Chapter 118: A Show for Batman

"A person can change, at the moment when the person wishes to change."

— Haruhi Fujioka (Ouran Highschool Host Club)

...

"Please take this handkerchief, Mr. Wayne,"

Dean gave Bruce the handkerchief that Dick had brought.

Then, Dean moved to the side to reveal an empty space in front of the cabinet.

"Next, please stand in the exact spot where I was standing earlier. It must be exactly where I stood. Your body should face the center of the cabinet, and your toes should be about thirty centimeters away from it."

Dean explained gently.

He knew that these instructions were meaningless and wouldn't affect the performance of the magic trick.

But he emphasized the importance of the "position" in order to divert people's attention away from the real secret of the trick.

Smart people would focus on the position and watch the area to see if anything seemed out of place, but they would miss the real key in the process.

This is a common technique used by magicians called misdirection.

Bruce followed Dean's instructions, stood in front of the cabinet, and seemed unfazed.

Before coming over, he had already observed the cabinet and his own position but didn't notice anything suspicious.

Bruce is confident in his observational skills and is sure that the key doesn't lie here. Therefore, his attention stays on Dean.

Meanwhile, Dick watched Dean's earnest instructions to Bruce with suppressed laughter.

'Dean, it's going to be tough for you to show off with magic this time. It would have been better if Bruce didn't participate, but now you've made him your assistant.'

"Bruce is different from me, he won't really cooperate with you to perform magic tricks."

Dick teased Dean with a mischievous look.

Dean didn't mind and continued to speak to Bruce.

"Mr. Wayne, please unfold the handkerchief and try to flatten it as much as possible."

Bruce followed the instructions, grabbing the two sides of the handkerchief and stretching it out.

Then, Dean closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said solemnly, "Now, I am going to cast a magical spell on this handkerchief..."

Dean extended his hands over the handkerchief, his eyes shut tight as he chanted under his breath.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide, retracting his hands and sighing softly.

"Alright, the spell has been placed on this handkerchief. Mr. Wayne, please gently lower the handkerchief down and do it slowly."

"Remember, the handkerchief must maintain its current flat state. There should be no change, and it must not extend beyond the surface of the cabinet. Otherwise, the spell will be broken."

Listening to Dean's explanation, Bruce asked thoughtfully, "Are you sure you want me to handle the entire process? Shouldn't you be the one to release the handkerchief in the end?"

Dean smiled faintly and replied, "If I were the one to finish the trick, then this magic wouldn't feel entirely impossible to achieve, wouldn't it? That doesn't fit with the goal of any magician."

"Just focus on your actions, Mr. Wayne, because I have already prepared everything."

At this point, Bruce's interest was finally piqued.

He looked at the handkerchief and found no possibility of any tools. The cabinet was already part of the hospital and couldn't have been tampered with.

So how did Dean plan to make the blueberries appear? And what was the purpose of the handkerchief?

Bruce was left with these questions while he followed the instructions and slowly lowered the handkerchief.

"Hmm?"

Just as the handkerchief was a short distance away from the table, Bruce suddenly noticed that a part of the normally flat surface of the handkerchief was faintly protruding!

As Bruce continued to press the handkerchief downward, the shape of the bump became clearer.

It was a rectangle, slightly smaller than the overall size of the handkerchief.

It was as if there was something beneath the handkerchief.

But Bruce knew that this was almost impossible.

'When did he put it there?'

Bruce thought back to every detail that had happened just now and couldn't figure out when Dean had placed something under the handkerchief.

He couldn't understand how Dean managed to do all of this without him noticing.

Seeing Bruce's reaction, Dean calmly said, "Excellent, Mr. Wayne. You can let go now."

Bruce nodded silently and released his grip, expecting the handkerchief to land on the surface of the cabinet.

Instead of landing on the cabinet's surface as expected, the handkerchief remained suspended midair, with only the corners hanging down.

The whole scene clearly showed a handkerchief covering a rectangular object underneath.

At this moment, Dean walked forward and lifted the handkerchief, revealing a box of blueberries underneath.

Each one was plump, fresh, and tempting, making anyone's mouth water.

"Barbara, this is a little gift I brought today."

Dean said it with a smile and then stepped aside.

"What did you just do?"

Barbara on the hospital bed looked astonished at the box of fresh blueberries, her expression filled with disbelief.

Even Dick was shocked at this moment, not because of the box of blueberries that appeared out of thin air, but because he actually saw a hint of surprise in Bruce's eyes!

Bruce hadn't seen through Dean's magic trick!

In the middle of the shock, Dick thought to himself, 'Hmm. It's interesting to surprise Bruce, who has always known everything!'

Dean turned to look at Bruce and asked politely, "Are you satisfied with this magic trick, Mr. Wayne? If you're curious about magic's principles, I'm sorry, but I can't reveal them because they're my secret weapon. But I can assure you that it's not actual magic."

"I am very satisfied. It was a splendid magic trick. I almost thought it was actual magic."

Bruce clapped his hands and exclaimed.

After some commercial praise, Dean started asking about Barbara's condition.

Overall, Barbara's injuries were not too serious. Although she had fractures in her hands and feet, the situation was manageable, and she would recover in two months.

Cassandra quietly listened to the others' conversation from the side without saying a word, even though she wanted to speak but couldn't...

After a while, Dean glanced at the time and said his goodbye, "I'm sorry, it's getting a bit late now. I'll head back for today."

...

A/N: If we reach If we reach 400 power stones within this day, I will release an additional chapter tomorrow.

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