Pamela has been busy taking care of plants, and Selina took on a lot of advertising work, so they haven't seen each other recently."
Jason, clearly skeptical, said: "I don't believe Pamela will repent. It won't be long before she's back in action again. I think Rachel will also..."
Dick immediately widened his eyes, but Raven seemed a bit confused, asking, "Who's Pamela?"
"She's the girl you saw the other day who can control plants," Shiller explained: "She's a lesbian and likes beautiful women."
"Oh," Raven nodded, apparently not fully grasping the situation. Dick, meanwhile, nearly choked on his food, and while Tim patted his back, his eyes wandered back and forth between Dick and Raven.
Tim and Jason exchanged a glance, and Jason cleared his throat and said, "Even though Pamela says she likes pretty sisters, I think her head's not quite right. Who knows if one day, on a whim... "
Dick coughed even more violently.
Shiller also glanced at Dick and Raven; by now, it was clear that Dick had caught on, while Raven was still baffled.
Shiller sighed inwardly and said, "After dinner, there are two things to do: clean up the house and send invitations."
"While your telekinesis is useful for cleaning up, I think using teleportation and invisibility to deliver invitations would be better," he added.
"We can help you clean up!" Jason immediately volunteered: "Alfred always says I'm good at tidying up."
"No, you're too noisy," Shiller replied: "Besides, Alfred wouldn't allow you to stay out too late. Go home after you eat."
Jason and the others let out a wail.
"However, I do need someone to accompany Raven to help me explain what happened today to the neighbors, why the party is postponed, and to apologize on my behalf," Shiller continued.
"I'll go!" Tim volunteered eagerly: "I'm really good at telling stories, I promise they won't have any complaints!"
At that moment, Jason nudged Tim with his elbow and glanced at Dick and Raven.
Tim's words took an immediate 180-degree turn, and he said, "…but when it comes to apologizing, that's not really my strong suit. My parents never let me apologize to others; it was always others apologizing to me, my aunt said the same."
Jason also cleared his throat and said, "I'm not very patient, and I'm afraid I might end up fighting with them. Maybe Dick should stay."
Dick gave them both a grateful look, thinking Shiller hadn't seen, and said with all seriousness, "Then I'll go, everyone probably is ready with food and gifts by now, they'll definitely be disappointed to hear about the delay, I need to explain it well."
They finished their meal quickly, and Dick, abandoning his usual gentle and steady demeanor, fidgeted like he had needles in his butt, cleaning up the plates faster than anyone.
He dumped all the dishes into the sink in one fell swoop, grabbing Raven in an attempt to dash out, but Jason grabbed hold of him and said, "It was us two washing the dishes yesterday, it's your turn today, wash up before you go."
"We don't have time." Dick said, "It's getting dark, and many guests who live far away might have already set off, we need to hurry."
"I've already sent a message." Shiller said, "I've informed them about the delay, I just need someone to go explain..."
"Well... okay then."
Shiller took Raven to the backyard to look at the big pit, pondering how to fill up the place within a few days, while the three Robins sneakily huddled around a sink washing dishes.
"You like Rachel?"
"Keep your voice down!"
"No way, how long have you known her?"
"But she really is pretty."
"Tsk, driven by lust at first sight."
Dick glared at Jason, who had made the remark, and Tim feigned gossip, "You can't possibly be unaware of how many girls at school like you, can you? I don't get it, you're even more popular than the football captain, it's outrageous!"
"What's the big deal? Which school doesn't have a football captain, but only our school has a Ballet Prince..."
The two burst into laughter, Dick glared at them and said irritably, "Can you say less? It's bad enough you're not helping come up with ideas..."
"You're actually planning to pursue her?" asked Jason, looking at Dick surprisingly, "She's definitely trouble, she could even blow up Professor Shearer's house, last one to do that was Superman..."
"But I think she has a nice personality too." Dick said, "Though she seems a bit clueless, she's very gentle, and I get along well with her."
"What have you guys 'gotten along well' about?" Tim mercilessly exposed, "She doesn't know a thing about school matters, and you're not interested in that Azarath farming business, admit it, you're just driven by lust."
"You're about to go to college, do you even have the time to chase girls?" Jason said, "How did you not die from exhaustion from those elite courses Thomas had arranged for you before?"
"You two are just jealous." Dick sneered, "I think Rachel has a good impression of me too..."
"That's because she doesn't understand anything." Tim said, squeezing a plate in his hand, "She wasn't part of normal society before, when Aisha mentioned clothes the other day, she didn't even understand, it's going to be tough."
"Please, I'm not just trying to sleep with her!"
"If that's all you want, you better hurry up, once she comes of age, it will be illegal for you."
Dick couldn't help but push Jason, who burst into raucous laughter with Tim.
"Alright, I'm being serious," Dick said, his tone growing firmer, "I don't feel the same way about any of the girls at school, I just think she's pretty and gentle, and she learns quickly too."
Seeing that Dick's tone had become more serious, Jason also thought carefully and said, "You'll first need to get the professor's permission, but since he arranged for both of you to deliver the message, it probably means he doesn't plan to separate you two. But is Rachel really Shiller's distant niece? They're nothing alike."
"I guess not," said Tim bluntly, "that girl's background can't be that simple, she's definitely trouble."
"But if you're going to chase her, I do have an idea," said Tim, grinning, "If you wash dishes for me for a week, I'll tell you."
"A week's too long, but I can trade three days of snack choices plus two days of washing dishes, how about that?"
"Tch, stingy, I wouldn't have agreed so easily if it weren't for you going to college soon, come over."
Tim beckoned Dick over, whispering in his ear for quite some time, with Dick nodding repeatedly.
By the time Shiller came in with Raven, Dick had already been kicked out of the dishwashing group, Shiller took them to the door, handing them a map with marked locations.
"First go invisible, then teleport to the target location, remember to reappear outside the surveillance range, and be polite when you knock on the door."
After some simple instructions from Shiller, he let the two leave, looking at Jason and Tim who had been washing the dishes for over ten minutes without finishing, he called out, "Jason Todd."
Jason immediately shuddered, freezing in place, while Tim immediately put down the plate, dried his hands, and came to Shiller's side, saying, "Professor, it's not yet our curfew, how about we help you tidy up? Jason really is good at cleaning."
"I'm planning to have Rachel transfer to your high school, what do you think?"
"Dick has already graduated when she arrives... I mean, no problem, we'll definitely take good care of her."
Jason on the sofa, they jostled each other, exchanged glances, and suddenly burst into laughter, looking like two napkins folded into monkeys.