There was something special about dogs. A notable aspect of how they lived their lives.

  It may not have been truly unique among unpowered animals, nor even when adding magical creatures to the mix, but their genuine and almost simple way of carrying themselves about was still worthy of notice to anyone who would pay attention.

  Among living creatures, dogs were among the few who would respond like a genuine picture of honesty. While it was definitely a mistake to group up and generalize the behavior of such cunning animals, whether by breed or by family unit, it was almost always correct that what people would call a ‘good dog’ had been blessed with a fulfilling life, while ‘bad dogs’ were those who had suffered some mistreatment.

  But isn’t that a generalization too~?

  Javier ignored the sarcastic remark from the ethereal voice only he could hear. To begin with, he had never been the type to be annoyed by banter like that, much less after six years of their unusual partnership.

  Talk was unnecessary. Providing his body as protection within a world foreign to it, the demon from Nox would become one of Javier’s assets. The arrangement had remained unchanged for quite some time, with no significant issues.

  Dismissing the demon’s occasional words of surprise or irony was now second nature, though they were just distracting enough for Javier to not notice the frightened visage in front of him until now.

  Even to this day, he often forgot the impact his extraordinary physique could have on others. To the boy no older than twelve, the fact that his dog had been relentlessly growling and barking at Javier probably felt like a death sentence. A pretty unavoidable one too, as the dog was large enough for its back to reach the boy’s waist, so it was likely too much to ask for him to forcefully pull it away through its leash.

  Javier looked from the boy to the dog, and back to the boy. He put the notebook and pen aside on the park bench he sat on, and spoke up.

  “I’m not bothered.” He said with about as obvious an honesty a human voice could have.

  “R-Really!? Oh, thank you so much, sir! I really don’t know what came over her!” The boy looked so relieved, one could have believed he had been holding his breath until now.

  Satisfied, Javier turned back to the dog. Less barking, and much more growling now, she seemed far from pleased after a brief exchange between the boy and the beastly man. With such aggression in blatant display, there was no need to say what would probably happen if he extended his hand toward her.

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  Despite all that, or maybe because of it, Javier showed nothing but a small smile. The dark, impassive eyes might have softened just a bit as well, surprising the boy.

  “It’s no issue. This is bound to happen when she carries such a debt.”

  “… Debt?”

  As if the boy’s response had not even registered, the pleased Javier continued to speak unimpeded while looking at the dog.

  “You’re very loved by her.”

  “O-Oh, I guess that could be it? I mean, she’s been with us since I was little!”

  Javier shook his head.

  “More than time, she has been treated well. When given such love, of course she would try to protect you. That’s how things should be.”

  The boy failed to hold back a laugh as he knelt next to the dog, caressing and mumbling to her affectionately.

  “‘Protecting’ when there’s no danger is just annoying… I guess you really like dogs?”

  “I think they’re trustworthy.” Javier answered as he noticed the dog relaxing bit by bit on every touch and word from the boy.

  “Do you have any, then?” Getting his hand licked after little effort, the boy smiled while asking.

  “I can’t.”

  The dry response seemed to disappoint the boy, who let out a small sigh of regret as he stood back up. But with his companion in a much better, more complacent mood now, he did not remain upset for much longer himself.

  “I hope that changes soon. I’m sure any dog would be happy with you, sir!”

  With an upbeat wave answered by Javier’s awkwardly raised hand, the boy and dog continued their stroll without any problems.

  So, back to the double-checking bore now?

  The demon found itself without any replies once more. Javier merely showed compliance with the expected action, by picking up the notebook and pen again.

  Opened at the same page as before, he ran over the plotted notes about the Violet Thorn’s mysterious enemy again.

  More specifically, about their activity patterns over the last five months, retrieved mostly from moles within the police and veteran street operators, with an additional three months of less reliable information.

  With the bulk of his time since last night spent in gathering the information and a little over an hour analyzing it, Javier had reached a very usable conclusion.

  If his reasoning was correct, then he could narrow the possibilities down to a city block, though only if being punctual.

  Javier took out his phone and messaged Irina.

  [We’ll have just under an hour of unimpeded time, anything more and we risk being noticed beyond what’s convenient. How much can you set up?]

  [you already figured the whole thing out? with one hour i can probably do like one building if we do it well]

  [That’s good enough. We can just have Miasma watch for when they’re coming and drive them toward the building if necessary.]

  [really going hard on this asshole arent you?]

  Javier did not reply, putting the phone back in his pocket as he stood up from the bench. There was no need to answer questions made for the sake of talk.

  To repay a debt was a given, and a debt of violence was no exception.

  Restraint was not even something to be mentioned.