"Dionysium...Gotham Cathedral..."
A hand, its knuckles well defined, moves over book after book. Suddenly, it comes to a stop over a book called "History of Gotham City Construction". Its index finger hooks onto the spine of the book, lifting it from the shelf.
The other hand brushes the dust off the cover. After opening the book and flipping to the relevant index, a voice sighs lightly:
"Gotham Cathedral... Found it."
Outside the rows and rows of bookshelves, a prim and properly dressed old butler walks over, carrying a tray. He stands between the two rows of shelves, looking at Bruce, engrossed in the books before him. The butler says, "Sir, it's tea time. Would you like me to bring the tea over to you?"
"No... Thank you, Alfred." Bruce neither lifts his head nor breaks his focus on the introduction to Gotham Cathedral in the book. After a pause, he says, "Please place it on that table over there, I'll be over in a moment."
Bruce stands there for a while but finds the lighting a bit dim. He can't make out the details of some diagrams in the book. Thus, he walks out from between the bookshelves, book in hand. He heads to the rest area nearby and sits down on a chair.
Alfred stands by the table, taking meals off the cart nearby then begins to make tea. Bruce continues reading with his head low, the noise of tea being poured rings alongside Alfred's speaking voice:
"Sir, you seem to be engrossed in research relating to magic and arcane studies."
"Hmm." responds Bruce. He speaks very little in privacy, but with Alfred alone, he is more relaxed and willing to explain.
"Constantine showed me another possibility of magic. The doppelganger he used looks more like a technology. I'm wondering, could magic also be a type of energy that can be utilized? Like thermal and kinetic energy..."
At hearing Constantine's name, Alfred's brows lightly furrow. Bruce, sharp as he is, catches Alfred's expression. He discloses, "I'm aware that Constantine has nothing commendable about him except for his knowledge of magic."
"Having curiosity and zeal for knowledge is a good thing, Sir." Alfred merely responds in a way that carries a hint of mystery. Following this, he continues, "But I'm unclear if he sees any worth in you..."
Even though his sentence carries a soft tone, Bruce understands. Alfred is subtly cautioning him that Constantine might bear ill will towards him. As Batman, he understands implicitly—just by judging from Constantine's previous actions is enough to have him on high alert.
Though Constantine is clearly a scoundrel with no redeemable qualities to speak of, the fact that he's intelligent cannot be denied. He established multiple plans and had them being executed simultaneously. Moreover, they didn't interfere with each other, and they all progressed rapidly. If not for a minor mishap in the end, all of his objectives would've been achieved.
Bruce was encountering such an individual for the first time, and frankly speaking, aside from the magic part, he was also quite interested in Constantine's modus operandi.
"Moreover, Sir, you must consider Eliza and Dick. They're still young and need the care of an adult." Alfred suggested cryptically, "Guidance and protection for children at this age are crucial—any mishaps can lead to dire repercussions."
Bruce nods, acknowledging Alfred's wisdom. However, he doesn't take it seriously. Besides Eliza and Dick not being ordinary children, the security system of Wayne Manor was more than enough to protect them.
Bruce spent the entire time engrossed in the book, partly murmuring, "It says here...A priest once raised funds for the church' renovation. Not only did Falcone and his mob family donate a heap of wealth, the Wayne Family was also involved...as well as other major commercial families in Gotham…"
Furrowing his brows, he muses to himself, "What's so special about the cathedral? Could it be related to the Dionysium pool underground?"
Apart from Constantine, the cathedral and pool of Dionysium, located beneath the church, were the only elements related to magic that Batman had encountered before. As a result, when he couldn't closely follow Constantine's activities, he changed his approach and began investigating Gotham.
With Wayne Family's ample book collection, including books on the city's history, Bruce finds numerous leads from these books. However, he struggled to piece them together. Hence, he decided to conduct an on-the-ground investigation.
Seems slightly distracted during tea time, Bruce quickly made his exit, leaving the book on the table.
Alfred, who was tidying up the tea and food utensils, fixed his eyes on the book's cover.
The words on the cover of the book are in a basic yet elegant font–generally used for storefront signage and personal names. The curves of the strokes slowly shift, forming a short name—"Hal Jordan".
After completing the last stroke, Shiller puts the cap back onto the pen and places the pen back into the holder.