"Rorschach, it seems you like this car a lot," Howard Stark said with a laugh when he noticed Rorschach staring intently at the red Cadillac. "Looks like we have the same taste."
Stark seemed genuinely pleased by the discovery.
Then he made a generous suggestion.
"Would you like to try it yourself?" he asked casually. "After dinner, I can let you take it for a spin. You should experience it personally."
"Really, Mr. Stark?"
"Of course. It's no big deal."
"That's great. I'm looking forward to it."
Rorschach agreed immediately without hesitation.
It was the perfect opportunity. If he could drive the car himself, he could carefully investigate what exactly the system had detected.
"Mr. Stark, Mr. Rorschach, the banquet is ready."
Jarvis appeared beside them at that moment and spoke respectfully.
"Well then, Rorschach," Stark said as he lightly patted Rorschach on the shoulder. "Let's eat first."
He led Rorschach toward the dining hall.
The moment Rorschach stepped inside, he couldn't help staring.
Good lord.
When Jarvis had mentioned that Stark prepared a banquet, Rorschach had imagined something modest. But what he saw now completely exceeded his expectations.
The long dining table was covered with dishes.
Dozens of them.
The food was arranged in neat rows, creating a dazzling display that almost felt overwhelming.
Rorschach couldn't recognize most of the dishes, but even a quick estimate told him there had to be at least twenty or thirty different plates.
And that wasn't even the most shocking part.
The tableware alone formed a long, intimidating lineup in front of him.
Knives, forks, spoons—arranged in complicated patterns.
Rorschach felt a bit embarrassed.
In his previous life he had never been interested in Western cuisine, and he certainly hadn't studied its dining etiquette. All he knew was that Western meals came with a lot of rules.
Different dishes required different utensils.
Looking at the neatly arranged silverware now, he had absolutely no idea which one to use.
"Rorschach," Stark said while taking his seat across from him, "I imagine you must be hungry. Please, enjoy yourself."
Rorschach nodded.
Since he didn't understand the rules anyway, he simply stopped worrying about them.
Why complicate something as simple as eating?
He grabbed a set of utensils at random and started eating while chatting casually with Stark.
Howard Stark naturally noticed that Rorschach had no familiarity with Western dining customs at all.
But Stark himself was hardly the type to obsess over etiquette.
Besides, Rorschach clearly wasn't an ordinary person.
The man had saved his life.
Under those circumstances, Stark certainly had no reason to judge him over something as trivial as table manners.
The atmosphere at the table remained relaxed and friendly.
After chatting for a while, Stark finally raised a question that had been on his mind.
"By the way, Rorschach," he said carefully, "forgive me if this is intrusive, but may I ask something?"
"Of course."
"How did you obtain such extraordinary power?"
This wasn't just Stark's personal curiosity.
Peggy Carter had asked the same question earlier.
And considering that the Strategic Scientific Corps—precursor to S.H.I.E.L.D.—had originally been established to research super soldiers, Stark himself had always been deeply interested in such matters.
He was one of the leading scientists involved in that project.
"Agent Carter asked me the same thing before," Rorschach replied calmly. "And I gave her the same answer."
He shrugged.
"I was born with it."
Stark paused.
"Alright," he said after a moment. "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. That's personal information."
He assumed Rorschach simply didn't want to reveal the truth.
"I was a bit abrupt. My apologies."
Rorschach didn't bother correcting the misunderstanding.
After all, he had told the truth.
Whether others believed him or not was their problem.
Stark also didn't press the topic any further. Instead, the conversation drifted naturally to other subjects.
Stark's knowledge was enormous, far beyond that of most people.
Rorschach couldn't match his expertise in technical fields.
But as someone who had lived through another lifetime and possessed knowledge of future events, Rorschach had a unique perspective that Stark found fascinating.
The two of them talked freely about science, industry, technology, and the direction of the world.
The discussion became increasingly engaging.
"Rorschach," Stark eventually said with clear admiration, "I didn't expect you to be this impressive."
Although Rorschach looked young, many of his ideas were surprisingly insightful.
Some of his viewpoints were even more forward-looking than those of seasoned industry leaders.
That kind of vision was rare.
Overall, the dinner turned out to be extremely pleasant.
After they finished eating, the two men sat briefly in the reception room before Stark stood up again.
"Come on," he said. "Let's go back to the garage."
As promised earlier, Stark handed Rorschach the key to the Cadillac.
"Before you start," Stark said suddenly, "let me confirm one thing."
He looked at Rorschach with raised eyebrows.
"You do have a driver's license, right?"
Rorschach laughed.
"Don't worry, Mr. Stark. I'm an experienced driver."
He opened the car door, sat behind the wheel, and started the engine smoothly.
The Cadillac rolled out of the garage with ease.
Moments later, it was already cruising down the road outside the mansion.
Because Rorschach had learned to drive in his previous life, the skill came back quickly after his rebirth. With just a little practice, he had already regained full confidence.
He had even driven Charles Xavier's car before.
Driving wasn't a problem at all.
Screech.
The bright red convertible sped through the streets.
Luxury cars and handsome drivers attracted attention in any era. Pedestrians turned their heads as the car passed.
Admiring looks followed it wherever it went.
If Rorschach had wanted to, he probably could have picked up a beautiful woman within minutes.
But at the moment, that thought never crossed his mind.
His attention was entirely focused on the car.
After driving through two or three streets, Rorschach still hadn't discovered anything unusual.
From everything he could observe, the vehicle seemed completely ordinary.
Well… ordinary by luxury standards.
Rorschach slowed the car and fell into deep thought.
Could it be something like the hidden vault in Fast and Furious 5?
Maybe the exterior looked normal, but something important was concealed inside.
With that thought, he stopped the car and stepped out to inspect it carefully.
He examined the exterior, the chassis, the interior, the trunk—every part he could access.
But no matter how carefully he looked, he couldn't find anything suspicious.
He even tried questioning the system again.
"What exactly is the special energy source?"
The system remained silent.
No response.
That made Rorschach feel a bit frustrated.
He couldn't just return the car empty-handed.
That would be unacceptable.
It seemed the only option was to keep the vehicle longer.
Maybe even permanently.
In other words—
He would have to buy the car from Howard Stark.
Because at this point, Rorschach was already considering dismantling the entire vehicle piece by piece.
Of course, he didn't currently have the money.
But with his abilities, earning money wouldn't be difficult.
Buying the car wasn't the real problem.
The real issue was something else.
He had only just met Stark today.
And Stark clearly loved this car.
Asking to buy it right now would be extremely awkward.
Still, Rorschach had no other choice.
He could only grit his teeth and try.
.....
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