Dante wasn’t in the greatest of moods already. He knew of many people who’d think he’d gone soft if they found out about this little adventure. The great, mighty demon hunter, watching a helpless child in a strange town. That definitely fit his badass image. Anyone with half a brain would have left the kid there alone to give him a quick lesson in maturity. Anyone else would have thrown away the drain on time and money that this kid was. They’d say, “Grow some balls, kid!” and take off.

Unfortunately, Dante wasn’t like that. Not at the moment, anyway.

Maybe this will be a learning experience, Dante thought as he walked. He was walking fast in hopes the Prince wouldn’t be able to keep up. He was not used to optimism. Maybe I’ll get something out of it besides a headache.

Dante was leading The Prince through the busy Joutenheim area towards central Paixao. They needed to find some entertainment – or at least, Dante very badly needed to be entertained.

Wait, Dante thought, after hearing the Prince’s steps trail behind him for the fiftieth time. If he tires out too quickly, I’ll have to carry him. And I don’t want that. Who knows where he’s been. So he stopped walking until the Prince caught up with him.

“Jenet didn’t abandon you,” he reluctantly said to the Prince, allowing that one bit of kindness to peek out again. The tears didn’t make him feel badly, nor did the stares. Maybe it was a little bit of memory. “She’ll be back later.”